Mindbender (53 page)

“I’ve read about wizards who use crystals to magnify or stabilize their connection to the firmament,” Lucky said. “But this takes the practice to a whole new level and if the wizard who built this place was an adept, there’s no telling what he might have used this room for.”

“I wonder if the Reishi Sovereigns might know what it is,” Alexander mused.

“Couldn’t hurt to ask,” Jack suggested, but before Alexander could make a decision, they heard the bloodcurdling scream of a revenant. The terrifying shriek was too far away to have the paralyzing effect it did up close, but it still sent a chill up Alexander’s spine and evoked a primal and irrational fear that he struggled for a moment to overcome.

“Maybe we should deal with that before you start meditating,” Anatoly suggested.

“Good idea,” Alexander said.

They left the splendorous room in single file and reached the entry hall without encountering another revenant. Alexander motioned for Jataan to take the exit to the right and directly across from the staircase entrance. Jataan nodded and was headed that way when a thick black fog started to flow out of the passage. He stopped and raised his sword. Alexander held his light higher and scrutinized the fog. It quickly flowed into the room and surrounded them with darkness about three feet deep.

“I don’t like this,” Evelyn said.

“Me neither, but we have to press on,” Alexander said. “Keep going, Jataan.”

They slowly and cautiously moved through the thick black fog until the corridor opened into a large room. When they entered, a revenant screamed at them from across the room. Jataan and Alexander broke through the fear in just a few seconds and spread out to face the monster. Lucky came in behind them holding his light high to better illuminate the room and to keep the creature from escaping down the corridor filled with his paralyzed companions.

The revenant ducked below the level of the black fog, disappearing from view. Alexander could just make out the dark but powerful aura of the creature and struck out at it a moment before it reached him, but his strike only wounded the beast. The revenant grasped him by the legs and knocked him to the ground.

For the first time in his life, Alexander was truly blinded. The thick black fog totally obscured his vision as well as his second sight and even his all around sight. He felt a moment of panic. The revenant clambered on top of him, pinning him to the ground with its superior strength and took hold of his sword arm at the wrist. Alexander struggled as the beast sank its fangs into the side of his neck, not far from his previous wound.

Once again, he felt the numbing cold of his life energy being drained. His strength began to flow away as he struggled to free his sword arm. The end of his strength was fast approaching, so he changed his tactics. Rather than struggle to free his sword arm, he slipped his belt knife free with his left hand and plunged the blade into the beast’s side with all of his remaining strength. As Alexander twisted the blade, the revenant released its bite and straightened up to scream in pain from the deep wound.

When its head broke the surface of the thick black fog, Jataan struck with precision and terrifying speed. The creature’s head came free and it collapsed on top of Alexander. The thick black fog dissipated within seconds of the creature’s death, and the rest of Alexander’s friends rushed into the room. Anatoly snatched the corpse of the foul beast off Alexander and tossed it aside. Lucky went to work tending to Alexander’s wounds as he slipped into unconsciousness.

After a dreamless sleep, he woke to Chloe sitting on his chest.

“How do you feel, My Love?”

“Beat up,” he whispered.

“Lie still,” Lucky said. “You took quite a beating and that thing drained a great deal of your strength. Let me have a look at your wound.”

Lucky carefully removed the bandage and smiled with relief. “I believe that was the one that bit you in the first place. Your wounds are healing nicely. Do you still feel the numbing cold you described before?”

Alexander thought about it for a moment and shook his head. He was exhausted and felt like at least one of his ribs was broken but the dark magic of the creature was gone.

“Good, now drink this and try to get some sleep,” Lucky said as he held up a vial of healing draught.

Alexander obeyed and was soon sleeping deeply. He dreamt of Isabel and woke several hours later feeling better than he had in days.

They were in a room about fifty feet square with two doors leading out. It was clear from the human remains scattered about the room that this had served as the lair of the revenants for quite some time. It looked like the room was once a wizard’s workshop, while the other two smaller rooms were a bedchamber and a storage room.

“How long have I been out?” Alexander asked as he got to his feet. He was still stiff and it hurt to breathe but he was greatly relieved that the numbing cold of the revenant was no longer seeping into his body.

“Quite a while,” Anatoly said. “We’ve held position in these rooms and searched pretty thoroughly but found nothing of any use.”

Alexander scanned the place and instantly saw what he was looking for. One wall just a few feet from the corner had a single stone that glowed with the faint aura of magic. He went straight to it and pushed on it—but nothing happened. With a frown, he pushed harder but it didn’t budge. When he sent his all around sight into the wall to see what lay beyond, the stone glowed brightly for a moment before a section of the wall vanished completely, opening a passageway to a staircase leading still farther down.

“It must have been triggered by magic,” Alexander said. “Before we go any farther, have you heard any other revenants or any sign of the soldiers above?”

“No on both counts,” Anatoly said. “But we still haven’t looked into the third passage leading from the entry hall.”

“I suspect that’s our way out,” Alexander said. “The one that bit me had to get back in here somehow and I’ll bet it was down that hall. Stay alert. There’s at least one left and it might be waiting for us.”

With that he held up the night-wisp dust and drew the Thinblade before starting down the stairs.

Chapter 30

“Lord Reishi, please allow me to go first,” Jataan said. “It is my place.”

“Not this time, Jataan,” Alexander said.

The long staircase ended in a small circular room about twenty feet in diameter. Standing in the center of the room was the old man in robes who had been haunting them. Alexander stopped a few paces from the apparition and waited. Jataan took a position to Alexander’s left but didn’t advance further.

“Your magic is sufficient or you would not have reached this chamber,” the man said. “Your courage is sufficient or you would have not continued in the face of the threats I presented to you. That leaves only one question: Are you worthy?”

“Who are you?” Alexander asked.

“I am the guardian of Benesh Reishi’s final resting place,” the man said. “It is for me to decide if you are worthy.”

“Worthy of what?” Alexander asked. “I’ve come here looking for information about my calling. The Reishi Sovereigns told me that I’m an adept, but I don’t know how to use my magic very well. I’ve come here in search of any knowledge left here by the adept who built this place.”

“The adept you speak of is Benesh Reishi, brother of Constantine Reishi, the Third Reishi Sovereign,” the man said. “And who are you?”

“I’m Alexander Reishi, the Seventh Sovereign,” he said as he withdrew the Sovereign Stone from under his armor shirt and let it fall against his chest.

The man smiled. “Very well then, you may attempt to claim the sword. But I must warn you, if you are deemed unworthy, it will be most unpleasant and possibly fatal, depending on the content of your character and the strength of your will.”

“What sword are you talking about?” Alexander asked.

“Mindbender,” the man said just before he turned to black smoke and evaporated.

A moment later the wall opposite the staircase entrance vanished, opening the way to a chamber beyond. Alexander stepped up to the threshold and peered in. It was a burial chamber with a single stone sarcophagus resting in the center. The domed ceiling glowed softly, illuminating the final resting place of Benesh Reishi.

Resting lengthwise atop the sarcophagus was a long sword. A stone chest sat at the foot. Alexander felt the age of the place in his bones. No one had set foot in this crypt in thousands of years, yet there was very little dust. Aside from the slight enchantment in the ceiling that illuminated the room, there was only one thing that caught Alexander’s second sight.

Mindbender.

It glowed brightly to his aura reading, but unlike most magical items that Alexander had seen in the past, this sword had complexity and depth to its aura, almost like a person.

He approached cautiously, walking full circle around the sarcophagus and inspecting the entire chamber with his magical vision. Once he was satisfied that the room held no traps or other magical surprises, he carefully lifted the heavy stone lid of the chest at the foot of the sarcophagus.

His friends were assembled at the threshold of the room and looked on with quiet curiosity.

What Alexander found made his heart skip a beat. There were four books, each carefully wrapped in a square of soft leather. They were completely intact in spite of the centuries that had passed since they were placed inside the chest.

Alexander carefully unwrapped one of the books and found that it was written in a language that he couldn’t read. It stood to reason, but it was still frustrating. He’d come searching for answers and now that he held what might be the key to unlocking his magic, it was still just out of reach.

“Lucky, come take a look at this,” Alexander said over his shoulder.

The master alchemist knelt down and frowned as he examined the words on the first page of the book.

“It’s written in a long-dead language that looks like a dialect of old Ithilian. Before the rise of the Reishi, each of the islands had its own language. The First Reishi Sovereign spent considerable time and effort to create a common language throughout the entire Seven Isles. Some wizards use the old languages as a way of limiting access to their works. I suspect we might find a way to translate these in the library at Blackstone Keep.”

Alexander sighed. “I guess I shouldn’t be disappointed but I was really hoping to find something I could put to use more quickly.”

“Perhaps you have,” Jack said, as he stood, arms crossed, staring at the sword. “It seems that the man who’s been haunting us was standing watch over the sword rather than those books. Does your sight tell you anything interesting about it?”

Alexander nodded as he stood. “Its magic is nearly as great as the magic bound up in a Thinblade but considerably more complex. Its aura almost looks like the colors of a powerful wizard.”

Lucky finished packing the books into his bag and stood up next to Alexander. “That would make it a very potent weapon.”

“Why don’t you just pick it up?” Evelyn asked as she walked toward it with clear intention.

Conner stopped her with a hand on her arm.

“I’m thinking about it,” Alexander said. “Remember what the man said? His warning was pretty pointed and I have no way of knowing what kind of magic this sword has. It may be harmless or it may be deadly. I know from personal experience that some swords are only usable by certain people. The Thinblades are a good example. If you tried to wield my sword, it would probably kill you.”

“Well, we can’t just leave it here,” Evelyn said.

“She has a point,” Jack said. “I wouldn’t want it falling into Phane’s hands.”

“There is that,” Alexander said with a frown. “I suspect it’s only a matter of time before that wizard finds his way down here and we have no way of knowing if he can get into this chamber or not.”

Somewhere off in the distance, they heard the scream of a revenant.

“I’m getting really tired of those things,” Anatoly growled.

Boaberous grunted his agreement.

“Hopefully, that’s the last one,” Alexander said. “I’d like to put an end to Malachi’s abomination once and for all.”

“Quiet,” Jack whispered.

Everyone froze and listened intently to the silence of the crypt. The faint sounds of boots on stone could be heard from somewhere up the staircase.

“Looks like they’ve found their way in,” Alexander said. He sized up the sword and took a deep breath, then grasped the hilt with his right hand.

The pain was shocking and paralyzing all at once. It radiated up his arm and into the core of his being, freezing him to the spot with the intensity of the agony that shot through him. He was helpless to resist the onslaught of the sword’s magic. He retreated into the place within his psyche where the witness lived and focused his mind on regaining control over his body in spite of the overwhelming agony. For what seemed like a very long time, he stood frozen in place as he struggled with the sword for supremacy over his body. In the end, he won the battle. Through the fog of pain, he reached up with his left hand and took the scabbard from the top of the sarcophagus and drew the sword. It was as if a cool breeze washed over his soul, calming the torment of the previous few moments and soothing away the lingering sensitivity of the torture he’d just endured.