Curse Of The Dark Wind (Book 6) (41 page)

The shed rattles when two of the larger monsters ram into the prismatic barrier. Roars of pain erupt from outside as the beasts burst into flames and charge through the crowd. Nyx covers her mouth to stifle her laughter and hide her impish grin, proud of the reactive spells she wove into the shield. Delvin looks out a narrow window to watch the chaos, disappointed that the mob remains thick even with the threat of getting set on fire.

“I guess we can stay in here until they kill themselves. A silver lining is that I think we have all of the monsters here, so our friends will have an easier time moving around,” he says with a warm smile. He nudges Nyx’s shoulder with his fist, which she catches and holds. “Is everything okay?”

“Your other question . . . I don’t have an answer,” the caster admits in a low voice. She lets go of his arm and wiggles her fingers to create colorful lights in the air. “You see this? I’ve always been able to do things like this. Casting magic is second nature to me, which means I shouldn’t be surprised about what I really am. I can’t say I’m unfamiliar with channelers since they’re a big part of magical history. The only reason I never thought of asking if I was one was because I figured I would be told. It had to have crossed someone’s mind. Being a channeler isn’t the problem. It’s nobody knowing about it that troubles me.”

“It sounds like Isaiah knew.”

Nyx rubs her eyes and stares at the ceiling planks as the shed shakes again. “According to Stephen and I can’t take his word on that. I can believe him about me being a channeler because the evidence is clear, but he has no proof that Isaiah knows. After all, that old lizard had no idea Luke was a champion for eighteen years. Maybe he can’t know about our abilities until we discover them on our own. I’ll get angry if I confront him and find out Stephen is telling the truth.”

“Well, I’ll be here for you if Isaiah knew.”

The warrior winces as he flexes his arm and picks up his chainmail, feeling the stiffness in his shoulder as he puts the armor back on. He draws his sword and examines the edge, frowning at the damage. Sitting on the floor, Delvin pulls out a whetstone to sharpen his blade and tries to ignore the roars from outside.

“Do you think it’s ridiculous that I’ll battle a horde of monsters without a second thought, but you make me a nervous idiot?” Nyx suddenly asks. She smirks when her friend drops the whetstone and mumbles incoherently. “Not much fun being blindsided by a question, is it? I should do this more often. I have some good ones to stun you with.”

“I don’t think you’re ridiculous at all. In fact, it’s rather cute,” he replies with a laugh. He leans to the side and avoids the gentle bolt of force that sputters against the wall. “When you react like that, I feel like I’m seeing a rare side of you. I know the tough and brave Nyx is the real you that the world sees, but there’s definitely a softness beneath your surface. It’s very endearing and I’m sorry if you think I’m teasing you. I’ll stop and find other ways to get those reactions without upsetting you.”

“I’m not upset, but I feel awkward because . . .” she says, letting her voice trail off. The caster stomps her foot and turns away, trying to find the least embarrassing way to explain herself. “I’ve never dated or even kissed anyone. Well, I kissed Luke to save his life and Sari kisses me all the time, but those don’t count. I’m talking seriously kissed someone in the way that Luke kisses Sari or Kira. Whatever we have here is foreign to me and I wish I could explain this without saying kiss so much.”

Delvin sheathes his weapon and gets to his feet, a small smile on his face. “We have something?”

“I will admit that there is . . . an interest, but I don’t know anything more than that,” she answers as she climbs onto a stool to look out a high window. She touches the wall and recharges the barrier when she sees a horned behemoth pawing at the ground. “I considered calling you a brother or sister like the others, but it doesn’t feel right. Not sure if that means you’re going in the right or wrong direction with me.”

The shed shakes and a deafening explosion rocks the entire castle as the warrior approaches his giggling companion. “How can you not understand your own emotions?”

“As if you have a solid handle on this.”

“Of course I do.”

“Not likely.”

“I know I love you, Nyx.”

The caster blushes and grips the window frame, which causes the barrier to unleash a massive wave of force. Monsters are hurled around the roofless garden with some of them sent screaming over the wall. With a nervous clearing of her throat, the caster calms down and hops off the stool to face her friend.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t say the same without feeling some doubt,” Nyx whispers with her hands behind her back. “You want too much from me. With me not knowing if either of us will survive the final battle or even make it that far, I can’t bring myself to go to that level of attachment. I’m too scared that we’d get close only to be crushed.”

“I understand,” Delvin says, putting his hands on her shoulders. He frowns at the sound of the monsters returning to surround them. “That means I have to wait until all of this is over and then we’ll go on a date. All I have to do is kill Stephen, defeat the Baron, and make sure all of us are still alive at the end. Want to add beating Ram in an arm-wrestling competition to make it a real challenge?”

“You’re such an idiot,” Nyx mutters in exasperation, slipping out of his hands and leaning against the wall. “I think your ten minutes are up, Mr. Cunningham. I don’t like waiting to be rescued when we’re fully capable of fighting. If I could find a source of aura to connect to, I might be able to put an end to the horde out there.”

“What about the energy in the temple?”

The half-elf shakes her head and taps her foot on the floor, the barrier thrumming with every beat. “The living curse is embedded in the magic, so I could infect myself or worse. At best, I’d probably waste half of my aura purifying the energy. If I was more experienced with channeling then I’d have a better shot. I did it once with a demon summoning circle, but that was instinct and desperation. I need pure aura to do it consciously.”

“Use mine,” Delvin blurts out, putting his arm out for her to grab. “You said it before that it was potent and I’m not really using it.”

“I can’t guarantee you’ll be safe. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t, Nyx. I trust you.”

Unable to think of another plan, she cautiously reaches out to hold her friend’s arm and focuses on his energy. The caster can sense it burning within him and a wave of giddiness washes over her from the intoxicating scent. Reaching out to touch his aura, Nyx realizes that she cannot grab it with her own magic. The two energies mix and blend where the pair physically touch, but the bonding spells that she tries to create are swiftly devoured by the churning magic within her companion.

“I’m sorry, Delvin,” she whispers, letting go of his arm.

The warrior is about to insist that she try again when Nyx grabs him by the face. Standing on her toes and pulling him down by the cheeks, the half-elf kisses him hard. Delvin’s lips heat up as their auras collide and pour into the barrier around the shed. Enjoying the kiss, he barely notices the sound of shrieking monsters and explosions from outside.

*****

“About time you woke up,” Sari says when she sees Timoran’s eyes open. She slumps against a crystal turret and groans as her muscles ache. “Ignore the gypsy-shaped dent that’s become a puddle beneath your massive backside. I tried to cushion your fall, but you’re too big and your head hit the ground.”

“Where are we and what happened?” the barbarian asks, staring at the cloudy sky. He hears the sound of distant explosions and screeching beasts, but his vision swims whenever he tries to sit up.

Sari crawls to Timoran and places his head in her lap, placing her soothing hands on his forehead. “The wind tunnels are a form of transportation around the castle and we were sent to a crystal tower. The force was enough to launch us, so I had to use my boots and create an ice shield to cushion the impact. It was still a rough landing, which bruised me up pretty badly. From the brief look I had while falling, we’re in the center tower of the castle. I saw something happening in the gardens below and there’s a place behind us with a lot of windows. It looks like the castle is a square with four elevated pathways that go over the inner courtyard and connect to this middle tower. The only other thing I noticed was a lot of movement on the ground, but that’s all I could see before crashing.”

“Thank you,” Timoran whispers, wincing as he gets to his feet. He takes a deep breath and grabs the edge of an ironwood pedestal. “I wonder what is important about this tower since it has a direct tunnel. The corner spires end in points, which means one cannot stand on their tops. Perhaps they are designed to send energy to this tower like those we saw on the Island of Pallice.”

With a roll of her eyes, Sari gestures to the barbarian’s left. Following the motion, Timoran jumps away from the large emerald that is sitting on the heavily dented pedestal. Beneath its facets is an ebony fog that reveals demonic faces as it churns. Steeling his nerves, the barbarian leans closer and sees a white mist drifting along the edges of the jewel. He runs his finger along the face of the emerald and a shock of energy makes his hand tingle.

“This is what the titans and geyser giant were fighting over,” Sari says. Her body still aching, she stands with the help of watery hands that sink back into the puddle. “That thing is making my gut twitch. There’s a chill of evil coming off it, but an undertone of comforting warmth. I can’t explain it.”

“Perhaps it involves the living curse and the guardian,” the barbarian suggests, scanning the tower for his great axe. He notices the weapon on the far side of the roof and hurries to reclaim it. “We know that the guardian gave the emerald to the geyser giants and it was stolen from the titans by Trinity. I have talked with Nyx about magic enough to have a theory. This is the source of the species of living curse that we found within the Garden. Why else would our enemies return it to its home?”

“So they turned the Garden of Uli into an elaborate trap,” Sari replies while adjusting her skirts and making sure all of her daggers are in place. “I’m trying to act surprised, but that makes a lot of sense. They never really tried to stop us from getting here. All they had to do was steal the emerald, corrupt it, and send it home.”

“What should we do with it? Do you believe Nyx or Fizzle can purify it? For that matter, what is it really?”

The gypsy limps to the gem and circles the pedestal like a curious cat. “It’s a magic emerald and I’ve no idea what we should do. I know what I want to do since this thing is so shiny. I don’t normally get enamored with treasure, but I’ve never seen a jewel this big.”

“You realize it has been corrupted by a sentient curse, right?”

“Pretty things tend to be the most dangerous.”

Before Timoran can stop her, Sari snatches the emerald off the pedestal and turns it in her hands. She can hear a rumbling from the jewel as the black fog turns into an angry storm. As the infection churns and froths, the white mist runs along the edges in an attempt to escape the corruption. The gypsy violently shakes the emerald and juggles it for a few seconds, causing her friend’s heart to leap into his throat. The movement within the gem slows down as if the sudden motion has made the fog dizzy.

“That is how you help?”
asks a faint voice from the emerald.

“Put it back,” Timoran cautiously whispers, his eyes locked on the jewel.

“Maybe we should bring this to Luke and it’ll cure him,” Sari excitedly says, the gypsy practically bouncing on her toes. “Are you still there?”

“The barbarian is right,”
the voice answers as a pair of narrowed, blue eyes appear in one of the facets.
“I am too weak to be of any help. Bringing me to the champion would either be pointless or the Meraphor will absorb me for more power. That monster is dangerous enough and it is not even whole.”

“So you are the guardian,” Timoran states, ignoring the laughter that comes from the emerald. “You must know something that can help us.”

“I know many things, but this curse is attuned to the champion. Not the part of him that has been passed on through the ages, but the part that is unique to this specific incarnation. All I can suggest is that you gather the others and go to his side. I can sense that he is about to face the source of his darkness. It is something he must fight alone, but should face it with the other champions.”

“How does that work?” Sari curiously asks.

“It means watch and do not get involved.”

Timoran chuckles and takes the emerald from the gypsy, gently placing it on the dark gray pedestal. “It would appear this guardian has some attitude. At least it explains its advice. I am curious to see what happens when Nyx meets this mystery being.”

“I really hope I’m around for that,” Sari declares, moving to the edge of the turret to look at the garden. All she sees are various monsters swarming among the dying plants. “Where do you think Nyx and Delvin went?”

The tower shakes when an explosion of combat spells erupts from the small shed on Sari’s left. Fireballs, lightning bolts, and bursts pure energy lance into the horde, many of the attacks taking out multiple creatures. The air crackles with raw power that shreds the wings of the flying beasts that screech and hiss. Each corpse dissolves into black mist and swirls around the ground like a lake teeming with ebony eels.

“I believe we found Nyx,” Timoran whispers.

16

Stephen and Trinity stand at the bottom of the wooden stairway while three chaos elves rest behind them. The pair squint into the distance to see the barely visible glow of the Compass Key, which hangs in the blackened cloud covering. Flashes of lightning course through the sky and a rumble of thunder shakes the cliff, rattling the silent pillars. Stephen yawns and bends down to pass his hand through the stairway, the wooden steps shimmering like a fading illusion.