Knights: Book 02 - The Hand of Tharnin (30 page)

"We should give them the benefit of the doubt," said Trenton. "It's not Dremlock's way to kill if it can be avoided. It's written in the Sacred Laws that we must give our foes a chance to surrender whenever possible. Well, they have agreed to speak to us and there
is
a possibility of surrender."

"We shall wait for their answer," Furlus said reluctantly. He turned his sullen eyes on Vannas--the eyes of a Dwarf longing to be unleashed into battle. "But if there is any hint of deception, young prince, you will use the Flamestone upon the archers and catapults on the platforms until they are incinerated--and then turn it on the gates themselves. And then, Dorok's Hand will run red with blood!"

***

Vorden and Timlin led Lannon through a series of tunnels into a large cavern with a pit at the middle of it. Lannon recognized it instantly as the cavern from his dreams--though in the dreams he'd assumed it lay in the mines below Dremlock. And while the pit in his nightmare had been full of lava, this one was cold and seemingly empty, save for a ring of torches that partially surrounded it. However, Lannon could sense the evil aura of the Deep Shadow rising from the pit, and it was indeed like a raging fire that threatened to burn away his soul.

"Soon Dremlock will reach our gates," said Vorden. "There, the Knights will wait to see if we're going to surrender. Meanwhile, we will prepare a most unpleasant surprise for them. Actually, I've been preparing it for days now, but the process is fairly slow. I want you to accompany me into the pit, Lannon."'

Lannon shuddered at the thought. The aura of the pit filled him with revulsion, and he knew it was the last place he would ever want to go.

"I should be at the gates," said Timlin, a nervous glint in his eyes as he glanced toward the pit "commanding our Soldiers in your absence. May I go?"

"And leave me alone with Lannon?" said Vorden, with a chuckle. "And what if he attacks me, Timlin? What if he tries to kill me?"

Timlin shrugged. "I can stay if you'd like--or send some Soldiers down here to assist you in dealing with him."

Vorden sneered. "I was joking, Timlin. I don't need any help in dealing with Lannon. Go on then and make sure we're prepared for Dremlock's arrival. Bear in mind that no sword is to be raised or arrow fired. If anyone tries to start the battle, kill them instantly."

Timlin bowed. "It shall be done, Master Vorden. Are you sure you want to be left down here alone with Lannon?"

"Just get going!" Vorden said, glaring. "Lannon isn't going to harm me. It's not his way, Timlin."

With a nod, Timlin departed.

"As I said," Vorden continued, "we are going into the hole. I have pressing business down there. And it will be a great experience for you."

Lannon gazed at the yawning pit in horror. "There is no way I will ever enter that pit. And I won't help you destroy the Knights."

Vorden glared at Lannon, then sat his helm on the cavern floor. "You're going with me, Lannon, if I have to drag you down there. I want you to understand what Tharnin is all about. There are only a small amount of portals like this in all the land, so you should welcome this wondrous opportunity to learn about the Deep Shadow. It's not what you think it is. Trust me, my friend."

Lannon readied the Eye of Divinity. "I won't go."

With a snarl, Vorden strode toward him. Lannon seized him with the Eye and froze him in place. "Stay away from me, Vorden."

 
"Don't be a fool!" Vorden growled, struggling to break free. "I don't want to fight you. You're like a brother to me."

"I don't want to fight you, either," said Lannon. "But I won't enter that evil pit!" He was surprised at how powerful the Eye felt to him--as if its strength had increased from repeated use. The Eye seemed to be growing and adapting.

With a hiss, Vorden broke free and lunged at Lannon, seizing his throat. "You're going to do as I say! You may have been Dremlock's most prized Squire that everyone fawned over, but here in my fortress you must obey my will!" With that, Vorden began dragging Lannon toward the pit. "We've talked enough. Time to find out what lurks below!"

In a panic, Lannon ripped the Hand of Tharnin from his throat and shoved Vorden away. "You want me to go in that pit and become a monster like you! Well, I'll never do it, Vorden! I'd rather die!"

Vorden slammed his gauntlet against the cavern floor and chunks of rock exploded into the air. "I'm not going to kill you, Lannon. Not yet, anyway. But I will render you immobile and force you to go with me!"

Vorden again hurled himself at Lannon and the two grappled with each other. Vorden threw Lannon against the cavern wall, but Lannon shielded himself with the Eye of Divinity and suffered no damage from the impact.

Enraged, Vorden charged at him again. Lannon stepped aside and, using the power of the Eye, flung Vorden against the rock wall with shattering force. Vorden staggered, then whirled around, the blue stones in the gauntlet glowing almost white hot. "Don't force me to crush you, Lannon!"

When Lannon tried to seize him again, Vorden hurled a fireball at the Squire. Lannon froze the blazing orb on instinct and flung it back at Vorden--who simply batted it aside with the Hand of Tharnin. The fireball struck the cavern wall and exploded into a shower of bouncing sparks.

Vorden hesitated, his rage giving way to a sudden, hurt look. "I never thought you would betray me like this, Lannon. All I asked was that you accompany me on a brief journey. I let you come into my fortress and walk freely about--not as a prisoner but as a trusted friend. I've offered you unlimited power. Yet this is how you respond--to ignore a simple request and lash out at me in anger?"

"I'm sorry, Vorden. I just can't do it." Lannon folded his arms across his chest to show that he wasn't going to budge.

"Then I will go alone," said Vorden, his yellow eyes narrowing. "And when I return from the land of shadows, there will be no mercy left in my heart. I won't just destroy Dremlock--but all of Silverland! Every man, woman, and child--slain! Every town--burned to ash!"

Lannon gazed at him in disbelief. "You would never do such a thing, Vorden, not even...even like you are now. You're lying to me!"

"I'm capable of anything," said Vorden, sighing. He seemed to wrestle inwardly with himself for a few moments. At last he added, "Maybe I just want you to come with me to...to try to talk me out of all this. Maybe I want you to stop me somehow. I'm out of control. Even my master has abandoned me now and gone back into hiding. He gave me power over the Blood Legion and now believes it was a grave mistake. The Hand of Tharnin is too powerful and too wicked for anyone to control. It should never have been created. You're my last hope, Lannon!"

Lannon glanced at the pit, wondering if Vorden was simply trying a new tactic to get him to go down there. And why was Vorden so desperate to get Lannon to go? Yet Vorden's eyes did look sincerely haunted. Lannon tried to peer into Vorden's thoughts, but the Hand of Tharnin turned his gaze aside.

"What do you hope to accomplish down there?" Lannon asked.

"I was going to command a terrible beast to fight for the Blood Legion," said Vorden. "This gauntlet was really designed to control the great beasts of Tharnin--creatures so powerful they typically can never be controlled by anyone. Any other abilities the gauntlet possesses are secondary. But now I want to sever my link to the creature that I've summoned. You can help me break that link--and help me rid myself of this terrible device. If we take it into the pit, we can destroy it!"

"That's a rather sudden change of heart," said Lannon. "Seems a bit
too
sudden. Are you trying to deceive me, Vorden, just to get me to go down there?"

Vorden shook his head. "Lannon, I'm fighting a horrific battle within that you can't imagine. Sometimes my mind is gone--enslaved entirely by the demon that lives in this gauntlet. Other times, I awaken as if from a fog, but it doesn't last long. I'm having one of those moments of clarity. When you threw me against the wall, it jarred me back to my senses. But it will fade quickly!"

Lannon groaned in frustration, almost certain that Vorden was tricking him. But Lannon was a hopeless optimist and couldn't ignore the slim chance that Vorden was being truthful. "Fine, I'll do it," he said at last. "But if things don't seem right, I'll turn back immediately and never trust you again."

Vorden nodded. "You won't regret this, my friend."

As they stood at the edge of the pit, Lannon found himself gazing down into a mass of curling fog. A wooden ladder descended into the fog. He turned a questioning gaze toward Vorden. "It's just mist down there."

"Just follow me," said Vorden, and he started down the ladder. Moments later, Vorden was completely concealed by the fog.

 
Reluctantly, Lannon climbed down after him, until he was standing on solid rock and engulfed by the mist. He gagged on the aura of the Deep Shadow. He could see nothing but the fog around him in the faint torchlight from above.

Suddenly, a blue glow broke through the fog--the stones from Vorden's gauntlet. "Follow the light, Lannon. A tunnel awaits us."

Lannon followed, but after a few steps, a shock suddenly tore through his body. His flesh shivered and his knees buckled. He was suddenly sick to his stomach. It almost felt like something was writhing around inside him--a dark force seeking to break free. He groaned and clutched his belly.

The blue light paused. "What's wrong, Lannon?"

"I don't know. I feel very strange."

"It's probably just the aura of the Deep Shadow," said Vorden. "It's immensely strong here. You should get used to it after a bit."

Feeling dizzy, Lannon started off again as Vorden led the way.
 
Shadows seemed to move through the fog here and there--some with sinister shapes. The mist felt cold and clingy against Lannon's flesh, and chills crept over him constantly.

They walked for what seemed like an hour through a foggy tunnel, and then suddenly the walls of the tunnel vanished and the fog fell back a bit. Lannon could make out the shapes of huge, twisted trees growing right up out of the stone--the Dark Mothers. The foul stench of the Bloodlands hung in the air. Looking up, Lannon saw a ceiling of glowing fog about thirty feet above him.

 
"Where are we?" asked Lannon.

"We're on the edge of the realm of Tharnin," said Vorden. His face looked sinister--half covered in shadow in the glow of the fog. But he smiled reassuringly. "Nothing to worry about here, though. It's a safe place."

A bit farther on they came to the base of a huge pillar that rose up into the mist. A stone stairway wound upward around it. "This is a Summoning Platform," said Vorden. "This is where I will make contact with the beast and send it back to its lair. Then, together, we will free me from the curse of this gauntlet. But we must hurry! I don't know how long my mind will remain free of possession. Once the demon has rested and gained strength, I will be lost again."

It was a long climb up the pillar stairway, which led them into the ceiling of glowing fog above. The fog was so thick Lannon couldn't see the edge of the stairway and he stayed as close to the pillar as possible for fear of falling. Shadowy figures lurched out at Lannon, startling him, before vanishing just as quickly. Lannon walked on shaky legs, thinking each step could be his last. Vorden, however, strode confidently up the steps, whistling some tune Lannon had never heard before. Lannon wasn't sure if he was even in the real world anymore, or if he'd entered some strange dream realm. The stone pillar looked webbed with veins and was warm to the touch--as if it were alive. Massive tree branches reached forth from the fog, some extending so close to the pillar that Lannon had to duck under them. Life seemed to be everywhere here, but it was barely recognizable--barren and shadowy creations always partially concealed by the mist.

At one point Lannon stumbled over a loose stone and started to fall, but Vorden whirled around and seized him with the Hand of Tharnin.

"Be careful, Lannon. It's a long drop."

Lannon flinched away from the gauntlet. "It's hard to see anything. Why all the fog, anyway?"

Vorden shrugged. "It's just the way of things here. As I said, we are on the edge of Tharnin, and it is a very foggy realm...filled with hidden secrets. The fog should slack off a bit as we climb higher. And why should the one who possesses the Eye of Divinity move so blindly?"

Lannon didn't answer. He had no intention of using his power to scan the fog, but instead kept it close to him to shield his body from harm. He didn't want to know what terrible secrets the mist concealed. This world was so different from his own it seemed to shock his system. It was as if he'd entered some spirit realm where living energy existed but life as Lannon knew it did not belong.

They continued upward until they reached the top of the pillar, which was a stone platform with three towering statues of Knights standing in a triangular formation. Each Knight held a different weapon, the business end of which rested on the floor--sword, axe, and hammer. Between the three statues was a circle of runes on the floor. The mist was more distant here and seemed to have an almost bluish hue to it, emitting a bright light upon the platform.

The sight of the Knightly statues left Lannon feeling a bit relieved. This, at least, was something he recognized and understood. The statues looked evil, and like the pillar itself, they were webbed with veins as if made of living rock--but they were a sign of human life and of a world Lannon could relate to.

Vorden stepped into the circle and raised his gauntlet. The blue stones became white hot, and the metal of the gauntlet glowed red. Lannon shrank back from the sudden heat and shielded himself with the Eye of Divinity. For a moment, Vorden stood there with his glowing gauntlet, as the three statues around him began to burn with a blue fire. Then the device seemed to cool again, along with the statues, and Vorden lowered his arm.

He turned and smiled. "Well, that takes care of that."

Something about Vorden's smile chilled Lannon. "So...so you sent whatever beast you'd summoned back to its lair? It's finished, then?"