“Then what do I do?” Will asked.
There is nothing that can be done, she said.
“So, what, I’ll eventually turn into Drygo?”
It is possible, but unlikely, Lotess explained. Iket was already mad before Drygo obtained his stone.
“What happens next?” Will wondered.
If you are not careful, you’ll begin to think of yourself more highly than you ought. You’ll begin to rely only upon yourself and push your friends away, Lotess said. I’ve seen it time and again among the kings of men who did not have the powers you possess.
“You’re saying I’ll just become an arrogant jerk?” Will asked. “That’s it?”
In a manner of speaking.
“That’s not so bad,” Will said, shrugging off his worry.
Lotess coughed.
“What?” he asked.
‘A man without friends, though he has power, is like a damsel locked in a tower.’
“Umm…”
‘As power corrupts, evil will rise. Heroes then rally to bring his demise.’
“What does this all have to do with me killing some elves?”
I’m saying actions have consequences. Before jumping haphazardly into something, you need to weigh the situation and consider all the facts, because if you keep using violence as a first resort, you’ll find yourself doing something you can never take back.
“I—”
“Get your hands off of me!” a young girl shouted.
Will dropped down into a crouch as he listened.
“I can walk just fine on my own, thank you very much,” the voice said again.
Will crept through the forest without making a sound.
A moment later, four ruffians and a young girl came into view. Will ducked behind a tree and peered out from behind it. A big man with a red eye and a scowl on his face held the girl by the back of her cloak, shoving her forward. The others seemed to give them a wide berth.
Will made a couple of assumptions in the span of a heartbeat. This group was up to no good, the big guy was the leader, and the girl was their captive. The men needed to die. He started to move away from the tree, but stopped as he recalled his conversation with Lotess just seconds earlier.
No, Will told himself. Don’t jump to conclusions. I should just be on my way.
An innocent girl is in trouble and now you want to mind your own business? Lotess asked.
You don’t know if she’s in trouble, Will protested. She could just be sick and he’s helping her along.
She didn’t seem sick, Lotess replied.
Look, am I supposed to take matters into my own hands or not? he asked. You’re giving me conflicting information.
Lotess sighed in frustration. Helping people is the right thing to do. Killing them with wanton abandonment is not.
A twig snapped.
“What was that?” one of the ruffians asked.
The man with the red eye pulled the girl in closer to him and said, “Say a word and I’ll kill you.”
All right, definitely not their friend. Can I intervene now? Will asked.
What do you think I’ve been trying to tell you?
Stepping into their path, Will said, “Let her go!”
The party stopped, and the four men pulled in closer, surrounding the girl.
“Keep moving and you won’t get hurt,” the man with the red eye said.
“The only ones getting hurt are you if you don’t do what I say,” Will said.
“Ha!” the man replied. “Hahaha! Get a load of this guy. You think you can take all four of us… unarmed?”
Will cracked his knuckles and stretched his neck, readying for a fight.
What did I say about resorting to violence? Lotess asked.
Before Will could respond, the closest ruffian got up in his face and poked a finger into his chest.
The man said, “You’d leave if you knew—”
Will’s body remained still, but his right hand shot out in soul form and took hold of the man’s throat.
16
“Hold up!” Bryn shouted. “What’s the rush? These old bones haven’t walked this far in a decade or more.”
Khate turned around and looked down the side of the mountain. Bryn was bent over, struggling to catch his breath.
“I told you that you should have stayed behind,” Khate said.
Bryn regained his composure, caught up with Khate, and said, “Not a chance. You think I’m going to sit around on my behind knowing a pretty lady like yourself could be in danger?”
“Chivalry and flattery?” Khate mused. “I’m not sure what’s worse, that you have such little esteem for my abilities or that you think a little flirting will change my mind about you coming.”
Bryn chuckled. “No hidden agendas here. Where I grew up, we were taught to respect women. You should know that as a fellow Celestian.”
“I didn’t move to Celesti until later in life,” Khate replied. “Where I was born… let’s just say women were treated more like chess pieces than people.”
“Let me guess, someone tried to marry you off for political gain, so you ran away?” Bryn asked.
“Not me,” Khate said, shaking her head. “My sister-in-law. But then we were attacked, her father died, and well, tragedy had a silver lining and she married her lover after all.”
“It sounds like you two were close,” Bryn said.
Khate sighed.
“Did I say something wrong?”
“Truth is, I wasn’t really close to anyone except my twin brother,” Khate explained. “Even my sister was always off with her lover, but I never got invited to the party. Wouldn’t have gone even if I had. Who wants to be the third wheel?”
Khate looked away and closed her eyes. She hadn’t thought about her previous life in ages. It ripped open old wounds she’d fought so hard to sew shut. Losing her sister had been one of the hardest things for her to endure.
Taking a deep breath, she continued forward with Bryn at her heels. As they drew nearer to Mount Hanwick, the smell of sulfur drifted in on the winds and the clouds began to darken.
Aralith’s only active volcano had been flowing for the last forty-five years. One of the reasons Drygo had established a military base on the island was to harvest the rare resource known as pyridis. It was created when lightning struck the lava, encasing a bit of lava and gas inside a heat-resistant glass-like stone. After significant gas build-up, the pyridis became a deadly explosive.
Drygo had mostly used it for clearing boulders from roadways and passages, but, during the Unification, the king had used it to completely level Haerford Castle in Berxley or so Ocken had told her.
With the riots going on, Khate didn’t think there would be any pyridis harvesters nearby, but she couldn’t be sure. She and Bryn moved just off the main road as the entrance to the great volcano came into sight about a mile away.
There was no movement, nor evidence of anyone having been at the volcano recently, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t take the necessary precautions. The closer they got, the hotter the air became. The air was so stifling Khate found it difficult to breathe and sweat began accumulating on her brow.
The outside wall of the volcano closest to them jutted up toward the sky. At the back, the volcanoes rim sloped downward and evened out at about half the height of the tallest point. From their current angle, Khate could see that the back end was about level with the ground, rising up an additional ten to twenty feet.
A red glow painted the clouds as well as emitted from the lone doorway hewn out of the rock in front of them. A small stone bridge extended from the road to the volcano, creating a kind of moat around the mountain.
Khate supposed it was in case Mount Hanwick ever blew its top. But she understood that hadn’t happened in nearly a hundred years. Of late, it was an oozing volcano—active and bubbling, but no more than that.
Glancing back down the road and into the volcano’s entrance as best she could, Kha
te determined no one was coming and cautiously stepped out into the open.
“What is it that you’re looking for anyway?” Bryn wondered.
Khate glared at him.
“I’m sorry,” he said, “but if I’m going to help you find whatever it is you want, I need to know what exactly you’re after.”
“A stone” she replied flatly.
“I found one,” he said, picking up a pebble from off the ground. He stared at her and raised his eyebrows, then tossed the stone over his shoulder down into the gorge surrounding the volcano. “Will you just level with me? I’ve done right by you, haven’t I, lass? Saved your hide, transported you to Kent, and even offered to assist in your endeavor. What more do I need to do to gain your trust?”
Khate sighed and whispered, “I’m looking for a soul stone.”
“Beggin’ your pardon?” he asked as he cupped his hand to his ear.
“A soul stone,” she said louder. “We’re hunting a soul stone.”
Bryn recoiled. “What in Iket’s name are you doing on this fool’s errand? And now you’ve dragged me into it.”
Khate huffed and rolled her eyes. “This is why I didn’t want to tell you.”
“I apologize, lass,” Bryn said, his bluster deflating, “but you must know as well as I that those are only a legend. An old wives’ tale spread by the crown to keep the people in line. Make the people think the king possesses the power of some—”
Khate glared at him.
“Sorry, go on.”
“It’s not a fool’s quest and they’re real,” Khate said. “Don’t ask me how I know. It’s a terribly long story I don’t care to relive, but trust me when I say this is no fable. The crown took my husband and my children from me and I’ll stop at nothing to put an end to this tyranny.”
“I hate to break it to you,” Bryn said. “But in case you haven’t heard, Drygo is dead. You don’t need to do this anymore.”
“I understand that. But, I don’t know, I’ve just got this feeling, like that wasn’t the last of it,” Khate said. “Plus, I’ve come this far. I’m not stopping until I see it through.”
“All right,” Bryn said, shrugging his shoulders. “Let’s get on with it.”
Khate led the way as they stepped across the bridge and into the dark tunnel that went through the mountain.
“What’s it look like?”
“Hmm?” Khate replied.
“The stone. What’s it look like?” Bryn repeated.
“Gods if I know.”
“Hold up,” he said, stopping. “You don’t even know what you’re trying to find?”
“If it’s like the last one I saw, it’ll be a black gem,” she said. “Let’s go, I don’t want to get caught.”
As they emerged from the tunnel, Khate stopped in her tracks as she took in the sight. A wide expanse that resembled a meteor crater stretched out before her. Across the floor of the volcano, scattered pools of lava bubbled and churned. A few stone buildings had been erected near the largest cluster of them, a railway leading from the structures all the way up a slope along the inside wall to where Khate and Bryn now stood. A large cart sat on the track near the lava pools.
But perhaps the most striking feature in the scene before her was the giant statue of a dragon that was perched on the opposed rim of the volcano. It was on all fours, its stomach close to the ground, its neck lunging forward, wings outstretched. From its mouth, fire gushed forth in an endless stream.
“Interesting feature,” Bryn remarked. “Perhaps it serves as a vent of some kind? A release of the volcano’s pressure and a way to keep the temperature from becoming unbearably hot?”
“Is that how they’ve managed to keep it from blowing its top?” Khate wondered.
Bryn shrugged. “Your guess is as—”
“Hey! What are you doing?” a voice yelled out.
Khate and Bryn dropped to the ground. They crawled to the edge of the platform and peered out over the expanse. Khate’s eyes darted around, looking for the source of the voice.
“Get back to work!” the voice shouted.
A man stepped out from the largest of the structures and cracked a whip at an unseen target. Judging by the howl that pierced the air, Khate guessed it had hit its mark.
“Slaves?” Khate wondered, a hint of disgust in her voice.
“What?” Bryn asked. “You expected the soldiers to do the harvesting?”
Khate puckered her features, but didn’t say anything. Regardless of the methods used to harvest the pyridis, this was going to be problematic. If there were people here, she wasn’t going to be able to conduct a proper search of the area and find the stone.
“We need to take care of that guard,” Khate said.
“I was thinking the same thing,” Bryn said. “Any ideas?”
“We could try setting the prisoners free. Then the guards will have to chase after them,” Khate replied. “Should buy us some time.”
“Sounds like a plan, though I think you’d be dooming the slaves to death,” Bryn said.
“Or releasing them from bondage,” Khate said. “Either way, life or death, it has got to be better than this hellhole.”
“I’m not sure they would agree,” he said.
“Got any better ideas?” she asked.
After a brief moment he said, “No. Let’s get on with it… but keep an eye out! There might be more of them.”
Khate nodded.
Hopping up into a crouching position, they snuck down the curving ramp that led to the volcano floor and passed by a lava pit—the bubbles splattering molten liquid onto the ground an inch from Khate’s feet.
“Careful!” Bryn whispered as loud as he dared.
Khate stepped away from the edge of the pit, falling in line behind Bryn. When they reached the guard station, they stood to their full height and laid their backs flat against the wall.
“You go free the prisoners,” Khate whispered. “I’ll distract the guard.”
Bryn nodded and crept along the wall to the other side of the structure.
Picking up a couple of rocks, Khate tossed one of them into a nearby lava pit. It made a soft splash that was easily stifled by the constant bubbling of the boiling lava. The guard hadn’t even noticed.
Khate threw another one and it solidly hit the ground a few feet from where Khate guessed the guard had stood. At first nothing happened, but then soft footsteps started drawing closer.
The guard appeared, walking away from Khate to examine the source of the sound. He quickly gave up his mission, though, and made to return to his watch over the prisoners. Khate needed to buy Bryn more time, so she tossed another stone.
Instead of looking for the rock, the guard spun in a circle until he spotted Khate.
“Hey!” he shouted, lifting his halberd. “Who are you? What are you doing here?”
Khate cursed—no use being sneaky now. She charged at him in hopes of taking him by surprise. Slamming into his chest, they both fell to the ground, Khate landing on top, the shaft of the halberd between her and the guard.
He shoved up with his halberd, tossing Khate off. She was starting to wish she’d brought her sword with her.
Settling down into a defensive position, Khate prepared to face off with the man.
A lumbering swing came in low.
Khate hopped over it and danced around, leading the guard away from Bryn and the prisoners.
As the halberd sliced down, Khate sidestepped.
The guard lunged at her, though she simply jumped backward and out of reach.
Khate smiled at the rush of adrenaline, but the guard only growled in frustration as he brought his weapon in for another pass. Then the man’s demeanor changed and a wicked smile splayed across his face.
His attacks became more ferocious, slicing back and forth and stabbing forward. Khate continued to dodge them, despite their increased speed.
As Khate stepped back to avoid another blow, her foot began to slip and she glan
ced back to find herself teetering at the edge of a lava pool. She waved her arms to keep her balance.
The guard laughed in victory and brought the shaft of his weapon up against Khate’s chest and shoved her back. She grabbed ahold of the halberd, pulled herself back up onto solid ground, and spun. The force of her twist knocked the guard off balance and he fell into the lava pool.
The man screamed for a second and a half before the hot liquid killed him.
Breathing heavily, Khate tumbled to the ground on her back.
Bryn’s face appeared above her a moment later. He held his hand out to her. Taking it, she pulled herself to her feet.
“The slaves are free,” Bryn announced.
“A lot of good that does anymore,” Khate said.
“Distraction or no, it’s a good thing we did,” Bryn offered.
“A man died in the worst possible way imaginable,” she said, her mouth open.
“Look on the bright side, he didn’t feel it long.”
“Nothing dampens your mood does it?” Khate asked.
“Lass, when you get to be as old as me you learn real quick you can’t change the past and there’s no use being upset about it. You’ll only make yourself feel worse,” he said. “Try as you might, you can’t bring him back. Just promise yourself never to throw a man into a lava pit again, and do your best to uphold it.”
“Noted,” Khate said with a smirk. “Now let’s find that stone before someone comes to check on the operation here.”
“Where do we start?” Bryn asked.
“I don’t know,” she said, wiping the sweat from her forehead.
“What do you mean you don’t know?” he echoed.
“The map pointed to the volcano,” she explained. “It didn’t say where in the volcano it would be. And this is assuming no one beat us to it. It’s not a magical map that follows the stone wherever it goes, you know.”
“Well, we better get started, then,” he said. “I’ll search the slave barracks while you check the guard house.”
Khate nodded and left Bryn behind, entering the building the guard had exited when they’d first seen him. It was a fairly small room and couldn’t have been much larger than fifteen feet by fifteen feet.
Soul Shade (Soul Stones Book 2) Page 11