"Maybe we don't need this fang anymore," Marek said.
Theo frowned at him. "Why would you think that?"
"Well, there's another great evil in this place, isn't there? Those undead soldiers probably knew that even if this Rador being didn't. So they'll understand that we defeated the real threat."
"That's assuming we do defeat it."
"Well, if we don't, it doesn't really matter whether we need the fang or not."
Theo chuckled without humor. "Can't argue with you there."
They continued along the passage, making their way by the light of scattered magical torches. With every step, Theo's skin prickled more and more. He could feel the evil in the air—that was the only explanation he had. His intuition was screaming at him to turn back.
He ignored it.
Soon the passage opened into a much larger chamber illuminated by many magical torches. At the chamber's far end was a yellow cylinder of light.
Marek pointed toward it with a tilt of his head. "What do you think that is?"
"No idea, but I have a feeling. I think it might be the way out of here."
Marek turned pale in the magical blue light. "Then Krinir's evil creature has to be here."
"I know. And we can't leave without defeating it."
"Maybe we should find another way, then."
Theo felt queasy. "I don't know how to explain it, but my gut is telling me the only way through is to defeat this creature."
"But how can we do that. We've got no magic."
"Wish I had an answer for you."
Theo and Marek took a few more steps into the chamber. They were about halfway to the pillar of yellow light when the chamber began to rumble. Something enormous was about to emerge from beneath them. The quake became stronger and stronger, and Theo struggled to stay on his feet. Marek looked paler than ever.
With a resounding crack, the ground gave way beneath them.
Chapter 51: The Gateway
Heart pounding, Kara faced Warrick. She had no idea what to expect from him. Before she'd left, he'd told her he would be completely under Krinir's control. But had he broken through that spell? Was he here to serve his master's will and kill them?
"Darien," Kara said, hoping the little touch of familiarity would help her.
There was a flicker of doubt in his eyes, but it faded quickly. "You don't deserve to use my first name. I am High Sorcerer Warrick to you."
"Then everything we went through together doesn't matter at all?" Kara asked, fear bubbling within her.
Warrick narrowed his eyes. "I don't know who you are."
He clearly believed that statement to be true, and that was terrifying.
"Krinir told me to come here and kill everyone I found, and that is what I must do."
But Kara could hear the doubt in his voice. The real Warrick was still in there somewhere, waging a war against Krinir's control. Right now, though, Krinir was winning. She could see it in Warrick's eyes. He was going to kill them.
But Kara had other plans. She was going to take advantage of his hesitation.
If Krinir had made Warrick forget about her, then he'd forgotten about her Sunweaving too. Praying that this was true, she wove Red and Orange within her. With a quick gesture, she sent the subsequent wall of flame at Warrick. He raised his own hand, trying to block her fire with a shield, but it didn't work. The flames erupted all around him.
He screamed in agony and hit the ground, trying to extinguish the flames.
She stopped weaving those colors, but the fire remained for a while. Taking advantage of Warrick's distraction, she wove Yellow and Green, focusing her magic on the ground beneath Warrick. A gaping hole opened in the rocks, surprising her. She'd practiced this spell before, but it had never been quite this powerful. Perhaps desperation also fueled her magic.
Still on fire, Warrick plunged into the hole she'd fashioned. He flailed his arms, trying to grab onto anything, but the rocks crumbled at his touch, and he fell through the hole, still aflame.
"We have to go," Kara said, tugging at Berig's arm. They raced around the hole as Warrick grunted and cursed below. It wouldn't be long before he found his way back up.
Beyond where he'd been standing, there was another passage. They plunged into this passage, racing as fast their legs would carry them. From time to time, Kara glanced back, but she didn't see Warrick. That wouldn't last, though.
Soon the passage led them to an opening that featured a strange swirl of colors. It reminded Kara of the Nexus. For a moment, she hesitated. If this was the Nexus, it could take them anywhere. But what choice did they have?
She tugged at Berig's arm, and they jumped through the gateway together. The world spun around them, and Kara closed her eyes, willing herself not to vomit.
When she hit solid ground again, she opened her eyes. She lay on the stone floor of some manmade structure. A few magical torches cast blue light upon her surroundings. Ahead of her were large statues that reminded her of the undead soldiers in Woodsville.
She dusted off her clothes and got to her feet.
"So where are we now?" Berig asked, standing gingerly.
"I wish I knew." She took a few tentative steps into the chamber they'd entered. Back in Woodsville, the undead soldiers had attacked upon seeing them. Would the same thing happen now? She inched closer, but the soldiers did not respond. Perhaps they were statues after all.
Her breath caught in her throat as she reached out toward one. A moment's hesitation, and then she touched the back of the statue. It turned with such speed that she jumped back in shock. Heart thundering, she scrambled backward along the cold stone floor.
The statue held its weapon in strong hands, its gaze fixed on her. It did not attack, though. It simply stared at her as if deciding whether she was worth the effort.
"Can you understand me?" she asked, fighting her rising panic.
The statue continued to stare at her.
"Guess that's a no," she muttered under her breath. Hesitantly, she clambered back to her feet. The statues remained where they were, though they had all fixed their gazes on her and Berig. Those gazes unnerved her. She and Berig had their different types of magic, but she had no idea if that would be enough against an army of undead statues.
She met the gaze of one of the statues, then gestured beyond it, trying to indicate that she intended to pass. After she repeated the motion a few times, she stared into the statue's eyes.
To her surprise, the statue inclined its head.
"I think they're gonna let us pass," Kara said. "Come on, Berig."
Berig had frozen, though, sitting with his back against the damp stone wall. His eyes were wide, and he was trembling.
"We have to get moving, Berig. There's no telling when Warrick will get here."
He jerked his head in a nod, as if her words had finally reminded him that they were in a dangerous situation.
She raced to his side and helped him to his feet. His first few steps were hesitant, but then he matched her quick pace. Kara held her breath as they passed the statues. She didn't know if she could trust them, but what choice did they have? Warrick wouldn't remain trapped forever, and if this gateway always led to the same place, they were in trouble.
Kara and Berig made their way across the chamber by the light of widely spaced magical torches. At the other end of the chamber was a passage, and in the center of the chamber, almost invisible in the dim illumination, there was a gaping hole.
"Should we take the passage or the hole?" Kara asked, though she knew Berig would have no idea.
He frowned, as if considering the question. "Neither one feels right."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I've always had intuitions about these things. We can't take either path."
"Then how do we get out of here?"
Berig bit his lower lip. "I don't know."
Kara felt a slight tremble and turned around to see one of the statues marching toward them. Her chest felt tight, and sh
e prepared to weave Red and Orange within her so she could strike the statue with fire. But its stance remained non-threatening.
It gestured to her right with its sword, indicating the far wall, which opened with a low rumble. Kara met Berig's gaze, silently asking if that was the right direction. He nodded.
There was no point arguing. She had no ideas at all, so she followed Berig as they made their way across the chamber. They entered the passage the statue had indicated. It was a narrow space illuminated by scattered torches. Their shadows danced in the eerie blue light.
Soon the passage came to an end, and they stepped into a perfectly circular chamber. An elevated platform stood in the center of this chamber. In the center of the platform was a large lever and a glowing blue crystal.
"What do you think this is?" Berig asked, approaching the platform slowly.
There was a small gap in the stone floor just outside the edges of the platform. Kara didn't know what to make of that. "Well, we might as well pull the lever."
"Sounds good," Berig said. "Guess we'll hope for the best."
"I'd like to have more of a plan than that, but I feel a bit overwhelmed at the moment."
"Yeah, I know how that feels."
They stepped to the center of the platform, then exchanged a nervous glance before Kara pulled the lever. The platform jerked, and Kara nearly lost her balance as the platform began to descend. Soon they left the chamber behind, passing through darkness broken only by the light of the blue crystal. Kara and Berig huddled close together as air whooshed by them.
The platform rattled a bit, but it remained level for the most part. Still, Kara's stomach swirled, and she wanted it to stop.
"This thing must be a magical elevator," Berig said, smiling.
"You can't possibly be enjoying this," Kara said.
"I don't know. I think it's kind of fun."
"Then I guess we don't have the same ideas about fun."
The elevator plummeted for a long time. What would happen when they reached the bottom? Would the magic slow their descent, or would they die upon impact? Sure, Berig could enjoy himself, but somebody had to worry about things like that.
Soon their descent did slow, and the elevator hit the bottom of the shaft with a gentle thud. Kara surveyed her surroundings on quivering legs. They'd entered another chamber with the same magical illumination. Up ahead was a narrow stone passage.
Berig looked pale in the blue light. "There's something evil here. I don't like it."
"Is that some kind of magical intuition?"
"I think so. That's the best way I can explain it."
Kara swallowed a lump in her throat. "Then I guess we'll keep an eye out for danger."
They made their way cautiously along the stone passage. With every step, Kara scanned her surroundings, but she saw nothing dangerous. Their steps echoed faintly in the still air.
After a few twists, the passage led them into a much more open chamber. At the center of the chamber was the massive form of something Kara could only describe as a dragon, though she'd always thought dragons belonged to stories.
It was massive, and spikes protruded from its back. Its tail alone had to be at least thirty feet, and that was nothing compared to the rest of its body. For the moment, it appeared to be asleep. Smoke billowed from its nostrils with each breath it took.
"I think we should turn back," Berig whispered. "Maybe those statues wanted to lead us to our deaths."
Kara shook her head. "No. If they wanted to kill us, they could have done it themselves. There has to be some reason they sent us here."
"They better not want us to kill that thing. There's no way we can do it."
Kara shared Berig's doubts, but she didn't voice them. Somebody had to project the image of a fearless leader. She didn't expect it from Berig, but she did expect it from herself. Taking deep breaths, she watched the rise and fall of the dragon's enormous chest.
A few faint thuds came from the other side of the vast chamber. Kara peered into the darkness, but the magical light was too dim to see anything.
The dragon opened its eyes, looking toward the sounds. Kara froze, expecting it to notice them, but it moved across the chamber, flapping its huge wings a few times in irritation as it made its way toward the sound.
Kara's legs felt like lead, but she willed herself forward, following the dragon. To her surprise, Berig remained at her side. She'd never seen him so pale, though. She took hold of his hand and squeezed it, hoping to give him some confidence.
She also needed some herself.
Step by step, they followed the dragon. It didn't move with great haste, though every movement it made showed more and more irritation. Kara and Berig remained silent, but there was no telling how long they'd go unnoticed. She felt as if she couldn't breathe.
But she kept going forward, trusting her instincts.
About halfway across the chamber, standing atop a rocky ledge, she looked beyond the dragon to where two people huddled together in a corner of the chamber. She had no idea why two people were here, or why the undead soldiers had directed her and Berig here, but after so long being guided by the Webs of Fate, she'd learned to expect bizarre circumstances.
"We have to help them," Kara said.
Berig's eyes were wide. "I know."
Chapter 52: Reunion
Berig raced across the chamber, following the dragon as it closed in on its hapless victims. He hadn't used his magic all that much, but he knew he could send shards of ice at the dragon. Would it be enough? He didn't know, but he had to try.
He pointed a finger at the dragon's back and sent a shard of ice at lightning speed. The ice slammed into one of the dragon's spines, shattering harmlessly.
"Dammit," Berig said. "I don't know what to do."
He tried to summon rocks from the sky as they had during the battle on the airship, but most of that had been Markus. Berig knew, even before he tried, that he wouldn't succeed. He focused intently, but no rocks came.
He doubted any amount of wind could affect a creature this large, and none of his magic was that powerful anyways. Again, it had all been Markus. He'd gotten all the power.
Berig had only a long dagger, and that couldn't cut through the dragon's thick scales. He turned to Kara, praying she'd have an answer. "You have to do something. Use your magic."
She adopted a look of deep concentration, and after a few moments, flames surged around the dragon. The flames didn't appear to harm the beast. They succeeded only in making it turn around, setting its terrifying gaze on them.
Smoke furled from its nostrils, and it opened its mouth wide. Flames gathered in its maw. Berig cringed, knowing he had no defense against the fire, and closed his eyes, waiting for the end. The heat blasted him, but it didn't feel as hot as he'd expected.
He opened his eyes to see Kara facing the dragon, her gaze fierce. She must have created some kind of shield with her strange magic. But how long would it hold?
The flames continued for what felt like an eternity. Berig used his Earth magic, sending a few blasts of jagged rock back at the dragon. With the flames in the way, he couldn't see if they struck the beast, but he kept at it, praying he'd accomplish something. Anything.
The fire died down. Berig stared toward the dragon to see a bit of smoke still coming from its mouth, but it appeared to have run out of fire. This was their chance. Maybe.
But now the dragon lowered its massive jaws toward them. It was so large it wouldn't even have to chew them. The open mouth came toward Berig, and he sent a shard of ice flying up toward it. Not his best effort, but what else could he do?
The ice flew into the dragon's open mouth and struck the bony ridges behind its upper teeth. To Berig's surprise, the dragon flinched away, letting out a horrible shriek.
"I actually hurt it!" Berig shouted, jumping twice in excitement.
The dragon was more measured in its next attempt. It kept its mouth closed, keeping Berig from using the same trick again.
Smart creature. He had to respect that.
Even if it was about to eat him.
But then he spotted the underside of its chin. Skin, not scales. He had a chance. Acting on instinct, he flung jagged rocks upward. They slammed against the dragon's chin with such force that they went straight through the skin and into its mouth. This time, the beast reeled backward, stomping its massive feet and making the entire cavern tremble.
Berig hit the ground amidst the tremor and scraped his arms, but he was back on his feet immediately. Now the dragon was enraged. It swung one of its massive claws at them. One look at those claws and Berig's insides turned to water. He leapt to the side at the last moment, dodging a swipe that would have sliced him in half.
Kara screamed from his right. He turned, expecting the worst, but the dragon had only knocked her to the ground. She was back up at once, her gaze intense as she sent a massive field of lightning at the dragon. Berig ducked low, remaining beneath her spell.
The lightning crackled all around, filling the air with its strange energy. When the spell struck the dragon, its shriek was louder than any sound Berig had ever heard. Not even the monster in Bradenton had been that loud. Berig covered his ears, but the shriek still felt as if it were stabbing his ears. His head felt like it would explode from the force of the sound. The chamber shook more and more as the dragon stomped around in pain.
"Keep that spell going!" Berig shouted. "I'll check on the people over there."
Kara nodded, keeping her focus on the spell. As Berig raced around the chamber, he ducked beneath her magic. He circled the dragon, giving it a wide berth. Its movements were erratic, and every step it took nearly knocked him off his feet.
At the far corner of the room, the other two people stood there as if they didn't know what they should do. As Berig neared them, a sense of familiarity tugged at him.
He knew these people.
But it was too dark to make them out clearly. Not yet. Berig raced toward them, keeping an eye on the dragon, but it had turned all its attention toward Kara. It advanced on her with unsteady but menacing steps, shaking the cavern. Her spell held it back just enough that it couldn't reach her. But how long could she hold on to that spell?
World in Chains- The Complete Series Page 170