The nest of bugs had been killed, though from the stains on the floor, it looked like it had been a costly battle. The Royal Assassin and the High Overseer stood with the Babachenko on the balcony, looking out into the underdark.
“He has nowhere to run,” the High Overseer said.
“Perhaps, but I underestimated him once before,” the Babachenko said. “I don’t intend to do so again.”
“We have reports of a bright light along the right-hand wall near the other end of the chasm,” the High Overseer said. “Unfortunately, there’s no direct route to that area since many of the corridors, bridges, and stairways are impassable.”
“None of that answers the most nagging question,” the Babachenko said. “Why did he come back? He was free of us. His Sky Knights could have flown him anywhere he wished to go, yet he returned here-why?”
The two men flanking him fell silent.
Alexander projected laughter behind the Babachenko, causing him to spin around, looking for its source. Satisfied with the fear and uncertainty in the Babachenko’s now easily readable colors, Alexander left them, floating down the middle of the chasm, noting the units of soldiers searching both sides of the underdark.
He reached the giant pillar connected to the forest balcony and saw that it was linked with many bridges arcing off in different directions, connecting both sides of the underdark as well as a number of other large pillars rising from the darkness below and disappearing into the darkness above.
He moved to the end of the chasm and found that it closed down on both left and right as well as top and bottom, all of its walls culminating in a large room, which was open on either end, one side facing the chasm and the other facing an enormous cavern beyond. The floor was a hundred feet square and the ceiling was thirty feet high. The floor, ceiling, and walls were made of smooth granite. Several large doors opened in each side wall. It appeared that all passages and bridges in this end of the underdark funneled into this place, creating a choke point.
Standing in the exact center of the room was a ten-foot-tall creature that reminded Alexander of the stone giant conjured by Mage Dax in the battle for Ruatha’s Gate. This creature was made from a collection of stones that seemed to be held together, not by crackling blue magic, but by red-hot fire. It stood stock-still.
Alexander circled it, then moved past it to the edge of the room. A single bridge abutment marked the center of the opening, but there was no bridge. In fact, Alexander saw no other way into the cavernous chamber beyond, except through the guardian chamber. Unlike the rest of the underdark, this place had no balconies or structures built into the walls. He moved forward and found what he was looking for-the well of memory.
The shrine was built atop an enormous stalagmite rising out of the deep dark.
McGinty materialized out of the stone, his imperfectly formed face struggling to convey dismay. “Why have you brought so many fleshlings into the underdark?”
“I didn’t … they’re hunting me.”
“They are taking the Linkershim. You must stop them.”
“I can’t … there are too many. But I can wake the Linkershim, provided I can get here.”
“I can sense the memory. It is closer, but the guardian has been awakened. Your path will be more difficult now.”
“You mean that giant sentinel back there?”
“Yes, the guardian will not allow you to pass.”
“It looked like it was made out of stones,” Alexander said. “I can cut it into pieces.”
McGinty cocked his head. “You do not understand its true nature.”
“Regardless, I still have to get from there to here. How am I supposed to do that? I can’t fly.”
McGinty looked like he was trying to frown. “The fleshling who stole the memory could fly.”
“Well, I can’t.”
“But you’re a fleshling.”
“We’re not the same. Fleshlings are all different.”
“You all look the same.”
“Be that as it may, I still can’t fly.”
McGinty struggled to frown again.
“I will bridge the gap for you when you arrive, but the guardian will follow. You must be quick or you will die.”
“Fair enough,” Alexander said. “Can you help me find my way to the guardian?”
“Find your way?”
“I don’t know how to get there.”
McGinty seemed to be consulting with some source of information, his incompletely formed head cocked at an odd angle for a few moments.
“There is a path across the bridges that is still passable.”
“Good. Can you show it to me?”
“Show?”
“It’s so dark down here that I can’t even see the bridges you’re talking about.”
“You require light.”
“Yes.”
McGinty cocked his head again and the underdark came alive. Hundreds of floating points of light began to glow, each suspended in midair, fixed in place and distributed throughout the chasm in seemingly random fashion. The soft glow illuminated the entire length of the chasm, filling the underdark with light and revealing its true majesty. It was a creation of such beauty and intricate detail that Alexander could scarcely help thinking of the Linkershim with a sense of reverence. Any race that could create such a place deserved to thrive.
Alexander intended to see that they did.
“Thank you, McGinty. I’ll get to the guardian as quickly as I can.”
McGinty melted back into the stones and Alexander floated back the way he’d come, taking another quick look at the guardian, then stopping to marvel at the gossamer web of bridges filling the chasm at this end of the underdark. Giant pillars served as anchor points for each span, buildings and platforms encrusting many of the pillars. Stalagmites and stalactites also played a role in the bridge network, with yet more structures built into and on them.
Unfortunately, the sudden light made it far easier for the Andalians to move about. A platoon of soldiers on the opposite side of the chasm was picking its way across a damaged part of the underdark toward one of the bridges that would eventually lead them to the forest-room balcony.
Alexander opened his eyes. Jataan and Lita were standing just inside the door, looking out at the myriad points of light.
“It’s beautiful,” Lita whispered, taking Jataan’s hand.
Alexander smiled to himself. In the midst of war and hardship, love could still blossom, even in the most unlikely of places.
“Yes, but it also negates one of our tactical advantages,” Jataan said.
“Oh, you’re always so serious. Just enjoy it for a moment.”
“That’s good advice, Jataan,” Alexander said.
Jataan turned, letting go of Lita’s hand. “Lord Reishi, what has transpired?”
“I spoke with McGinty. He lit the place up for us, but that means we have to move. Lita, I’d like you to remain in the Wizard’s Den to look after Jack and Anja.”
“Of course, Lord Reishi.”
She laid a hand on Jataan’s shoulder. “Be careful.”
He nodded, stepping out into the underdark and scanning the vicinity for any sign of threat. Alexander followed, leaving Luminessence leaning against the wall just inside the door.
The illumination of the underdark made it more difficult for him to see the enemy moving around in the distance, but Alexander knew they were closing in. He walked briskly toward the bridge leading to the pillar in the center of the underdark, keeping a close eye on the forest. It too had been illuminated, revealing the true majesty of its artistry. Silver and gold had been woven into many of the trees and artificial foliage, giving the forest a glittering quality that would have captivated the heart of any treasure hunter. Aside from briefly marveling at the craftsmanship, Alexander ignored it in favor of scanning for danger.
Steps before they reached the bridge abutment, he froze in place.
Click … click … click.
/> He put his finger across his lips. Jataan nodded, a sword seeming to materialize in his hand. They crept toward the bridge, keeping a close eye on the forest, but they were both looking too low. The stone trees reached three hundred feet overhead. It was only in the moment that the centipede launched itself from a tree that Alexander’s magic warned him of the threat.
“Bug!” he shouted, drawing the Thinblade.
The centipede fell in a graceful arc that would have brought it down on top of Alexander, but Jataan intervened, pushing him aside, his sword morphing into a pike that he braced against his instep, angling the point to catch the centipede in the mouth. And he succeeded, piercing the tiny brain of the deadly creature, killing it instantly. Gravity sent its lifeless body tumbling toward Jataan. He tried to avoid it, but it was too big, and it fell too haphazardly, crashing down on top of him, the razor-sharp barbs bristling from its chitin segments cutting into him.
Jataan didn’t cry out or even complain, but it was plain to Alexander that his life hung in the balance. With a thought, the door opened, and Alexander dragged Jataan into his Wizard’s Den.
Lita’s face went white. “What happened?” she cried.
“The centipede,” Alexander said.
Lita fell to her knees at Jataan’s side. She was distraught, tears welling up as she took his hand. “Oh, Dear Maker, you can’t die.”
“Lita!” Alexander snapped. “Put your feelings aside and save him.”
She looked up, dashing her tears away, leaving a streak of fresh blood across her cheek. Then she nodded firmly before turning back to Jataan, casting her spell to assess his injuries. “Bring me my bag, quickly,” she said, a tremor of fear running through her voice.
Alexander set the bag open next to her. “What can I do?”
She handed him two clean towels. “Apply pressure here and here.”
Alexander did as he was told, holding back the blood spilling from Jataan’s wounds as best he could, watching Lita go to work with a kind of detachment that most people simply couldn’t muster. She worked for almost an hour, sewing, cauterizing, closing off the bleeding before his life spilled out onto the floor. By the time she’d finished bandaging his wounds, Jataan’s normally swarthy face was a white mask, pale and deathly. He lay in bed next to Jack and Anja, both still unconscious from Lita’s healing spell.
Alexander swallowed hard at the sight of Jataan’s faltering colors. He’d been hurt badly, more seriously than Alexander would have thought possible. Surely, no swordsman could have ever done such harm to the battle mage.
“Will he make it?” Alexander asked quietly. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to hear the answer. Jataan had just rejoined him. In spite of their history, Alexander felt safer with him by his side than any other. The battle mage had proven his loyalty and his prowess time and again … and now he lay on the cusp of death for his unflinching willingness to put himself between Alexander and danger.
“I don’t know,” Lita whispered with a renewed tremor in her voice.
Alexander took a deep breath and let it out slowly, looking at his injured friends, all placed in harm’s way because they chose to accompany him into danger. It took an act of will to set aside his feelings and focus on the task at hand. As much as he wanted to sit with them, to be there when they awoke, he had work to do and the enemy was closing in.
He opened the door, taking Luminessence with him when he stepped back out into the underdark.
“Wait, what are you doing?” Lita asked.
“What I came here to do.”
“You can’t go by yourself. It’s too dangerous.” She stood, collecting her bag.
“No, Lita. They need you more than I do right now.”
“Jataan would be very upset with me if he knew I let you go out there alone.”
“Not half as upset as you’ll be with yourself if he dies and you’re not by his side doing everything in your power to save him. Stay here. Look after them. I’ll be fine.”
He didn’t wait for her answer as he closed the door and headed for the bridge. It felt solid underfoot, even though the stone was only an inch thick.
A shout from across the chasm caught his attention. A platoon of soldiers had spotted him and they were moving toward another bridge that would bring them to the giant pillar that was the hub for this part of the bridge network.
Alexander started running, the heels of his boots striking the stone rhythmically. Another party emerged on a balcony jutting from the other side of the chasm but several levels higher than the bridge he was crossing. His all around sight told him it was Titus Grant with twenty of his men.
The underdark was getting crowded.
A flash of warning exploded in his mind with such urgency that he threw himself to the ground a fraction of a moment before a light-lance burned through the space he’d just been occupying. Yet another Acuna wizard. He was starting to suspect that the Acuna had deployed every one of their members to pursue him.
Alexander was up and running again, his breathing heavy, sweat starting to bead on his brow. A string of force shards, red and deadly, leapt from the wizard’s outstretched hand. Alexander ducked again, the shards smashing into the railing of stone tulips, shattering them into gravel that pelted him painfully, but without injury.
The soldiers had reached the bridge abutment and were running as quickly as their heavy armor would allow, while the wizard, flanked by two overseers, held at the balcony, casting spells at Alexander.
Grant pointed at him, then he and his people vanished into the underdark.
Alexander reached the pillar. It was ringed with a series of platforms, each joined to those above and below by stairs that wrapped around the pillar, and each anchoring several bridges that arced away in different directions.
Alexander traced his route across the bridges, using the pillar for cover against the Acuna wizard’s spells. His route firmly in mind, he started up the stairs to the level above, rounding the corner cautiously. As the wizard started casting another spell, Alexander ran, reaching the platform above and turning onto a bridge railed with stone rose bushes, thorns and all.
He listened to his mind while he ran, waiting for the next assault to come, and he wasn’t disappointed. A force sphere streaked toward him. Without breaking stride, he opened the door to his Wizard’s Den right in front of himself and raced inside, closing the door just a moment before the spell detonated. It could have easily blown him off the bridge into the dark.
The Acuna seemed to have lost interest in capturing him alive.
Chapter 35
“What’s happening?” Lita asked.
“Battle,” Alexander said, opening the door and racing out into the underdark again.
The wizard had left his perch on the other side of the chasm and was now following his men, a happy fact that gave Alexander time to reach another platform wrapped around the last ten feet of a giant stalactite. Two bridges leapt away on the opposite side, one going higher, the other lower. Alexander took the high road.
Grant and his people emerged ahead of him along the far wall of the chasm and started tying off ropes so they could lower themselves to a balcony below. A bridge arced gracefully from that balcony to the next pillar in Alexander’s path. He picked up the pace, his breathing becoming labored from exertion.
The soldiers had reached the central pillar behind him and were ascending the stairs to reach the bridge he’d taken. Ahead of him, the chasm was narrowing and the network of bridges was beginning to converge on a single platform perched atop a giant stalagmite. Several bridges joined to this platform, but only one spanned the distance from it to the guardian chamber.
He would have to face some of Grant’s men before he could reach the last platform. Several were racing across the bridge to intercept him at the next pillar, while still more slid down ropes from the level above to join the fight. Grant watched.
Alexander slowed as he approached the next pillar. Three of Grant’s men were there, spr
ead out across the bridge abutment, weapons at the ready. The first fired a crossbow bolt. Alexander turned sideways, allowing the bolt to pass within inches of his chest. The other two loosed crossbow bolts as well. He spun right, avoiding them with relative ease. All three drew shortswords and advanced.
Another crossbow bolt sailed past him from a quickly approaching cluster of five more men, racing toward the pillar from Grant’s position. Alexander ignored it. His danger sense hadn’t alerted him to it, so it wasn’t a threat. The first three men waited for him at the abutment, twenty feet … ten feet.
Alexander lit up Luminessence like the sun. The light felt warm and soothing, not too bright, no glare, just clean pure light. But the men facing him dropped their weapons, covering their eyes as if they’d been gouged out with hot pokers, shrieking in pain from the sudden onslaught. Two of the group running to join the fight recoiled so violently from the sudden brilliance that they threw themselves over the railing and into the void.
Alexander strode through the men cowering on their knees and holding their hands over their eyes. Once past the immediate threat, he dimmed the light since it took an effort of will to maintain such intensity, and continued toward his objective.
Seconds later, he saw the Andalians reach the platform where Grant’s men were recovering from temporary blindness. The three men who’d faced Alexander were quickly overpowered and thrown from the balcony, while the remaining brigands in Grant’s employ held back, launching a volley of crossbow bolts at the soldiers. A few Andalians fell, but most defended against the attack with their heavy shields.
Alexander left them to it, noting that Grant and a number of his people hadn’t descended down the ropes and were now moving back into the warrens of the underdark, leaving those who had moved to intercept Alexander to fend for themselves against the platoon of soldiers. The fight was a stalemate until the Acuna wizard arrived and killed five of Grant’s men with a series of red-hot force shards. The remaining brigands broke and ran. The soldiers and wizard laughed at them, mocking their cowardice, but didn’t pursue.
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