Princess of Wisdom: An Epic Fantasy Series (Wisdom Saga Book 2)

by W. C. Conner

  The stone sliding over the blade stopped in mid-stroke as Caron, sitting beside the fire with Roland, suddenly stiffened. She leaned toward Roland and spoke softly but urgently. His head came up sharply at her words. “To arms,” he called. “Have everyone arm themselves and meet us here within the next few minutes.”

  “Demons are coming this way,” he told Caron as her eyes cleared from the vision she had just experienced, “that is what you said.”

  “They will be here within the half hour,” Caron affirmed. “We have time to arm ourselves, but these are not the same demons as those we fought at Blackstone. These have been summoned from beyond by the demon itself. These are the stuff of darkness. What the darknesses are, these are. You must all arm yourselves, of course, but it will be up to Wil and me to battle that which approaches.”

  Mitchal watched Roland’s arm encircle her shoulders in a protective gesture, but it was Caron who seemed sure of herself this time, not Roland. She leaned her head against Roland’s before raising herself to her feet.

  Our first test is at hand, Caron.

  Caron’s eyes opened wide in surprise. I did not will your presence, she thought.

  Your vision awoke my awareness, came Wil’s thought in response. I will be with you without either your touch on the talisman or your summoning whenever you are threatened.

  Are there any other surprises I should know about before they happen? she sent, a hint of sarcasm in the thought.

  There was a pause before he replied. If there are more, you will know of them as the need arises. For now, though, you must do what you can to expand on your vision. Reach out to see if there is more about the approaching threat than you already have seen. And, Caron?

  Yes, Wil?

  Don’t forget my arm!

  Very funny, she sent back to him before going to her bag to fetch the talisman which she had completely forgotten about in the excitement of her first vision since the training she had received from Wil. The warmth of the key was always a bit disconcerting whenever she first touched it, but the knowledge that it meant Wil was by her side quickly overcame the discomfort.

  She stood with both arms clutching the talisman against her chest and concentrated on closing her mind to everything around her. As she did, the image of an enormous demon accompanied by a yammering, howling pack of demon spawn of every possible description flooded her mind, leaving her knees weak with fear. While she watched, her vision lifted from the ground into the air as if she was flying and she could see their numbers and their formation, and the way they walked or slouched or crawled or slithered.

  Wil, she thought, by the powers, these are far more frightening than that which we faced at Blackstone.

  The demon knows that, Wil replied. It will depend on that terror to unman us. Trust in our bond, Caron. You must trust in the bond or we will fail.

  I trust you, Wil, but I am afraid.

  You must not fear these demons, for together we are far more powerful than they.

  With her mouth set in a grim line, she repeated aloud, “I will not fear them. I will not fear them. I will not fear them.” Again and again, Caron recited the words, hoping that she would believe them when the time came.

  They come, Caron. I have been able to see only through your eyes before, but I am seeing your vision now. I can see them from all sides and from above. Your talent for seeing is even more powerful than I thought it was if you can project it to me like this.

  With those words of praise, Caron’s faith in the mantra she had been repeating solidified and she opened her eyes. The others were watching her carefully for any sign of danger or command.

  “The demons that approach us are coming for me. They have no real interest in you, but they will kill anything that stands in their way of getting to me. They are coming from the east – from Blackstone. There is one who leads them. He is for Wil and me alone. We will try to destroy as many of them as we can, but once the leader is gone, the rest will attack indiscriminately. Be assured they can be killed, but not easily. You must all be well behind me when they come at me, though. Once the leader is done with, you must attack at once.”

  As her eyes cleared from the vision, she nodded to Roland who reached out and held her close before leading the others out of the line of attack and into the trees surrounding the cleared area at the crossroads.

  Turning to face the road to the east, Caron planted her feet firmly apart and squeezed the talisman tightly against her.

  I trust you, Wil. We must not fail.

  I trust you, too, Caron. You have seen how well our magics work together already. The bond between us is so strong I can almost feel what you are feeling. When the time comes, hold the talisman out before you as we practiced it. When you do that one thing, we will not fail.

  Caron could see the monstrous demon clearly in her head. It was almost to the point on the road where the visual image would replace the image constructed by the powers of her mind. She was certain she could hear the first faint yammerings and howlings of the horde accompanying their leader. Her legs trembled with tension and great fear.

  Relax, Caron. We are a match for these.

  Easy for you to say, Wil. You’re not the one standing here in their way.

  In a way I am, for you carry a vital part of me as the talisman.

  Caron’s lips were pulled tight across her teeth as she steeled herself for whatever she was about to face.

  Back in the stone cottage in the Old Forest, Wil lay upon his bed in the attitude of wizard’s sleep, but the power he sought at that moment was not that of regeneration.

  The few times he had managed to force short messages past the warding barrier of the Old Forest had taxed him such that he normally needed the wizard’s sleep to regenerate himself afterwards. But this time it was different. Now, although he could feel the tingle of the wards at the border of the Forest, it was as if he was talking to himself, as he, indeed, was. The talisman Caron carried, being a part of him, had bridged the barrier just as he had believed it would.

  Still, while the thoughts he projected to Caron through the talisman were filled with confidence, in truth he had his own doubts, and the sweat of both effort and nervousness soaked the blankets upon which he lay. As the image flooding into him from Caron changed from a mental image to a visual image, he could feel Caron’s tension rise alarmingly.

  Believe in us, Caron, he sent. Trust in us.

  I do, came the return thought, but her feeling was less positive than her words.

  Raise the talisman, he sent, and immediately saw her arms lift the key in response. It was almost as if he was controlling her movements from a distance.

  Wil, they’re getting close.

  I can see that, Caron. Patience, now. We will need patience.

  As the horde drew closer, Wil dropped deep inside his potential, wrapping himself in the power he controlled. His attention focused on the monstrous leader of the horde whose image became sharper and sharper while everything surrounding it lost focus and became nothing more than blurry movement. The demon leading the pack now had a nimbus of red magic racing about its hands.

  Suddenly, Caron’s panicky thoughts tickled just inside his consciousness.

  It’s weaving a spell, Wil. It’s reaching for me. By the powers, it... Wil, I can’t feel you! Where are…?

  Her thought was cut off by the enormous bolt of magical energy Wil released from deeper inside himself than he had ever before reached. Caron blinked just as the massive surge of power blasted its way through the talisman. In the moment of that blink, she missed the ripple of pure white light that surrounded her for the barest moment. When her eyes opened, she fully expected to feel the demon’s hands encircling her throat, but there was no demon. There was, in fact, nothing within twenty yards of where she stood. She looked around as she heard the roar of men’s voices in full battle cry and saw Roland at the forefront of the men who accompanied him as they charged into the milling remnants of the demons.


  She dropped to the ground, drained, yet tingling with excitement. Such power. Such a rush of raw power. She had a sudden desperate desire to experience more, much more.

  Oh, Wil, she thought, that was... It was... Oh, Wil, I want more of that!

  But she received no reply, for Wil lay unconscious on his bed, now truly spiraling deeply down into the regenerative wizard’s sleep.

  18

  “I believe I have located the place where Gregory stored the darkness he collected, sir.” The twelve year old boy in the doorway was out of breath from running all the way from where he had found the cave to the west of the wizards’ compound.

  “You’re Stewart’s son, aren’t you?” Eldred said, smiling.

  “Yes, sir,” he answered, pleased that Eldred recognized him. “I’m Allen.”

  “Well then, Allen, come in and tell me what you found.”

  Eldred sat the lad down at a table at the side of the room and indicated he should proceed.

  “I followed the others as they combed the caves in the rock formations south of our compound, sir, but it didn’t feel like there was anything there, so I worked my way west instead.” He looked up to find Eldred watching him closely.

  “There is a small gorge west of the compound where the spring snowmelt coming from the direction of the Old Forest has cut into the land.” Eldred nodded. He knew the spot. “That’s where I found it, sir. It’s well hidden by the boulders in the gorge but bigger than you would expect it to be.”

  “Can a man fit easily into it?” Eldred asked.

  “Maybe a very small man could, sir.”

  Eldred’s eyebrow lifted slightly. “What makes you so certain this is the place, then, Allen?” he said.

  “Because as the sun went down I could feel the darkness, sir,” the boy replied. “It almost made me sick.”

  Eldred’s eyebrows lifted even higher as he sat back and looked Allen over carefully. “Does your father know you’ve got the gift, Allen?” he said. “I’ve not heard him mention it before.”

  “No sir, he doesn’t,” came the reply. “In fact, I didn’t know it either until you said something just now. I guess I should have known when the darkness made me sick, huh?”

  “It doesn’t matter, Allen. That you have found your potential is enough. Welcome to your blessing and your curse. Your father will know soon enough, of course, but right now you must take me to this cave so I can take a look at it myself.”

  With the grayness of the sky deepening toward full dark, the two of them walked side by side down the road toward the west until they arrived at the gorge. Eldred scrambled down quickly enough for a wizard of his years, but the boy had been at the entrance for some time when Eldred caught up to him. Allen merely pointed to the opening and took a couple of steps back, looking slightly pale as if he was about to be sick.

  It took only a moment to determine that this opening was not one that any grown man could manage. “You’re positive you can feel the darkness, Allen?” he asked gently, not wanting to upset the boy.

  “It’s there for certain, sir, and even stronger than before.”

  Eldred straightened up and looked about. “Let’s continue on and see if there is another opening,” he said. “Perhaps there’s one large enough for a man to enter.”

  “I’ve already looked, sir,” Allen said. “This is where my senses led me. I can’t feel another one anywhere.”

  “Interesting,” Eldred said, looking more closely at the entrance. “It does appear there are footprints here, but what that means I cannot guess.” Looking up once again, he motioned to Allen. “Come along, boy. Let’s get back to the compound so we can share the news about your talent and consult with the others.”

  Taking Allen by the hand, they started back in the direction of Wisdom.

  There was silence in the meeting hall as the assembled wizards of the Wisdom compound sat looking at young Allen sitting between his father and Eldred. Allen was clearly uncomfortable with all the attention.

  “Any thoughts?” Eldred asked.

  “How big did you say this opening is?” Bartholomew asked.

  “I doubt that anyone larger than Allen, here, could wriggle into that hole,” Eldred replied.

  In the renewed silence, Allen raised his hand to speak as if he was in school. Eldred smiled and nodded for him to proceed.

  “If there was some way that you could keep me from getting sick and throwing up, I would go into the cave for you,” he said.

  “No, son,” his father responded. “If that is where the darkness is collected as you believe, then it’s far too dangerous for a lad of your age.”

  “Stewart,” Eldred said, “perhaps your son has a point. He is the only one who was able to sense the presence of the darkness, assuming it truly is in that cave, and, though it would be a tight squeeze even for him, he’s certainly of a size to get into it without having to move mountains to make it happen. I propose we work on a way to make his proposal viable.”

  “I should be able to counteract the nausea for young Allen to investigate that cave,” Bartholomew said. “It will likely have to be a moderately strong spell to carry him for a period of time since I have no idea whether or not I would be able to sustain it through the ground that would be between us once he’s in the cave.”

  “Because of the size of the opening there are none who can accompany you, Allen,” Eldred said. “Are you absolutely certain there are no other openings?”

  At the nod of Allen’s head Eldred sighed and looked over at Stewart for acceptance of his decision. Stewart nodded slightly almost as if in defeat.

  “We will go in the morning,” Eldred said.

  But Allen spoke up immediately. “I really couldn’t sense it until the sun went down. I think we should go tonight to make sure I can find it.”

  Stewart looked at his son with alarm, then respect. My little man is growing up, he thought.

  The brothers of the Wisdom compound stood around the entrance to the cave Allen had discovered, carefully watching all that happened. The opening was lit with the wavering light of both torches and lanterns as Bartholomew chanted his spell of calming in the hope that Allen would be able to resist the nausea which the collected darkness brought on him while he explored the cave for them.

  Eldred solemnly handed him a lantern and stepped aside so the newly revealed young wizard could approach the opening. With a brave grin and a quick hug from his father, Allen dropped onto his stomach and wriggled into the opening in the side of the narrow gorge.

  The way was tight and twisted and Allen was unable to tell what direction his wriggling was taking him other than down, for that much was obvious. Pushing the lantern ahead of him before wriggling toward it then repeating the process, he came at last to an opening where he could stand, though still hunched over.

  The air became colder and colder and smelled as though it had been in the cave since the beginning of time. Though there were many turnings both to the right and left, there were no openings or branching to slow his search. As direct as an arrow to its mark he went until the passageway opened even further into a large, high-vaulted chamber.

  Allen held the lantern aloft to try to see the ceiling, but it appeared as if it was either so high the light could not reach it or it was formed of a substance that absorbed all light. Looking carefully about himself, Allen found a large spot which reflected no light at all. So dark was the area it looked as if there was a hole into space at the center of the chamber.

  “The darkness,” Allen whispered to himself. At the sound of his voice, he could feel the darkness reach out toward him from its prison and the image of Gregory standing before the dark clot appeared in his mind. His hands, surrounded by the shimmering blue light of magic, were moving as if weaving a spell, but it was the look of malevolence on his face as he worked that caused Allen to involuntarily take a step away from the vision. One word echoed repeatedly through Allen’s mind as he watched the image move through the discipline of t
he binding spell: Revenge.

  “I can see light in the tunnel,” someone called out. “He’s on his way back.”

  Several hands reached out to help him stand after he crawled out of the opening, then dusted him off solicitously. Stewart beamed as he watched, his pride evident in his expression.

  At the question in Eldred’s eyes, Allen spoke. “It is in there,” he said, “but I don’t think there’s anything we can do to it from here. Gregory’s binding spell holds it firmly still, but I know nothing about such a spell. I can’t tell if it can continue to hold or not.”

  “It’s a chilly night,” Eldred said. “Let us return to the meeting hall immediately. We can discuss what young Allen has seen there.”

  Allen walked beside Eldred as they returned to the meeting hall. Nothing could be heard but the shuffling of feet along the road. Allen’s head was bent in contemplation as he walked.

  Looking up at Eldred after several minutes, he shared his thoughts. “I saw Gregory in the cave, Eldred.” The leader of the brotherhood looked quickly toward him, slowing his steps slightly as he did. “It wasn’t really him, though; just a vision of him. His hands were surrounded with the blue light of a magical spell he was weaving before the glob of darkness. He looked almost… Well, he looked sort of evil, like he was enjoying hurting the darkness, and he kept repeating the word ‘revenge’ over and over in his mind.” He looked up to the older wizard for a reaction. Eldred’s face looked resigned; almost sad.

  “It is as I feared, Allen,” he said. “Gregory had set his foot upon a dangerous path. I last saw such a reaction from a young wizard named Waldron who you knew as Greyleige. Their intentions were noble – they intended to save those for whom they care – but the powers they dealt with corrupted them.” He put his hand on Allen’s shoulder and sighed heavily. “Remember what it was you saw in that cave, young wizard, and beware the pride of your power.”