by Raymond Cain
Some of the color returned to Lycia’s face and she offered Flynn a smile. “You enjoyed that, didn’t you?”
“More than you think,” Flynn said, smiling.
The walls were solid stone and the floor was covered in black flagstones. Every twenty feet there was a stone arch supporting the ceiling. The arches were flanked by red glowdiscs that lit up the area with a pale red light. In time, the hallway sloped upward and ended at a steel-reinforced, wooden door in a metal doorjamb. The latch and steel bands criss-crossing over the door appeared rusty, but sturdy.
The four of them paused at the base of the sloping hallway. “I have a bad feeling about this,” Tasker said. “They must have built this hallway with an incline for a reason. It may be trapped.”
“We can always turn back,” Flynn said, smiling and gesturing toward their enemies behind them. “We have no other choice but to proceed, so I’ll try the door if the three of you want to stay back.”
The three of them nodded in agreement and he frowned. “You didn’t have to agree that easily. It really could be trapped you know.”
Kylara smiled wryly. “Don’t get our hopes up.”
Flynn scowled at her and turned back toward the door. He walked up the sloping hallway and cautiously put his hand on the latch.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
As Flynn pulled open the door, glass canisters rolled out of a chute in the ceiling. A steel plate was bolted into the bottom doorjamb and the canisters smashed, releasing ball-shaped stones and oil. He lost his footing and when he grabbed the latch for support, it broke off from the door. He slipped on stones, oil, and broken glass, and began sliding down the sloped hallway.
More canisters fell and they had rings of flint encircling the glass. They smashed on the metal doorjamb and the flint sparked where it struck the steel, igniting the oil. Flames poured down the hall and more glass canisters rolled out of the chute, each one smashing against the flagstones. Flynn gave up on trying to get back to his feet and he pushed himself faster down the hall, cringing as oil sent waves of pain into the cuts on his hands and back.
Tasker was a few steps behind and Flynn crashed into him. Tasker toppled over, his weight squishing Flynn and pressing glass shards deeper into his wounds. The blanket of flames gathered speed as they raced down the hall toward the two brothers.
A cool mist swept over the pair and extinguished the flames. After Tasker stood up, Flynn pushed himself up off the floor using his forearms. His hands stung so badly, he briefly wondered if he was set on fire after all.
“Thanks, Lycia,” Flynn said, wincing as he pulled a glass shard from his palm. Her aquazite ring glowed blue and a quickly dissipating layer of frost covered her left hand.
“My pleasure,” Lycia replied, the frost on her hand turning into moisture that dripped onto the flagstones. “That was a devious trap.”
Another canister fell and more stones slid down the hall, many of which appeared to be crimsonite. After settling at the base of the slope, the stones and crystals rolled toward each other, as though magnetic. Flynn’s shoulders slumped when he sensed the stones were already imbued with an enchantment. He would not be able to bond with any of them.
“Interesting,” Tasker said, pinching his chin between his thumb and forefinger. “The stones are still moving.”
“Maybe they’re just rolling around because the floor’s uneven,” Flynn said, cringing as he tugged another glass shard from his palm.
The pool of stones condensed and Kylara stepped back, staves drawn. “No, he’s right. There’s something going on here.”
The mass of stones clustered together, increasing in height as they piled on top of one another. Flynn unsheathed his sword, igniting waves of pain as his bloodied hands grasped the hilt.
The pile of stones grew in a manner reminiscent of a water golem. The construct took on a humanoid shape and a handful of crimsonite crystals rolled up into sunken orbs in its head. Once the crystals settled into its eye sockets, they flared red, menacingly.
“Maybe it’s friendly,” Flynn said, wincing as he gripped his sword tighter.
Stingray slapped into Tasker’s outstretched hands and a shimmer passed down the barrel as he took aim at the construct. “Too much optimism can get you killed, Flynn.”
Before long, the mound became an eight-foot-tall golem. Traces of red light between the stones gave its chest the appearance of a fireplace formed from piled stones. It flexed its stony arms and clenched its fists. Its fiery gaze passed over each of them.
“Wow, the golems they made back then are amazing. Way better than what we build now,” Flynn said. Then, after noticing Tasker’s scowl. “No offense.”
“Agreed,” Tasker said through tight lips. He fired a bolt into the middle of the golem’s face, scattering stones across the hall. Stones poured upward from its neck and shoulders to reform the head. “Whoever crafted this must have been even more gifted than. . . .” he paused, as though unwilling to complete the sentence. “Than most of the engineers in Seahaven.”
Lycia stood to Flynn’s left and a ball of fire took shape in her right hand. Tendrils of flame dripped from her fingers like drops of flaming lamp oil, and she released a blazing hot ray from her palm. The spell blew a hole through the construct’s chest and scattered stones into the sloping hall behind it, but the stones rolled back into its feet and were reabsorbed.
Rocks shifted from the golem’s torso into its side, fattening its right arm. The arm shot forward and elongated more than double its original length. It grabbed Lycia by the throat and hoisted her into the air. Her face turned red and she clawed desperately at the rocky fingers.
Flynn sliced his blade through the stony limb, severing it at the elbow. The hand and forearm crumbled, scattering stones and sending Lycia back to the floor. She collapsed to her knees and gasped for breath.
The golem’s crimsonite eyes blazed like infernos. Its half-amputated right arm was absorbed into its torso and its left arm enlarged. It clenched its fist and the limb elongated, launching a punch that smashed Flynn in the chest. The blow knocked the wind out of him and sent him flying.
Tasker loaded an aquazite-tipped bolt into Stingray and fired. It struck the golem in its left side, freezing its arm and much of its torso. Kylara waded in with her staves, smashing the frozen arm to pieces. The construct jumped back and began reforming its limbs as Kylara connected her staves and pursued it with her staff. She spun her weapon, smashing apart its head, and plunged the staff into the still-frozen parts of the golem’s torso. Chunks of ice and stone landed at her feet.
The golem kicked Kylara, sending her flying. Flynn caught her in mid-air and the two of them tumbled backward. Lycia, still catching her breath, summoned magical energy into her aquazite ring and Tasker hurriedly loaded another aquazite-tipped bolt into Stingray. Lycia responded first, delivering a cold ray that struck the golem in the hip, freezing it from knees to sternum.
Flynn sprang back to his feet and cradled one arm over his chest. It felt like he might have a broken rib and it hurt to breathe, but he set aside the pain and retrieved his sword. The crimsonite jewel in his weapon sent a wave of energy surging through him and he ran at the golem. He delivered a downward chop that sliced through its head and chest. The attack would have cleaved his foe in two were it not for its frozen mid-section. The blade bit deep into the ice, sending cracks through the abdomen.
Stones poured over Flynn’s blade, affixing it to the construct. He tugged on his sword but could not pull it free. Crimsonite crystals inside the cleaved torso brightened and heat roared from the opening, forcing Flynn to let go of his weapon and back away.
The ice melted from the golem and the sword in its belly became red hot. The golem formed an arm that ripped Flynn’s sword out of its body and tossed it away. Its cleaved torso joined together like two lumps of clay. The last bits of ice fell away and melted, releasing tendrils of steam at the construct’s feet.
The golem was incredible. Flynn u
nsheathed a pair of daggers from his swordbelt but he knew the puny weapons would be of little help against the powerful construct. Some of the dislodged stones from previous attacks were rolling past him and he kicked some of them away, preventing them from adding to the construct’s mass.
The golem stepped forward and stones poured from its chest into its arms, narrowing its torso. As its upper body shrank, its hands grew into fists that were five times their regular size.
“Any ideas?” Flynn said, anticipating a punching attack and taking a few steps back.
“Cold seemed to work best,” Tasker said, loading another crystal-tipped bolt into Stingray. “Are you ready, Lycia?”
Blue energy coalesced around Lycia’s aquazite ring and she clenched her jaw, her eyes locked on the golem. A swirling, frozen mist enshrouded her hand and ice crystals fell from her fingers, landing in a widening pile of ice and frost at her feet. “Ready when you are.”
Flynn discovered a tiny glass shard buried under the skin at the base of his thumb and he wrestled it out with his teeth. He gripped his daggers tight and blood ran down the hilts and onto the blades. The wounds weakened his grip but he set the pain aside and focused on his foe. Kylara appeared next to him with staves in hand, the veins of crimsonite imbedded in the darksteel shining like lines of glowing blood.
Tasker was the first to strike, launching a crystal-tipped bolt that shone bright as it flew. The bolt slammed into the golem’s chest, spraying pebbles and releasing a blanket of ice that covered its chest and shoulders.
The golem reached for Tasker with an elongated arm until Lycia released the frozen energy swirling over her left palm. The energy struck the limb, freezing it solid and preventing it from elongating any further. Tasker hurriedly loaded another crystal-tipped bolt into Stingray.
The golem reared back and punched clumsily at Flynn with its frozen stump. He positioned his daggers in a V, deflecting the limb high, shaving off some of the outer coating and getting a face full of frost. The move pressed his daggers hard into his bloody palms and the pain caused him to drop one. The golem reared back and punched again at Flynn, who stepped back out of reach. With the limb frozen solid, he was able to dodge its punches but there was little he could do to retaliate. He frowned disparagingly at his puny weapon.
"Here," Kylara said, tossing Flynn one of her staves. "Try this."
The stave weighed less than expected but, somehow, it felt more solid than regular steel. Even without being bonded to the crystal in it, the weapon tingled with power and he felt as though he could break through a wall with it.
"Look out!" Kylara said, smashing through a stony arm headed for Flynn’s chest.
"Thanks," Flynn said, prying his eyes from the weapon.
The golem's crimsonite core brightened, and the ice on its arm and hips began to melt. Water flowed down its legs and torso, collecting into widening puddles at its feet. One of Stingray's shining crystal-tipped bolts flew over one of Flynn’s shoulders and an ice ray flew over the other. The bolt and spell slammed into the golem's torso, knocking it back a step and freezing it from the waist up.
With the golem momentarily knocked off-balance, Flynn waded in. He pummeled the frozen arms, smashing the limbs into pieces of ice-covered stones. Beside him, Kylara performed a forward roll that brought her within reach of the golem’s torso. She smashed the construct in the side, sending cracks through its abdomen.
Flynn positioned himself on the side opposite Kylara and smashed the stave through the golem’s midsection. The darksteel shaft drove through the construct’s waist, separating its legs from its body. Chunks of ice and pebbles flew everywhere, showering Kylara and bouncing off the walls.
The golem’s torso thudded on the floor and the crimsonite glow inside its chest dimmed. Flynn reached inside for red crystals and, after some hesitation, he smashed them with Kylara’s stave. When he was finished, the construct lost its humanoid form and reverted into a pile of ordinary stones.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
As the others composed themselves from the battle, Tasker pried off a board to inspect the inner workings of the door. “Ingenious,” he said, glancing over his shoulder at Flynn. “Had you turned the latch the opposite way, the trap would not have triggered.”
“I turned the latch the same direction everyone does,” Flynn replied, defensively, as he retrieved his sword and slid it back into his scabbard.
“I’m not blaming you,” Tasker said, removing a thin, crystal-tipped rod from a slender pocket in his kelp workclothes. The crystal glowed, and he poked the rod into the hollow door to get a better view of its contents. “Just admiring the handiwork. Everything about this trap is ingenious, including the ease of how its builder could bypass it without triggering it. Your middling intellect had no chance of discovering the trap in advance.”
“Neither did yours,” Flynn replied, a hint of smugness in his voice.
“It’s time to go, Tasker,” Kylara said. “There’ll be lots more to see, I’m sure.”
“Right,” Tasker said, returning the glowing rod to one of his many pockets. He looked wistfully at the door as he turned away.
With Kylara in the lead, the group continued up the tunnel and soon arrived at a stone door. She studied the latch and doorjamb for traps and cautiously pushed the handle with her glowing stave. The door squeaked open on rusty hinges and she flinched as dust fell from the doorjamb. Every muscle in her athletic frame tensed until it became apparent the dust was simply a result of lack of use.
The room was filled with mining tools. Picks and hammers hung from stone pegs, crowbars and shovels leaned against the walls, and half the room was dominated by dozens of ore buckets stacked neatly on top of each other.
Tasker pushed his way past Flynn and the ladies to enter the room. Kylara held out her hand, urging caution, but Tasker pushed it aside and approached a stone table covered in metal hats. He brushed off the dust from one of the hats and a crimsonite crystal on its brim shone brightly.
“Miner’s hats,” Tasker said as he blew the dust off another one.
Flynn picked up one of the hats and tapped the metal brim against the table to remove most of the dust. Most of the padding inside was wasted away but the crystal on its brim shined as though it were enchanted only yesterday. He plopped the hat on his head but it was too large to wear comfortably. Without the padding, the hat was too deep and it hung low over his eyes.
Kylara presented a pair of picks to him. Tiny crimsonite crystals were imbedded in the steel and they protruded from the blade like the teeth of a saw. The tools surely cut through stone better than anything he’d ever seen.
“Impressive,” Flynn said. “These could be handy.”
Kylara snorted. “Yes, especially if we get attacked by a rock wall.”
Flynn scowled at Kylara and she smirked in reply, turning away to walk by an array of picks, hammers, tongs, buckets, and shovels hanging on stone pegs. Beneath one of the shovels, a dusty handle protruded from the wall. Flynn wiped away dust and discovered the edges of a door. It was built so neatly into the wall that if it wasn’t for the handle sticking out, he would not have realized it was there.
“I found something,” Flynn said, blowing away more dust to better see the door’s outline. He laid the crystal-bladed picks on a table and removed a shovel from a pair of pegs on the wall.
“Good job,” Lycia said, waving away the dust in a futile attempt to protect her carefully-braided hair. “It was beginning to look like we would have to turn back and take our chances with Theoric and his men.”
“And Gideon,” Kylara added, reminding them which one she felt was the larger threat.
Flynn turned the latch with the shovel handle and the click of metal tumblers resounded behind the wall. The door sunk inward and he clenched his stomach, expectantly waiting for the next trap to spring. But the door slid away without incident and each of the companions let out a relieved breath.
The opening led to a room on the other
side of the wall and Kylara was the first to enter. Red glowdiscs illuminated the room and when she stepped inside, she gasped. Flynn ran in after her.
A dozen stone golems and a strange contraption dominated the room. The golems stood eight-feet tall and they were positioned in groups of three along each wall. Crimsonite orbs glowed faintly in their eye sockets and more crystals were embedded along their forearms, their shins, and their knuckles. Emblazoned on their chests were the same crossed-picks insignias they saw carved into the wall above the home’s entrance. Considering how powerful the last golem they fought was, Flynn guessed the constructs could take on a small army.
The contraption reminded Flynn of the ships his people made. It was roughly rectangular, with a metal frame and a stone seat wide enough to hold two people. Eight metal wheels covered in short spikes protruded from the top and bottom of the vehicle. None of the steel showed any sign of rust.
The front of the machine was cone-shaped, with thousands of crimsonite crystals set into the cone. A pair of troughs with stone rollers extended through the belly of the machine, presumably for collecting debris and dumping it out the back.
“It’s a drilling machine!” Flynn said, and he excitedly jumped inside the vehicle. He traced his fingers through the dust and the metal felt smooth under his touch. “I think the giant screws remove rocky debris and spew it out the back, like the way Searunners take water in from the front and expel it out the back.”
Tasker stood next to him and nodded in agreement. He placed a hand on the frame and closed his eyes. His eyes shifted side to side as though he were dreaming. “Incredible,” Tasker said, opening his eyes and removing his hand. “I can sense the powerful enchantments at work within this machine, but I can’t understand them.”