Exiles From The Sacred Land (Book 2) (25 page)

“All right, I am ready.”

“Excellent,” the old man said. He held up the walking stick, and Dorenn could feel the essence flowing through him. After a few moments, Dorenn not only was aware of his newfound knowledge but also of the location of the tome. He opened his eyes to talk to the old man and realized he was waking up in the chamber in the Hall of Ancients. Morgoran was standing over him.

“Thank the gods you have come around,” he said. “All of the wielders’ essences bonded with you. I wasn’t sure if you would survive.” He shouted back to where Brynna and Kerad were praying. “Kerad, come here.”

Brynna appeared at the chamber door. “He left, sir. He said he had something urgent to attend to right away.”

“That’s odd. Well, go fetch Vesperin then.” Dorenn could barely hear Morgoran over the ringing in his ears.

Tatrice was there. He thought he imagined her voice at first, but then he saw her behind Morgoran, the old wielder not letting her get to him, as she clearly was trying.

“I survived thanks to Fawlsbane Vex,” Dorenn said, clutching his aching head.

“Fawlsbane!” Morgoran sounded alarmed. “I am sure it was just a dream brought on by your experience here.”

Tatrice pushed through. “Dorenn, are you hurt?”

“No, I’m not hurt, and no, it wasn’t a dream. Fawlsbane came to me and talked to me.”

“You have been knocked unconscious, and you are telling me you talked to Fawlsbane Vex, Father of Dragons?” Morgoran said.

“Aye, why is that so hard to believe?”

Dorenn saw Morgoran give Erinthill a sideways glance that he didn’t like while he was helping him get up off the floor. “Fawlsbane warned me about this. He said others may not understand. He said they would try to stop me.”

“What are you talking about, boy? You were just invaded by hundreds of wielders. Did it ever occur to you that some would try to trick you? Not all of those essences are from friendly people.”

After he was on his feet, Dorenn pushed away from Morgoran. “He gave me the location of the Tome of Enlightenment. Now do you believe?”

“Now wait just a moment, Dorenn. Not only gods have that location. I think you might have been fooled.”

Dorenn could see Morgoran’s error. Fawlsbane said that he might encounter resistance. He used his new knowledge of magic and levitated Morgoran’s Lora Daine. Morgoran grabbed for the stone, but Dorenn yanked it through the air, catching it and holding it tightly in his hand. He closed his eyes, concentrated on the Sacred Land, and released essence into the stone. He opened his eyes again to see Morgoran’s angry expression as he lunged to stop him. The moment in time was frozen with Morgoran in mid-stride. The next moment, Dorenn beheld the familiar desolation of the Sacred Land.

Chapter 15: The Tome of Enlightenment

Dorenn turned the Lora Daine over and over in his hand.
A handy bit of magic
, he thought. He stood in front of the ruins of Brightonhold Keep in the Sacred Land. He put the dragon stone in the pouch he carried around his waist and headed for the rich source of essence he felt was further into the Sacred Land. He felt stronger than ever, and his mind raced with the possibilities. All of the essences that stabilized and focused his mind he controlled and used to his will. What he could not imagine before became possible to him now.

The Sacred Land buckled beneath his feet, and he could feel the power of the land surging just below the surface, but there was one place in particular where essence bubbled in overwhelming abundance. This was the spot he traveled to now. A battle of magic occurred here with a ferocity unrivaled in other known battles. The land had been utterly stripped. Now the essence came back tenfold. Dorenn stood in the center of the essence node and started drawing power. When he felt he could take no more, he gnashed his teeth and drew in that much more again, and then again and again. He took out the Lora Daine and held it in both hands. “No more!” he commanded and released the essence. A surge of power cascaded through the stone. He watched as the stone glowed brightly and then went dark. The power he released destroyed it. “No more travel by Lora Daine for anyone for a while,” he said aloud. “That should slow down the dragons and anyone else possessing a dragon stone,” Dorenn snickered.

He looked around on the ground nearby and selected a gnarled old tree branch. Again he drew in essence, stripped and tempered the wood with a thought until it was strong and sturdy, stamped it hard on the ground, and began walking. He scoured the landscape for the familiar landmarks and obtained his directional bearings. Signal Hill, as he remembered it, was only a few hours’ walk. After about an hour had passed, Dorenn realized he was off course because he was unfamiliar with some of the rock outcroppings, but he kept his eye on the sun and soldiered on. Before long, he found his way again, and soon the familiar gates of Signal Hill were mere steps before him. They had been cleaned and repaired. As he moved through the gates, he could see many improvements in the works. Esperdahl was true to his word and was rebuilding. Men were hammering and mending a roof on a nearby house. One paused to wave at him for no particular reason as he passed by. He stopped beside a man mending a fence.

“Excuse me, sir, but could you tell me where I might find Esperdahl?”

The man looked up from his fence mending with a slight scowl. “I don’t know, boy, go try the Temple of Loracia and the armory. He is usually there most of the day.”

“Thank you, sir,” Dorenn said. The man just grunted.

Dorenn found Esperdahl supervising construction not far down the road from the grumpy old man. “Hail, Esperdahl,” Dorenn said when he reached earshot.

Esperdahl recognized him immediately. “Dorenn, good to see you, lad.” He looked at the scabbard on Dorenn’s side. “I see you have not lost
Dranmalin
.”

“Aye, it never leaves my sight nowadays.”

“Where are the rest?” Esperdahl asked as he looked behind Dorenn.

“They are out west. I ventured here on my own.”

“Oh.” The white-haired man in yellow and white robes scratched his head. “What brings you to me then?”

Dorenn glanced around at the workers. “Is there a place we might go where I might speak to you privately?”

“Aye, this way. We can speak in the temple. It is nearly refurbished since the last time you were here.”
Dorenn followed Esperdahl as he led them to the temple and into his private chambers.
The older man closed the heavy wooden door after Dorenn had entered and motioned for him to sit in one of the comfortable chairs in the main living area. Esperdahl picked up a pipe from beside his chair and put it to his mouth.

“May I get you anything? A glass of water, perhaps?”

“No, thank you. I am not thirsty.”

Esperdahl lit the pipe. “This room is about as private as I can get around here these days. What may I help you with?”

“Very well, right to the point then. What I am about to ask may seem a bit strange, but hear me out.”

“Aye, go on.”

“I need to ask you about a book, an ancient tome called the Tome of Enlightenment.”

“I have heard of it,” Esperdahl said. “It has been lost for ages. It is supposed to be the tome Fawlsbane Vex gave to man to teach him how to wield essence among other things.”

“Is it a real book or a myth?”

“It is difficult to say. Most of the priesthood claims it to be absolutely real. I have no opinion on the matter. Why ask about the tome?”

“Let us just say that I have reason to believe the tome is real.”

“Oh, interesting. What brings you to that conclusion?” Esperdahl said, letting his pipe smoke snake from between his lips.

“It is a curious thing, the trials within the Hall of Ancients. You took the trials, did you not?”

“Trials? You mean the trials the ritual wielders endure on the Isle of Doom? I am a man of Loracia. I have never been to the Isle of Doom.”

Dorenn’s disbelief was apparent in his expression. “Esperdahl, you have served your masters well, but your lies are becoming bothersome.”

“I am sure I don’t know what you mean.”

“It was you who replaced Lady Shey and had her captured in the armory.”

“I gave you and your party powerful gifts. How dare you accuse me!”

Dorenn unsheathed
Dranmalin
.
“Aye, you had to win our trust somehow. What better way than with gifts? Of course, with your gifts, Drasmyd Duil and Dramyd kind seemed to find us easier than ever before, attacking in numbers.”

Esperdahl’s demeanor sharpened. “How could you possibly know that? You cannot be everywhere at once.”

“There you are, betrayer,” Dorenn quipped.

“You cannot betray those you were never loyal to in the first place.” He set down the pipe, and a fiery, ethereal sword extended from his right hand. “You were just a foolish boy when you passed through here. Something has changed in you.”

“I have seen thousands of minds from thousands of seasons; little is hidden from me now. That is how I know you took the trials, wielder, and I know your master is Toborne. You are rebuilding Signal Hill to serve as his outpost and armory for a new war, but that’s not your only purpose for rebuilding this village, is it? I know Toborne also seeks the Tome of Enlightenment, and I know your research here, in the guise of rebuilding, has given you an idea of where it is. I can’t let you give him that information, at least, not any more than you already have. So, tell me, where is Toborne?”

“You will die!” Esperdahl lunged toward Dorenn, and
Dranmalin
sang out for the block. “Impossible. I enchanted that sword,” Esperdahl exclaimed.

“I re-enchanted it,” Dorenn said as he returned Esperdahl’s attack. “
Dranmalin
is a real dragon-forged sword. Your taint did not take.” He lunged forward, clipping Esperdahl on the shoulder. “You were clever to block your essence; surely you knew that I would detect it once I assimilated it into my own.”

“You were never supposed to absorb my essence. I saw to it that no apprentice could ever use it. Why did it choose to help you? I had to release it into the chamber, but it was supposed to avoid being useful.”

“Where is Toborne? You can’t keep me from finding him forever.”

“I will never tell you,” Esperdahl said before he launched into a sequence of swordplay maneuvers. Dorenn was surprised he recognized them. He remembered his youthful sword training well. First was the backward crane; Dorenn blocked it with the crossover. Next, Esperdahl tried the box maneuver. Dorenn blocked the move and countered, jabbing the point of his sword into Esperdahl’s chest. The man screamed in pain and frustration. He lunged forward, and Dorenn knocked his sword aside and held
Dranmalin
to Esperdahl’s throat.

“Tell me where Toborne is hiding,” Dorenn insisted.

“Never!”

Words came to Dorenn’s mind, and he spoke them. “
Demina hathule forele
.”
Dranmalin
began to glow red and become smoldering hot. “I will sear your head from your worthless body.”

“Impossible. Only dragon knights can speak commands to their swords.”

Dorenn moved
Dranmalin
to touch Esperdahl’s neck, and the flesh singed with a putrid smell.

“By’temog in Ishrak. The tome is rumored to be hidden at By’temog. Toborne plans to go there after it, but he will not go until he has a way to get rid of General Sythril. The tome is supposed to be guarded by the dead and by General Sythril’s bitter spirit. Anyone who gets too near succumbs to the curse as he did.”

“Thank you.” In one fluid motion, Dorenn seared Esperdahl’s head from his shoulders. “I cannot let you rebuild Signal Hill.”

Dorenn exited the town hall and willed it to burn. It burst into flames behind him. Men charged toward him but were no match for
Dranmalin
. He flung them back, often with one blow. As he walked down the main thoroughfare, each building exploded as he drew in essence and directed it so. The essence of the Sacred Land had already reached a point higher than he expected, and he used it effortlessly. When he passed the main gate, he paused. He looked upon them and drew in essence. He gritted his teeth as he released the power and melted the gates utterly off their hinges. He strolled away, refraining from looking back beyond the gates at the burning village.