I decided to get some fresh air. Raising my fist I demolished one wall and pushed my way through the rubble until I stood in one of the palace’s inner courtyards. Given the relative size of the dollhouse I was destroying I must have stood over forty feet tall at that point. As soon as I emerged from the fallen stone and timbers I discovered what Celior had been up to. A searing beam of pure sunlight bore down on me, burning into my stone skin.
Above me the god flew on his flaming wings, like some grotesque parody of a phoenix. He kept the light focused upon me and parts of my body began sloughing away like bubbling magma. Even in my rocky form I began to experience a sensation that my human self might have labeled pain and I tried to shield myself with my arms to no avail.
Drawing upon my magic I sent a bolt of pure force at my antagonist but the distance and his maneuverability made it impossible to hit him. “Fool!” Celior screamed down at me. “Your power cannot last, but mine is eternal.”
I was beginning to think he might have a point. As his assault continued it was becoming more and more difficult to reconstruct my body and even my thoughts were growing sluggish. The more power I drew from the earth the less I cared. I was beginning to forget myself. If I could just get my hands on that glowing bastard, I thought desperately.
A shadow crossed the sun and in the distance I saw something impossible. It was too far for my magesight, but my stony eyes could see what appeared to be a huge bird diving from the sky, down toward Celior. Apparently the god sensed something as well, for he broke off his laughter and glanced up and behind himself in alarm. His measured wing beats became frantic strokes as he tried to gain speed and altitude, but it was far too late. The bird… no it was a dragon, had far too much speed already from its dive.
It struck him with such force that they both plummeted from the sky and Celior was driven into the street beside the palace. The ground shook and the dragon tore at the god’s body, ripping into his belly. For a moment I was still, staring on in complete shock. Could that be Gareth Gaelyn? According to the story Moira had told me dragons were the stuff of myth and fairy tale. The only one that had ever existed was the result of an archmage gone mad and that was over a thousand years ago. He had also slaughtered his own people.
The dragon was at least a hundred feet in length from nose to tail and armored in glistening grey-black scales. His body was sleek and streamlined yet as he moved I could see powerful muscles rippling under his skin. The dragon’s wings were folded tightly against his body now that he was down on the ground, but they had been vast when they were unfurled a moment before. He held Celior with his jaws and two powerful forelimbs while his rear legs clawed and tore at the shining god.
Not knowing what else to do I started running to reach them, at least I tried to run. I quickly discovered that my size prohibited such activities and I was forced to proceed at a hurried lumbering gait. I still covered much more ground than I could have in my normal human form.
Even as I neared them Celior recovered his balance and twisted free of the dragon’s grip. Rolling the two of them fought on the ground like two drunken brawlers. If drunks had scales, wings, and glowed… I thought. Celior had the advantage now, using the weight of his body to press the dragon into the crater they had formed while his hands attempted to rip the beast’s head from its neck. The deity’s wounds had already vanished and his beauty was horrible to watch as he began to exert himself, pulling the dragon’s head inexorably upward.
How do you kill something that heals instantly? I wondered. My anger had faded somewhat, slowly being replaced by fear. Despite everything, Celior seemed more powerful than ever and there were no signs of him weakening.
I had little time for thinking, since it appeared my only ally was about to lose his head. Diving into the fray I wrapped the shining god in my arms and squeezed. Laughing Celior began glowing brighter than the sun and I felt my body beginning to melt and sag where it touched him. I couldn’t afford to let him get airborne again, so I did the opposite.
“Let’s see how you like the center of my power,” I ground out between granite teeth and I redoubled my efforts. Contracting my arms I felt his back break and the god twisted in pain. Stretching outward with my thoughts I let my body sink downward, into the ground, dragging the struggling deity with me. Sorry Penny, I thought with regret. I couldn’t keep that promise Rose wanted me to make for you.
Ever deeper we went and still I clutched Celior tightly. I could feel him weakening now, or perhaps it was just my growing strength, but I was able to encase him in the massive stone coffin that my body had become for him. Moira Centyr had defeated Balinthor this way, I remembered. She had drawn him down and when her power had been great enough she had crushed him to death. The resulting explosion had changed the face of the earth and created a new sea.
That will kill everyone above for tens of miles, came Moira’s voice in my mind.
How close is Penny?
What of your other friends? What of the people? she answered.
I felt a sense of anguish and desperation. I can’t have everything, I replied.
You cannot do this, not here.
Then I’ll move him, I said mentally.
There is a better way, she replied and then her mind touched mine and showed me.
Descending deeper I moved down beneath the crust of the world, into a realm of extreme heat and pressures. There I began crushing Celior, until his size was what it had been when I first saw him. Pushing further I compressed him until he had become nothing more than a brilliantly glowing sphere about two inches across. I reached within my massive rocky body and drew forth a power that was intensely concentrated and began weaving it in deep red lines around the trapped god. The blood of the earth, I thought to myself, for blood was the closest thing I could think to the appearance of that power.
Using my memory of the stasis enchantment and something akin to intuition I wove a series of runes that would lock the god’s twisted mind into a timeless and unchanging state. When I had finished he no longer struggled against his gem-like form but still his power was so great that it warped even time around it, causing energy to bleed outward. Drawing upon my strength I encased his enchanted form with a dense crystal that would absorb his power as it leaked out.
I’ll have to make sure the power is used or drained away regularly, I thought. Otherwise the giant diamond would eventually explode with a force that would make my iron bombs seem paltry in comparison. And the malign being within would be free again, I mentally added.
When I had finished I spent long minutes resting. The deep earth was comfortable and now that I no longer had to struggle against my foe it soothed my ragged emotions. My pains began ebbing away. My body no longer had any distinct margin or border and the deep drumming of the earth drew my tired spirit out. I should sleep, came a thought I hardly recognized as my own any longer.
Mordecai, no! Wake up! You must return. Don’t give up now. Moira Centyr’s voice nagged at my consciousness.
More from irritation than any desire to please her I lifted myself up through the dark layers of earth and stone until I once again lay upon the street in Albamarl. The dragon still lay nearby, bleeding and nursing a terrible wound to its neck. The sight of it roused my mind and brought back thoughts of my humanity.
Lifting my massive stone form I moved carefully closer to the dragon, unsure what it might do. “Can you understand me?” I said in a voice so deep and booming it surprised me.
Its eyes opened and fixed on me with a look of such intelligence I could not help but think it understood my language. Its mouth opened for a second but no sound emerged and a look of what I thought must be frustration passed across its strange reptilian features. “Are you Gareth Gaelyn?” I asked, thinking it might be able to nod or respond in some other way.
Before my eyes the creature began to shrink and its flesh flowed like water reshaping itself into something far different and much smaller. Seconds later I found myself staring do
wn at a bizarre looking man. His skin held a strange lustrous tint and his eyes were slitted like those of a cat… or a dragon. Utterly naked he had no evidence of external genitalia and his belly was covered in large scales much like those of a snake.
Looking down at himself he cursed, “This isn’t right.” He seemed surprised when he heard the words emerge from his mouth.
I repeated my question, “Are you Gareth Gaelyn?”
Staring upward he answered, “I think I used to be, but I am unsure. I was human once.”
“Why did you help me?”
“I heard the earth rouse itself a few days ago. I came to find the reason, and to feed,” he said in slow and oddly accented words. “The shining god reminded me of my crime and my shame.”
His words made me anxious, particularly his mention of ‘feeding’. I wondered if he might repeat his first slaughter of the men he had meant to save. Before I could put my fears into words he spoke again, “Are you a wizard?”
“I am,” I replied simply, not knowing what more to add.
“That form is dangerous. More so even than mine, it will eat at your mind,” he said somberly.
His words reminded me that I still had not resumed my original flesh and blood body. Closing my great stone eyes I remembered Moira’s lesson and visualized myself as I had been before. The memory of my burns flitted through my mind for a second and I stopped, that thought had come close to killing me. Clearing my thoughts again I remembered myself as I had been before the burning light, healthy and whole.
When I opened my eyes again I saw the world in more normal hues and standing in front of me was Gareth Gaelyn. He was close enough now I could see how thoroughly reptilian he looked in every particular. “I think I still have my mind intact,” I told him.
He smiled oddly, showing rows of needle sharp teeth. “You think so, but each time you leave bits of yourself behind. Small things you don’t even notice. And you bring new things back without realizing it.”
“Will you return to the world of men?” I asked him.
He shook his head, “This is as close as I can come to your form now. The very thought of going further repulses me.”
“Then why did you take this form?” I asked, gesturing at his humanoid body.
“I’m not sure,” he said carefully. “I think just to warn you, and to thank you for helping me settle my debt.”
“Debt?”
“I failed to stop Balinthor, but I think today has settled the score,” he replied walking away from me.
“Where are you going?”
“To feed,” he replied.
“On what?” I asked.
He glanced back and showed me his teeth, “Whatever I find, human. My debt is settled and I must eat.” Saying that he began changing again and moments later the dragon was back.
“Take care where you find your meals dragon!” I shouted as he began to beat his wings. “If I find you eating humans I will not stand idly by.”
I watched him fly away through the long afternoon sunlight. The palace nearby was ruined. Walking back into it I decided to find my friends, or whatever was left of them.
Chapter 46
Now that I was of a more modest size the damage done to the palace was much more apparent. Large swaths of the complex had been utterly ruined. Rubble and wreckage were strewn about willy-nilly… as if two titans had run amok with giant hammers. The destruction was far from complete however, for at least three quarters of the place remained utterly untouched.
In places I found perfectly sound areas bordered by sections where even the stones had been crushed into gravel. If I hadn’t known the cause I might have thought some bizarre earthquake followed by a tornado had done the damage, but even that explanation wouldn’t have been sufficient.
As I walked (and sometimes picked my way through) the palace, I searched with my mind for my companions. Scanning the undamaged areas I found Rose and Elaine had been laid side by side on a bed in one of the guest suites. Frighteningly a section less than twenty yards from them had been crushed and it appeared that mere chance had saved the two unconscious women.
Dorian still lay where I had last seen him, in the now collapsed main throne room. He was partly buried under stone and rubble but I could tell he was still breathing so I decided to check on the two ladies first. The last time I had seen Rose she had been bleeding profusely from some sort of wound. I found no sign of Penny.
Moira, where is Penny? I asked mentally as I headed for the room where Rose and Elaine lay.
She is with me. Fear not, she is safe, came the reply.
Bring her to me, I commanded.
Moira’s answer had a strange feel to it when she responded, as though strong emotions were overwhelming her thoughts. Not yet, we are… talking. I will bring her back when she is ready.
That was interesting, and it did little to relieve my anxiety. Pressing onward I found the room that Rose was in, I needed to make sure she wasn’t dying before I addressed anything else. I found her lying on a large bed where it appeared she had been hastily dumped. Her arms and legs were askew and by their unnatural positions I didn’t think she had moved at all since Cyhan had presumably left her there. That didn’t bode well, normally even unconscious people move a bit.
Elaine was curled up at the foot of the bed and a cursory examination showed she had nothing more wrong with her than a large goose egg on the back of her head, along with an assortment of scratches. I passed over her immediately and set my hand over Rose’s forehead.
Her skin was cold but not clammy for she wasn’t sweating, in fact if felt remarkably similar to what I would have expected from a corpse but I could tell her heart was still beating. Her gown had been ripped and a large wadded up ball of the fabric had been tied against her abdomen. Even so blood had seeped through the material and the bed beneath her was soaked with it. Shit! I thought and immediately I focused my senses on her wound.
She had been stabbed and likely with a very sharp blade, for her assailant had ripped the blade out with a slashing motion rather than simply withdrawing it. Cyhan had probably had to tuck her innards back in before binding her wound. I had no more time for thought, forgetting my weariness I began sealing arteries and torn vessels, knitting everything back together as quickly as possible before she could lose any more blood.
Unlike the terrible wound Penny had suffered once this one was much simpler and I was able to effectively repair the injuries without trying to work from the inside as I had done before. The biggest problem was loss of blood; she had lost so much of it that I feared her body might shut down from that simple lack. Her heart was beating at an incredible rate trying to make up for the paucity of blood.
I glanced down at the brilliant golden stone I held in my hand and wished I could heal the way the gods were able to. I had seen them heal far worse and yet I struggled with something as simple as a mere shortage of blood. In desperation I briefly considered connecting her blood vessels with those of the girl next to her and trying to share some of Elaine’s blood between them.
More likely you’ll kill both of them, I chided myself. I didn’t know enough to try something like that. Instead I found a pitcher of clean water and used my magic to coerce it through the air and then slip it through her mouth and down her throat. I filled her stomach halfway and stopped, and then I stood back and wiped my forehead. I could only hope that it would help.
A wave of fatigue washed over me and I knew I couldn’t keep going for much longer. I needed rest like a starving man needs food. I ignored the impulse to lie down on the floor and instead I moved Elaine close beside Rose, arranging her so that she might help keep the other woman warm and then I wrapped them both gently in the large comforter that lay underneath them.
Closing my eyes I fought the urge to sleep and sent my mind outward again. Briefly I checked on Dorian… he was still breathing steadily and his heartbeat was strong so I moved on. Searching the grounds I finally found the man I was searching
for, Edward, King of Lothion. Soon to be the late-King, I added mentally.
He had had plenty of time to escape, but for the stone column that had fallen and pinned him beneath a pile of rubble. Moving steadily through the palace and across torn gardens I drew closer and I could tell that his left leg had been crushed. I had trouble imagining a better man to suffer such misfortune. As I neared him I felt Cyhan approaching from a different direction and I paused to wait for his arrival.
He saw me standing amid the rubble and changed direction to meet me. I called out to him when he was close, “Thank you.”
Cyhan frowned, “What’s that for?”
“You freed Penny and Dorian didn’t you? I’m fairly certain Edward wouldn’t have had him locked up with his armor and weapons,” I said as if it were a matter of plain fact. “I also appreciate your help getting Rose and the girl out of there,” I added.
The older warrior’s eyes appraised me silently but he only grunted and gave a small nod. “Have you found the King?” he asked, ignoring my gratitude.
“He’s close by,” I said guardedly. I still had doubts regarding Cyhan’s motivations. “First I’d like to know where you and I stand.”
A ripple went through the big man’s shoulders as his muscles twitched. “Twenty years ago I gave my oaths to the king and I have not yet broken them. So long as that remains true the only thing that can change between us is either your death or my own.”
I felt a surge of anger at the other man’s irrational behavior. Clinging to his outdated vows he wouldn’t be satisfied till one of us was dead, even though he obviously no longer believed in the reasons behind those vows. “Why don’t we just settle things now then,” I ground out. “I’m sick of waiting for you to try and kill me.”
Cyhan glanced at me and then looked away, scanning the area for some sign of Edward. “I’m not a fool, nor do I plan to issue a challenge and face you in some knightly bout. My only chance of killing you will be when you are either unconscious or badly wounded. Pray I do not find you so. Where is the King?”