Raised and trained by a demon? Sendark's head began to spin.
"Tell me more," he whispered.
In halting words, some of it caused by Bo's residual loyalty to his foster son, the elven Magistrate relayed the story of Praz-El's arrival in the Six Shards.
Maven screeched inside Sendark's head. They're coming ashore. What should I do?
"Quiet, Maven," Sendark ordered.
He didn't even care, and he could barely control the excitement that washed through him. Daria's son, he thought, it must be. So he's been hidden in a school. How perfect.
Clavis, Sendark called from his mind, where are you?
I'm on my way to the island. I promise I will not fail you again. They will all be dead before nightfall.
"No," Sendark commanded. "I've had a change of heart, Clavis. I want you to aid them."
My lord?
"You heard me. Help them find the secret way into the mountain. Offer whatever assistance they need and let them take care of the commanders for us. But I do not want that warrior harmed. Do you understand?"
Yes, my lord.
"Good," Sendark snapped, breaking the connection.
Sendark, Maven called. What game are you playing now?
"One that's gotten increasingly more interesting," Sendark answered. "I want you to look out for this young Praz-El. Make sure he lives through his encounter with Mandel and Lenik. Also, make sure our troops are secured near the second fountain. Time is of the essence now. We don't want our young commanders absorbing more power without making sure we can take it back."
Our troops are following them as we speak, Maven squawked, but why are you so interested in this boy?
Sendark laughed. "Because, my dear Maven, he's not a boy. He's a god."
29
Lenik grabbed his head and roared at Mandel. "You killed him!"
Mandel turned from Devlin Morely's corpse as the lizardman returned up the mouth of the passageway.
Lenik held his lantern high and gazed down at the dead man.
"Damn you, Mandel! I thought we needed Morely to operate the spell for this second fountain?"
"All we need is a trained wizard," Mandel replied coldly, "since the spell is in a language I don't understand. But look," he pointed at Lissella, "we have his daughter."
"What makes you think she can perform the spell?"
Mandel gazed deliciously over the prostrate form of Lissella, and his senses flared with heat and lust, until he was giggling like a madman.
Catching Lenik staring at him, he stopped and smiled, calming himself down from the high.
"She will do," he said, as if nothing had happened, and then began following the blue tendril once more.
Lenik watched him go and knew that Mandel had finally lost his mind.
Kneeling down for a moment to observe Morely's body, he looked up at one of the Minotaurs.
"Well?" he asked. "What happened?"
The Minotaur shrugged. "I have no idea."
Lenik cursed under his breath, watching Mandel disappear around a curve. He got up and followed him down.
The cavern passageways were wide enough that three men—even three ten-foot-tall men—could easily walk side by side. The ceiling was high and lost in the shadows overhead, and every now and then, Lenik was certain he heard something scurrying across.
Gradually, cooler air circulated through the passage as a result of the steep descent, but a soft wind was now blowing before them.
Lenik grew more certain that another opening lay ahead, and soon they came before a great cavern that even the tendril's light couldn't fill.
Mandel walked into the cavern first, following the light until he reached the edge of a deep pit. When he stopped to observe it, Lenik came up behind him.
Looking up, both of them saw the tendril reaching out over the chasm to a flickering spray of water almost fifty yards away.
It was the fountain.
Hanging weightlessly above the center of the pit, its green-glowing waters lit the cavern above and shone on dynamic carvings depicting a battle between gods and dragons.
Lenik spotted a small pebble and kicked it over the edge. It never hit bottom.
"Did you count on this, Fahd?" he asked angrily.
Ignoring Lenik completely, Mandel turned and commanded the Minotaur warrior carrying Lissella to place the young woman on the ground. Then, with a smile on his face, he turned and drew a sigil in the air.
Gently, the burnt orange sigil drifted down from his fingertips to the sleeping woman. It soaked into her skin and lent her face a slight flush.
Lissella came awake at once. Lenik watched her eyes widen in perplexity, then narrow in anger in the space of a breath.
"Where am I?" she asked, still sleepy from the spell.
"You're in a cavern near a magical fountain," Mandel said, "and we need you to help us with a spell."
"What makes you think I'll help you," Lissella snapped, getting to her feet and taking in everything around her.
Mandel looked down at her lovingly.
"Because if you don't," he said, "I'll kill you and have your dead, resurrected body do it for me.
Lissella looked at him seriously.
"That's impossible," she said. "You don't have that kind of power."
"Look at me," Mandel replied. "Do I look like I don't have the power?"
Lissella had noticed Mandel and Lenik had grown, but now she really looked at them. Their bodies seemed to course with energy and she wondered how long she'd been out and what had happened.
"Is that what you brought me here for? Why don't you just do it yourself?"
Lenik stepped up, wanting to be a part of the game.
"The first fountain was easy," he said, glancing at Mandel and not sure what Lissella knew, "but this one requires different magic. Mandel, give her the scroll."
Mandel handed it down and Lissella observed it carefully.
"What's in it for me?" she asked.
"Well," Lenik said, "for one, we won't tell anyone about that demon in your room. And secondly, you get to live."
Unsure what was going on, Lissella decided to play along and see what happened.
"Do I have a choice?" she asked sarcastically.
"No," Mandel whispered, gazing at her with lust in his eyes.
Lissella met his gaze. "I'll need supplies."
Mandel took off one of the satchels he'd worn for the trip and handed it over. "You'll find everything you need here."
She opened the satchel and looked through the contents.
"I've heard what you're capable of," Mandel said in a low voice. "And I'm of the opinion that you have hidden talents that I never suspected—and experiences I never dreamed."
Lenik saw trepidation flit across Lissella's face, but the young woman wasn't shamed. In fact, she seemed somewhat prideful of them.
She's going to be a proper bitch when she comes into her own, the lizardman thought, and he felt certain it would be a mistake to leave her alive after she'd completed their task.
Without another word, Lissella knelt and began drawing in the dirt.
30
Most of Jarrell’s surviving sailors remained in the ship's rigging, cutting down the shredded sailcloth and getting the reserve sheets onto the masts and yardarms.
Telop's body had been left aboard Crimson Raptor, wrapped in spare sheets till the decision was made to transport it back to Soronne or bury him on the island.
Praz was already on the beach as others came up behind him. He was staring way up the mountain to the keep at its top. The wind moaned as it raced down from the heights and along the narrow path leading up, snapping the tattered clothing of crucified warriors.
'"Ware!" the lookout in the crow's nest warned. "There's a man a-comin' yonder!"
Praz glanced up long enough to check which way the lookout was indicating, then followed with his gaze. He didn't recognize the gaunt figure in knight's armor, but the young warrior saw the pallor of death that clung to him.
"Hello, the ship," the man called as he approached.
Praz heard the thrum of bowstrings, and in the next instant, a half-dozen arrows slammed into the sandy beach only inches in front of the approaching man.
"That will be far enough," Xarfax yelled down.
The man came to a halt and gazed down at the arrows.
"I'm not here to fight."
"Don't trust him," Alagar's voice boomed. The druid stepped next to Praz and narrowed his eyes at the knight.
"Hello, Alagar," the knight greeted. "It's good to see you again."
"Clavis ...," Alagar said, watching him warily. "Clavis is one of Sendark's Death Knights," he told the others. "Be careful around him. He's as deceitful as he is dead."
Totally relaxed, Clavis glanced upward at the early evening sun.
"We're not enemies today, druid, I assure you. Today, it seems, our goals are the same."
"Our goals will never be the same," Alagar seethed.
Clavis looked at him coldly
"You're seeking two men," he said, "and I can deliver them to you."
Praz stepped forward.
"Why?" he asked, looking for a fight.
"They have betrayed my master," Clavis stated, "and my lord Sendark wishes them dealt with in a timely manner. Seeing that you, too, seek the same thing, it would be a pity to waste our own warriors when you will do just as nicely."
"So you're sacrificing us," Alagar snarled, pulling at his sword.
Praz grabbed his weapon as well, but River appeared before them both.
"Wait," she called, hands up. "Remember why we're here."
"He's responsible for Telop's death," Praz whispered, eyes on Clavis.
"But without him," the young ranger said, "we may never find Morely and the others."
"What do you want?" Alagar asked.
"To show you how to reach Mandel and Lenik," Clavis replied.
"We can find them ourselves."
"Maybe," Clavis agreed, "but not without days of searching. Mandel and Lenik are deep within the mountain caves, in a place magically protected from discovery. If you don't find them before they reach the fountain, it will be too late. Already they are preparing it, and if you will allow me to, a simple spell will get you there in moments."
"How do we know it's not a trap?" Alagar asked.
"The fountains," Clavis replied calmly, "are very powerful. But their power is of energy and life. They do not take kindly to the undead, which is why we've waited to see what would happen to the two commanders. But now they are very powerful and, as I've already stated, you are more expendable to us than our own troops. This is no trap, Alagar. For now, Lord Sendark wishes to work together."
"You want to use us," Alagar whispered.
"Call it what you will," Clavis replied bluntly. "But if you decide that is not to your liking"—the Death Knight raised a single hand— "then other plans can certainly be arranged."
Immediately, a small army of zombies stepped from the foothills of the mountain, standing in an irregular line with their weapons ready.
Praz wanted to fight but Alagar held his arm.
"Wait," he said, "I don't like this any more than you do. But if we don't trust them we'll have another fight on our hands, and there's no way we'll save the Morelys or stop those commanders."
Lissella, Praz remembered, trying to calm himself.
He shook off Alagar's hand and looked away. He wanted Mandel and Lenik more than anyone, but he had a hard time believing the Death Knight.
"I don't like it," he said, "but I'll go."
Alagar looked around to Noleta, Jarrell, and the others.
"Are we all in agreement?"
Slowly, watching the undead troops and gazing up at the mountain, the others nodded in turn.
Alagar looked back at Clavis.
Without a word, Clavis pointed up into the foothills as a shimmer of light spun from his fingers. It moved slowly around the trees and bushes, pushing away boulders and small rocks, moving up the hillside, and eventually darting into a tiny hole that had been imperceptible before.
"They can be found through there," Clavis said. "Just follow the blue light into the fountain cavern below."
31
Lissella sat in the center of her circle and finished the incantation that was the last part of the spell.
She leaned forward to touch the intricate sigil in front of her. At her touch, the sigil rose from the stone floor and glowed bright blue. The color grew all around her, spreading over her hands and arms until it almost became part of her, and she screamed out at the incredible power she wielded.
But it wasn't hers to keep. She knew that, and even as the power filled her, it began to slip away, flowing out of her and glowing more brightly as it whirled, spun, and floated toward the fountain.
"Very good,” Mandel whispered, "it's working."
The sigil drifted lazily across the bottomless pit, but was inevitably drawn into orbit around the floating fountain. The water turned blue in response, pulsing light and dark blues like a beating heart.
Lissella's eyes widened. It was more power than she'd ever seen and she secretly wondered if there was a way she could collect it for herself.
The sigil continued to glow brighter and brighter by the second, and Mandel's eyes went wide with excitement.
"Yes," he shouted, "yes!"
The Minotaur warriors drew back from the edge of the pit as the fountain's water surged higher and touched the sigil. Immediately, a beam of bright blue light lanced down from above into the center of the fountain. The light swelled inside the pool, swirling as if it had suddenly turned into the water itself.
A typhoon of light then rose from the fountain, untouched by the spraying water, and flared out into at least twenty beams. Light seared the walls and touched hidden gems that burned with blue-white incandescence.
In a heartbeat, the lights spread around the chamber and made an intricate maze, eventually coalescing to form a twisting bridge of blue that wound itself over the pit and connected to the fountain.
Mandel started laughing as he gazed out at the light bridge. It was incredible. It was even better than he'd imagined.
Hypnotized by the feeling of power cycling through her, Lissella rose to her feet. She felt power swirling inside the fountain, and it called to her like nothing had before.
"Come, Lenik," Mandel called, walking forward.
Lissella trailed the goblin, also drawn by the irresistible power the fountain contained.
"No," Lenik growled, pushing her easily back. "You stay there."
Lissella thrust her chin out defiantly and narrowed her eyes. But she stopped as she looked once again to the mesmerizing bridge.
Mandel halted at the precipice's edge, gazing down in open-mouthed fascination at the light path. It was as broad as an axe-handle and spanned the distance to the fountain in a curving line that turned back on itself.
"Lenik," Mandel called. "I'll go first, but follow close behind, as we must enter together."
Reluctantly, Lenik stepped behind Mandel and gazed with obvious distaste out at the bridge. None of this excited him as much as it did Mandel, and looking over the edge he simply hoped he could make it across without falling.
Lissella's breath caught in her throat as she watched Mandel lift a foot and attempt to put it down on the bridge. For a moment she believed that the goblin's foot would plunge right through, but it held firm.
Hesitantly, Mandel moved out further. He kept his head down, watching every step he made as if afraid the bridge would soon disappear.
Ten feet out over the bottomless pit, the goblin turned to Lenik.
"Lenik!" he cried out. "Get over here!"
The lizardman stepped out onto the light bridge and moved forward slowly, also afraid that it would come apart at any moment. Gaining more confidence with every step, he quickly fell in step behind Mandel.
Lissella took advantage of the moment and tried to follow them, but as soon as she came to the bridge, a Minotaur guard grabbed her and pulled her back.
"Not so fast," he said.
Lissella struggled in his grasp and cried out. Angrily, she began to whisper a spell, but the Minotaur's hand clamped hard around her throat.
"One word," he said, "and I'll snap you like a twig."
Lissella craned her head around and managed to shift her shoulders so she could partially face the Minotaur. A perverted grin spread across her face, and she kicked him hard in the shin.
The Minotaur simply laughed.
A spinning flash caught Lissella's eye for just an instant, and a long-bladed knife sank deeply into the side of the Minotaur's neck.
He let go of Lissella and stepped back, grabbing his neck and falling to the ground.
Lissella looked past the other guards as they wheeled in the direction of the knife. Strange warriors ran through a passageway she hadn't even noticed. She saw Praz among them.
Lissella's heart lurched.
Praz!
But that only lasted for a moment. Remembering the power of the fountain, she turned and saw Mandel and Lenik moving closer to their prize.
"Not if I can help it," she said aloud.
Kneeling, Lissella picked up the dead Minotaur's dagger and quickly made her way to the blue light bridge.
32
“Attack!" the guards screamed as Minotaurs and goblins raced at the entering group of warriors.
Xarfax and Praz were in the lead, cutting down warriors side by side. When some of the goblins stepped back to regroup, Xarfax slapped Praz's arm with a smile on his face.
"You may be a darkling," he said, "but you fight with the heart of the gods. Fm glad you're by my side."
Praz smiled back.
A darkling, he thought, so that's why ... "Remember that when we're out of here," he said.
Praz looked around the chamber for Lissella, who had suddenly disappeared. But his eyes immediately fell on Mandel and Lenik.
Blue light from the fountain lit up the whole chamber, but the garish illumination mixed with the torches and lanterns, making judging distances difficult. Mandel and Lenik were only thin shadows walking along the twisting blue bridge toward the fountain.
"Get to the bridge!" Alagar called from behind.
An attacking Minotaur raised his trident and went right at Praz.
Praz ducked at the last moment, and the tines stabbed into the chamber wall to his left, throwing off sparks. Praz brought his sword up and cleaved the trident in half, then whipped his arm back and took the head from the Minotaur's shoulders.
Still on the move, Praz rammed his shoulder into the Minotaur's corpse before it fell, driving the huge body backward in stumbling steps as he used it as a shield to move forward.
River followed in Praz's wake. She ducked and finessed her way around the Minotaurs' attacks, rarely trying to meet a blow head-on. But knives leaped from her hands with quick, skillful flicks.
The sharp blades found new homes in eyes and faces, skimming through the air and flashing in the blue light.
"Front line," Jarrell yelled, "get down now!"
Xarfax and Alagar relayed the command as Noleta and a handful of sailors prepared to fire arrows.
Praz parried a sword blow from a Minotaur, then ducked. The young warrior heard the hiss of fletchings tearing through the air less than a foot over his head.
Three arrows stutter-stepped across the Minotaur's chest, biting deeply into the creature's flesh.
Praz raked the battlefield before him, searching desperately for Lissella and making his way closer to the bridge of light. Don't let her be hurt, he prayed silently. But as much as he wanted to rescue the young woman, he wanted Mandel's and Lenik's deaths even more.
He gazed out at the blue light bridge and saw Mandel and Lenik headed into the final turn leading to the fountain.
Hearing River scream, Praz stepped back to defend her as an axe-wielding opponent tried to cut her in half. He parried the blow and then drove his dagger home in the inside of the Minotaur's left leg, slicing through the femoral artery.
Bright crimson spurted from the wound.
"Where is Lissella?" Praz asked.
"I don't know," she cried.
Praz grimaced, then shoved the dying Minotaur from him. He sheathed his dagger in his boot, summoned the mystical energy from within him, and threw out his hand. Shimmering force became a wall of fire that coiled around a group of Minotaurs coming close to him. The chamber shuddered as the magical fire smashed into its walls.
Rocks, stones, and other debris rained down on everyone occupying the ledge around the abyss.
"Praz!" someone called. Praz turned and saw Alagar waving at the chamber.
"Outside magic must not mix with the chamber," he said. "It's too powerful. If you keep using it, you may bring down the whole mountain."
Praz cursed. Great, he thought.
At that moment a group of very angry Minotaurs decided their best chance was to rush all at once. They ran forward, a flesh and blood stampede of death mounted on cloven hooves. The bovine warriors in the lead held their shields before them, following their spearpoints and tridents.
"Hold the line!" Xarfax commanded. ?
Praz watched the oncoming herd of Minotaurs and readied himself, stepping before River and holding out his shield and sword. If they didn't hold the line, the Minotaurs would be among them and there would be no stopping them.
"For the glory of D'Rebbik!" Xarfax yelled.
The two lines met in a thunderous crash of armor and flesh. Men began dying at once and the stone floor grew slippery with blood.
Praz pushed forward at the last instant and slammed his shield into the Minotaur bearing down on him. The shield shattered in his grasp and his hand almost went numb with pain.
For a moment he thought his shoulder had been driven into his chest, and the blow knocked the wind from his lungs. Still, the young warrior held his position.
Almost blind with the pain coursing through his shoulder, Praz instinctively reacted with his magic. His body pulsed, and a wave of invisible energy wrapped around the Minotaurs and shook them until their necks broke and they fell to the floor.
But the death screams of the Minotaurs were lost immediately in the rumble of a new tremor. The chamber shook violently, knocking everyone from their feet. Sailors, warriors, and Minotaurs alike were scattered across the cavern floor.
"Up!" Xarfax ordered. "Get to your feet."
Alagar looked at Praz. "You must hold back," he cried. "You'll kill us all!"
Praz nodded again, as he'd almost been thrown over the cliff himself. Gazing through the fallen ranks of the Minotaurs, he saw Lissella near the abyss' edge. The young woman got to her feet unsteadily.
Without hesitation, Praz ran forward. He shouldered a Minotaur to one side and burst free through the Minotaur line.
"Praz!" Lissella exclaimed. She sounded excited to see him, but her eyes looked dark and distant.
A Minotaur stood up behind the young woman with weapons bared. It seized her before she even knew he was there, obviously intending to take her hostage.
Two more Minotaurs rushed Praz from the side, pulling him into another fray.
Kicking and screaming, Lissella fought against her captor.
She prepared a spell and called it out. Dark webs spun around the Minotaur and dug into his flesh, but the cave once again began to shudder.
The Minotaur dropped her and Lissella looked around.
"Don't use magic," Praz called out. "That's what's breaking up the chamber."
Lissella turned and saw a goblin fighting with River close to the precipice's edge.