Sovereign Stone (9 page)

Excitement danced in his eyes from the knowledge of the identification spell, but when he saw the scales, his look of surprise and wonder made everyone laugh.

He took the scale from Alexander with gentle, almost tender, reverence and inspected the metal at its core. “Blackstone Keep does not disappoint. I’ve often dreamt of exploring this place but I never dared to hope for such profound discoveries.”

“There’s a lot more where these came from,” Alexander said. “I also found a tooth.” He held up the sharp, spike-like tooth. It was six inches long, thin, and as white as bleached bone.

Mage Landi smiled. “It seems that our discovery of the entire hall of workshops is the least of today’s finds.”

Kelvin laughed. “I doubt that very much. A good workspace and the proper tools are the foundation of magical creation.” He carefully set the scale down and picked up the little bone box he had been inspecting. “However, this may be the crown jewel of the day.”

He spoke a string of words in an old language and the lid popped open to reveal seven narrow little vials of glowing white dust as pure as fresh snow. Each was only a couple of inches long and less than half an inch in diameter, but the contents was priceless.

“Wizard’s Dust!” Mage Landi and Lucky said in unison.

“Indeed. And there’s enough here for seven new wizards,” Kelvin said. “I have not mentored an apprentice through the mana fast in eleven years, yet I have a dozen men ready for the trials.”

Mage Landi spoke cautiously, “Perhaps you should consider taking the mage’s fast. I realize it would consume all seven vials, but an arch mage may serve our cause better than seven novices.”

Kelvin shook his head. “I briefly considered that. Without an arch mage to act as my mentor, I would risk death. And my services, such as they are, are needed. Seven new wizards will be of greater value in the long run anyway.”

Both of the mages looked to Alexander. “Mage Gamaliel, I trust your judgment. Do what you think is best.”

“I’ll send word for the apprentices as soon as we eliminate the threat of the scourgling,” Kelvin said. “For now, we should make plans to collect all of the dragon scales and have them brought to the workshops. I can use them to make powerful armor and weapons for the soldiers of our army.”

Chapter 8

The next six days were spent working.

They found five levels in the dragon’s aerie, each with room for a hundred dragons to make their home. There were also human barracks on each level, presumably for quartering handlers or possibly even dragon riders. A dozen Rangers set up a small outpost at the aerie and worked tirelessly in search of scales and teeth. They found a route that could accommodate horses and they cobbled together a small cart to haul the scales back to the workshops in the Hall of Magic.

Lucky spent the majority of his time preparing potions for the journey to the Pinnacles. He found a number of important ingredients that were still viable sealed in magically preserved containers. With the abundant glassware of his new workshop, he was able to keep a dozen potions cooking at a time. When Alexander poked his head in on him, Lucky was happily working away at one project or another. He had even set up one of his tables as a small kitchen and always seemed to have a pot of something to eat simmering over a burner.

Alexander spent some time studying the Keep Master’s book and made a number of important discoveries about Blackstone Keep. The shields protecting it also served to prevent enemies from using spells like clairvoyance to view inside the Keep or to enter the Keep through magical means. The bridge platform was the closest they could get.

He also discovered that the Keep had a number of platforms that were meant to serve as wizard-powered weapons positions. They tapped into a wizard’s connection with the firmament, expanding the link while shielding the wizard’s mind from the temptation of limitless creation, then assisted him in vividly visualizing a powerful magical attack that could reach to the plains below.

There were two such positions near the bridge platform and three more, one each on the north, south, and east points of the Keep. Alexander went to one of the west positions overlooking the bridge platform with Kelvin and attempted to activate the weapon but discovered that he needed to establish a conscious connection with the firmament in order to make it work. He could only touch the firmament during deep meditation—but Kelvin had no trouble making it work.

The platform was a simple half-circle balcony that jutted out from the wall of the Keep and looked down on the bridge platform and the plains. The balcony was bordered by a low wall with a pillar in the center extending a foot above the height of the wall.

Kelvin placed a hand on each handprint carved into the top of the wall to either side of the small pillar and established a connection with the firmament. Moments later a burst of white-hot magical fire sprang forth from the top stone of the pillar and stabbed down toward the scourgling. It hit the beast full in the chest, knocked it over backward in a somersault, and sent it tumbling across the platform. Alexander was elated with the power of the weapon but dismayed when the scourgling bounded to its feet and loped back to its position at the edge of the abutment. At least they had a way to defend against most enemies.

The Keep Master’s book also spoke of the lower levels of the Keep. There were places deep below the more commonly used areas that were shielded against all but those of arch mage power. The book was evasive about the contents of those levels but stressed both the raw power and the profound danger of the things to be found in those dark places. Alexander was happy to find that the central tower was the only way to access the lower levels. He sealed it closed, posted the sentinel as guard, and declared it off-limits.

Isabel reported that she’d been watching the construction of the scourgling’s prison through Slyder’s eyes and it was nearly finished. They’d made preparations for their journey, and Alexander was anxious to be on their way.

He was worried about the Sovereign Stone, so he sought out Wizard Ely to ask if he had any way of telling if Phane had succeeded in retrieving it. Ely gave it some thought and study before he agreed to cast a divination spell designed to answer one question with a yes or no answer. He cast the spell twice.

First he asked, “Has Phane attempted to use the powersink in the Reishi Keep to retrieve the Sovereign Stone?” The answer was yes.

Alexander felt tingling dread push at the edges of his mind while he waited for the wizard to cast the spell a second time.

Second he asked, “Does Phane have the Sovereign Stone?” The answer was no.

Alexander felt a great weight lift at hearing the news. He still had a chance to retrieve the Sovereign Stone and put it permanently out of Phane’s reach.

***

Seven days after Wizard Sark had left, the Rangers standing sentry at the bridge summoned Alexander. When he arrived, he saw another wizard on the bridge platform watching the scourgling warily.

“That’s Wizard Jahoda,” Kelvin said as he came up alongside Alexander. “It appears that the trap is set. We need to coordinate our plan to ensure success. Can you have Isabel send her hawk with a message?”

“Of course. Let’s go find her,” Alexander said.

Kelvin waved acknowledgement to Jahoda, who waved back before disappearing down the mountain road.

Half an hour later, Slyder returned with a message from Jahoda. It said: “The trap is set. All that is required is the bait.”

Isabel looked stricken when she read the note. She handed it to Alexander with a hard look. “You knew you would be the bait all along, didn’t you?”

He nodded somberly. “I’m the one the demon was sent to kill. It won’t go anywhere except toward me.”

Her green eyes flashed with anger. “What if the trap doesn’t work?”

“It’ll work. It has to,” Alexander said, taking her in his arms.

“Alexander, it’s too big a risk,” she whispered.

“There is no other way. We can’t stay here and fight this war at the same time. As long as the scourgling is at our gates, we’re trapped. We already know we can’t kill it, and there’s no one here who knows how to send it back to the netherworld, so the only choice we have left is to contain it. And I’m the only one who can lure it into our trap.”

Kelvin interjected gently, “Lady Isabel, if there were another way, I would offer it, but I know of none.”

She looked up at Alexander with a touch of frantic fear in her beautiful green eyes. It made his heart hurt to see her like this, but he knew this was the only way. And deep down, he also knew that she understood.

“The pieces are in place. How do I get down there without going through the scourgling?” Alexander asked.

“I believe Lucky has what we need,” Kelvin said. “I requested that he prepare a featherlite potion. It will reproduce the spell that Wizard Sark used to get to the ground.”

They found Jack, Abigail, and Anatoly in Lucky’s new lab, helping him clean and organize the place to his liking.

Abigail took one look at Isabel and turned to her brother. “So you’re the bait then?”

He nodded without a word.

“I was afraid of that,” Anatoly said.

“Wizard Jahoda is well trained,” Lucky said. “He will have constructed a very sturdy trap for the scourgling. In any event, I have prepared a number of items for you, just in case things don’t go as well as planned.”

He went to a cupboard and got a set of four vials in a little wire rack and placed them on a table in front of Alexander. “The first is the featherlite potion that Kelvin asked for. The second is a potion of obscuring. A moment after you consume it, your appearance and the basic essence of your nature will be temporarily obscured. For about an hour, no one will recognize you for who you really are, not even the scourgling. If the trap fails to contain it, consume this potion and run for the Keep with all possible speed. The final two are familiar to you. One is a potion of healing and the other is a jar of healing salve.”

“Thank you, Lucky. You’re always thinking ahead,” Alexander said before he turned to Isabel. “Feel better about this now?”

“A little,” she said, giving Alexander a very direct look. “Promise you’ll come back to me.”

Alexander brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers and smiled. “I promise,” he whispered.

Then he turned to everyone else and said, “Once the scourgling is contained, I’ll lead half the army up here. It’s liable to be a long day getting all of those soldiers into the Keep and finding quarters for them. I’m going to station the rest on the plains below for now. I’m not sure at the moment where they’ll do the most good, but I suspect they’ll be of more use in battle with Headwater than exploring the Keep. Let’s go make the final preparations.”

He went to his quarters to get his potion pouch and then headed to the bridge abutment. The scourgling stood stone-still across the chasm, waiting for an opportunity to kill him. It would have its chance today—hopefully the last chance it would ever get. Alexander could see Wizard Jahoda’s magical platform on the plain below.

Pointing to a place off to the north of the bridge platform, he said, “I need a squad of men and a horse waiting for me at that position. Wizard Jahoda needs to be at the trap and ready to activate the spell when I arrive. Have him send the soldiers with my horse from there once he’s ready,” Alexander said.

Jack was writing quickly. “Anything else?” he asked. When Alexander shook his head, Jack tore the note from his tablet and handed it to Isabel. She fastened the note to Slyder’s leg and sent him off to find Jahoda.

Kelvin sent two of his wizards to man the weapon positions overlooking the bridge platform. They had all taken a turn familiarizing themselves with the magical weapons using the scourgling for target practice.

Time passed slowly, and then the squad of soldiers came into view far down on the plain below.

Isabel opened her eyes and looked at Alexander. “Your horse is in position and Jahoda is ready.”

“I guess it’s time,” Alexander said as he took the featherlite potion from his pouch.

Isabel stopped him. “I love you,” she said softly before she kissed him.

“I’ll be right back. I promise,” Alexander said before he quaffed the potion. “So how do I do this?”

Lucky smiled with a shrug. “Step off into the sky and think of where you wish to fall. The potion will guide you there and slow your descent when you get close to the ground. You’ll land just like you jumped off a table.”

“All right then, Kelvin, signal your wizards,” Alexander said.

Kelvin blew an old-looking battle horn one time. A moment later, argent-white bolts of energy arced from each of the weapon positions and found their mark on the chest of the scourgling. It tumbled backward and rolled twenty feet across the platform. The moment it gained its feet, two more blasts of searing-hot magical energy lanced out and knocked it back farther still.

Alexander gave Isabel one last look and stepped off the bridge abutment into the open sky. It was a terrifying feeling. He fell like a rock. For a second he was afraid he would hit the wall of the Keep, but then he remembered Lucky telling him to think of where he wanted to go. He looked at the small squad waiting for him below and focused on that place.