Help or die.
With Wizard Wrik’s knowledge of containment spells and wards and a boost of mezhik energy from Cinolth, Pravus created a large, secured area in which they would be able to create the gateway. It also served as a prison of sorts for the two Fizärd Ōírdh. They wouldn’t be able to leave the area without a ƨäbräƨär on.
Aria watched as Cinolth instructed the two wizards, Mutius and Bardaric. “Dig deep into the earth and pull out the largest stones you can find. This wall must be thick, wide, and tall to withstand the stress of the gateway spell. Every square inch of the wall must support a thousand times its weight.”
Bardaric, the older and more skilled of the two, spoke up. “Once we’ve placed all the stones shall we meld them together? It will strengthen the wall tenfold.”
Sulfuric fumes rose from Cinolth’s nostrils. “Under normal circumstances, I would advise you to use such a method. However, the spell we will be placing on the wall will sink into the very nature of the stones, and there cannot be any structural defects, or the entire wall will implode with such force that we will all be sucked into its vortex and killed. Is that the way you want to die?”
Bardaric looked at Mutius; the young, bald wizard shook his head vigorously. “No,” said Bardaric.
“Very well. Work as long and as quickly as you can. You’re the only two Fizärd Ōírdh we have, so mind your strength.” Cinolth moved closer to the two wizards. His mouth glowed with fire. “But don’t think you can be lazy and have it go unnoticed. You have five days to complete the task. Fail, and you will be killed.”
The two men nodded and set to work.
Pravus, Wrik, and Alderan looked on from afar. Alderan still hadn’t spoken to her since their encounter in the corridor. It troubled Aria. She’d always been capable of reading her brother and getting through to him, but every attempt she’d made that morning to do so failed miserably. Surprisingly, his mind defenses were quite strong.
Cinolth turned to Aria. “We’ve got work of our own to do. A spell such as what we will attempt to cast requires much preparation, most of which is mental.”
Aria gave Alderan one last glance and sighed deeply. “Very well. Show me what must be done, and I will do it.”
Cinolth led her away from the others, deep into the heart of the Cariosus Forest. No life remained there. None had since the end of the Great War when Magus Carac cursed the land. After the pending war, once they’d conquered the world, she’d find a way to break the curse and bring life back into the land.
“Wait here,” said Cinolth.
He walked another hundred yards into the forest and spun in a circle, bashing and uprooting a large section of the dead trees with his spiked tail. Once he finished, he called her over. Not even a sprig of life grew underneath the layer of black soil and debris.
“Grab a branch and walk with me. You will practice drawing the spell in the dirt until you can replicate it flawlessly.”
“Draw it?” Her stomach took a tumble at the thought of sacrificing more wizards and sorceresses for their blood. “It’s a rune spell?”
“Yes, but far more intricate than anything you’ve ever seen. There are more than one hundred layers to the spell, each more difficult to weave than the last. One mistake and you could wind up dead.”
“I didn’t know spells could be layered.”
“Any spell worth casting will have several layers to it. Layering is a way to join not just many types of mezhik but many ideas. Think of it like a recipe. You will need to add all the ingredients in a specific order and use the exact amount or the recipe will fail.”
“I think I understand that much of it, but I’m still unsure about the layering of it.”
“It’s a spider’s web. You start with the base or foundation and continue to build on what you started all the way to completion. Remember, this spell will take two full days to weave and there will be no time or rest while doing so. If you pause, even for a few minutes, the base will begin to break apart and the entire process will have to be started again. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
Given her background tracking and tracing everything around her, she knew she’d have success in memorizing the layers of the spell. But would she have the endurance to work through it for two days straight? The prospect frightened her to say the least. Add to that the fear of messing something up and killing everyone and she thought she might be a frayed mess by the end of it.
“You’re the only one capable of weaving such a spell. Those around you would have difficulty layering even five of them. Remember who you are. Remember why you’re doing this. Remember the stakes. Failure is not an option.”
Aria didn’t have experience working with or talking to other dragons, but she guessed that none of them would rank high on giving pep talks. It didn’t seem like something that would be part of a dragon’s nature.
Torture, not nurture.
She snorted and quickly covered her nose and mouth.
Cinolth glared at her and shot smoke from his nostrils. “Then you’re ready?”
Aria found a suitable stick for drawing in the dirt and stood before Cinolth. Every day his increased mass astounded her. She’d never seen any creature grow so quickly.
Will he ever stop growing?
“I’m only two-thirds grown,” he mindspoke to her. “Now concentrate on the task. Start by drawing a half circle, five meters in diameter.”
Aria set her jaw and stared at the ground.
“Concentrate on every detail,” said Cinolth in her mind. “Every line. Every circle. Every arc. Every angle. Every dimension.”
Every detail.
She closed her eyes, pictured the half circle, and set to work, letting her heart and mind guide her hand as Cinolth continued to give her instruction. The day wore on and turned into night before they stopped for the evening.
“You have done well for your first lesson.” Cinolth turned in a circle and swept all her work away with his tail. “Tomorrow morning we will start again. You will draw everything you learned today from memory. Make a mistake, and you will be punished with fire. Complete it as instructed, and we will continue to build layers on top of it. Understood?”
Somehow, the simple task of drawing shapes had worn her down to the point that she could barely keep her eyelids open. Weakness and fatigue riddled her muscles. She nodded. Cinolth took to the sky. The beating of Cinolth’s wings moved the air around him with such force that it nearly took her from her feet. She lost her bearings for several moments and stood there with her hands on her knees until she recovered enough to stand upright again. She turned and staggered back toward the castle.
Pravus met her at the castle gates and lifted her into his arms. She snaked an arm around his neck, curled her head into the crook of his arm, and let the night slip away from her.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Three days of flying for a few hours and then resting the rest of the day left Nardus feeling restless, but it certainly beat the alternative of a fifteen-day horseback ride. As per Wrik’s instructions, Berserk and Tailwind—the two níʈfinzh that flew them from Galondu Castle to the Procerus Mountains—dropped Nardus and Theyn off right about the snow line, thousands of feet below the towering peaks.
Talking with Theyn and getting to know her better was the one saving grace of them spending so much time waiting around. He’d filled her in on everything that Pravus had put him through, both before and after going to Räəllm Kenzhärd Dhä, and it’d brought them closer together. She’d never liked Pravus to begin with, but now her hate for Pravus matched his own.
Several hours into their hike, the snow depths rose to the tops of many of the trees. Farther up, they found themselves traversing passes formed entirely of snow, the sides of them piled twice as high as Nardus’s head. He couldn’t help but think of his and Theyn’s vision several weeks back. His fingers probed his shirt and found the amulet Tharos had given him. At
least they’d be safe from dragon’s fire.
From that point on, every additional step farther up the mountain pass increased his uneasiness. The only thing that comforted him was knowing that in the vision Theyn was herself and not a large cat. The pass reflected the vision almost to the last detail, but Nardus made sure that Theyn stayed behind him. He didn’t want her getting skewered by a large dragon’s claw.
Through several steep passes they climbed higher and higher into the Procerus Mountains. The air grew thinner and the temperature plummeted. He wore thick furs, but the wind penetrated right through his layers and bit him anyway. He could only imagine what the wind felt like to Theyn, but she didn’t complain about it. When he looked back over his shoulder, he noticed that her fur coat had grown several inches over the last hour. Seeing that set his mind at ease.
They went around a bend and the trail ended. A sheer cliff lay ahead, dropping off into a white oblivion. Nardus raised his hand and Theyn halted. He looked around, but there was only the trail they’d traversed, the steep drop-off, and rising, ice-covered walls on either side.
“Where to?” asked Theyn in his mind.
He mindspoke with her, the wind’s howling far too loud. “I’m not sure, but we can’t go forward.”
The wind whipped around them with such force that Nardus dropped to his knees to keep from getting swept over the edge of the cliff. Then, just ahead, a large green dragon descended and faced them.
“Behind me!” screamed Nardus.
The rush of flames knocked him backward and on top of Theyn. The flames relented and Nardus rose to his feet with defiance.
The dragon glared at Nardus with a serpentine eye. “How dare you enter our land.” His voice vibrated the air and created an avalanche behind Nardus and Theyn. The snow piled dozens of feet high, filling the pass and trapping them.
Nardus stepped forward, right to the edge of the cliff. “My name is Nardus Remison, and this is my… companion Theyn.” He immediately regretted his choice of words to describe his relationship with Theyn. He knew he’d hear about it later. “We seek an audience with Tharos the Cunning.”
“Then you are in the wrong place. Leave before I kill you both.”
“Do not lie to me, dragon. We’ve traveled a long way to see him and will not be turned away.”
“You’ve wasted your time coming here. Tharos was banished to another world twelve hundred years ago.”
“Yes, and I’m the one who freed him from that prison. He told me to come here when I was ready to accept a truth I’ve long forgotten. I need his help.”
The dragon spewed a column of fire again but Nardus braced himself. The flames swept around him and warmed him through his clothes, but they didn’t burn him.
“You’re wasting your breath, dragon. Take me to Tharos.”
The dragon flew up and disappeared around the side of the mountain. Nardus went back to Theyn and held her close. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. You blocked the flames from me.”
“Good.”
Several minutes passed and then a red dragon swept down from the sky behind them. Nardus whirled around and faced the dragon.
“Ah, it is indeed you. I didn’t think you’d ever come.”
“Tharos. It’s good to see you.” The words sounded foreign to his ears and tasted foul on his tongue. Just a month prior, he’d never wanted to see the dragon again.
Theyn rose, along with her hackles, and stood next to Nardus. She growled deep in her throat and spoke into Nardus’s mind. “I don’t like dragons.”
Nardus held her head against his leg. “It’s okay, Theyn. This is the dragon I told you about on the boat.”
Tharos lowered his clawed hand to the ground where it dropped into oblivion. “Climb into my hand and I will take you to our home.”
Nardus moved to the cliff edge, but Theyn retreated farther.
He returned to Theyn and stroked the side of her muzzle. “Theyn, it’s okay. You can trust him. He won’t hurt you. I promise.”
Theyn crept forward as Nardus climbed into Tharos’s hand. She sniffed Tharos, groaned deep, and climbed into his hand next to Nardus.
“We die, and I’m blaming you,” she said in his mind.
“Fair enough, but we’re not going to die,” Nardus replied.
Tharos closed his hand around them and they jolted as Tharos pulled back from the cliff edge. Upward they climbed, beyond the cloud barrier. What they saw then took Nardus’s breath away. Lush green peaks formed a ring at least fifty miles across in each direction. A valley nestled in between the peaks.
The Valley of Dragons.
The air should’ve been frigid, but Nardus found it to be quite pleasant and his thick coat unnecessary. Given the altitude, the air should’ve been quite thin but Nardus had no problem breathing it in.
Dragons of many shapes, sizes, and colors moved about throughout the valley. Some young ones chased each other across the ground and through the air in a game reminiscent of tag. Others gathered in circles and conversed in a language Nardus didn’t understand. It seemed to be comprised mostly of gestures and sounds and not actual words. He could’ve easily been wrong though.
Tharos landed close to the eastern end of the valley and dropped them on the ground. He settled down and eyed Theyn.
“And who is this lovely creature?”
“Her name’s Theyn. She doesn’t normally look like that. She’s a human like me.”
“Really? Then why does she not look human?”
“She has a condition that forces her into this form.”
“Ah, I see. And why have you come here, son of Ƨäʈūr?”
“I need your help. My friend Gnaud is dying from unhealable wounds, and a wizard named Wrik told me that the only way to save my friend was to find an old wizard named Cyrus Nithik. He said you dragons would know where this Cyrus could be found.”
“Your wizard friend is wise. As it turns out, Cyrus Nithik arrived here the exact same moment you did.”
“Perfect! Can you take me to him?”
“Are you certain that’s what you want?”
“I don’t have time for your games, Tharos.”
“I assure you that it isn’t a game. Do you seek Cyrus and everything that doing so entails?”
“Yes, I don’t care what the cost is. I need him to save my friend.”
“Very well. I will take you to Quldrai, Lady of the Red. She is our queen. She will either grant you access to Peorvem or she will kill you.”
“What is with the hostility from you dragons?”
“You tell me. A thousand years of enslavement by humans and you expect something different of us? We dragons live a long time and forget nothing.”
Nardus hadn’t thought of it like that. Had the roles been reversed, he’d have a hard time not killing them as well. “Take me to see her.”
Tharos nodded. “Good. Your friend may come along as well if she’d like.”
“She will not leave my side. Doing so would prove deadly for many.”
“Very well. From this point forward, you will say nothing and do only as instructed. If you do not comply you will die.”
Nardus nodded. “Understood.”
“Make sure your lady friend understands as well,” said Tharos.
“She hears and understands every word you speak.”
Tharos led them over to a cave with an opening that spanned at least a hundred feet across and high. The cave sloped down at a good pace, burrowing deep into the side of the mountain. A few hundred feet below the surface the cave grew brighter. Torches lined the walls and their flames cast light across the walls and ceilings. Gold and jewels of every shape and color lined the walls like tapestries. Nardus had never seen anything so spectacular in his life. The cave transitioned into a massive chamber that spanned several thousand feet in width, depth, and height. Stones of every color glowed in the walls, floors, and ceiling, turning the
chamber into a giant prism of light.
A dragon with fiery red scales laid at the back of the chamber, her mass taking up a sizable portion of the space. She made Tharos look like a dwarf and Nardus an ant. She raised her head and it floated among the gems on a long, serpentine neck. Her head drew close to Nardus, her jaws spread wide. Each of her needle-sharp teeth were the size of Nardus.
Nardus took a step back, but her jaws closed around him in an instant. Her tongue pushed Nardus between rows of teeth. She bit down, but her teeth didn’t rip into his flesh. In fact, he didn’t even feel pressure around him.
She spat him out and glared at Tharos. “What is the meaning of this? You bring me food I cannot eat?”
Tharos bowed low. “My queen, I have brought you the man who freed me from my prison of solitude. Because of his selfless act, I beg you to give him audience.”
Smoke rose from Quldrai’s flared nostrils. “And what is it that he seeks?”
Tharos looked at Nardus and grinned his wicked dragon grin. “Cyrus Nithik.”
“Cyrus Nithik? The mage of old?” questioned Quldrai.
“The very same,” Tharos confirmed.
Quldrai stared at Nardus. “And why has he come here seeking a man who has been dead for more than a millennium?”
“It is a complicated matter, my queen.” Tharos shifted his weight several times and looked everywhere but toward Quldrai. Until that moment, Nardus had thought dragons incapable of fear. “With your permission, we will speak with the ancient one, Peorvem.”
“No one speaks with him,” she roared. “Not even the one with the amulet.” She glared at Nardus.
Theyn leaned against Nardus’s leg. He’d forgotten she was there. He reached down and stroked her head. He thought better of it after he did, but she purred.
Nardus drew courage from Theyn and broke the rule of silence. “I must see him, your ladyship. I cannot save my friend without his help. I must find Cyrus Nithik.”
Quldrai stomped her foot and the cavern shook. Dust and rock rained down. “You do not speak to me unless permitted. Do you understand? If you do so again, I will eat your furry little friend.”
Rended Souls Page 27