The Shattered Land

CHAPTER 27

It was pitch black.

Should have seen that coming, Daine thought. Why leave lamps on for the thieves? “Light,” he murmured, loud enough for Lei to hear. He heard the whisper as she wove temporary cold fire into her staff, but before this enchantment took hold, the area was filled with a pale green radiance. Glancing over, Daine saw that Lakashtai’s eyes were shining like beacons, casting a cone of emerald light before her. “That’s … disturbing,” he said, keeping his voice low.

To his surprise, she winked at him, causing a temporary flicker of light.

They were standing in a vast cavern, far larger than the audience chamber they had seen earlier. To their right, tall shelves were lined with small chests and loose dragon scales; Daine recognized the casket that held the blue scale shield. The shelves to the left held books-but books unlike any Daine had ever seen. Most were three feet in height, with a width to match. These tomes were bound in lizardskin or thick leather, but most were crumbling with age.

“Giants,” Lei whispered. “These must have been written by giants before the fall of Xen’drik.”

“Which one has our map?” Daine said. “Tell me we don’t have to read until we find it.”

“The map we seek is not bound by leather and ink.” Lakashtai glanced along the shelves, sweeping the cone of light across rows of books and long leather tubes that probably held enormous scrolls. “It is a large translucent crystal, about three feet in diameter. It must be elsewhere in this chamber.”

Daine nodded. “Lei, Pierce-on point. Slow.”

They crept down the aisle. Lei stayed just ahead of Pierce, and Daine wondered what she saw as she studied the currents of arcane energy. Moments passed before an end to the aisle came into view. They had come to the edge of the room, and a narrow corridor ran alongside the stone wall of the cavern. Lei paused at the edge in the intersection, kneeling down and passing her hand over the floor.

“What have you discovered?” Pierce asked.

Lei frowned. “There’s a symbol here, a glyph of tremendous power. Set this off and you’d be dead in an instant-it would be like a hurricane blowing out a candle.”

“Can you break it?” Daine said.

“Never, but … it’s already been triggered. It’s strange-it looks like it was set off, but there aren’t any corpses.”

Daine’s grip tightened on the hilt of his sword. “So we’re not alone?”

“It really depends how long it takes for the energy in the seal to rebuild itself. Perhaps intruders were in here earlier, and the guards already removed the bodies.”

“Perhaps. We need to be prepared. Lakashtai … can you link our minds again?”

Certainly. The thought blossomed in Daine’s mind.

Good. Lei-left. Careful and quiet.

They crept along the edge of the wall, slipping past rows of giant shelves. Up ahead, the labyrinth of shelves came to an end, opening into a wide chamber; Daine caught a glimpse of shattered statues and other large relics, but a sudden stop from Pierce brought them to a halt.

There. At the corner of the last shelf. Blood.

It could barely be seen in the magical light, but Pierce’s eyes were keen. There was a dark stain at the base of the last shelf, just intruding into the corridor, a pool of dried blood.

Daine stepped forward, drawing his dagger. Lei, is the hallway clear to that point?

I … I think so.

Daine took his place next to Pierce. Stand ready, he thought.

He tumbled forward, executing a low roll that would hopefully drop him below the line of anyone who might be waiting with weapon in hand. He darted out beyond the shelves, coming to a halt behind a massive foot formed of blue marble-apparently, the last remnant of a colossal monument. Spinning around, he searched the hall for any sign of enemies, but there were none to be seen.

No living enemies, at least.

It’s safe, he thought, stepping out from his cover. Come take a look at this.

Two corpses were spread across the floor of the chamber. They were two of Hassalac’s reptilian guards-possibly the same two that had escorted Daine and Lakashtai earlier in the day, but the damage made it impossible to tell.

“Merciful Arawai,” Lei whispered, dropping to one knee to study the closer of the two corpses. “What could do something like this?”

Barely half of the creature’s body was left. It was as if it had stumbled into a wall of whirling razors-a force that had shredded flesh, bone, and chainmail with equal ease, scattering the remains in a bloody circle almost ten feet in diameter. The stench was awful.

“I don’t know,” Daine said, “but for the moment it looks like someone has cleared our path. This blood is dry, and we haven’t seen any motion. Let’s do this as quickly as we can and begone before anyone else comes to investigate. Lakashtai?”

The emerald gaze swept across the scattered relics. There, she thought, and the cone of light narrowed to focus on one object-a massive chunk of polished crystal, covered with strange sigils etched into its surface.

All right. Pierce, ready your bow. I’ll take point.

Daine darted across the room. There were still no enemies to be seen, and the others swiftly followed. Pierce kept his distance, watching the shadows of the room; Lei and Lakashtai took up positions around the stone.

“I don’t understand,” Lei whispered. “I don’t sense any sort of magical aura at all, and these symbols-that’s no language I’ve ever seen or any school of arcane design.”

“It’s not magical,” Lakashtai replied. “Memories have been embedded in the crystal. Unlocking them, opening them-it’s a matter of thought. You must view the crystal as an extension of yourself, and reach into it as you would your own mind.” She placed a hand on the massive shard, and it began to glow-a faint blue shimmer that soon grew to a strong, powerful radiance, flooding the chamber with light.

Daine. It was Pierce’s thought, as slow and steady as his voice. Look to the ground. Look for the traces.

Daine studied the stone floor. He never would have noticed on his own, but after a moment he saw what Pierce was talking about. Blood. A faint trail of blood lead from the scaled corpses to the crystal he was standing next to. Whatever had killed the guards-it had come in search of the crystal map.

He turned to speak to Lakashtai, but Lei stopped him with a gesture. “Don’t interrupt her,” Lei whispered. “She’s-finding her way through it, I think. It must be like reading a book.”

Lakashtai’s eyes were closed, and a swirling web of light danced within the heart of the stone.

“Fine. Get started on whatever you need to do to get us back out of here-I want to leave the instant she’s done.”

Lei waved her hands, encompassing the treasures around them. “Look at this place. Don’t you want to explore it further? Think of what treasures might be down here?”

“What I want is to leave in one piece, instead of being split in half or having my candle blown out by a hurricane. Get to work. Now.”

Lei sighed, but found an empty spot against the wall of the chamber. She sat down, and produced the components she needed to generate another burst of teleportation.

Daine glanced around the chamber, studying the shadows cast by the statues and fragments of broken masonry. Was that a sound-the pad of soft leather against stone? With eviscerated corpses only a few lengths away, it was easy to imagine ghosts in the shadows. Still-

Danger! Pierce’s thought rang through Daine’s mind in the same instant that his arrow split the air. A dark-cloaked figure had stepped out from the cover of the tall shelves, one arm raised and pointing in Daine’s direction. Pierce’s arrow struck just below its upraised arm, driving into its chest and likely piercing a lung. It was a blow that would have dropped a normal man, but the intruder somehow stayed on its feet. Before Daine could fully comprehend the situation, a beam of light lanced toward him, missing him by inches.

Details slowly came together. A dark robe hemmed in silver, a glittering veil beneath a deep hood. It was one of the Riedrans-the woman who had wielded the crystal of pain. Daine could see others in the darkness behind her.

Pierce. Hold your position. See if you can keep them pinned down.

Acknowledged. Pierce loosed two more arrows, but the woman had darted back behind the cover of the shelves. Even as Daine tried to determine the best course of action, there was a distortion in the air next to him. What began as a ripple in the air became deadly reality; an instant later a man was standing next to Daine, and a crystal blade was flashing toward him. Daine turned just in time to block the blow with the edge of his grandfather’s blade.

I guess they don’t want me alive after all.

The Riedran swordsman moved with unnatural grace and speed, and like Lakashtai he seemed to be able to predict Daine’s intentions. It felt like Daine was fighting a ghost; the enemy danced out of the way of every thrust and cut, leaving Daine slashing at empty air. For all these tricks, he lacked Daine’s skill with the blade itself. Even though Daine couldn’t touch his attacker, by dropping into a defensive stance he found that he could parry each blow. This dance continued for a time, and for a moment it was actually relaxing; there was no room to think of anything but the battle itself. Then his enemy’s eyes flashed with blue light, and Daine’s thoughts exploded in agony. It was as if a hammer had struck him between the eyes, and in that moment of distraction the Riedran broke past Daine’s guard, striking directly at his heart.

Pain lanced through Daine’s chest, but his chainmail saved him; Cyran steel held against Riedran crystal, and only the very tip of the blade pierced his flesh. The pain fueled his anger, and even as he dropped back into guard position, he thought good trick-let’s see how you like it. Pierce!

Perhaps the Riedran was reading Daine’s thoughts; it seemed like he began to leap to the side, but he wasn’t fast enough. He shuddered under the impact of Pierce’s arrows, and in that moment Daine lashed out, a swift arc of steel that cut across his enemy’s throat. Black cloth was wet with blood as the man fell to the ground, three long arrows projecting in a perfect line running down his spine.

This victory had its price. The instant Pierce turned from his post, the woman in the shadows struck again, and this time the dark bolt struck Daine directly. For an instant he felt the same sensation he had when Lei had brought them down into the vault, or when he’d stepped through Hassalac’s gate-the cold disorientation that accompanies teleportation. This was immediately replaced by blinding pain. It was as if half his body had teleported a fraction of an inch, leaving the rest of him behind. Every muscle felt torn, his bones ached, and his mouth was filled with blood. It took every ounce of willpower to stay on his feet, and he knew that he wouldn’t survive another blow like that one.

Even as his vision cleared, he saw a green glow at his side. Lakashtai!

We have what we need. I shall do what I can against this one; see to our passage.

Right. Lei, what’s the status?

Daine turned toward Lei, and a new pain gripped his chest, worse than the magical bolt. Apparently the first beam hadn’t been meant for him. Lei was sprawled across the ground, mystical components scattered around her and the glowing staff across her chest. Her mouth and nose were smeared with blood. Daine dove toward her, but even at a distance he could tell she wasn’t breathing.