by J. K. Barber
Confused at Katya’s actions, Jared’s mind quickly raced to find another course of action. The creature would not turn to engage him, and Katya was strangely unable to help him. He would have to slow or completely stop the dead man on his own, while keeping his distance and staying out of the creatures reach. Pain shot through his leg again, as his burns reasserted their presence. He could not chase the creature forever. Eventually his wounds would slow him down enough that he would lose speed.
Mentally slapping himself in the forehead, Jared decided on his strategy. He increased his pace even more, running now at a full out sprint, closing the distance between him and the creature until he was only fifty paces behind, and then stopped. Dropping to one knee, he snatched an arrow from his quiver and nocked it to his bow string, never taking his eyes from the dead man. Drawing the bow, he bent the wood in his hands, sighting down the arrow and releasing all his breath. Thankful once again for the sight granted him by the owl, which not only allowed him to see in near darkness but also allowed him to see at great distances as clearly as though they were only a few feet away, he let the arrow fly. The first shaft was quickly followed by two more.
The first arrow struck the creature in the back of the calf. A normal man would have been dropped to the ground, but the dark figure did not miss a step as the missile pierced the dead flesh of his leg. The second arrow had Jared’s desired effect though. Jared had always preferred broad head arrows over bodkin, being a hunter and not an archer in the King’s Army. The wide blade of the arrowhead struck home lower than the first, and the creature stumbled and fell. Jared’s third arrow thudded into the creature’s back. Again, a shot that would have killed a living man struck Katya’s abductor harmlessly. Katya was thrown unceremoniously, and Jared winced as she slid along the forest floor to be brought up short and hard by the trunk of a tree.
Jared rushed forward, drawing his sword as he ran. Though the tendon in the dead man’s ankle had been cut, the dark figure was far from helpless. Jared ran to Katya’s side, dropping his bow and drawing his sword. He knelt and began cutting at the sorceress’ bonds. No longer maintaining her steady stream of softly spoken words, Katya began to scream at the top of her lungs.
“Saaaasha!” the sorceress howled. The word was stretched out over several seconds, as Katya put the air in her lungs to full effect. The young woman recognized Jared but still called for her sister.
She drew breath for another call, but it only came out a wordless yell of terror, as she looked at Jared’s feet. The woodsman’s head snapped around, following Katya’s stare, to see a dead pale hand clamp around his ankle. He tried to shuffle away, but the thing’s grasp was an iron vice. He fell to ground. Jared’s leg erupted in pain as the creature dug its bony fingers into his charred leg. Katya’s fearful scream was soon followed by Jared’s own wail of agony, and the woodsman’s vision darkened, whether from the pain or the release of the owl’s gift of sight he did not know.
Jared brought his sword up to strike, but the combination of the odd angle and his injuries made the swing a feeble attempt at best. The creature caught Jared’s arm at the wrist and twisted it until he released his sword. Looking over at Katya, Jared could see the sorceress kicking helplessly at the creature with her bound feet, as she struggled with the bonds around her wrist, tearing at the weakened rope with her teeth.
Jared saw his death approaching, again at the hands of one of these foul dead things. He stared into the creature’s milky white eyes as it pulled itself closer. In addition to the fire in his leg and wrist, Jared felt the cold presence of the dead man as it released the woodsman’s ankle and grabbed onto his belt. It leeched the heat out of his body, as it moved forward, and Jared shivered. He looked over at the struggling young woman, resigned to his fate. “Sasha is near,” he said weakly, the intense cold stealing his breath. “Free yourself and get away.”
Katya leaned forward, grabbing Jared’s dagger from his boot. To the hunter’s surprise, she ignored her bonds and began stabbing the weapon into the dead man’s body, while yelling for her sister again. Jared knew it was useless. The knife plunged harmlessly into the creature’s back again and again, and it moved ever forward. Jared’s legs now pinned under the thing’s weight, the woodsman had a strange moment to marvel at how his breath misted as it left his mouth.
Suddenly, the creature jerked, lifted up, and fell far to the side, freeing Jared. Thank the Great Mother! He thought. Sasha finally got here. His strength stolen by the cold, Jared looked halfheartedly to the figure that stood over him, but instead of seeing the well-muscled feminine redhead, he saw a huge bear of a man carrying an equally large hammer.
“Daddy?” Katya said, her voice laced with both confusion and relief.
The man did not answer as he took a step towards the creature, which had been flung away and onto its back by the force of the enormous man’s powerful strike. Raising the gigantic maul high, the smith growled through gritted teeth as he brought his weapon down one final time to smash the creature’s head flat.
“Get the hell away from my daughter, you son of a bitch!” The newcomer roared.
Chapter 25
The sounds of the Ice Queen’s army attempting to break into the tower echoed up the circular stairwell like a diseased heartbeat, irregular yet determined to survive. The Administrator sat for a time on the bottom stair, watching where the door to the tower had once been. He was calm, almost in meditation with his eyes slightly closed, as he watched the solid wall of his own creation in front of him. He knew his foe, knew her desires and her fears. He did not know what she had learned on her own, however, and that made him nervous for the first time in a very long while.
Satisfied that the army would be held at bay for some time by his magical sealing of the tower, he slowly ascended the stairs deep in thought. This tower was his home and, like him, it had a timeless feeling. Five hundred stairs was quite a climb in itself, but to someone that had never been to the tower before it would seem like hours to climb to the top, where The Administrator’s office resided. The entire tower was built around a massive crystal in its center that extended the entire length of the tower’s height. Doors began to blur as he passed by, too many to count.
A tear slid down the cheek of his adolescent face, as he thought about how the tower had bustled with activity two moons ago, full of life and learning. Now he was alone, those students dead. Perhaps a few had survived, fled to the Trade Star, where the Kingdom of Illyander’s army would be now. He thought of his lost pupil Katya, abducted by one of the Ice Queen’s dark assassins. Administrator Tomas hoped that she still lived, and that her twin Sasha had found and rescued her. There was something odd about those two girls, something that he had missed until he saw Sasha in his office not too long ago. How had I missed such raw potential, such untapped energy? He thought as he walked. How had Sasha sensed where her sister was taken, and why south and not north towards the Ice Queen’s homeland?
His thoughts came to an end, as he reached his study door. The gargoyle doorknob grimaced with a deep scowl. Upon touching the knob, he discovered it was deadly cold. A chill ran from the bottom of his spine to the top, and his instincts flashed danger across his mind. The thick wooden door creaked open, but he stayed in the doorway.
A middle-aged woman sat in one of the guest chairs in front of the fireplace. She wore black velvet robes fashioned into what, at a first glance, looked to be a gown. The top was the most robe-like until it gathered at her waist and spread into the large skirt, where the black velvet was split into even increments with white inserts looking like icicles rising from her feet. Rabbit fur boots, finely-tailored like the dress, peeked out from underneath the massive skirt. A mantle of white fur rested about her shoulders, its hood drawn back. Her face was extremely pale, her skin semi-translucent in its thinness. She had appeared middle-aged at first, but her entirely black eyes and bone smooth skin spoke of an unnatural youth.
A black obsidian staff rested lightly in her g
rasp, icicles creeping up its sides. Its coldness was visible by the mist that radiated from it. The icicles did not melt, even as close as they were to the fire. The ends of the staff were carved down to fine points. The Administrator shivered as he thought about being stabbed by that staff.
Two of her assassins stood in the shadows of the room, their arms crossed over their emaciated chests. They wore loose, dark garments with long pieces of black fabric wrapped around their heads, so that only their vacant milky eyes showed. A pair of wicked-looking, solid black daggers rested in each of their hands with the points facing down. Small carved skulls rested at the top of the hilts, animal or human in fashion he could not tell from where he stood. Wrinkles gathered like spider webs around the woman’s eyes, as she smiled at The Administrator. The light of the fire brought no warmth to her face.
“Hello, Teacher,” her smile twisted in an ugly smugness.
“Greetings, Salamasca,” The Administrator said quietly and entered the room, settling into the chair in front of hers. “You are not welcome here,” he stated plainly. His purple eyes stared directly into her black ones. She was the first to break the gaze.
“No love for an old student?” Salamasca asked with spite in her tone.
“What do you want?” Administrator Tomas asked. His was voice calm, as he continued to study the woman.
“You have done well here, Tomas. I can’t believe they actually built a town in this bleak pass, but who am I to say anything about that? I, too, have made a home where no sane person would have even tried to live. And yet these places thrive,” she said, her gaze shifting to the crackling of the fire.
“Are you getting to a point, Salamasca? Or did your army take this town just so you could have this chat with me?” The Administrator said dully.
The woman laughed, yet it sounded more like a toad croaking. “No, dear Teacher, I took this town so that I’d have access to the Illyander Kingdom. I will wipe it off the face of Aronshae, just like I did your precious students.”
The Administrator looked as if he’d been slapped, his brow tensing, yet he continued to sit submissively. “Empress of Ice you are called and feared as. I name you a fool,” he said. You are like a poacher, killing without inhibition, and taking only what you want from your prey, while leaving the rest to rot. You grow bloated and foul on the blood of the innocent. There will come a time that you will, in your lust, overstep, and you will not rise again. The Great Mother has ways of balancing things. That lesson was one of my first to you, child.”
She snarled, baring her white teeth at him, and leveled her staff at his small throat. “Three hundred years is hardly the age of a child! You do not scare me, whatever you are! The world will be mine, and if you refuse to help me I will kill you.”
The Administrator did not stir, and he looked as calm as the sea on a clear day. “Do as you must. If you kill me though, you gain nothing.”
“At least, I’d be rid of your pre-pubescent face, you ass!” she cried and threw her staff at his desk in frustration, toppling its contents onto the floor. She stalked about the room, releasing her anger. Her demeanor quickly cooled, and she straightened her mantle, wrapping herself back into a cold calm. She collected her staff from Tomas’ desk and sat again across from him.
“I have uncovered spherical items from the base of a crystal, similar to the one in this tower in the Frozen March,” she began again with more composure. “I have evidence that they are eggs, housing living beings. Sadly, upon this discovery my source lost his mind. I have yet to ascertain any more information. What are they specifically?” she asked pointedly.
“You might as well kill me,” he said, looking directly into her eyes.
“So you do know. I thought you would,” Salamasca smiled. “Well, dear Teacher, I am not going to kill you... yet.” The corners of her mouth twisted evilly. “I am moving in,” she announced. “I will stay here as long as it takes for me to find out exactly what the eggs hold, why there were put there, and what it is that keeps them viable.
“You see, I have been doing quite a bit of research, while I grew my army. What I know is that there are crystals such as yours in varying sizes all over the world. My assassins have discovered lines of energy in the Void that connect them all. We can travel along the outside but only in small numbers due to the strain the Void has on material forms. Having seen the lines of energy myself, they look like tunnels to me. I want to find out how to get inside.
“I believe that the eggs at the base of the crystals are the key. If I can get inside the tunnels, I can transport my entire army through and come out inside the capital of Illyander. If I can’t break through those walls and bridges, I’ll just have to bypass them. Won’t the King and Queen be surprised when an entire army appearing from nowhere inside their city?” the Empress of Ice cackled.
The Administrator’s face darkened visibly at her words, his eyes turning stormy and slanted in anger. “You don’t know what you are dealing with. You could not possibly understand.”
“So enlighten me... Teacher,” Salamasca scowled.
“No.” Tomas crossed his arms over his boyish frame, tucking his hands deep within his purple robes.
“Just like a rebellious child. You will help me.” Anger flashed across her face, her eyes to widening crazily. She calmed again, her smooth mask returning. She sighed, “Either way, at least I’ll have the pleasure of seeing you suffer, as I destroy your beloved Kingdom of Light.” Her grin was twisted with hatred.
Tomas stared thoughtfully at the woman who sat before him. “Why, Salamasca? Why are you doing this?” he asked.
She quirked an eyebrow at him and was quiet for a moment as she considered her reply. “I could tell you many reasons, Teacher,” again the title with which she addressed him dripped with scorn. “I could tell you that I want to destroy Illyander in petty revenge for the way you threw me out into the cold. I could tell you that I want to destroy King Morgan and his perfect little world, because I find it offensive in its simplistic peaceful serenity. I could tell you that this is just another experiment, and I’m having fun with it.” The Empress’ eyes sparkled with a cold mirth, as a tight smile spread across her unearthly features. “But the truth of the matter is this: Power. Plain and simple, I want power.”
Tomas sadly shook his head. “What happened,” he responded, “to the young girl so full of life that came to my door and was so delighted by my magic tricks? You were my first student. It was your joy and vitality that inspired me to teach others and found this school.”
“Like you said I was young,” Salamasca replied, all emotion draining from her face. “However, I was also weak… and stupid. You gave me my first taste of true power and with each new course I wanted more and you gave it to me. I use that same power now. So in that sense, you made me what I am today.”
Fierceness sparkled in The Administrators’ eyes, as he solemnly replied, “I did not make you kill thousands of people.” Raising his hand to point at one of the Shadow Walkers in the corner, Tomas continued. “And I did not teach you to create abominations. I was the one who taught you to use your innate gift, all those years ago, and channel the energy of the world. However, you are the one who took what I gave you and twisted it, taking it to a dark place. You were not satisfied to be my first student, or even to be first among my students. You wanted all the knowledge, all the power, for yourself. You allowed your jealousy to consume you, and, in the end, it was your lust for power that made me throw you out.”
The Empress stood and slammed her staff on the stone floor and malevolent energy coursed through the black crystal. She raised her arm and pointed a clenched fist towards the adolescent boy, a word half-formed on her lips. Then she stopped, and an evil grin crept onto her face. Lowering her hand, she released the dark nimbus that had surrounded her staff. “I know that hurting you physically won’t do much to harm your person,” she said. “However, you are vulnerable. I will strike out at what you love the most and destroy it.”
With a hiss, she spun and stormed out of the room.
The Administrator lowered his eyes and sighed deeply.
Tomas sat at his desk muttering to himself quietly. He regarded his own visage in the polished wood, a boy still. The Administrator had learned much the last few hundred years, but he remained very young amongst his own kind.
The Shadow Walker that the Ice Queen had left to watch her teacher closely eyed him. I cannot leave the tower even if I wanted to. I am in serious trouble, he grumbled to himself. Salamasca has destroyed eggs, and it was my duty to protect them. I’ll have to give up information in order to save the rest, which will only serve to hasten her entry into the Ley Lines. It is my only option though. So on to the second problem: I need to warn the capital and the Nhyme that they could be in danger.
I’ll send a message to Elder Razorik. Hmmm, but I’ll need a human to deliver the message to the King, someone who the King would recognize and someone I can trust. The Administrator fiercely rubbed his bare chin, bit his lip in consternation, and then jumped in his seat. Mala and Branden. She would have gotten Branden out for sure, and he served under the King in his younger days. Yes, his voice would be heard and seriously considered. He had made his decision.
Gathering power into himself, Tomas formed the message in his mind to Razorik, visualizing each word as if he were writing it on a mental scroll. Finished, he stood and faced the Shadow Walker.
“I have information to share with your Queen. Take me to her please,” Administrator Tomas said.
The Shadow Walker’s eyes closed a moment then reopened. He moved across the room to Tomas, put the tip of his dagger up against the Administrator’s side, and nodded at the door.
“That isn’t necessary but as you wish. I am moving,” Tomas said and they walked to the door. After they had descended the spiral staircase about halfway, Tomas pretended to be out of breath and in need of a break. He leaned heavily on the crystal and let out a few faked wheezes and coughs.