Sword of Draskara (Casters of Syndrial Book 2)

by Rain Oxford

  “Will you train Nathan?” Painter asked.

  “Why wouldn’t you teach me what he taught you?” I asked my brother.

  “I think I’m needed more elsewhere.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I don’t think Witness is going to lie low. Even if he doesn’t have power over the dead, Kradga is a tremendously powerful world and it’s practically up for grabs right now. It needs a keeper because terrible people need to be punished and since I absorbed Maori’s powers, it’s my responsibility.”

  “You don’t even know how to use those powers.”

  “I’ll learn on the job. Maybe Maori has some grimoires or something that explains how he uses his magic. More importantly, I won’t be like Maori. I won’t punish people I don’t think deserve to be punished.”

  “But you’ve hurt innocent people in order to weaken your enemies.”

  “The dead on Kradga are not my enemies. Furthermore, I think I’ve changed.”

  “Really? Why?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. Plus, I can work out my frustrations and be better when I’m with you. I’ll get all my crazy out, torturing people worse than me so that I won’t flip out on your kitty.”

  “Oh, speaking of Maori’s magic…” I pulled the three books out of my bag. “Maybe one of these explains how to use it. Either that, or you can talk to the god who gave him his powers.”

  “I’d rather not,” Painter said, taking them. “Based on the ability, I’m pretty sure his god was Osiris. Our father killed our uncle, who was resurrected by Isis.”

  “What?”

  “You really should look up some Egyptian history.”

  “I thought the incest was all human myth.”

  “I don’t actually know. I’m pretty sure Isis and Osiris are consorts, and I know Osiris and Set are siblings because I’ve heard it. I don’t think Isis and Osiris are siblings, as humans think, or that Isis is Set’s sister. It might be because the Isis, Osiris, Set, and Nephthys arrived on Syndrial together that humans think they’re siblings. It also might be that they don’t even know.” Painter was flipping through the pages of the first book as he spoke, then handed it to me when he was done. “I can’t read it.”

  I started to reach for it, but Langril intercepted me and took it. “What’s this?” he asked.

  “A book I found at Maori’s place. Why? Can you read it?”

  Langril skimmed the pages carefully, a slow smile growing on his face. “It appears I’ve won after all. Keep the Book of Names and the weapon. This is much more important.”

  “I doubt Maori would have a book lying about if it’s that powerful.”

  “Some people don’t know what they have until it’s gone. I told you that I know when something or someone is useful to me, and this might be the most useful item I’ve ever gotten my hands on.” He snapped his fingers and the Book of Names appeared floating in front of me. “I’ll take these three for one.”

  Painter handed Langril the other two books and snatched the Book of Names. “Then we’re even.”

  “Lovely,” Langril agreed.

  I had a really bad feeling about this.

  Chapter 17

  “Your sleepy town has been terrorized by creatures of the night,” Jamie said in his best spooky voice.

  “Vampires,” Luca interrupted.

  Jamie rolled his eyes and sighed, “Dude, seriously. Could you shut it?”

  Luca threw up his hands in surrender and let Jamie finish his spiel.

  “Thank you. Many brave warriors have ventured into the vampire master’s crypt, yet none have prevailed. Six months ago, the vampire master started stealing a beautiful woman every month on the full moon and making her his concubine.”

  “Sexist,” Luca interrupted again. “Maybe he likes concubros instead of concubinas. It’s the twenty-first century.”

  “Nathan, can you shut your brother up?”

  “Not legally. Just talk over him.”

  “Last night, your girlfriend was taken, and you have until sunset today to kill the vampire master in order to save her from being turned permanently into a monster of the night.”

  “That sucks. Oh well. There’s plenty more fish in the sea.”

  “Just get in the room or I’m not inviting you to any more of these,” he said, opening the door. We entered, expecting an awesome set. We weren’t disappointed.

  The walls were made of concrete. The ceiling was a good fifteen feet high with arches dividing different sections of the room. There were four pillars, each with a candle holder and something written above the holder in red paint. This created a center space, which was sunken with four steps. The floor was covered with fog.

  In the far section of the room was a deep red coffin upright against the wall. A heart was etched on it, which I didn’t think fit the scene. Knowing Jamie, it was a red herring. More importantly, someone was banging from inside the coffin and moaning. On either side of the coffin was a stone podium with matching chests. On the wall to the left of the coffin was a candle holder like the ones on the pillars.

  The left section consisted of two open tombs built into the wall, one above the other. Both tombs contained skeletons. On the right section of the chamber was an identical set of two tombs with skeletons.

  “Wow. Your sets are fucking tight,” I said. Jamie was a little spoiled, as both of his parents were successful directors. They supplied him with the very best when it came to anything artistic.

  “Let’s get this party started.”

  “Alright. You two have one hour. No hints, because I haven’t gotten any planned yet. Besides, I don’t think you two will need one.” He left.

  “You get to work checking the floor. I’ll check out the arches,” I said. Luca nodded and carefully scoured the floor through the mist. That was a more apparent diversionary tactic than a rug. Also, the high arches felt like more than ambiance.

  “Bro, check it,” Luca said.

  Since I didn’t see anything on the arches, I joined him. On the floor was a ring of thirteen shallow holes.

  “I’m going to see to those chests.” He went to them and found the first one locked and unmovable. “There’s no keyhole or combination.”

  “Then it opens by doing something.”

  He went to the one on the right and found that it opened easily. “Empty.”

  “Check the skeletons.”

  “You’ve missed the writing on the wall.”

  “There’s no actual danger in an escape room.”

  “That wasn’t an idiom.” He pointed at the pillar behind me. “You’ve literally missed the writing on the wall.”

  “Oh.” In large, bloody letters, the message read, Holiness holds no power here and riches are little better. Beneath it was a candle holder. “Check the skeletons.” He went to the two on the left and I checked the two on the right. In the top tomb, there were three white candles and a fat red one. The skeleton was resting with its arms folded over its chest. Clutched in its hands was a plain wooden cross. A necklace of three garlic cloves rested around his neck. Beside him was a stake, a hammer, and two colored gems.

  I grabbed the gems and crouched over the floor where Luca had found the holes. Sure enough, the gems fit into them perfectly.

  “I found a scroll,” Luca said. “Arch up on high, for the stars you seek are worth the reach.”

  “I didn’t see anything, but I’ll look again.”

  “We could do it with---”

  “No. We do this like we always do them.”

  He rolled his eyes. “I know. It’s no fun if it’s too easy.”

  I took the stake and scanned the arches again. When I went to the coffin and looked up at the arches, I saw something glitter. I reached out with the stake and knocked the gem loose. Luca caught it and put it in the circle.

  “Back to the skeletons,” Luca suggested.

  I returned to the skeletons on the right and searched the bottom one. I found two white candl
es and a red one. “The candles might be something. Don’t move them because we might need to know the order of whites and reds.”

  “Yeah. Dude, this one has a different cross than the other.” He brought it to me. Unlike the wooden crosses the other skeletons had, it was silver and jewel-encrusted.

  “Good. See if he has anything else different.” I resumed my search. Like the top-bunk skeleton, it had a stake, hammer, cross, and set of garlic. I did, however, notice that there were five cloves on his necklace. Everything in escape rooms was intentional, either to throw us or as a clue. “How many cloves do yours have?”

  “Um… top bunk has six, bottom has four.”

  “Interesting. I’ve got three and five.” There were also two more jewels, which I placed in the circle.

  “I found four more gems.” He added them to the circle.

  All of the pillars had writing except for one, so I checked the abnormal one out. Tucked away in the candle holder was a scroll. “It would help if there was more light in here. I’ve got a scroll. To break the curse, you must plunge the holy stake into the unholy heart.”

  “Well, duh,” Luca said. “What else would you do with a vampire?”

  “Serve him garlic toast,” I suggested. “Or maybe holy watercress soup.”

  “Under a skylight, of course,” Luca added. The vampire pounding around inside the coffin stopped. “Hey, what about these candle holders?” he asked, going to one of them.

  “They’re probably important.” I read the one closest to me. “The heart rules even kings.”

  “Evens and odds?”

  “Maybe. That one on the wall over there mentioned riches, and kings are usually rich.”

  “This one also refers to the heart. There was a heart on the coffin. He went to the coffin while I studied the holders more.

  “Maybe we have to put candles in the holders.”

  “Nathan, there’s a crown on the red candle!”

  I returned to my skeleton charges and picked up the red candles. On the bottom of them were a heart and a diamond. “Awesome. Put that one in the holder under the kings clue.” I moved on to the next closest sconce and read the inscription above it. The bats fly above the wealthiest. I set the diamond in that one.

  “Wait, no,” Luca said, joining me with two more red candles. “I’ve got one with a bat.”

  “Oh, that’s better.” I removed the diamond one and he replaced it with the bat one. “What’s next?”

  “I’ve got a cross.”

  “That should go under the holiness one. I’ve got a heart. That holder with the scroll talked about plunging into the heart.” I set the heart candle in it. “Now, we just have the diamond one left.”

  We searched the room, but neither of us found another candle holder except for the one next to the coffin. There was no writing on it or scroll in it. Seeing no harm in trying it, I set the candle in the only remaining holder. The light above turned on and I heard the chest unlock. I popped open the lid and found a large, bloody scroll and two more gems. Luca took the gems and I unfurled the scroll so that we could both read it. It was so blood-soaked that I couldn’t read all the words.

  We gave our life to chain the master of the night, but to kill him, you need our _____ weapons. Lucian’s simple silver _____, Abraham’s three _____, Gabriel’s bloodied _____, and Simon’s broken _____. The black chest will be the crucible, where all will be _____ in darkness. Then destroy _____.

  “That’s four things. There are four bodies.”

  “Something silver… that’s got to be the rich guy’s cross. It’s the only one that’s silver.”

  “And three of something. I bet it’s the garlic cloves.”

  “That’s kind of a lame weapon.”

  “Try it anyway. Next, check for anything broken.”

  I returned to my skeletons and scrutinized the possessions of the one on the bottom, since the one on the top had the garlic.

  “This guy’s hammer is broken.”

  Knowing that only left the stakes, I pulled it from the ribcage of the skeleton. “And this stake is bloody.”

  “Then we have all four objects.” He took the cross and broken hammer and put them in the empty chest. I added the garlic and stake, then shut the lid. A loud rumbling sound emanated from it. “Jamie is really damn good at the effects,” Luca said.

  I nodded and opened it. Now there was a new, larger stake and two more gems. Luca took the gems and set them in the remaining holes. The circle lit up and the coffin suddenly swung open, revealing a doorway.

  We went through the coffin, emerging in Jamie’s waiting room. Jamie, two of his friends, and his sister, Corrine, were sitting on the couch, having watched our escape from the television.

  After everything we had been through, Painter and I were eager to enjoy a non-dangerous adventure like we used to, so when Jamie called us up and told us about his newest escape room, we jumped at the chance. Painter disguised himself as the Luca everyone knew, although he had full control over his power and the same sometimes-crazy personality.

  As far as our friends knew, Luca had come home for a break from his wild Egyptian exploration. I didn’t have to pretend I missed him because I had.

  “That was it?” Luca asked. “I wanted to stab someone.”

  “That took you less than thirty minutes,” Corrine complained.

  “It was way simpler than your sorcery one,” I said, trying not to sound disappointed.

  “It took us half an hour to realize the candles had pictures on the bottom of them,” Adam argued.

  “Yeah, we’ve cracked so many of these things you really have to go out of the ordinary to get one over on us,” Luca said. “But for a beginner, that would have been awesome.”

  “I loved the set, and even though it wasn’t complex, it was still entertaining. You can have this room as a beginner one and work up to the more complex ones.”

  “I might.”

  “Try it out on a few newbies. You want about a fifty-percent success rate, so if too many are beating it, or if they beat it by too much, shorten the time or hide the clues better.”

  Jamie nodded. “Thanks for the advice. I wish you could stick around and check out the mummy tomb one I’m doing next.”

  Luca and I looked at each other. “We might have some ideas for you.”

  * * *

  Painter spent a couple of days with Keira and me. Although he tried to keep his cool, he lost it at least five times a day. I learned that he had triggers. One of them was that he had a favorite seat. If anyone was in his seat, he became irrational. His mood was influenced by his environment more than what anyone did; he liked symmetry and matching colors. I learned that blue and red together soothed him, as he said it was like fire and ice in harmony.

  Finally, Painter said he was ready to take over Kradga. I went with him to help him get settled.

  When we appeared in the room of the tower where we had met Maori, there was a guard. Fortunately, it wasn’t a faceless man. Like the others, he was dressed in black armor. He was five-six with a muscular build, black hair, and dark green eyes. He raised his sword and moved to attack.

  “Stop,” Painter said casually. The guard froze. “Tell me your name.”

  “Etokah.”

  “Why are you still here?”

  “The master will be back.”

  “I’m the master of Kradga now. I killed Maori and his magic is mine.” Etokah opened his mouth to argue, but Painter said, “Shut it,” and the guard did. “I will not be an easier master than Maori was, but I will be better.” He pulled out his book and started drawing. “The first order of business is to reassign you.” He set his open book on the floor and said, “Druseuni.” Ten cat-sized black dogs leapt out and began to grow until they were horse-sized. None of them growled or ran off.

  One stood next to me, so I pet him. His tail wagged.

  “These are the new guards,” Painter said. “You and the other ex-guards will be messenger and errand b
oys, while the dogs guard my treasures and guests. Our next order of business is to get everyone who doesn’t belong here out.”

  “What are you going to do with the people who do belong here?” I asked.

  “If the gods say they need to be here, I will see to them. I will decide whether to punish them or have them reborn. Did Maori have any other options?”

  “He could send people to the realm of the gods even if the gods rejected them,” Etokah answered.

  “Good. It may take time to learn to use my new powers, but I’ll manage. Go and inform the other people who work at the tower about the change. Are there any more faceless men?”

  “No. They disappeared when you killed Maori.” The guard left.

  “I should stick around until you get settled,” I said.

  Painter shook his head. “I need to do this on my own. I have to be myself; I can’t worry about being your brother.”

  “I understand. Thank you for everything, Luca. I’m going to miss you.”

  “But I’m not---”

  “You’ll always be Luca to me. You are crazy, overprotective, violent, egotistical, and murderous, but you’re my brother. I love you for you, even if I don’t agree with everything you’ve done. Come home as often as possible, but try not to kill my girlfriend.”

  “I can’t promise I won’t screw up.”

  “Just promise you’ll come to me if you need help.”

  “I will. Once this place is in shape, I should be able to visit you. I’ll also be keeping an eye out for Witness. This doesn’t mean we won’t have issues with each other.”

  “Of course not. You’re still a psycho.”

  “And you’re a hero,” he said, as if it was a nasty thing. “What are you going to do?”

  “Go home, write another book, and study magic with Langril and Keira until I’m needed again.”

  “And our mother?”

  “That’s up to her. Can we speak freely here?”

  “The dogs would know if there was someone here. No invisibility or disguising magic works on dogs or cats.”

  “Witness might be after her. She needs to be protected, far away from either of us.”