Delver Magic: Book 05 - Chain of Bargains (54 page)

"You will pay for your
crimes. You cannot avoid that, but as of this moment, I am not aware of any
offense that would call for your death. Lead these soldiers to Strog
Grandhammer and your neck may avoid the executioner's axe. Refuse and any
additional blood spilled this day will held against you directly."

Ulet bowed her head in utter
defeat, turned, and slowly stepped back toward the palace. She could not fight.
The crowd of dwarves was growing by the moment and they stood behind their
king. Dwarf soldiers emerged from nearby barracks and guard posts. There were
not enough separatists to defeat them all. It was over for her, and over for
Strog Grandhammer.

The king turned to his guards.

"Follow her and bring the
murderous rebel to me."

Dwarf soldiers from all over the
city moved into positions in and around the palace. While his forces retook the
castle, the king offered a grateful bow to the Queen of Dunop.

"My apologies for making you
wait out here, but once the palace is secure, I can offer you my true
appreciation in more comfortable surroundings."

"It is I who should apologize
to you," Queen Therese replied. "Grandhammer was allowed to escape
Dunop during our darker times. He was our responsibility and we failed in that
regard. Because of that, he has caused you terrible pain."

The king thought of his murdered
wife, and almost broke down, but he would not place such blame on the dwarves
of Dunop. He steadied himself and spoke a bold truth.

"We all failed, not just
Dunop. Sterling allowed for its
share of corruption...
I
allowed for
it. Grandhammer seized power here because of my mistakes, not yours."

At that moment, several dwarves
exited the palace with a rough hold on the separatist leader. The king wanted
to strangle him right there, at the foot of the palace gates, but he curbed his
anger. He made one last request to the Queen of Dunop.

"I know that Strog
Grandhammer has been charged with numerous crimes in Dunop. You have a claim
upon him that I cannot deny. If you request it, I will turn him over to you,
but he is responsible for my wife's death. I want him to answer for that...
here... in Sterling."

"There is no crime he has
committed in Dunop that is greater than the crime against you and your people.
We leave his punishment to you."

"Thank you."

The king ordered the guards to
take the separatist away, but Enin asked for one moment with the dwarf rebel.
The wizard eyed the belligerent and unrepentant dwarf with both sadness and
dismay.

"You caused a great deal of
suffering, Strog Grandhammer. For what? To prove dwarf supremacy or to elevate
yourself to some position of grandeur? Is it that you wished to be remembered
for some noble idea?"

The separatist would not answer.
He glared at the wizard, but held his tongue.

"Then let me tell you how you
will be remembered," Enin continued. "Your abhorrence of humans is
obvious, but others don't share your opinion. Because of your deeds, humans and
dwarves are working closer now than they ever have in the past, even during the
time of legends. The human town of Pinesway
has been rebuilt... through the cooperation of dwarves and humans. While many
of the people are returning to the Great
Valleys, a substantial portion have
decided to remain in the west. They see an opportunity in Pinesway. Another
town has been established that shares the unique setting of dwarf construction
among human activity. Now, both Connel and Pinesway are tributes to a bond
between dwarf and human. Whether you wish to admit it or not, you created that
bond."

Enin said nothing further to the
livid dwarf. Instead, he turned to the King of Sterling.

"I am finished with him,
thank you."

As the king ordered the removal of
the separatist, Enin gathered Jure, Holli, and Ryson to his side.

"It seems like we have taken
care of everything now. The king has been restored to power in Sterling
and Strog will face the consequences of his actions. None of this would have
been possible without the three of you, and I never got the chance to thank
you."

Holli spoke first.

"No thanks is necessary. As
your guard, I am always in your service, and in the service of Uton."

Jure simply nodded his head,
agreeing with the sentiment. He was pleased to have helped avert a terrible
tragedy, but he still grieved over Heteera. He cast the spells, but it was
Heteera's magic that saved the Great Valleys.

Enin smiled with appreciation, and
then turned to the delver.

"And what about you, Ryson?
What calls to your delver heart now?"

Ryson wondered about that very
question. He stood at the heart of Sterling,
a dwarf city of marvelous construction. He considered exploring the streets,
even the tunnels surrounding the city. He realized he was also under the Oachet
Mountains and the thought of
exploring the hills above thrilled him, but that was not what was in his heart.

It had been a long time since he
had been in Burbon, since he had seen Linda. He knew it was time to go home...
he
needed
to go home. Despite his
delver curiosity and his desire to explore, he also needed to remember who he
was. He wasn't just a delver, he was Ryson Acumen, and he missed his wife and
his home. The time had come to return to them both.

Several days after Strog
Grandhammer was removed from power in Sterling,
Holli traveled to the outskirts of Ashlan on her own. She told no one of her
trip, other than informing Enin she wished to make one last scout of the Great
Valleys to ensure no inferns
remained in the area.

It was not easy to find him. She
spoke to many that recognized her in Ashlan, even knew that she helped save the
city. Still, they did not wish to talk about him. It was as if calling his name
meant speaking a curse.

Eventually, she gathered enough
pieces of information to form a trail. It led her to an abandoned farm far to
the east of the city and a dilapidated shack. Inside was a single occupant
lying upon a thin, dirty mattress.

As she looked upon the broken,
diseased body of the former regional steward, she felt a wave of pity, but that
was not what brought her there. It was the acknowledgment that her image of the
man's fears helped her defeat the draevol. Though her conscience was clean of
any wrong doing, she believed he deserved one last chance.

It was difficult to look at him as
there was very little substance left. He was mostly skin and bone and even that
was rotting. The smell forced her to breathe through her mouth, but she
soldiered forward and knelt down beside the once powerful man who groaned in
pain with each breath.

She pulled the long dagger from
its sheath and held it up for Prilgrat to see with his one remaining eye. The
knife still glowed an emerald green, the enchantment Holli placed in it still
glistening in the blade. She spoke with conviction, for she hoped that the
former steward would not foolishly dismiss his last chance.

"This is the same dagger that
defeated the draevol," she announced, "the demon with which you made
your bargain. The monster is no more, but you still hold to this curse."

Prilgrat groaned slightly louder,
and Holli believed she understood.

"I know. You want to let go,
at least you think you do. You were afraid to die, and now you wish for death,
a death that you fear will never come. Despite that is what you think, that is
not the whole truth."

She placed the dagger closer to
Prilgrat's face.

"The blade glows green
because it holds to the same enchantment that allowed me to defeat the demon.
The enchantment is one of healing and life, but even more than that, it is one
of hope.

"Do not deceive yourself. The
spell within the dagger will not erase the disease within you. It will not heal
you, but I believe it can help you. In order for it to do that, you have to
understand why I am here.

"When I faced the demon, I
was not certain I could defeat it. I thought it was more powerful than anything
I could devise. I almost chose death as a way to achieve victory. At that
moment,
 
I thought of you and how you
wished to avoid death. That is how I found the way to defeat the draevol, and I
am convinced you have the same chance to find your own way to free yourself
from the demon's bargain.

"The demon's strength was in
fear, and its weakness was in hope—hope in life and hope in death—a belief in
something greater than yourself. If you wish to free yourself of this plague,
you have to lose your fear of death and believe in something more."

Holli paused and then made her
offer.

" If you want me to, I will
plunge this dagger in your heart, but whether or not you find freedom will
depend on what you believe. You made a bargain with a demon, but even that can
be forgiven.

"You need to understand that
this blade is not going to be what ends your torment, and I am not the one that
is going to stop it, either. You think you are clinging to life, but you are already
dead. Your fear is making you suffer. Even if I plunge this knife into your
heart, it will not do anything to you if you hold to that fear.

"You have caused a great deal
of suffering. No one can deny that, and there is no excuse for it. Still, if you
truly understand what I have told you, I believe there is a chance... even for
you. I offer that chance now."

Holli pointed the blade at what
was left of Prilgrat's chest.

"If you accept what I have
said and want me to continue, blink but once. If you hold to any doubts at all,
then do not accept this offer, for it will only cause you even more pain. If
you still fear death, if you can find no hope in what waits beyond, then blink
twice."

Prilgrat shut his one good eye and
then reopened it. He stared long and hard at the elf, making no attempt to
blink a second time.

Holli nodded and thrust the blade
into the former steward's chest. His labored breaths and his groans ended. The
final bargain with the demon had been broken.

A Final Note from the Author

Thank you for reading my work. I have tried to make these eBooks
available in as many formats as possible. If you encounter any difficulty with
the formatting, please let me know. Contact information can be found on my web
site at www.sitelane.com. If you enjoyed this book, please consider my other
novels, including
When Do I See God?
and
Soul View
.

Jeff Inlo lives in New Jersey,
USA with his
wife, Joan, and their dog, Jilly.