The Bonding (The Song and the Rhythm) (64 page)

The only thing Merdel saw when he cast the sparks away from his hands was a bright flash of orange light. Then darkness consumed him. The only sounds he heard before all senses left him were horrid screams and hisses as flames engulfed Elak’s magical guardian.

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Merdel awoke to someone slapping him and calling his name. He tried to open his eyes to let whoever it was hitting him know he didn’t need to keep smacking him. But unfortunately his lids wouldn’t respond to his orders, and the idiot slapping him kept on merrily with his task. He then tried to grunt, groan, or make some awake-sounding noise, but all that came out was a strangled gasp. That was apparently not enough to convince the demon hitting him that he was awake, and instead it made him slap him harder. The fool must think his inability to breathe meant he was slipping away again.

Finally, after enduring an eternity of face-slapping and shouting, Merdel managed to raise his right hand high enough to grip the throat of his tormentor. He heard a satisfying gurgle and forced a grin onto his pain-wracked face, but when hands gripped his to pull it away he couldn’t maintain his hold. He let them subdue him and determined once he was better to make whoever had tortured him pay dearly.

“Merdel! You’re awake!” Merdel wondered what event had led the genius near him to figure that out. He couldn’t immediately identify the voice, as his ears didn’t seem to work properly. The sounds he heard were muffled and distant, as if he had cotton stuffed in his ears and the speaker stood yards away. “I thought we’d lost you.” Now Merdel knew who’d been hitting him and calling his name and saying such idiotic things.

“Of course I’m awake, Drath. What gave you that idea?”

Drath smiled in spite of the wizard’s sarcasm. “It’s good to see you, too.”

Merdel grimaced. “I’d say that, too, but I can’t seem to open my eyes.” He raised shaking hands to his face and rubbed at his eyes, feeling the crust that had sealed them shut break painfully away. He’d exhausted himself casting spells before but never this badly. When his eyes could open, he saw that Drath leaned over him rather closely, with Rush and Dart standing nervously behind the tall man. They looked just as much at the wizard as they did their surroundings, though Rush seemed more apprehensive than usual. It was then Merdel realized he had illumination enough to see by, and wondered what could be causing it. Surely his spell had worn off by now.

Drath helped Merdel to a sitting position and steadied him while he wobbled back and forth. When he didn’t pass out again, Drath assisted the bearded wizard to his feet.

Merdel looked around and saw the remains of the vine guardian burning several yards away. A noxious black smoke issued from the flames, but other than making breathing difficult, it didn’t seem to cause them any harm. He could see more flames lighting up the stairwell farther below. “How long was I out?” It couldn’t have been too long if the creature still burned, though he felt like he’d been out for weeks.

Drath smiled again. He seemed unusually happy about something. “Not long. Only a few minutes.”

Merdel grunted. “Feels more like a few years. What happened while I was out?”

Drath shrugged. “Nothing, really. The creature screamed and hissed and writhed until the flames consumed it, then went quiet. I’ve spent the last several minutes trying to wake you up. Your breathing was extremely shallow and your face was pale. I thought you were going to die.”

“So did I. But more from you hitting me than overuse of magic.” He tried to look crossly at the tall man but was too tired.

Drath raised his hands defensively. “It wasn’t me. Rush was the one slapping you. I was helping Dart tie off his bandages while he revived you. Some gratitude you showed! You almost strangled him.”

“And well I should have. I’ll probably have bruises for weeks from him hitting me so hard.”

“I didn’t hit you that hard. You’re just so old it hurt worse.” Rush quickly danced back a couple of steps after saying that, though Merdel was too tired to retaliate. But the mage didn’t mind; he’d get back at the elf soon enough.

Merdel looked around again, feeling his strength slowly return. “Now what?”

Drath motioned with his head toward the door at the top of the stairs behind him. “I think we should complete our mission. If they didn’t know where we were before, they surely know by now.”

Merdel nodded. “I agree.” He followed Drath up the steps, unsure whether he would have the strength to do anything but determined to try.

The room was perhaps twenty-five feet in circumference. It was perfectly round, and boards covered all but one of the ten windows around the walls. The one partly covered window revealed fading daylight outside. It had taken them quite a while to negotiate the tower, and he wondered just what time it was. It couldn’t be too late, for they’d had no word from Thorne or Vaun. Surely if the youth had been killed, Thorne would’ve tracked them down. And he certainly would have known immediately if Vaun had somehow managed to kill Elak.

Thoughts of his comrades aside for now, Merdel concentrated on what lay ahead. This room was colder than the rest of the tower, though they still couldn’t see their breath in the dying light of the burning vine guardian and the light from the window. Merdel would’ve created another magical flame so they could see better but wanted to conserve what little energy he had left for destroying the stone and confronting Elak.

In the center of the chamber sat a pedestal with a glass case resting on top. The case glowed warmly in the light of something inside it, and Merdel’s breathing stopped as he stepped hesitantly into the room. Just a few paces from him lay one of the most powerful magical objects in existence.

“Let’s get this over with.” Drath broke the silence and released everyone from a strange paralysis.

“Aye, let’s finish it.” Merdel walked boldly up to the pedestal, defiant of the slowing spell Elak had placed on the room. It was an effective tool for driving away the merely curious, but determination overcame it rather easily. Merdel gazed into the case and admired the small stone resting inside, noticing in particular the thin but deep blue vein running through this ordinary-looking grey stone. “The Stone of the North.” He had an intense vision of using it himself and had to slam down hard on a sudden desire for power. Destroying this stone and the others was the only way to save his world.

Drath came up behind the wizard and peered over his shoulder. “What’d you say?”

“That’s its name. Tholar named all the stones after each of the four directions. North, south, east, west. The fifth one is for the center and is the most powerful. When aligned with each other and used properly, these stones can do many things, including destroy worlds.”

“Oh.” Drath sounded as he always did, as if he felt all of this magical stuff was far beyond him.

Merdel scanned the otherwise empty room. “I didn’t think he’d keep them all together. The others are most likely scattered all over and well guarded like this one. It seems we won’t be able to kill Elak until he tells us where they are.” He studied the glass case, searching for the spells Elak had placed on it.

After several minutes, he gasped in surprise. “Fire and ice! He didn’t ward this thing at all. He just set it up here. In fact, there’s no magic in this entire room, except for the stone.” He frowned. “Maybe he can’t place any wards near the stone because of the way it manipulates magic. I don’t know. I’m just glad he still weaves his protective spells the same way. He’s forever been a creature of habit.” He chuckled. “I guess my old friend hasn’t changed quite as much as I thought.”

Drath, like the elves, shifted about with anxiety. “What now?” Surely someone would eventually enter the tower now that the guardian was dead.

Looking over at Drath, Merdel shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t figured out how to use Gwyndar’s Wand yet.”

Drath’s face darkened.
“What?
You mean to tell me I’ve traveled over half the world, been chased by hundreds of men all bent on carving me up, attacked almost every day, poisoned by a Chattul and some vine thing I don’t even want to think about that also almost strangled me, and dealt with sore feet for weeks now, and you have no idea how to make it all stop? You’ve got to be kidding, Merdel! Because if you aren’t, I’m going to cut your fire-brained head off.” The tall man even made to draw his sword to show he was serious.

“Calm down, Drath.” Merdel held up his hands and took a step back. “When I say I don’t know how to use the wand, I mean I’m not sure about what Lymon’s parchment tells me. What it says doesn’t make any sense.”

Drath didn’t take his hand off his sword hilt. “What’s it say?” He mumbled that if Merdel couldn’t figure out how to use the fire-cursed wand, then he surely would. Or he’d at least kill the Mahalian spell-flinger for getting him into this mess in the first place.

Merdel sighed. “It just says to touch the stone with the wand. Then the energy captured by the stone will be released in a controlled burst back into the barriers. There are no incantations, no gestures, nothing. All I have to do is touch the wand to the stone, and everything will be fine.”

Drath gaped. “So do it, you wind-blinded fool! What’re you waiting for?”

“Yes, Merdel my friend, what are you waiting for?”

Everyone froze at the words that seemed to come from all around them. It was a low, menacing voice, and it echoed briefly before it died away.

“Go on, old friend. Do it. Listen to Drath. Destroy the greatest tool of magic ever made. Rid yourself of any possibility that you could use it for your own purposes.”

Merdel whirled, trying to locate where the voice came from. He knew it was Elak; he recognized the vile man’s mocking tone. But he could see him nowhere. He had to be in the room, for he didn’t detect any signs of magic. Only the stone’s aura showed itself to his magic-attuned eyes.

Elak chuckled wickedly. “Go on, Merdel. Destroy the stone. It’s what you’ve worked so hard to do. Give up your chance to use it. Deny your hunger for power. It’s not worth the risk to the rest of the world. Go on. Destroy your one chance at greatness.”

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The voice moved as it spoke. Drath and the elves kept turning in circles trying to locate it. Dart searched with his gifted eyes but could see nothing in the magical darkness. His ears couldn’t pinpoint from where the Dark Wizard spoke, either. Frustrated, Dart turned in several more useless circles before becoming acutely aware of a pungent smell. He hadn’t noticed it before because the residues from the vine guardian still clung to his nostrils. Now, however, he smelled something he could only identify as evil. Powerful evil, strangely coupled with what smelled like fear, or at least apprehension. It choked him it was so strong, and he wished suddenly he could flee down the steps and escape the horrible smell.

Rush had drawn his curved shortsword and his longest dagger and rotated slowly in a crouch, ready to spring at the first thing recognizable as someone other than his companions. He’d probably be incinerated in midair, but he didn’t care. He wanted Elak dead. He also glanced at the wand in Merdel’s hand, noticing the slack way the wizard held it.

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Drath glanced at Merdel’s face and became suddenly worried. The mage’s black eyes were wide open but unfocused. His lower jaw hung open, and his grip was so relaxed the tall man thought he’d drop the wand any time now. He seemed to be actually considering Elak’s words, as if they were thoughts that had already invaded his mind.

Drath had always trusted Merdel. He knew the wizard sought to become more and more powerful but had never done so at the expense of others. His commitment to the Great God’s required path for His followers had always kept the bearded mage in line. Surely he wouldn’t let an evil man like Elak make him forget his purpose in life. Surely he’d see reason and do what was right. Wouldn’t he? But from the wizard’s expression, Drath doubted for the first time Merdel’s ability to act reasonably.

From his shadowed hideaway, Elak taunted, “That’s it, Merdel, consider what you’re about to do. You’re about to destroy the one tool that could give us mastery over all things. We could learn so much about the world with this one stone, could accomplish things with magic never before seen by man. Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted? Don’t you want to feel the joy of absolute power!”

To Drath, Elak sounded insane. He was obviously obsessed with his power and didn’t care what effect his actions had on others. He must be stopped, but the one man who could do so looked like he actually considered joining Elak’s mission of destruction. Drath choked on the sudden thought that, if necessary, he’d kill both wizards.

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Dart could almost tell where Elak stood, but the smell of evil was so pervasive it seemed to come from everywhere. It was strongest on the far side of the chamber from him, near a shadowed spot he was convinced was an alcove. Had Elak been there all this time? Had he just arrived by use of magic? He wasn’t sure, and he really didn’t care. What mattered was stopping him. And Merdel, if need be.

Rush glanced over at his cousin and saw Dart sign to him. He squinted in the faint light of the stone’s glow, and it took a long moment for him to decipher what Dart tried to say. Grinning when he’d gotten the message, he focused his thoughts and promptly faded from sight.

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“C’mon, Merdel. Think about it. You and I working together again. Just like old times. We would be able to accomplish those things we dreamed about in our youth. Remember?”

Drath couldn’t believe it, but Merdel actually nodded. The stone-minded idiot was considering Elak’s words! This couldn’t be! Merdel could become as much an enemy as Elak already was.

Drath didn’t know what to do. He could either punch Merdel in an effort to awaken him from whatever daze he was in, or he could welcome death by attacking the spot where he thought Elak stood. Looking around, he realized Rush had vanished, and Dart held something in a tight fist. Those elves were up to something, and if he knew them the way he knew them, he’d better prepare himself for a fight, or a fast getaway.