The God Thief (The Master Thief Book 3)

by Ben Hale

  “Jack may not be present,” Aranis said. “But he makes his presence known.”

  Ero sprinted down the hall. “We must hasten. Unchecked, the entity will eat through the entire Necrolith. We have to stop Skorn and escape before it does.”

  “What about Jack?” Beauty asked.

  “He’ll be here,” Ero said.

  Ero took the lead and they rushed up the stairs at the end of the hall. Curving and ascending through the structure, Ero seemed to know exactly where to go as he climbed the labyrinthine interior of the Necrolith. They reached the top level and skidded to a halt, gasping from the climb. Then Ero stepped to the wide double doors and shoved them open.

  The peak of the Necrolith was a hundred feet across, the ceiling rising to a glowing point. Strange panels set against the exterior walls displayed ancient glyphs, the symbols matching the pedestal at the heart of the room. Beauty spotted the mangled remains of a small, black pyramid floating above the pedestal, purple light flowing through it and coursing to the pointed ceiling above. Gallow, Oragon, and Skorn turned at their appearance, Skorn’s expression turning rigid with disbelief and rage.

  “It’s not possible . . .” Skorn breathed. “No ancient could have escaped that cell.”

  Ero smiled at him. “But I’m not an ancient.”

  He reached up and grasped the amulet around his neck, pulling it free. As the chain snapped Ero’s features changed, the mirage fading away from his clothing, his flesh, and his face. Beauty gasped in shock when Ero faded from view, and revealed another.

  Jack Myst.

  Chapter 44: The God Thief

  Jack smirked, relieved to finally shed the persona of Ero. The shock on Beauty’s face alone was worth the wait, and he winked at her before drawing his dagger and snapping his crossbow into his palm. He knew he should strike while his adversary was stunned, but could not resist basking in the moment.

  “Where is Ero?” Skorn asked, confused and stunned.

  “He was never here,” Jack said, his smile widening. “I never invited him, and he never came to Lumineia.”

  “But he descended to the temple in Azertorn,” Skorn said. “He bore a staff of light, spoke like my brother.”

  “Me, me, and me again.” Jack released a mocking laugh. “It was always me in the persona of Ero. I particularly enjoyed my arrival at the Church of Light.”

  Skorn twitched, his scarred features laced with disbelief and a trace of fear. “I do not believe you.”

  “Believe it,” Jack replied. “Ero never came to Lumineia, and you never spoke to him. It has always been me.”

  “But you knew things,” he said, his jaw working.

  “Nothing you didn’t tell me,” Jack said.

  Jack’s gaze flicked to Gallow, but the assassin seemed as astonished as Skorn. Even Beauty’s father seemed uncertain, and the giant barbarian shifted his feet, his confusion turning to anger. Before they could recover, Jack glanced to his own allies.

  “Beauty, take care of your father. Inna and Aranis, you have Gallow. Skorn is mine.”

  “It was you the whole time?” Inna asked.

  “It was,” he said.

  “How?” Beauty asked.

  “Does it matter?” Aranis said, her smile brilliant beneath her cowl. “Well done, pet.”

  Beauty jerked her head. “When this is over, I expect answers.”

  “I expect one as well,” Jack said.

  Beauty blinked in surprise, realizing that every time Ero had asked, Do you love Jack, he’d been asking for himself. A smile spread on Beauty’s face, her expression one of shock, chagrin, and pride.

  “As you order,” she said, inclining her head.

  Jack turned away from them and surged into a sprint. Inna and Aranis leapt for Gallow, while Beauty charged her father, who was the first to recover. The giant barbarian swung his maul, sending a whistling whine through the room.

  “You accept your end with dignity,” he growled.

  “I’m not here to die,” Beauty said.

  Jack wanted to hear the rest of the conversation, but Skorn’s shock turned to rage and he yanked his thin sword into view. Jack activated his speedstone and felt the rush of magic through his limbs. Skorn was still faster, and deflected his strike with ease.

  “You will not escape again,” Skorn snarled, his scarred features twisted with fury.

  Jack struggled to stave off the assault, and retreated to give himself space. Driven by rage, Skorn did not waver or deviate, nicking Jack’s clothing and driving for his heart. Jack took advantage of his lethal intent and fired a crossbow bolt at his feet. Anticipating an explosive bolt, Skorn leapt aside, but the bolt detonated into smoke, engulfing the two of them.

  Instead of retreating Jack dived toward his adversary, brushing against him and darting out of the smoke, using the contact to pickpocket the hand Gate. Leaping into the open, he pointed it to the ceiling and pressed the first rune—and pointed at the floor to cast the second Gate.

  Jack dropped through the floor as Skorn exploded from the smoke, swinging his sword where Jack had been standing. Then Skorn spotted the portal on the ground and his eyes widened—and Jack dropped behind him. Jack stabbed a knife into Skorn’s leg and rolled away, rising to his feet. Snarling in pain, Skorn yanked the weapon free and stood, rotating to keep Jack in focus.

  “How did you learn that ability?” Skorn demanded.

  Jack grinned. “The Mind Vault was very informative,” Jack replied.

  Jack cast the Gate on the wall behind him and fired his crossbow into the Gate on the floor. The bolt came at Skorn’s back but Skorn managed to dodge, twisting into Jack’s dagger. He growled as the blade cut a shallow line on his arm and Jack retreated again.

  Before Skorn could recover Jack fired the Gate twice again, once below Skorn and again on the ceiling. Skorn cried out as he dropped from view, reappearing on the ceiling and falling toward the portal on the floor.

  Jack leapt into a kick that smashed Skorn in the chest, sending him tumbling into another Gate. Skorn sailed through the ceiling again. Jack kept up the assault, casting the Gates on walls, the ceiling, and even in the air, using both portals to send throwing knives and crossbow bolts at Skorn’s flanks.

  He cast a Gate behind himself and ducked, launching Skorn into it and dropping him on top of an exploding bolt. Unable to recover, Skorn struggled to defend the attacks that came from all sides. By bolt, blade, and Gate, Jack fought Skorn, leaving his flesh scored, his clothing torn. Skorn screamed in rage and pain as he swung his sword, but he was helpless beneath the assault. Then Jack noticed Beauty . . .

  ###

  Beauty risked adding strength to her speed charm, the power surging through her limbs and making her tremble. She caught the great maul on her sword and turned it aside. The spiked weapon crashed into the floor, pelting Beauty’s body with bits of stone.

  She growled and charged through the onslaught, slicing her blade across her father’s side. Anticipating her move, Oragon twisted and reached down to grab her hair, using it to toss her aside. She cried out but managed to roll when she hit the ground. She came to her knees and caught the maul as it came for her skull.

  The impact sent her knee into the floor, the maul grazing her cheek, the spikes cutting next to her eye. Blood dripped into her vision as she forced the maul aside and leapt away, firing a crossbow bolt at her father’s chest. The barbarian caught the bolt and flicked it aside, where it detonated against the wall.

  “You cast two charms at once,” he said, his tone disapproving. “It will consume you.”

  “Not before I kill you.”

  She threw a lightstone at him but he caught that as well, the burst of light hardly visible in his fist. He sneered at the attempt but she used the slight distraction to fire another bolt, this time going for his foot. The bolt burst into ropes and wrapped around his legs, but Oragon reached down and snapped them free.

  “Your thief tricks will not stop me,” he growled.


  “They’re not meant to stop you,” she said.

  She locked eyes with Jack and he cast one of his Gates at Oragon’s feet. He grunted in dismay as he abruptly dropped through the floor, his feet kicking into Skorn across the room, knocking him down.

  Beauty leapt forward, driving her sword for Oragon’s eye. He twisted his head to the side and clamped his teeth on her sword. Her surprise cost her, and the barbarian ripped the weapon from her grasp with his jaws. Then he dragged himself from the Gate.

  “You will yield to defeat,” he snarled, stalking toward her.

  Beauty looked at Jack but he was hard pressed by Skorn. A glance revealed Inna and Aranis closing in on Gallow. The assassin’s idalia streaked through the air, narrowly missing Aranis when she leapt into a flip. The hands of her cloak tried to catch the spinning blade but it cut through them, returning to Gallow’s hand.

  “Your friends cannot help you,” Oragon snarled, raising his maul once more.

  “They will always help me,” Beauty said.

  She twisted as the weapon came down and dived close, plunging a knife into his shoulder. He twisted and struck her with his free hand, the blow sending her tumbling toward Gallow. But that was her intent.

  She rolled to her feet at Gallow’s side. Holding her stomach, she feigned weakness as Gallow launched the idalia toward her—and she ducked. The blade streaked toward Oragon and the barbarian instinctively smashed his maul into it. The triangular blade wobbled and spun away, burying into a panel of energy.

  “Fight your own foe!” Gallow screamed, and sprinted for the embedded idalia

  “Little toys for little men,” he growled, striding for Beauty.

  But Aranis stepped in front of him. Hands streaked from her cloak and spun a dozen ring daggers. With speed active, the giant barbarian struggled to deflect them but there were too many. They nicked and cut, shredding the bearskin armor and leaving bloody furrows on his flesh. He snarled his fury and turned on the dark elf, charging at her.

  Aranis withdrew into her cloak—and the weapon fell upon nothing. She reappeared on the side of the cloak and used hands from her cloak to catch the barbarian’s feet, causing him to stumble and crash into a panel of glyphs. Beauty nodded her gratitude to Aranis and leapt for her father, and the dark elf surprisingly smiled and joined her. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Inna.

  The young assassin dived for the idalia, yanking it free and raising it high. The triangular blade glowed crimson, the light reflecting off Inna’s eyes. She stood stunned for a moment and then turned to face Gallow, whose expression was twisted in disbelief.

  “That was mine!” he shrieked.

  “Not anymore,” Inna said. Raising the triangular blade in her hand, she hurled it at him, the weapon slicing across his arm before spinning back to her.

  With Aranis at her side, Beauty advanced upon Oragon. Wounded and furious, the great chief turned on them with a vengeance, his body shimmering with power. Beauty realized he’d cast strength, agility, and speed at once. The giant barbarian seemed to swell in size, flickers of brown light sparking across his form.

  Beauty called out to Aranis as the dark elf attacked, her ring daggers slicing into the barbarian. He ignored the sting and his hand whipped out, striking her in the face and sending her skidding toward Jack and Skorn. Then he charged at Beauty, his bloody features alight with power.

  She added agility to her own magic but her body was already weary. She groaned and sprinted away, leaping onto the panels of glyphs to gain height. Enraged and empowered, her father smashed his maul into the panels, sending sparks and bits of magic exploding throughout the room.

  Skorn and Jack ducked away from the blasts, and Skorn shrieked at the barbarian chief. Heedless of Skorn’s orders, Oragon swung his maul with lethal abandon, shredding the stone, the aquaglass windows, and the panels of glyphs.

  Beauty parried his blows but fought for distance. With magic thundering in her veins she should have felt powerful, but she had never felt so weak. Her father was stronger, faster, and better. Then she spotted Jack casting Gates and battling Skorn, and realized what she needed.

  To be smarter.

  She curved her path toward Skorn, stabbing a finger toward a wall when Jack spotted her. He grinned and dodged Skorn’s weapon, casting a Gate where she indicated. As she leapt toward it she pointed at Skorn.

  She dived through, the room shifting in an instant as she exited beside Skorn. She sliced her sword across his shoulder and slipped away. From across the room the barbarian chief swung his maul through the Gate, the weapon raking Skorn’s face as he whirled to Beauty.

  He cried out and tumbled aside and the barbarian chief stepped through the Gate—and dropped into another cast by Jack. He cried out as his feet slipped through, his own boots clipping his skull as he caught himself on the floor’s edge.

  Beauty leapt to him and reared back, bringing every speck of power into her fist. She struck him in the face, rocking his head back and dislodging him from his hold. He grunted in surprise and slipped through, his whole body passing through the Gate. Beauty twirled and aimed her sword towards his exit, impaling him as his chest appeared.

  Jack dismissed both Gates and the barbarian tumbled to the floor, fighting for breath and staring at the sword in his heart. He managed to reach his knees and meet Beauty’s gaze. His jaw worked and he clawed for his maul but she picked it up instead.

  “I will fulfill my oath . . .” he snarled.

  Beauty swung the maul, smashing it into his head and the helmet tumbled free. His eyes glazed in shock and he teetered before slumping to the floor. As the barbarian chieftain died Beauty stepped over him.

  “That was for mother,” she said.

  Abruptly weary, she dropped the maul.

  And the Necrolith shuddered.

  Chapter 45: Crumbling

  Jack witnessed Beauty defeat her father as he advanced upon Skorn. The ancient’s face was a mask of torn flesh, his dark eyes glittering with frightening rage. As Jack aimed his crossbow the Necrolith shuddered, and Skorn’s eyes widened.

  “What have you done?”

  As if in answer the anti-magic entity burst into the room. Now twice its original size, it loomed over all of them and lunged for the sparking glyphs like a rabid mongrel. The light dimmed as it consumed the power and it leapt for the next. Skorn stumbled to the panel at the center, latching onto it as the Necrolith shuddered again.

  “It cannot be!” he shrieked. “I need more time!”

  Jack appeared behind him and plunged a crossbow bolt into his back. As the ancient cried out the bolt exploded into ropes, binding him to the center pedestal. Wounded and weak, he fought against the bonds but failed to break free. Jack turned to find Inna kneeling over Gallow.

  “Why did you have to kill Jaron?” Inna asked, her voice low and harsh.

  Gallow gasped for life, the idalia still buried in his chest. “He betrayed me.”

  “He loved you,” she hissed.

  Gallow flinched. “I know,” he mumbled. “But I was not worth loving.”

  “He wanted you to replace him,” Inna said. “Did you know that? But you refused to learn the creed.”

  Gallow fumbled to press a hand on his wound but the effort was in vain. “I’m sorry,” he said, his features twisted with pain. “I failed him.”

  “I won’t,” Inna said. She pulled the idalia free and rose to her feet.

  “Forgive me . . .” Gallow breathed, his body going still.

  Inna straightened her shoulders and turned, her jaw setting in a firm line. Jack inclined his head to her, and she returned the gesture. She’d slain her father’s killer, and her expression bore an intense satisfaction. Jack turned to the bound Skorn and the others joined him.

  “You’re just slaves,” Skorn shrieked. “Born unto death without the masters you are meant to serve.”

  Jack leaned down until Skorn could meet his gaze. “Arrogance will get you killed,” Jack said.

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p; Skorn’s eyes nearly burst from his skull and the Necrolith shuddered again. Then Skorn’s expression turned furious and he yanked his hand free, catching Jack’s tunic and pulling him close.

  “At least you’ll die with me.”

  Jack pulled his hand free and stepped back—and saw Skorn holding the pocket Gate. With a jerk of his arm Skorn hurled it directly at the anti-magic entity. The inky figure caught and devoured it, causing an explosion of silver sparks from its mouth. Silver liquid splashed outward with several drops landing on Jack’s hand.

  Jack cried out and wiped them off but they sank into his flesh, burning like coals. He dug his nails into his skin but the liquid disappeared, the pain evaporating as quickly as it had come. Jack cursed as the Necrolith shook, the floor tilting slightly before righting itself.

  “There goes our escape route,” he growled.

  Skorn began to laugh, the sound rising with madness as he struggled against his bonds. “You cannot escape!” he screamed. “The power of the Necrolith has nowhere to go—and it will build until it detonates. Even you are not fast enough to escape.”

  The anti-magic entity consumed the last of the panels and hunted for more—and spotted the center pedestal. It charged to it, clamping its jaws onto the small black pyramid. The purple light briefly illuminated the entity before the pedestal was extinguished. Then its jaws opened wide and settled on the entire panel—and Skorn’s screaming body. It sucked in, consuming all the energy, taking Skorn’s life.

  Skorn’s screaming mounted before abruptly cutting off, and Skorn disappeared along with the remains of the panel. The thread of power was cut to the peak of the room and the Necrolith shook violently, the burst of white that extended from the top of the obelisk reversing, filling the room with light.

  “The stairs!” Jack shouted, and the foursome sprinted for the doors.

  As they charged from the room, Jack spotted the anti-magic entity raise its hands in an attempt to consume the beacon’s power. It trembled in ecstasy before bursting apart, shredded by the monumental power. Fires ignited in the chamber as threads of power exploded.