EPIC: Fourteen Books of Fantasy (422 page)

Knocked from her feet and buried beneath the weight of the earth, she tried to shelter the child with her body as dirt filled her nose and eyes. Panic flared. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move. Then suddenly, she felt the dirt shift. Hands grabbed her, digging her free of the suffocating earth.

Spitting and coughing, she shook loose soil from her face and allowed her rescuer to take the child from her arms. When she could breathe again, she looked around and found herself enclosed by the earthen walls of the tunnel. The place was dim, the only light cast by a flickering torch. Holding the torch was her rescuer. Geveral.

“Are you all right?” he asked, concern in his eyes. “I didn’t see you coming until it was too late and I had already begun to collapse the tunnel.”

“Never mind. You did the right thing,” she said. “If you’d waited any longer, it would’ve been too late to keep the enemy out. How’s the girl?”

He brushed the child’s hair out of her face. Her crying had subsided, and she had fallen strangely silent.

“She’s only stunned,” he said. “The cut on her face is small, and I think you took most of the weight of the collapse. But we should get her out of here and catch up to the others. They’ve already gone on down the tunnel.”

Eydis hesitated, knowing if she continued down this route she was abandoning Orrick and the others to their fate. If they weren’t dead already.

Geveral seemed to read her mind. “They knew what they were doing when they chose to sacrifice themselves so the rest of us could escape. Orrick tossed you off that wall for a reason.”

He was right. Even if she wasn’t sealed inside this tunnel, even if she could find a way back, she could do nothing to stop what was happening out there. Fighting the ache in her throat, she allowed Geveral to lead her away.

But they hadn’t proceeded far down the passage when they encountered something barring their path. A motionless body in the brown robes of an adherent.

Dropping to her knees, Eydis rolled the woman over and found herself gazing down into the face of the Head Hearer. The Hearer was still breathing, but her breaths were ragged, her face pale and sweat-sleeked in the torchlight. She mouthed something Eydis couldn’t make out and indicated her heart.

“The excitement has been too much for her,” Geveral murmured. More loudly, he offered words of reassurance to the suffering woman.

But she only shook her head, her eyes on Eydis.

Bending closer at the Hearer’s gesture, Eydis put her ear to the woman’s lips.

“Take treasure…” the Hearer gasped weakly, pressing something into Eydis hands. A stained old kerchief bound up in a bundle.

“What’s in this? Money?” Eydis asked, confused. The woman must be out of her mind to think of protecting her wealth at such a time.

The Hearer shook her head and wheezed, “Not money… the Tears of the Mother… the way to the scepter…”

Before Eydis could ask what she meant, the other woman’s eyes closed and her head lolled.

Geveral checked for a heartbeat before confirming, “She’s gone.”

Eydis untied the bundled kerchief and let it spill open to reveal a pile of glittering stones that sparkled like clear gems.

“Jewels?” Geveral asked. “What would a lot of adherents be doing with such gems?”

Eydis tilted the kerchief so the stones twinkled in the yellow torchlight. “I think,” she said, “these gems are much more than they seem.”

She glanced up then and saw the child staring round-eyed at the dead woman. Wrapping the stones up quickly and stuffing the kerchief into her pocket, she took the little one’s hand. “There is nothing we can do for the Hearer,” she told Geveral. “We should catch up to the others.”

They left the lifeless Hearer behind and rushed on until they could see the glow of other torches ahead. As they attached themselves to the end of the line of fleeing adherents and children, Eydis tried not to think of whatever dangers lay before them. They had escaped destruction here today, but no one knew where this tunnel let out or what might be awaiting them at the other end.

Epilogue

BEYOND THE WALLS

O
RRICK
KEPT
his head down and clung to the shadows as he crept along the outer wall of the seclusionary. Dosing himself with a careful amount of scorpion venom might have put him into a deathlike sleep, allowing him to pass for just another corpse after the battle. But it couldn’t make him invisible now that he’d clawed his way from the bottom of a pile of lifeless bodies and was on the move.

The after-effects of the venom had left him dizzy, and his legs felt unnaturally heavy. But some force or fate was on his side, because it was an especially black night, the moon and stars screened by clouds. No enemy soldier spotted him or cried an alarm as he limped away from the fallen seclusionary.

That was lucky, because some scavenger had apparently robbed his “corpse” of its weapons. Even his pockets were empty. The coins from the assassin were gone, the pay he had accepted in return for his promise to ensure Eydis made it out of the battle alive. Ah, well. He probably would have done as much even without the money. After all, she was still his only link to Arik the One-Eyed. Sooner or later, if he survived this night, he would have to go looking for her.

But not now. For tonight he couldn’t think beyond finding someplace safe to hide away and sleep off the effects of the toxin.

WITHIN THE TUNNEL

Geveral had to stop and lean against the wall to catch his breath. Eydis looked at him quizzically as she rushed past, but her hands were full with the injured child, so she didn’t stop to check on him. He hid his relief, which wasn’t hard to do in the gloom of the tunnel. The only illuminating light was that of the torches the fleeing adherents carried, and those were swiftly moving away, leaving him behind.

Once alone in the dark, except for the distant noise of the others’ footsteps moving away, he pressed his forehead into the cool earthen wall and tried to gather his scattered emotions. It had been such an overwhelming experience, commanding the storm over the seclusionary. Did Eydis guess it was no force of nature but his own manipulations that had sent those shards of lightning falling from the sky to strike the invading enemy? How could she, when he hardly believed it himself? A week ago he could barely summon a fine mist over the grass. Yet tonight he had created a storm so violent its winds overturned small trees and its lightning incinerated dozens of enemy soldiers.

Eydis had once predicted he would find this power. But now it was awakened, he wasn’t sure he could handle it. His stomach roiled at memory of the destruction he had wrought. Using his magic in this way had been like a rejection of the peaceful teachings he had always followed. But what choice had there been?

He rubbed a trembling hand over his face and realized he wasn’t only drained emotionally but physically. Using so much magic had sapped his strength to the point where it was an effort to shove away from the wall again and follow after the others. Remembering the manner of Mentor Kesava’s death, he wondered with a chill just how far he could safely push himself without meeting the same fate. One thing was certain. He couldn’t let anything like this happen again. Until he learned his limits, he was a risk to himself and everyone around him.

IN THE COURTYARD

Varian tried not to show his unease as he paced the seclusionary courtyard in the gray light of early dawn. It wasn’t the heaps of dead scattering the ground that troubled him or the damage from last night’s unnatural storm. One didn’t expect to win a battle without casualties. He suspected the master was unconcerned with the number of followers he lost or the damage to the seclusionary, as long as Varian achieved the expected results. But had he?

Shuddering at the question of failure, he tried to appear confident. He instructed the undead messenger at his side, “Tell the master victory has been won and the seclusionary is now under our control. Our soldiers are tearing the place apart even now in search of the artifact he desires. It is only a matter of time before the scepter is found.”

The undead creature drew back its lips, revealing blackened gums “And the survivors?” it asked. “What do I tell the master about their escape?”

Varian’s cheek twitched, and his throat went suddenly dry. “Tell him… tell him there was a minor setback, but all will soon be in hand.”

THE GRANITE TOWER

The silver-haired wizard straightened from the gazing ball he had been peering into and started upon finding he was not alone. “You?” he snapped, stepping away from the pedestal. “How did you get in here?”

The White Lady smirked. “Surely you do not imagine yourself the only one possessed of magical means to travel and observe?”

“You’re supposed to be bound to your cursed island,” he pointed out, following her casual circuit of his viewing chamber.

Her ethereal form passed through a column, undeterred by the solid granite. “My corpse may be bound there, but of late my spirit is prone to wander.”

“Then in future kindly let it travel somewhere else,” he warned. “When I want you, I’ll send for you, the same as all the others.”

“I am not one of your fire scorpions to be summoned and sent away when you’ve no further use for me,” she said. “You were less imperious at our last meeting. Then you were eager to obtain my help. And grateful.”

“So I remain,” he said, modifying his tone slightly. “You have done your part adequately.”

“Only adequately?” she asked. “I protected your precious mistress of masks, as you instructed. I kept the catalysts alive on my island and shepherded them on their way. If not for me, they would not have survived as far as Asincourt.”

She glanced sidelong at the gazing ball on its pedestal, thinking of the things she could accomplish in just a few minutes alone with such a powerful instrument. But it was clear from the way her reluctant host positioned himself to block her access that she would not get that chance today. A pity.

“You will be rewarded as promised,” he said, pulling her attention back to the conversation.

She curled a lip. “And your favorite assassin? How will he be rewarded?”

“That is not your concern. He and the Kroadian barbarian ensured the girl survived the seclusionary battle, before herding her in the necessary direction. They have proven themselves of use.”

“Then she comes this way? To the tower?”

He allowed himself to show a glimmer of satisfaction. “All is proceeding as the stars and signs predicted. Every step she takes brings Eydis Ironmonger and the treasure she carries closer to me.”

THE TEMPLE AT SILVERWOOD GROVE

Wincing, Parthenia looked away from the rows of spikes over which the oracle reclined. “The battle is over, Your Wisdom,” she informed the oracle.

“Is it?” The oracle’s head didn’t turn at her entrance. Eyes closed, breathing deep and even, she seemed unaware of the sharp nails that must be piercing her skin in dozens of places. The only hint of her discomfort was in the sweat coating her violet skin and the slow drops of blood pooling around her.

Parthenia said, “Yes, Your Wisdom. I’ve just received word Rathnakar’s forces prevailed and the few remaining survivors have fled through a tunnel to the mountains.”

“Is
she
among them?”

“You mean the mistress of masks? Yes, I’m told she lives.”

A sigh eased from the oracle. “Then it is not over at all,” she said. “It is just beginning.”

Afterword

AUTHOR’S NOTE

D
EAR
R
EADER
, I hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know the heroes and villains of Earth Realm. The adventures are just beginning, so if you’d like to follow along I invite you to sign up for my
Readers List
, where you’ll receive special email notifications as new books in this series are released. I also hope you’ll consider dropping a quick review at the retailer of your choice. Thank you and happy reading!

http://www.cgreenwoodauthor.com/

CHECK OUT OTHER BOOKS BY C. GREENWOOD

Catalysts of Chaos Series

Mistress of Masks ~ Book I

Betrayer of Blood ~ Book II (Coming soon)

Legends of Dimmingwood Series

Magic of Thieves ~ Book I

Betrayal of Thieves ~ Book II

Circle of Thieves ~ Book III

Redemption of Thieves ~ Book IV