Pool of Twilight (35 page)

Kern shook his head in amazement. Evil really does destroy itself, he thought.

Now, to free his friends, who hovered only a few inches above the surface of the pool. Quickly, he shed his armor and stood on the edge of the basin.

“Are you insane, lad?” Trooper growled.

“Maybe,” Kern said with a grin. “But there’s only one way to find out.”

Ignoring the shouts of protest from his friends, he dove into the pool.

The thick water closed about him, oily against his skin. He felt the pool’s magic swirl around him, trying to penetrate his flesh, to absorb his essence into its own.

Suddenly, Kern was buoyed to the pool’s surface by a mass of sticky blue cobwebs. His unmagic did protect him! He began swimming for the spur of rock in the pool’s center. In truth, it was more like dragging himself through molasses than swimming. After several minutes of laborious effort, he made it to the rock. He pulled himself out of the pool, shaking off as many of the blue cobwebs as he could. Then, carefully, he picked up the Staff of Twilight

He realized then that he had absolutely no idea what to do with it.

“Er, does any one know how to work one of these things?” he asked sheepishly.

“I don’t really think we have time for lessons for beginners,” Trooper commented acidly. He and the others were no more than a handspan above the silvery waters.

“You can do it, Kern,” Evaine said calmly. “I’ll help you.”

He nodded jerkily.

“Now, grip the staff tightly and concentrate on me,” the sorceress instructed. “Close your eyes and envision a thread running from my waist right to the staff. Now, begin reeling it in.”

“Like a fishing rod?” he asked tentatively.

“Exactly.”

Kern tried to do as she advised. His heart pounded in his chest. He knew he didn’t have much time. He clenched his eyes tightly, concentrating….

Something bumped into him. He windmilled his arms wildly to keep from falling off the rock. He opened his eyes to see Evaine standing near him at the edge of the pool.

“A little shaky, Kern, but not bad,” she said with a smile. “However, why don’t you let me handle the others?”

He relinquished the staff only too gladly.

Minutes later, transported by Evaine and the Staff of Twilight, the adventurers stood together on solid ground. Kern had managed to scrape off most of the cobweb residue, but putting his armor back on was a sticky business.

“It is time to cast your spell, Evaine,” Miltiades said gravely. “You must destroy the pool.”

The sorceress was already preparing her incantation. She lit a fire in her small copper brazier, sprinkling a handful of dried herbs and unusual powders over the flame. Multicolored sparks crackled into the air. She sat cross-legged before the brazier, drawing out an oval crystal. She set it carefully in the fire’s center. Immediately the gem began to pulsate in rhythm with the flickering flames.

“I’m not certain how long this will take,” Evaine explained to the others. “I’ve never encountered a pool quite like this one before. The other pools I’ve destroyed have all been either purely dark or light in nature.” As she talked, the sorceress deftly twisted her long hair into a knot to keep it out of the fire. “But this pool is different. Its essence is—” she struggled for the right words—” primal … chaotic. Its source lies in a magic far older than that of the other pools, a magic that comes from the time before light and dark were separate, and all the universe dwelt in twilight.”

“Will you be able to destroy it, Evaine?” Kern asked solemnly.

She laughed grimly. “There’s just one way to find out.” She held her hands above the brazier and gem, chanting arcane words. Suddenly her voice fell silent, and her green eyes stared blankly into space. The sorceress sat as if hewn of stone.

“She will be like this for some time,” Gamaliel said, standing protectively behind Evaine. “She cannot be disturbed. Should anything wake her from her spell before it is complete, the gem will break, and she will die.” By the fierce gleam in his eye, it was clear the barbarian man did not intend to allow such a mishap to occur.

There was nothing to do then but wait. Kern sat down on a rock.

Daile sighed, wandering a short distance from the others. She felt strangely let down. She had vowed to avenge her father’s death, but Sirana was dead, slain by the dragon, and the young ranger’s arrows had played no part in it. The fire of revenge still smoldered in her heart. What of her oath now? she asked herself. How could she keep her word to her father? She rested her hands against the smooth wood of her magical bow.

“How much longer?” Trooper asked Gamaliel with a scowl. The older paladin paced fretfully.

The stone-faced barbarian shrugged. “I am no sorcerer. I cannot say.”

“What is it, Trooper?” Listle asked in concern.

The old man shook his head. “I’m not certain. It’s just that there’s something about this place that bothers—”

A gurgling sound emanated from the pool, cutting off the old paladin.

All turned to see the surface of the pool begin bubbling furiously.

In a spray of foam, something began to lift from the roiling waters. A gigantic creature uncurled itself from the depths of the pool to tower above the companions.

“By Tyr above!” Trooper whispered.

For a scant moment, Kern wondered how Sirana and Dusk could still live. Quickly he realized the truth. They were dead enough. But the magic of the pool had fused their gigantic corpses into a hideous new undead form.

The dragon’s tattered wings sprouted from the back of the gigantic half-fiend, and her hands ended in his claws. Dusk’s neck sprouted from the center of Sirana’s chest, his fanged maw snapping mindlessly. The creature took a lumbering step forward, wading through the pool. Its sinuous dragon tail snapped behind it like a huge, deadly whip. Sirana’s dead eyes stared with blank malice. The pool of twilight finally possessed a guardian that it could utterly control.

The dragon’s maw opened wide.

“Beware dragonbreath!” Trooper shouted.

Hastily, Kern, Listle, and Daile dove out of the way. Gamaliel crouched protectively before Evaine, still deep in her spell, but a heartbeat later Miltiades stepped between the barbarian and the creature of the pool.

A black, acrid-smelling cloud issued from the dragon’s mouth, gouging the stone floor and melting stalagmites into piles of slag. A spray of dark acid splattered against Miltiades’ armor, pitting the hard steel. A few droplets flew past, burning into Gamaliel’s flesh, but Evaine remained unhurt. That was all that mattered to the barbarian.

The new guardian reached the edge of the pool. It could not leave the water that had spawned it and gave it continued strength. So the guardian reached high above with its gigantic arm and wrenched a huge stalactite from the cavern’s ceiling. Dead eyes blazing, it hurled the sharp chunk of stone toward the adventurers.

The stalactite narrowly missed Kern, striking the stone floor and bursting into splinters of rock that traced hot tracks across his exposed skin. He stood, bleeding from a dozen small wounds. Already the guardian was reaching for another stalactite.

Trooper and Miltiades rushed forward, and Kern sprang into motion. But almost immediately, the guardian launched another stalactite. Kern raised his shield, doubting it would do much good against the crushing force of a half-ton of solid limestone.

Abruptly a bright streak of light arced through the air, striking the stalactite in midflight. The chunk of stone veered off its deadly course and plunged into the pool. The guardian let out a piercing shriek of rage.

Kern turned to see Listle clutching the Staff of Twilight. Its powers of levitation had diverted the stalactite from its deadly trajectory.

Again and again, the zombie guardian snapped off sharp-pointed stalactites and hurled them at the adventurers. Listle waved the staff vigorously, using its magic to turn the stones aside. Daile tried to launch arrows at the guardian, but clouds of acid dragonbreath burnt them to ashes before they could reach their target. Kern, Trooper, and Miltiades managed to creep within striking distance.

When at last Kern was within range, he didn’t hesitate. He hurled the Hammer of Tyr directly at the guardian’s head. The weapon flashed with blue radiance as it spun through the air.

Suddenly a shimmering tentacle of metallic water snaked out of the pool, curling around the hammer. The liquid tentacle halted the weapon in midflight and began dragging it down into the murky depths.

Quickly Kern summoned the hammer back to his outstretched hand. It seemed the pool protected its guardian even as the guardian protected the pool. How could he harm the creature if his hammer couldn’t reach it?

A stalactite struck unnervingly close to Kern and the two paladins.

“Listle, what’s the matter?” Miltiades called out.

The elf bit her lip, shaking the Staff of Twilight. A thin tendril of smoke rose from its tip. “I think this thing’s had it,” she said glumly, casting the spent staff aside.

“Well, you’ll be able to say the same thing about us shortly if we don’t do something about this blasted creature,” Trooper snapped. He testily gathered his gray robe around his knobby knees to dodge a flying chunk of rock. “Cat-man, how is that sorceress of yours doing?”

“Her spell is not yet complete,” Gamaliel said sharply, his eyes flashing at the mere hint his mistress was not doing all she could.

“Just a question,” Trooper grumped. “No need to take it so personally.”

“All right, I have an idea,” Listle cried out. “But I’m going to need you to distract old two-heads here.”

Trooper looked at the elf suspiciously. “What harebrained scheme are you—”

“Just keep zombie-breath occupied, all right?” she replied. She traced an intricate pattern in the air with her fingers. Silvery sparks crackled about her feet, and suddenly she began to move so rapidly she blurred before their eyes.

There was no time to doubt her strategy. The three warriors darted between the cascading rocks, reaching the pool’s edge. They attacked—Kern with his hammer, Miltiades with his long sword, Trooper with his rune sword. More metallic tentacles lifted themselves from the pool, snaking wildly to parry their blows. But a few swings managed to slip through, landing against the mutant zombie’s knees. It let out a roar and bent over to reach its foes with long, scythelike claws.

As a result, it did not see the silver streak that sped around the far side of the pool, approaching on its blind side.

Just then, Listle reached the melee, the silver sparks around her feet fading as her swiftness spell ended. Still distracted, the creature did not notice as the elf reached out a single finger and touched its flesh, whispering the words of a spell.

Instantly the guardian straightened, growing rigid. The dead eyes that had once been Sirana’s stared into space, gazing at some imagined foe with a look equal parts horror and outrage. The dragon’s maw snarled at a conjured enemy as the creature clawed futilely at thin air.

Listle’s illusion spell had worked! In its mind, the creature was now battling its worst nightmare. What sort of form that nightmare had taken, there was no way to know. But if the guardian lost the imaginary battle, the consequences would prove fatal—and very real.

The elf grinned triumphantly at her fellow warriors. Suddenly, caught in the throes of its phantom battle, the guardian whirled. Its serpent tail whistled through the air, cracking like a gigantic whip as it struck Listle forcibly.

The elf’s delicate body was hurled through the air like a piece of chaff. She struck a pile of jagged rocks and did not move. Blood seeped from a wound on Listle’s temple.

“No!” Kern screamed in disbelief, taking a step toward the fallen elf.

A hand on his shoulder halted him.

“Kern.”

It was Trooper, his voice solemn. “The battle is not over.”

Kern shook his head dumbly. Could an illusion …could Listle … die?

At the same moment, Daile moved toward the edge of the pool, raising her bow. She felt a sick knot in her stomach, fear that Listle was dead. But Daile was determined that the elf’s sacrifice would not be in vain. Nor would her father’s. Now was her chance for vengeance, while the creature was still distracted.

Do not fail me now, bow, she silently instructed her weapon. She nocked an arrow, raising the magical longbow.

“I am no sorcerer,” a calm voice said behind her, “but I do know that if you strike the creature with an arrow, the elf’s spell will be broken.”

Daile froze.

Gamaliel stepped before her. As always, the barbarian’s chiseled face was impassive.

Daile clenched her fingers. She ought to release the arrow right away. Her opportunity for vengeance could pass at any moment. But something in Gamaliel’s eyes held her.

“A single arrow cannot slay this beast,” he went on softly.

The bow trembled in her grip. “But I vowed to my father…”

Gamaliel reached out, clasping her wrist. “Remember what I told you,” he said quietly. “Sometimes those with the wild gift lose themselves in the hunt. But this is not your hunt, Daile.” He nodded toward Kern. “It is his. Do not take that from him.” A shadow touched the barbarian’s lips. It might almost have been a smile. “Fear not, Daile. You will have many opportunities in the years to come to honor your father’s memory with your deeds.”

Slowly Daile lowered the bow. “I will honor him,” she whispered fiercely.

Gamaliel only nodded, his grip tightening.

“Kern,” Trooper growled fiercely. “Listle’s spell won’t last much longer. Act now! Use the Hammer of Tyr!”

Kern was dazed and reacting slowly.

“Life was worth everything to Listle,” Miltiades prompted quietly. “Yet she was willing to risk her life for this quest. Do not let that sacrifice come to nothing.”

These words bit deep into Kern’s heart. Suddenly he felt his fear, his anger—his confusion—melt away.

He whirled to face the mutant. The creature writhed before him, still tackling the phantom enemy that only its grotesque eyes could see. It lurched forward, within range.

With a cry to Tyr, Kern hurled the glowing hammer with all his might.