by Lana Axe
The silence of their continued journey nearly drove Pia to distraction. Even the symbol was silent and somber. All its mind was trained on the destination ahead.
“Tell me about these sorcerers,” she said. “The ones who damaged the void.”
“There were seven of them,” Taren began. “That’s why there are seven towers. They were members of the race of Enlightened Elves, also known as the Island Elves.”
“Which island?” she asked.
“The Sunswept Isles was their home,” he replied.
She’d never heard of it. Not even in the stories the sailors used to tell her. Surely one had traveled there, but none had mentioned it to her.
“It’s not a place one often visits,” he went on. “Unless you happen to be from there. They are unwelcoming to strangers. They see themselves as superior to all others. At least, the majority of them do.”
“They study magic there?” she asked.
“Oh yes,” he replied. “Magic is their passion. Every elf among them must learn some form of magic. I can’t imagine the fate of a child born without power, if there has ever been such a child.”
“I met an Enlightened Elf once,” Embyr said. “He visited the soldier’s academy when I was a young girl. He set runes in some of the weapons.”
“Did you speak to him?” Pia asked.
Embyr shook her head. “He was terrifying. His eyes flashed red whenever I looked at him. I think he would have set us children alight if he’d had the chance. He had no tolerance for any of us. We were warned to keep our distance or suffer the consequences. So far as I know, no one but the army’s highest officers ever went near him.”
“I’ve met some who were less intimidating,” Taren said. “They aren’t an entirely bad race. Though I haven’t met one who thought much of human magic. My bonding with the symbol makes me a curiosity to their kind. They consider me above most humans but still not their equal.”
“Have they seen you become a dragon?” Pia asked.
“No,” he said. “That isn’t something I reveal to mere acquaintances.”
“Why would island elves want to come here?” Pia asked.
“There was great magic in these lands once,” Taren replied. “The natural forces that existed here were prime training grounds for elemental mages. It is the anchor of the world, where magic was first drawn into the hands of the elves. You could say the ground here is sacred.”
“It didn’t always look like this?” Pia asked.
“It was once a fertile green valley, with a wide river flowing through its center. The rock formations you see are the remnants of mountains, taller than any now seen in Nōl’Deron.”
“How could sorcerers destroy their own sacred site?” It seemed unthinkable to the young woman. She sensed the symbol’s discomfort as well. It grieved for the unspoiled land, tainted by the hands of the elves.
“Here more than any other place, the presence of the void can be felt,” he explained. “The temptation to tap into its power proved too much for them. With no limit to their greed, they fought all who tried to protect the land. But with the power of the void behind them, none could stand against them. They murdered their opposition and drank in the power of the slain. Such acts fed the void’s appetite for evil.
“Yet the sorcerers still weren’t content. They continued to draw on the void, bombarding it with their spells. The insatiable need to supplement their own magic was their undoing. The void weakened, and a rift formed, spilling evil into the world. That evil cared not who it slaughtered. Its mission was to eradicate the inhabitants of this plane, freeing it for their own kind to inhabit.”
“So all the sorcerers were killed,” Pia said.
“Killed is probably not the right word,” Taren said. “They were taken by the void. Their bodies are gone, but their essence remains. Still they crave the power of the void, and they will protect it from all who would seek to enter it. They will not willingly share that power.”
“Then that’s what I’ll be up against,” she said. “Sorcerers who couldn’t be subdued even by the best wizards Nōl’Deron had to offer.”
Taren stopped and faced the young woman. “No,” he said. “The best this world had to offer had not yet been born. Now Nōl’Deron has you.”
Pia swallowed hard. She didn’t feel like the greatest sorcerer Nōl’Deron had ever seen. Maybe someday, but she had much more to learn before she could consider herself among the most talented. Surely throughout history there were wizards far greater than she would ever be, even with the symbol’s help.
What of the person who had crafted the symbol? Surely his magic was the greatest. Why did he not return from wherever he’d gone and fix everything? The simplest answer was that he was dead and unable to return. But if what Taren said was true, then the original wielder should still be alive. What had caused him to relinquish the symbol?
“What happened to the person who made the symbol?” she asked. “Why did he give up the power it holds?”
“She grew weary,” he replied, “and willingly left this world behind, moving into the next. Unending life takes its toll on a person.”
“I can’t imagine giving away my life like that,” she replied. Yes, she might give her life in exchange for a noble deed. Would she have traded places with Leko? She found herself answering yes. If it would have saved him, she would have let the wraith devour her instead. But how could someone tire of living? Immortality seemed a grand gift to her. It meant she had all the time in the world to experience new ideas and places.
“Until you’ve lived so long, I don’t suppose you can fathom it,” Taren said.
A sadness fell over his visage, and Pia sensed his pain. “The world doesn’t stay the same,” she said. “It seems to me it would be wonderful to experience all the changes, but perhaps not.”
“You will enjoy them,” he replied. “I did at first. But now it seems things have changed too much. I grow weary and long for the past.” He paused. “I long for those I have lost and will never see again.”
“You were in love once, weren’t you?” Pia asked. Having never fallen in love, she couldn’t imagine the pain of losing one’s mate. She reached out with the symbol’s help, taking some of Taren’s pain upon her. It drew the heat from her body, pressing down on her like a frozen block of iron. Unable to stand it, she pushed it away, tears spilling from her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she said.
“It’s painful to speak of her, even after all this time,” Taren said. “Her name was Lilla, and I loved her more than I knew I was capable of. When she died, part of me did as well. I have never felt such love again.”
“Did you have children?” Pia asked.
“No,” he said. “And that, as it turns out, was a blessing. I don’t think I would have been able to go on after their deaths.”
“Maybe the symbol would have granted them longer lives,” she suggested. “Maybe even immortality.”
He shook his head. “It does not have that power. The symbol binds with one person at a time. I could have given the symbol to Lilla, along with my own life, but it would have made no difference. She was not destined to wield it.”
“Still you could have tried,” Pia said, immediately regretting her words. “You did try,” she said. “You pleaded with her to take it, but she wouldn’t.”
“Yes,” Taren said. “She refused it and told me how foolish I was to offer it. She knew there was more for me to do. I had to stay long enough to find you and help you fulfill your destiny.” He laughed softly. “Lilla was a healer, through and through. She knew the world would need healing, and she made me promise to see it through.”
“And once your duty is ended,” Pia said. “What will you do?”
“I will rest.”
Chapter 20
The towers before them rose into the sky, their spires disappearing amid a thick gray cloud. Pia could feel eyes upon her, watching her in the darkness. She shuddered, wishing she could turn back. This was no plac
e for someone of such little experience. Even with the symbol, how could she do this?
The symbol offered no comfort. One thought alone repeated over and over in Pia’s mind, the voice of the symbol: Touch the void. She knew what it wanted her to do, what she had to do. But now that she was so close to it, her fears would not be denied.
Courage, she told herself, trying to block out the symbol’s incessant chant. She looked at Taren and Embyr. They had come as her protectors, but she didn’t want either of them to come to harm. She sensed great malice inside these towers.
“I guess this is it,” Embyr said. She motioned toward an open door with her bow. “You think that’s where we go in?”
“It’s best if you stay outside,” Taren said. “There is magic inside, and magic will be needed to combat it. You’re safer here.”
Her brown eyes nearly ripped a hole through the sorcerer’s face. “I’m going inside,” she said. “Wherever Pia goes, I go. Don’t try to stop me.”
He nodded. “Very well then.”
“Which tower do we go inside?” Pia asked. Searching all seven would be tedious, not to mention dangerous. She wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible.
“I hoped you would know,” Taren said. “What does the symbol tell you?”
“To touch the void,” she said.
“Ask it to lead you there,” he said.
Pia closed her eyes and focused her mind to the symbol. Where do I find it?
Touch the void.
Taking a deep breath she tried again. Which tower?
Above. Touch the void.
Above? What did that mean? She looked upward, straining to see the tips of the spires. It was impossible. “It only says above,” she said.
“The rift probably opens in the top of one of these towers,” he said.
“Then let’s go inside,” Embyr said. “From the top of one, we’ll be able to see the tops of the others.” She strode forward, advancing toward the door.
“Wait,” Taren called to her. “Let me go first.”
Gesturing with her bow, she invited him to take the lead. Pia moved to her side, the two women entering only a step behind him.
All inside was darkness, except for a soft glimmer of white dotting the walls. They projected no light, but the shimmering stones gave the appearance of wetness. Cold to the touch, they were quite dry. Pia wondered what mineral they contained that gave them their speckled appearance. “Is it metal in the rocks?” she asked.
“It is the stars,” Taren replied. “Minerals taken from rock falling from the heavens,” he went on. “That is what the sorcerers used to fashion these towers. It imbues them with power.”
“So that’s how they were able to open the void here,” Pia said. It was likely the only substance that could withstand the power unleashed by the void. The towers had stood for millennia, sentinels of a forgotten age. Now their power must come to an end.
Taren summoned a sphere of white light, allowing it to hover above them.
“Won’t that let whatever’s in here see us?” Embyr asked.
“Creatures of darkness don’t need light to know we’ve come,” Taren said.
“Good point,” Embyr replied. Keeping an arrow knocked on the string of her bow, she remained on alert.
A spiral staircase lay ahead of them. Taren’s footsteps echoed against the stone as he began his ascent. Not wanting to fall behind, Pia kept close to Embyr.
“Go on in front of me,” Embyr said.
Pia moved between her two companions, her hands held tight against her chest. She feared whatever was lurking inside the tower could hear her breathing or the pounding of her heart. The symbol was no help at all. It simply repeated the same phrase again and again, urging her to touch the void. She wished it would be silent.
“Careful,” Taren said, directing light toward a large crack in the staircase.
More fissures revealed themselves as they continued to climb. Pia felt they’d been climbing for an hour, and there were still more steps ahead. Turning in every direction, she had no idea which way she was now facing. Not that it mattered.
Taren held up a hand, halting the women behind him.
“What is it?” Pia whispered.
He didn’t have to answer. She could see for herself that the staircase ahead was broken and impassable. “What do we do?”
“We have to go back and try another tower,” Embyr said.
“No,” Taren said, kneeling. Placing his hands on the stone beneath his feet, he reached into the power of the earth. Green magic flowed through his fingers, a small net weaving itself in the opening. “Hurry,” he said.
The two girls climbed over the magical net, finding their way across the gap. The stairs past that point were sound. Taren joined them seconds later.
With cautious steps, they continued to climb, the spire ever narrowing. They were nearing the top. The steps came to an end at a single wooden door.
“Does it lead outside?” Pia wondered.
“Only one way to find out,” Embyr said, laying her hand on the latch.
Taren placed his hand on hers and pushed it away. “I’ll open it,” he said. First he placed his palm flat against the wood, spreading white magic over its surface. His eyes flashed amber as he looked down at Pia. “Are you ready?” he asked.
Ready for what? She wanted to ask, but she didn’t. Opening her mind, she sensed the darkness waiting for her. She managed a nod, and Taren opened the door.
In front of her, Taren disappeared as if he’d fallen off a precipice. Pia rushed in behind him with Embyr following. “Taren!” Pia shouted. His light had been extinguished. There was no reply.
A sudden burst of wind caught Pia, knocking her backward. She crashed against the wall, falling limp against the floor. Desperately, she tried to refill the air that was forced from her lungs. A second blast sent her reeling, but she managed to throw her hands out, producing a shield to block the third. The energy pushed against her shield, a line of frost forming on its surface. She fought, trying to force her enemy backward.
It was too strong. A shape moved toward her. She could barely make out the billowing of a tattered cloak.
“Stay low!” Embyr’s voice shouted.
An arrow whizzed past Pia, narrowly missing her face. The wraith recoiled, releasing its magical hold on her shield. Adding a burst of energy to Embyr’s attack, Pia sent the wraith flailing into the darkness.
She hurried to her feet. “Embyr!”
“I’m here,” she replied. “Come to my voice.”
Pia had a better idea. Summoning her magic, she pleaded with the symbol to obey. I need to see in the dark, she said. It wasn’t a spell she knew, but it must be simple for the artifact. To her relief, it obeyed, allowing her a hazy view of her surroundings. She crept toward Embyr’s outline. Luckily the woman was only a few feet away, at the edge of Pia’s vision. Taren was nowhere in sight.
“Taren?” she called to the darkness.
No answer.
“What was that?” Embyr asked.
Both went silent, listening. A slight creaking gave way to a rumble, the tower beneath their feet beginning to sway. They clutched at each other for balance. In a deafening blast, the roof was torn away, a burst of cold air descending on them. The air swirled as it approached, forcing the two apart.
Pia shoved with all her might, trying to force the wind back. Her eyes flashed with white magic and her mind focused, but she could not repel it. Drops of hot liquid poured onto her face. She wiped them away, leaving her hand coated in an oily black substance.
The liquid fell faster, pelting her with its heat. Soon it accumulated around her feet. Scanning the room, she searched for Embyr but didn’t see her. Scrambling in the darkness, she moved around the circular room. “Embyr!” she called.
“I’m here,” the woman answered.
Pia found her clutching an injured shoulder. “Are you all right?” she asked.
“I just had the sens
e knocked out of me, that’s all.”
A gash on her forehead left a bright red trail to the bridge of her nose. Pia laid her hands over the wound and repeated an incantation Taren had shown her. The wound sealed, but a bruise remained. For a first attempt, it was acceptable.
“Thanks,” Embyr said.
Offering a hand, Pia helped the woman to stand. Summoning a shield, she placed it over their heads to block out the deluge. As if it resented her spell, the black liquid ceased immediately. She turned her face skyward.
Above her the sky seemed to clear, a black sky dotted with a million stars shone above her.
“What’s happening?” Embyr asked.
Before Pia could guess, a burst of cold swept through the room, the sky fading to complete darkness. Pia summoned heat from the symbol and pulled Embyr toward her. Frost formed on the ends of her fingers, and her face burned from the cold.
Then the sky turned white. Pia gasped at the sudden light, illuminating the dusty room. All around was emptiness and cracked stone. There was nowhere left to go but back.
“Let’s get out of here,” she said.
Embyr didn’t question the young woman, and the pair began moving toward the door. Shadows moved overhead, and they paused, looking skyward.
Wraiths. Dozens of the evil beings rushed through the roof’s opening, surrounding the two women. Embyr knocked an arrow to her bow and drew back the string. She hesitated as if trying to decide which one to shoot.
Pia didn’t hesitate. She dug for her magic, the symbol burning hot in her veins. Bombarding the wraiths with energy, she blasted them by twos and threes, driving them away. But they didn’t stay away. They returned, seeming stronger and more confident. Pia’s strength was waning.
Embyr loosed an arrow followed quickly by a second. They passed through the wraiths without slowing them. “I don’t understand,” she said. The magic in her bow had no effect.
Pia knew why. “They’re too close to the void,” she said. “We need stronger magic.”
The shape of a dragon silhouetted against the white sky gave Pia an idea. “Stay behind me,” she called to Embyr.