by Clayton Wood
“Go, go!” Kalibar shouted, activating his own gravity boots and shooting down the hallway. Kyle followed suit, wrapping an arm around Ariana and lifting off of the ground, flying down the hallway after Kalibar. He picked up speed, catching up with the others in short order. Kyle felt Ariana tap his shoulder frantically, and he turned to glance at her.
“Kyle, slow-”
And then the wind stopped.
Kyle felt himself burst forward, careening toward the door at the end of the hallway. He heard Ariana yell out, felt her yank on his shoulders, twisting him around. He tried to slow down, but as he was facing the opposite direction, he sped up instead. He switched crystals again, and then he felt something strike the back of his head, and there was darkness.
* * *
Kyle groaned, feeling himself being pulled up from the floor. He opened his eyes, seeing a concerned-looking Kalibar standing before him. Strong arms had lifted him up from behind; he slid up onto his feet, tottering a bit at first, then catching his balance. He turned around, and saw Ariana standing there, her eyes filled with worry.
“You okay?” she asked. Kyle nodded sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head gingerly.
“Yeah,” he replied. “What happened?”
“You were going to smash into the wall,” she explained.
“She twisted you around so you hit her instead of the stone wall,” Kalibar added. “You're lucky she did; I was looking in the opposite direction when the wind stopped.” He gave Kyle an approving look. “I don't know how you managed to escape the Void sphere,” he admitted. “I would never have had enough magic to do what you did.”
“I thought I wasn't going to make it,” Kyle confessed.
“But you did,” Ariana interjected, putting a hand on his shoulder and giving him a relieved smile. “You saved my life.”
Kalibar cleared his throat then, staring down the hallway toward the riser shaft in the distance.
“We should get moving,” he stated, gesturing for Goran and the Battle-Weavers to follow him to the door at the end of the hallway. Kyle immediately recognized it as the door to the evacuation tunnels far below the Tower, having gone through it once before. He followed Kalibar, Ariana walking at his side.
“Thanks for saving me from the wall,” he said, giving her a smile.
“I owed you,” she replied. Kyle frowned, remembering his head striking something curiously soft before blacking out.
“Hey, you okay?” he asked. “Where did I hit you?”
“I'm fine,” Ariana replied, her tone suddenly flat. He frowned, opening his mouth to repeat the question, but Ariana shot him a glare so venomous that his teeth clicked as his jaw snapped shut. Realizing that silence was almost certainly in his best interest, he said nothing more.
“Kalibar!” Goran shouted, pointing down the hallway. Kyle turned, seeing the lights in the riser shaft wink out on the far end of the hallway behind them. His heart leaped into his chest, and he turned toward the door, pulling Ariana with him. Kalibar made it to the door first, flinging it open and gesturing for everyone to go through, but one of the Battle-Weavers grabbed the door and ushered Kalibar through first. Kyle followed close behind, passing through to see the familiar spiral staircase leading to the evacuation tunnels beyond, descending into darkness far below. He and Ariana began running down the steps, taking them two at a time.
“Ariana, Kyle,” Kalibar called out, gesturing for them to come back up the steps. Kyle frowned, but complied. The Grand Weaver pointed down the center of the spiral staircase, a long, narrow drop downward. “We need to outrun that thing,” Kalibar stated. “Do you need me to give you some magic?” he asked Kyle, who paused, then shook his head.
“I have some,” he replied.
“Impressive,” Kalibar stated. “Use your gravity boots, then.” Then the old man vaulted over the railing with surprising ease, dropping downward. Goran followed suit, followed by the Battle-Weavers. Ariana grabbed onto Kyle, who gazed downward. The spiral staircase was pretty tight, the hole in the center narrow enough that a miscalculation could result in them slamming into the railing.
“Get on my back,” Kyle told Ariana. She did so, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. He took a deep breath in, then activated his gravity boots, rising from the floor and over the railing. He maneuvered carefully to the center of the staircase, then dropped downward slowly. The walls from the staircase passed less than a foot from their shoulders as they dropped. He noticed a sudden flickering of light, and glanced upward, seeing blue light pulling from the walls and ceiling above.
The Void sphere!
Kyle fought down a wave of panic, steadily increasing his magic stream, accelerating downward quickly. The staircase zipped by faster and faster, a never-ending spiral into infinite blackness. He streamed even more magic to his boots, knowing that if the Void sphere managed to get within thirty or so feet from them, they'd be goners. And if it switched to its other mode...
He glanced downward, spotting Kalibar standing on the floor a few stories below. He shifted his magic stream, feeling his stomach flip as they rapidly decelerated. The floor rose up to meet him...and then stopped a few feet from his boots.
“Nice flying,” Kalibar stated approvingly. “Let's go,” he added, opening the door at the bottom of the stairwell and walking into the narrow, pitch-black tunnel beyond. Goran followed, and one of the Battle-Weavers gestured for Kyle and Ariana to follow behind Goran, the Weavers taking the rear. Kalibar created a light that floated above their heads, and they navigated through the tunnel as it twisted and turned through the earth. Kalibar set a quick pace, wanting to keep as much distance as possible between themselves and the Void sphere chasing them. Kyle glanced over his shoulder, peering beyond the Battle-Weavers, and saw only blackness beyond the short segment of illuminated tunnel.
The tunnel stopped suddenly, branching out on either side in a 3-way intersection. Kalibar turned left without hesitation, Goran following silently. Kyle trailed the Councilman, Ariana at his side. He felt her hand grasp his, and despite the dry coolness of her skin, he was grateful for her touch. They moved quickly down the hallway, eventually coming to a door.
“Interesting,” Kalibar murmured, placing one palm on the door and cracking it open. Goran frowned.
“What?” he asked.
“This is a master-level door,” Kalibar explained. “I had it installed by Jax himself after the assassination attempt against me.”
“Why is it open?” Goran pressed.
“It has no magic,” Kalibar answered, his tone grim. “And I'll give you one guess as to what removed that magic.” He shoved the door open all the way, peering through. There was nothing but an empty hallway beyond.
“We don't have time for this,” Goran warned. “That thing is behind us.”
“And what's in front of us?” Kalibar countered. “We must be cautious.” He gestured for the Battle-Weavers to take the lead, the three men walking through the doorway into the hallway. Kyle and Ariana followed Kalibar and Goran, until Kalibar halted abruptly, forcing Goran to stop behind him.
“What is it?” the Councilman asked Kalibar.
“Blood,” Kalibar answered. Kyle peered beyond Goran and Kalibar, spotting a hint of red staining the smooth brick of the tunnel floor. As they moved forward, the blood appeared on the walls, spots of it even appearing on the ceiling some two feet above their heads. Kyle made a face as he stepped in a puddle of maroon clots, the fluid dripping down from his boots every time he took a step forward. It wasn't long before they found the source of the blood...two corpses lying motionless on the ground. They were naked save for their undergarments.
“Battle-Weavers,” Kalibar observed, bending over one of the bodies and tracing a finger across a tattoo on one of the corpse's shoulders. “They died recently, probably within the hour.”
“Who killed them?” Goran asked. “And why don't they have any clothes on?”
“I don't know,” Kalibar admitted, straigh
tening up.
“Ibicus had two men dressed as Battle-Weavers with him,” Ariana interjected. “Before he attacked us.”
“That explains it,” Goran stated. “They're probably the Battle-Weavers you sent to search these tunnels earlier.”
“They don't have any magic,” Kyle observed. And it was true; not a shred of blue light emanated from their bodies. Kalibar nodded, his expression grim.
“A Void sphere must have drained them,” he deduced. “But it didn't kill them...their bodies are too intact.”
“Whatever killed them,” Goran interjected, “...might still be down here.” Kalibar scanned the tunnel.
“Perhaps,” he replied. “We should be cautious.”
There was a loud bang behind them, and Kyle flinched, ducking his head. He spun about, but all he saw was the door behind him...closed.
He'd left it open.
The door began to rattle violently, a low-pitched howl coming from behind it. Kyle backpedaled, following Ariana further down the hallway. He felt his heel strike something, and fell backward, landing hard on the stone floor below. Something wet seeped into the back of his shirt.
He rolled onto his side...and froze.
A corpse stared back at him!
Kyle scrambled to his feet, shuddering at the slick wetness dripping down his back, realizing that he'd tripped over one of the Battle-Weaver's corpses. He ran down the hallway after Kalibar and Goran, Ariana at his side. The howling sound behind them got louder and higher-pitched, until it was almost a scream. Kyle glanced backward, saw the door rip off of its hinges, flying backward into the hallway beyond. A sudden gust of wind tore at his hair and clothes, nearly yanking him off of his feet. He leaned forward against the wind, felt Ariana's arm around his waist, pulling him onward.
And then the wind stopped.
“Move, now!” he heard Kalibar shout.
Kalibar and Goran burst into all all-out sprint, and Kyle and Ariana followed suit, pumping their legs as fast as they could go. They weaved down the hallway, following its twists and turns, the brick-lined walls giving way to rough-hewn rock ahead. Kyle felt Ariana grip his arm.
“Kyle,” she gasped.
He turned to her, realizing she was dropping behind. He pulled on her arm, but she continued to slow, stumbling forward and nearly slamming into the wall. Her eyelids fluttered, the skin of her forehead turning a faint blue.
“Come on!” Kyle urged, grabbing both of her arms and yanking her onto her feet. But she wobbled, falling back onto the ground. Then Kyle saw the blue light rising up from his own skin, saw it shoot down the tunnel the way they'd come. “Kalibar!” he shouted.
“Ivod!” Kalibar shouted back. “Pair mavu sill wes!”
Kyle swore under his breath, scooping Ariana up in his arms and lifting her from the floor. He followed behind Kalibar, struggling to keep up with the Grand Weaver. Brilliant blue light rose from his body, shooting in the opposite direction. The light floating above his head winked out, leaving them in utter darkness.
“Tet, mogo myki ohele!” Kalibar shouted.
Kyle grimaced, moving faster down the hallway toward Goran and the Battle-Weavers, who had created another light further down the hallway. Then Kyle stepped on something hard and uneven, and his ankle rolled. He cried out, dropping Ariana and tumbling to the ground.
“Rendi gomas raytar!” Kalibar shouted, stopping to extend a hand. Kyle grabbed it, pulling himself onto his feet – or rather, his good foot. His left ankle throbbed terribly, and putting even the slightest weight on it was agonizing. He limped forward, gritting his teeth against the pain. Kalibar gestured at Goran, who turned about and grabbed Kyle, wrapping one arm around his waist. Kalibar picked up Ariana, and they moved forward together, Kalibar – his entire body glowing blue – trailing behind. Kyle looked down, realizing he'd tripped on a pile of rocks laying on the floor. In fact, the rocks were scattered all about him. He frowned, then glanced upward, and saw a large hole in the ceiling above.
“Kalibar, look!” Kyle urged, pointing at the hole. Kalibar stared at Kyle in confusion, then followed Kyle's finger; the hole led to a dark chamber above, its features hidden in shadow. Kalibar dropped Ariana to the ground, then stopped the Battle-Weavers coming back up the tunnel toward them with one outstretched hand.
“Safinda waria nib nill,” he ordered. The Battle-Weavers nodded, a large ball of burning punk appearing on the ground some ten feet from where they stood. Seconds later, the magic light above the Weavers' heads winked out, blue light shooting out of their bodies. “Vae sus!” Kalibar shouted, pointing upward. The hole was barely visible in the long shadows cast by the punk.
One of the Weavers ran up to the wall below the hole, bracing himself against the wall. Kalibar handed Ariana to one of the other Weavers, then climbed up the first Weaver’s body, grabbing the ledge above and hauling himself upward with remarkable swiftness. Goran followed, trying to pull himself upward, but he was nowhere near as fit as Kalibar; the Grand Weaver extended a hand from above, pulling Goran upward through the hole. Kalibar gestured for Kyle to come next.
Kyle hobbled up to the Weaver's back, the other Weaver lifting Kyle up by the waist and propping Kyle on the first Weaver's shoulders. Kalibar and Goran grabbed Kyle by the wrists, hauling him up through the hole in the ceiling, then setting him down on the narrow ledge above.
“Thanks,” Kyle mumbled. Then he remembered that his earring was out of magic; no one could understand him. He streamed what little magic he had left to it.
“Get Ariana, lift her up,” Kalibar ordered. The Battle-Weavers lifted Ariana up, propping her against the wall. Kalibar and Goran reached down, gripping her under the armpits and hauling her upward. She flopped like a rag doll on the floor above. Kyle felt fear grip him; her eyes were open, but she was staring blankly off into space.
“Come on,” Kalibar urged, gesturing for the Battle-Weavers to follow. The three men were outlined in blue light, the magic draining from them. One of the Weavers glanced down the hallway, his face paling. Then he turned to Kalibar, saluting crisply, and ran down the hallway anyway. The other Weaver hesitated, then did the same, ignoring Kalibar's order and sprinting away.
“Damn it!” Kalibar cursed.
“What are they doing?” Goran demanded.
“Leading the Void sphere away from us,” Kalibar replied grimly. He stood up then, turning away from the hole. “Come on,” he ordered. “We can't let their sacrifice be in vain.”
Kalibar picked up Ariana then, carrying her on his shoulder and slipping into the darkness ahead. Kyle squinted, his eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness, and realized that there was a faint outline of a rope ladder next to the wall ahead, a single rope with knots tied at regular intervals. Kalibar ran to it, scaling it carefully; within moments, he'd vanished into the perfect darkness above. Goran followed suit, and Kyle limped toward the ladder, waiting for the Councilman to start climbing before gripping the thick rope in his hands and pulling himself upward. He favored his bad ankle, using his arms to haul himself upward one knot at a time. For perhaps the first time in his life, he felt grateful for his slight build; that, and his hobby for climbing trees in his backyard. He'd been rather cruelly made fun of for both in school, but now all the jeers rang hollow.
Upward he went, his biceps burning with the effort. He ignored the pain, grabbing the rope with one hand above the next knot, then the other hand, gripping the rope between his thighs as he went. It wasn't long before he couldn't see anything at all; he climbed the rope blindly, trying to ignore the rising fear within him, the terror of what horrors might lurk in the darkness around him. He focused on the rope, just him and the rope, counting each knot as he ascended.
One, two, three...
He glanced down as he went, and was thankful that all he could see was darkness. Then he saw a flash of blue light below, which vanished as quickly as it had come. Even with the momentary illumination, there was no telling how high up they'd climbed, but he knew it wa
s high enough that one wrong move would be fatal. If the Void sphere activated its gravity fields now, he would never be able to hang on.
...four, five, six...
He felt the rope vibrate once, then again, then felt hands grabbing his wrists and tugging him upward. He held fast to the rope, terrified of letting go, of falling into the void below.
“Let go,” a voice hissed. He realized it was Goran's.
Kyle paused, then released one hand from the rope, feeling himself rising upward. He let go with the other hand, half-expecting to fall, but he did not. He felt his knees scrape against something hard, then felt his belly sliding on cool stone. He rolled over onto his back, sweat pouring from his forehead, stinging his eyes. He blinked against the darkness, then struggled to weave the light pattern. A white light flared up overhead, and dim as it was, he still had to squint until his eyes adjusted. They were in a narrow corridor, a ragged hole in the stone floor marking where they'd come from. The walls were made of gray stones mortared together, the ceiling some ten feet high. Kyle's magical light cast long shadows across the floor.
“Where are we?” Goran asked.
“No idea,” Kalibar answered. “Kyle, I don't have any magic,” he added, turning to Kyle. “Can you send your light forward?” Kyle nodded, casting his light forward, scanning the narrow corridor beyond. The hallway was some twenty feet long, a simple stone staircase at the end. Kalibar strode toward it, Ariana still draped over his shoulder, and gestured for Goran and Kyle to follow. Goran wrapped an arm around Kyle's waist, helping him hobble along behind Kalibar; still, he nearly tripped over a long metal pole laying on the ground, sending it rolling off to the side. They reached the staircase, Kyle hopping on his right leg from step to step. The stairs turned left, then left again, rising upward to meet a large metal door. Kalibar stopped before it, twisting the doorknob, but it didn't budge.