The Ancient Ones (The Legacy Trilogy Book 3) (70 page)

She shook her head defiantly. ‘No, David. Stay with me.’

‘We have to staunch the flow!’ Daneel said. He tore off his shirt and bare chested he stuffed the cloth upon the wounds, pressing firmly. The white cloth, long stained brown from their adventures, bloomed ruby red as it sponged up the blood.

Leopold was beside him, pressing his hands on the deep punctures that were pouring blood. The fluid was not spurting out now, simply pooling and flowing as his heart lost its vigour.

‘You have lost your precious vessel, Samuel,’ the voice of Lomar sounded from the dark. ‘Without the body of Salu your plan is worthless. What will you do now?’

‘Damn you, Lomar!’ Samuel returned ferociously, and there was anger twisted on his face. ‘You did not have to do that.’

‘Oh, I did. You brought the girl back from death, but for nothing. You only wasted your power, for she and the others will die anyway. You cannot revive them all. Not even you have the strength for that. One such crossing was too much for you. Come, your son approaches and you must ready to face him. I can feel your demons rising. Perhaps they will lend you some of the strength you are lacking? The timing is perfect. They must be cackling in your ears even now. Let them out to play, Samuel. I’m sure they will enjoy themselves immensely.’

The boy they once called Toby, the vessel of Marrag Lin—Demon King—began fitting savagely once more.

‘What’s happening?’ Kali asked, her eyes wide, and she crawled to his aid, holding him down.

He bucked and thrashed on the glass. Grunts and moans barked from his throat, while Kali tried to keep him from harm. It lasted only moments. Then, he gasped one final time and lay still.

The beasts in the darkness yelped and flashed from existence, dispelled back to wherever they had come.

‘He’s here!’ Samuel declared, in pain.

The moon was now almost free of the horizon, an hourglass with its doppelganger hanging from its bottom edge, reflected in the glass. Something soft and cool slapped onto Leopold’s cheek, and he realised it was raining—rain from a clear desert sky. The moisture fell as a gentle spray across them all, across the midnight landscape.

They looked up in wonder. Even Captain Orrell, gasping in pain, did his best to raise his head.

The glass became slippery. If they moved their feet and lost the tiny grains of sand from underneath it became treacherously difficult to remain upright. The reflection of the stars on the surface shimmered in the wet. The moon’s twin began to waver.

‘Where is it coming from?’ Leopold asked, but no one, least of all Samuel, had the mind to reply.

A sphere of energy appeared, too thin to be noticed at first, made of a pale light that gathered from the horizons. It reduced in size, intensifying as it shrank, solidifying, until it was the size and shape of a young man. He turned to his father with the gladness of one who unexpectedly meets a friend. It was Marrag Lin, a young man—about the same age as Leopold—appearing as he had on that day long ago when he had become a god.

‘Darrig ... Father, I have returned.’

Samuel looked around. Everyone was frozen. The rain itself had become still, each droplet suspended in the air, tiny beads of clearest crystal. The fire had vanished from his skin, and for the first time since he had last been in his casket, the demons were calm, their voices lulled to a barely audible whisper. The pain left his body, and he stood tall.

‘Marrag, my son,’ he greeted the newcomer.

‘I have stopped the world for a short time, Father,’ responded the King of Demons. ‘I know you wish to speak with me, and I feel much has changed.’

‘I would ask what you plan to do,’ Samuel stated.

The glowing figure looked to his father with infinite compassion. ‘I will finish gathering my power and then return to my task, as I have so many times before. There are many souls on this world to gather. I will unleash my hordes to assist me and be done as quickly as I can. The world must be protected.’

‘Much has happened in your absence, my son.’

‘It always does,’ Marrag Lin agreed.

‘This time, it is different. Your minions are gone—Rei, Thann and Poltamir. I have absorbed their strength and severed their bond to you.’

‘Ah,’ said the Demon King, not at all upset.

‘There has been a scheme.’

‘I know.’

‘So what will you do?’ the father asked.

‘All I can do—proceed as usual, consume as many souls as I need to, save as many lives as possible,’ replied the son. ‘I will recruit other sentinels to leave behind—more helpers to assist in my absence.’ He passed his eyes calmly over Samuel’s party, each one of them stiff and unmoving. ‘They seem sufficient. Would they help me?’

‘You cannot go on with all this,’ Samuel told him. ‘These endless deaths are demonic in themselves. No matter what the reason, we must find another way.’

‘What alternative do you offer?’ Marrag asked with interest.

‘I have something in mind. The end of magic.’

Marrag Lin paused, searching. ‘I feel there are few magicians left upon the world. The relics, too, are few and far between. Have you been destroying them?’

‘Yes.’

‘I suppose that is good. I tried to make the burden of magic as painless as possible. I thought removing the greater emotions would make up for the grief of such responsibility. How wrong I was, but I forged on regardless. Tell me more of your plan, Father. The spark of magic is within all people. It cannot be contained. You know that, most of all.’ He paused, intrigued. ‘Ah, I see your idea, to hide amidst the darkness. A worthy idea, but evil knows we are here whether we are illuminated by our magic or not. The door is open and the Ancient Ones would return if it is left unguarded. The task can never be abandoned, for the sake of this world and those upon it.’

‘Have faith in me, my son. Although your wisdom spans countless eons, I have thought this well through. Please believe me.’

The god nodded. ‘What would you have me do?’

‘Step down. I free you from your burden. I will take the load from your shoulders from this point on.’

‘This is not a small thing that you ask, Father. The weight of my role is smothering and the price is despair. If you falter for even a moment, the world is lost forever.’

‘I know.’

‘Then if you are sure, I agree. I will pass my legacy to you, and I will cease to exist.’

‘You can return to life,’ Samuel said, gesturing to the body of Toby, lying peacefully on the stones. ‘I had another vessel prepared for you, but it was lost.’ He glanced towards the raw flesh of Salu. ‘If you are quick, you can enter the child before the corpse is rendered useless. There are only—’

Marrag Lin shook his head. ‘I have lived my life. I have no wish for another. I will fade from existence gladly. To return to the Pattern—that is all I have wanted for a very long time.’

‘But I have done all of this for you,’ Samuel declared, exasperated.

‘And assuming you are successful, it will be worthwhile, but I will not walk upon this earth again, no more than a grown man or woman would relish playing with the toys of children once they have grown. My time has passed and I will cease to be. Being freed of my task is enough, Father. That is all I could hope for.’

Samuel nodded gravely. ‘Then if that is what you wish, so be it. You did a great thing and I am sure history will recount the great sacrifice you made.’

‘I do not want recognition, or even understanding, Father. It was only penance for my sins I seek ... and forgiveness from you and Mother. Besides, history has long since passed me by. The world has changed. All there is to judge me are the lives I leave behind.’

‘That is enough,’ Samuel told him, then his voice changed subtly in tone. ‘I am ready.’

‘And what of the Old Ones within you, Father? I sense many. Granting them such power is courting danger. It is exactly what they want.’

‘I will deal with them.’

Marrag Lin accepted the statement without doubt. ‘Then come. What was mine ... is yours.’

The weight of a hundred mountains fell upon his shoulders, and Samuel suddenly had the power of a god. He could feel everyone and everything around the world and almost at once, he felt dark things probing at its edges, far beyond the boundary of the sky. They grew excited as his defences waned, but he rallied, pushing with his power, his self—so vast that it surrounded the world—and the dark things pulled away to hover just beyond his reach.

More demons writhed inside him, pouring into him from the unseen gateway in his heart. He had the power now to burn them away, but he did not. Banishing them now would do nothing towards his goal. He called to them instead and they filled him, jabbering with glee at being given such free rein into the world.

He opened his eyes to find the figure of light before him fading. And for the first time since his thankless task had begun, Marrag Lin smiled.

‘Thank you, Father,’ he said. ‘You have freed me. My time is ended. I am sorry for causing such grief. Forgive me.’

‘I do forgive you,’ Samuel stated sincerely.

And Marrag Lin vanished.

****

The world began to turn once more and Samuel found that the others were staring at him, only an instant having passed for them.

‘You cannot do this!’ Lomar declared, running in from the dark, his robes flapping around him.

Samuel turned to him sedately. ‘You are too late. It is done already.’

Lomar laughed. ‘You fool! You have become the protector of this world, but you are full of demons—bursting at the seams with them! They will overcome you. They grow stronger by the moment. How can you be so stupid? You have condemned us all to damnation! You are even worse than me!’

‘Perhaps,’ Samuel said, and stepped closer to the taller magician and spoke candidly. ‘Lomar, I need your power.’

On hearing that, the taller magician calmed. He waited, shivering with anticipation as Samuel reached towards him. He flinched on contact, but Lomar did not run, as the man who had inherited the responsibilities of a god laid his hands upon his shoulder and began to draw his life.

‘Yes!’ Lomar hissed. ‘Finally. It ends here. Take me. Take me before the demons come.’ He continued to laugh hysterically as his essence was dragged away.

But Samuel halted before absorbing the last shreds of his life, and Lomar stopped laughing, looking at Samuel with horror. ‘What are you doing?’ he demanded to know. ‘Why have you stopped?’

‘I have your magic,’ Samuel replied. ‘That is all I need.’

‘But I have more! What about my life?—my flesh, my blood! Take it all!’

‘You can keep them,’ Samuel said.

Lomar was mystified. ‘But—but why?’

‘Despite what you say, Lomar, I am not a demon, and I will never give in to them again. You are just a man, fallible as myself, as flawed as anyone. I remember when I counted you as my closest friend, Lomar, and for that I want you to live.’

‘That was all lies!’ Lomar declared. ‘I was using you! Surely, you must realise that by now.’

‘I do,’ Samuel said. ‘But I will always count you as my friend, no matter what you say. I want you to live, Lomar. I forgive you.’

The man was stupefied. ‘You … forgive me?’ he said meekly.

‘You are free; free of Cang and Poltamir and everyone else who used you. You now only answer to yourself. I give you back your life. Do with it what you will, but from now on, you have only yourself to blame for what results. Find no fault in anyone else for whatever your fate may bring.’

‘My branches have all burned, Samuel,’ he said, hanging his head low, ‘but yours have grown and flowered into something beautiful and beyond belief. What a sorry waste I have been.’

‘Nothing is wasted,’ Samuel told him. ‘And you still have time to grow.’

The dark-skinned man opened his eyes in wonder as he imagined the possibilities.

‘It is time,’ Samuel said. ‘My guests grow impatient.’

‘What will you do?’ Lomar asked.

‘I will finish what I started.’

He looked at the others, all waiting, observing events as Captain Orrell bled to death on the floor.

‘It is all right, Samuel,’ Leopold stated. ‘If you need us, we will join you. Take our strength. It is little price to pay for saving everyone else.’

‘That is not necessary, young friend,’ the magician responded. ‘I have another plan.’

‘Your skin!’ Kali said, pointing to him with an outstretched finger, for ghoulish mage-fire was once more dropping from him.

‘The demons are looking to escape,’ Samuel said. ‘We must be quick. Daneel, ready your sword. I must hold myself here until my plan is done. This body is falling apart under the strain of such power, but I must hold myself within it, so that I remain mortal. To become a god now is to hand evil my soul on a platter.’

‘Kali,’ Jessicah said, calling the Koian warrior woman down beside her. ‘Help me.’

Kali did as asked, placing her hands over the captain’s wounds, leaving Daneel free to do as instructed.

The one-eyed man drew his sword, the rain running down his face. ‘And what would I do with it?’

‘You will use it as swords are meant—quick and strong.’ He pointed to his neck to demonstrate what he intended, and Daneel nodded in understanding. ‘Just keep it ready,’ Samuel told him. ‘I will call you when required.’

With that, he raised his arms sideways away from his body and summoned his magic.

‘What are you doing?’ Lomar asked, but Samuel was too busy to respond.

Far above, a bright light appeared amongst the stars. It coursed westwards, a meandering shooting star, but it did not fade or burn away. Another appeared beside it, following the first, then another far away. As they watched on, the cloudless rain ceased falling, leaving the air filled with the smell of fresh precipitation.

‘What is it?’ Leopold asked.

‘The stars are moving!’ Daneel exclaimed.

‘Starfall?’ Lomar guessed at a whisper. ‘No. Something else ...’

‘I always wondered what the stars were,’ Samuel uttered, his eyes closed tightly. ‘Now I know, and it is even more beautiful than I imagined.’

The lights continued to grow in number, ringing the sky with their fiery light. More and more points appeared in the heavens, burning pure and white and bright, following each other, twisting and curling in succession, like snowflakes wandering the heights. The sky was full of them, until the background stars were rendered invisible by comparison. Then, the points began to join, pale scars like spider silk creeping out and interweaving between them all, forming an undulating lacework above their heads.