The Archmage Unbound (59 page)

How do you kill something that heals
instantly?
I wondered. My anger had faded
somewhat, slowly being replaced by fear. Despite everything, Celior seemed
more powerful than ever and there were no signs of him weakening.

I had little time for thinking, since it appeared my
only ally was about to lose his head. Diving into the fray I wrapped the
shining god in my arms and squeezed. Laughing Celior began glowing brighter
than the sun and I felt my body beginning to melt and sag where it touched
him. I couldn’t afford to let him get airborne again, so I did the opposite.

“Let’s see how you like the center of my power,” I
ground out between granite teeth and I redoubled my efforts. Contracting my
arms I felt his back break and the god twisted in pain. Stretching outward
with my thoughts I let my body sink downward, into the ground, dragging the
struggling deity with me.
Sorry Penny,
I thought with regret.
I
couldn’t keep that promise Rose wanted me to make for you.

Ever deeper we went and still I clutched Celior
tightly. I could feel him weakening now, or perhaps it was just my growing
strength, but I was able to encase him in the massive stone coffin that my body
had become for him. Moira Centyr had defeated Balinthor this way, I
remembered. She had drawn him down and when her power had been great enough
she had crushed him to death. The resulting explosion had changed the face of
the earth and created a new sea.

That will kill everyone above for tens
of miles,
came Moira’s voice in my mind.

How close is Penny?

What of your other friends? What of the
people?
she answered.

I felt a sense of anguish and desperation.
I
can’t have everything,
I replied.

You cannot do this, not here.

Then I’ll move him,
I
said mentally.

There is a better way,
she
replied and then her mind touched mine and showed me.

Descending deeper I moved down beneath the crust of
the world, into a realm of extreme heat and pressures. There I began crushing
Celior, until his size was what it had been when I first saw him. Pushing
further I compressed him until he had become nothing more than a brilliantly
glowing sphere about two inches across. I reached within my massive rocky body
and drew forth a power that was intensely concentrated and began weaving it in
deep red lines around the trapped god.
The blood of the earth
, I
thought to myself, for blood was the closest thing I could think to the
appearance of that power.

Using my memory of the stasis enchantment and
something akin to intuition I wove a series of runes that would lock the god’s
twisted mind into a timeless and unchanging state. When I had finished he no
longer struggled against his gem-like form but still his power was so great that
it warped even time around it, causing energy to bleed outward. Drawing upon
my strength I encased his enchanted form with a dense crystal that would absorb
his power as it leaked out.

I’ll have to make sure the power is used
or drained away regularly,
I thought. Otherwise the giant
diamond would eventually explode with a force that would make my iron bombs
seem paltry in comparison.
And the malign being within would be free again,
I mentally added.

When I had finished I spent long minutes resting.
The deep earth was comfortable and now that I no longer had to struggle against
my foe it soothed my ragged emotions. My pains began ebbing away. My body no
longer had any distinct margin or border and the deep drumming of the earth
drew my tired spirit out.
I should sleep,
came a thought I hardly
recognized as my own any longer.

Mordecai, no! Wake up! You must
return. Don’t give up now.
Moira Centyr’s voice nagged at my
consciousness.

More from irritation than any desire to please her I
lifted myself up through the dark layers of earth and stone until I once again
lay upon the street in Albamarl. The dragon still lay nearby, bleeding and
nursing a terrible wound to its neck. The sight of it roused my mind and
brought back thoughts of my humanity.

Lifting my massive stone form I moved carefully
closer to the dragon, unsure what it might do. “Can you understand me?” I said
in a voice so deep and booming it surprised me.

Its eyes opened and fixed on me with a look of such
intelligence I could not help but think it understood my language. Its mouth
opened for a second but no sound emerged and a look of what I thought must be
frustration passed across its strange reptilian features. “Are you Gareth
Gaelyn?” I asked, thinking it might be able to nod or respond in some other
way.

Before my eyes the creature began to shrink and its
flesh flowed like water reshaping itself into something far different and much
smaller. Seconds later I found myself staring down at a bizarre looking man.
His skin held a strange lustrous tint and his eyes were slitted like those of a
cat… or a dragon. Utterly naked he had no evidence of external genitalia and
his belly was covered in large scales much like those of a snake.

Looking down at himself he cursed, “This isn’t
right.” He seemed surprised when he heard the words emerge from his mouth.

I repeated my question, “Are you Gareth Gaelyn?”

Staring upward he answered, “I think I used to be,
but I am unsure. I was human once.”

“Why did you help me?”

“I heard the earth rouse itself a few days ago. I
came to find the reason, and to feed,” he said in slow and oddly accented
words. “The shining god reminded me of my crime and my shame.”

His words made me anxious, particularly his mention
of ‘feeding’. I wondered if he might repeat his first slaughter of the men he
had meant to save. Before I could put my fears into words he spoke again, “Are
you a wizard?”

“I am,” I replied simply, not knowing what more to
add.

“That form is dangerous. More so even than mine, it
will eat at your mind,” he said somberly.

His words reminded me that I still had not resumed
my original flesh and blood body. Closing my great stone eyes I remembered
Moira’s lesson and visualized myself as I had been before. The memory of my
burns flitted through my mind for a second and I stopped, that thought had come
close to killing me. Clearing my thoughts again I remembered myself as I had
been before the burning light, healthy and whole.

When I opened my eyes again I saw the world in more
normal hues and standing in front of me was Gareth Gaelyn. He was close enough
now I could see how thoroughly reptilian he looked in every particular. “I
think I still have my mind intact,” I told him.

He smiled oddly, showing rows of needle sharp
teeth. “You think so, but each time you leave bits of yourself behind. Small
things you don’t even notice. And you bring new things back without realizing
it.”

“Will you return to the world of men?” I asked him.

He shook his head, “This is as close as I can come
to your form now. The very thought of going further repulses me.”

“Then why did you take this form?” I asked,
gesturing at his humanoid body.

“I’m not sure,” he said carefully. “I think just to
warn you, and to thank you for helping me settle my debt.”

“Debt?”

“I failed to stop Balinthor, but I think today has
settled the score,” he replied walking away from me.

“Where are you going?”

“To feed,” he replied.

“On what?” I asked.

He glanced back and showed me his teeth, “Whatever I
find, human. My debt is settled and I must eat.” Saying that he began
changing again and moments later the dragon was back.

“Take care where you find your meals dragon!” I
shouted as he began to beat his wings. “If I find you eating humans I will not
stand idly by.”

I watched him fly away through the long afternoon
sunlight. The palace nearby was ruined. Walking back into it I decided to
find my friends, or whatever was left of them.

Now that I was of a more modest size the damage done
to the palace was much more apparent. Large swaths of the complex had been
utterly ruined. Rubble and wreckage were strewn about willy-nilly… as if two
titans had run amok with giant hammers. The destruction was far from complete
however, for at least three quarters of the place remained utterly untouched.

In places I found perfectly sound areas bordered by
sections where even the stones had been crushed into gravel. If I hadn’t known
the cause I might have thought some bizarre earthquake followed by a tornado
had done the damage, but even that explanation wouldn’t have been sufficient.

As I walked (and sometimes picked my way through)
the palace, I searched with my mind for my companions. Scanning the undamaged
areas I found Rose and Elaine had been laid side by side on a bed in one of the
guest suites. Frighteningly a section less than twenty yards from them had
been crushed and it appeared that mere chance had saved the two unconscious
women.

Dorian still lay where I had last seen him, in the
now collapsed main throne room. He was partly buried under stone and rubble
but I could tell he was still breathing so I decided to check on the two ladies
first. The last time I had seen Rose she had been bleeding profusely from some
sort of wound. I found no sign of Penny.

Moira, where is Penny?
I
asked mentally as I headed for the room where Rose and Elaine lay.

She is with me. Fear not, she is safe,
came
the reply.

Bring her to me,
I
commanded.

Moira’s answer had a strange feel to it when she
responded, as though strong emotions were overwhelming her thoughts.
Not
yet, we are… talking. I will bring her back when she is ready.

That was interesting, and it did little to relieve
my anxiety. Pressing onward I found the room that Rose was in, I needed to
make sure she wasn’t dying before I addressed anything else. I found her lying
on a large bed where it appeared she had been hastily dumped. Her arms and
legs were askew and by their unnatural positions I didn’t think she had moved
at all since Cyhan had presumably left her there. That didn’t bode well,
normally even unconscious people move a bit.

Elaine was curled up at the foot of the bed and a
cursory examination showed she had nothing more wrong with her than a large
goose egg on the back of her head, along with an assortment of scratches. I
passed over her immediately and set my hand over Rose’s forehead.

Her skin was cold but not clammy for she wasn’t
sweating, in fact if felt remarkably similar to what I would have expected from
a corpse but I could tell her heart was still beating. Her gown had been
ripped and a large wadded up ball of the fabric had been tied against her
abdomen. Even so blood had seeped through the material and the bed beneath her
was soaked with it.
Shit!
I thought and immediately I focused my senses
on her wound.

She had been stabbed and likely with a very sharp
blade, for her assailant had ripped the blade out with a slashing motion rather
than simply withdrawing it. Cyhan had probably had to tuck her innards back in
before binding her wound. I had no more time for thought, forgetting my
weariness I began sealing arteries and torn vessels, knitting everything back
together as quickly as possible before she could lose any more blood.

Unlike the terrible wound Penny had suffered once
this one was much simpler and I was able to effectively repair the injuries
without trying to work from the inside as I had done before. The biggest
problem was loss of blood; she had lost so much of it that I feared her body
might shut down from that simple lack. Her heart was beating at an incredible
rate trying to make up for the paucity of blood.

I glanced down at the brilliant golden stone I held
in my hand and wished I could heal the way the gods were able to. I had seen
them heal far worse and yet I struggled with something as simple as a mere shortage
of blood. In desperation I briefly considered connecting her blood vessels
with those of the girl next to her and trying to share some of Elaine’s blood
between them.

More likely you’ll kill both of them
,
I chided myself. I didn’t know enough to try something like that. Instead I
found a pitcher of clean water and used my magic to coerce it through the air
and then slip it through her mouth and down her throat. I filled her stomach
halfway and stopped, and then I stood back and wiped my forehead. I could only
hope that it would help.

A wave of fatigue washed over me and I knew I
couldn’t keep going for much longer. I needed rest like a starving man needs
food. I ignored the impulse to lie down on the floor and instead I moved
Elaine close beside Rose, arranging her so that she might help keep the other
woman warm and then I wrapped them both gently in the large comforter that lay
underneath them.