The Gilded Empire

by Ryan W. Mueller

  The worst part was telling Rik what had happened to Selene. He hadn't formed much of a connection with Selene, having met her less than a day ago, but he seemed to understand how much her death was affecting Kara.

  "It really wasn't your fault," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I would have done the same thing. We can't go around blaming ourselves for honest mistakes."

  Rik also filled Kara in on everything that had happened since they'd parted. She was amazed to hear how much they'd been through, and it was a relief to know that Nadia was still alive—or at least that she had been back when Rik was sent to the Shadowed Land.

  It filled Kara with the hope that she might see Nadia again. That was a dangerous hope, but it just might keep her going through the worst the Shadowed Land had to offer.

  They reached the chamber containing the blue stone.

  "How do these stones work?" Rik asked.

  "They're called teleportation stones," Warrick said. "Powerful, but not without limits. They only work twice, and once they're used up, they stop glowing. Unlike typical teleportation magic, these stones work almost immediately."

  Rik grinned. "Then, if you found a bunch of them—"

  "Once you've used up a teleportation stone, it can take up to a day for another one to work for you. You can't consider them an easy escape from any situation. Not only that, but they take a while to recharge after you use them."

  Warrick instructed them all to touch the stone at once. A few moments later, Kara felt her feet leave the ground. The world dissolved around her, and when it came back into focus, she stood in a different chamber entirely. Rik scooped up the stone and held it in his left hand.

  Then he stared at an open gate atop a nearby rock platform. "That shouldn't be open. Something's wrong here."

  "I agree," Warrick said. "The fact that it's open leads me to believe Krinir is already here. Whether we go through the next challenge or go straight through that gate, it doesn't matter. Krinir will be waiting for us regardless. We might as well get it over with quickly."

  "Why don't we just teleport out of here?" Rik asked, turning the stone over in his hand.

  Warrick gazed at the stone with a frown. "Like I told you before, it takes some time to recharge. Right now, it's still glowing, but it's very dull. When that glow becomes bright again, it's ready. That could take anywhere from a few minutes to an hour. It's unpredictable."

  Frowning, Rik slipped the stone into his pocket. Then they made their way up a zigzagging path toward the main gate. Kara's chest felt tight as they approached that gate. She knew how casually Krinir had asked Josef to kill her. If she faced off with the god himself, he wouldn't fail. Warrick couldn't always save her.

  They all stepped through the gate.

  It slammed behind them.

  Chapter 31: The Battle of the Cavern

  Rik glanced around the dimly lit chamber they'd entered. It was more of a cave than other parts of this place. Stalagmites and stalactites covered the ground and ceiling. Twisting paths led both upward and downward. For the moment, the chamber appeared deserted.

  "You really think Krinir himself is waiting for us?" Rik asked.

  "It's what I would do," Warrick said.

  Rik had trouble believing Warrick was on their side, but he trusted Kara's judgment. Still, when he looked at Warrick, he felt hot stabs of anger. He remembered the flames in Crayden, the screams of children, the sheer devastation afterward.

  But it wasn't the time to get into an argument.

  As they ventured farther into the room, Rik gripped his staff firmly, ready for the sudden arrival of enemies. The chamber was so quiet he could hear every echoing footstep. Scattered magical torches provided enough light that they could make their way safely.

  "It's so quiet," he said softly.

  Dirk frowned. "Too quiet, if you ask me."

  A moment later, a man appeared less than twenty feet from them. He was dark-haired, with a neatly groomed beard—entirely unremarkable in appearance. But when Rik saw Warrick tense, it became clear exactly who they were dealing with.

  Krinir.

  "I'm afraid this is the end for all of you," he said. "Nothing personal." He made a quick sweeping gesture with his right arm, and a barrage of lightning came to life, heading directly toward the party. Rik closed his eyes, waiting for the end.

  But the lightning didn't strike. When he opened his eyes, he saw Warrick shaking with exertion, casting a magical shield around them.

  "I can't hold the barrier very long," he said. "Run. Don't worry about me."

  "But he'll make you his servant again," Kara said.

  "I know, but there's nothing any of you can do about that."

  Rik tugged at Kara's arm. "Come on. We have to go."

  She spared on last glance at Warrick, then darted to the left alongside Rik. Dirk and Eliza were already a few steps ahead, racing toward a small passage leading downward. They all rushed into the passage a moment before Warrick's barrier died. Lightning crackled in the air, and they ducked as some of the spell bounced round in the narrow passage.

  Once it was gone, they started running again. The passage twisted around, then came out again in the vast chamber. But now they were a good thirty feet below Krinir and Warrick. There was no light coming from above. Had Warrick given himself up now that he didn't have the rest of the party to protect? It seemed strange that he'd want to protect them at all.

  "I think we can follow that path up," Dirk said, pointing to a spiraling path off to their left. No one argued, so they raced onto that path, then followed it upward. At the top, they found themselves at an intersection of three different paths.

  Eliza glanced around frantically. "Which one should we take?"

  "No idea," Rik said. "Let's just choose one."

  They chose the center path and followed it as it rose and fell. The path turned every which way, and Rik felt lost. What if there was no way out of this chamber and they were just going in circles? Then Krinir would finish them off.

  But Krinir wasn't their only problem.

  Up ahead, standing on a wide ledge, was the Sunset Army. Mathew stood at the lead, smiling down at Rik. Heart pounding, Rik froze and glanced around. He couldn't see any escape except the way they'd come.

  Rik raised his staff just in time to form a shield, protecting them from the wave of fire Mathew sent at them. The fire surrounded them, wearing away at Rik's shield from all sides.

  Mathew was a powerful sorcerer. He could keep his magic going much longer than Rik could cast the shield. Dirk was helping, but it wouldn't be enough.

  "There's another path about ten feet below us," Eliza said. "We can jump."

  With no other escape possible, no one argued. They leapt the direction Eliza pointed. Rik's stomach lurched as he fell, and he hit the ground hard a few moments later. He skinned his knees, but that was the worst of his injuries. Rik was amazed his staff had survived the fall, and he immediately used it to cast another shield.

  Blistering heat slammed against the shield, accompanied by a brilliant orange glow. Barely escaping the flames, they sprinted across the uneven path. Then the flames suddenly died.

  In their place was a massive whirlwind, and it was right in front of Rik's party. Rik knew instinctively that his staff couldn't protect them from this. He glanced down and saw the ground wasn't far below. The whirlwind raced toward them.

  "Kara, grab on to me," Rik said, and she did so without hesitation. Dirk and Eliza must have read Rik's mind because they did the same thing.

  Rik leapt off the path. The drop was almost forty feet, so he directed his staff downward, producing as much wind as he could. It didn't slow him quite as much as he'd hoped. He and Kara hit the ground hard, the impact knocking the wind out of him.

  Struggling to get his breath back, he staggered to his feet. They were on a rocky bridge below their pursuers, but Mathew's whirlwind was still approaching.

  "I've got an idea," Dirk said, and pointed his staff up
ward, directly at Mathew. He launched a shard of ice. The attack missed Matthew, but he had to sidestep it, and that was enough of a distraction that his whirlwind died.

  Rik and the others raced across the chamber with no idea of where they were going. He checked the teleportation stone. The glow was brighter, but not bright enough. Another passage loomed ahead of them, and they ducked into it. For the moment, it seemed Mathew was too far away to use his magic on them. The passage flashed by, lit by magical torchlight.

  They rounded a corner, entering a slightly more open area, and stood face-to-face with a dozen Sunset soldiers.

  The soldiers launched a volley of arrows, and Rik cast a fire shield with his staff just in time to make the arrows disintegrate before they could strike the party. At the same time, Dirk launched a blast of fire at the soldiers. They scrambled backward as the flames danced toward them. But a few of them remained steadfast against the onslaught, launching more arrows.

  The arrows disintegrated again, but Rik knew he couldn't keep this up much longer. He recognized the feeling he got when he used too much of one magical element.

  The soldiers had scattered, but they hadn't retreated. Dirk's flames began to die down, so he switched to a burst of lightning. It crackled in the air as it struck four of the soldiers. They fell, twitching and screaming, but the rest of the soldiers stood their ground.

  They continued launching arrows, and Rik knew he had maybe ten more seconds of his fire shield.

  Beside him, Eliza nocked an arrow on her bowstring and launched it at one of the soldiers. The arrow caught him in the neck, and he fell backward, clutching the spot. She repeated the procedure with ease and fluidity, striking a second soldier, and then a third.

  Maybe they had a chance here.

  Rik's fire shield died.

  "My shield's gone!" he shouted, and Dirk immediately stopped launching spells at the soldiers. Instead, he shielded the party. Rik stepped close to Dirk and whispered, "How much have you got left?"

  "Maybe a minute. You two need to save yourselves."

  Dirk's fire shield was impressive, holding the soldiers off. All their arrows would disintegrate against it, and if they tried to step through it, they'd face severe burns. But that shield would lose its strength eventually.

  "What about you, Father?" Eliza asked.

  "Either I die alone, or we all die. Go, Eliza. You're the one who's going on to do great things. I just know it: you and Rik together. You'll change the world. I know it'll be hard, but it's the only choice we have."

  Rik expected Eliza to cry and protest. Instead, she nodded gravely.

  "We need to go, Rik," she said. "Make my father's sacrifice worth it."

  Rik hated the thought that Dirk had to sacrifice himself to save them, but Rik wasn't going to waste the noble gesture. While Dirk held the shield strong, Rik, Eliza, and Kara took off back the way they'd come. They didn't look back.

  But when they emerged on one of the cavern's many bridges, they stood opposite the last three people Rik wanted to see.

  Mathew, Krinir, and Warrick.

  Their appearance must have caught the three by surprise because they didn't react immediately. Rik took advantage, using his staff's Earth element to crack the pathway ahead of them, right beneath their opponents. The path gave way with a thunderous crack, and the three sorcerers had to cast their whirlwind spells.

  Then the rest of the path began to crumble, racing toward Rik's party. There was nowhere to run but the passage they'd just escaped.

  "Grab on to me," Rik said. Kara and Eliza gripped him so tightly he thought he might suffocate. As the path crumbled beneath them and they fell in a cascade of rock and dirt, Rik sent a wind spell downward, hoping to slow their fall.

  The fall had to be at least fifty feet. Rik's stomach twisted as they plummeted. They were falling too fast. He couldn't slow down three people with this ability.

  They were going to die.

  Then a whirlwind appeared beneath them moments before they would have hit. Rik glanced back to see Warrick standing on the ground, his gaze focused on them. But then an invisible force from Krinir's magic slammed against Warrick's back. He lurched forward and hit the ground hard. His spell died, but it had done its job. Rik's party hit the ground softly.

  They scrambled back to their feet, expecting Krinir to strike the killing blow. But instead Warrick was back on his feet, facing off against both Krinir and Mathew. It was a wondrous display. Rik had never seen magic like it.

  But there wasn't time to watch. They took off running, crossing the chamber with no idea where they were going. Rik's heart pounded in his ears. His breathing felt ragged. He checked the stone again. It was almost as bright as before. Just one end wasn't glowing yet.

  Every few steps, he glanced back. To his dismay, Warrick had been pinned by some kind of spell. He looked alive, but he couldn't help them again. Now Krinir and Mathew were in pursuit. Rik glanced around everywhere but saw no escape.

  The cavern lit up with a brilliant yellow glow. Krinir was charging some kind of massive spell. Rik had no idea how they'd escape this time. He just kept sprinting, struggling to stay on his feet as they navigated the rocky terrain.

  "Got any ideas?" he asked the others, praying desperately for the stone to regain its former glow.

  Eliza shook her head as they continued running. The yellow glow of the spell had become brighter, almost blinding. The hair on Rik's arms stood on end. If that spell struck them, there was no chance of surviving, and they couldn't run fast enough to escape.

  Then it happened. The blue glow filled the entire stone.

  "We all need to touch the stone," he shouted.

  Kara and Eliza came to a stop, and they huddled together, pressing their hands to the stone. Nothing happened. Krinir's blinding magic had almost reached them.

  "Think of somewhere!" Rik shouted, heart pounding.

  "I can't think of anything," Kara said, panic in her eyes.

  Eliza remained calm. "I know just the place."

  Rik could feel the heat of the approaching spell as he closed his eyes, praying this would work. A second passed. Nothing. Another second. Still nothing.

  Then his feet left the floor. He felt a moment of searing pain against his back, but then it faded away, and the world spun around him.

  He hit the ground hard, scraping his elbows against rocks. When he opened his eyes, they were all lying together on the rocky ground before a giant stone wall. He got to his feet gingerly, glancing up to see guards in unfamiliar gray armor atop the wall.

  "Where are we?" he asked breathlessly.

  "Eastwatch," Eliza said. "It's where I was born. We're on the eastern side of the Wastelands now, but quite a bit farther north. That means we're closer to Krinir's fortress."

  Rik groaned, assessing his injuries. "After what we just saw, I'm not sure I wanna go there anymore."

  "It doesn't matter," Eliza said. "My father died so we can escape. We can't give up."

  Rik nodded. "I know. We've been through too much."

  "We'll find a way home," Kara said. "That's always been my goal."

  "And then we'll find a way to defeat Krinir," Rik said. He was surprised to hear himself say it, but he also knew he meant every word. It wasn't a carefree desire for adventure as it had once been. Instead, it was the certainty that came with having a goal—a world-changing goal.

  They would defeat Krinir.

  Right now, though, Rik needed a chance to rest.

  Chapter 32: The Price

  Days and days had passed, but Danica could still not open the portal she needed. She'd read through every book Krinir had given her on the subject, but the books were useless. Her magic was a new kind that no one had ever used before. It was unnatural, as she'd always thought. How could she hope to succeed in the task Krinir had given her?

  She could sense his growing impatience. He didn't hurt her, didn't even threaten her, but she feared him more every day.

  She had to be mi
ssing something. Or did her power not function as the Technomages had expected? She spent all her time in Krinir's library, or in the comfortable room he'd given her. Of course, the entire fortress felt like a prison, and she feared she had a death sentence.

  After all, Krinir had revealed a lot to her. Could he allow her to go free after revealing his true motives to her? She had no idea if he'd keep her as a prisoner, or if he'd decide she was too dangerous to live. Killing meant nothing to him. It was a process much like eating, boring and necessary. That was a chilling thought.

  There was a knock on her door. She sat up in bed. "Come in."

  To her surprise, Krinir entered the room alone and took a seat in a wooden chair—a rare luxury here in the Shadowed Land, or so he'd told her. He watched her silently for a while, and she wondered what he was thinking. She wished she could find a way to change the man—or god, whatever he was. She'd always prided herself on her ability to bring out the best in people.

  But she'd never encountered a subject as difficult as Krinir.

  "Do you want something?" she asked hesitantly.

  "I wanted some company."

  Danica wasn't sure she liked where this was going. He was so powerful that he could force her to do anything he wanted, but he hoped he wouldn't make her. It was difficult to tell, however, for he was a god and his actions weren't always predictable.

  "I didn't know you cared for company," she said.

  "I'd grown so used to having no one around after all these years. Yes, I have servants, but they hardly make fitting company." He chuckled softly. "No, they're not like you."

  "I will talk to you," she said. "But don't expect any company beyond that."

  He chuckled again, a disturbing sound. "Oh, I wasn't expecting that kind of company. Though, of course, I could have my way with you if I wished. It would be too easy." He shook his head. "But I wouldn't want to force you against your will."

  Danica held back her frustration. "I don’t understand you. How can you pursue destruction the way you do and then almost seem reasonable at times?"