The Gilded Empire

by Ryan W. Mueller

  "Come on, Markus," Rik said. "Give me some room to breathe."

  Markus broke out of the hug. "How're you here? I never thought I'd see you again."

  Tears welled in his eyes. He felt as if he were walking in a dream. For so long, he'd accepted that he'd never see Rik again. To see him now, alive and healthy, was the greatest feeling of Markus's life. He wished this moment could last forever.

  "It's a long story," Rik said. "I'm just glad to see you. You don't want to know the hell we've been through."

  Markus chuckled. "I could say the same."

  Rik grinned again, reminding Markus of the friend he'd known before all these adventures began. "Guess we've got some catching up to do."

  "Unfortunately, that will have to wait," Marlon said. "Krinir is on his way."

  Markus looked away from Rik. He'd been so focused on his friend that he hadn't noticed the other people there. Nadia was still talking with Kara. They both had tears in their eyes. But Markus's gaze swept past them, landing on his uncle instead.

  Markus took a hesitant step closer. "Uncle Theo, what're you doing here?"

  "Warrick told me to come here."

  "And you followed his orders?" Markus asked. "I thought you didn't owe any allegiance to him anymore."

  "Markus, you know it's more complicated than that."

  "It is," Marlon said. "In the immediate future, we'll be fighting Warrick, but that's only because he's under Krinir's control."

  "He's telling the truth," Kara said, breaking away from Nadia. "Warrick saved my life multiple times in the Shadowed Land. For most of his life, he's been manipulated by Krinir. Now Krinir has complete control over him. Or close to complete control."

  Markus tried to sort through this information, but it made his head hurt. "Are you saying that Warrick is our friend?"

  "Not for the moment," Marlon said, "but he can be our greatest ally."

  Markus looked past Marlon, to the two people who were sitting behind him. One of them he didn't recognize, but the other he recognized immediately. Tylen.

  Nadia must have noticed him at the same time. Her mouth became a thin line.

  Tylen smiled at her. "Nice to see you, too."

  Nadia rounded on Marlon. "What is he doing here?"

  "You all have your roles to play," Marlon said.

  Markus was sick of playing roles devised by others. He was beginning to think that even the people on the right side were too manipulative. They constantly guided everyone on the paths they wanted, taking all choice away from them—or at least making it sound like any choice of their own would be the wrong one.

  "I'm tired of playing roles," Markus said. "Tell us what you want and let us make our own decisions. Give us the whole picture, not the version that suits your interests the most."

  "I understand why you might resent the manipulations of sorcerers," Marlon said. "You've been through a lot of tough situations because of our actions. I may not have directly contributed to these situations, but I do apologize." He stroked his clean-shaven chin. "There's a reason we don't tell you the whole picture. Sometimes, knowledge of potential futures might set you on the wrong path. Other times, we simply can't read the Webs with enough clarity."

  "We have no proof that you're telling the truth," Markus said.

  "I know, and I understand why you resent that."

  Nadia put a hand on Markus's shoulder. "Now is not the time for this argument. Remember? Krinir is on his way here. We need to prepare for that."

  "I'm not sure why we're even here," Markus said. "We can't do anything against Krinir. He's a god, isn't he? He'll slaughter us."

  "We escaped him once in the Shadowed Land," said a light-haired woman Markus didn't recognize. She wrapped an arm around Rik's shoulders. "We can fight him again now."

  Marlon shook his head. "I'm afraid it won't come to that. Fighting Krinir will fall to those with the power to slow him down."

  "Slow him down?" Nadia said. "You don't think you can defeat him?"

  "No, we can only delay him."

  "Delay him?" Rik said. "Why?"

  Marlon leaned forward in his gold-framed chair. "Krinir knows you're a threat to him, and he can read the Webs of Fate better than anyone. Even Warrick. He will not hesitate to look into the Webs and see where you will be at a given time, and then he'll kill you." His expression became grave. "If he finds you, you stand no chance against him. Not yet."

  "I don't understand," Markus said, pacing back and forth. "Why are we so important?"

  "Because of what Warrick told Kara," Marlon said. "We know where—or, more accurately, when—Lionar has been imprisoned. And you are the best group of people to rescue him." He held up a hand. "I know it seems ridiculous. Why not send sorcerers to rescue him? The answer to that is simple. Something about being immortal makes it very difficult to hide yourself in the Webs of Fate. Krinir would see us coming, and he would stop us."

  "But won't he see us coming, too?" Nadia asked.

  "Give me a chance to explain," Marlon said, his expression twitching with irritation. "There are secrets hidden deep within the Library of Luminia, secrets that even the High Sorcerer isn't allowed to see. However, I do have my sources. One such secret is a device that creates dark strands in the Webs of Fate. As I said a moment ago, something about immortal sorcerers interferes with this device, making it essentially useless."

  Markus had an idea where this was going. "So we have to get that device."

  "Yes. Normally, it would be protected by the librarians, who are all powerful sorcerers. But the battle will force the librarians to abandon their posts and fight."

  Nadia looked like she might be sick. "Then you don't want us to fight at all? You want us to find this device and then flee the city?"

  "Exactly. It's the only path I've seen that leads to Krinir's defeat."

  Markus felt as if something had constricted his chest. That was a lot of pressure for them to bear. If he'd known so much weight would fall on his shoulders, he never would have set out with Nadia to kill Warrick. He missed the simple life of a woodsman. Back then, he'd never had to deal with the fate of the world, only his own dismal fate as an Imperial Guard.

  After everything he'd been through, that life no longer sounded so bad.

  "I'll give you a map of the library," Marlon said, interrupting Markus's thoughts. "I will also describe the device you need. It's a perfectly round and black stone. Some say that the god Rador created it long ago, but no one's quite sure where it came from."

  "Does that really matter?" Berig asked. "As long as we can use it, that's fine by me."

  Markus held back a smile. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed Berig. Nor had he believed that so many people from his old life back in the Empire would meet today in Luminia. Markus's life had become stranger than he'd ever imagined.

  But when he looked at Nadia and Rik and everyone else who'd become part of his life, he realized that he couldn't go back to the life he'd had before.

  They were part of something special. They had to see this through.

  Chapter 56: The Battle of Luminia

  Nadia wished the reunion had been longer. She and Kara had caught up, but now the world was pulling them apart once again.

  Nadia watched through a window in the Tower of Light as the army appeared on the horizon. It appeared that Warrick had summoned every Imperial Guard from the Empire. Looking through a special lens that made everything look much bigger, Nadia saw Warrick and Krinir at the front of the army.

  Some of Luminia's sorcerers had stepped to the edge of the city to oppose the army. Alongside these sorcerers stood the Luminian army, a mixture of lesser sorcerers, channelers, and ordinary people skilled with weapons.

  "You should head to the library now," Marlon said.

  Markus, Nadia, Berig, Lara, Rik, and Eliza all exited the chamber together. Marlon had instructed the others to remain. They had duties to attend to once the city fell. Nadia hated to think that people were going to die just
so they could obtain a magical device.

  How many people had to die in her quest? Would it be worth it in the end?

  She also hated the thought that she had to separate from Kara again, but Kara had made her intentions clear. She had to remain here in the city and help Warrick remember his true self. It sounded more foolish than anything Nadia had ever done, but she trusted Kara's judgment. Kara had survived the Shadowed Land, after all.

  Soon they exited the Tower of Light and stood on the bright streets of Luminia. The city had grown eerily quiet. Most of its citizens had sheltered in their homes. To Nadia's surprise, only a small percentage of Luminian citizens were sorcerers. Most were ordinary people.

  The soldiers had all assembled on the city's western side. The library was toward that part of the city, so Nadia and the others would have to fight their way through the battle.

  They walked along street after street, the silence growing oppressive around them. No one spoke. Nadia felt so tense she thought she'd explode. Taking deep breaths, she tried to thrust her fears aside, but nothing could stop her churning gut.

  Then the battle began.

  A great glow lit up the western sky. Orange. Yellow. Strange clouds of darkness floated over the city. The ground trembled with the massive power of earth magic. Everyone else had pale faces as they made their way to the west, and Nadia's face surely looked the same.

  Imperial Guards flooded into their surroundings. Nadia readied her bow and let loose a quick volley of arrows. She struck two Imperial Guards. Some of the others recoiled, eyes wide. They must not have expected to find resistance.

  Well, they were in for a surprise.

  Then they pointed fingers at the party. Fireballs shot from their fingertips. Everyone in Nadia's party threw themselves out of the way. Their TWs had stopped working as soon as they'd left the New Earth Empire. They could not conjure shields. Well, Rik could, but he was the only one.

  However, they had other abilities on their side.

  Nadia summoned a spike of rock from the ground. It came up with such force that it burst through one Imperial Guard's armor, impaling him. Those close to him scurried out of the way, launching more fireballs at the party.

  To Nadia's surprise, Markus managed to summon a wall of rock in front of them, just in time to catch the fireballs before they could strike the party. The Imperial Guards backed away, looking confused, then launched more fireballs, setting fire to nearby buildings.

  Nadia charged toward them, ducking one fireball, then leaping to the side to dodge another. She engaged an Imperial Guard with her sword, and he fought back. They performed a quick dance of swords, and she lost herself in the chaos of the battle. The man was stronger, but she was quicker, and she took advantage of that.

  He must have sensed the danger because he tried to launch another fireball, but she slashed her sword across his neck first. As blood flowed from his neck, he toppled to the ground.

  All around, the battle had begun in earnest. She could no longer make out her party, for they were all deep in combat with the Imperial Guards. The clinking and clanking of swords rang in the air. The metallic scent of blood reached her nostrils.

  She fought with everything she had. Slashing. Stabbing. Parrying. Doing whatever she needed to stay alive. The numbers against them seemed overwhelming, but they kept fighting. Screams and grunts came from all around. Nearby, buildings were aglow in fiery hues.

  She ducked a sword blow, then took out the legs of her opponent. Her armor didn't allow her as much movement as she would have liked, but it was necessary in a battle like this.

  The man hit the ground, and she dragged her sword across his neck. Gone were all qualms about killing these people. They were trying to kill her. It didn't matter that they might have normally been decent men. They were enemies now.

  "Come on, Nadia!" Markus shouted. "There's a gap over this way!"

  Nadia peered to her right to see the rest of her party darting through a hole between the Imperial Guards. Now Luminian soldiers had joined the battle. Sorcerers weren't too far away, illuminating the air with fire and lightning spells. Nadia could feel the energy sizzling in the air. She felt alive with the ferocity of the battle—a feeling like nothing she'd ever experienced.

  She raced through the gap in the fighting, following her friends. The gap wasn't large, though. Soon they came across more fighting, more chaos, more magic. Swords met each other in a quick series of clinks and clanks. Sweat poured down Nadia's face, but she ignored it.

  Her heart pounded a drumbeat. Her senses felt more acute than ever. It seemed almost as if time had slowed down. She felt multiple strikes against her armor. Some of them were painful, bruising her ribs, but nothing penetrated her armor. She kept her sword high, using it to parry any blows that might strike her unprotected head and neck.

  When she saw a chance to break free from the battle, she darted into a nearby alley, following the rest of her party. They had some cuts and bruises, but they'd survived so far.

  Rik sent blasts of fire back toward the battle, forming a wall of flame between them and their closest pursuers. They raced through the alleys, turning left, then right, then left again. Nadia prayed they hadn't lost their way.

  They emerged on a street and found themselves in the midst of the fighting again. Here, sorcery was flying everywhere. Massive bursts of lightning hit entire contingents of Imperial Guards. Enormous walls of flame sent everyone scrambling for their lives.

  On the other side of this carnage stood the library.

  "How are we gonna reach it?" Berig asked. Nadia was surprised that he'd accompanied them again. He was not the same man she'd met back in Crayden.

  Rik's face was lined with determination. "We'll just have to force our way through. I'll try to keep a shield around us."

  He held his staff high, and the air around them shimmered. They raced across the wide cobblestone street, protected by the shield. Fire flew all around them. At first, it went around the shield, but how long would that last? They were a good distance from the worst of the battle, but somebody decided to launch arrows at them.

  Nadia flinched, but the arrows disintegrated against Rik's shield. Still, Nadia thought she saw it waver. Fireballs followed the arrows, each one dissolving as it hit the shield. But the barrier was growing weaker with every impact.

  Nadia's breath caught in her throat. Sweat dripped down her face. But she kept her focus on the library. It was just ahead of them, maybe thirty feet away.

  A wave of darkness slammed against them. The shield wavered, then died. They hit the ground as the darkness grew thicker. Pain struck Nadia, hot and sharp, like nothing she'd ever felt before. She held her hands over her head as if that could protect her from the pain.

  Then, as quickly as it had begun, the pain ceased. Nadia got to her feet shakily, noting that two sorcerers stood nearby, holding a shield around them.

  "Thank you," she shouted as they started running again. The smell of smoke blanketed the air. The sounds of swords rang out all around. People were shouting, grunting, screaming.

  Nadia and the others raced beyond the reach of the sorcerers who were helping them. Just a little bit farther to the library.

  But then at least a dozen Imperial Guards appeared, blocking their path. The party skidded to a stop on the cobblestone street, looking around in panic for a way past these Imperial Guard. Rik tried to raise a shield, but it wavered before dying completely.

  His eyes were wide. "There's nothing I can do."

  Markus, Nadia, Berig, and Lara worked together, trying to shift the ground under the Imperial Guards, but their Earth abilities were not yet strong enough to do much. One of the Imperial Guards, a man right in the center of the group, pointed his fingers at them, preparing to launch a fireball.

  Nadia pulled a stalagmite out of the ground. It didn't impale the man, but it threw him off balance. A moment later, another man appeared behind the Imperial Guard and drove his sword through the back of the man's n
eck. When this newcomer pulled the sword out, the Imperial Guard hit the ground limply.

  The rest of the Imperial Guards jumped into action, engaging the man. It took Nadia a moment, but then she recognized who had come to their rescue.

  "Garet!" she shouted, struggling to understand why he was there. She turned to the rest of her party. "We have to help him."

  Rik pointed his staff at some of the Imperial Guards, launching a burst of lightning at them. They screamed as they hit the ground, then writhed in pain. Nadia's party scrambled over the fallen Imperial Guards, heading toward the library. Two of the Imperial Guards were engaged with Garet. He was handling himself quite well, but he could still use some help.

  Rik sent a fireball at the back of one of the Imperial Guards. The man fell, stumbling over his comrade. They both hit the ground, giving Garet a chance to quickly plunge his sword through each man's neck.

  Most of the Imperial Guards had fled now, apparently deciding that there were easier opponents. The din of the battle continued, but Nadia's party was far away from the worst of it.

  For now.

  Nadia rushed to Garet's side. "What are you doing here?"

  "I could ask the same of you."

  "Well, it doesn't matter right now," Markus said. "We've gotta get into this library and recover some kind of device." He quickly described it.

  Garet glanced back toward the battle. "The library seems safer than out here."

  They rushed up the wide stone steps, then through the door, leaving the battle behind.

  Chapter 57: The Library of Luminia

  The library was empty. Rik didn't like it.

  They raced through the stacks, passing book after book. Rik had never been much of a reader, but he thought he might have liked this place under better circumstances. As it was, they didn't have time to linger. They followed the map Marlon had given them.

  Shouts came from behind them. Imperial Guards.

  "Damn," Rik muttered. "We don't have much time."