by David Ekrut
Somewhere in the distance, he heard a familiar voice shout his name. Glancing over his shoulder, Daki and Mardic hadn’t seemed to notice, so Elwin didn’t slow.
“That way,” Elwin said. “We can make a stand in that manor.”
“Why that one?” Mardic asked.
“According to my notes, the Orb of Incantus is in that aerie. If we can reach the uppermost floor, we can hold them off long enough to retrieve the artifact.”
Mardic nodded.
The man’s trusting gaze made a pang of guilt stab through Elwin. He still had no idea how to get past the aeries defenses. He could be leading them all to their deaths. No, it would not come to that. He would incant them out. He tried not to remember how the magi could counter his incantations, specifically the dimensional folding. He would find a way out of this.
The front door to the manor was closed. In place of the handle was a sun dial, similar to the one for the Order of the Sun and Stars.
Elwin turned to Daki, hoping his companion could open this one too. “How do we get in?”
Daki knelt to inspect the symbol, then looked up to the sun, which dipped ever closer to the horizon. “Half-past the sixth hour.”
Mardic looked up. “Aye.”
Daki turned the dial to the current time. The door opened. Elwin ushered the others through then slammed the door.
“Help me with this,” Mardic said, pulling on a large, wooden sofa.
Having seen what the magi could do, the minor obstruction seemed a flimsy barricade, but Elwin grabbed one end and helped Mardic push it in front of the door.
“That will not stall them for long,” Daki observed. “Taego and I will stay here, while you two find the orb.”
“No,” Elwin said. “You will die.”
“If so, this is how the Lady has chosen to spend my life.” He pulled out the tome they’d taken from the clairvoyants and handed it to Elwin.
“Curse it all,” Elwin said, snatching the tome. “Don’t be foo—”
A thunderous bang came from the front of the manor. Daki turned his back to Elwin and pulled out his blades, moving behind a thick column, out of the door’s line of sight. Taego moved to the other side and crouched low. From their vantages, the magi would not see them until fully in the room. They would have a chance.
Mardic placed a hand on Elwin’s shoulder. “Come. We must hurry.”
Elwin let the other elementalist lead him up the staircase, where it split and wound up to the next level, and the next, all the way to the top floor, where a crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling. Mardic ran up the right side and circled to the next level. Elwin trailed him, taking the steps two at a time. The higher he climbed, the more he worried over his friends. It felt like a betrayal to leave them, but Mardic could save them all. And the man would die to do it.
What if Mardic had lied? What if this was a ruse to steal the artifacts? No, this man wasn’t Jax. He’d been sincere and proven himself through his sacrifices.
When he reached the fourth floor, an explosion rocked the front of the building. Elwin looked over the rail. A plume of dust hid the base of the stairs.
“Daki,” Elwin breathed.
He turned to go back down, but a vice took hold of his arm.
“You cannot aid him now,” Mardic said. “If we wish to stop the magi and the dragons, we need the Elements. For our people to tame again, we need the orb.”
A thousand questions came to Elwin, but Mardic turned and resumed his march up the stairs. Elwin ran to catch him. After two more flights, screams of surprise and pain echoed from below, followed by the roar of a bear. A woman’s shout was cut short. A man bellowed out in rage. Rapid clangs of clashing steel rang out.
“Lifebringer be with you, Daki,” Elwin whispered. “And your Lady, too.”
The top of the stairs opened to a vast chamber. Without pause, Mardic ran through a left corridor. The hallway ended in an archway, encasing a spiral staircase, which took them to the roof. Atop a platform at the center there was a circular disc as wide as Elwin was tall.
Mardic leapt to the middle and said, “Stand close to me.”
Elwin stepped up next to him. “You know how to work this?”
In answer, Mardic knelt and swiped his finger across a grouping of symbols around the outer edge of the circle. Elwin felt a brief sensation like that of the dimensional folding. Then, he found himself standing in a vast cavern.
He could feel the Elemental power that had crafted the smooth walls. Artifacts and jewels filled the space to the far wall, all way too small to be of any use to a dragon. But each was covered in eloiglyphs, incanted symbols, or both. To his left stood a long row of pedestals. A sphere of crystal rested atop each. A number was carved into the floor before each of the pedestals, with glyphs around their bases.
“There are seventeen of them,” Mardic said.
“Dragons take me,” Elwin said. “Are all of these orbs of power?”
“No. Only one.”
Mardic pulled out a bundle of rolled up parchments. “This gives instructions of how to discover the genuine artifact.” He stared at the orbs unblinking. It also warned of the trap outside the gates. But the man who left these notes is standing with a dozen others as statues.”
“I saw them,” Elwin admitted. He studied the puzzle for a few seconds. “There must be a way to get past it. What do you think those numbers are for?”
Mardic nodded. “I believe the method for bypassing the snare may be correct. According to this, we must remove and replace the orbs in the correct sequence, or we will be incinerated.”
Elwin looked down at the tome he’d taken from Daki. But he knew the pages they needed were missing. They could never hope to unlock this trap without them.
“Jax,” Elwin cursed.
Mardic looked at Elwin quizzically. “As in Jaxton Fliste? Is he here?”
“You know him?”
Mardic shook his head. “Only by reputation. I am more acquainted with his companion. Daren of the Ironclad. I’ve had dealings with his father. How do you know them?”
“Jax and I retrieved this tome of Abadaria together. It gives a map of the aeries and details how to disable all of the traps.”
“That is useful,” Mardic mused. “How did you come by such a treasure?”
“We … uh … procured it from a group of clairvoyants called the Farseers. Apparently, they chronicle what the other magi do. According to Daki, they created the book as a means of keeping the magi here under their thumb. But it doesn’t matter. Jax stole the pages of all the central aeries.”
“Is it possible they will come here?”
“No,” Elwin said. “He has his gold. I think he took those pages out of spite. He believes I owe him for something he lost.”
“It is probably for the best,” Mardic said. He looked relieved as he turned back to the row of orbs. “We will find a different way to get the artifact.”
~
As he reached the edge of the alley, Jax held his hand up for Daren to stop. Not more than thirty paces up the street, the magus called Galivant stood in front of a building as tall as it was wide with an aerie hovering far above it.
“Jevin,” Galivant commanded, “get the door open.”
“But this is Andronin’s home,” a woman protested. “After Ricaria left, he fought to be its steward. He will not be—”
“I know who the manor belongs to. Get it open.”
Jevin stepped forward. He dug through a pouch and produced a small figure made of stone. Jax couldn’t tell for certain at this distance, but it looked like a ram’s head. Jevin spoke a few words and the figurine became the size of a monotooth just before it lurched forward.
Wood and stone blasted inward. The figure shrank before it fell, returning to Jevin’s hands. The door still stood. He held up his hands
and sent the battering ram again.
After remnants of the door and hinges fell to the cobbles, Galivant ordered, “Tiger squad, clear the entry.”
Six of the magi on the right entered in pairs of two. After a few seconds, one of them called, “Clear.”
“Dragon squad,” Galivant said, “Take the—”
Several gurgled cries came from just inside the entrance to the sounds of sliced flesh.
“To me,” Galivant yelled, moving into the building.
Daren leaned into Jax and whispered, “Now?”
There were still twenty men outside the manor. Before Taego roared, all attention was inside the room. A woman screamed. Galivant let out a blood-curdling shout. Those outside tried to rush inside at once.
“Now,” Jax said, rushing forward with two daggers in each hand, held to throw.
The thirty strides to the rear figure was longer than it had seemed behind the cover of the alley. His heart thundered as he ran. Each step took him closer, but his boots sounded like a hammer striking an anvil.
One of the magi glanced toward Jax and flinched. As she opened her mouth to cry out, Jax threw his dirk. It sunk into her mouth, cutting her shout off. As she fell, the next magus in line turned. Jax’s second dirk took him in the throat. Before closing the gap to the next opponent, Jax drew his saber and a dagger.
Daren surged into the midst of them, his heavy blade held high. One sweep took two heads and lodged halfway through another magus’s neck. The massive warrior kicked the body free of his sword and hacked his way toward the door.
Jax stabbed the first of the bastards to start mumbling. A second magus leapt backward and held up a stone, aimed at Daren’s back. Jax threw his dagger, but the man turned. The short blade took him in the cheek. He fell away, screaming and clutching his face.
The Kalicodian spun, sweeping his blade left and right in practiced strokes. Within seconds, robed bodies littered the bloody street.
Inside, metal rang against metal. He could see Daki’s two blades whirling against Galivant, who blocked and returned strikes with his hands, his skin now the color of steel. The magus’s lips moved in a steady stream.
Daren rushed inside. Jax followed with his weapons at the ready.
Galivant rolled away from Daren, taking a slice across his back from Daki. The magus did not flinch from the strike. He danced away from Daren’s heavy blows. He jumped through the doorway and tripped over a body. He turned the fall into a roll, taking him into the street.
Before Daren could reach him, the man’s chanting changed tones. He leapt upward, body morphing as he rose higher than should be possible. Wings sprouted from his back. Jax reversed the grip on his dagger and hurled it at the retreating magus. He dodged, but the weapon struck his leg. Galivant never slowed. Still chanting, he pulled out the dagger and dropped it to the cobbles. The wound in his leg closed.
Jax froze, ready for another attack. The man flew higher. Then he vanished. The words were similar to those Elwin spoke before teleporting them away.
“Curse it all,” Jax said. “We need to find Elwin before he comes back with others.”
“Aye,” Daren said, moving back into the broken home.
“Daki,” Jax said, stepping inside. “Where is Elwin?”
Daki had dropped his weapons and was kneeling next to Taego, who was crumpled on the floor. Jax could not see if the bear was breathing. Daki stood and turned to face him. Blood spilled from a large gash in his side. The man grimaced as he reached down and took hold of his weapons.
“Dragons take me,” Jax said. “You are hurt.”
“Aye. My remaining breaths might be few.”
“What can we do?”
“Did you take the pages?”
“We have them,” Daren said. “Where is Elwin?”
“He has gone for the artifact.” Daki’s hands trembled around his weapons. “Do you wish to aid him or take what he seeks?”
“Aid him,” Daren answered.
Nodding, Daki stepped aside. His legs gave way, and he sat hard next to Taego. The bear shifted from the impact.
Jax reached a hand to help him, but Daki waved him off. “Just go.”
“Will you be all right?” Daren asked.
“I will be as the Lady wills.”
Daren bowed his head, a look of admiration in his eyes. “May Virasti’s light bathe you in His warmth. Die well, friend.”
“And you.”
~
Jesnia trailed Jax and Daren at a safe distance, watching them fight with the magi. She considered aiding the magi, but there was little guarantee they would not turn on her the moment Jax and Daren were dealt with. She felt no tamings, but clearly they had powers of some sort to make that ram and to fling energies about like that.
Instead of joining in the battle, she shouldered her bow and went to the building closest to her. An intricate symbol was carved into the wood at eye level, likely a house sigil. There was no door knob. Instead, there was a sun dial. That was no use.
Gripping the windowsill, she climbed up to the railing above the door. She stood, then lifted herself up to the balcony on the second floor. The glass door to an antechamber was unlocked.
She readied an arrow and stalked through the room. Gaudy furnishings with purple and blue pillows filled the space. An ornate tea set rested atop a trestle made entirely of silver. The kettle had eloiglyphs at the base, self-heating if she had to guess. Part of her wanted to swipe it, but someone clearly lived here. She was no common thief.
Moving to the outer door, she listened for signs of anyone inside. Hearing no one, she exited to the hall. She ran toward the stairs at the end of it but stopped when a small girl walked into her path. She looked up at Jesnia in horror.
“Mama!”
“Thump me,” Jesnia said, shouldering past the kid.
With any luck, that kid’s parents were dead in the street outside. After seeing these people fight, she’d rather not engage directly if she could avoid it.
She leapt up the steps, running full speed to the top. It spiraled upward to an iron door that opened onto a roof. There were no furnishings, only a platform with symbols covering the smooth stone.
The fighting had finished at the neighboring manor. A robed figure flew away, wings beating quickly. Then the man vanished. The legends of this place were real after all.
Jesnia ducked into the doorway as two figures appeared atop the adjacent building. One was the boy who had been with Jax. The other figure was Bain thumping Solsec.
She’d never seen him directly, but she knew his description well-enough. Alcoa had placed a sizable bounty on the man. Not that she’d ever planned to take it, but it never hurt to know what jobs were available.
The two stepped to the center of the platform. Seconds later, they vanished.
She waited, considering her next move carefully. She could not sit this place out forever. That girl below would run for help. What in the abyss was she even doing here? She had all the gold she could want on its way to Norscelt. That was, if Landryn hadn’t decided to abscond with it. No, he was not so foolish. He knew she could find him.
Jax, she’d come for the ex-lordling. He’d stolen from her. However, there might be some merit to his claims. The magi were as real as this place. If one of them was after her, she needed more details. Curse it all, Jax had dragged her back into his thumping saga. She could not kill him. Not yet, at least.
Daren ran onto the neighboring roof. Jax quickly followed. Glancing down at a scroll, he ran to the platform. Once they were both securely on the dais, Jax knelt and touched the edge.
They disappeared.
Jesnia walked down and looked at her own platform. The Seeker alone knew where this thumping thing would take her. But she had to do something. Footsteps were pounding up the stairs.
“Curse it
all,” she said.
Then she stepped onto the dais and activated a symbol on the far edge. It was the same sigil she’d seen on the door to the manor below.
Chapter 60
Not the End
Every incantation is balanced by its counter. What can be made, can also be unmade. True, matter dispersed by the powers of incineration are difficult to be made whole, but this too is not beyond our reach. With focus and will, all feats are possible.
~Asianda’s Incantia, 127 A.R.
~
Feffer watched Zarah inspecting the dais, what she’d called the servant’s portal. The book was at her feet, where it had been for the past ten minutes or so.
He moved to the edge of the wall.
Far to the south, large birds soared over the tall structures, unconcerned and free. They were vultures, he realized. Below them was a large monument of a dragon-like creature, but it had arms and legs. Tiny forms moved in and out of the street, scrubbing at red stains on the cobbles.
West of the statue, but much farther north, figures ran through the alley, moving in Feffer’s direction. One of them was a bear.
Feffer moved to the far side of the rooftop, trying to get a better view. The small group emerged from two buildings. He rubbed at his face. Surely fatigue and lack of sleep were getting to him. But no, the figures were still there when he opened his eyes. Elwin ran alongside an older man with Daki and Taego trailing behind.
“The Seeker take me. Elwin!”
They never looked up. Had they been the ones to cause the dragons to come? Feffer ran back toward the doorway to the lower levels.
“Feffer, no! Wait!” Zarah dropped the tome and blocked his path.
“What are you doing? Elwin is down there. Those dragons we saw a few minutes ago could be after him.”
She took him by both shoulders. Her fingers trembled. “My Vision, Feffer. Please, listen. If you go after Elwin, we both will die.”
“Wait, you knew he was here? And you didn’t tell me?”
“Do you trust me?”
“I did. I can’t believe you kept this from me.”