Sovereign Stone (54 page)

The Andalian rhone mounts charged across the range toward the Keep with alarming speed. They were nearly twice as fast as a horse and moved with fearsome power. Watching them charge, Alexander knew that he’d made the right choice in surrendering on the southern shore of Ruatha.

He worried about the army he’d sent to southern Ruatha. They would be facing this enemy soon. The battle would be terrible. He just hoped that General Talia could come up with a way to fight them that didn’t involve meeting them on an open field where they could bring the strength of the rhone and their force lances to bear.

The battle happened quickly. The Lancers had fanned out, so the wyverns could strike only one at a time. The first wyvern whipped its tail down at a Lancer. Even at this distance, the wyvern’s deadliness was clear. The rhone and rider were both crushed into carnage in an instant by the powerful blow from the bone blade at the end of the wyvern’s tail.

The next Lancer was more prepared for the attack. He brought his lance up and pointed it at the tail of the wyvern as it snapped down toward him. A moment before it struck, the Lancer released a burst of magical energy that caught the tail and forced it up and over the Lancer’s head. Alexander knew from personal experience that the burst of force projected by a force lance was formidable. The wyvern roared in pain and rage.

The rider of the next wyvern to attack directed a blast of light and heat from her hand down toward another Lancer. He toppled off the back of his rhone, tumbled through the tall grass and never moved again.

The next wyvern rider in line hurled a javelin at Jataan P’Tal. He deftly caught the weapon, spun in his saddle, and launched the javelin back up at the soft underbelly of the wyvern. It struck home with such force that it penetrated through the wyvern’s body, came out of its back, and flew thirty feet into the air trailing a streamer of blood. The wyvern screamed in pain and crashed to the ground, skidding to a halt. The rider was tied into his saddle or he would have tumbled off the dying beast into the tall grass.

The next wyvern targeted the giant, but he hurled a javelin so hard that the wyvern rolled to the right at the last moment to avoid the attack and missed its opportunity to strike.

The rhone thundered toward the Keep with such speed that the remaining wyvern riders were only able to launch attacks with javelins as the Andalians passed beneath them. Two more Lancers were killed in the barrage of javelins that rained down on them, but the rest reached the Keep before the wyverns could line up for another pass.

They rode through the gatehouse and into the courtyard. The first three charged the waiting wyvern with their force lances, each unleashing a magical blast of energy into the wyvern as it thrust itself into the air and whipped its tail beneath its body. It took the force lance blows, roaring in anger from the assault, then used its tail to tear one of the Lancers in half at the ribcage. The remaining Lancers charged into the Keep.

The wyverns regrouped and returned to their perches all over the high points of the Keep. It appeared that they intended to wait for the enemy to leave and then attack from the air rather than dismount and fight. Alexander watched two of the wyverns break off from the main force and head southeast. More would be coming.

Anatoly frowned. “That was fun to watch but not nearly as satisfying as I thought it would be.”

Alexander nodded and motioned to the Rangers to follow him into the dilapidated lounge.

“Listen up,” Alexander said. “The Andalian Lancers are dangerous when they’re mounted, but when they’re on foot, their lances are too big and unwieldy to use very effectively. On top of that, the men will be slowed down by their heavy armor, so I’m not too worried about facing them.

“The giant and the small man in black are something else. The one in black is Jataan P’Tal, General Commander of the Reishi Protectorate. He’s a battle mage and he is beyond deadly. You all saw him catch that wyvern rider’s javelin and kill the wyvern with it. I watched him kill six armed and armored soldiers in as many seconds with nothing but a knife. He’s been hunting me for the past few months. I’ve managed to stay one step ahead of him until now. If we face him, use your bows to engage. If he gets close, he’ll kill you. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get the Sovereign Stone and get out of here without running into him at all.”

Chapter 46

They went back inside the Keep, more wary now than ever, and took every staircase up that they found. The place was musty and smelled of death. Occasionally, they found the remains of someone long-dead. The Keep had been the site of a horrendous battle long ago. Forces of magic had been unleashed in that fight that hadn’t been seen for millennia.

About midday, they came to a room with an observation deck on the north side of the Keep. Alexander carefully probed the room for threats with his all around sight before he cautiously ventured out onto the broad stone deck, looking for nearby wyverns. He didn’t see any above him, but he did see a few perched below on the outer walls of the Keep.

Then something else caught his eye outside the walls of the Keep. He motioned for his friends to join him while the Rangers secured the room and prepared a hasty lunch. Not a mile from the outer walls of the Keep was a broad stone platform about thirty feet square, raised three feet off the ground on three sides and gently sloping down to meet the grass on the fourth. It was made of flat black stone with a single wall a foot thick rising from the edge opposite the slope. The wall was rounded at the top, twenty feet high and thirty feet across at the base. What drew Alexander’s interest was the aura of pent-up power that radiated from the thing. There was magnificent magical energy contained within, yet it was somehow dormant and inaccessible.

Alexander pointed at it. “What is that?”

“That is the Reishi Gate,” Lucky said. “There’s one just like it on Ruatha a couple of leagues from Blackstone Keep. There’s supposed to be a Gate on each of the Seven Isles. They were built by the First Reishi Sovereign so he could move soldiers quickly without the need for a navy. He used the power of these Gates to bring all of the Seven Isles under his dominion. Later, they were used more for trade than anything else, until the Reishi War when they were again used to move armies. They’ve been dormant since the Sovereign Stone was lost.”

Alexander frowned. “What happens when the Sovereign Stone is retrieved from the aether?”

Lucky shrugged. “That’s hard to say. Perhaps nothing, but they may become active again for anyone to use. Or they may become active only if the Sovereign Stone is bound to one with Reishi blood. There are many things about the ancient times that are a mystery.”

Alexander stared at the Gate and weighed his options. He knew Phane planned to use the Gates to move soldiers from Karth to Ruatha. He also knew that Phane had sent Jataan P’Tal to take the Stone from him as soon as he retrieved it.

He had already risked so much and lost far more to come here. Now that he was so close, he wondered if retrieving the Sovereign Stone was the right thing to do. It had been safely outside of the world of time and substance for millennia. Bringing it back into this world could do more harm than good, yet he also knew that Phane would stop at nothing to get it. With the shades in the world, it was entirely possible that Phane could join forces with one of them or even bind one of them to his will and retrieve the Stone himself. The only place Alexander knew for certain that Phane couldn’t reach the Stone was within the Bloodvault at Blackstone Keep.

His plan was born of desperation but it was the only sure way to give the future a chance. With the Stone, Phane would be unstoppable. Without it, he would be a formidable enemy but he wouldn’t have the knowledge necessary to build an army of wizards. Alexander decided again that his plan was the only way to save the Seven Isles.

They moved back into the Keep. By now Alexander wasn’t sure where he was or how he was going to get out once he found the Stone. He reminded himself to face one problem at a time. They came to a hallway that was thirty feet wide and had the stain of what was once a carpet running down the center. The ceiling was so high they couldn’t see it with the light of the night-wisp dust. The hallway looked like it led somewhere important.

Two Rangers were scouting several dozen feet out in front. Alexander was scanning the way ahead when he saw the shimmer of magic across the hall not three steps in front of the Rangers.

“Stop!” he commanded. They both came to an abrupt halt and faced into the darkness with their short spears at the ready. Alexander approached carefully and inspected the field across the hallway with his second sight. It gave off a faint aura of magic. Just past the field was a set of giant double doors on the left wall of the hallway, which continued on into the darkness. Directly across from the double doors was another hallway that formed a tee with the hall they were standing in. It was equally as wide and the ceiling was shrouded in darkness.

“There’s a magical field across the hallway just a couple of feet ahead,” Alexander said. “Lucky, can you see it?”

Lucky shook his head. “Nor do I feel the tingle of magic that I do when I come to the warding shields within Blackstone Keep. I advise caution, Alexander. This is likely a trap and probably a deadly one if it has stood here for all these years.” Lucky gestured to the giant set of double doors. “If I had to guess, I’d say the room beyond those doors is the throne room. There will undoubtedly be passages leading from there to the royal chambers.”

Alexander motioned for everyone to back up a few paces. He stood ten feet from the magic aura, drew an arrow, and carefully tossed it. Three inches into the field, the plane glowed intensely, stopping the arrow in midflight. With a flash, the shaft burned in two and clattered to the floor. The faint aura of the trap remained.

“Huh,” Alexander said, “doesn’t look like we’ll be going that way.”

Then he saw lights coming from the other end of the hallway. His first instinct was to retreat, but then he reconsidered. He held his light higher and waited. The torchlight grew closer, but then it started to move more slowly toward them.

“What’s your plan?” Anatoly asked with characteristic bluntness.

“If I’m the only one who can see that field, then maybe this is our best chance to kill the battle mage,” Alexander said.

Anatoly nodded. “I like it,” he said and then turned to Lieutenant Wyatt. “Prepare your men for a fight but do not attack until the order is given.”

Wyatt quickly formed his Rangers into two groups left and right of Alexander and his companions. They waited until the enemy was only thirty feet away. Alexander was almost disappointed to see that it was Duke Truss with a dozen Andalian Lancers, only three of whom carried the long force lances that were so effective on horseback but were so heavy on foot. The rest were armed with swords. Jataan P’Tal was nowhere to be seen.

When Truss saw Alexander standing his ground and flanked by Rangers, he smiled a little and motioned for his men to stop. The three with the force lances pointed them at Alexander and his men.

Alexander idly wondered about the range of the force blast the lances projected.

“Rexius Truss, you’re looking well with only one hand,” he said with a taunting smile. “I’m tired of running. If you want a fight, then come and get one.”

“Where’s my whore?” Truss said. “Have you tired of her already?” He shook his head sadly. “Perhaps she was never worthy of my attentions.”

Alexander stood his ground, his eyes glittering. He wanted to cut Truss into pieces, but he knew better than to move through the magical field. Instead he decided to taunt the petty little noble some more.

“She’s quite well,” Alexander said. “You know, she laughs about you and your, um stature, from time to time. She really doesn’t like you. I can’t say I blame her. In fact, I’m sure I’ll get a hero’s welcome when I tell her that I cut off your other hand.” Alexander drew the Thinblade and smiled at Truss.

“Phane wanted us to spare you until you get the Stone for him like a good little lapdog, but I really never cared about any of that,” Truss said with building rage. “Everything was perfect until you came to Glen Morillian and ruined it all. I was going to marry Isabel and become the deciding voice on the council. The whole valley would have bowed to my whim. Then you arrived and took my woman and my holdings—and my hand!” He shouted the last word with veins bulging from the sides of his head.

“Attack!” Truss commanded with such force that his voice broke.

The three Lancers released their energy blasts, and all of Alexander’s men were knocked from their feet and sent sprawling to the floor. As Alexander sailed through the air, he thought to himself that at least now he knew that the range of the Andalian lance was greater than forty feet. He also knew that the magical field in front of him only stopped things of substance from passing while allowing magic through without hindrance.

A moment after Alexander and his men were hit by the magical blasts, five of the Lancers reached the magical field on the other side of the giant double doors. Alexander hadn’t noticed the second field because it was obscured by the aura of the first. The fact that there was a second field only served to reinforce the importance of the room behind the double doors. All of these thoughts rushed through Alexander’s mind as he lay flat on his back trying to regain his breath.