The Sanguine Scroll, page 12
Lady White and the others were watching him with tense expressions. They all knew a fight was coming. All Otto wanted to figure out was the most efficient way to kill everyone in the nexus chamber with the least risk to his own team.
The blindingly obvious answer came to him a moment later. Jackal and his allies clearly wanted Eddred and his allies dead. If the problem was the lanterns, Otto could help with that.
Looking through the ether, he quickly spotted the two lanterns and the point where the ether entered them to power the magic. There was also a weak barrier protecting them from magical interference. It was another reminder of just how pathetic Eddred’s pet wizards really were.
Otto wove plugs of ether and attached them to fifteen-thread tentacles. With a thought he sent the spells smashing through the barriers. His plugs cut off the ether and the magic died.
Moment later muffled thuds and crackles of lightning came through the door. He motioned for everyone to get ready. The door was sturdy and well made, but he held no illusions about how long it would hold out against a sustained assault.
He shifted to one side and drew his mithril sword. A few seconds later, a pale fist smashed through the door.
Otto slashed, hoping to deprive Jackal of his second arm.
He was a fraction too slow. The arm withdrew before he struck home.
The magic came next. A powerful wave of lightning that hammered hard into Otto’s shield. No way had either of Eddred’s wizards managed that spell. Otto had never even seen lightning cast without a targeting thread.
He sent threads through the blade of his sword, rubbed his fingers to gather heat, and hurled a twenty-thread lance of fire through the gap.
No screams of pain followed.
A moment later the door exploded inward in a shower of splinters.
Jackal backhanded Axel across the library.
Otto caught a glimpse of terrified figures huddled around a single green glowing lantern. Bodies sprawled across the floor, but he couldn’t make out whose.
“You will not escape me this time!” Jackal roared and charged Lady White.
Hans and the guys tried to get in his way, but he was too fast.
Bodies flew left and right.
Otto infused his body with ether until he feared he might explode and charged.
For her part, Lady White sent a fist of corruption to slam into Jackal. He barely staggered then barreled forward.
As he reached for her throat again, Otto swung his mithril sword at Jackal’s neck.
Even at enhanced speed, Jackal managed to dodge. Otto stood beside Lady White as they faced Jackal.
The demonically enhanced human pointed and darkness started to rise from the floor. Lady White’s own power sprang to life and suppressed it. Magically it seemed the two Astaroth worshipers were evenly matched.
It was a standoff. Otto doubted he could defeat Jackal in a straight fight, even with magical enhancement. His sword skills simply weren’t good enough to best someone able to keep up with his enhanced speed.
Even focused as he was on the battle, Otto sensed power gathering near the portal. He flicked a glance that way and found Jackal’s companion activating it.
Cursing the universe, Otto readied himself. The timing would be close, but if Jackal was as sensitive as Lady White to pure ether channeled through mithril, his plan might work.
“When I move,” he whispered so only Lady White could hear. “Flee for the altar chamber. Find a scout patrol away from the portal and stay with them. I’ll rejoin you as soon as I can.”
Any comment she might have made was cut off when Jackal said, “Stop hiding behind that human and let’s settle this. I’ve chased you long enough.”
Otto sensed power gathering behind him and a moment later pure ether flooded the room along with nearly blinding light.
Lady White and Jackal both howled in pain.
When Jackal raised his arms to protect himself, Otto lunged with all his might.
His mithril sword ran Jackal right through the heart.
Otto ripped the blade free and hacked Jackal’s head off. If the son of a bitch came back from that, he didn’t know what he’d do. Right now, he had to chase after the female wizard lest she claim the Scroll ahead of him.
He caught a glimpse of Lady White hurrying up the ladder out of sight. Good. She’d be better off outside anyway.
Someone bumped him, but Otto couldn’t see who it was.
He sensed the portal starting to collapse.
Sprinting for all he was worth, Otto leapt through the light. All around him the ether straightened. And a moment after that it went chaotic again.
An instant later he appeared in a dark room. He straightened and conjured a light.
Facing him, a black-bladed dagger gripped in his right hand, was a man a few years Otto’s senior. His tunic was ragged and his gaze darted around as though expecting some other danger to appear at any moment.
While he made no move to attack, Otto figured it was better to bind the man just to be safe.
He flicked his ring and sent out a thread. Three feet from the target the thread slowed then completely fell apart.
Interesting. Otto doubted he had access to mirrorshine, so something else must be protecting him from the magic. The dagger perhaps.
Otto probed it with a thread that immediately dissolved. Yes, the dagger for sure.
“Hi,” the man said. “Um, are we going to fight or something?”
“I have no interest in fighting you, assuming you’re not planning to help that female wizard claim the Scroll or take it for yourself. My name is Otto Shenk by the way.”
“Gareth. And no, I have no interest in helping Ginevera. I just want to get this bracelet off my arm and get the hell out of here. Say, are you going to put that away?” He nodded toward Otto’s sword.
“You first,” Otto said.
Gareth looked at the dagger in his hand as though just remembering it was there. “Sure. I’m not much of a fighter anyway.”
Otto smiled. Finally, someone sensible. “Neither am I.”
They sheathed their weapons at the same time. So far, their relationship was off to an excellent start.
Otto took a moment to study both the man and the glowing bracelet on his wrist. The enchantments looked simple enough. A proper application of ether should force it to slide right off. If Gareth wanted it removed badly enough, perhaps a deal could be reached. But first he needed to do a little research.
“Where are we exactly?” Gareth asked, butting into his thoughts.
That was an excellent question. The room they arrived in appeared empty. There was also no sign of a portal. Otto’s guess, and that’s all it was, was that when Gareth’s dagger entered the portal, it disrupted the ethereal flow and dumped them somewhere other than the target location.
At least there was a door leading out of the room. Better yet, the corruption seemed thinner here, allowing him to use his magic more freely. Just for curiosity’s sake he tried to extend his sight and failed. Either they were still inside the pyramid or they’d ended up somewhere with the same protections in place.
Either way, it was a nuisance.
“I wish I knew.” As Otto spoke, he sent another thread out. This one passed right through Gareth without issue. “On the positive side, for you at least, I believe I can remove that bracelet.”
Gareth brightened at once. “Really? That’s the best news I’ve heard since leaving home.”
Otto touched the dagger’s hilt and cross guard with another thread. Once more he had no troubles. It seemed only the blade had magic-disrupting power and as long as it stayed sheathed, that power remained suppressed. Perfect.
“I’ll make you a trade,” Otto said. “The dagger for removing the bracelet.”
Gareth touched the hilt of his weapon. “It’s been in my family for generations. I can’t just hand it over.”
Otto shrugged and started toward the door. “In that case, best of luck to you.”
“You can’t just leave me here.” Gareth hurried to catch up.
“Of course I can. I don’t know you. So far you’ve been allied with two of my enemies. Neither of those facts encourages me. I’m happy to part company on a peaceful basis. I have enough enemies without adding you to the list.”
“Okay, okay. Suppose I trade you the dagger. I’d need some kind of weapon in exchange.”
Otto stepped out onto a familiar-looking passage. The black stone and tile floors looked exactly like the rest of the pyramid. Hopefully there weren’t any trapdoors.
“Tell you what,” Otto said. “When we get out of here, I’ll remove the bracelet and give you a mithril sword in exchange for the dagger.”
Gareth stared at him. “A mithril sword is worth more gold than I can count. Why would you give me one for this old dagger? I mean, I know it will cut through damn near anything, but so will mithril.”
Otto glanced at him. He clearly had no idea about his dagger’s true power. “I have many mithril swords but no daggers like yours. And I have an interest in unusual weapons. It will be a fine addition to my collection. Do we have a deal?”
Gareth thought it over for a few strides then nodded. “Deal.”
“Good. Now, let’s see if we can find the Scroll and a way out of here.”
Chapter 17
Hans groaned and sat up. Pain was an old friend of his, but damn. He’d never been run over by an angry bull, but he imagined it felt something like this. When that man, he assumed it was a man anyway, all he got was an impression of movement, a pale face, and then something hit him. A quick flight across the library ended when he hit one of the bookshelves. Strangely enough, none of the books fell on his head. Not that he was complaining.
He rubbed his face and looked around. His men were scattered around the room, though happily all of them were still moving, at least a little. Lord Shenk and Lady White were nowhere to be found. A headless corpse dressed in a black robe sat partway into the room.
He was pretty sure that was what hit him. Looks like Lord Shenk dealt with it. Some bodyguard he was. Hans was rescued by his charge far more often than he did the saving.
His sword had landed a stride to his right. Hans sheathed it and went to check on the others. A cough followed by muttered curses drew his attention to the library door. Lord Shenk’s brother—Hans wasn’t exactly sure what Axel’s rank was now—was struggling to stand. He went over and helped him to his feet.
“Are you okay, sir?”
Axel touched his side and winced. “I think I’ve got a couple cracked ribs. Other than that, I’m okay. Where’s my brother?”
“No idea, sir. When I came to, he was gone. He did kill that creature that attacked us, so that’s something. If you can manage on your own, I need to check on my men.”
Axel shook his head. “First check the nexus chamber. Find out if any of our enemies survived.”
Hans had been so worried about everyone that he’d forgotten about the other group. He left Axel holding himself up with the wall, drew his sword, and ducked through the doorway. Two bodies lay on the floor face down, pools of blood slowly spreading under them. A woman lay passed out beside a now-dark lantern.
The first man Hans kicked over had half his face torn off. He shuddered and went to the second body. Prince Uther’s pale face stared up at him. The prince had a tight grip on his stomach. Bits of torn flesh peeked out around his hands.
Uther blinked and seemed to finally register Hans’s presence. “Please tell me I’m dead and we’re both in hell along with your master.”
“No such luck. Though from the looks of that wound, you’re liable to end up there in short order.”
Hans left Uther where he lay and went to the woman. He’d seen Eddred’s wizards enough times to recognize her even if he didn’t know her name. An unconscious wizard was liable to wake up at some point and without Lord Shenk here to deal with her, Hans didn’t want that. Killing a helpless woman wasn’t his favorite thing to do, but having an angry, unrestrained wizard on his hands would be considerably worse.
As his sword shifted closer to her pale neck Uther shouted, “What are you doing? Get away from her!”
Hans really did feel bad about it. A single, hard slash separated her head from her body. It was as clean a death as you could hope for in this world.
Stepping around a snarling Uther, Hans returned to Axel. “One survivor, Uther of Straken, is badly wounded. If you want him to live, his injury will need binding.”
“Why, in heaven’s name, would I want him to live?” Axel asked. “I’ve been trying to kill the son of a bitch for it seems like years. Your men seem to be up and about. What should we do about my brother?”
“Assuming Lord Shenk went through the portal like he planned,” Hans said. “He might be anywhere by now and there’s no guarantee he’ll return to this spot. Given our injuries, I suggest we fall back to camp and rest and recover while we await his return.”
“You seem confident he will return.”
“I’ve served Lord Shenk long enough to know better than to underestimate him. What about you? Do you not think it likely your brother will survive?”
Axel chuckled. “If Otto survived our brother and father, a death trap in the middle of the desert should be a piece of cake. Look after your men. I’m going to have a final word with Uther.”
“Yes, sir. Can I trouble you to grab the two mithril lanterns? I’m sure Lord Shenk will want to take a look at them when he gets back.”
Axel waved him off without comment. Not wanting to push his luck, Hans went to check on his men. Everyone was standing, no one had lost a limb, and the only blood came from a broken nose. All thing considered, he couldn’t complain.
“What do you say we go back to camp, have a hot meal, and get some sleep?”
They didn’t have the strength to cheer, but their relieved expressions no doubt mirrored his own.
Axel worked his way painfully into the nexus chamber. He ignored the bodies and focused on the wheezing prince of Straken. Uther looked rather pitiful, slowly dying on the floor in the middle of nowhere. Axel could hardly believe this was the same man that had run him ragged across half of Straken.
“Come to gloat?” A trickle of blood leaked out of Uther’s mouth.
“To say goodbye. You were a worthy opponent. Much as I hate your country and what your people did to mine, I can’t deny that. This would not have been the way I preferred for our battle to end.”
“Nor me.” Uther coughed and twisted up into a tighter ball as if that would help the pain.
When Axel laughed, his ribs made a bitter complaint. “I suppose you would have preferred to end it with your sword in my heart. Just as I would have preferred to finish you on the battlefield.”
“I would have rather killed your brother. He’s a monster. You must see that.”
Axel had his moments of doubt about Otto, but he didn’t think of him as a monster. “He is what people like you and your father made him. He’s saved the lives of more Garenland citizens that I can count. From our point of view that makes him a hero.”
“You poor fool, I think you actually believe what you’re saying. Garenland will come to regret elevating him and giving wizards their freedom.”
“It seems we’ll have to agree to disagree.” Axel grabbed the lanterns Hans mentioned and set them beside the door.
“I have no right to ask this of you, but will you tell my father I died on the battlefield like a true Straken warrior?”
Axel drew his blade. “I will tell him you died by the sword.”
One swing later, Axel collected the lantern and made his way gingerly over to the others who had waited beside the ladder. Axel wasn’t looking forward to that climb in the least.
Hans took the lanterns and handed one to each of the least-injured men. “He’s dead?”
“Yes. Is it strange that I resent that monster for killing him and depriving me of the chance of a fair fight?”
“Your brother would say dead is dead and that he was glad to have another irritant out of the way. Lord Shenk isn’t the most sentimental man. For my part, I understand how you feel. Let’s get out of here. It’s possible I have a bottle of whiskey stashed in my gear. I’ll pour you a drink.”
“I won’t say no.” Axel reached for the first rung of the ladder then looked back. “My brother got lucky finding a man like you for his personal guard.”
Somehow Axel got stuck with Cobb. He grinned and started climbing.
Chapter 18
Otto walked through the dark halls, his every sense attuned to danger. He refused to believe that the portal had brought them to some random section of the pyramid. No, everything in him screamed that the Scroll was close.
A few feet ahead, the hall turned left again. For the third time. He sensed no powerful magic in the area, but with Lord Sur’s wards potentially messing with this awareness, the Scroll could have been ten feet ahead of them and he might not know it.
“Do you have any idea where we’re going?” Gareth asked.
“Forward.” He hoped the terse answer would silence his unwelcome traveling companion.
“Yeah, I get that. But I mean our ultimate destination.”
So much for hope. “No, I have no idea where this hall eventually leads. I also had only two options. Stand here and wait to starve or push on. If you have another suggestion, I’m all ears.”
“Afraid not. If we were in a city, I’d suggest finding the nearest tavern and getting the lay of the land from the bartender if I had a coin or the serving girls if I didn’t. Exploring pyramids is a little outside of my comfort zone.”
It was outside of Otto’s as well, but then again so was exploring a city made of steel and an enchanted garden. He’d survived both of those and emerged with the treasures he sought. This pyramid certainly wasn’t going to stop him.
