The Vampire's Heart (29 page)

I close the trapdoor behind me, not through necessity but because it had been left open. I head across to the stage and take the five steps up to the stage two at a time, waiting until I am upon the platform before casting my gaze to the heavens to see what view Calcia will have blessed me with.

The moon is bright, though it is more than half hidden. There are clouds rolling across the panorama above me. They are carried swiftly by a wind much stronger than the breeze down here.

Oh how I long to cast my wings, and thrash my way up into that sky; to get away from all of this pressure just for a while and to be free amongst the birds and leaves carried aloft in that heavenly space.

Before I realise it I notice that my face has twisted into a mischievous grin of pleasure. I am going to fly away tonight, not forever, but for a mid-hour or so; just to clear my mind. Blow the cobwebs out, so to speak.

I reach down into the dormant supplies of magic within me and pull out the necessary amount to transform my body.

I hear the crack of wood on stone behind me. I twist my head and torso to look at the trapdoor, letting the magic flutter away on the wind, carried to the distant edges of the world. A man is rising from the trapdoor, bare-chested. He strides boldly forward, in body if not in mind. I know he lacks this true confidence of mind because his eyes never connect with mine. He approaches with his eyes downcast.

At the foot of the steps he comes to a stop, only then do his eyes glide up to mine.

“
Raven Knight. The Gateway cannot be closed. Not by us at least.”

I do not turn to face him fully as I am pained by this news; I just continue to look at him over my shoulder.

“
Then by whom?”

“
By my estimation it would take roughly three thousand fully rested, fully proficient casters to generate enough power to force the gateway shut.”

I smile to myself. Though it is not what I wanted to hear, it is at least something. Finally, we will be free.

“
Then I see only one other option,” I say, letting my eyes return to the sky.

“
Collapse the theatre, sir?”

His thoughts obviously were only marginally behind mine; or perhaps everyone else wanted to be rid of the basement too.

“
Indeed, we will leave this place at first light. Take this news to Tyllard, have him see to it personally. Also, make sure that none disturb me. I wish to be alone for a while.”

“
Yes, Raven Knight.”

And then he turns and hurries back to the trapdoor and to the warmth of below the ground. A ‘below the ground’ that merely will not exist by noon.

- Satch -

9 days until the birth of a god

The 24
^th
day of Spring-Fall, 1538

This is not what I want to think about at the moment, but I guess it will keep Meth happy. I really don’t understand how he can be so nonchalant about what we’re heading to do. We’re both probably going to die.

I search my memories for the facts, long ago learned from books, and arrange them in my mind so that they will relate more coherently than mere memories of learned studies.

“
Well, according to the records, which in truth aren’t complete, Tomam and Rebium had priests stationed on the Isle of Ages. They were keeping it safe from the ‘Circle heathens’. Somehow one of those priests died and the Descendants claimed that he was murdered by Circle infiltrators. Naturally, the Circle claimed no knowledge.”

Meth walks at my side. We’re both keeping up a steady pace and sweat beads on both of our brows. My brother walks with a fixed stare, desperate to get to Muzbeth so that we can put an end to this.

He had wanted to use magic to get there more quickly, but I couldn’t let him find out about my change, not yet at least. I eased him into walking, instead of magically rushing headlong, by planting the seed that we will need all of our magical power when we finally fight Muzbeth.

Suddenly he talks, though his eyes never turn to look at me. They are still fixed on some invisible point far ahead of us; something that only he can see.

“
So we struck out at you guys?”

Heh, ‘you guys’, if only.

“
Yes, and you killed hundreds of the Circle men occupying the next islands. But the Circle forces had allies in Midiar, and so only the Circle got reinforcements. The Descendant priests were eventually wiped out.”

“
And so The Dirigir Oak fell into Circle hands.”

“
Yes, exactly. So then, hearing of what had happened on the Peninsula Archipelago between Circle and Descendant, Enlil and the other DC cities instigated the Hub systems, though they didn’t go by that name until General Vigrath coined it. And so the Calcian Wars began properly; a terrible blight on the history of Gatheck.”

“
And all to no avail in the end; there are still Circle around, and though we don’t war anymore, and though you still pilgrimage, we work together. We may not like it at times, but we will never be rid of each other. I think that is what the war was about; Calcia making us see that.”

I keep my silence, holding my tongue, and I keep my magic locked away. If he were to find out that I have lost my faith in Calcia, it would be devastating, for me, him and our quest. But by returning to my Pagan roots, I have become stronger and more capable of dealing with Muzbeth. And that is what I must console myself with.

At least he is buying the ‘conserving our magic for the battle’ story. I am so sorry to have to lie to you Meth.

- Angel-Mexis -

The mountains surrounding me slowly lumber apart as I pass though them. The river at my feet gradually slows as it becomes more lake and less river; its current dying as the span from bank to bank increases.

Soon I’ll be able to see the Heart, thought I still don’t understand how I’m supposed to do whatever Kellum wanted me to do.

The ground is starting to level off, and soon it should become a slightly sloping valley. Back in the days after the Calcian Wars, it was this valley that was said to have caught Calcia’s tears. She wept one for each of her followers that had died as a result of the infighting. Those tears collected together and thus formed the Heart. I’m not inclined to believe anything of Calcia.

I crest the rise and come to a stop to survey the scene about me. Directly ahead is the massive expanse of rose-tinted water known to all Calcians. The lake is surrounded by the high peaks of the Gatheck Range. Dozens of feet below me, at the bottom of a steep drop cut into the rock, the river flows away from the lake, trailing its way to the ocean near the Peninsula Archipelago. The deep cleft in which it runs has been cut by many years of travelling the same route. Behind me lies the track I came up, which wound its way along the riverside and switched from side to side occasionally. The side swapping was for more purchase on the rocky slopes, making use of the early stepping stones jutting out of the water, and recently, the simple wooden bridges. Ahead and to the left I can see the end of the path that the Calcian pilgrims use. It ends at the side of the Heart after winding its weary way through the mountains to begin southeast of Enlil.

Finally, after seemingly endless days of travel interspersed with hiding, I head down the slight but long slope towards the lakeside. Now I’ve just got to wait for what I’ve got to do. I still don’t know.

The Nineteenth Chapter

- Angel-Mexis -

8 days until the birth of a god

The 25
^th
day of Spring-Fall, 1538

At the lakeside the water is even more pinkish, though it is perfectly clear. The crystalline waters allow my sight to penetrate far into the depths. I kneel down at its edge and dip my hand in, trailing my fingers through the shallow water. From here it looks like the ripples cast by my hands go on forever, slowly spreading across the top of the Heart.

That’s it! The ripples cast by my hand. Withdrawing my hand from the rose-tinted water I release a little magical energy to get a sense of ambient levels, and what comes back is truly astonishing. There are massive amounts of natural magical energy here.

Perhaps this truly is a lake of the goddess’ tears. I know that rural areas have higher levels than urban areas, and this is as far away from civilisation as you can get, but still, it shouldn’t be this powerful. Not naturally. Here, nature and magic rule absolute, and as such, magical levels are much higher.

I probe the water, sending my magic lancing through its deepest areas. There is something down there, and it is something solid.

A wave of something magical breaks over me, though it feels more like it broke out. I blink and rub my eyes. I shouldn’t be this tired. I wasn’t tired, but I’ll just rest my eyes for a while. I lean back and rest my head on the lakeside grasses. My feet slip into the lake and the cool water slowly seeps into my boots, cooling my travel-wearied feet. I’ll just have a short rest…

“
...You know my name is Kellum, and that I am a vampire. But I am a demon too. I am going back to Hell, and this body will return to its rightful owner. The sun will devour me. However, this body will survive to become a Lys-Karalis, and he will be instrumental in defeating those that need to be defeated. I do not know who they are. This is what I need you to do; go to the dimension of the Third Empire, it is a long time since I travelled there, but you will be safe there until your destiny finds you.”

“
What? My destiny? I don’t understand? Dimensions? What are you on about?”

“
Please believe me! We have to be quick. He will be growing suspicious.”

“
How is it even possible to go to another dimension?”

“
You must go to The Heart. Underneath the lake is a stone circle that can be used with your magic. You will understand with time. Tap into the magic there. Raise the Circle, go to the Third Empire,” Kellum tells me.

“
How? I understand raising the Circle, but how do I use it?”

“
You’ll need to infuse each stone with a little magic; that will awaken the gate. Then you’ll need to find the most northern Marker Stone outside of the Circle. Pour your power into that and then step inside the stone circle. I am sorry for everything. Goodbye. I fear we will never meet again. I am sorry to have had to interrupt you during your waking hours,” he says.

My focus comes back and the sounds of the birds are loud in my ears. I’m still at the side of the lake. That dream was distinctly different, in the past it had carried on from when I’d been running from Muzbeth, but that time it started halfway through and was just a voice in a sea of blackness and silence. I hope Kellum is okay.

I sit up and brush the loose stones and earth from off my back. I stand and mark a circle around me in the ground with my foot, a magical circle that will keep magical power bound within; I infuse the circle with magic as I draw it.

I use myself as a conduit, drawing magical energy into me and then releasing it inside the circle, continuing until my body, and the column of air around it, is saturated with magic. I draw as much of that raised power into myself as I physically can, and I push the rest of the magic deep into the water; towards what must be the stone circle at the bottom.

Now that the column is empty of magic, I walk forward slowly, breaking the barrier of the circle and letting it fall.

I step out onto the water, slowly walking across its surface to the centre of the lake; I feel as though I will fall in, but after a few steps the water, and my magic, still holds me and that fear dies.

I begin my journey to the middle of the lake. My earlier magical scouting has told me that I’ve got at least ten miles to walk, twelve at most. And walking on the slightly undulating, yet perfectly solid water, makes moving all that much slower.

I hope I arrive before nightfall.

***

I am nearing the centre of the vast lake, and by now I must be obscured from vision by mere distance, though I imagine magically enhanced eyes might be able to see me. I guess it does not matter now though; I doubt that the Descendants or the Circle are still looking for me.

As I have been walking, feelings of elation have been coursing through me, thanks to the immense amounts of magic contained within my body.

At the centre of the Heart, I let the magic leech out of me and down through my feet and into the water to pulse downwards. I let it happen slowly at first, but each time I increase the pulse slightly. With each and every pulse I sink a little lower into the water. Maybe I am going to drown. What if this is really what the gods had planned for me all along, maybe they really did turn from me! The sickening thoughts escape my head when I begin to rise again. I never even got up to my knees in the cold lake, and I was ready to abandon everything.

No longer needing to release magic to keep myself atop the water, I relax and watch as around me the water is rising too. But it does not rise as a whole, rather just columns of pink water, slowly towering their way above the lake’s surface.

They come to a stop at about eight feet tall each. Every two water-stones support a lintel between them, and each and every one is positively glowing with magical energy.