The Ajoiner Realm (Defenders of Radiance Book 1)

by Rebekah Carroll

  The scholars glared. Sweat rolled down the back of his neck. Fortunately, the philosophers returned to their studies, leaving him to help Lillian pick up the mess.

  “Sorry,” Warren said, gathering the books back into a stack.

  “You are planning to go?” Lillian asked.

  Warren wanted to tell her they’d be fine, but he wasn’t sure.

  Lillian glanced up. “Why? Why do this?”

  “I have orders from the council.”

  “Is there any way to avoid going?”

  “I wish there were.”

  Lillian took her stack from the ground as he stood with the books she’d collected for him.

  “Please be careful,” Lillian whispered, voice colored with concern.

  “We will.” Warren smiled.

  The first book, like most others, contained only a few sentences that made sense, but as expected, they only forewarned against delving into the cave. The second, while intriguing, didn’t offer much advice. It rambled on about a mythical shield sworn to protect the user if they pursued righteous goals.

  The third, entitled Demons of the Dark, stated a full score of villainous creatures stalked the shadows, awaiting their next meal.

  This is insane. Warren rubbed a hand over his face.

  After hours at the library, the group finally left for the market before returning home.

  “So did anyone find anything of use?” Warren spooned some soup into a bowl.

  “I pinpointed the last known location of the spiders’ nest. Should be a few days to the east of here. The colony has grown over the last decade, and the Darkness isn’t helping anything.” Cassidy winced as he eased into a chair at the table.

  “I don’t like it.” Vallerie frowned.

  “Me neither. What d’you discover about your little adrax problem?” Cassidy asked.

  “I found a few maps of their fortress and the general location of the stronghold.” Vallerie sighed.

  “Well that’s a start,” Warren said.

  “If only,” Vallerie said. “Three maps, and all of them are different.”

  “That is problematic,” Cassidy agreed.

  “All I found is that the labyrinth is on the coastal side of the Fire Mountains, in the caldera of a volcano,” Emron grumbled, glaring at the soup in his spoon.

  “Volcano?” Vallerie raised an eyebrow.

  “Some ancient tribe of idiots thought it would be a source of power,” Emron said.

  “There hasn’t been an eruption in centuries. It should be fine...right?” Cassidy said.

  “I’ll let you know how swimming in lava is when your spiders finish you, appetizer,” Emron grunted then slurped his soup.

  “Don’t remind me.” Cassidy set his spoon down, seeming to have lost his appetite after Emron’s comment. “What about you, Warren? How’s the cave looking?”

  “I’m going to be sloshing through swamp for weeks to climb a mountain, then fight a pit of monsters,” Warren said. Now more than ever he regretted leaving Noble behind.

  “You sound scared,” Cassidy said.

  “Pftt, I’m not scared.”

  “Whatever.” Cassidy rolled his eyes.

  Warren cracked open an eye. Darkness veiled his window. Exhaling, he closed his eye again. The orbs that lit the city dimmed in the evening and vanished at night, leaving the cavern in shadows. He had to admire the genius of the system. Without any natural sunlight living down here would be maddening, but with the orbs mimicking the sun’s light it became more tolerable. He still didn’t think he could live here long term though. He’d begun to crave the color of the sky and the fresh air of the above world.

  Isabel’s smile flashed to mind. He rolled over, trying to suppress the frustration of not being able to help her. He needed to get back to sleep, but worry over separating the team nagged him. I can’t do anything about that. He concentrated on his breaths, but by then his body felt awake.

  With reluctance, he sat up and paced back and forth across his room, scowling at the floor as he tried to think. Warren had read up on the other’s locations. Every one of them would be difficult if the entire team were there, never mind going alone. They didn’t have another option. They had twenty-nine days before poison killed them, and Fortitude couldn’t wait that long.

  Warren paused in front of the washbasin. The reflection that stared back at him in the mirror was hardly recognizable. He couldn’t find a single dark hair on his head. At least his beard—as much as he hated it—still had a blend of black in it. That fact gave him pause as he eyed the razor on the edge of the basin. Warren exhaled, his hair might have been white, but the beard made him feel sloppy.

  The familiar process of lathering his face and running the blade across his cheeks put his mind at ease. Of the lessons they taught him at Hilltop, shaving was one of the ones he was most grateful for.

  As he dried his face, he listened to the sounds of daily life that had grown louder outside. It was time to get moving. He rinsed the blade and went to wake the others. Emron sat on his bed rereading a worn letter when Warren walked in.

  “Time to go?” Emron looked up from the parchment.

  “Yeah.”

  Emron nodded, folding the letter and sliding it into his pocket.

  Warren returned to the table with Emron at his side. As he laid the map of the city on the table, the others picked their seats. They had started discussing their plans when someone knocked on the door. Warren looked up at his team. Each one mirrored his questioning gaze.

  Slowly, he stood and made his way to the door, then took the handle with one hand, keeping the other close to his blade as he opened it. Zane waited on the doorstep, fully dressed in his guardsmen armor.

  “Zane, what are you doing here?”

  “I have some news. May I come in?”

  Warren nodded, stepping to the side. “What news?”

  “We tracked down your horses. They’re a little battered, but they’re rideable.”

  “Where are they now?”

  “You’ll want to take this passage here.” Zane pointed out a tunnel. “It’s the fastest route to the horses.”

  “Thank you,” Warren said.

  “I don’t understand this sudden liking the council has taken to your team, and I still don’t trust you.”

  “That’s all right, we don’t much like you either,” Cassidy said.

  Warren kicked Cassidy’s chair.

  “I need to get back on patrol.” Zane scowled at Cassidy.

  Cassidy waited until Zane closed the door to speak.

  “What’d you kick me for?”

  “We don’t need to cause any more contention in this city than we have already,” Warren said.

  “I was just stating the truth.”

  “Truth or not, it was uncalled for.”

  Cassidy rolled his eyes, then looked back at the map.

  “We’ll reroute to the tunnel and get our horses,” Warren said.

  “Is everyone set?”

  The team nodded.

  “Good, meet back here when you’ve found your book. If you run into trouble, come straight back, and we’ll find another way. I don’t want any more close calls.”

  11

  E ven on horseback, it had taken Warren seven days to arrive at the cave. After centuries, the elements had eroded the massive hole in the mountain’s side. Visible from ten miles away, it had seemed ordinary enough, but now that he stood at its black maw—the edge of a deep shaft ran vertically into the ground without any sign of naturally forming that way or having been excavated.

  Wind bit his back. Knowing his steel armor would limit his mobility in a cave, he’d bought light leather armor that allowed the cold to strike his exposed arms. Tanned hides were cheaply stitched together. If he weren’t in a hurry, he would have bought something custom made, but he needed to get the book.

  The shushing of the wind blowing through the cave and howling down the tunnel became nerve racking. Warren glanced back
at Noble and the rest of his gear. He would be diving into the cavern carrying only a deer hide pack that held two torches, extra fuel, rope, a waterskin, a few provisions, and a pair of knives.

  Turning from Noble, he faced the shaft. He’d fought against impossible odds, seen horrors he wished to forget, but never had he felt so anxious. He stepped back. Whatever was down there, it was darker than anything he had experienced. An ominous force pressed against him, quelling his courage and rioting his fears. Warren clenched his fists and tried to press forward. He had to enter that pit. And his team depended on his return.

  The demand of fear shoved against his determination, and he backed away from the cave. He knew he had to enter the cavern to find the book, but he couldn’t convince himself to go through with it. He bumped into a hard surface. Jumping, he spun around as Noble whinnied. Warren exhaled, there had to be another way.

  As he reached into a saddlebag for the map, his fingers closed around something silky. He pulled his hand out to find Isabel’s doll. He remembered her beaming up at him after she gave it to him. As he breathed, the unnatural fear vanished. That little girl still needed him. Tender as a spring breeze, he returned the doll to the pouch.

  He faced the cave once more, this time resolved to enter. He ignored the clenching in his gut as he set a torch ablaze and dropped it over the edge. The fire shrank into the darkness until only a pin of light was visible.

  Warren tied his rope to a nearby rock, then threaded the loose end through a metal ring on his belt for the descent. Backing to the mouth of the shaft, he paused, heart booming in his ears. He pulled the rope tight and slid his left foot down the lip of the hole, letting out a bit of rope at a time. With that foot lowered, he exhaled, sweat trickling down the side of his face. He leaned back and moved his right foot over the edge. The rope held. With slow effort, Warren worked his way deeper, leaving the daylight above.

  He peered into the abyss below and saw neither an end nor a beginning. Only dark. He dove deeper. As he descended, the light from the torch outlined a rock formation. Giant stalagmites stretched forth like teeth, threatening to devour him. Warren focused on the torch below.

  Once safely at the bottom, he released the rope looped through his belt and retrieved his torch. Warren paused at the bottom of the nearest stalagmite. Dark silt covered the ground, muffling the sound of his movement. His torch only illuminated six feet around it. Carrying the light made him feel exposed.

  Subconsciously, Warren’s hand drifted to one of the daggers strapped to his belt. He sensed something watching him from the gloom, and he glared into the shadows, waiting for it to move.

  Minutes passed.

  The crackle of his torch’s fire was the only sound in the dark cavern. Still, he waited. Still nothing. He took a step forward, his boots hardly scraping at the silt. Nothing reacted to his movement.

  Warren continued moving away from the wall. He glanced up. Blackness covered the cave opening. As he wandered deeper, he marveled at the sheer size of the stalagmites, wondering how they’d formed. He didn’t see any stalactites above. He continued to scour the space around him for signs of the book, but with his light so limited, progress was slow. Foot after foot he searched, working his way forward from where he’d entered, but the sandy bottom all looked the same. Then Warren found himself at another drop-off. Unease gnawed at his stomach.

  Movement disturbed the quiet behind him. Warren spun, only to be blinded by light.

  12

  C assidy paused at the exit of Illithium, holding Vallerie’s hand. As Zane had promised, the horses were hidden on a vacant island near the shore of the swamp city. Echo’s and Dusty’s thick hides showed minor scratches.

  “How’s your leg?” Vallerie asked.

  “You know, today it’s been much better. I can walk on it without limping too bad,” Cassidy said. A partial lie, it was healing, but it was far from normal. He knew how Val worried about him, so he tried to reassure her.

  “That’s great,” Vallerie said, squeezing his hand.

  Cassidy smiled at her. She looked like an angel standing in the morning sun.

  “I love you,” Cassidy said, pulling her into his arms.

  “I love you too,” Vallerie said.

  “I’ll see you in a few days.” Cassidy sighed. This sucks. “Yeah.”

  “Good luck, my dear,” Vallerie said.

  “You too. And please be safe, okay?”

  “I’ll be fine. It’s an in and out job.”

  Cassidy gave her a long kiss. He internalized the moment, every creak in the forest, the boggy smell of the air, but mostly his wife. The softness of her lips, the warmth of her body against his. He opened his eyes and stilled an image of her in his mind. Shadows falling across her delicate face, her eyes still closed, mouth parted as if deciding whether or not to stay with him. She hated this goodbye as much as he did.

  “I love you, Cassidy.” Vallerie swung into her saddle and steered Echo into the forest.

  “I love you,” Cassidy called.

  Cassidy watched her disappear among the trees, the entire time, wanting her to turn around. This really sucks. Cassidy groaned, smothering the aching howl in his chest. Glancing at his horse, he tried to decide what the least painful way of mounting would be. He swung his bad leg over Dusty’s back and bit his tongue to keep a gasp at bay, then nudged the steed toward the mountains. He hadn’t traveled over fifty feet when rustling behind him caught his attention. I’m off to a splendid start.

  “Can I help you?” Cassidy asked.

  As Cassidy had predicted, twelve men stood from their hiding places. Here we go. Cassidy grumbled, dismounting Dusty. Pain flared down his leg. Cassidy gritted his teeth. The majority of the men shifted back as he approached. Six of them wore city-guard plating, the other six wore variations of leather and iron, but didn’t look particularly imposing in it—in fact, some of the straps were fastened wrong.

  “I assume you have a reason for following me.”

  “Sir...I—my men and I would like to accompany you on your journey into the spiders’ den,” the closest responded.

  The man was a little taller than average and had short brown hair that grayed at the sides.

  “And you know about this, how?”

  “I am a mage. I know things.” The man shrugged with a glint in his eye that boasted pride.

  Cassidy laughed. He must have overhead their plan at the library. “It’s rude to eavesdrop, you know.”

  The man shifted.

  Definitely the library.

  “Do you have any idea what will be out there?” Cassidy asked.

  No one responded.

  “Kellnox and drevics lurk behind every tree. Not to mention, the arachnids I am hunting will probably kill all of you. And let’s not forget, you’ll get in my way.”

  “My men are well trained. They may not have the skill and strength you and your companions have, but they can fight. I can fight too. I am a creator mage, I can help. Who are you to say we cannot defend our home?” the man argued.

  Well-trained, my foot. Besides the obvious ineptitude of men wearing mismatched armor, there was a teenage boy and a man so old he probably remembered the birth of the realm.

  Cassidy stepped in close to the man. “If you go out there, you and every last one of your men will die. Is that a price you are willing to pay?”

  The man looked him in the eye. The determination in his gaze remained unfazed by Cassidy’s warning. “Every day our home crumbles. If we don’t do what we can to save it, we’ll die anyway.”

  Cassidy admired his ambition, but it would be the mage’s undoing, and he wanted no part of it. The fact that the man didn’t even know how to wear his armor properly proved he had no idea what he was getting himself into. The guards he must have bribed into accompanying him had most likely never seen actual combat before.

  “Go back home.” Cassidy turned away.

  “You can’t stop us from following,” the man called.

&nb
sp; “Sure I can.”

  Cassidy gritted his teeth and swung his bad leg over the saddle, then nudged Dusty with his heel. The horse trotted forward at a pace much too quick for the men to keep up with on foot.

  “What about your leg?” the man called.

  Cassidy pulled Dusty’s reins. He couldn’t let the mageling have the last word.

  “You won’t get far with a wound that severe.”

  “You misjudge the scratch,” Cassidy replied, nudging Dusty onward again.

  “Is that right?”

  In a flash, Cassidy drew his bow and aimed it at the man’s head, without glancing back.

  “I think I can manage on my own,” Cassidy said. “Can you say the same?”

  He looked at the man behind him, who stepped forward until his head touched the tip of his arrow.

  “Try me,” the man said.

  Cassidy smirked. The move was incredibly bold, even if he knew Cassidy wouldn’t shoot.

  “You have a name?” Cassidy relaxed the tension on his bowstring.

  “My name is Jarodiic. My men are the twins Brutus and Reth; my brother, Vidarr; Silas; Briar; Burrin; Havoiik; Meraki; Orion; Myelin; and Priamos,” the man said.

  As each of the men’s names were called, they nodded.

  “And you are?” the man asked.

  “Cassidy. If you’re going to follow me, there will be some rules.”

  Jarodiic nodded.

  I can’t believe I’m doing this.

  “You and you. Go home, now.” Cassidy pointed to the boy and the old scholar. “You’re too weak to be out here.”

  The men started shouting at him.

  “He has every right to be here. He can’t become a man until he gains some experience,” one of the twins argued.

  “And I’ve lived a full life. I know more than you think,” Burrin said.

  “You can’t handle a blade with academics,” Cassidy snapped.

  Burrin opened his mouth, but didn’t find an argument.

  “And you”—the boy flinched as Cassidy glared at him—“this is not the kind of experience that makes you a man. It’s the kind that makes you a corpse.”