Soul of Light (The Hidden Wizard Book 4)

by Vaughan W. Smith

  The Wizard Gate suddenly roared into life. Blistering heat issued out of the gate, and a shimmering image stabilised in front of them. It looked like a desert scene.

  “I don’t believe it.” Celes almost dropped the medallion.

  “I’m in shock.” Vincent looked back at Celes with a curious expression.

  “Maybe I should be a wizard.” Celes chuckled. “How long will this stay open?”

  “I don’t know, not long. If you go through, I can’t follow. One of us needs to be at Valrytir when Alrion gets there.”

  “We can find another one of these surely, don’t be silly.” Celes held out a hand for her husband.

  “I can’t. There’s too much at stake. Alrion could use this gate to shortcut much closer to Valrytir and we’ll miss him entirely.”

  He’s right. What do I do?”

  Celes looked from Vincent to the shimmering image. It was a big risk, stepping into the unknown. She wasn’t really equipped for a proper desert journey. But this opportunity was too good to pass up. She knew she could solve this puzzle, follow the trail, and find the answer. She would reveal the identity of the mysterious wizard. And find a way to reach Alrion in time.

  “I just feel it in my bones, I have to go.”

  “I know. If anyone can solve this, it’s you. I need to be there for Alrion, just in case. And if I get to Valrytir first I’ll check out the Wizard Store there.”

  “But you don’t have the medallion!”

  “I’m sure I can find a wizard.” Vincent walked forward and gave Celes a quick kiss.

  “Go, follow the trail. I’ll make sure he waits for you at Valrytir.”

  “You better!” Celes smiled and stepped through the gate, her whole world being enveloped in an intense white heat.

  26

  Reckoning

  Alrion approached the door with caution. It looked safe, but he didn’t trust it.

  “Can someone take a peek inside?”

  “Done.” Branthor disappeared and his footsteps showed him walking away. Within a minute he was visible again before them.

  “Nothing to report. We’ll need to rely on some inside information.” Branthor looked at Fermur and sneered. Fermur bowed his head and looked down.

  “Then let’s at least enter and assess the situation.” Alrion stepped inside and looked around. They found themselves in a large open room, barely furnished. There was only a round table with a few chairs in the corner. The stone floor was otherwise left bare.

  “There’s only one way through. Fermur, how far until the traps?” Lara said. Fermur held up two fingers.

  “Two rooms? Fine, let’s visit the next one.” Lara went first, and the rest followed. Alrion glanced at Branthor, trying to assess the wizard’s temperament. He seemed to be quietly muttering something, but otherwise focused.

  Just hold it together.

  The next room was much the same, only there was a statue in the middle. It was cast from a smooth black stone and showed a single figure holding a vial in one hand and a dagger in the other.

  “That’s Rindale,” Branthor said, spitting on the ground before the statue.

  “How nice,” Lara muttered.

  “What kind of traps? Can you tell us anything?” Alrion said to Fermur. The man tried to speak but nothing came out. He sighed and looked down.

  “Great. Just great.” Branthor strode forward and peered through the next doorway.

  “Lara and Alyx will assess then we will come up with a strategy,” Alrion said. Branthor lingered for a moment more, then stepped aside. Lara and Alyx walked up to the doorway.

  “This room is pretty obvious.” Lara pointed. Alrion saw a single path heading through the room. On each side was a sizable drop into pitch-black.

  “I think the lack of a handrail is hardly a trap,” Alrion said.

  “Look at the sides of the room.” Alyx pointed. Alrion stepped closer and focused. He saw small tube-like devices all around the room, all at the same height.

  “What are they?”

  “I bet they fire something horrible when you walk on the path.” Lara looked to Alyx. She nodded in agreement.

  “How did you get through all those times?” Alrion said to Fermur. He shrugged.

  “This is not exactly difficult.” Branthor strode ahead and raised stone walls either side of the path. He then broke off a pebble and flung it along the ground. The traps triggered, sending wave after wave of arrows from each wall. They bounced harmlessly off the stone walls and fell into the gap.

  “See?” Branthor started to walk along the path. It seemed safe. Alrion waved the others along and walked last, looking out. He couldn’t see anything else and Lara seemed satisfied, if still quite cautious.

  “Now I understand why you want to do it this way. The traps are childlike.” Branthor sneered. After his next step, a clicking sound happened, then a deep rumbling.

  “What was that?” Lara said. Alyx pointed to the far door.

  “Look!” Alyx started running towards it. A strange metallic substance was sliding down and closing the door. Branthor chuckled and threw waves of force at it. Nothing happened. The spells slid right off.

  “Now we’re in trouble. Run!” Alrion shouted. Branthor stood motionless, trying different spells. Alyx drew her sword and sliced away a big chunk of stone.

  “Use this,” she shouted to Alrion. He understood immediately, and propelled the stone under the door, slowing the descent of the metal. But the stone began to tremble.

  “We’re out of time. Get through the door!” Alrion ran forward with Alyx right beside him. Lara had dragged Fermur ahead and pushed him through the gap first.

  “Watch him,” Alrion said to Lara. She ducked through next.

  “You next.” Alyx pointed to the gap. Alrion created a wave of force and whisked Alyx through, despite her protests.

  “Branthor, there’s no time. Come with us.” Alrion held out a hand and beckoned for Branthor to join them.

  “C’mon, you can just reinforce the stone and come,” Alrion shouted. Branthor stood motionless.

  “No, I will not crawl through and abide these traps. I will not suffer the indignity and make that creature feel any delight at my expense. No, I will go back and do what I wanted to do the first time. I will destroy his home and him with it.” Branthor turned to leave.

  “No, don’t be foolish. We can do this together!” Alrion shouted.

  “Time’s up.” Alyx dragged him back. Within seconds the stone crumbled, and the door was sealed.

  “Well, that was interesting,” Lara said.

  “Yes, looks like we can’t brute force our way through these traps.”

  “I meant Branthor storming off by himself. So he can destroy the place.” Lara did not look impressed.

  “If there are traps here using magic-resistant materials, there will be there too. We might beat him there.” Alrion stood and took in the next room. There was a small platform just past where they were standing, then the rest of the space was full of water. The door was not visible.

  “Oh great, a water feature.” Lara sighed.

  “I can understand how Fermur could traverse this, I’m just wondering where the door is,” Alrion said.

  “I’m wondering why Fermur bothered to enter this way. Either he had a key to deactivate them, or the other route is rather inconvenient.”

  “It would have to be quite inconvenient to be worse than this.” Lara shook her head. Alrion chuckled.

  “Let’s hope so, for Branthor’s sake.” Alrion walked to the water’s edge. “I wonder what I can see.” Alrion enabled his enhanced vision and peered into the water. He could make out shapes below the surface, they looked to be metallic and seemed suspicious. He could see the door just below the surface, at the other end of the room.

  “The door is where it should be, just low enough to be in the water.”

  “Do you think we need to drain the water?” Lara said.

  “Or do we somehow move
the door?” Alyx added.

  “I don’t know. Have a look, see if there’s anything to interact with.” Alrion let his eyes wander over the walls, there was no detail whatsoever.

  “Have a look up there.” Lara pointed to the ceiling. Alrion could see something sticking out of the ceiling. It looked like a hook of some kind.

  “Do we have rope? We could perhaps swing across?” Alyx said.

  “I have some, but I’m not confident it’s long enough. And how would we get it there?”

  “I can help with that.” Alrion smiled and winked. Lara retrieved the rope and handed it to Alrion.

  “Oh yes, this won’t be long enough at all.”

  “Sorry, I wasn’t exactly planning for this. I can’t carry a whole store with me.”

  “No, don’t worry I’m glad we have something.” Alrion felt the rope in his hands. It wasn’t too heavy, but it would be problematic if it fell into the water. He prepared a visualisation, that there was a powerful layer of air covering the surface of the water and would stop things from falling in. He channelled some Spark and set the spell.

  “Lara, could you please let me know how cold the water is?”

  “Sure.” Lara bent down and reached for the water with her hand.

  “Hang on, something’s wrong.”

  “What is it?” Alrion feigned worry.

  “I can’t touch the water, something is stopping me.” She looked up to Alrion. He started chuckling.

  “Good, it’s working.”

  “That was not funny!” Lara shot him a dirty look but Alrion laughed even more.

  “Sorry, I just needed someone to test it. And I thought we could use a laugh.”

  “You thought you could use a laugh, actually.”

  “I found it amusing.” Alyx had a small smile, which quickly disappeared.

  “Careful, you’ll be a full-blown Branthor if you don’t watch yourself!” Lara smirked and laughed at Alrion’s reaction. He couldn’t stop the look of horror on his face.

  “Anyway, let’s give this a go.” Alrion threw the rope into the air then tried to catch it with waves of force. He didn’t quite get it, and the rope wobbled and fell back to the ground. Thankfully, it bounced and rested on the layer of air. Alrion shuddered slightly.

  “What’s wrong?” Lara said.

  “Maintaining the air while there’s an object trying to break through is quite taxing. I don’t want to overdo that.” Alrion took in a deep breath. Then he used a wave of force to encircle and grip the rope, ensuring it couldn’t fall through.

  “That’s better.” He slowly raised the rope until it was level with the large hook.

  “Now’s the tricky bit.” Alrion slowly adjusted the rope until it was above the hook. He gently lowered it, until it was hanging evenly over the hook. He released his spell and waited.

  The rope kept moving, sliding around the hook. But it settled down and was still.

  “Great work!” Lara slapped him on the back.

  “Now we can test it. It’s not long enough to reach, but can you pull the hook down with the rope?” Alyx said. Alrion nodded and concentrated once more. He used waves of force to grab the ends of the rope and pull it down. The hook started to move with a groan and a rumbling. Alrion started to release the spell.

  “Hold it!” Alyx shouted. Alrion scrambled to keep a hold of the spell and maintain the force on the rope. The rumbling continued until the doorway rose above the water.

  “Great work. It looks like there’s just enough of a platform across there to stand and open the door. We just need to get across.” Lara looked up at the hanging rope.

  “I don’t think we can use that to swing across.”

  “If Alrion has created a surface above the water, surely we can just walk across?” Alyx looked at Lara, and the two of them looked to Alrion.

  “We can try. It will just be difficult.” Alrion sat down near the water, cross-legged. He needed to concentrate very carefully.

  “Try to put one foot’s weight on,” he said. Lara walked over and carefully placed a foot down. As she increased her pressure, Alrion felt a pressure building within his head.

  “So far so good, try the other foot.” Alrion waited, and he could tell immediately when she had started, because he felt the pressure inside building again, even more.

  The Spark component of this spell is minimal. I’m doing this the hard way. I need to remember the Vault of Silence.

  Alrion tapped into his Soul Power and circulated it around his body. It seemed to calm him, knowing that he had another source of power, while his mind was under intense pressure. Then he focused, remembering the lessons of the past. The way he had escaped the Vault, and the way that Certan had taught them about the power of Will.

  It’s just like the trap you set for Fermur. Set a change and make it part of your beliefs.

  Alrion adjusted his mindset. It was like trying to make a puzzle piece fit. But when it suddenly did, the pressure in his mind became background noise.

  “I’m stable now. Go on. One at a time.” Alrion could tell that Lara was walking, but he tried not to focus on it. Instead, he found a piece of the wall that he could examine in detail. In the back of his mind, he was aware of Lara’s walking, but he didn’t overthink it. Soon, he felt a wave of relief and turned around to look. Lara was standing on the small platform at the other end.

  “Go, Fermur.” Alrion pointed to Lara. Fermur hesitated, looking over at Lara, and back at Alyx.

  “Go on.” Alyx nudged him forward and Fermur stepped out carefully. After testing that he seemed supported, he shuffled forward awkwardly. The strange and uneven gait did prove a distraction for Alrion, but he adjusted things so that it was normal. Before long, he was across too. The small platform was quite crowded with the two of them standing on it.

  “Feel free to open the door if you need to,” Alrion said.

  “We’ll wait as long as possible,” Lara shouted. Alrion nodded and gestured for Alyx to begin walking. She did so carefully and cautiously, her sword drawn the entire time. Alrion felt a little weariness from maintaining his Will but otherwise felt fine.

  This is working well. It should be fine to cross myself.

  Alyx could barely squeeze onto the platform as well.

  “Open the door, it’s fine now. Otherwise, I won’t have room to cross over.” Alrion stood and watched. Lara tried the door, and thankfully it opened inward.

  “Looks clear!”

  “I’ll make a start.” Alrion began to walk across when he heard something behind him. A piece of wall was opening, and something was coming out. It was a Shade.

  Time to move!

  Alrion didn’t trust his ability to maintain his Will-created platform and fight at the same time. He rushed across as fast as he could, trying not to think about the fact that it was carrying him. The Shade had realised that it could chase and was hurtling along.

  “Quick, get over here.” Alyx held out a hand for Alrion. He felt like the Shade was moments away, and his back twitched. He reached out and grabbed Alyx’s hand, letting his Will transformation fall away. Before he was whisked into the next room Alrion heard the satisfying sound of a large splash.

  27

  Succession

  Alrion surveyed the scene before him. His mind struggled to take it all in. The room was largely destroyed, with large stones wedged into all the walls and ceiling. A giant flaming hole showed where Branthor had entered the room. The bodies of Shades littered the ground, some even looking like Shade Wizards. In the centre of the room, Branthor and Rindale stood, arms locked together, stuck in an epic struggle.

  “Stay back!” Branthor shouted. Alrion looked to Lara and Alyx. They were just transfixed on the scene before them. Fermur was cowering in the corner. Alrion took one step closer and tried to analyse what was happening.

  Rindale had a long dagger with a jet-black blade pressed up against Branthor’s throat. Branthor had one hand protecting himself, and another pressed up
against Rindale. Rindale was covering that hand. It seemed like a stalemate.

  “I can sense the hatred in you, wizard. Why do you detest me so?” Rindale spoke like he was mocking Branthor.

  “You took everything from me, you monster!”

  “Oh, I really doubt that. All I did was inadvertently infect your beloved. You should be blaming the boy’s family for what happened.”

  “That was incidental, you caused it!” Branthor bellowed.

  “Granthion tasked you with following his son. Andar got himself caught and fled at the first opportunity. And Granthion withheld from you his spell to cure the Blight.” Rindale gave Branthor a wicked smile. “I’m almost innocent in this. All I did was pursue a man. You just got in the way.”

  “But it didn’t stop there, did it? You had to transform me into an abomination!” Branthor pushed back with intensity and Rindale almost lost his balance. But he regained his cool and his twisted smile returned.

  “You called me, what was I to do? You would have died. I gave you power and a way to get your revenge on the boy.”

  “No, you twisted my mind so that I was working for you.”

  “It was in both our interests, surely you can forgive that?” Rindale laughed. Alrion started to move forward but Lara held him back.

  “Don’t step in prematurely. Branthor is on edge, he might kill us all.” The horror in Lara’s voice convinced Alrion to hold back.

  “You should spare a thought for me. I was cured by Granthion’s spell and had to rebuild my life. It was a long and difficult road, with many missteps. For years I was considered an invalid.”

  “I have no sympathy for you, vile thing. You should have taken that opportunity to start afresh.”

  “Oh, but I tried. I really did. I found respectable work, even though it was below my capacity. I withheld all my darker tendencies. For a time.” Rindale focused on Branthor with an intense look and pressed harder.

  “And then you decided to just return to evil?”

  “No. That was when Darvin found me. There’s no escaping, you see. Eventually, we’ll find you. Or sometimes you come to us.” Rindale turned and winked at Fermur. The broken man sobbed.