A Balance Broken (Dragonsoul Saga) (50 page)

Tallen sat up with a wordless shout.

“Easy, lad,” the paladin whispered. “I’ve cured most of your ills. That thing roughed you up pretty bad.”

“The orcs did their part, too,” Tallen winced. The dull pain in his side remained, especially when he spoke. “How did you find me?”

Tomas frowned at him. “I told you I would use my skills to watch over you. This area interferes with my abilities enough to prevent my sensing the orcs, but it could not hide your emotions once they attacked you. We’ve been running for nearly an hour to get here.” He stared at the wizard. “I told you we should have brought the horses to the Isle.”

Dorias nudged the boarskin-cloaked body of the orc leader with his boot. “This one is a shaman. I hope he was as uncomfortable here without his power as I am.” The wizard fixed his sharp gaze on Tallen. “I know Varana warned you about coming near here.” He leaned over, digging around in the shaman’s pockets until he pulled out a smooth, dark stone. He flipped it in his hand. “This is just like the one Joslyn Britt gave us.”

Merl cawed, his squawks resolving into what sounded like words to Tallen’s ears. “Deeper! Deeper!” The raven’s warm breath left puffs of vapor in the cold air of the cavern.

Stuffing the tracing stone in his pocket, Dorias nodded his head. “I agree, but your sword will have to lead Tomas. I cannot create a light. No mage could so much as sense their power in this cave. Amazing…”

Tallen heaved against the wall to stand upright. Tomas offered a hand to help, but he waved the paladin away with a grateful smile. “You told me your healing skills were minimal.” He took a tentative step. “I feel like I could walk for miles.”

Tomas grinned. “Your wound was not much more than minimal.”

“Good,” muttered Dorias, his attention focused on the tunnel. “Then we won’t have to leave you here alone.” He glanced at Tomas. “I have a feeling something important is hiding down here.”

“I know to trust your feelings on these matters.” The paladin drew his sword. Ardent flame leapt up its shining steel blade and banished the shadows within the cave, but did nothing to help the stench. The deeper they went, the fouler it became. They passed two piles of mangled orc bodies. Dorias stopped to search each.

“Boar and Ram clan warriors, I think. It is hard to be certain.” The wizard wiped his hands on his vest. “You can still make out some of their tattoos.”

The drip of water echoed up the shaft. Tallen made out a faint, green glow farther down the tunnel. Whatever the source of the light, it hid behind a sharp turn. Tomas held up his free hand. “I sense nothing alive. The
skittering
had no mate or brood. Surprising for one so large.”

Dorias nodded, a fear Tallen had never seen in his eyes.

I know the feeling. It’s as if a wall of mud stands between me and my power.

“I’ve never heard of one growing anywhere near that size,” the wizard said. “They are attracted to magical power and objects.” He put his hand Tallen’s shoulder. “You are probably why it came up out of its nest. The orcs must have been in this cave for some time.” The wizard pointed at the green glow ahead. “Whatever that is, it’s the object that interferes with our power. It almost certainly drew the
skittering
and mutated it to such a large size.”

Tomas began to advance then paused to look back. “Shall we?”

Pulling out his dagger, the Ravenhawke nodded.

The paladin, sword held at the ready, led them around the corner.

A bright emerald glow almost blinded Tallen. A stalagmite rose from the floor of the cave. It served as a natural pedestal for a stone that looked like a piece of jade about the size of the hayball he used to kick around the yard of the inn as a child. Light coruscated over its surface. In the presence of the stone, Tallen’s power disappeared entirely from his perception. He felt as he had before first entering the Dreamrealm. Plain. Ordinary. Helpless.
What is this thing?!

Dorias stepped closer. “By the Waters and the Earth…a Viridian Stone. None were thought to survive the Cataclysm.” He stretched his hand over it, casting odd shadows in the green rays of light. They hung about his face, giving him an almost orcish complexion. “They were created for mage prisons.”

Tomas lowered his sword. “Does Varana really know what is down here?”

Nodding his head caused the emerald beams to dance on Dorias’ face. “She has to.” He turned his eyes from the stone to look at the other corners of the chamber. Tallen followed his gaze and saw a large chest set in a recess, covered in stinking filth from the creature that had made its nest here. “What have we now?”

The wizard knelt over the chest, wiping away some of the filth with his dagger. Tomas moved closer, bringing the brighter light of his sword to bear. Dorias stepped back. “I cannot touch my power here, so you’ll have to do this the hard way.”

A single blow of Tomas’ gauntleted fist, and the ancient wood shattered. He carefully brushed away the splinters, and Dorias leaned in closer to look.

“Scrolls and papers…” The wizard hurriedly assisted the paladin in getting at the contents. He brought out a short, parchment scroll with faded golden tassels. He unrolled a few lines, scanning them with swift eyes. “By all the Aspects! And the Talismans, too!” He pulled a few more lines out. “It’s called
The Dragonsoul Paradox
!” The wizard’s face glowed with more than the light of sword and stone. He drew out another scroll, scouring its first few words. “
The Spirit Trap
! By the bloody Balance, Tomas, this is it!” Dorias replaced the scrolls and hoisted the chest. “Come. Let us be away. I must begin reading this at once.”

Tallen followed the paladin’s light out of the cave, the wizard reading while they walked. His eyes did not stray anywhere near the chest or its documents, nor did his scattered thoughts. Mostly, he just thought of Maddi and how much he wanted to see her – how much he wished he could hold her hand. The engrossed heroes leading the way back to the Academy made a poor substitute.

T
allen awoke to a flap of wings rustling at his window. A light dusting of snow lay along the sill, but the sun reigned over a blue sky. His leg itched, though only a pinkish scar of new, hairless skin remained to tell of his encounter with the
skittering
. Merl cawed a greeting.

“Good morning.” Tallen’s throat burned, dry and raw. He sipped from a cup of water next to his bed. His throat cooled, Tallen looked up at the raven. “You saved my life. Thanks.”

Merl bobbed his head before proceeding to clean his feathers with his beak. A knock at the door preceded its opening by only a bare moment. Tomas entered, his sword sheathed at his side.

“I’m glad you have awakened.” The paladin reached up to scratch Merl’s beak. “Dorias has been awake with those scrolls all night, while Merl and I guarded you.” He handed Tallen a clean shirt. “He insisted we join him the moment you awoke – if you feel able.”

Tallen eased his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. Both his legs felt strong, though he still felt a tightness along his chest. “Some breakfast would be nice, but other than that I am fine.”

Tomas placed an apple in his hand. “I thought you might be hungry. We’ll get something more substantial soon.”

Once he was dressed, Tallen followed the paladin out of the dormitory. Passing across the academy grounds, he noticed a few odd stares and a scurrying pace to the residents. “Is it just me, or is everyone a little jumpy today?”

“I informed Varana of the orc incursion.” Tomas shifted his sword belt. “The mages have increased security on the Isle.”

They found Dorias at a corner table in the library, the broken, musty chest at his feet. The scrolls and other documents lay carefully placed around the tabletop. The wizard held a magnifying glass to his eye, as if he examined every pen stroke. Only when Tomas tapped his finger on the table did Dorias look up.

“Ah, Tallen!” He laid the glass down. Standing up, he clapped him on the shoulder. “How good it is to see you up and well. Tomas’ healing skills are far greater than he ever gives himself credit for.”

Bending to scratch the scar on his leg, Tallen nodded his head. “I would agree.”

Tomas folded his arms. “Rather than wasting your time rubbing my ego, perhaps you could tell the lad what you’ve found.”

The wizard walked to the window and opened it just as Merl fluttered to land on its ledge. The dusting of snow that had come with the night had disappeared, and the fresh breeze invigorated Tallen, sweetening the stuffy room. “There is much that I have yet to discover, but what I have found thus far is bleak.” He turned to face Tallen, wrinkles of concern creasing his forehead. “One of these scrolls is written by the hand of Leolan Calais himself, the last lord of Lond and the father of Varana. He is the one who led the elves to Valen. He was in regular contact with the Dragonsoul Gan during the Elder Days.” The wizard stared at one of the ancient parchments. “Imagine…the last Elf king held these very pages. That is
his
handwriting.” The wizard fell silent.

Tomas cleared his throat. Dorias jerked his head upright, as if escaping a trance. “Sorry.” He took a seat, gesturing for the others to do likewise. “So Leolan claims that Gan understood the destruction being wrought upon the world by the Dragon Wars. The spirit knew that they would continue until Galdreth destroyed everything. Even the dwarves switching to side with the forces of Order was not enough to stop the madness.” Dorias sighed. “Therefore, Gan created a trap. Only it required that both Dragonsouls be imprisoned, so their powers might cancel each other out.” The wizard stared out the window at the distant harbor. “The unintended repercussions of magic…how they have haunted our species from the dawn of time…”

He leaned back in his seat. “The trap worked. Both Dragonsouls were sealed away. But the reaction to that much magic cut off from the universe – the reaction to the power it took to do the sealing – it broke the continent. The Cataclysm changed many things. And much of it was unforeseen, even by the Elves of Lond.”

Tallen processed the wizard’s words.
Thankfully, I already learned at least some of this history since being on the Isle. Otherwise he would have lost me.

Dorias kept his eyes on the harbor beyond the window. “The Elves tried to stop the Cataclysm. A great shield of magic, cast by thousands of elf mages, protected the lost kingdom of Lond from the earthly, physical destruction of the Cataclysm.” He rubbed the day old beard on his cheek. “But again, unintended consequences…” The wizard turned his raptor gaze on Tallen. “Learn well, for it was the reaction of that much magic striking the protective shield that poisoned their land, or so Leolan believed.”

Pulling a chair out from the nearest table, Tallen sat down. “But what does all of this have to do with me? Why do Galdreth and his orcs want me?”

A dark shadow passed over the wizard’s features. He looked away from Tallen. Merl cawed softly. “It has to do with their prison. It was permanent, or so Gan believed. It seems, however, that the trap did not close as tight as Leolan and Gan hoped. The Elf king writes of a crack, a way for Galdreth to escape. It only requires one thing.” Empathetic eyes turned in Tallen’s direction. “He must possess a Dreamer.”

“Possess?” Tomas spoke up for the dumbstruck Tallen. “Like a
psahn
wraith – a demon as the common folk call them?”

A deep sadness hanging about his lips and eyes, the wizard nodded. “Almost exactly so.”

Tallen’s heart sank, tumbling down to the bottom of his soul, where only fear and tortuous anxiety dwelt. He leaned forward, elbows on knees, cradling his head in his hand. Tomas and Dorias both approached him, but their movements were lost in his swirl of emotions. It was as if all the events of the last half year gathered into one heavy swell of heartbreak – a swell trapped solely behind the dam of his will. He struggled to fortify that wall with faith in newfound friends, and with hope that, together, they would defeat those who sought him out.

A Dragonsoul wants me? The very beings that caused the Dragon Wars and the Cataclysm? They destroyed the world once in their wake. What do they care about me and those I love? We are just pawns in their millennia old game.

He searched for words, but his mouth remained dry and silent. He clenched his fist, waiting for the dam to break.

The anger took him by surprise, swelling in an instant to burning rage. The deaths of those he loved, the terror to which they had been subjected, scoured his mind and remolded his emotions. As quickly as it had flared, the hot anger cooled into an icy resolve. Tallen’s eyes narrowed, and his fists unclenched. He looked toward his friends. “What do we do?”

He saw the smiles that crept on their faces. Their expressions of anxious sympathy faded away, replaced by resolve that matched his own.

“I have a gift for you,” Dorias said with a proud nod. “More than scrolls hid in that chest.” He pulled a small piece of folded, yellow linen from his pocket, handling it with reverent care. The wizard opened the aged fabric to expose a twisted amulet. “It is made of four metals, copper for Fire, gold for Air, iron for Earth, and silver for Water.” The four metals twisted around the edges, a wire of each meeting in the middle. “The diamond set in the center is like nothing I have ever seen. As you can probably tell, it radiates with the Psoul Aspect.”