Runic Revelation (The Runic Series Book 2)

by Clayton Wood

  “It's a Chosen!” he bellowed. “We need to evacuate everyone!”

  “You first,” Urson countered, pushing Kalibar back. “We'll delay them.”

  “What about Erasmus?” Kalibar pressed.

  “We'll get him out,” Urson promised. Kalibar nodded, letting himself be pulled back by his Battle-Weavers. Kyle felt hands on his shoulders, and was pulled back with Kalibar and Goran, Ariana at his side. Before Kyle knew it, they were surrounded by a ring of Battle-Weavers, a multi-layered blue hemisphere appearing around them all. They moved at a rapid but steady pace out of the lobby and into one of the hallways. Kyle glanced backward, seeing the lobby doors shudder again, another deep boom echoing through the room. Then he heard a horrible cracking sound, and the doors burst open. Rays of blue light arose from the Battle-Weavers standing closest to the doors, sucking outward into the night air. The Weavers scrambled backward, gravity shields appearing around them, then vanishing as quickly as they had formed. More blue light was sucked from them, and Kyle saw Urson levitating backward above the floor, beyond the range of the blue light, barking out orders.

  And then the blue light vanished.

  Kyle felt himself getting spun about, felt hands under his armpits, lifting him upward. He was carried forward, caught in a dense mob rushing down the hallway. Kyle heard screams coming from behind them, and the wind howling past their protective shield. The screams became higher-pitched, a horrible crunching sound echoing down the hallway. Kyle tried to turn around to see what was happening, but the arms holding him were like iron. The Battle-Weavers broke into an all-out run, pulling their charges toward the riser in the distance.

  “Ariana!” Kyle yelled, realizing he couldn't see her. He felt the hands gripping him from behind squeeze him, and turned to see Ariana right behind him. Within moments, they reached the riser, along with Kalibar, Goran, and a few Battle-Weavers. Kyle turned around, staring down the hallway, at the lobby.

  The floors were covered with blood.

  Kyle felt his stomach churn, and he turned away, glancing at Ariana, who was still looking down the hallway. As the riser began to lift upward, her eyes widened, and she pointed forward.

  “Watch out!” she cried.

  Kyle turned back, saw a small white sphere flying through the air out of the lobby and into the hallway. Blue light sucked into it from every nearby surface. The magical lanterns bolted on the walls went dark as it passed.

  “Fly, now!” Kalibar shouted.

  The riser began to accelerate upward, but Kalibar was already flying upward even faster, rising off of the platform and into the air. Kyle activated his own gravity boots, wrapping an arm around Ariana's waist. She clung to him tightly, and he flew up into the air, the Battle-Weavers and Goran doing the same. Kyle saw the riser platform below him begin to glow blue, the light flowing out into the Void sphere.

  “Go, go!” Kalibar urged.

  Kyle saw Kalibar shoot upward even faster, and pushed magic into his own gravity boots. He blasted upward, Ariana gripping him so tightly that it was painful. He pushed through the discomfort, matching speeds with Kalibar and the Battle-Weavers. The riser – now some forty feet below – slowed its ascent, then stopped.

  Then it fell.

  Kyle turned his gaze upward, the riser shaft extending as far as he could see. Each floor of the Tower zipped by in a rapid blur, the magically powered lights on the circular walls glowing bright white. Kyle heard a loud boom from below, and looked downward, seeing the riser smash into the ground floor far below. Kyle felt a sudden burst of hope...the riser must have fallen on top of the Void sphere, after all. Surely the sphere couldn't have survived such an impact! But as he watched, the lights on the bottom of the shaft dimmed, then winked out, faint blue light pulling from the walls inward toward the center.

  “It's following us!” Kyle yelled. Kalibar turned to Goran.

  “We stop at the 40th floor,” he shouted. Goran nodded, relaying the message to the Battle-Weavers. Kyle glanced downward again, watching as the lights in the riser shaft winked out floor by floor, the darkness moving upward toward them. Ariana looked down, then tightened her grip on Kyle, her powerful arms nearly crushing his ribs. He realized that she had no idea about the gravity boots' stabilization fields...she didn't realize that she barely needed to hang on to him at all.

  “Easy,” Kyle told her, trying to pry her arms from his chest. Ariana nodded, relaxing her grip. Then he felt something tapping his shoulder. It was Kalibar.

  “Slow down!” he shouted, suddenly dropping below Kyle. Goran and the Battle-Weavers did the same, and Kyle cut back on his magic stream, rapidly decelerating. He glanced upward, seeing that they only had a half-dozen more floors to go before they reached the top. “Stop at the third from last,” Kalibar ordered. Kyle eased back, slowing even further, trying to match Kalibar. The Grand Weaver slowed, then stopped at the third to last floor, shooting forward out of the riser and into the hallway, Goran and the Battle-Weavers following close behind. Kyle overshot a bit, stopping at the 41st floor.

  “Kyle!” Ariana warned.

  “I know!” he shot back, rapidly switching crystals, dropping downward through the shaft. Ariana shook her head, pinching his arm – hard.

  “No, look!”

  Kyle glanced down, realizing that the bottom half of the riser shaft had been left in darkness. And that no more lights were being shut off.

  The hair on the back of his neck stood on end.

  A high-pitched wail sounded throughout the wide shaft, and Kyle felt a blast of air tug at them, pulling them violently downward. He cried out, dropping rapidly, quickly passing below the 40th floor. The wailing sound intensified until it was a hideous screech, a torrent of wind sucking Kyle and Ariana downward. Kyle thrust magic at his boots, their descent slowing...but not stopping. He grit his teeth, shoving as much magic as he could at them, his mind struggling to keep up with the massive drain on his reserves. An hour or two of sleep had greatly replenished him, but he was nowhere near his full strength.

  Their descent slowed, then stopped.

  Kyle closed his eyes, the magic in his mind becoming more difficult to stream. He knew that he was running out – and no matter how hard he tried, they weren't moving upward against the powerful suction created by the Void sphere's gravity fields. He felt himself slipping downward, felt terror twist his guts as he realized that there was no way they were going to make it. He cried out, shoving as much magic as he could into the stream, giving everything he had left in one final burst.

  Kyle shot upward through the shaft, rising upward against the powerful current, until the 40th floor came into view, with Kalibar standing at the edge of the riser shaft.

  “Come on!” the old man shouted. Kyle felt a vibration, and then a blue sphere surrounded him and Ariana, and he was pulled upward and forward into the hallway past Kalibar. The sphere surrounding them vanished, a powerful wind ripping through Kyle hair, but it was nowhere near as strong as the current in the tunnel below. Kyle braced himself against the wall, pulling himself forward down the hallway. He could see Goran and the Battle-Weavers a few dozen feet ahead.

  “Go, go!” Kalibar shouted, activating his own gravity boots and shooting down the hallway. Kyle followed suit, wrapping an arm around Ariana and lifting off of the ground, flying down the hallway after Kalibar. He picked up speed, catching up with the others in short order. Kyle felt Ariana tap his shoulder frantically, and he turned to glance at her.

  “Kyle, slow-”

  And then the wind stopped.

  Kyle felt himself burst forward, careening toward the door at the end of the hallway. He heard Ariana yell out, felt her yank on his shoulders, twisting him around. He tried to slow down, but as he was facing the opposite direction, he sped up instead. He switched crystals again, and then he felt something strike the back of his head, and there was darkness.

  * * *

  Kyle groaned, feeling himself being pulled up from the floor. He opened his eyes, s
eeing a concerned-looking Kalibar standing before him. Strong arms had lifted him up from behind; he slid up onto his feet, tottering a bit at first, then catching his balance. He turned around, and saw Ariana standing there, her eyes filled with worry.

  “You okay?” she asked. Kyle nodded sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head gingerly.

  “Yeah,” he replied. “What happened?”

  “You were going to smash into the wall,” she explained.

  “She twisted you around so you hit her instead of the stone wall,” Kalibar added. “You're lucky she did; I was looking in the opposite direction when the wind stopped.” He gave Kyle an approving look. “I don't know how you managed to escape the Void sphere,” he admitted. “I would never have had enough magic to do what you did.”

  “I thought I wasn't going to make it,” Kyle confessed.

  “But you did,” Ariana interjected, putting a hand on his shoulder and giving him a relieved smile. “You saved my life.”

  Kalibar cleared his throat then, staring down the hallway toward the riser shaft in the distance.

  “We should get moving,” he stated, gesturing for Goran and the Battle-Weavers to follow him to the door at the end of the hallway. Kyle immediately recognized it as the door to the evacuation tunnels far below the Tower, having gone through it once before. He followed Kalibar, Ariana walking at his side.

  “Thanks for saving me from the wall,” he said, giving her a smile.

  “I owed you,” she replied. Kyle frowned, remembering his head striking something curiously soft before blacking out.

  “Hey, you okay?” he asked. “Where did I hit you?”

  “I'm fine,” Ariana replied, her tone suddenly flat. He frowned, opening his mouth to repeat the question, but Ariana shot him a glare so venomous that his teeth clicked as his jaw snapped shut. Realizing that silence was almost certainly in his best interest, he said nothing more.

  “Kalibar!” Goran shouted, pointing down the hallway. Kyle turned, seeing the lights in the riser shaft wink out on the far end of the hallway behind them. His heart leaped into his chest, and he turned toward the door, pulling Ariana with him. Kalibar made it to the door first, flinging it open and gesturing for everyone to go through, but one of the Battle-Weavers grabbed the door and ushered Kalibar through first. Kyle followed close behind, passing through to see the familiar spiral staircase leading to the evacuation tunnels beyond, descending into darkness far below. He and Ariana began running down the steps, taking them two at a time.

  “Ariana, Kyle,” Kalibar called out, gesturing for them to come back up the steps. Kyle frowned, but complied. The Grand Weaver pointed down the center of the spiral staircase, a long, narrow drop downward. “We need to outrun that thing,” Kalibar stated. “Do you need me to give you some magic?” he asked Kyle, who paused, then shook his head.

  “I have some,” he replied.

  “Impressive,” Kalibar stated. “Use your gravity boots, then.” Then the old man vaulted over the railing with surprising ease, dropping downward. Goran followed suit, followed by the Battle-Weavers. Ariana grabbed onto Kyle, who gazed downward. The spiral staircase was pretty tight, the hole in the center narrow enough that a miscalculation could result in them slamming into the railing.

  “Get on my back,” Kyle told Ariana. She did so, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. He took a deep breath in, then activated his gravity boots, rising from the floor and over the railing. He maneuvered carefully to the center of the staircase, then dropped downward slowly. The walls from the staircase passed less than a foot from their shoulders as they dropped. He noticed a sudden flickering of light, and glanced upward, seeing blue light pulling from the walls and ceiling above.

  The Void sphere!

  Kyle fought down a wave of panic, steadily increasing his magic stream, accelerating downward quickly. The staircase zipped by faster and faster, a never-ending spiral into infinite blackness. He streamed even more magic to his boots, knowing that if the Void sphere managed to get within thirty or so feet from them, they'd be goners. And if it switched to its other mode...

  He glanced downward, spotting Kalibar standing on the floor a few stories below. He shifted his magic stream, feeling his stomach flip as they rapidly decelerated. The floor rose up to meet him...and then stopped a few feet from his boots.

  “Nice flying,” Kalibar stated approvingly. “Let's go,” he added, opening the door at the bottom of the stairwell and walking into the narrow, pitch-black tunnel beyond. Goran followed, and one of the Battle-Weavers gestured for Kyle and Ariana to follow behind Goran, the Weavers taking the rear. Kalibar created a light that floated above their heads, and they navigated through the tunnel as it twisted and turned through the earth. Kalibar set a quick pace, wanting to keep as much distance as possible between themselves and the Void sphere chasing them. Kyle glanced over his shoulder, peering beyond the Battle-Weavers, and saw only blackness beyond the short segment of illuminated tunnel.

  The tunnel stopped suddenly, branching out on either side in a 3-way intersection. Kalibar turned left without hesitation, Goran following silently. Kyle trailed the Councilman, Ariana at his side. He felt her hand grasp his, and despite the dry coolness of her skin, he was grateful for her touch. They moved quickly down the hallway, eventually coming to a door.

  “Interesting,” Kalibar murmured, placing one palm on the door and cracking it open. Goran frowned.

  “What?” he asked.

  “This is a master-level door,” Kalibar explained. “I had it installed by Jax himself after the assassination attempt against me.”

  “Why is it open?” Goran pressed.

  “It has no magic,” Kalibar answered, his tone grim. “And I'll give you one guess as to what removed that magic.” He shoved the door open all the way, peering through. There was nothing but an empty hallway beyond.

  “We don't have time for this,” Goran warned. “That thing is behind us.”

  “And what's in front of us?” Kalibar countered. “We must be cautious.” He gestured for the Battle-Weavers to take the lead, the three men walking through the doorway into the hallway. Kyle and Ariana followed Kalibar and Goran, until Kalibar halted abruptly, forcing Goran to stop behind him.

  “What is it?” the Councilman asked Kalibar.

  “Blood,” Kalibar answered. Kyle peered beyond Goran and Kalibar, spotting a hint of red staining the smooth brick of the tunnel floor. As they moved forward, the blood appeared on the walls, spots of it even appearing on the ceiling some two feet above their heads. Kyle made a face as he stepped in a puddle of maroon clots, the fluid dripping down from his boots every time he took a step forward. It wasn't long before they found the source of the blood...two corpses lying motionless on the ground. They were naked save for their undergarments.

  “Battle-Weavers,” Kalibar observed, bending over one of the bodies and tracing a finger across a tattoo on one of the corpse's shoulders. “They died recently, probably within the hour.”

  “Who killed them?” Goran asked. “And why don't they have any clothes on?”

  “I don't know,” Kalibar admitted, straightening up.

  “Ibicus had two men dressed as Battle-Weavers with him,” Ariana interjected. “Before he attacked us.”

  “That explains it,” Goran stated. “They're probably the Battle-Weavers you sent to search these tunnels earlier.”

  “They don't have any magic,” Kyle observed. And it was true; not a shred of blue light emanated from their bodies. Kalibar nodded, his expression grim.

  “A Void sphere must have drained them,” he deduced. “But it didn't kill them...their bodies are too intact.”

  “Whatever killed them,” Goran interjected, “...might still be down here.” Kalibar scanned the tunnel.

  “Perhaps,” he replied. “We should be cautious.”

  There was a loud bang behind them, and Kyle flinched, ducking his head. He spun about, but all he saw was the door behind him...closed.

 
; He'd left it open.

  The door began to rattle violently, a low-pitched howl coming from behind it. Kyle backpedaled, following Ariana further down the hallway. He felt his heel strike something, and fell backward, landing hard on the stone floor below. Something wet seeped into the back of his shirt.

  He rolled onto his side...and froze.

  A corpse stared back at him!

  Kyle scrambled to his feet, shuddering at the slick wetness dripping down his back, realizing that he'd tripped over one of the Battle-Weaver's corpses. He ran down the hallway after Kalibar and Goran, Ariana at his side. The howling sound behind them got louder and higher-pitched, until it was almost a scream. Kyle glanced backward, saw the door rip off of its hinges, flying backward into the hallway beyond. A sudden gust of wind tore at his hair and clothes, nearly yanking him off of his feet. He leaned forward against the wind, felt Ariana's arm around his waist, pulling him onward.

  And then the wind stopped.

  “Move, now!” he heard Kalibar shout.

  Kalibar and Goran burst into all all-out sprint, and Kyle and Ariana followed suit, pumping their legs as fast as they could go. They weaved down the hallway, following its twists and turns, the brick-lined walls giving way to rough-hewn rock ahead. Kyle felt Ariana grip his arm.

  “Kyle,” she gasped.

  He turned to her, realizing she was dropping behind. He pulled on her arm, but she continued to slow, stumbling forward and nearly slamming into the wall. Her eyelids fluttered, the skin of her forehead turning a faint blue.

  “Come on!” Kyle urged, grabbing both of her arms and yanking her onto her feet. But she wobbled, falling back onto the ground. Then Kyle saw the blue light rising up from his own skin, saw it shoot down the tunnel the way they'd come. “Kalibar!” he shouted.

  “Ivod!” Kalibar shouted back. “Pair mavu sill wes!”

  Kyle swore under his breath, scooping Ariana up in his arms and lifting her from the floor. He followed behind Kalibar, struggling to keep up with the Grand Weaver. Brilliant blue light rose from his body, shooting in the opposite direction. The light floating above his head winked out, leaving them in utter darkness.