Empire Awakening (Maledorian Chronicles Book 2) Page 20

It had all been a ruse, sending the orb of light away from her. Now, he was sneaking up, probably invisible, waiting to knock her unconscious and snatch her away.

  But Elendria was ready for him. Ten more seconds and she would strike out. She leaned against the wall and raised her fists. The two stones pulsed with a wild power, hungry and eager to release a burst of strength.

  Now, she told herself.

  In a fast, controlled shot, she released a stream of ice at the sorcerer, shaping an outline around his surprised figure. His magical shield protected him from the ice attack and absorbed her second strike as well: a twin-flamed flow of fire magic. But a quick third strike, the spell of blinding, broke through his shield and caused him to throw up his hands in a vain attempt at stopping the light.

  “What the hell!” he shouted and groaned in agony as tears poured down his cheeks.

  Pressing her advantage, she caused a massive wave of wet ice to engulf the man, freezing him in an instant.

  She’d done it. A wide grin spread across her face as she studied his shocked look of horror. This time, she wouldn’t have mercy. She’d let him freeze to death and die. There was one less fanatical cultist left to ruin the world.

  It was time to get out of this death trap. The air was thick with the smell of wood smoke and melted minerals. She turned to leave, stalking carefully toward the mineshaft. No sign of Relek, at least not that she could see.

  A chill ran through her as she sensed something stirring in the mine. What if Relek was also invisible? How could she have been so stupid? Instead of rushing back to her dark alcove, she went ahead down the other tunnel, searching for a place to meditate. She didn’t want to see the frozen face of the dead cultist. She needed to cast the spell of location and see if Relek was after her. It was critical for her to proceed with caution; otherwise, all would be lost.

  She searched up ahead, but the darkness of the tunnel soon engulfed her. It was too dangerous for her to summon the orb of light, so her hands felt along the tunnel wall, hoping to find another alcove.

  There! Her hands discovered a side tunnel, and she moved to step inside, but not knowing what was there, she proceeded slowly. It could be a pit or another shaft plunging down deep into the mine. The place was treacherous, or so Hadara had warned her.

  Something slammed into her from behind, knocking her to the ground. Stars spun in her eyes as the breath was knocked out of her lungs. She fought to free herself but felt a knee pinned against her back and hands gripping her neck and arm. Someone breathed hard, chuckling in victory.

  “I told you it would be impossible for you to resist us. You will join us. And now that day has come.” He grunted as he pinned her arms to the ground, squeezing her wrists so hard she knew it would leave bruises. How had Relek escaped?

  “Get off me!” She twisted and bucked, trying to knock him off, but he was too heavy.

  “It’s rather nice spending time alone with you in the dark. Rather romantic, wouldn’t you say?”

  “Considering you smell worse than a monkey’s ass, I’d define this as torture.” She kicked him, causing him to grunt then give a low, rumbling laugh.

  “Somebody’s feisty. A little torture is considered pleasurable to some. You might find you like it.” He squeezed even harder on her wrists and yanked back so forcefully she thought her shoulders might dislocate. The pain was immense and caused her to cry and whimper.

  “Why are you doing this? My father would never—”

  “Your father won’t know a thing about what I will do to you. By the time I’m finished, you won’t either.”

  “You wouldn’t dare. All you’ve been told is to bring me back to my father, so do what you came for and be done with it.”

  “What’s the fun in that? Did I come all this way merely to take you home? Too boring… I’m not your father’s errand boy.”

  “You’re his apprentice. Doesn’t that mean anything to you? Don’t you have any respect?”

  “Thankfully, no. I give respect where it is required. I doubt my morals would rank very high in your esteem. You’re a prim little princess, a lady in waiting, though, for the life of me, I don’t understand why you even bother with the nobility. They’re a bunch of arrogant assholes bent on exploiting the poor and living unsustainable lifestyles. Why, in the name of all that is holy, would you be interested in defending their pathetic way of life? Think about it.”

  Elendria had to admit he was right, in some regards, at least. She never did care for the northern nobility. But what about the nobility of Maren Downs? Were they any better in their abuse and manipulation of the common folk? Why were they allowed to live such luxurious lives, while the poor toiled in unfathomable, filthy conditions, working for a pittance? Their children suffered, their environment suffered, and they lived lives of endless suffering and usually died young. Wasn’t that a cycle that needed breaking?

  But she wasn’t about to let Relek know she agreed with him. “You know nothing about me. The last thing I want is to become a princess. Leave it to someone as blind as you to fail to comprehend simple truths. You’re about as observant as a dead rat, and you smell like one, too.”

  “More taunts and insults, please.” Relek reached down to pin her hands and must have noticed she was holding something. “What’s this?” He pressed himself against her and tried to pry her fingers open.

  Panic and rage poured through her as she fought him, desperate not to lose the stones. She kicked him again, squirming this way and that.

  “Would you stop fighting me?” He let go of one hand and clubbed her on the side of the head.

  Pain exploded across her temple, and she nearly blacked out. But she refused to let him have her stones. So, she twisted around and raised a fist at him, blasting a wave of wet ice. His shield repelled the first attack. He shouted at her to stop and scrambled to seize her freed wrist.

  But he was too late. Her second shot blinded him, and he fell back and rolled around on the floor.

  Elendria scoffed at the man. He only had the weakest version of the shield spell? What had her father been teaching him? But instead of attacking back, the man started to laugh. Was he insane?

  “Why are you laughing? I just blinded you.” She aimed her fists at him, wondering why she didn’t blast him to oblivion. “I should kill you like I killed your friend.”

  “Oh, great Ba’al, she is as young and naive as a foolish child. She thinks she killed Dondran?” He chuckled, still sputtering a laugh from time to time. “Heavens, no. You can’t kill a sorcerer that easily, girl. They store their life-force inside something precious and hidden. If the body is killed, they can find a new body or reanimate the old one—if it hasn’t been too long since they’ve died. Or we have other ways to withdraw the body from this world and enter the Shadow World. Dondran will be just fine.”

  Elendria hesitated now, glancing back in the direction where she had encased Relek’s companion in ice. Was he not dead?

  Distracted, she didn’t see Relek zap her with several blasts of lightning. Though her shield absorbed the blows, she felt it weakening. A hit or two more and her shield would break. So, she pretended to be struck by electricity, writhing in pain, hoping it would stop his attacks.

  He grinned at her and pushed himself up to his knees, looming over her. The fool believed he’d beaten her. When he was close enough to smell the acrid scent of his sweat, she shot twin blasts of fire, catapulting him back against the wall. Her shield flared up again in protection from the heat.

  After the flames died down, she turned to study the damage. She’d burned off his clothes. But there was more. She gasped at what she’d done. She’d shot two holes through his stomach the size of fists. Blood poured from his abdomen.

  He was looking down at his stomach and cried out in agony, trying to stop the gushing wound.

  “You’ve killed me,” he whispered and grimaced as he looked up into her eyes. “Why?”

  “Are you crazy? You should know why. I made a promis
e to myself that I would.” Her voice was cold and certain as she watched him die. “I wonder, where you will go? With your power as a sorcerer, what body will you inhabit? Or have you failed to master such a spell, believing yourself to be immortal? It is usually only old men who think of their deaths and worry. If I had to make a bet, from the look of terror and anger in your eyes, I would say this is a final death.”

  Blood gurgled out of his mouth as he tried to speak.

  “Save your strength. Men always underestimate the power of women. And for that, they suffer greatly. Close your eyes and greet your great master, Ba’al. May he burn your soul in hell.”

  Relek slumped over on the ground, eyes searching around. He tried to mumble more words but his voice failed him.

  Elendria sat back, curious, studying how he died. His fingers twitched, and sparks of lightning came in sputtering bursts from his fingers. Even now, facing death, he tried to fight her.

  Another twitch of his fingers and his body slowly began to disappear, like a fog rolling over the ground. She gazed at him, her eyes widening in wonder, and sensed him slip from this world into where—another world? The Shadow World?

  To her stunned amazement, he was gone. Despite summoning an orb of golden light and feeling around the ground where he had died, she had to accept that he’d disappeared, using a kind of magic she couldn’t fathom.

  She went back to the place where his companion had been frozen and was shocked to find that his body was gone as well. A sharp chill of fear crept into her bones as she looked at the broken remains of the ice. She sensed some stirring of life lingering there in those fragments. He was near, but he was also far, very far away.

  A firm certainty came to her: this battle was over, for now. She didn’t have to worry about the two, at least for some time. The next time they came for her, they would do so with a higher degree of caution.

  Still, the last person she ever wanted to face was a sorcerer, she realized. The bastards were devious and tricky to kill. How she had managed to succeed against them, she didn’t know. Only the fact that they’d likely underestimated her and she’d caught them off-guard made any sense. Otherwise, she believed she’d simply gotten lucky. Next time, it wouldn’t be so easy.

  She’d need to master new spells and grow in power to survive. Her days of naivety were over.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  Under the soft, mystical light of Maren Downs, Lord Rigar Orensal witnessed the birth of a new kind of creation. Its wings, iridescent pinks and purples, glittered and shone in the sunlight. The giant construct stood, stretched its wings, and flew into the air, its multi-faceted eyes fascinated at the discovery.

  He’d done some experimentation on his own, once they’d arrived deep in the heart of Maren Downs. This was his land, and he knew it better than anyone else in the cult of Ba’al. A hike into the lush forests allowed him the space and freedom from prying eyes that he desired. Freedom to experiment and craft a new kind of creation.

  This time, it would be different. They would be his and only obey and answer to him. He had taken steps to ensure this, altering the summoning spell to fit his magical signature and no other. His most loyal apprentice, Castenar, had tested this to ensure another sorcerer couldn’t break through and gain control of the construct.

  Castenar had been one of the few who’d survived the battle of Ravenswood after the summoning. He had been friends with Rigar since the beginning, going all the way back to Maren Downs and his discovery in the ruins. The short, balding man was raised a scholar and had been in charge of Lord Rigar’s library and house finances. Castenar was supremely reliable and was the first to be initiated into the mysteries of Ba’al.

  Over the years, Rigar had found him to be the most pragmatic and independent thinker of his followers, often questioning Rigar’s interpretations of ancient texts and arguing with him about the best method of summoning Ba’al or even if it was wise in the first place.

  Rigar had to admit, Castenar had been right all along. The man had postulated that Ba’al—and all gods, for that matter—were far too powerful to be contained in a mortal body. At best, they would only be able to bring a fragment of the god into this world. But he questioned whether that fragment would be stable enough to be an accurate representation of the divine whole or lead them on a journey into madness. This point had been proven day after day since the summoning of Ba’al into the body of the boy. And the last few days had been even worse.

  The boy had behaved so erratically that even the Duke of Wrainton often looked frustrated at his outbursts. The duke seemed to think of himself as the fatherly figure to the boy but was often unprepared to deal with the boy’s tantrums. During nightmares, Remi often cried and called out for Elendria. Hearing her name made Rigar very sad, thinking of his daughter and wondering if Relek had made any progress in bringing her back. He doubted whether the inexperienced apprentice would be able to deal with both Elendria and the witches from the north. They had waited too long to go after her.

  “Do you think this one will be any better?” Castenar interrupted Rikar’s thoughts. “I’ve tried many combinations of various mentalist spells and have been unable to break through. I even tried the improved version of the domination spell that the boy showed us.”

  The short, stocky man wore a thin robe of silver, and because of the heat, sweat beaded on his brow. He wiped his forehead and looked up at their new magical construct. This one stared at Castenar, with gem-like eyes the color of gold and green, as if irritated by the sorcerer’s mental intrusions. It hovered in the air with shimmering wings like a dragonfly. The skin was a mixture of the rough texture of bark and the dull carapace of an insect. But the face was unmistakably human, and the anger was still there from the man—a healthy, young farmer—who had been taken as a sacrifice to Ba’al.

  “It’s not good enough. We have to try more combinations.” Lord Rigar aimed a hand at the insect-like fabrication. “The boy may have hidden other versions from us. Who knows what he is capable of?”

  “Less than we fear, I believe,” said Castenar.

  “What makes you say that?”

  “Hear me out.” Castenar sighed, centering himself. “I don’t question the power of Ba’al. I’m merely saying there are limits to the manifestation inside the boy. He is a constantly rotating wheel of consciousness. His memories fade and change and so does his knowledge. One day, he may be powerful in mentalist spells, and the next day, his knowledge of the subject is non-existent. We’ve never properly tested him. And whatever magic he has performed has been sporadic and inconsistent.”

  “But he was able to take control of the constructs—right when I challenged the duke. It was convenient for them and eerie on the timing. What if need aligns the boy’s mind with knowledge?”

  “I doubt it, but it would be frightening. Consider facts first: the boy has failed to show expertise in spellcasting many times over. In the day after his summoning, he demonstrated an extraordinary knowledge. But that faded quickly. And at night, more and more of the boy’s original personality shines through. It’s almost like the fragment of Ba’al is having a difficult time possessing the host. Or Ba’al is having a difficult time maintaining a presence in such a mortal host. I find the latter more believable.”

  “So, what are you saying, over time the boy will revert to being Remi?”

  “That or simply be killed struggling under the enormous pressure.” A grim look formed on Castenar’s round face. “Either way, Ba’al won’t be able to channel his presence inside Remi for too long. Though, because of the summoning, we have learned much, you and I. And I believe we possess enough power and knowledge for you to get your revenge against the duke.”

  “And the boy?” Lord Rigar thought of Elendria and how vital Remi was to her.

  “There might be a way to save him.”

  Then there was still a chance of winning Elendria back and mending their relationship. His wife was another matter. He suspected that, once he’d
dealt with the duke, she would come around and see the error of her mistakes. It had happened several times before.

  “Then let’s get to work building our army. How many other sorcerers can we trust to do our bidding?”

  “Most of them, though we need to keep them isolated, so they believe they are doing special research for you, work that they are not to share with the others, including the duke. It will be slow going, but after a week, we should be able to build a large enough army of flying constructs.”

  “What about the reason behind the duke and the boy coming to Maren Downs? They were supposed to be searching for something.”

  “That is a point of constant frustration for the duke. The boy can’t remember where it is. It seems they’re looking for some artifact deep in the ruins of the old Maledorian Empire.”

  “But what, exactly? If we knew, we could search for it also.” Rigar knew he had to improve his spying ability or he’d be left behind. Castenar and several of their most loyal apprentices had only recently begun a program to spy on the duke, Lady Shallia, and the boy.

  “I believe they are looking for a gemstone, called the Heart of the Empire. The boy mentioned it by name. When I looked it up in several old texts, it turned out to be a gemstone. It was said to provide the emperor of the Maledorians absolute power over his subjects and conquered foes.”

  “So that means they are trying to crush all resistance against them after they conquer lands and kingdoms?”

  “And rebuild the old Maledorian Empire.”

  Rigar snapped his finger and grinned at his old friend. “But if we find it first, then they won’t stand a chance.”

  “With a thousand more of these fabrications, armed with bows and spears, they won’t last long, period.”

  “You can kill the duke if you want but leave the boy unharmed. He’s important to my daughter.”

  As he thought about their arduous, painful journey up to this point, Lord Rigar gave a long sigh, exasperated. It would mean they would have to start all over again and summon Ba’al into a new person. Or did they? Once they’d exorcised the entity from Remi, could Lord Rigar rule over the three kingdoms with the knowledge and power he’d gained? He did have the most significant army ever assembled under his command and the ability to create an even stronger army of flying constructs.