The numbers of her army waxed and waned with each spiral. Painted warriors fell in battle and brown-robed citizens emerged from houses to take up their swords. Kath led a wild-eyed swarm of tattooed warriors and starving urchins bent on vengeance. Her makeshift army stormed ever upward like a force of nature refusing to be denied. They showed no mercy. Even if she wanted to, Kath could not have stopped them. Every priest was doomed to death, torn to shreds by the mob, their grisly heads mounted on pikes like war trophies. Kath a.s.sumed they"d earned their fate, that evil begat evil, but the gory heads seemed like an ill omen, a barbarous act mocking the goodwill of the G.o.ds. She sent a swift prayer to Valin, hoping she never lost his favor.
Dawn streaked the eastern sky and still they fought.
Weariness a.s.saulted her. Exhaustion became a second enemy, yet they dared not stop lest the soldiers regroup. Tired beyond the telling, Kath rounded the final bend, shocked to realize they"d reached the last gate. "Of course it"s gold." Tall and imposing, the golden gates portrayed scenes of evil, cities destroyed, people enslaved, a fitting entrance to the palace of the Mordant.
Beside her, Blaine leaned on his blue sword, blood spatters marring his silver surcoat. "Can you?"
Kath shook her head. Countless pa.s.sages through the dark walls had taken their toll. "I dare not, not without rest. My magic is spent. If I enter the wall I will not leave it."
Blaine nodded. "Then we"ll do it the old fashioned way." He raised his voice in command. "Bring the ram!"
A dozen burly warriors carried the crossbeam from the last gate. The ma.s.sive beam served as a makeshift ram. Her painted warriors raised scavenged shields above the ram, forming a protective sh.e.l.l of gold and black. Like an armored turtle, the ram bore down on the golden gate. Spears and crossbow bolts rained death from the wall but they could not slow the turtle. Bristling with feathered bolts, the ram barreled toward the gate.
Beside her, Blaine whispered, "Almost there!"
But the sense of victory eluded her.
Once, twice, thrice, the ram knocked against the golden gates. A great boom echoed through the street. And then the ram broke through. The golden doors buckled and broke. The way was open. They"d breached the last tier, reaching the palace of the Mordant.
A great cheer swept through her army. With a roar, they rushed forward, eager to claim the ultimate prize, but Kath entered with dread, all of her nightmares crowding close.
The gates opened onto a vast circular courtyard. A royal palace dominated the far side, like nothing Kath had ever seen. Gilded steps led to a great crescent-shaped palace adorned with golden columns and black marble. Grand and imposing, it reeked of power and opulence. Kath wondered what horrors lurked within.
Steel clanged against steel. Small battles raged across the courtyard, pockets of guards making a desperate stand, but they were soon cut down. Her army swept across the yard like a tidal wave, an unstoppable force bent on victory.
Kath followed at a measured pace, her sword in her hand, Bear and Boar at her back. And then she noticed the detail beneath her feet. Dark runes marred the silvery granite. Carved from black marble and inset in gray granite, the runes spiraled inward toward the courtyard"s heart, like a trail of dark magic, a curse writ in stone. The runes seemed to writhe with evil, daring her to read them, a dark incantation waiting to be woken. She followed the runes, drawn toward the center. At the heart of the runic spiral, the peak of a dark monolith thrust up through the courtyard like a primal force. And on the side of that monolith was a doorway, a dark cleft in the stone.
Kath shuddered in fear. She"d seen that doorway in the worst of her nightmares. It called to her like a fate that could not be escaped.
She crossed the courtyard, oblivious to the fighting.
A wounded soldier reared up in her path, a sword in his hand, an ugly leer on his face. "You"re mine, witch."
"Svala!" Bear leaped in front, crossing swords with the soldier.
A hand grabbed her ankle, but Boar attacked, severing the grip.
Swords clashed across the courtyard, yet she did not care. Kath walked pa.s.sed, drawn toward the doorway. She entered the cleft, a chill spearing her soul. Steep stairs spiraled down, torches lining the rough-hewn walls. The very air reeked of evil.
Blaine called to her, but she did not answer.
She took the stairs two at a time. Cold and dank, the shadows flitted around her like swarms of bats. Sensing steel would be of little use; she sheathed her sword and reached for the amber pyramid. Light glowed in her mind like a shield. Down and around, the stairs delved deep, as if she descended to the very pits of h.e.l.l. Even the air tried to strangle her, so thick with evil she nearly choked. Fighting her own dread, she raced down the steps, desperate to prove her nightmares wrong.
Footsteps followed behind, a fading echo. Friend or foe she did not know, but she could not wait. A bonfire of urgency burned through her blood. Kath raced the darkness into the depths.
Down and around she followed the last spiral, and then the stairs opened to a small chamber. A ma.s.sive copper door blocked the way. Two guards startled alert. Bristling with spears, they leaped toward her. But Kath never slowed. She reached for her axes, two whirls of death. The guards died where they stood, clattering to the stone floor.
Kath stood before the Door.
Incised with runes, the great copper door was green with age. Round like a portal, it reeked of time and death and evil, a prelude to nightmares. Kath gripped the amber pyramid, wondering if she dared even touch the rune-covered copper.
The Door shuddered open.
Moving of its own accord, it gaped like an invitation...or the maw of a trap. A rotting stench poured out, the smell of sulphur and blood and death, a taunt of fear. Kath whispered a prayer to Valin and then plunged through the Door.
She entered a cavern carved from nightmares. Red stalact.i.tes hung from the vaulted ceiling like drops of frozen blood. Braziers belched flames, tongues of fire licking the ceiling. Shadows capered across the cavern walls. And there, at the heart of the chamber, chained to the floor like an offering...Duncan!
"No!" The scream tore from her heart. "Not you!"
He lifted his head. "Kath?"
She raced toward him, kneeling by his side, overcome by the sight of his broken body. "What have they done to you?"
Fear shimmered in his eyes. "Are you real or an illusion come to tempt me?"
She touched his face, covering his mouth with a kiss. "I"m real, beloved."
He gasped, staring up at her, as if drinking in her face. "I knew you"d come." Love shown from his eyes, tearing at her heart.
She longed to take him in her arms and hold him close, to feel his heart beating against hers, but oh the daggers. Pierced by a hundred silver knives, they"d ruined his magnificent body. She shuddered to think of the pain, wondering that he still lived. "We need to get you out of here."
Words tumbled out of him, full of urgency. "I never told him about you. He does not know what you carry. Your secret is safe and so is Danya."
"Later, tell me later, but first your chains."
Fear flickered across his face. He threw a glance toward the ceiling. "Beware, the shadows listen."
She followed his gaze and saw it was true. Shadows broiled across the ceiling, taking sinister shapes. Horns and tails, claws and faces, the shadows took the form of demons, staring down at her like a ravenous horde of nightmares. A sibilant hiss whispered through the cavern. "Give us the Quickner! The power is ours!" Shadowy claws stretched towards her.
Kath ducked away.
Duncan convulsed in pain. "It"s a trap! You must go!"
"Not without you!" She tugged on his chains, desperate to free him, but he was bound tight. Drawing her sword, she attacked his shackles. Steel clanged against steel, drawing sparks, but the shackles did not break. Desperation lent her strength. Again and again, she struck with all her might, but the sword did no damage, as if the dark metal was spelled against harm. Kath sobbed, "It won"t break!" She clawed at the chain, frantic to win his freedom.
The shadows grew bold, darting toward her. "Give us the Quickner!"
Huddled on the floor, she slashed at them with her sword, but steel could not pierce shadows. Her hand crept to the crystal dagger, but a sixth sense warned her to keep it hidden.
Emboldened, the shadows grew close.
Duncan yelled, "Run! You must run!"
And then Blaine appeared in the doorway. Like a hero of old, his silver surcoat shimmered in the torchlight, his sapphire sword in his hand.
The shadows shrieked, retreating to the stalact.i.tes.
"Blaine! Your sword!"
Her command conquered his shock. Blaine rushed forward, lifting his sword in a two handed grip. He struck at Duncan"s shackles. Sparks flew and metal screamed. Blue steel blazed bright like a sword of legend. Once, twice, and the dark metal shattered, releasing the first shackle.
Shadows broiled overhead, a flock of angry demons.
Blaine attacked the second shackle.
Duncan howled in pain, his face contorted like a thing possessed. "He"s come! The Mordant comes! Don"t let him see you!"
Fear pulsed through the chamber.
The shadows gibbered overhead, dark claws reaching down like a flock of starving vultures.
Kath stared at Blaine. "Get him free! No matter what happens, get him out of here!"
Blaine struck a mighty blow and the second shackle crumbled to dust.
Duncan writhed against the floor, his face a mask of pain, his mismatched eyes clouding with an inky Darkness. "He comes! Get back!"
The force of his warning drove Kath backwards, deeper into the chamber. She crouched on the floor, willing Blaine to hurry.
Blaine leaped to the third set of shackles, his blue sword flashing against the darkness. Metal screeched as if in pain and the third shackle sundered.
Overhead, the shadows laughed.
Duncan convulsed on the floor. His back arched, his mouth stretched impossibly wide, as if he swallowed darkness. And then his voice changed. Another voice, deeper and full of malice, filled the cavern. "I see you, knight of the Octagon!"
Blaine froze, his blue sword held poised above his head.
Kath gaped, knowing she heard the voice of the Mordant.
"You breach my citadel but the prize is hollow. The battle for the south is already lost. The Octagon is broken, scattered before my army. And your king lies dead, spitted upon my sword."
Father! Kath stifled a whimper, a splinter of pain piercing her heart.
"You come here at the bidding of the Kiralynn monks. Yet you follow a doomed cause. They have deceived you. The monks will fail, condemned to a terrible end just like the Octagon. I alone will rule all of Erdhe."
Kath"s hand crept toward the crystal dagger...but this was Duncan not the Mordant. Yet what if this was her one chance to slay evil? A chance to defeat the Mordant within his very lair? But her heart cried against it, she could not harm Duncan.
"I alone am the one true power of Erdhe." The Mordant"s voice boomed through the chamber, full of dark seduction. "Serve me and you shall live. Kneel to me and I will raise you up, granting you powers you cannot imagine!"
Kath stared at Blaine willing him to strike, but the knight remained still as stone, an odd look on his face.
The Mordant"s voice grew in strength. "Swear your sword to me and you will have more than one lifetime of pleasure! Kneel to me and become much more than a base-born knight!"
Blaine shuddered, as if released from a spell. "No! Never!" His blue sword struck true. Sparks flew and the dark metal shattered. The last chain broke into a thousand pieces.
"You"ve failed, knight. Remove him and he dies! He"s mine or nothing!"
Blaine yelled, "Go to h.e.l.l!"
"Then feel my wrath!"
Tremors shook the cavern. The earth began to shudder and shake, as if a slumbering dragon sought to emerge. Shadows gibbered across the ceiling, claws and fangs reaching down. Stalact.i.tes crashed to the floor, hurled like stone spears. Blaine stumbled and fell, a sheen of blood on his forehead. Kath lurched forward, desperate to reach Duncan.
Something grabbed Kath"s hair, yanking her back.
Something else grabbed her ankle, a cold, searing touch.
Kath fell to her knees. The shadows had gained substance! Darker and somehow more dense, the shadows pounced. Icy fingers poked and clawed, trying to pull her to the ground.
Kath whirled away. Drawing her sword, she slashed at them.
They evaded her blade, as if the touch of steel somehow hurt. Slashing left and right, she pushed them back, her blade becoming a blur. Steel proved unable to kill them, yet they shied away, lurking just beyond reach. Making a final slash, she turned and ran for Duncan. Grabbing his arm, she began pulling him from the pentacle.
The shadows attacked, clawing at her, a searing cold. She struck at them with her sword, struggling to pull Duncan with just one hand.
The cavern rumbled and shook, a powerful tremor. Stalact.i.tes crashed down, releasing a hail of dagger-sharp chips.
Shadows swooped towards Blaine, too many to count. His blue steel sword slashed through them. Gibbering screams, they whirled away.
Kath sheathed her sword, desperate to pull Duncan to safety.
Bear and Boar appeared at the doorway.
"Help me!"
A stalact.i.te crashed down, nearly impaling Duncan. Rock chips flew in all directions, a storm of stone. The floor tilted and shook like the back of a mighty beast. Blaine struggled to his feet, his blue sword clutched in his hand. The others leaped to help.
Overhead, the shadows howled in rage.
Bear and Boar lifted Duncan to their shoulders. Staggering like drunks, they bore him from the chamber, narrowly avoiding the stone spears. They raced up the long spiral of stairs, climbing as if demons chased them. Kath followed, fearing for Duncan. The earth shook like an angry beast yet the pa.s.sage remained open. The stairs stretched to forever, but the dawn light finally appeared at the cleft.
They stumbled from the doorway.
Tremors shook the citadel, but these were mild compared to the nightmare below.
"Put him down!" They laid Duncan on the courtyard. Kath cradled his head. "Come back to me." She covered his mouth with a kiss.
His eyes flashed open, one golden and the other sapphire blue. His mismatched gaze was clear, without any taint of Darkness. "I knew you"d save me."
She bit back a sob.
His gaze roved to the open sky, toward the dawn light. Seagulls circled overhead, releasing a mournful cry. He took a deep breath and then his gaze sought her face, like a man seeking a long lost sanctuary. "I longed for green, only to find it in your eyes."
His words lodged in her heart, a searing mixture of joy and pain. She almost cried, but forced the tears back, drinking in his voice, his mismatched stare, every detail dear. "Stay with me."
A stolen moment stretched to forever but then he gasped and the pain returned, and with it duty. "Beloved, there"s much I must tell you."
"Let me find a healer first."