The manipulation of water quickly lead to using his everflame to perform tricks with the fire from the hearth. None of them lasted long and so they didn't put too much strain on him. Besides using up whatever source the sorcerer was using, each casting drew a little strength from the caster. Riff thought it felt similar to the exertion to walking up a steep hill. When he kept to small enchantments, it was like taking slow steady steps. Trying something large or something that lasted a long time was like trying to sprint to the top.
Riff focused and spoke the words that allowed him to control the flames. He spoke them at just above a whisper, as Master Almoriz taught him, and the everflame danced and shrank ever so slightly.
Riff never understood why, but he had been taught to protect the words from others even though being a sorcerer was not something that could be learned. Either you were born with the spark or you weren't.
Riff wondered if the spark existed in any of those whose faces were lit up by the small ribbons of fire that sprang forth from the hearth to circle around him before plunging back into the flames.
It wasn't until the crowd parted right in front of him that Riff saw the two dwarfs appear. The flames from his latest spell reflected off the knight's glistening armor and made the screaming face etched in the dwarf's helmet look alive, as if it were proclaiming its owner's arrival. Riff remembered seeing the same helmet on the night of the Summer's Festival at Lakeside. This was the same culler. The one that razed Last Hamlet.
Damn.
Riff recognized the dwarf standing next to the knight and pointing at Riff with equal parts fear and relief on his face. It was the moneylender from earlier.
Twice damned.
The applause slowly died. As others in the crowd noticed the culler, silence fell in its wake, leaving only cautious murmurs. The opaque glass of the windows illuminated briefly followed by a deep rumble of thunder.
The culler raised his hammer and pointed it at Riff. “You are Almoriz of Whispering Rock.” It was more a statement than a question.
Thrice damned.
It always amused Riff how in times of danger he always noted the oddest things. Right now he was amazed by how steady the culler could hold such a huge headed hammer by the handle and point it like that. Riff doubted he could even lift it.
“I am,” Riff said, forcing a smile onto his face and showing his palms and bowing low. Master Almoriz would have been proud of him for remembering to show respect. Though, it was easy to respect someone who could snuff you out like a candle. The thought reminded Riff he still held his everflame. He quickly placed it into one of his many pouches.
“How may I serve you, Knight Justice?”
The culler lowered the head of his hammer and let it rest on the stone floor, then placed both of his large hands on the tip of the hilt. There was something in the self satisfied look on his face that more than discomforted Riff.
“Where is your young apprentice, Sorcerer?”
Riff fought the urge to look in Lotte's direction and hoped the boy had sense to get out of there. More than a few people were making their way towards the front exit.
“Young, Riff? Why would you seek him, Knight Justice? Has he done something wrong?”
Riff cursed himself for putting his everflame away. He made a show of looking at the many faces, making sure his eyes didn't linger on Lotte. Luckily, Lotte was not at the table where he had been.
Riff disguised the relief that washed over him as a light hearted chuckle.
“You know how kids are,” Riff said.
The sounds of Ghile's hounds barking near the door leading to the kitchens killed the chuckle in Riff's throat.
The culler never took his eyes from Riff.
“What do we have here?” Came a deep voice from the back.
Another culler, even larger than the one currently watching Riff like a cat watched a mouse, stepped forward holding Lotte by the neck with one hand. Lotte's feet barely scraped the floor as he struggled to break free.
The two valehounds harried the culler, snapping at his armor. He ignored them as he brought Lotte forward.
“Look who I found trying to flee through the kitchens, Knight Justice Finngyr,” the taller culler said.
Knight Justice Finngyr continued to stare at Riff for one more moment before looking at his fellow knight's prize. He did not seem so satisfied at what he saw.
“That is not him, Knight Horth.”
Riff knew then who this Finngyr thought Lotte was. Which also meant he knew Riff was not Master Almoriz. Which meant they were in trouble. Riff had to think and think quickly or they were going to die. He looked about the room, more than a few of the patrons, stared at the culler with open hostility. Almost all of them had the half blue faces of Allwynians.
“Why are you hurting that boy?” Riff said. “What crime has he committed?”
Riff was relieved to hear more than a few cries of, “Yeah!” and “Let him go!” from the crowd. The two valhounds continued to bark and snap at the culler holding Lotte.
Tears streamed down Lotte's face as he struggled to break free.
“Enough,” Finngyr said. “I am Knight Justice Finngyr of the Temple of Justice. Do not question me! I walk in Daomur's grace and all who oppose me die in his name!”
Riff was shocked when someone from the crowd shouted, “Someone get the guards!” That was quickly followed by, “They have done nothing, you have no right!” Riff would never have believed humans would have spoken to dwarves in such a way if he hadn't heard it himself. He was definitely not in the Cradle.
Knight Justice Finngyr lifted his hammer from the ground and grabbed the haft in a wide grip, his face contorted in a mixture of anger and incredulity. Apparently Riff was not the only one surprised.
“No right? You filthy humans. How dare you question my right?” Finngyr yelled over barking valehounds and humans who joined in the shouting, spurred on by the courage of the crowd.
One of the veiled dwarves stepped to the edge of the crowd and removed his veil, revealing the half blue face beneath. “The rites are over, Knight Justice, and there are no stonechosen here.”
Well, by Daomur's hairy backside, Riff thought, it was going to work.
The Knight Justice stared at the other dwarf. The room fell silent except for the two Valehounds.
“Knight Horth, silence those mutts,” Finngyr said.
Riff saw what was coming and tried to stop it. “Ast! Cuz! Down! No!”
Horth's face held no expression as he kicked out with one steel boot at Cuz, followed by a downward jab with the haft of his hammer at Ast. Riff turned away, but still heard the heavy blows fall, the sudden silence. He thought of Ghile, then.
Knight Justice Finngyr stepped over to stand before Horth. When he spoke he spoke to the whole room and not just Lotte. He placed his gauntleted fist under Lotte's chin.
“Where is Ghile Stonechosen?”
Riff could not see Lotte's face, Finngyr had turned his back to Riff. It was as if he was daring Riff to attack him. Riff could feel the anger coming off the crowd as an almost tangible thing he could grab and hurl at the culler's back.
Riff heard the words through Lotte's choking sobs.
“Da…da Elves, they dun took 'em.”
Riff knew then they were going to die.
He quickly recited the words and drew in as much air as his lungs could hold. He brought the image of Gaidel's face into his mind. It somehow calmed him. He saw the almond shape of her eyes and the long slender bridge of her nose. When he spoke, no sound escaped him, but he could feel the air disappearing from his lungs. Darkness closed in around him, but he pushed on.
Cullers. We are lost. Flee!
Riff dropped to one knee.
Finngyr turned then to look at Riff. The flames from the hearth cast a sinister light over the culler's face.
“All those who aid a stonechosen suffer its fate,” Finngyr said.
Riff fell on his side. He saw Lotte's body fall to
the floor next to one of the valehounds. Lotte's eyes stared at nothing and his head lay at an odd angle.
Riff spoke the last words he thought he would ever speak. If this was his time, he was going to make the culler's pay. He didn't have time to find his everflame, but he could feel the intense heat of the hearthfire on his back.
He was close.
He slid his leg back until he felt a slight tickling sensation. It soon burst into pain. The pain sharpened his vision for a moment and he could see the steel of the culler's boots before him. He completed the spell and felt the fire rush over him.
Shouts, as if down some tunnel, and long shadows past before his fading vision. The last image Riff held as darkness took him was of Gaidel's face.
Part III
23
Change of Heart
Ashar stifled his laugh as he crept up to the closet door. It was Oderro's favorite hiding place. Ashar pulled the stone door opened and burst out laughing when he saw the young dwarf squatting on the ground and covering his face, only his unruly red hair exposed.
“Found you!” Ashar shouted.
“Dangit,” Oderro said. He grumbled as he got up. “Am I first?”
Ashar shook his head. He knew Oderro would be here, but chose to find a couple of the other children hiding in the Bastion before seeking Oderro. He liked him and didn't want him to be it every time.
“You were cute as a child,” Akira said.
He was dreaming. Oderro's relieved grin faded into mist along with the Bastion. When the mists reformed an adult Ashar stood on the cliff before the familiar small wattle and daub hut in Oceanwood.
“You surprised me,” Ashar said.
He cursed inwardly at his lack of control. He normally prepared himself mentally each night before falling asleep. But, he had worked late and vaguely remembered sitting down at one of the work benches. He must have fallen asleep. His own dreams could betray his plans.
“Why did you do that, I miss Oderro and the Bastion,” Akira said.
She was so beautiful and innocent. He couldn't bear to look at her and instead walked over to the driftwood fence and ran his hands along its sand worn surface. He thought about her shriveled form lying beneath the stones in the laboratory and shivered. He felt his surroundings start to blur, the wood beneath his hands grow soft.
He concentrated and his surroundings solidified.
“What is it, Akira?”
He could feel her eyes on him, searching. He knew his tone was harsh and he had hurt her. He sighed and closed his eyes.
“I'm sorry. You just startled me,” Ashar said.
She drifted up next to him and stood there for a moment as if she was taking in the view. Ashar glanced at her and could tell she had something she wanted to say and didn't know where to begin.
“Ghile Stonechosen is with the elves.”
“What!” His mist thralls should have him by now? Had they failed? Had the elves intervened and thwarted his plans? He had never been able to maintain contact with the thralls or see through their eyes once they left the dream mists.
“He said he was attacked by humans and vargan who had been turned into monsters,” Akira said.
Ashar could hear the accusation in her voice. He felt his nails digging into the wood of the fence and his jaw clenching. So, they had failed him.
“What have you done, Ahsar?”
“We need his soulstones, Akira.” He had to convince her to bring the stonechosen to him.
“What have you done?”
Her voice was stronger now, determined.
“Do not ask questions you don't want to hear the answers to, Akira.”
“Ashar, those people. How could you do that to them?”
The accusation in her voice, the disgust. How dare she judge him?
He turned to look down at her.
“I did what needed to be done! For the both of us.”
The two stood unmoving, there on the cliff, ignoring the gusts off the ocean, heavy with the tang of salt.
“I didn't want to believe Ghile. But, what he said is true. Ashar you must stop. I never wanted to hurt anyone!” Akira said.
Ashar laughed.
“You know what we must do to awaken you, Akira.”
“Ashar, those people and those vargan have nothing to do with what happened to me or what you told me we needed to do to awaken me.”
“Akira, you must understand. All I do is for you,” Ashar said. He knew it was a lie even as it past his lips and he hated Dagbar and the others for forcing him to lie to his own sister like this.
“I never asked you to, Ashar. I want you to stop.”
The pleading in her voice tore at his soul and boiled his blood at the same time. But, he had come too far to stop now.
“It is too late for that, sister. They will not get away with what they have done. I do what needs to be done. I need the boy and you are going to lure him to me.”
“No, Ashar. I won't.”
Everything he had been through. All the false promises. The outright lies. Now his own sister was going to deny him? It would not stand.
“What did you say?”
She stepped back from him then. He could see the fear in her eyes.
“This all has gone too far,” she said. She hesitated, then the words rushed out.
“You have gone too far. I…I said, I won't.”
After everything he had been through she had the audacity to look at him like he was the monster? He hadn't asked for any of this. Had he not tried to protect her? Protect her from the truth? If she didn't realize all this was necessary and the only way he could convince her to help herself was to scare her, then so be it.
“Oh, yes you will, dear sister. Because if you don't you will remain in the dream mists forever.”
“I don't care, I won't let you hurt him!” Grey tears streamed down her face and turned to puffs of mist as they fell away from her. She stood there, her tiny grey fists clenched over her eyes, sobbing. Ashar understood then. It all made sense now.
“You love him,” he said. He couldn't even begin to hide the contempt in his voice.
She didn't respond to the accusation but kept her face buried in her fists. When she finally removed them, she refused to look up at him.
Akira whispered, “The decision is mine. Let me go, Ashar. Leave me.”
“You don't know what you're saying,” he said. “Damn that accursed boy for confusing you.”
“All he did was tell me the truth.”
Emotions warred inside Ashar. There was a small part of him that was tired, so very tired, and for a brief moment, he entertained the idea of walking away from everything. But then the anger and resentment poured in and buried everything else. They all had to pay and he had to do whatever it took to make sure that happened.
But, he needed the power of those additional soulstones.
“Then, you leave me no choice,” Ashar said. “I had hoped to use the other soulstones to complete my revenge, but the ones I have will have to do.”
“Revenge? What are you talking about? What are you going to do?”
Ashar had already lied to protect her, it would be refreshing to tell the truth and still get what he wanted. If she loved this Ghile and he was with the elves, then she would warn him and bring the boy to him anyway.
“I suppose it makes little difference now that my course has been decided for me,” Ashar said. He made an offhand gesture and turned to look back out over the sea.
“I have already set the elves against Dagbar. All I have done is placed squarely on his shoulders. I have discovered the secrets of the dream mists. Did you know the mists are toxic to vegetation? Only certain slimes and molds seem to be immune, though I couldn't tell you why.”
“In any case, I am going to use the power granted by my two soulstones to expand the dream mists beyond the boundary of the Fallen City. More than that, I have discovered how to spread the toxic mists beyond the boundaries of the city and into the
trees themselves,” Ashar said.
“I am going to destroy the Deepwood, dear sister. Then the elves are going to destroy Dagbar and anything the lying dwarf ever held dear!”
24
Strength of Heart
The rain still fell hard against the paving stones of the market square. The many stalls they passed were dark shapes casting their long shadows before them like grasping fingers, trying to block their way.
Gaidel wiped her face to clear her vision. The rain mixed freely with her tears. She could see the fire and smoke coming from the rooftop of the Happy Trader on the edge of the market square. The reflection of the flames in the puddles before her danced mockingly until she splashed through them.
She could hear the others behind her and sensed more than heard Two Elks at her side, keeping pace. Daughter Bosand's demands for her to stop had ceased once they left the bastion and saw the flames through the storm. She followed somewhere behind as well.
She turned the final corner and reached the edge of the market stalls. It should have been a clear path to the Happy trader then, but she ran into the back of the gathered crowd. She pushed passed people, not slowing. She fell once and felt Two Elk's strong hand bring her to her feet. She pulled free and pushed on through.
Black smoke poured from the Happy Trader's many windows. Flames tried to find purchase on its wet exterior. The inside of the building glowed with a fiendish light.
She heard the sounds of shouted orders mixed with screams and yelling. She added her voice to the cacophony, screaming Riff's name. It was then she saw the line of blackened bodies splayed out on the ground.
Two Elks grabbed her and refused to let go, no matter how much she struggled. She struck him then. He had to let go, she had to find them.
“Little Daughter, stop. We do not know where they are. Stop,” Two Elks said as he held her close.
Gaidel's shouts turned into convulsive heaves as she simultaneously cried and tried to find breath to fill her lungs. She held onto him, drawing from his strength.
Magister Dagbar was there then, shouting orders. Luckily, the storm was keeping the fire contained and it hadn't spread to the surrounding buildings. Gaidel could see a number of humans and dwarves who had formed a line and where passing buckets of water between them.
Time of the Stonechosen (The Soulstone Prophecy Book 2) Page 26