The Sorcerer's Abyss (The Sorcerer's Path)

by Brock Deskins

  That was when he detected a slight vibration in the crystal. The tremor quickly increased and the stone began to dance wildly on its cord. It took Allister only a moment to realize what was happening. The Codex had tried to suppress the power of the crystal, and now the two forces were warring. The book did not want to be found. The crystal exploded in a flash and a spray of shards, cutting into Allister’s face and hand.

  The archmage looked at the tome lying upon the podium. “Dear gods. You are why I did not return immediately and take you to The Academy.” The book lay silent upon the podium. “If you are able to influence my actions, what have you done to the girl?”

  ***

  Ellyssa was in Azerick’s vault, searching for something to help her in her quest to eradicate the slavers and find Captain Jake. She had made several forays to the vault since her first battle on the slave ship, but she always turned around, unable to bring herself to take what she needed. It had to be done. The things she learned over the past weeks required more power. She had exhausted herself on the ship, and if dealing with Sonjay meant another battle like that one, she needed to be able to channel more of the Source with more efficiency.

  She stood in front of the rack holding an assortment of objects, but she had been staring at two in particular for at least the last twenty minutes. Azerick’s silver ring and bracelets rested in a felt-lined box side by side. Just looking at the two objects that had been such a part of him caused a wave of anguish to crash down upon her. They were his, every bit as much as his staff was, and she did not deserve to have them. But she needed them. She needed them in order to be strong, like him.

  Steeling her resolve, Ellyssa slipped the ring onto her finger and snapped the bracelets around her wrists. The shame of wearing what was his burned as if they were fresh from the forge. She shuddered as the tingle of magic washed over her. Ellyssa instantly felt her connection to the Source grow significantly stronger as the ring created a magical link between her and it.

  She had just steadied herself when a sound came from down the hall in the direction of the laboratory. Ellyssa ran from the vault and raced down the short passage to the lab. Through the open door, she spied Allister standing over the book and wiping at his face with his hands. All over the floor, tiny bits of what looked like glass sparkled under the glow of the lamps.

  “What are you doing with my book?” Ellyssa asked.

  Allister turned at the sudden intrusion. “Your book? When did it become your book? The book is here for all of us to use,” the old mage said. The look in Ellyssa’s eyes made him speak calmly.

  Ellyssa sidled around as if Allister were a dangerous animal that might attack. “I need it to make me stronger. You said yourself I needed to be strong. The book makes me strong.”

  “Oh, my dear girl, you mistake power for strength,” Allister said. He shook his head sadly. “Power gives us the ability to destroy, but strength comes from within. Strength allows us to make the right decisions when the right thing is so very difficult to choose.”

  Ellyssa positioned herself so the book was between her and Allister. “For my purposes, power suits me just fine.”

  “Ellyssa, the men you have killed are not the ones who took you. They are not the ones who killed Azerick. What you are doing makes you no better than the slavers.”

  “They will lead me to Captain Jake. I don’t need to be better, only more dangerous.”

  Allister realized Ellyssa was beyond reason. The innocent, precocious little girl was gone. In her place stood a young woman so full of hate and grief, she would not stop until she was dead.

  “Ellyssa, I don’t think you understand what the book is or what it is doing to you. It is dangerous and it is using you. You are not yourself right now. You must be strong and let go.”

  Ellyssa sneered. “I know exactly what it is, and we use each other. The Codex wants to be used. It needs someone who is willing to use it and possesses the strength to wield what it shows. That is why it picked Azerick. That is why it picked me.”

  “I’m sorry, but it is too powerful and too dangerous to stay here. I am taking it to The Academy where access to it can be controlled and its use properly monitored,” Allister said with finality.

  “I cannot let you take the Codex, Allister.”

  “You cannot let me?” Allister shouted, his patience finally having reached their limit. “You listen to me, child, I…”

  Ellyssa struck so quickly and so powerfully, Allister barely had time to register the attack and bring a ward to bear before the wave of force struck him full on, hurling him through the open doorway and dashing him painfully against the wall. Another spell slammed the door shut and runes of warding flared all around it, sealing the portal closed.

  Ellyssa grabbed the book from the podium and clutched it to her chest. She could hear Allister pounding at the door and trying to unravel the wards keeping it sealed. The book had shown her how to improve the ones Azerick had made years ago, but she knew even those would not keep the archmage out for long.

  “I need to get out of here!” Ellyssa cried out in panic. “How? Show me.”

  A section of wall slid into the floor, exposing a long, dark passageway appearing to extend far beneath the school grounds. Ellyssa did not hesitate. Clutching the book to her chest, she ran across the lab and into the gloomy passageway. The tunnel went completely black when the section of wall returned to its previous place and sealed her in.

  Ellyssa conjured a light and ran. The passage extended hundreds of yards and opened in a cleft in the mountainside. The book urged her to keep running east along the base of the mountains. Once, she thought she spotted Sandy flying far to the south and hoped she did not turn her way. The dragon’s keen eyesight could easily pick her out from miles away.

  The book guided her eastward for several miles. As the night grew long, Ellyssa began to feel the chill of the evening air. Her legs ached and her lungs burned from the punishing pace she set, but still the book pushed her to keep moving. When she could go no farther, she spotted a narrow split in the face of the mountain. Under the Codex’s guidance, she squeezed into the fissure and discovered a cave. When she brightened her light, she saw it had once been occupied, but not for a very long time. The rotted remnants of a table, chair, and crude bed indicated someone had once lived here.

  Following the sound of running water, Ellyssa found a natural spring feeding a shallow pool. The pool disappeared in a crack in the rocks where it constantly drained off as the spring continually filled it. A flat slab of rock jutting from the wall made the perfect place on which to set the book. As soon as Ellyssa put the book down, it flipped open and the words crawled around the page.

  Ellyssa read what appeared to be a sort of journal written by a wizard hundreds of years ago. He had come into possession of the Codex Arcana and retreated to this hideout when The Academy seemed bent on taking it away from him. There was more, but Ellyssa was too tired to read anything else. Lacking a bed, she managed to strip the limbs from several young pine trees and made a pallet that would suffice until she could get something better.

  Daebian spotted the black silhouette against the grey backdrop of the mountains from his perch atop the school wall. He watched Ellyssa run off into the night-shrouded forest, and his face split into a wry smile.

  “Into the trees,

  Ellyssa flees,

  Trying to put her past behind her.

  How many tears must she cry,

  How many men must die,

  Before she soothes her anger.”

  CHAPTER 7

  The Rook glided silently down the passage of Klaraxis’ gigantic citadel. Gaining entry had proven to be rather simple once he shed the body of his last host and traveled once more as a shade. His ethereal body was an advantage when it came to the ease with which he could move about and hide in the shadows, but it also put him lowest on the food chain. He would need to get another host soon.

  His shade form allowed him to blend into
and become one with any of the numerous shadows cast by the flames continually burning in the small stone basins sporadically attached to the walls. It was by sticking to and blending into those shadows that the Rook was able to traverse the labyrinthine corridors undetected. Ahead, he spotted the movement of a pair of demons and ducked down a narrower and darker side passage. The Rook thought himself safe until a form stepped out of the deepest shadows.

  “You must be lost, shade,” the impossibly black creature said as it climbed down the wall toward the assassin. “Why aren’t you down in the warrens feeding your essence into the fortress like a good little shade?”

  The demon was humanoid, but its limbs were unusually long and slender. Its skin was the blackest black the Rook could conceive, and it glistened like the scales of a freshly shed viper. The Rook tried to escape into a nearby shadow but his former sanctuary seemed to reject his presence.

  “You will find no safety there, little shade. These shadows belong to me. As a full shade, I would normally take you back down to the warrens, but seeing as how our prince no longer involves himself in our affairs, I think I shall simply devour you.”

  The demon lunged with startling swiftness and sunk its black claws into the Rook as if he were solid flesh. Pain flared from his wounds, but he was a veteran of combat and did not panic. The demon snapped at the Rook’s face, but the assassin thrust one of his spectral arms into its gaping maw, saving himself from a swift death.

  Shades did not usually fight back, and this unexpected defense caused the demon to falter in its attack. It tried to pull back, but the shade’s arm sprouted thorns and lodged its appendage inside the demon’s mouth. The Rook extended his hand into a blade, thrust it into the creature’s heart, and forced his essence into the demon’s body.

  Although the demon flailed madly about, the true battle was being waged inside its own body. Unfortunately, this was a battleground well suited to the Rook for the mind was full of shadows in which to hide and launch unexpected assaults against the host. All of those places where even demons did not like to go: doubt, fear, weakness, and shame were pools of darkness from which to strike. Even the Rook had these, but he had explored them, embraced them, and so they afforded his enemies no advantage. The demon never stood a chance once the assassin gained access to its soul.

  The Rook liked this new body. The way it commanded the shadows made it feel as if it had belonged to him the entire time. He was able to move about and hide with exceptional ease, watching the denizens of the fortress going about their business from high along the top of the wall where shadows cast the ceiling in perpetual darkness.

  Several times, he spotted his quarry walking the halls, usually to or from the chamber containing an assortment of books and artifacts. From the ramblings of what he assumed were conversations with his host, the sorcerer seemed bent on finding a way out of the abyss. The Rook was unsure if such a thing was possible, but if it were, he would need to strike before that happened. It was a fine balancing act of not letting the sorcerer slip through his fingers and not moving with undue haste. Despite his outward appearance, this was still the lord of the Fifth Circle, and he was arguably the most powerful creature in this realm short of the goddess. How much having the human in control affected his strength and abilities were an unknown, so for now he would have to wait and study his prey.

  Azerick slammed the book shut with a curse. “Are there no more books in this cursed realm?”

  None to advance your pointless quest, Klaraxis replied shortly. There are disturbances in my realm. I can feel it. You must stop wasting time with this futile endeavor and accept your position!

  “You have been singing that same song since I got here and it is not improving with repetition,” Azerick replied dismissively. “How long have you lorded over this place?”

  Nearly two thousand of your years.

  “In all that time, no one has ever escaped? No one ever found a way out?”

  No.

  “You hesitated. Why did you hesitate when you answered?” Azerick demanded.

  I did not hesitate.

  “Yes you did, demon, now tell me the truth. Who got out? How?”

  An elf foolishly found his way here and later escaped. It was a different situation and does not apply to you.

  “Tell me how he did it!”

  No!

  Azerick delved into his mind and attacked Klaraxis with his will. When he was in his own body, it was a simple matter to force the demon to obey, but here, in Klaraxis’ body and his seat of power, the demon was a formidable opponent. Azerick struck at the demon and Klaraxis fought back, both engaging in a sort of mental wrestling match, trying to make the other submit.

  “Tell me about how he got out!”

  There is nothing to tell, now stop this!

  Azerick had the demon “pinned” but was unable to hurt him enough to make him reveal whatever secret he was holding back. Azerick had one more card to play, but he was unsure what effect it would have given his and Klaraxis’ close bond. Deciding it was the only way to get what he wanted; Azerick used the demon’s soulname—and immediately regretted it. Azerick and Klaraxis both cried out as agony coursed through their shared body and soul.

  You incredible idiot! I hope that teaches you a lesson, Klaraxis seethed.

  Azerick threatened through clenched teeth as he gasped in pain. “Nope. Now tell me what you know, or I will do it again.”

  Not even you would be that stupid or hard-headed.” Klaraxis scoffed, calling the human’s bluff.

  “Wrong again. You should know me better than that by now.”

  Both creatures screamed once again as the fiery whip of Klaraxis’ soulname scourged their entwined spirits. The Rook watched the human form of the demon lord fall into some sort of fit. The assassin surmised there was some internal battle being waged between the two creatures. This was probably the best chance he had at delivering a mortal blow. He would not attempt a possession, despite how much the thought of owning such a powerful body pleased him. Both were creatures of extraordinary will and either of them would likely tear the Rook to pieces. No, this would have to be swift and decisive.

  The Rook crept along the dark ceiling and down the wall to get near the preoccupied human’s back. He pulled the shadows around him and wore them like a great, voluminous cloak. The assassin formed his shadow blade and infused it with a substantial amount of his life force, enervating it into something far more deadly than a simple knife. He locked his eyes on his target’s back where the heart laid beating beneath a few inches of bone and muscle. The Rook launched himself from the wall like a coiled spring, arm cocked back and ready to strike.

  The room filled with the smell of brimstone as Skulk popped into existence only a few feet away. “Great Master, faithful Skulk has brought you urgent,” the demog began then screeched when he saw the black demon flying toward his master’s back.

  Azerick turned the instant Skulk apparated into the room. He twisted and leapt away at the last instant. Icy pain flared across his chest as the Rook’s ghostly blade cut through his body, narrowly missing his heart. Azerick ignored the searing pain and grabbed the attacking demon by the wrist before he could finish bringing his weapon around. The Rook flung a glob of shadows at his prey’s face and blinded him as it wrapped around his head like a wet towel.

  Unfortunately, for the Rook, Azerick’s human form belied the demonic strength he possessed, and the momentary loss of vision did little to hamper his reply to the assault. Azerick whipped the Rook around by his arm, smashing him against the floor and wall like a washerwoman beating her laundry against a rock. Fury filled Azerick at the demon’s audacity. When the creature ceased its struggling, Azerick placed his hand against his attacker’s chest and poured black energy into it long after there was no further sign of life.

  Klaraxis felt the accursed human’s control slip the more he channeled his rage and unleashed his abyssal power. The demon subtly added fuel to that rage, teasing it from
a fire into a raging inferno. The more anger Azerick felt and used to energize his magic, the more his control slipped and the closer Klaraxis came to gaining possession of his body. Fear and anger were to demons like air and water was to most other forms of life. They ate and drank it in, gaining sustenance from its consumption. Azerick felt this as well and forced himself to return to a sense of calm. He shuddered as he shook off the demon’s influence.