Rage of the Diamond's Eye (The Guildsmen Series Book 1)

by Becker, Shawn

  “Cassius.”

  Kaelyn and Ayce frowned, not understanding him.

  “We shall have to take this to Cassius,” he said briskly. “He is the leader of the Guild and he has a working relationship with Chancellor Tevic. He can try to talk with Tevic to release Sajiix.”

  Ayce scratched at his thick beard, a sure sign of his growing impatience. “Let me make sure I understand you,” he said. “You want us to ask the man who recently tried to split Sajiix’s skull open to speak on his behalf.”

  “Well, when you say it in that context… ”

  Kaelyn gave an audible snort of disgust and turned to leave the Guild. Tienn rushed to meet her with his hands outstretched. “Kaelyn, please,” he urged. “Let us talk to Cassius. He may be able to think of something we cannot.” Seeing the look of dubiousness on her face, Tienn sighed heavily and continued, “If Cassius will not help us, then neither I, nor anyone else will try to stop you from returning to the Arcanum.”

  Kaelyn mulled this over for a few seconds and then nodded. “Very well, let us talk to this Cassius.”

  Tienn gave a nod to Ayce who moved quickly and quietly up the staircase to the Guild’s private quarters. The silence that followed made the Draaken uncomfortable, but he was more concerned with the way Kaelyn was touching his arm. “I am sorry to do this,” she told him. “But I am fascinated by the creativity of my Dhama.”

  “Your Dhama is a very powerful Magi,” Tienn said, gently moving her hand away from his purple skin. “If not for him, I would still be wearing the cumbersome armor that protected my skin from the sun.”

  “Are all your people affected so?”

  Tienn nodded. “We Draakens prefer the underground. The lava light and fires we use are nothing compared to the majesty of the sun. We live our lives in the dark; our skin is not accustomed to its heat and light. That is one of the reasons why Draakens do not mingle with most surface folk.

  “When I met Sajiix, I wore armor and clothing that covered every part of my body. As he grew more powerful, he tinkered with a protective spell that he finally cast upon my white skin.” Tienn then lifted his arm, examining it as though it were the first time he saw it. “There are many times when I curse him for changing me so, but I soon forget the color of my skin when I am able to feel the sun on my face.”

  “Why did you leave your people?” Kaelyn asked without pause.

  Tienn fell silent, his eyes searching the hallway upstairs in the hope that Ayce and Cassius would soon return. Kaelyn kept her eyes upon him, however, expecting an answer.

  “That is a part of my past I do not wish to think about, much less discuss with strangers,” he said coldly.

  “Fair enough,” Kaelyn replied, folding her arms within her cloak.

  Ayce’s footfalls soon reached their ears and he emerged from the hall to the stairs alone.

  “He isn’t here,” he said with a perplexed tone. “His bed is still made up, so he hasn’t been back this night. I looked into the training hall, but it’s empty.”

  “Where could he possibly be?” Tienn asked aloud. His eyes met Ayce’s, but the lycanthropic mercenary could only shrug his shoulders.

  “Then it is settled,” said Kaelyn with a cold finality. “I will return to the Arcanum and inform the Elementai that Sajiix has been taken prisoner by House Diathanos.”

  The young Magi had brushed past Ayce and Tienn before they even realized what she had said. Tienn rushed to catch her, finally stepping in front of her before she reached the stairs to the entry hall.

  “You cannot do this,” he said firmly. “Give us time to find Cassius. As head of the Guild, he will be able to…”

  “While you dally with politics, my Dhama remains prisoner,” Kaelyn snapped. “You fear my return to the Arcanum because you believe that the leaders of the council will come upon the church of light in retaliation. Perhaps you should be more concerned when Sajiix obtains his foci and begins to lay waste to your precious diamond church. The deaths at his hands will be greater than those of any Elementai. As his former friend, you should know better than anyone how quick to anger he gets over any perceived slight.”

  Tienn closed his eyes. She was right. If Sajiix ever had a chance to escape, he would take it and wreak havoc on those that had wronged him - Even if it meant starting a war.

  “Then we need to get him out,” Ayce announced. “We need to get him out before he does something stupid.”

  Tienn turned on the bearded warrior, his white eyes flashing in the dim light of the hall. “I do not have the authority for such an action!”

  “But you do,” Ayce said earnestly. “With Cassius gone, you are responsible for the leadership of the Guild. You have the authority.”

  Tienn stepped back from Ayce and Kaelyn, their eyes boring into his own, waiting for him to make a decision. At that moment, he was angry. He was angry at Sajiix for getting caught; he was angry at House Diathanos for overstepping their laws; he was angry at Cassius for leaving him responsible; and he was angry at Kaelyn and Ayce for showing him the only path left open – even if that path led to even darker troubles. He gave a resounding sigh that represented both surrender and commitment.

  “Go and wake the others,” he told Ayce. “Tonight we go to the aid of Sajiix Mirhan…and may the Gods help us.”

  ***

  The paladin guard stamped his feet, the metal of his armored boots rattling harshly in the late night. He looked forlornly at the crystal dome that capped the cathedral of the church of light and sighed. It was a cool autumn night and the glowing warmth of the Light Bringer was safely tucked inside the dome. His comrades would be finishing their nightly prayers and then cozying up in their warm beds within the barracks housed in the smaller tower. He hated this climate and desperately wished that the balmy months of the Kaalmoorian summer would soon arrive.

  A sudden clattering noise ejected all thoughts of hot and cold from his mind. The sound came from the narrow stairwell that circled down into the squat tower. It sounded almost as if his secondary companion housed in the tower had fallen to the stone floor. “Abris?” the guard called. “Was that you?”

  A creak upon the wooden steps gave the guard enough caution to grasp the hilt of his sword, taking two careful steps nearer the rectangular hole that marked the stairs. “Who is there?” the paladin commanded. “Show yourself to the light!”

  A golden haired acolyte of Diathanos suddenly rose from the darkness, her white gown shining milky-blue in the moonlight. She carried a serving tray with a pewter mug on top of it. Waves of steam came from the mug and the smell of freshly brewed tanic leaf tea reached the paladin’s nose.

  “Forgive me, Light-Warrior,” the young woman curtsied. “I bring you a warm refreshment to carry you through the night’s tedious duties. I pray your companion forgives me for dropping the mug I had for him.”

  The paladin nodded, knowing that many of the female acolytes often tried to win favor with the Palidiamos in order to find male companionship. “You should not be out so late, daughter of light,” he responded. “The night holds many unseen terrors.”

  The young woman handed the paladin the pleasantly hot mug and walked past him to gaze out at the northern section of Kaalé. His eyes followed her; the curves that blossomed from her robes were tantalizing, even for a man dedicated to the “God of Good”. She held the tray against her bosom as she scanned the rooftops before her. “I would brave those terrors to see you comfortable on such a cold night,” she said amorously.

  The paladin lifted the mug in a salute to the beautiful woman, bringing his lips to its rim. The tanic leaf smelled quite strong and he relished his first sip, but he paused in drinking when he saw the woman in front of him actually blur as though she were a painting left out in the rain. The girl grimaced and seemed to jerk her right arm abruptly, causing her image to shimmer once more before returning to normal. The paladin tossed his drink away, smashing the mug and spilling its contents against the steelstone fortifications. Hi
s other hand retrieved his sword, which he brought to bear on the strange woman before him.

  “Show your true self to me, witch!”

  The acolyte sighed irritably and flicked her hands as though they were covered in filth. Her white robes darkened to a deep violet, covered by a thick cloak of black and purple. Her face and hair remained the same, but her smile was no longer there.

  “You will surrender yourself to me, Magi!” he ordered.

  “No,” she said. “I will not.”

  Before the paladin could act, he felt a massive blow to the back of his head that knocked him down to his knees. Had the man not been wearing his helmet his head surely would have been crushed. His sword clanged to the stone and his eyes became glassy. He seemed to try to speak once more, but then fell sideways. His body was caught by a large Thaarakan, who lay the paladin down gently.

  “That was unnecessary, Dorn,” chastised Ro’byenn as he climbed up from the stairway from where he was hiding. “The sleeping draught I made would have worked.”

  “Not when spilled on ground,” Dorn growled with a broken use of the common tongue. He pointed a giant finger at the shattered mug nearby.

  Ro’byenn looked questioningly at Kaelyn. “I shifted,” she snapped. “My power is greatly taxed by the diamonds used here. Your friend had no choice but to use brute force.”

  “Could we try not to make so much noise?” whispered Tienn as he emerged from the stairway. The Draaken padded softly to the group, followed closely by Ayce.

  “It was either catch the sword or catch the body of armor,” Kaelyn said matter-of-factly.

  “I caught body,” Dorn grinned.

  “Yes, but you failed to catch the body downstairs,” Tienn whispered petulantly. “Morgath is keeping a watch and the first guard is secured and hidden. We shall do the same to this one and start the second phase of our plan.”

  “We have phases?” Ayce joked.

  Tienn ignored him, giving him a length of rope to secure the paladin. “Kaelyn and I will use our abilities to enter the temple and find Sajiix. Ayce will stay hidden halfway between this tower and the temple, keeping our exit path free and clear. Ro’byenn – you, Dorn, and Morgath must keep this tower free. It will be our only way out.”

  “I do not feel comfortable with this,” Ro’byenn said sourly as he watched Ayce truss up the unconscious paladin. “I answered the call of the Defender’s Guild on the promise of defending the weak; those that are oppressed and in need. I am a druid with House Ethaea, and though my Goddess does not always see eye-to-eye with Diathanos the Light Bringer, we are instructed not to harm those in rival houses.”

  “Which is why we aren’t killing anyone,” Ayce growled, tightening the rope.

  Ro’byenn pursed his lips together, his slender hands resting on narrow hips. “Yes, but I must say…coming to the aid of Sajiix Mirhan is hardly defending the innocent…”

  Ayce barked a short laugh while Kaelyn stepped up to the lanky druid, her eyes blazing. “My Dhama would not voluntarily enter such a place,” she told him. “This means that he was taken by force…the same force that should be used to get him out.”

  “No,” Tienn said with a firm shake of his head. “I have already told you, we will surrender before we take the life of a light bringer. If we take one of their lives, our own will be forfeit according to the King’s Law.”

  “Sounds to me like the King’s special treatment is giving them an attitude,” Ayce chimed in with a final jerk of his captor’s ropes.

  “That may well be,” Tienn replied, “but I do not want blood spilled here tonight.”

  “And what if it’s your blood that’s spilled?”

  A low series of quick whistles came from the stairwell, interrupting the two. It was Morgath’s signal that the path was clear.

  “It is time,” Tienn breathed. He watched as the four made their way to the tower steps, his heart thudding in his chest. Tienn was quite unsure about the path he and the others were following. He was a warrior, not a leader. But his warrior’s heart told him that the church of light was wrong to be holding Sajiix or any other Magi, for that matter. Ultimately, Tienn knew he had to get Sajiix out of there to keep Kaelyn from bringing the Elementai to Kaalé. He whispered a quick prayer to Ja’Naali, the Shadow Goddess, knowing that they would need every bit of luck and favor this night.

  16

  Vettis placed the tarnished key into the lock, his emotionless eyes focused on Tair, who now had her back pressed against the far wall. “Don’t do this, Vettis,” she said with an audible fear. “Myst will never marry you if you kill me.”

  “You are the link that separates us,” he said feverishly. “If you are gone, she will have no one else to turn to.” Gripping Tair’s dagger in his hand, Vettis turned the key. The click of the tumblers was drowned out by the sound of someone rushing through the door behind them. In one quick motion, Vettis removed the key, slid the dagger up into his sleeve, and turned to face the intruder. It was Willem Malachi, patriarch of the Malachi family. His face was flustered; his eyes darted back and forth within the small office.

  “Where’s Sheriff Teeg?”

  “He went to the first gate,” Vettis said irritably.

  “Then he knows,” Willem moaned. “Mercy from the Seven, he knows they burn!”

  Vettis grabbed the older man by the shoulders and shook him roughly. “Knows what? You’re not making any sense, man!”

  “Burning,” Willem said with tears streaming from his eyes. “The fields are burning!” The elder farmer shook loose from Vettis’s grip and scrabbled out of the office, leaving the door wide open. In the distance, Vettis could hear the cries of others. Something was definitely happening, but he had this business to take care of first.

  He grasped the key once more and realized, too late, that although he had removed the key from the lock, he had failed to re-latch it. He turned just in time to see her coming at him. For such a small girl, Tair had a wickedly powerful punch. The first one nearly brought him down. The two that followed backed him against the wall. By the time her boot connected with his temple, Vettis was unconscious and crumpling to the floor.

  ***

  Myst and Laridiya watched as the figures upon the Zynnashan boat spewed gouts of flame along the eastern fields of Joram’s Bend. The magical fire became a wall of searing heat and destruction, eating everything in its path – crops, trees, huts, and people. The light of the fire allowed both women to see the scrambling farmers trying to escape from the inferno. Some tried to reach the river in a futile attempt to battle the conflagration, but any individual that reached the water was targeted by the beasts and roasted alive. As the strange boat drifted closer to the rocky cliffs that supported the Bend, the Zynnashans began to concentrate on the northern fields where the livestock grazed.

  Amongst the chaos, Myst could see other silhouettes moving along the crop rows that had not yet succumbed to fire. They moved stealthily, slowly, as though they were hunting. Her breathing quickened as she realized that these were the wolf-beasts, dozens of them, picking off anyone that had escaped the magical fire.

  “They’re coming,” she breathed. “We need to seal the gates. If those things get up here…”

  “The children,” Laridiya moaned.

  Myst turned to the druidic healer, grasping her arm roughly. “Go, run to the council, and find a way to gather the children near the center of town!” She then began running for the town square.

  “Where are you going?” Laridiya called after her.

  “Sheriff Teeg will know what to do!” she called back, running so fast that her sword scabbard slapped hard against her back. Myst knew her uncle would come up with a sound defense plan, but she also knew that this was a way to get Tair released from her cell.

  She ran around the corner where the Malachi family had their mercantile shop. The people of Joram’s Bend were beginning to gather as news of the attack spread faster than the fires below. She ignored their pleading questio
ns and sprinted for the Sheriff’s office, throwing the door open so hard, she nearly decapitated Vettis, whose body lay behind it.

  Her head turned quickly to the cell door, which was standing open, guarding a now empty space. “Tair?” she called. Receiving no answer, Myst stepped over Vettis and opened the supply room door, noting that her weapons were still there, but Tair’s daggers were not. Myst felt more confident as she slid her sword home behind her back. She squatted before Vettis, checking to make sure he was still breathing. He was, but from the welts building up on his face, he was going to wish later he wasn’t.

  “Sheriff Teeg?” she yelled.

  Vettis moaned and jerked his eyes open. His right hand clasped for something not there as he struggled to rise. He mumbled something, the pain evident in his angry eyes.

  “What?” Myst said, helping him sit up with a lack of gentle grace.

  “Lower gate,” he grunted. “Teeg.”

  Myst nodded. It was where he should be. “Where is Tair? Did she do this to you?”

  The rage in his eyes gave her the answer. Tair wouldn’t put herself near the lower gate, but Myst had no time to try to find her. She had to warn Teeg to close the gate before the wolf-beasts arrived.

  “Get the militia together,” she told Vettis as she rose. “Get them to the mid-gate fully armed. That is if anyone is still alive to do so.”

  Ignoring his muffled cry for her to wait, Myst thrust her long dagger in its sheath on her hip and dashed out the door. As she ran for the main gate, she cast hopeful glances around her for Tair, but all she could find were the growing number of people coming to meet near the town square, fear creeping upon their faces. It wouldn’t be long before they began to panic.