The Sorcerer's Abyss (The Sorcerer's Path) (35 page)

A knife appeared in Daebian’s small hand and he plunged it low into Azerick’s side. Pain shot through his body and suffused his soul. The pain went far beyond what simple steel could produce. It was agony born of a blade crafted from guilt, betrayal, and failure. It cut with the razor sharpness of truth, a truth that cut deeper than mere flesh.

Crying out, blinded by the composite amalgamation of all those agonizing emotions, Azerick unleashed his abyssal fury. The harunden barked out a short but ear-piercing yelp as the spell blasted it off Azerick’s arm and left it a smoking husk of a corpse. Spinning, he backhanded Daebian away with enough force to send him careening into the wall of stone where he crumpled into a heap.

Shocked out of his rage, Azerick shifted back into his human body and raced over to his fallen son. He dropped to his knees, cradled Daebian’s small body in his arms, and wept. Great shuddering sobs wracked his body as he gently rocked the boy in his arms.

“Now you see,” Krade said. “You chose guilt over so-called love. When put to the test, your love failed.”

“Have you not tortured me enough?” Azerick sobbed.

“You torture yourself. As long as you cling to your lies, your soul will always be in a state of torment.”

Azerick shook his head, rubbing his face into his son’s shoulder. “Fine, you win. Maybe my love is not altruistic and selfless. Maybe no one’s is. Maybe the choices I made in my life were not always for someone else’s benefit or welfare but for my own. But I made my choices, I did what I did because I thought it was right, consequences be damned! I don’t care if they were right or wrong. I don’t care if it was for my benefit or someone else’s. They were my choices, I made them as my conscience dictated, and I will not apologize for any of it!”

“Finally, you see the truth of yourself,” Krade intoned.

Daebian’s body turned into the red sand of the valley floor and ran through Azerick’s fingers to form a pile in front of him. Azerick rolled the grains in his palms with his thumbs, mixing it with the tears rolling off his face.

“Damn you,” he whispered.

“I was damned at the moment of my conception, as were you.”

Azerick ran his hands through the mound of sand that was his son before standing and turning to face the devil. Krade was gone, as he expected, but so too was the valley. The impossibly high walls had vanished, and only the unchanging vista of this hellish place filled his vision. Turning a slow circle, Azerick spotted a black, uniform shape in the distance. Anger slowly replaced sorrow as he processed what Krade had done to him. He was furious. The valley had been a lie. His son, wife, and love were all lies. Worst of all was the realization that he was nothing but a lie.

Azerick extended his hand toward his citadel and curled his fingers as if to pluck it from the horizon. With a snarl, he jerked his arm toward his chest and found himself standing in front of the enormous doors. The two insectoid-looking demons standing sentry flinched at their master’s sudden arrival.

“Prepare yourselves. We shall soon be under siege.” Azerick pushed past his minions and disappeared inside.

CHAPTER 12

Ellyssa lagged behind Wolf and Ghost as she gingerly picked her way through the forest, ducking branches and untangling every manner of thorny vegetation from her clothes and hair. She was city born and raised and had never felt comfortable in the woods. Watching Wolf easily thread his way through even the densest undergrowth, she now understood why he chose a minimalistic approach to fashion.

After nearly another full day of traipsing through the woods, Ellyssa heard a thunderous crash and saw a flash of lightning. A moment later, another low boom reached her ears but without the telltale flash. She scanned the skies and soon spotted Sandy silhouetted against the light grey clouds high overhead. Even in the wane light of the cloudy, early evening sun, her brilliant scales found enough light to gleam like a tight cluster of stars.

The trio dropped into a trough created by two low but steep hills. When they emerged from the depression, Sandy was nowhere to be seen. The forest was silent, no longer wracked by the crack of lightning and splitting trees. Ellyssa began to worry Sandy had flown off and she would be forced to walk or hitch a ride on a merchant wagon to reach Southport.

They had just dropped down the other side of the hill when the woods to Ellyssa’s left practically exploded. Ellyssa performed a backpedaling leap away and promptly fell on her backside. Despite the surprise ambush, Ellyssa’s constant training allowed her to have a spell ready on her lips by the time she struck the ground. She let the energy drain away when she spotted Sandy’s enormous head and looked at Wolf’s grinning face.

“Dang it, Sandy, you scared the crap out of me!” Ellyssa shouted.

Sandy grinned, displaying a double row of sharp, white teeth. “That was the intent.”

“You’re lucky I didn’t blast you!”

Sandy snorted. “With what? I felt you call upon the Source, and it answered with a feeble response.”

Ellyssa’s stomach fluttered and her face heated. Sandy was right. Drawing upon the Source felt like trying to tie her shoes with fingers numbed by the cold and it terrified her. She wondered if she had permanently damaged herself. The thought was more terrifying than the idea of Academy wizards getting their hands on her. Her magic was all she had. It was all she was.

Ellyssa got up and brushed at the detritus clinging to her clothes. “I will never understand how something the size of a house can be so sneaky.”

Sandy let Ellyssa’s exaggeration pass. She was only about the size of large draft horse, her tail and neck slightly doubling her overall length. Even so, she was a fearsome sight to behold, particularly when taken unawares.

“She didn’t surprise me or Ghost,” Wolf said.

Sandy swiveled her big, wedge-shaped head toward the half elf. “That’s because you’re a pointy-eared little freak.”

“You knew she was there the whole time? Why didn’t you warn me?”

Wolf pulled his tongue back in from sticking it out at Sandy. “Because it wouldn’t have been any fun. Besides, someone needs to knock you on your butt once in a while to keep your head from swelling up too much.”

Ellyssa bit off her retort and shrugged. “You’re probably right.”

“So what are you doing this far from the school?”

Sandy asked the question openly, but Ellyssa knew the question was directed at her. “Wolf says something happened at the school. Some Academy wizards and soldiers showed up and took over.”

A low rumble filled the air as Sandy growled her displeasure. Despite remaining aloof since their return from Sumara, Sandy saw the school as her home and everyone in it her family.

“What do they want?” Sandy asked.

Ellyssa answered. “The Academy does not like the school not being under their control. I overheard Allister arguing with another man from The Academy about it when they came looking for me.”

Sandy slowly bobbed her head. “And with Azerick gone, they felt confident about forcing their assertions without provoking open conflict. It would seem the ripples caused by your monumental stupidity continue to disrupt the placidity of the waters that are our lives.”

Ellyssa flinched at the harshness of Sandy’s softly spoken words. “I’m sorry, but you don’t understand.”

“I understand all too well. We were all hurt and damaged during our captivity. Few people can pinpoint the exact moment their childhood ended, but we can, all three of us. My tormenters are all dead or of no consequence, so I must take out my rage, pain, and frustrations upon the land. I do this to become stronger so no one can ever hurt me again. But some of yours are still out there, and as long as they live, your soul can never be at peace, can never feel truly safe. Until they are dead, part of you will still be a captive in Sumara.”

“So you do understand. I’m glad someone does.”

“I understand why you are hunting slavers. What I don’t understand is what you are doing here. If you think to enlist me in throwing those Academy idiots out of the school, you had better have a good plan. Those kids have all seen too much fighting in their lives. We all have.”

Ellyssa shook her head. “No, I’m not going to fight them. From what I overheard and what Wolf told me, it sounds like things won’t change too much except for who’s in charge. I need to get to Southport and the sooner the better. I don’t think The Academy is done looking for me, and I was hoping you would fly me there.”

Sandy’s body tensed then relaxed. “The last time I carried someone on my back things went badly, but I can see why you would want to get away from these wizards. I imagine they are very eager to get their hands on that book.”

Ellyssa took a defensive step back. “How do you know about the book?”

“I can sense it. It is very powerful. Most any wizard would do whatever it takes to recover it. I have to fight my instincts to covet it for myself. I would do anything to keep it for myself, except betray a friend.”

“So we’re still friends?” Ellyssa asked, nervously shuffling her feet.

“We are. Some of the strongest friendships are bound by a shared pain. We all made our choices and, in the end, no one suffered for any reason other than their own.”

Ellyssa visibly swallowed. “That’s what Allister told me right after Azerick died. I didn’t believe him. I didn’t want to. I wanted to hurt, to suffer for what I did. Every time someone told me it wasn’t my fault, I wanted to punish myself even more for their refusal to do so. I guess I thought it was easier that way, for everyone. I know they wanted to blame me. They wanted to yell at me and tell me how angry they were, but they couldn’t. For Azerick’s sake, they couldn’t. So I did it for them, and for myself.”

“I think you underestimate their ability for forgiveness,” Sandy said.

“Maybe, but I don’t underestimate mine,” Ellyssa replied. “Will you take me to Southport?”

Sandy heaved a sigh as she overcame her disinclination to be used as a mode of transportation. “I will take you a day’s walk from the walls but no closer.”