At the Gates of Darkness Part 22

'What are you thinking?' asked Pug.

'If we can control that demon, even for a few minutes,' said Amirantha, 'that could provide us an ingress. If you have the means to get in unseen and look about-'

'I can do that,' said Pug. 'I can render myself unseen for a short period of time.'

'That's good,' said Gulamendis with a slight smile, 'as we should only be able to subdue that demon for a short period.'

'What do we do with it when it's no longer subdued and starts shouting alarm?' asked Brandos.

'I expect it will be dead by then,' said Amirantha, pointedly.

Brandos rolled his eyes. 'They tend to stop being cooperative as soon as you start killing them.'

'Then do it quickly,' he said to Brandos and Gulamendis.

'You hook him,' said Brandos, 'and we'll gut him and cook him.' Gulamendis nodded. 'I've got one banishment that's very quick, but tends to be messy.'

'I don't mind messy,' said Pug. 'If we need to leave in a hurry, we can.'

'What about Magnus and his group?' asked Brandos.

'If they hear trouble, they know what to do,' answered Pug.

'I hope so,' said Brandos. 'Because I certainly don't.'

Pug said to Amirantha, 'Take the lead.'

Amirantha nodded, but instead of crawling forward as Brandos had, he stood, motioning for the others to follow, and started walking straight to the gate.

The sentry was looking the other way when Amirantha loomed upon it in the darkness, and when it turned its sheep-like head in the Warlock's direction, it uttered a curious sound, 'Uh?'

Before it could make another, Amirantha used a single word spell that stunned the creature, causing the huge axe it held to drop from limp fingers. Amirantha said to Pug, 'You have perhaps five to ten minutes; more likely five.'

Pug said, 'I'll be back in four.' He stole a quick glance at Amirantha who stood with hands outstretched, his magic controlling the demon. Brandos stood ready to strike a killing blow if needed, with Gulamendis ready to banish the creature.

Then he took a deep breath, and started walking towards the now unguarded entryway. As he moved around the makeshift wooden barrier, he unleashed a spell he had never used before. It was a difficult cantrip, that caused him to be ignored. Not truly invisible, but when someone glanced at him, he didn't garner their notice, as if he wasn't important enough to remember. It was a spell taught him by Laromendis the week before, and while the elf had proclaimed Pug's mastery of it sufficient, Pug still had doubts.

He walked through the opening and paused, glancing in all directions.

The four towers rose overhead, arching towards the open centre. This close, Pug could sense their power; it was faint, or perhaps dormant was a better word, but it was there. A tiny flicker of light danced across each tip from time to time, but otherwise they were quiet.

Pug could not enjoy the luxury of investigating any one aspect of this place, no matter how much he wished he could. He moved towards the ma.s.sive excavation at the centre of the ring, glancing from side to side to see if he was being observed. A sentry on the wall looked directly at him for a moment, then turned away to look out over the dark narrow path outside the wall. Either the spell was working or the guard expected to see humans in dark robes trekking around the facility during the night.

Pug reached the edge of the pit and glanced in. His stomach knotted. The pit was less than thirty feet deep, but he could see the pile of bodies. The stench clearly indicated they had been dead for days. Elves, humans, dwarves, and even some demons sprawled in the ma.s.s.

Pug stepped back and felt a fresh breeze blow the foul smell away. Had the air been still he would have sensed the dead at the outer gate.

He hurried towards the only feature inside the ring that offered an invitation, a small building of some sort, with a single door and no windows. As he hurried to reach it, a voice from nearby hissed, 'Pug!'

It was only by the scantest margin that Pug didn't incinerate Jim Dasher where he stood. 'You have no idea how close that was,' Pug whispered. 'Where are the others?'

'In there,' Jim pointed to the door. 'There's a stairway leading down to an underground chamber.'

Pug said, 'I have one minute before I must start back to where Amirantha and the others wait.' He pointed towards the unguarded entrance.

'Magnus, Sandreena, and Kaspar were taken.'

'What?'

Jim motioned for him to remain silent. 'A trap. I think they knew we were coming.' Before Pug could ask how, he continued. 'I used my cloak and Laromendis employed his conjuring skills to stay hidden. He's gone after you, and if he hasn't overtaken his brother and the others by now, he will be with them by the time you get back.'

'Me?' said Pug. 'My son is down there.'

'And I'm better able to slip in and out than you. You're spell is good, I had to look at you long and hard before I realized, but I did eventually recognize you. If you go down the stairs, you'll be in such a small s.p.a.ce that those at the bottom won't be able to ignore you, so let me go. I'll meet you by the gates in five more minutes.'

'If you're not back by then, I'll come after you,' said Pug.

'What about the plan?' hissed Jim.

'Everyone is in place, and I'll send Brandos with instructions if I must. I've lost too much to not go after Magnus if you don't return.'

'Understood,' said Jim. 'Now, let me go down there and then I'll find you.'

Pug hesitated, hating to leave this in another's hands, but one complaint he had always had about his wife Miranda was her seeming inability to delegate important tasks to others. Feeling a rush of bitterness thinking of her, he nodded and turned away.

Jim Dasher knew it had been difficult for Pug to let him go. The recent loss of his wife and younger son made him much more protective of Magnus. Still, Jim knew from experience that this was exactly the type of situation where emotion could get you killed.

They had established a plan, and it was the third option that only he, Pug, Kaspar, and Magnus knew of. Three companies of soldiers were a.s.sembled and ready to attack at a moment's notice.

Each was under the command of men whom Pug trusted implicitly, his adopted grandsons, Tad, Zane, and Jommy. Jommy waited in a nice quiet estate on the island of Roldem, with three hundred Royal Marines under his command.

Zane was down in Kesh with half a legion of Kesh's finest border guards, the dog soldiers; and had control of nearly a thousand men.

And Tad was in Krondor with five hundred more of the Prince's own, and Kaspar had another five hundred hand-picked shock troops from the army of the Maharaja of Muboya a.s.sembled half a planet away with the young magician Jason ready to bring them here.

Any or all of them could be here in minutes. The only critical thing was the one person who must use a Tsurani orb to get back to Sorcerer's Isle, where a simple order would trigger a full-scale a.s.sault on this fortification.

As long as one person could get away.

Jim made his way slowly into the building, and down the circular stairway, which began as a hole in the floor. He kept one hand on the wall on his left, while the other held the cloak around him firmly. The nature of his marvellous garment adjusted in proportion to his movement, but the staircase was barely wide enough to allow someone to pa.s.s, so he felt the need to reach the bottom as quickly as possible.

He made five full circles and knew he was approximately thirty feet below the surface, with the bottom still not in sight. Ten more and he saw light, and when he reached the bottom, he estimated that he was easily a hundred and fifty feet below the ground. It would be a wonderful climb back up, he thought, especially if he were being chased.

At the bottom, Jim discovered a large room with ancient stone walls. Another of those d.a.m.ned ancient Keshian fortifications, he thought. His adventure had started at a similar site on the plateau called the Tomb of the Hopeless, and now he found himself in one even more remote and dangerous than that.

Looking around for some idea of what to do, he noticed that only one of the four tunnels held a distant light, so that was the direction he chose.

The tunnel was also made of ancient stone, dry and dusty, but the floor showed the tread of many feet. He still had no concept of what this place was and why the mad magician Belasco and his demon minions had chosen to occupy it, but he suspected he was going to regret the discovery.

Reaching the end of the tunnel he hesitated, clutching his cloak around himself and looking into the room with surprise.

A ma.s.sive altar, ancient and stained black from sacrifices centuries past, was now stained with fresh blood. Before it knelt three figures, bound in chains and forced to kneel: Kaspar, Sandreena, and Magnus.

Well, at least they're still alive, thought Jim.

On top of the altar lay the still form of Belasco, his eyes closed. Dead, unconscious, or sleeping, it was difficult to judge.

And standing on the other side of the altar was a slender man, whipcord strong and stripped to the waist. His torso was covered in clan tattoos, and his teeth had all been filed to points. Jim had never seen one before, but still recognized what he was: Shaskahan cannibals were pract.i.tioners of particularly dark magic.

Only this time the magic didn't seem to be intended to destroy the body on the altar, but rather he appeared to be trying to revive it. When the chanting stopped, the Shaskahan reached over and gave Belasco a gentle shake. 'Master?' he whispered, loud enough for Jim to make out the word.

From out of the air came a voice. 'Yes, my servant?'

'Are you with us again?' asked the man. He appeared genuinely frightened by what was taking place.

'Not yet,' came the answer.

'What must I do? We trapped those who came, as you told us to. We have them here, bound in chains that stop their magic.' He looked at Sandreena and Magnus, then at Kaspar. 'We can spill blood if it will help?'

Dryly, the voice in the air said, 'Nothing can help.'

Then another voice sounded, and it was as if the winds of h.e.l.l had been given the power of speech. 'Let me out of here!' it commanded, and the body on the altar shook; the Shaskahan pulled back, obviously terrified.

Jim hung back in the shadows, totally uncertain what to do next.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - Summoning.

THE PIT EXPLODED.

Pug and the others were thrown to the ground as a tower of green energy ripped through the air from the pit. The brilliant energy lashed out like angry lightning, sizzling through the air with a hiss loud enough to make Pug's group want to cover their ears.

'G.o.ds!' said Brandos. 'What was that?'

Pug felt the hair on his arms and neck stand up as an all too familiar and evil power began to coalesce. 'Oh, G.o.ds, indeed,' said Pug as a deep thrumming sound and a powerful vibration emanated from the ground beneath them and set their teeth on edge. 'It's a summoning!'

'What?' asked Gulamendis. 'I have never experienced anything like this.'

Laromendis said, 'I have never seen its like either.' The taredhel had found his brother, Amirantha, and Brandos while Pug had encountered Jim. Pug had just finished explaining what he was going to do when the energy erupted.

Pug turned to Brandos and said, 'Here, take this.' He handed him a Tsurani orb and said, 'Push that b.u.t.ton and you will find yourself in the keep on Sorcerer's Isle. A magician named Pascal will be there waiting for you. Tell him to bring everything. He'll know what to do.'

'I'm not leaving,' he said, looking at Amirantha. 'He'll get himself killed if I'm not here to watch his back.'

Amirantha took the sphere from Pug and pressed it into Brandos's hands. 'I have been staying alive since before you were born, boy.' If anyone found it strange that the younger looking warlock called the grey-haired fighter 'boy', no one felt the need to remark on it. 'Do as you're told and then get back here if you can; otherwise wait at the keep with your wife. Understand?'

Looking from face to face, Brandos realized that he was the most expendable person there, so he grabbed the sphere and suddenly he was gone. 'What now?' asked Gulamendis.

'Something beyond our ability to imagine may be coming through that portal soon.' Pug saw that the guards in the area were hurrying back inside the wall, with looks of panic on their inhuman faces. 'If you see anything heading for the small building against the far wall, kill it,' he shouted, taking off at a run.

Amirantha and the two elves didn't hesitate and were only half a step behind Pug, who sprinted past the wooden barrier and through the empty gate. Several demons of varying size were screaming at one another, looking for anything to vent their rage and terror against. Amirantha shouted, 'Pug, to your right!'

Both the Warlock and Gulamendis began banishment rituals, but before they could get halfway through, Pug put out his palm and unleashed a withering beam of silver energy that tore the demon closing on him in two. The pieces fell to the ground smoking, and then erupted into flames, while the two demon masters and the conjurer looked on in awe. 'Remind me never to make him angry,' said Laromendis.

Gulamendis nodded, then shouted, 'That got their attention.'

A dozen demons had seen the display and Pug had provided them with a convenient target for their fear and rage. They bellowed and shrieked as they charged him and the others. Pug made a sweeping gesture with his hand and a curtain of flames erupted on the ground in front of the demons. They were engulfed as they screamed and roared in outrage and pain.

Gulamendis came to stand next to the nearly frantic magician. 'Those are demons. Fire will only annoy them.'

'It has slowed them down for a couple of minutes,' said Amirantha.

They reached inside the building and Pug made a quick decision. 'Amirantha, go down the stairs and find Jim Dasher. Be careful.' To Laromendis and Gulamendis he said, 'We have to keep those creatures back.'

The Warlock hurried down the circular stairs while Pug's right hand shot outward, palm forward, through the door. A rippling in the air, tainted green by the light from the summoning device, showed a wall of force striking a dozen demons and knocking them backwards. Several lay stunned and motionless, but the others seemed only to get madder.

Gulamendis took a talisman from his belt pouch and pointed it at one particularly nasty looking demon, a thing of scales and crocodile teeth, bat wings, and blood red armour. He spoke a quick phrase and suddenly the demon's yellow eyes blinked as it reached over and ripped out the throat of the demon next to it. Laromendis closed his eyes and muttered, 'Something big.' A moment later the ground shook from the enraged bellow of a ma.s.sive golden dragon as it sprang into being above the thirty or so demons ringing the hut.

Gulamendis said, 'This will only buy us a few minutes, Pug. The bigger and angrier the illusion, the faster Laro fatigues.'

The dragon was a thing of beauty, looking exactly like the one the brothers had ridden upon with Tomas. It opened its maw and a scorching blast of searing fire rolled over the demons, scattering them. Pug felt the heat wash over him until he noticed that while the demons ran screaming, batting at the flames as their flesh blistered, there was no fire, no smoke or char on the ground. The moment he realized this, the heat stopped. He could still see the dragon, but it was now insubstantial and clearly an illusion.

Knowing the demons would soon come to the same understanding he sent out another blast of flame, which exploded in a tower of orange and yellow that inflicted real burns on the demons. 'That will keep them confused a little longer,' said Pug.

'Confusion will only work for a while,' said Gulamendis. 'Their reserves from outside the walls are now joining in.'

Pug said, 'They were probably given orders to return when the summoning started. I wonder what chance let these ones live while their companions lie at the bottom of that pit?'

'That battle we saw on Telesan was not an illusion, Pug,' said Gulamendis. 'There's a demon war taking place, and its our good fortune that the demons are now warring against one another. I've lived through losing two worlds to them. A third would be one too many. Look out!'

Pug saw the flyers attacking the dragon illusion and Pug responded with a lance of purple light, which caused one demon to burst into flames above the dragon. As the corpse fell, it pa.s.sed completely through the dragon and several of the other demons realized something was amiss.

'They're stupid,' said Gulamendis, 'but not that stupid. They'll turn on us in a minute.'

Pug shot out another great bolt of energy and said, 'If we can hold out for another ten, fifteen minutes, the marines from Roldem should be the first here.'

As more demons swarmed into view, Gulamendis said, 'I think they're going to be overmatched unless we can help them.'

'We'll help,' said Pug.

Gulamendis used his ward and reached out to take control of the largest demon he could see, then set it against its neighbour. It didn't take much provocation for that conflict to escalate as several other demons were drawn in. 'Something in their conditioning is breaking down, Pug. The battle demons are reverting to their old habits and starting to fight for domination.'

'Why?'