Shadow Magic, page 35
Vilos nodded. “You both did well to see my daughter home safely. I will trust you to finish the job. Abin, when can we leave?”
“Soon, Majesty.” The wizard handed each of them a steel flask. “Inside these flasks is magical oil that will provide a temporary enchantment for your weapons. Don’t apply it until we arrive as the effect won’t last more than a few hours.”
“Speaking of weapons, can I borrow a shortsword?” Robert asked.
“Of course,” the sultan said. “Let’s go to the armory and get properly equipped for battle.”
The royal armory was about what Robert expected but on a much larger scale. It looked about fifty paces wide and twice that long. Every manner of weapon he could imagine was lined up in racks. There were some weapons Robert had never even heard of.
He helped himself to a fine shortsword and a crossbow. Blade took a pair of daggers and tucked them into her boots. The sultan didn’t add anything to the scimitar he already wore.
“Is everyone ready?” Abin asked. When they all nodded he raised the iron rod. “Okay, grab hold.”
When they had all taken a firm grip Abin spoke a word and Robert found himself falling in a terrible void filled with swirling, chaotic lights.
The feeling lasted only a moment then they were standing in a patch of grass surrounded by low rocky hills. The sun hung low in the sky, causing the mountains to cast weird shadows. The rod disintegrated leaving their hands covered with iron powder.
“One-way trip it seems.” Robert loaded his crossbow.
“I’m afraid so,” Abin said. He removed a slim piece of dark polished wood about a foot long from the inside of his robe and began a spell. When he finished he turned a slow circle until the tip of the wand started to glow. “This way.”
They headed north and a little east. Everyone was tense with weapons held ready.
Always curious Robert asked, “So what does that spell of yours do?”
Without looking away from the wand Abin said, “It seeks out magic. I believe if we find the magic, we’ll find the sorcerer.”
“Great. I don’t suppose when we find this guy he’ll just give up Shara if we ask nicely?”
“You can try if you want, but I think it would be a waste of time.”
“I figured. So just how strong is this sorcerer anyway?”
“Imagine an ant,” Abin said.
“Okay, but I’m not liking how this metaphor is starting out.”
“It gets worse. Now imagine an elephant standing next to the ant. Finally imagine the elephant stepping on the ant. Needless to say the sorcerer isn’t the ant. Any more questions?”
Even if Robert had wanted to ask another question he found that his mouth refused to work. Considering the fact that that had never happened to him before he took it as a bad sign.
They continued through the mountains for about a mile or so before they reached the mouth of a cave. The entrance was remarkable in that it was perfectly smooth. Robert could see no sign that a pick or shovel had ever touched the rock.
“This is it,” Abin said.
“Are you certain?” the sultan asked. “I would have thought there’d be guards.”
Robert grinned. “I suppose when you’re the most powerful sorcerer in the world, you don’t get robbed very often.”
The sultan snorted, making Robert smile all the more. Blade laughed softly and came over to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
Robert reveled in the warmth for a moment before she pulled away. “See you on the other side.”
He nodded. “You know it.”
“I suggest you anoint your weapons with the oil,” Abin said. “Once we enter, anything is possible.”
Chapter 70
Daktari set the final item he would need to complete the ritual on the unused stone table. The once-empty table bore four black diamonds, one at each corner, and a large shadow stone in the center. Daktari had sunk the shadow stone flush with the top of the table and it now pulsed with flickering, purple light. The final item was a knife infused with corrupt magic that resonated with Balthis.
“What’s all this stuff for?” Shara asked. She still floated above the floor.
“They are simple foci that will allow the necessary transfer of energy to happen more easily.”
He gestured and she floated up and turned so she was lying on her back looking up at the ceiling. She gently settled down on the tabletop. “The sun has almost set.”
Daktari flinched as one of his wards was triggered. Someone was just outside the tunnel entrance. “Ulibo.”
The shadow demon separated itself from the darkness. “Yes, Master?”
“We have company. Go introduce yourself.”
“May I kill them, Master?”
“By all means, just don’t let them interrupt the ritual.”
The demon hissed with glee. “I will bring you their hearts.”
“Fine, just get going.”
“What’s happening?” Shara asked.
“We have uninvited guests.”
“Father.”
“Probably,” Daktari said. “I would have let him live if he just had the sense to leave me alone. Now he has come all this way only to die. Pity. But no matter, the sun has set, and now we shall begin.”
Allowing for the very small possibility that Vilos would get past Ulibo, Daktari summoned a dome of invisible energy that would prevent anyone from disturbing him. Next he picked up the knife and raised it over Shara’s stomach. The girl shivered but otherwise couldn’t move.
“Be still,” Daktari said. “I won’t cut you.”
With great precision he sliced away a square of her dress revealing her navel and about a square foot of flesh. He flicked the fabric away and set the knife down. With the tip of his right index finger he drew a circle of black flame in the air. Red flames shot from his left hand filling in the circle. As soon as the flames had completely filled the circle a savage wind ripped through the cavern swirling Daktari’s black robes around him.
Daktari thrust his left hand into the flames and set his right on Shara’s bare skin. In a moment Balthis’s energy began to fill him.
His back arched and he groaned in pain. A ruddy light oozed out from around the fingers of his right hand as the demonic energy entered the princess’s body.
Balthis’s rebirth had begun.
Chapter 71
Robert and his companions made their way deeper into the mountain. Blade led the way, her sword glowing slightly from the magical oil. The sultan followed behind her then Robert and Abin brought up the rear. Over their heads, an orb of light illuminated the tunnel for about thirty feet in both directions.
In the distance Robert thought he heard something. “Did you hear that?”
Abin staggered. “He’s cast a very powerful spell. The psychic wave was incredible.”
“We have to hurry,” the sultan said.
Blade led them at a quick walk. The sultan kept trying to push past her but she wouldn’t allow it. In the end that’s what saved them.
As Blade turned around to restrain Vilos, a shadowy claw shot out where her head had been an instant before.
She leapt back as a shadowy form separated itself from the darkness ahead. The creature appeared to be composed entirely of shadow. It towered above them. The tips of its wings brushed the ceiling. It had two diamond-shaped slits for eyes and a jagged hole for a mouth. All in all, not the most pleasant-looking creature Robert had ever seen.
“Welcome to your graves, mortals.” Monster hissed.
The creature lunged toward Vilos but Blade batted its claw aside with her sword.
It hissed and drew back
“I see you have a sting, little one.” It shifted its form into a giant scorpion. “Now I have as well.”
A loud crack filled the tunnel as a lightning bolt tore along the beast’s side shearing off four legs. Abin stood with his hands raised and smoking, a smile of triumph on his face.
“You will not best us, shadow demon.”
The shadow demon snarled and changed form again, this time choosing a humanoid shape with four arms. “If you think you can beat me, human, you are sadly mistaken.”
A tendril of darkness shot out from one of the demon’s hands, wrapped around Abin, and slammed him against the wall.
The demon held him pinned for a moment before Blade severed its tendril with an overhand slash.
The wizard fell to the floor with a grunt.
Vilos hurried over to his injured friend while Blade tried to drive the demon away.
“We have to get past it,” Vilos said. “Can you do anything?”
Abin coughed up a drop of blood. “I can get you past it, Majesty, but that’s all. The rest of us will have to stay behind to keep it from coming after you. Once we finish it, we’ll catch up with you.”
Finish the demon? Robert laughed to himself. Who the hell was he kidding?
Robert turned to watch Blade who was trying her best to do exactly that.
Robert was torn between wanting to help and not wanting to get in the way. She seemed okay for the moment, so he decided not to interfere.
The demon roared as Blade scored a cut across its chest.
“That’s twice you’ve hurt me, human.” It shifted form again, this time becoming an amorphous blob with eight tentacles.
One of them shot out and wrapped around Blade, lifting her off the ground. “Now I’ll crush you to a pulp.”
“No!” Robert roared. He lunged forward, dodging a pair of tentacles, to drive his sword into the tentacle holding Blade.
The demon snarled and dropped her.
“You okay?” he asked.
Blade grunted and got to her feet.
The demon lunged toward them, but before it could strike, a white globe of light struck it and drove it shrieking backward.
Robert turned to see Abin back on his feet arms raised. He muttered something then touched Vilos on the shoulder.
The sultan vanished.
While the demon was still blinded by the light Abin motioned them to come to his side. “The sultan has gone ahead to try and help his daughter. We must hold the demon here to give him a chance.”
“Great plan,” Robert said. “Any idea how we manage it?”
“You’ve seen that your weapons can hurt it. We just need to cause some more damage.”
“Is that all? Well what was I worried about? You forgot about the part where we survive.”
“All that matters is rescuing the princess,” Abin said. “If we die, so be it.”
“Speak for yourself, wizard,” Robert said. “I like Shara, but I plan to get Blade and me out of this in one piece.”
“It’s coming,” Blade hissed.
Abin’s white light was fading and the demon looked angry and unhurt.
Blade charged not giving it a chance to fully recover.
She slashed, severing any tentacles that got too close.
The little bits of shadow flesh vanished in a puff of acrid smoke.
Abin raised his hands again and this time half a dozen spheres of white light streaked away striking the demon in the face and causing it to roar in pain.
Blade took advantage of the distraction to lunge in and drive her sword deep into the mass of shadow flesh.
The demon shook her off and she went flying into the wall.
It oozed over toward her, intent on crushing the life from her stunned body.
Robert charged and leapt on to its back.
He drove his shortsword in up to the hilt.
The demon shook again, but he held on, determined not to let it reach Blade.
The demon surged back, trying to crush him against the other side of the tunnel.
Robert leapt clear and landed with a grunt on the stone floor.
The demon struck the wall with such force that the tunnel shook.
The force of the blow drove the sword in even deeper and the demon howled with pain and began writhing on the ground shifting from one form to the next almost faster than the eye could register.
Blade regained her feet, marched over to the demon, and began hacking at it. Her left arm hung limp and useless. Abin came over beside her and motioned her aside.
She glanced at him but did as he asked.
The wizard pointed both palms at the demon and whispered a spell.
There was a blast as sheets of white fire shot forth consuming the wounded demon.
In moments nothing remained of it but a few wisps of shadow flesh and Robert’s charred sword.
Chapter 72
Vilos thundered down the tunnel. Abin’s invisibility spell had allowed him to sneak past the demon with no trouble. He hadn’t gone far when the tunnel opened into a huge cavern with a high ceiling studded with stalactites. Near the rear wall glowed a ruddy light.
The sorcerer stood near the light source, a disk of red flame, and had one hand plunged into the fire. Sprawled on the table in front of him was Shara. The sorcerer had his other hand on her stomach.
All sense left Vilos.
Only one thought existed in his mind.
He had to save his little girl.
He charged toward them, sword lifted above his head.
He weaved around stone tables covered with alchemical paraphernalia.
Ten feet away he slammed into an invisible wall like the one Daktari had used at the palace.
Vilos hammered at the shield until he was out of breath and could barely hold his sword.
It did no good.
Now that he was closer he could see red light leaking out from between Daktari’s fingers where he rested them on Shara’s belly.
“Shara!” he screamed.
Neither the sorcerer nor his daughter showed any sign that they heard him.
Cursing the angels and himself, Vilos slammed his sword into the barrier once more.
He may as well have beaten it against the walls of the cave for all the good it did.
He heard a sound behind him and spun around.
From the tunnel entrance Abin, Robert, and Blade eased into the cavern. The three of them were quite a mess.
Robert was limping badly, Blade had one arm hanging by her side, and he knew Abin already had broken ribs.
“You three look like hell,” Vilos said.
Robert grinned. “You should see the other guy.”
Vilos laughed. He rather liked this Robert fellow.
“What about the princess?” Abin asked.
Vilos pointed to where she and Daktari waited behind the shield. “I can’t get to her. I beat my sword dull against his shield and it didn’t even make a bit of difference that I could see.”
“Help me over there,” Abin said. “Perhaps I can bring the shield down.”
Vilos took his injured friend by the arm and helped him over next to the shield. Abin placed his hands on it and closed his eyes.
When he opened them he sighed. “The shield is incredibly strong. I can try and breach it but I don’t hold much hope. Stand back, please.”
Vilos moved a few paces away and heard Abin muttering under his breath. A moment later there was a flash of light and he had to raise his arm to shield his eyes from the glare. When he brought his arm down the light was gone and Abin was flat on the ground unconscious. Vilos hurried over to Abin’s side. He carefully reached over, felt for the shield, and found it still intact.
“Sorry, Majesty, I wasn’t strong enough.” Abin rasped through blood-flecked lips.
He passed out again.
Vilos lifted him gently and carried him away from whatever foul magic Daktari was brewing.
Abin had given his all, Vilos could ask for no more.
Vilos rejoined Robert and Blade next to the shield. Whatever the sorcerer was doing, it seemed to be getting worse. The red light was getting brighter and Shara had begun to squirm under the sorcerer’s hand.
“So what do we do now?” Robert asked.
Vilos shook his head. “There’s nothing we can do.”
“I’ll tell you what we’re going to do,” Blade said. “We’re going to wait for the barrier to come down then I’m going to cut that sorcerer’s heart out.”
Robert shot Blade a funny look but declined to comment. Robert sat down on the edge of one of the stone benches. He winced as he lifted his foot off the ground.
Vilos sat beside him. “How you holding up?”
Robert grimaced. “I hurt in places I didn’t even know I had, how about you?”
“I’ll live. It’s her I’m worried about.”
Both men looked at Shara where she lay still under the sorcerer’s hand. The light seemed to be getting brighter all the time. Soon it grew so bright they had to look away or get their eyes burned out.
When they looked back the light was gone except for the still-glowing circle floating in the air. The sorcerer was looking at them. His eyes glowed with an inner fire.
“So you made it past my demon, an impressive accomplishment for the four of you. Though you do look a little worse for wear.”
Blade was glaring daggers at him, her sword clenched in her good hand.
“My dear, you look a little upset,” he said. Behind him Shara sat up. Where her dress had been cut, a symbol was visible around her navel. It looked like a key with a solar halo.
The sorcerer turned to face her. “How are you feeling, child?”
She got to her feet and rubbed her stomach through the hole in her dress. “Better than I expected.”
“Shara.” Vilos ran over to the barrier and pressed his hands against it.
She smiled, tears in her eyes. “Daddy.”
She ran right through the barrier and into his arms. Vilos held her close, not the least interested in how she managed to get through the shield.
“DAKTARI!” A voice thundered through the cavern. “What are you doing? You must protect my host until my new form is born.”
Daktari turned to look into the circle of flame. “No.”
“WHAT!?” the voice demanded.
