Delver Magic: Book 05 - Chain of Bargains (27 page)

"You're pulling in too much
magic. Even now, I am absorbing most of what you're drawing in from the land.
It has erased almost all of your external awareness, but what happens if you
stop breathing."

"I guess I'll die. Is that so
bad? I live... I die. There's really no difference."

"There is a great difference,
but I won't have that debate with you now because there is something else you
must consider."

"What's that?" she
asked, but she didn't seem to care.

"What happens to the magic
inside of you?"

"I don't understand,"
Heteera admitted.

"Even with all of my
abilities, I couldn't control all of the energy that's currently trapped within
you. If it flowed out of you in one colossal burst, there would be damage..
great damage."

"You're just trying to trick
me. If I die, the magic will just release itself back into the land."

"Normally, I would agree with
you, but these are not normal circumstances. The barrier has walled off the
magic from your consciousness, but it is still within you. If you die, your
essence will move on, but the magic will stay in this realm."

"That's what I said. The
magic will just escape."

"It's not about escaping you,
it's about escaping the barrier. The barrier exists only as long as you do. It
was constructed within your essence. When your essence is gone, the barrier
will have no foundation. Yes, the magic is pure, but it is surging within its
containment. When that containment fails, it will rush out like a tidal wave
and it will seek direction."

"But I can't give it
direction. I have no control. That's what I'm talking about."

"I know, but you've absorbed
the magic. While the energy remains pure, it now seeks purpose. I don't know
why, but it does. Once the barrier breaks within you it will search for any
remnant of thought or desire. I can't imagine what might happen, but I know it
will be devastating."

"Are you telling me I cannot
die?"

"Not without dire consequences."

There was no shriek of agony, no
painful denial. It was not death Heteera sought. She searched more for the safe
haven of oblivion. She made a rather simple request to acknowledge her current
state.

"I'm still alive now,
right?"

"Yes, but I don't know how
long that will last. The magic is completely consuming your consciousness, and
even the unconscious portions of your essence that keep you alive. Ultimately,
you will stop breathing, your heart will stop beating. You will die, and the
magic will explode out of you."

"Am I a danger at this
instant?"

"No, but I can't continue to
absorb this level of energy forever. When I leave your essence, the magic will
erase what is left of your mind. The danger will almost instantly become
critical."

For the first time, Heteera spoke
with a degree of confidence.

"I've been focused on pulling
in increased amounts of magic. I was trying to completely extinguish myself. I
see that's not possible. Fine. It doesn't matter any more. I don't have to do
more. I've removed enough of myself to find what I need."

Enin saw one last chance to try to
help the sorceress.

"If you were able to direct
the flow of magic, then maybe you have more control then you will allow."

Heteera, however, took no comfort
in the offering.

"I've always been able to
absorb vast amounts of power. It's using it that I'm incapable of, but that's
no longer an issue. I will cease absorbing additional magic. I will only take
in enough to maintain what I have now. I will allow the barrier to hold and my
body to remain in its current state. I will not die, and I don't have to live.
I have found solace in the emptiness."

"Are you sure about
this?"

Surprisingly, the sorceress asked
for alternatives.

"Do you have any other
solutions?"

"At this point, no."

"Then, I'm sure."

Immediately, Enin felt the flow of
magic diminish to a trickle. He ceased all attempts to capture it and let it
refresh the barrier as well as Heteera's life force.

"Satisfied?" Heteera
asked, but her tone revealed a complete indifference to the wizard's concerns.

He was not satisfied, but the
wizard had nothing left to offer. He pulled himself from the sorceress' essence
without another word. When his own awareness returned to his mortal body, he
turned his focus to Jure.

"Do not attempt to access the
magic within her, but tell me what you feel."

Somewhat stunned at the abruptness
of the request, Jure reached out to the waves of energy surrounding the
sorceress as well as the flow of magic he previously felt surge through the
room.

"It's less," he noted,
"a great deal less."

"Yes, she was responsible for
the increase. She tried to bury herself in the magic. I explained the threat
and she acknowledged it. She has reduced the absorption of magic. She left
enough of herself that she will remain this way. The danger has passed."

"So what do we do now?"

"Nothing."

"Excuse me?"

"She's chosen isolation over
madness. It was what she wanted."

"And you're going to leave it
that way?"

Enin sighed.

"I hope not to, but right
now, I just don't have a solution. She's stable again. For now, it's the best
we can hope for. Look after her."

Jure simply nodded, baffled and
distressed as Enin left the room.

Holli and Ryson stepped upon the
western bridge that led into Huntston, disregarding the guards that waited at
the other side. The elf showed little to no concern over the soldiers—they were
mosquitoes buzzing around in the distance, nothing more. She didn't even place
the forester's cap over her ears. Instead, she focused on the large warehouse
that stood just behind the guard shack across the river. According to
Huntston's captain, it was there that the goblins congregated.

She couldn't sense them from the
far side of the bridge, but she did feel the flow of magic. It overwhelmed
everything and made it difficult for her to focus on the location of any dark
creatures. Just as it had done on their first visit, the energy coursed through
the town. There was no spell activity, no taint of evil intention. The energy
just poured in from every direction and then flowed back out, as if the town
itself called to the magic and then simply released it on a whim. The entire
concept defied logic and it needled at her desire for comprehension.

The entire puzzle burdened her.
She did not approach such quandaries with a delver's curiosity. She faced them
with an elf guard's purpose... threats could not be fully faced and removed
unless they were understood. Turmoil had come to the valleys and it was leading
to a crisis back in Connel and Burbon. As a guard, it was her duty to protect
her home, even if that home wasn't an elf camp in Dark Spruce, but a city
filled with humans and dwarves.

She and Ryson had uncovered many
surprising details about the upheaval in the Great
Valleys, but no matter how she
arranged the specific parts, she could not find a suitable explanation for the
problem as a whole. Not one of the discoveries explained the dilemma. Instead,
they were all symptoms of a larger cause

Frustration did not come easily to
an elf guard. It was an emotion to be shunned or conquered. Frustration led to
impatience and carelessness, and Holli found such errors in judgment nearly
unforgivable.

Still, so many questions plagued
her. Why did some of the human farmers leave and others stay? What did the
goblins hope to achieve by infiltrating human towns? For that matter, why were
inferns guarding human cities as opposed to burning them to ash? What caused
the mystifying flow of magic and what purpose did it serve? Most perplexing,
what did Prilgrat stand to gain from the turmoil he seemed most eager to
create?

She doubted she would find
specific answers to any of those questions in Huntston, but she remained
determined to discover the purpose of the goblins. It was not so much the need
to find a key to the puzzle that brought her back. It was more of a desire to
fill in the gaps between questions. Isolate and remove single issues—that was
now her objective.

Toward that end, she found the
goblin behavior extremely intriguing. Goblins could be manipulated, but they
weren't complete stooges. There had to be some enticement for them to
peacefully gather in human cities and towns. If she could establish their
reasons for infiltrating Huntston, she could then refocus on her remaining
questions and perhaps link it back to Ashlan.

There was also the matter of the
magic. She didn't believe the anomaly was caused by the goblins, for they were
not normally prone to use the energy. Goblins, however, were often part of a
larger threat. Mages of power often used them as minions. Once more, it all
came down removing the mysteries behind the diminutive monsters so that she
could concentrate on the real danger.

While Holli moved across the
bridge with firm resolve to investigate the goblins, Ryson focused on the more
immediate hazards.

"You sure about this?"
the delver wondered aloud as he eyed the soldiers at the town's edge. He knew
they were not skilled guards, but inviting a conflict during the middle of the
day hardly seemed like wise tactics.

Holli understood Ryson's concern.
Though she did not wish to dismiss his unease, she saw the potential risk in a
larger context and recognized the soldiers posed no real danger.

"They will not try to take us
again."

She sounded absolutely certain,
and yet the delver's confidence remained shaken. Ryson remembered that the
regional steward had promised to rescind the arrest order, but such a message
could not have possibly reached Huntston so quickly.

"How are they going to know
the steward already talked to us? Even if Prilgrat sent out a message to revoke
his orders, it probably hasn't reached here yet."

"Do not worry. I am certain
Huntston's guard captain has already taken care of it. After what happened last
time, he will not want us captured again. It would only make him look that much
more of a fool, and that is something he would try to avoid. Trust me."

"I trust you, I just don't
trust that captain. Maybe he told his guards to shoot us on sight."

Holli chuckled.

"You give him entirely too
much credit. Look for yourself. The guards can see us, but not one has drawn a
bow."

"They don't look too happy
though."

Holli offered a different
reassurance.

"Do you want your sword
back?"

Ryson shook his head. He wasn't
ready to take back the weapon. It wasn't the thought of holding a deadly blade
that caused his reluctance. In fact, he missed its weight on his back. Not so
long ago, it was a welcome reminder of all the hardships he had previously
faced and overcome with the help of the sword's magic. That, however, was
before the attack of the inferns, and the blade's enchantment weighed upon him
in a much different manner.

He still remembered how close he
came to being incinerated by demon fire. He could almost smell the unnatural
flames. He saw the pale face of the half-demon within a white hot blaze. In his
mind, the horrible expression of the infern became one with fire that could
burn the air around him in an instant.

As a delver, the magic was a part
of him. If a demon could fix upon energy caught within rocks, then what of the
magic within him? And if demon fire could cross great distances simply by
following magical energy, how could he ever hope to avoid such danger? Adding
an enchanted blade to the mix simply heightened his distress. Just as the
turmoil in the valleys vexed the elf guard, the magic confounded the delver and
fear didn't always listen to logic.

"Please just hold onto it for
now," Ryson requested. "When we really know what's going on, then
I'll take it back."

"As you wish."

Holli marched across the bridge
with Ryson at her side. She sighed as the guards at the far end of the span
failed entirely at displaying any authority or control. Instead, they appeared
confused. From their reaction, she knew that at least most of the soldiers
recognized her and Ryson, and they were clearly in a quandary as to what to do.

Indecision.
Weakness
.

Eventually, they decided on at
least one form of action. A single guard was sent back toward the center of
town, probably to alert the captain. It was basically a plea for help, but
beyond that, the soldiers made no move to defend the bridge.

As Holli and Ryson reached the far
end of the river crossing, one of the soldiers finally felt brave enough to
carry out the orders that placed him at the edge of the river. He signaled for
Holli and Ryson to stop before exiting the bridge, but did so without much self
assurance.

"What's your business in
Huntston?"

Holli did not wish to waste time,
but she wanted each guard to appreciate her view of their authority.

"It has nothing to do with
you. Has your captain not informed you of that?"

The soldier appeared perplexed.

Holli shook her head. She would
have to lead him to a clearer understanding of the situation.

"You know who we are,
yes?"

The soldier nodded.

"And you are no longer under
orders to arrest us, correct?"

"Yes, but..." the
guard's voice trailed off as he considered the new orders of the town's
captain. It was as Holli expected. The captain had informed the town guard that
she and Ryson were not the two Prilgrat wished to question, and that they were
not to be arrested again.

"Then you know our business
is none of your concern and we will be on our way," Holli stated, as if
the issue was closed.