***
The demon was slain, but the spell that bound the others did not fade. The wisps of fog were still wrapped around them, leaving them unable to move or speak. They couldn't even blink. And Prince Vannas was still lost in his trance. He hadn't moved a muscle the whole time Lannon had been battling the demon, his gaze still fixed on the White Flamestone. Lannon wondered how he could stand there with his hands cupped before him without growing tired.
"Can you free the others?" Lannon asked Vorden.
"No," Vorden replied. "My sorcery doesn't work that way."
Lannon sighed. "We have three sorcerers here, and none of us can break a dead demon's spell."
"I guess we stand guard and wait," said Vorden. "I know some of those Ghouls are still creeping about."
"With their master slain," said Jace, "I doubt they will attack."
Lannon sat at a table and worked on healing his ribs. He was tired of getting injured and dealing with severe pain, but he kept battling enemies of extreme power. He needed some easier foes for a change.
The others sat across from him. Everyone was hungry, with the smell of spicy meat strong in the air--but they would not touch the food, knowing it could be contaminated by the Deep Shadow.
"Sorry about your head wounds," said Lannon, sheepishly.
"Think nothing of it," said Vorden. "You were not in control. I'm just disappointed that you defeated me."
"Yes, think nothing of it," said Jace, sarcastically. "What's a little skull bashing between friends now and then?"
Lannon was flooded with guilt, for he believed he would have killed Vorden if Jace hadn't distracted him for a moment. Lannon had been fully prepared to bring the blade down. Would he have stopped himself at the last moment? He would never know the answer to that, and it gnawed at him.
"I know what you're thinking, Lannon," said Vorden, "because I feel it all the time. You wonder how you could have behaved like a monster. I would like to tell you that you'll get over the guilt, but I never have--and I likely never will. You're always going to regret this."
"I appreciate your honesty," said Lannon, though that wasn't entirely true. Part of him didn't want to hear such things.
"I won't lie to you," said Vorden. "What happened here is something you're going to have to face again. You have it in you to succumb to the Deep Shadow like your predecessors did. If you didn't, the demon could never have seized control of your mind."
Lannon knew Vorden spoke the truth. The strange battle lust that had been overwhelming him lately was surely a warning sign. The demon had snared him because he had been ripe for the snaring.
"But I can help you resist," said Vorden. "Because unlike you, I have to resist the Deep Shadow every day, and thus my wisdom has grown. Together, I think we can find a way to continue to serve the Divine Essence."
"Vorden speaks wise words," said Jace, blowing pipe smoke in Lannon's face and making him cough.
"Could you breathe in another direction?" asked Lannon. He spoke absently, his mind still on the earlier battle. He envisioned his blade poised above Vorden, and he shuddered. He wondered how Vorden found the strength to live with the knowledge of his evil deeds. Somehow, Vorden was able to partially accept that his actions weren't his fault--that he had been thoroughly controlled by the will of Tharnin. Could Lannon learn to do the same?
"My apologies," said Jace, turning his head to blow out more smoke. "Obviously not everyone shares my love of the pipe. But you're still young. When you've lived as long as I have, you find yourself pleasantly distracted by the simple things in life." He sniffed the air and groaned. "And right now, I'm being pleasantly distracted by the smell of roast pig. My goodness does that smell wonderful! Why does it have to be contaminated by the Deep Shadow? When Dallsa gets free, perhaps she could cleanse a piece of meat or two for me so I can eat."
Vorden shook his head in disbelief. "It's a wonder you haven't died from too much food, drink, or that foul leaf you smoke."
After several hours, the foggy chains began to dissipate. Aldreya was the first to break free, and she calmly approached them, leading Prince Vannas by the arm.
"Welcome back, my dear," said Jace.
"If possible," she said, "we must find our horses. We will need them if we are to continue our journey to Scalmfort Island." She smiled at them. "By the way, excellent work in slaying the demon. I felt terribly helpless watching the fight, but I knew you would prevail. You three did something that Divine Knights have tried to do for centuries--slay what might have been Dremlock's second most dangerous enemy to King Verlamer. There will be celebrating all over Silverland when news of this gets around."
"What about the prince?" asked Lannon.
"A trance like this is not unheard of," said Aldreya. "Sorcerers have been known to reach such deep states of meditation and focus that they forget to eat or drink for days and are unaware of what is happening around them. I suspect Prince Vannas is in such a state and his ability to use the White Flamestone will have improved when he finally comes out of it."
"Might as well sit down and wait," said Lannon.
Lothrin was the next one to break free--about an hour later--and he immediately ran to Prince Vannas and shook him. "Awaken, my cousin!" he cried, a look of despair on his face. "Don't let the power consume you!"
"The prince is fine," said Aldreya. "This is for the better."
"But look at him," said Lothrin, gazing at Vannas' frozen face. "Does he look fine to you? It seems to me his mind is imprisoned by the gem. All this trouble that nearly destroyed us is because of this White Flamestone. It is turning my cousin into some...some creature that thinks it is a deity."
"Calm yourself," said Aldreya. "Show some respect for the Divine Essence, for it was our god who chose Prince Vannas to wield the Flamestone. You talk as if our god is evil and selfish--out to destroy our cousin. The Flamestone is all that stands in the way of Bellis, and I am extremely grateful we have it back."
"Yet I am not," said Lothrin. "I wish it was lost forever."
"Lothrin, that's ridiculous," said Lannon. "Without the White Flamestone, Bellis would rule our kingdom, and we might all be dead."
"You don't know that," said Lothrin. "Bellis never actually conquered Dremlock, remember? The fighting was still going on in the tunnels beneath. And it was you and your famous duel that ultimately drove them from the kingdom. The White Flamestone is not necessary and will lead us to our doom--as it almost did in this fortress. Sooner or later Prince Vannas will go too far and become a force of destruction that no one will be able to control. For some reason, you all fail to see this coming to pass. Even our god fails to see it."
"It's rather arrogant of you, Lothrin," said Aldreya, "to believe yourself wiser than the Divine Essence. I think your fears have become irrational and have overcome your good sense."
"Irrational?" said Lothrin, with a look of disgust. He pointed at Vannas. "No, this is irrational. He can't even look away from the stone!"
"This is sorcery business," said Jace. "And you, Lothrin, are not a sorcerer. You're a man of nature, who views things from a simple and practical perspective. But there is nothing simple or straightforward about Prince Vannas' connection to the White Flamestone. Nothing at all. Even I cannot comprehend it."
"Listen to Jace," said Aldreya. "His words are wisdom."
"All I know," said Lothrin, "is that the Flamestone led my cousin into the lair of a foul demon. And the gem still consumes his mind. If we hadn't come here and defeated the demon, what would have become of the prince? Surely the demon would have found a way to destroy him and claim the Flamestone. The Divine Essence is not protecting my cousin. In fact, just the opposite is true."
Aldreya's face darkened. "Lothrin, you need to be wary of what you're saying. Speaking out against the Divine Essence is not tolerated. That sort of talk can result in punishment."
Lothrin gazed at her defiantly. "I would rather lose my Knighthood than watch my cousin turn into some power-crazed mo
nster. Remember, there is a good reason that Olzet Ka placed the Crimson Flamestone on a bed of straw and cast a spell over it that no one has been able to break. He knew it was too dangerous for mortal hands. And so is this White Flamestone."
"Too dangerous?" said Jace. "Yes, but only if an even greater danger isn't present. After the defeat of the Barloak Demons, the threat of the Deep Shadow was severely diminished. The Crimson Flamestone was not needed. But even Olzet Ka knew that terrible threats could rise again, and so he left a possibility that someday the stone could be removed from the straw...by one of his descendants."
Lothrin reached up and touched the leaf-shaped birthmark on his cheek. "My future son," he whispered. "Ethrin..."
Jace nodded. "Do not shun the Flamestones, Lothrin, for your fate seems bound to them--and the fate of your future son."
"If I ever have a son," said Lothrin, "I will not subject him to such a curse as the one that has been inflicted upon Prince Vannas."
"Eventually," said Jace, "I suspect you will change your mind about that. As I said before, only the Flamestones can stop Bellis now."
"Prince Vannas has been blessed," said Aldreya, "not cursed. And I have heard enough of this. Do not speak ill of our god again, Lothrin."
"Can we just wait in silence?" asked Lannon, not liking the tension in the air. "I need to heal my cracked ribs."
"Good idea," said Jace. "I need to heal my cracked skull."
"Sorry," Lannon mumbled.