“That is a mighty leap of thought,” said Theren.
Ebon spread his hands. “Once I realized it had to be her, I knew there must be a reason for her outburst in the front hall. She was leaving the Academy because she knew the artifacts she desired were no longer there.”
“But if you are right, why did we not tell the others?” said Kalem. “The instructors, the faculty? They should be here now to help us defeat her.”
“Do you think Xain would have believed me?” said Ebon, scowling. “Who knows how much time we would have wasted trying to convince him, and then Isra would have escaped. And too many have suffered because of my mistakes already. I will not drag them along with me now.”
Mako’s voice came from the sky. “Ebon has always been such a noble boy.” Then he dropped from the roof above them, landing catlike in the street.
In an instant Theren had raised her hands, and her eyes blazed with magelight. “Who are you?”
Ebon put a hand on her arm. “This is Mako. He works for my family. How did you know to find us here?”
Mako shrugged. “I did not. I was watching the home of the Academy’s new dean when I saw a girl arrive. She slew the guards as fast as blinking and entered the house, but I could not follow her, for she erected a barrier of spells. I meant to fetch you from the Academy, and yet here I find you ready to serve.”
“You think we will serve you?” said Theren. “I do not know you, save that Ebon tells us he saw you murder a man last night.”
Ebon quailed as Mako gave him a withering glare. “Ebon is more flap-lipped than might be wished, it seems.”
“There is no time for this,” said Ebon. “Even now Isra is in Xain’s home, mayhap stealing artifacts as we speak. We must stop her. Mako, will you help us?”
The bodyguard shrugged. “Why not? I had nothing else to do today.”
“Thank you,” Ebon said earnestly. “Now come.”
He stole around the corner, and the others followed. There was Xain’s house—and there, as Mako had said, were the bodies of the guards Isra had slain. It had been the Mystics and High King’s guard on the street, and in death they embraced one another in pairs, each with a sword buried in the other’s belly. Kalem’s face went Elf-white as he beheld them.
“Mindwyrd,” said Ebon. “She must have made them kill each other. Mako, do not let her speak to you, or she will—”
“I know mindwyrd, boy,” Mako snarled. “See to your own safety, and I will see to mine.”
They reached the door. Theren rolled her shoulders. “I feel her spell. She put a barrier upon the door to keep it shut.”
“Then we must find another way in,” said Kalem. “If she has the amulet, her magic is backed by the strength of magestones. You cannot hope to break the enchantment.”
Theren’s eyes glowed. “We shall see. I think she made this barrier in haste.”
She held forth a hand, reaching out with her power. Ebon saw a sort of shimmering in the air before the door, like waves of heat escaping a fire. But nothing else happened, and after a long moment, Ebon felt his sense of urgency growing.
“Theren,” he muttered. “There must be a back door.”
“Who is to say she did not bar it as well?” said Theren through gritted teeth. “Besides, I am almost through.”
“You said she cast this spell in haste,” growled Mako.
“Ebon, silence your hound.”
To Ebon’s immense relief, Mako actually smiled at that.
Then there was a quiet snap, and the glow faded from Theren’s eyes.
“It is done,” she said, voice weak. She cleared her throat and spoke with more force. “But it was powerful indeed. The amulet is nothing to be trifled with. Take care within.”
Ebon looked at Kalem and Theren, and then at Mako. The bodyguard gave a mocking smile followed by a bow, and waved his hand towards the door. “I would not presume, little lord. After you.”
“You are too kind,” said Ebon, trying to sound braver than he felt. He put his hand on the doorknob and turned it. With a soft click, the door swung open into darkness.
BEYOND THE FRONT DOOR WAS a massive entryway that stretched nearly to the back of the house, a great hall where tables could be set to hold feasts of moderate size. To the left a staircase led up to the second floor, while doors split off from the main hall to either side—two to the left, and two to the right. The floor was polished wood, while the walls were plaster between bare, raw beams that held the ceiling seven paces high. Over the wood floor were laid two plush carpets of Feldemarian make, if Ebon guessed right. Broad windows were placed near the ceiling and in carefully-laid alcoves, and if their shutters had not been drawn, they would doubtless have lit the hall with the morning’s warm glow. Ebon had a brief thought that if he were not so terrified, the place would have seemed warm and welcoming.
But terrified he was, and in his mind every shadow held menace. All candles and lanterns had been snuffed out, and with the windows blinded, the place was filled with darkness. They studied their surroundings in silence, Ebon trying to guess where the artifacts might be hidden.
“It is a large building,” said Mako, “and we must find her quickly. Split up.”
“What?” Kalem said. “No. I will not. I do not want to be here in the first place, and certainly I do not wish to wander on my own, searching for a madwoman!”
“Do you wish to stop her, or not?” growled Mako.
“Not as much as I wish to survive!”
Ebon put a calming hand on his shoulder and met Mako’s eyes. “It is folly for any of us to leave Theren. Only she can hope to defend us against Isra’s magic.”
“I can look after myself,” said Mako, sneering. “But if you three are frightened, then stay together. Look for her upstairs, and I will search this floor. If she should kill you, try to scream as loud as you may. That way I shall know I am on my own.”
“Thank you for your concern,” spat Theren.
Mako nodded and ducked into the first room, dagger drawn and held by his side.
Theren led them up the stairs. Ebon whispered silent thanks with every step, for not one creaked beneath his foot. On the second floor they found another hall like the one below, but narrower, with many doors, and then a pair of double doors at one end of the hallway. Ebon guessed that led to Xain’s bedchamber.
“Start there,” whispered Ebon, pointing. Theren nodded and sneaked in that direction.
“How are we supposed to fight her if she has mindwyrd?” asked Kalem.
“If you stay out of her sight, she will not be able to cast it,” said Theren. “All mindmagic requires line of sight.”
“That holds true for regular mentalists,” said Kalem. “How can you know it is the same for a wizard with the power of magestones?”
Theren was silent for far, far too long a moment before she muttered, “It is an educated guess.”
They opened the master bedroom’s wide doors with nary a creak. Ebon tensed, ready to leap upon Isra if she was within. But he saw nothing—only a bed, more modest than he would have imagined, and two simple bureaus along the walls. A door tucked into the room’s corner spoke of a large closet, while another door at the other end led to a balcony. Ebon stole across to look outside. But the balcony was empty, and he stepped back in with a sigh.
“Let us go to the next room,” he said.
Then the closet door opened, and Isra emerged into view.
For a moment, they all froze in shock. Then Ebon shouted, Kalem shrieked, and Theren’s eyes glowed as she struck Isra in the chest with her magic. Isra flew back through the open closet door, lank hair and dark robes fluttering about her. Ebon jumped across the bed and rolled off the other end to the floor, while Kalem ran from the room like a rat on fire. Isra reemerged a moment later, and Theren’s eyes blazed as she struggled to contain the girl’s magic.
Ebon sprang up and ran for the door, snatching Theren’s wrist as he passed. “She has the amulet! You cannot best
her!” he cried.
Theren struggled for a moment, but then relented, and made to run with him. But Isra’s spell struck her, flinging her through another door into an adjoining room. Ebon went to follow, but the wall before him crumpled as Isra battered it, and he turned tail to flee the other way. He ducked into the first door he saw, slamming it shut behind him and praying Isra had not seen which way he went.
He found himself in a small antechamber, with a large wooden chest, a single bureau, and two couches of muted green and blue. He threw himself under one of the couches—or started to, but recoiled as he heard a yelp.
There, his face pressed to the floor, was Xain’s son, Erin. The poor child was terrified, his eyes wide and his fingers scrabbling at the wooden floor in hopes of escape. He opened his mouth to scream, but Ebon clapped a hand across it.
“Shhh! Shush, shush,” he murmured. “I mean you no harm. I am not the one who attacked your home, I am …” He gulped at the lie. “I am a friend of your father’s. You must hide yourself.”
Erin looked as though he would not scream, so Ebon carefully removed his hand. “Where can I hide?” he whimpered.
Ebon looked around the room. The couch would not hide the boy from even a cursory search, but the bureau might do the trick. “There,” said Ebon, pointing. “Here, come quickly.”
He helped Erin to his feet, then opened the bureau and gave his hand to help the boy in. But no sooner had he shut the bureau than he heard the latch click, and the room’s door began to swing open. In a panic, he threw himself to the ground and slid beneath the couch, clamping a hand over his mouth to muffle his breathing.
The door’s wooden timbers swung past, revealing simple brown leather shoes beneath black robes. The shoes took one careful step into the room, and then another. The door swung shut silently, trapping them in the room together.
“Ebon?” whispered Kalem.
A rush of air escaped him, and he pressed his face against the wood floor. “I am here, Kalem.”
“Thank the sky,” Kalem hissed. Ebon slid out, and Kalem helped him to his feet. “I think I heard her make for the stairs, so I came to find you and Theren.”
“We are not the only ones here.” Ebon stole across to the bureau and cracked open the door. “Erin. Listen carefully. You must remain here. Do not open this door for anyone, not even me. If you stay where you are, you will be safe. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” came Erin’s terrified whisper.
“If I open the door myself, you will know you are safe,” said Ebon. “But if you hear me calling out for you, asking where you are, then I am not myself, and you must not listen to me. Tell me you will not listen.”
“I will not.”
“Good lad.” Ebon swung the bureau door shut again. To Kalem’s questioning look, he whispered, “Xain’s son.”
“Sky above,” said Kalem, eyeing the bureau in horror.
“He will be fine if he remains,” said Ebon. “Come. If Isra has gone downstairs, she may be trying to escape.”
They cracked the door and peered out. The hall appeared to be empty, and so they gingerly stepped into it. But as they did, the door beside the stairs creaked open, and they froze—until Theren stepped out from the room, and they both sighed with relief.
“Thank the sky,” said Kalem. “Theren, have you seen her? She—”
Theren’s eyes blazed with light, and she struck at them with her magic. A spell blasted them through the air, slamming them both into the doors of the master bedroom, which buckled under their weight. They landed hard on the floor.
“What is she—” Kalem groaned.
“Mindwyrd,” said Ebon, gasping as he fought for his feet. He seized Kalem’s elbow and dragged him up. Another spell narrowly missed them, shattering a piece of one of the doors and sending wooden splinters through the air. They dove beneath the bed, but then it flipped up, crashing into the opposite wall. Ebon rose, only to have Theren lift him up, her eyes blazing as she pressed him against the wall.
Kalem had gained his feet. He hesitated for a long moment, unsure of what to do, before leaping towards Theren with a cry. She raised her other hand, throwing him against a dresser, where he collapsed. Ebon looked down at her in terror, gasping for breath as he felt invisible fingers closing around his throat.
“Where is the boy?” she said, her voice a flat monotone. “Xain’s son?”
“Theren,” he wheezed. “Theren, she is controlling you. Fight her!”
She did not so much as blink. But then Mako stepped out of the hallway behind her, and his dagger’s pommel came crashing down on the back of her head.
The magic holding Ebon vanished, and he fell to the ground. At once he leapt to his feet and ran to Theren, rolling her onto her back. He felt for her heartbeat—it was there, and strong, and he could see the rise and fall of her chest.
“Come now, Ebon,” said Mako, grinning. “You did not think I would kill one of your little friends, did you?”
Kalem joined them. “She has left this floor. Mayhap she fled. We might think of doing the same.”
“No,” said Mako. “I do not think she would leave without the artifacts. I saw a basement entry on the ground floor. I meant to investigate, but heard the fighting here.”
“Then let us go there,” said Ebon. “If she escapes with the artifacts, there is no telling what havoc she could unleash.”
Mako motioned towards the steps. “Once more I defer to your courage.”
Ebon glared at him and, after a final glance at Theren to make sure she was well, he made for the stairs.
ON THE GROUND FLOOR, MAKO took them to the door leading to the basement steps. Ebon paused on the threshold and drew a deep breath. There were lanterns below, so that the darkness was not complete. But he could feel the empty space pulling at him, siphoning his courage like an insatiable void.
“How can we beat her?” Kalem whispered. “She has the amulet, Ebon. Only Theren could have hoped to stop her, and we no longer have her. We should flee.”
“What is this amulet?” said Mako. “How does it work?”
“You know magestones,” said Ebon. “The amulet gives her strength as though she had eaten them. And she may cast her spells without her eyes glowing, so that we will have little warning.”
Mako frowned. “That will make her harder to kill.”
Ebon held his gaze. “There will be no killing. She will be thrown before the King’s justice.”
“She is dangerous.”
“So are you. Do you deserve death?”
Mako grinned. “Undoubtedly. But who is strong enough to deliver it?”
“Isra, if you underestimate her,” said Kalem.
“That I very much doubt.”
“Enough,” said Ebon. He set his foot upon the first step leading down. After that, it was easier to take the next, and then the one after that. The stair only turned once, but as he rounded that corner, Ebon felt nothing in his life had ever been so hard as moving his foot. Had Kalem and Mako not been beside him, he would surely have wept like a child and fled. Instead, he forced himself to keep going.
At the base of the stairs was a wooden doorway with no knob or latch. Mako waved them back, pressing his ear to the wood. He listened, frowning.
“I can hear her. But she is far away. If I had to guess, I would say there is another hallway like the ones above. I think she is at the other end.”
“How can we possibly defeat her?” said Kalem. “She will certainly see us coming.”
“The hinges look well-oiled, as they are in the rest of the house,” said Mako. “And the rooms are all interconnected. If we can move silently into the hallway, I think we can steal into the first rooms to the side and then get closer without attracting her attention. The two of you will go to the left, and I will go to the right. Once you reach the other end of the basement, find some way to distract her. When you do, I will—”
Ebon gave him a sharp look.
Mako grimaced. “I wi
ll subdue her.”
“Good,” said Ebon. “In that case, waiting does us no favors.”
He opened the door. Just as Mako had guessed, it swung open in silence. They slipped through and ducked left, where an open doorway waited. Ebon glanced down the hall before they entered and saw Isra at the other end, kneeling before a huge iron door set into the wall. He could see the glow of her eyes, which she had not bothered to hide as she cast some spell—or, he guessed, worked to dispel some enchantment that held the door closed. But, too, he could see another glow coming from her—black and centered around her neck. It was the amulet, he realized, lending her the power of magestones.
Then they were in the room, and Isra was gone from view. On the other side of the hallway, Mako vanished behind the opposite door. Ebon and Kalem found themselves in a small storage room, with barrels and sacks stacked against the walls. Sure enough, a door led to another room closer to Isra, and then to another that was just beside her. Ebon stooped behind a barrel, with Kalem just behind. Together, they leaned over slightly to peer out.
Isra was still focused on the door, her hands working as she focused on breaking its enchantments. And then, just as Ebon was about to bob out of sight, he heard a snap as the enchantment was broken. A savage grin crossed her features. She stood, reached out with a spell once more, and used her magic to drag the door open. Ebon could only catch a glimpse inside, where many crates were stacked against one of the walls—the same sort of crates he had seen in the cart, the day they found Dasko loading them into the house.
From the doorway, Isra’s eyes glowed as she raised a hand. She swiped through the air, and Ebon heard a sharp crack as every crate in the vault shattered. There came many crashes and tinkling as countless artifacts scattered across the ground.
“It is time,” said Ebon.
“How are we supposed to stop her?” said Kalem.
“We are not. We are only supposed to distract her.”
The Academy Journals Volume One_A Book of Underrealm Page 51