The Commanding Stone Part 34

"Yes," said the Archmage. She looked worn, weary, to Gerin. "The Havalqa gave fifty of their soldiers to the creatures making the circles."

"What do you mean, 'gave'?" asked Balandrick. He peered out toward the encampment, but in the dim light and without a Fa.r.s.eeing, Gerin doubted he could make out any details.

"One group of soldiers chained fifty others and led them to the creatures, then left them there," said Kirin. He looked down at the bundle Gerin carried. "What's that?"

"The staff showed me a vision of where Naragenth might have hidden some of his writings." He unwrapped the book. "We found this."

"Venegreh preserve us," muttered Khazuzili.

"I haven't had time to look at it, Warden. I have no idea what's here."

"But you have your suspicions," said Kirin.

"Yes." He described the vision the Presence showed him of a sick young boy and Naragenth approaching him with a knife.

"A dreadful discovery, if true," said Khazuzili.

"I feared such a thing when you first described the Presence," said Kirin. "I could think of no other way for intelligence to be imbued in an object. d.a.m.n his soul for practicing such foul magic. It's an abomination."

Medril was peering at the enemy camp with a looking gla.s.s. "I think you all need to see this."

Gerin created a Fa.r.s.eeing and directed it toward the flank of the camp where the creatures had inscribed their interlocking circles in the earth. They had finished their work and cleared the ground of any growth. Trees, bushes, shrubs, flowers-all were removed, leaving only gra.s.s they had shorn almost to the ground.

The fifty soldiers had been stripped to the waist and were being tied to the ground as Gerin and the others watched. Their arms were stretched over their heads, the shackles on their wrists tied to stakes pounded into the soil. Their ankles were similarly bound. Five men were staked near each of the braziers, which lit the area with an orange-red glow that reminded Gerin of descriptions of Shayphim's lair, an underh.e.l.l where those captured by the dreaded spirit of evil were tormented before he deposited them into the Cauldron of Souls.

"What are they doing?" asked Balandrick as he looked through Gerin's Fa.r.s.eeing.

"I get the feeling they're to be sacrificed," said Abaru.

"Good riddance, I say, if they're going to start killing their own," said Balandrick.

"They won't kill them for no reason, Balan," said Gerin. "They're creating some power there, and if they're willing to kill their own men to complete it, it's not good news for us."

As the morning lengthened, they watched the creatures perform rituals within the circles. Various liquids, powders, and hunks of animal flesh were tossed onto the braziers; the smoke from them swirled upward on eddies of power. The columns bent inward and spiraled slowly until they met over the center of the inner ring, at which point a more ma.s.sive column of smoke rose straight into the sky.

"That looks d.a.m.n odd," said Balandrick.

Nyene had joined them sometime after sunrise. She regarded the happenings in the Havalqa camp with loathing and disgust. "We should go out and meet them on the field of battle," she said. "Enough of cowering behind walls. Enough of this cowardly magic that inflicts death with no honor. If I'm to die, I want to look into the eyes of my killer and curse him as my life leaves me."

"We'll do no such thing," said the Archmage. "My wish is that they'll batter themselves to death against our defenses, that not a single enemy will set foot inside Hethnost or any of us will set foot outside of it. I want no more of my people to die, and no more damage inflicted upon this great and ancient place. Though if you wish to go out and meet them on the field, young lady, I won't stop you. You're a guest here, not a prisoner, and your life is yours to do with as you will."

Nyene made a dismissive gesture and stalked off.

"She has fire, I'll give her that," said Kirin.

"Yet it's misplaced," said the Archmage. "She seems a woman intent on seeking her own death."

"I don't think she's seeking her own death," said Balandrick. "But she certainly is seeking theirs."

The central column of smoke continued to churn into the sky. A black cloud formed above the circles, fed by the column. It grew at an alarming rate, and became so dark it seemed almost a solid thing floating in the air.

When the cloud had grown to twice the diameter of the cleared area beneath it, the creatures began to murder the soldiers they'd staked to the ground.

With methodical, dispa.s.sionate precision, they used curved daggers to cut the hearts from the men. The other soldiers began to struggle desperately against their bonds when they saw this, but could not break free.

The creatures threw the hearts onto the braziers. The b.l.o.o.d.y organs immediately flashed to ashes as the power concentrated there consumed them. The spiraling columns of smoke feeding the central column began to writhe like agitated snakes.

Every wizard along the Hammdras sensed immediately the power surging into the cloud. "Venegreh preserve us," muttered Kirin. "All that energy, and they still have more than forty to sacrifice."

"Have you figured out yet what that cloud is?" asked Balandrick.

Gerin shook his head. "All I can tell is that it's a receptacle for holding power, but I have no idea what they'll use it for."

"That's a b.l.o.o.d.y big receptacle," said Balan.

"This bodes ill for us," said the Archmage. She paused, then seemed to reach a decision. "Warden Khazuzili, have Ilyam's Lens brought here at once. I fear we will have need of it before this is done."

Khazuzili was aghast. "But Archmage, it cannot be used without causing the-"

"I'm well aware of its properties, Rahmdil. Please, don't argue."

"Yes, Archmage." Visibly shaken, he shuffled off.

Some of the Havalqa soldiers near the area of the circles were plainly distressed by the sight of their comrades being slaughtered in such a fashion. A number of them drew their weapons and ran toward that section of the camp, but were turned back by a perimeter guard of the creatures, heavily armored and brandishing spears. A number of officers were screaming at their men to fall back in an attempt to restore order. The soldiers were so far resisting the orders, but neither did they press forward.

"They may end up with a full-blown uprising over this," said Balandrick.

"We can only hope," said Gerin.

"I want order restored at once," said Ezqedir as he watched a skirmish threaten to erupt along the perimeter of the Loh'shree's section of the camp. "Any Herolen who refuses the order to fall back will be summarily executed."

"I'll relay the command immediately, sir." The adjutant bowed and raced off.

"I feared this would happen," said Meloqthes. "These sacrifices are an abomination."

"We obey whatever orders we are given, without question," snapped Ezqedir. "Armies cannot function if there is disobedience among the ranks."

Meloqthes took a step back and bowed his head. "Yes, General."

Tolsadri strode toward them from his tent, a smirk upon his face. "So you have need of the Loh'shree and their vile powers. I would have thought a man with as much pride as you would never resort to such a slaughter of your men."

Ezqedir did not deign to look at the Voice. "I would gladly sacrifice fifty to save the thousands who would break themselves upon the barriers of power the wizards have arrayed before us."

"Your Herolen think otherwise." He gestured toward the chaos along the Loh'shree perimeter. "I would have thought your soldiers better trained than this. A poor showing of their regard for your authority and the chain of command. Perhaps their confidence in you is not as high as you believe."

"Meloqthes, move the battalions into position," Ezqedir said, ignoring Tolsadri. "I want them ready when the Loh'shree deploy their power."

"Yes, General."

"And if the Voice questions my authority or the readiness of my men again, bind and gag him and throw him into the latrine. I'll not suffer insults to our proud warriors from one such as him."

"With pleasure, General."

Tolsadri snarled and left. Meloqthes and the other adjutants laughed.

Ezqedir did not smile. The battle is about to begin in earnest. We need to break these wizards quickly, before they can bring more of their foul powers to bear on us. We need to wash over them like a tidal wave, leaving nothing standing in our wake.

We'll kill them all. Only then will the Words of Making be ours.

Gerin watched with curiosity as a number of servants carried a wrought-iron oval up the steps to the wall-walk. The oval itself was about a yard high and mounted on a pedestal with a wide base. Nenyal Fey followed behind them, carrying two slender wooden cases whose lids bore silver plaques engraved with runic Osirin markings.

"What is that thing?" asked Balandrick. "It looks like a mirror whose gla.s.s has gone missing."

"I've never seen it before," said Gerin. "But I'll guess it's Ilyam's Lens. And before you ask me what it's used for, I have no idea."

"You're right about what it is," said Kirin. "It's a device for focusing the power of a single wizard in a very specific way to overcome the usual limitations of magic and distance. Pray that we do not have to use it."

The siege engines had been silent since the night before. Wagons had been hauling boulders to each of the weapons, but so far they merely piled them up near the throwing arms. Gerin wondered what they were waiting for, and feared the answer was linked to the ominous cloud growing over the enemy camp.

The sacrifices of the Havalqa soldiers continued. With each heart thrown onto a brazier, the power within the cloud grew. The column of smoke rising into it flashed and pulsed with crimson light.

The near uprising at the edge of the creatures' section of the encampment had unfortunately been averted. The Havalqa commanders were able to restore order before any fighting broke out.

More troubling, the Havalqa infantry were forming columns behind the siege engines. They were obviously preparing for a ma.s.sive frontal a.s.sault-Gerin could see dozens of scaling ladders arrayed along the line.

"Looks like they're going to get serious," said Balandrick. "Nyene should be pleased."

Though he would never say such a thing aloud, Gerin almost welcomed action of some kind from the enemy. Waiting helplessly while their enemy plotted and prepared did his nerves no good. He understood Nyene's desire to at least do something.

The creatures sacrificed the last of the Havalqa soldiers. The killer straightened from its ghastly deed; blood from the heart ran down its arm and dripped to the ground. With a casual flourish, it threw the heart onto the brazier. The organ flared for an instant like a fiery eye opening among the coals before the power there consumed it.

The corpses of the dead men were left where they lay, the wounds in their chests gaping open like blood-drenched mouths.

Ten of the nonhuman beings arrayed themselves with the braziers. They wore mantles instead of armor-when he'd first seen them, Gerin thought of them as priests, though it appeared now they were also a.n.a.logous to wizards, since they were the ones marshaling the power in the circles that created the ma.s.sive black cloud.

The ten priestly beings began to speak in unison. Gerin could see their lips moving through the Fa.r.s.eeing but could not hear their words. He guessed it was a spell or ritual of some kind, designed to control the power they had created.

The light of the braziers began to throb: bright, dim, bright, dim, as if the hearts they'd devoured had begun to beat once more within the h.e.l.l-red coals.

The Havalqa soldiers halted behind the line of the siege engines. The rear of the formations were still moving into position, but the forward lines were so still and quiet they might as well have been statues.

"Shayphim take me, I wish these b.a.s.t.a.r.ds would get started already," said Balandrick.

From his hilltop vantage point, Ezqedir watched his army march into position, waiting for the Loh'shree to begin the attack.

"Now these wizards will understand what it means to awaken the wrath of the Havalqa," he said to no one in particular.

"'The skies opened, and it was as a storm of rain and lightning and howling winds that Herol came to the field of battle. His enemies quaked with terror, and those who did not flee before his wrath were drowned in the tumult,'" he quoted from the Herol-eilu Antaqar.

He looked over at the cloud the Loh'shree had created. Fashioned from the blood of my men, he reminded himself.

The column feeding the cloud rippled with red light that pulsed in harmony with the glow from the braziers. Ezqedir had never seen a Loh'shree death cloud before and was impressed by the sight of it despite its gruesome origins.

He only hoped that it did what he was promised it would. That his men had not been slaughtered for nothing.

The braziers flared suddenly, the red coals spitting fire and sparks into the air. When the flare died back down, the central column of smoke feeding the cloud vanished.

"'Those that did not flee were drowned in the tumult,'" he repeated softly. "Time to test the mettle of these wizards."

The cloud began to move.

38.

It seemed to Gerin that all of the sounds in the world vanished for a lingering moment when the cloud began to slide toward them, a floating black mountain traveling upon unseen currents. That everyone and everything-wizard, servant, soldier, Havalqa, even the birds perched on the towers and battlements-held their breaths as the enormous black ma.s.s started to move.

"Archmage, it's not yet time for such drastic measures," pleaded Hollin.

Gerin turned, startled by the anguish in Hollin's voice, to see that Marandra had opened the cases brought by Nenyal. They contained serpentine spirals of black metal that she slid onto her forearms.

Hollin stepped closer, his face close to her ear. "Marandra, please, I beg you. Don't do this. This power should never be used."

Anger flashed across her face; then she took a deep breath and her anger vanished, replaced with a sad resignation.

"I will do what I must. Look at what is coming toward us." She pointed to the cloud, now halfway across the field separating the fortress from the Havalqa.

"What does Ilyam's Lens do?" Gerin asked Kirin. "What is the price of its power?"

"It directs the totality of a wizard's magic through that ring. All the power that she can draw through her paru'enthred will be released in an instant. It will allow her magic to reach the Havalqa camp."

"About b.l.o.o.d.y time," said Balandrick. "Why didn't we haul this thing out before now?"

Gerin considered the ramifications of the Warden's words. "All the magic? Won't that mean..."

Kirin looked at him gravely. "Yes. It will kill her. There is no way to survive using it."

"Oh," said Balandrick. "My apologies. I didn't know."

"Who made such a thing?" asked Gerin.

"Times were desperate during the Wars of Unification, when Helca's armies were commanded by some of the most powerful wizards of the day," said Kirin. "This was devised by a wizard enclave in Farad to defeat Maesur Entoch, the greatest of Helca's wizard generals. They succeeded in killing Maesur, but in the end the city fell and all of the wizards in that enclave were put to death."