"You need to protect us both with a shield," Darien said. "Can you do that?"
"I can try."
Markus's shield wasn't very effective, but it kept some of the rocks from slamming into them. Darien focused on his teleportation spell, choosing the destination and extending its effects to Markus. Normally, he would have had no trouble conjuring this spell, but the battle with Krinir had weakened him. He didn't know if he'd have enough time.
* * * * *
Nadia emerged from the fortress, Rik at her side. They were both exhausted, doubling over at times as they sprinted across the trembling landscape. More and more of the rocks were falling into the lava below. Up ahead, most of the sorcerers had already reached the gateway. It shimmered on the distant horizon, looking as if it were miles away.
But Nadia would not give up. Not now. She kept thinking of Markus down in the fortress with Warrick. Warrick had made a promise to her, but would he hold to that promise?
No, she couldn't think about that right now. She returned all her attention to placing one foot in front of the other. Sweat dripped into her eyes. Her heart pounded a mighty drumbeat.
They were almost there.
Then the path ahead of them crumbled away, leaving a gaping hole that ran all the way down to a river of lava.
"We can make that jump," Nadia said. She drew on her Lightning magic, using it to aid her speed and jumping ability. Once the spell reached its full strength, she raced toward the chasm, and then she jumped, aided by the spell. Her stomach lurched as she soared through the air, her legs flailing uselessly.
But she did land on the other side. Rik followed behind her, pointing his staff downward and generating a gust of wind that propelled him over the gap.
"Conquered your fear of heights?" she asked.
"No, but there's no point giving in to it now."
"We're almost there," she said, pointing to the gateway about thirty feet ahead. Barely able to stay upright, they covered those last thirty feet. Kara stood by the gateway, her eyes wide as she watched the world coming apart around them.
"Warrick and Markus are still coming," Rik said. "Wait for them."
"I have to close this gate before the world is destroyed," Kara said. "If I don't, Krinir might be able to find a way back."
Nadia wiped sweat from her forehead. "Please, Kara, wait as long as you can."
"I will, Nadia, but that's all I can promise."
Nadia grabbed Rik's arm, and together they tumbled through the gateway.
Chapter 71: One Last Hope
Kara waited beside the gateway as the world fell apart around her. She could barely stay on her feet amidst the trembling. Scanning the distance, she looked for Markus and Warrick, but she didn't see them. Near the fortress, Krinir remained imprisoned, but how long would that last? She watched him warily, her heart pounding in her ears.
Then they appeared. Markus and Warrick materialized right in front of her. They staggered toward the gateway.
"Hurry," she said.
"Thank you for waiting," Markus said, doubled over in exhaustion.
"Don't thank me. Go through that gate and make Nadia happy for the rest of her life."
"Don't worry," Markus said. "I will."
She turned to Warrick. "Darien, I will miss you."
"And I will miss you, too, Kara." With that, Warrick dragged Markus through the gate. As soon as they passed through, she focused on Traveling. Before, she'd opened a gate. Now she focused on destroying that gate. To her surprise, the magic came to her naturally. She felt the gateway within her, felt the massive distance between worlds, and shattered that connection.
The gateway disappeared, and with it she lost all hope of seeing her world again.
The trembling had become worse than ever. The rocks beneath her crumbled, and she slipped toward the lava. But she had one last hope. She did not know how to Travel to any world she wanted, but she could remember one other world she had seen.
A world that wasn't closed off to her forever.
Clinging to a trembling ledge, she focused on the snow-covered world where she had gained her Sunweaving talents, the world in which she was now a goddess. The gateway didn't come at first, and panic gripped her. She felt on the verge of tears.
Focus, she told herself. Amidst the trembling and the geysers of lava, only one thing mattered: creating the gateway. It felt as if it took hours, but in reality, it was a minute, maybe two. Just when she felt the gateway about to materialize, though, the ledge gave way beneath her.
As she fell toward the lava, panic gripping her in its talons, she opened the gateway.
It formed below her, and she fell into it.
The next thing she knew, she landed in the snow. She got to her feet, brushing the snow off her clothes, and surveyed the world around her. Wind-driven snow blasted her from every direction, and mountains loomed in the distance.
She had no idea if anyone lived in this cold and barren world, but it was the only option she'd had. Time to make the best of it.
In this frozen world, Kara would begin her new life.
* * * * *
Nadia lay on a bed in the Tower of Light, Markus beside her. They'd rested a long time after the battle with Krinir. Nadia didn't want to talk to anybody, didn't want to think about everyone they'd lost. She hoped Kara was still alive somewhere, but there was no way to know.
As for Markus, he'd taken the loss of his uncle hard at first, but now he'd come to terms with it. His uncle had died a hero. There had been many heroes in recent months. It was strange to think that everything had begun such a short time ago. Nadia felt as if she'd lived countless lives in that short span.
Now the world needed to recover. Thankfully, Krinir had not destroyed much. In fact, much of the world had been unaffected by this short war. Nadia and Markus, and even Warrick, had stopped it before it could reach everyone else.
That afternoon, Nadia finally felt hungry again. She went to the dining chamber in the Tower of Light, Markus alongside her. They both ate as if they hadn't eaten in weeks. Nadia didn't even care that she was eating like the guards used to eat in the barracks.
Rik, Lara, and Klint joined them at the table, digging in as well. Apparently, saving the world had given everyone an enormous appetite.
The voice came from her right. "May I sit here?"
She looked up to see Warrick. Once, she would have felt violent hatred at the sight of him, but now she didn't know how to feel. She could never erase her memories of the man who'd taken her mother, but he'd proven himself a hero. Still, it was tough to forgive him. Though she understood that he'd been under Krinir's control, she thought he could have fought harder against that control.
Perhaps that was foolish emotion on her part, but she couldn't eliminate years of hatred so quickly. Despite her reservations she said, "Yes, please do sit with us."
"I never apologized for everything I did to you," Warrick said. "To all of you."
"I know you're sorry," Nadia said, a bit sharply.
Tense silence fell for a few moments.
"What're you gonna do now?" Markus asked.
"I don't intend to be an emperor anymore. I think I failed miserably at that. Instead, I'm going to go around the world, using my powers to make it a better place. There are still monsters out there. There are still people trapped in the Shadowed Land. The world is still full of corruption and prejudice and all others kinds of evils. I want to do what I can to fix this. That's all I ever wanted in the first place, before Krinir led me astray."
"That sounds like a good plan," Nadia said stiffly. She looked into Warrick's eyes, trying to understand him. "And I never did thank you for saving Markus. You could have left him there. You said yourself that you weren't sure you had enough time."
"I never could have lived with myself," Warrick said. "You forget that Markus is my grandson. I've already lost both my sons. He's the only family I have left."
Nadia hadn't thought much about Markus being rel
ated to Warrick. Now that she looked more closely, she could see the resemblance. It didn't change the way she felt about Markus. She'd loved him before she'd known, and she would still love him now, and for all eternity.
Which, she reminded herself, she might just live to see.
"You should join me from time to time," Warrick said to Markus. "I could use some help in my mission to improve the world."
"I'll think about it," Markus said. Nadia thought about arguing with him, but she could see that Markus truly wanted to help, and so did she. The world was not completely fixed yet, but together they could make sure it was.
"I have a lot of sins to atone for," Warrick said. "I don't know if eternity is long enough."
"Don't worry," Rik said. "I think God knows the truth."
Warrick laughed softly. "Let's hope you're right."
"I still hate you," Nadia said to him.
Warrick got up from the table and started to walk away. "I'd expect nothing less."
Author's Note
Thank you for taking a chance on this series. I hope you enjoyed it. If you want to be the first to know about new releases, you can sign up for my mailing list at ryanwmueller.com.
Or you can sign up directly by following this link from your e-book version: Ryan's Mailing List
Read on for a preview of my next series: Sunweaver. You might even find, as the series goes on, that you meet a familiar face.
About the author:
Ryan W. Mueller is an author of fantasy and science fiction for all ages. He enjoys talking about himself in the third person (who doesn't?).
He's a big fan of Brandon Sanderson, Brent Weeks, Jim Butcher, and many other fantasy authors. He first decided he wanted to be a writer at the age of 11 after he started reading Harry Potter. Between that and Super Nintendo RPGs, he was pretty much destined (or perhaps doomed) to become a fantasy writer, though he does like to branch out to science fiction occasionally. His fantasy is classic fantasy with modern twists. That is, you'll see a lot of familiar tropes, but he tries to put his own spin on them (hopefully with some success). For him, part of the joy of fantasy is the tropes, and as TVTropes would tell you, there is nothing wrong with tropes. It's all a matter of how you use them.
He enjoys connecting with readers and other writers. You can find him on Facebook as Ryan W. Mueller, on Twitter as @RW_Mueller, and on various fantasy forums including Fantasy Faction, SFFWorld, and Best Fantasy Books.
Sunweaver Preview
Chapter 1: The Missing Sunlord
The sun was dying, and Deril could do nothing about it.
He shivered in the chill air, looking up at the dim white sun, at the gray sky that mirrored his mood. Closing his eyes, he began his daily prayer to Aralea.
Please, Aralea, grant me the powers of a Sunlord. Let me follow in my father's footsteps. I can't keep living like this. The expectations, the failure, the looks people give me in the corridors—it's all too much. I feel like I'm going to break under the pressure. Why did you keep these powers from me?
Deril had tried too long to keep his anger concealed. He no longer cared. Aralea had done little to help him, little to help anyone in Tarileth. She deserved his anger.
Please, if you can't make me a Sunlord, give me some way I can prove myself. Some way I can make a difference. That's all I ask. When he finished praying, he was nearly in tears.
He opened his eyes and shivered again despite the chamber's Sunlamps. The world could not survive on Sunlamps alone. That much was obvious. It needed Deril's father, needed Deril. Fifteen years he'd trained alongside his twin brother Karik. Fifteen years and neither of them was a Sunlord.
They had failed, and their failure would doom the world.
At the open door, Deril passed his friend Tiran, one of the temple's Sun Guards. Tiran wore a golden surcoat lined with fur. Deril avoided his friend's gaze, hoping he could also avoid the shame burning within him.
Tiran put a hand on Deril's shoulder. "Did you find luck with the goddess?"
Deril barked a laugh. "I think you already know the answer to that."
"You'll find your powers one day."
The encouragement sounded false, but Tiran was only trying to be a good friend. The kind of friend Deril didn't deserve, for he brooded too often and spent most of his time obsessing over his training, hoping he'd missed something that would unlock his powers.
Hoping for a dream that seemed more elusive every day.
"Perhaps I will," Deril said. But never in the history of Tarileth had a Sunlord come into their powers after age twenty, and Deril was twenty-five.
"You don't believe that," Tiran said.
"It isn't easy to live with this burden."
"Maybe you need to do something different with your training," Tiran said, following Deril through the stone corridors. "Are you sure your father hasn't missed something?"
"It doesn't matter. It shouldn't be this hard." Deril thought of all the evenings he'd spent in the temple's library, reading every book they had on Sunweaving theory. It was possible that no one knew as much about Sunweaving as he did. So the fault had to lie with him.
It didn't matter what anyone said. Deril was not a Sunlord.
"I hate seeing you like this," Tiran said. "You used to be much happier."
"I was a child back then, and I thought I would come into my powers one day." Deril shook his head. "I don't know how Karik manages to stay so upbeat. If I didn't know better, I'd say he doesn't care about being a Sunlord. But how can he not care?"
"I'm sure he cares," Tiran said as they rounded a corner. He was about to say something else, but then a scream came from a nearby corridor, followed by a low rumble. Deril started toward the sound, hanging close to the golden-brown walls. A series of faint vibrations echoed, growing ever softer. What in the core was happening?
Tiran clutched at Deril's arm. "Be careful. You're too important to risk yourself."
Too important. That was the last thing he'd call himself, the last thing he deserved to be called. He rushed through the temple's wide stone corridors, Tiran at his side. The rumble didn't sound again; the vibrations had ceased.
They rounded a corner and came upon the bodies of two Sun Guards, who lay on the floor in pools of blood, their heads resting a few feet away. They'd been guarding the Sun Chamber, where Deril's father was using his Sunlord powers to strengthen the sun.
If something had happened to Deril's father—
No. His father had to be alive. He was the only Sunlord left.
Tiran grasped Deril's shoulder. "Stay out here."
"No. We can defend ourselves better if we stick together."
"All right," Tiran said, but he frowned as he pushed through the heavy stone door, entering the Sun Chamber. Deril followed, offering a silent prayer to Aralea—more for his father's safety than his own.
The chamber was empty.
At its other side, a gaping hole had opened in the wall. There was no blood on the floor, but someone had kidnapped the Sunlord, taking advantage of the weakness he experienced after fueling the sun for a few hours.
But who would kidnap the Sunlord? Without him, humanity would die.
"We need to inform Captain Hanir," Tiran said.
"I'm going after them. There might still be a chance to save my father."
"No," Tiran said. "You don't know what you're facing."
"We don't know what they intend either. If they're Fireweavers, they might be crazy enough to do anything, even kill him. We can't take that risk. You inform Hanir. I'm going."
"Well, I can't stop you," Tiran said. "But please be careful."
"I'll do what I can." Deril raced to the other side of the Sun Chamber, then through the hole in the wall.
The temple stood on a flat portion of a small mountain overlooking the city of Hyrandel, so whoever had kidnapped Deril's father had to go down the mountain. In addition, dozens of Sun Guards patrolled the perimeter of the temple grounds, and a wall surrounded the temple
.
How could anyone get through?
A light blanket of snow covered the rocky mountain, though it was too warm today for more to fall. Deril held his cloak tight about his shoulders and sprinted through the snow. The wheels of a horse-drawn wagon had left small indentations. Deril followed the tracks around the south side of the temple until he reached the enormous stone gate.
Closed. Of course. And the wheel tracks traveled right through it, past the two Sun Guards stationed there.
"Is everything all right?" asked one of them, a dark-haired young woman.
Deril tried to catch his breath. "Did you let a wagon through here?"
"Yes, my lord," said the other guard, an older man. "It was your brother's wagon."
"My brother?" Deril said. What in the core did Karik have to do with this? Perhaps someone had kidnapped him as well, and forced him to act as though everything were all right.
"Nothing seemed amiss," said the first guard, shifting her stance nervously. She shrank away from Deril's gaze as though he intimidated her.
"Well, someone kidnapped my father," he said, "and perhaps my brother as well. However they managed to do it, they got away in that wagon."
The man looked pale, but he maintained a calm mask. "Does Captain Hanir know about this?"
"Tiran's telling him," Deril said. "But we're running out of time. Open the damn gate."
He banged on the stone, and pain shot through his fist.
"Of course, my lord," said the woman, regaining a little composure. The two guards, talented at Yellow/Green Sunweaving, focused on the gate, and it rumbled open. Deril dashed through the opening as soon as he could fit, ignoring the guards' cries for caution. Their booted steps sounded behind him, but he didn't wait.
A winding road led down the mountain. Deril peered over the nearest cliff and caught movement far below, passing between clusters of evergreen trees.
World in Chains- The Complete Series Page 184