Delver Magic Book VII: Altered Messages (57 page)

"You think you can hurt them? I won't let you near them."

"It won't be us you have to worry about. As I said, we have friends, friends with remarkable powers. How do you think we were able to free Petiole from the dwarf city? If we were able to smuggle enchanted stones into the dungeon of Dunop, how could we fail in finding certain refugees in Connel? We can call on assassins that you will never detect and your friends will never see. As fast as you are, you can't stop us. I can put out the command in an instant."

Ryson seethed, but said nothing. Fear clouded his judgment. He worried not about himself, but what the serps could do to those he cared about the most. The loss of Sy Fenden reminded him of just how vulnerable they all were.

The serps read the fear pouring out of the delver's thoughts. They fed on it, and one hoped to use it as a hammer to shatter Ryson's confidence.

"You have a wife, don't you?" Desiv questioned deviously. "She is currently in Connel... as is your pet. You seem to have a rather odd connection to a dog. I can sense it. You care a great deal about that animal. And your wife... Linda is her name. Your link to her is extremely deep. It would be a shame if anything happened to her, or the dog"

"Nothing
will
happen to them!" Ryson countered defiantly, but he could not hide his panic from creatures that could taste it.

"And nothing will happen," Desiv agreed, "as long as you're reasonable. Do you think we will just let you take us to Connel? There are punishments we might accept and there are others which we will not. I think you should consider everyone's well-being before you do anything rash."

"There is much you should consider as well," a familiar voice called out, but no one was sure from where it came.

Enin stepped into the room as if he passed through a break in space. He simply appeared, and everyone stared at his emerging presence. Even the serps revealed a surge of surprise... and a great deal of apprehension.

"You should not be here," Desiv blurted out. "We were willing to overlook your previous..."

"Be quiet!" Enin commanded with resounding anger and clear disgust toward the serps. "Where I go and what I do is no longer up to you. As to what you overlook, your judgments are irrelevant. There is only one judgment that matters. Mine!"

Turning away from the serps with complete revulsion, Enin wished to reassure his friend.

"Don't worry, Ryson. They're not going to hurt anyone again, especially not Linda or Stomps."

Though they would have argued the assertion, the serps did not get the chance to respond. To the surprise of all, Neltus acted first. He did not cast a spell, but rather reclaimed what was his. He ripped his crimson magic back from the serps, took every last remnant, and broke the connection that linked them as a council.

The serps turned with both anger and astonishment toward the spell caster. They found his expression of loathing unsettling and his deeper thoughts even more troubling. They sensed a new attitude in Neltus, one that replaced his fear. The scheming monsters believed his thoughts and his actions required a strong response.

Unfortunately for the serps, they were no longer connected. They could not pool their manipulative power or even communicate their intentions as they once did. The magic that allowed them to act as a council was beyond their reach, and as individuals, they had limited ability to act against the spell caster.

"You will pay for this," Desiv hissed at Neltus. "There will be no place you can hide from us. There..."

"He has nothing to worry about from you!" Enin interrupted menacingly, but then he quickly placed his attention solely on Neltus. "Why did you do that?"

"Because they deserved it," Neltus responded truthfully. "I didn't want to get involved with them. They held me over a barrel. I didn't have much of a choice, but I know what's going to happen now. I don't have to read minds to see that. I wanted to get in my shot while I had the chance."

"I'm not sure I agree that you're blameless. In fact, I know you're not. I'm not at all pleased with your involvement, but I have to say that this is one of the few intelligent decisions you've made on your own since I've known you. I hope to see more of that in the future."

"It is a decision he will pay for!" one of the serps cried out.

"No, he won't," Enin replied with disdain. "It's a decision that might have just saved him from a great deal of suffering, something you will not so easily avoid."

Every serp finally realized the great wizard of Connel had reached the limit of his patience. Even as a strong pulse of magic rebuffed any attempt to read Enin's thoughts, they could not ignore the burning resentment that radiated from the wizard like heat from a raging fire pit in the dark realm. They found only a small amount of reassurance in the guilt and self-recrimination pouring out of Enin's soul, for undeniable hostility followed swiftly behind. Each serp abruptly decided that momentary silence was the wisest course of action.

Neltus, however, was quick to explain himself.

"I didn't do it to save myself," the crimson casting wizard explained. "I did it because I'm still connected to you and I know why you're here. Before you dealt with them, I wanted to show them I had enough."

"I see, but keep in mind, that will only go so far in making up for what you've done. You'll still have to live with the mistakes you've made, just as I have to live with mine. We gave up our magic to these serps, we gave up a part of ourselves. That's not going to be easy for either of us to forget."

"I know," Neltus admitted. "That's why I took it back the moment you came here. I couldn't take the thought of them using me any more."

Enin knew exactly what Neltus meant. Despite their powers, they had both been manipulated. The serps did not take control of their minds, but maneuvered them into capitulation. There was no denying it, and it left them both bitter, as well as ashamed.

"Seems as if we both face a great deal of regret," Enin announced. "I know Ryson wanted to bring you to Connel, but that won't be necessary. As I said before, you're not completely blameless, but I see no reason to punish you further."

Rather than thank Enin, Neltus revealed an additional desire.

"I'd like to return the magic you gave me, but I want to get your approval first. I don't want to try and send it back without you knowing what I'm doing."

"I appreciate that. Return it to me now, and then leave here. What happens next will not affect you, and I assure you, you will not have to concern yourself with these serps ever again."

Neltus bowed his head slightly. He released the small sliver of Enin's magic that allowed the serps to watch over the wizard, and then he teleported far from Portsans.

With his magic returned and any link to the serps broken, Enin turned a harsh gaze upon the collection of manipulators who were nervously wondering what the wizard had meant. He decided to make it clear.

"You are not going to Connel," the wizard declared. "You are not going to be judged by dwarves, elves, or humans. You will be judged by me. You used my magic to watch over me, but it also allowed me to see your actions as well as your desires. I know the crimes you have committed, and I have absolute certainty over your malicious intentions."

"You will judge no one!" Desiv shouted, ending his silence in hopes of reminding Enin of previous agreements. "You made a deal with us, a wizard's vow, we intend to hold you to that promise."

Enin's eyes narrowed as he fixed a harsh stare upon Desiv. His disgust for the serp grew with every word that fell from the snake's twisted mouth. When the wizard spoke, it was a growl of barely caged fury.

"Let us discuss that
promise.
I was willing to stay out of your affairs as long as you left Connel and the algors alone. Before I arrived today, you made it obvious you wished to do harm to Ryson's dog, Stomps. Stomps once belonged to me. That makes him a citizen of Connel and under my protection. You just threatened Stomps, which means you just threatened Connel. That ends our deal."

"Are you joking? You think a pathetic dog is worth our concern? The delver thought he could just take us, put us in danger. We needed to show him we are not powerless. It was his fears that led to our threats. As for Connel, you should remember your bargain with us. If you think you are free to interfere, then we must consider ways to convince you otherwise. As I tried to impress upon the delver, we are not powerless and you have your own concerns. Would you like us to really threaten Connel?"

Enin's gaze became even more unforgiving.

"I don't think you understand. I view the threat you made to Stomps as the worst thing you could have done. Additional threats are pointless. You have crossed a line with me, a very important line. Our deal is no longer valid and what I'm about to do does not break any vow I made."

Macheve saw everything unravel. Everything they accomplished was falling apart, including their most impressive victory. The wizard of Connel was not only willing to interfere, he was about to pass judgment on them all. She did not wish to reach that point, did not wish to face Enin's obvious fury.

"But we did not harm anyone from Connel," Macheve claimed, "not even the dog. Desiv made an empty threat. That is all."

"Empty? Do you think I'm a fool? Remember, Macheve, I was connected to all of you when he made his threat. I know what was in your hearts. You meant to do harm to the innocent. I promised not to interfere as long as you left Connel alone. Even after you killed Sy... I kept my word, even if that was a mistake. But now you have gone too far and I am free of any promise I made, even if all you did was threaten a simple dog."

"Then punish Desiv," Macheve asserted. "It was his threat."

Not willing to be held solely responsible, Desiv could not contain his rage or his desperation.

"You would offer me up as a sacrifice to save yourself? You cowardly..."

"Enough!" Enin shouted. "As a council, you acted as one and you will be treated as one. You will share your punishment, and it is one that is deserved!"

"What are you going to do?" Macheve asked, apprehension rushing uncontrollably through her twisted soul.

"Me? I will do nothing other than offer you to those you chose to control."

"What does that mean?"

"You manipulated four dieruhnes," Enin reminded Macheve. "One of which decided to return to Demonspawn to inform its masters of your craven actions. This is not going to go well for you. There are several places of torment that lead to misery far beyond the pain that exists in this land. There is the emptiness of Baannat's realm, and there is the agony of the place the demons consider their home. You are about to discover that for yourselves. They would eventually come looking for you, but I'm going to save them the trouble."

"You're going to send us to Demonspawn? No!! You can't. Kill us instead. Do not..."

"It's too late for that. You were the ones who chose to include demons, and you will be the ones to answer for it."

With one wave of his hand, two circles of white energy flew over the serps and merged together to create a portal to the most dismal region of the dark realm. The rift enveloped the terrified serps and swallowed their horrified screams as well. It closed in an instant.

"They're not coming back, are they?" Ryson asked, but he already knew the answer.

"No, they earned their fate and there will be no escape for them."

The delver would never forget the expressions of absolute terror on the face of each serp, but he could not fault Enin for his actions. It was just as the wizard had said; the serps reached out to demons to obtain their desires. Enin might have opened the door, but the serps themselves had already decided to enter.

There was one question, however, that Ryson could not avoid asking.

"Enin? Why didn't you just do that at the beginning? Why couldn't you have broken up their council before we got to this point?"

Enin heard the words clearly, but he looked to the ground as if hoping to avoid the question. Unfortunately, he knew the delver's curiosity would not rest. He had to face the truth, even if he didn't like the answer.

"You mean why didn't I stop this before Sy died?" Enin asked, still gazing at the floor and not wishing to look up.

"I didn't say that," Ryson protested. "I'm not blaming you for..."

"I know you're not, but it really is the question, isn't it?"

"I didn't want to put it that way. I just want to understand."

"I wish I could understand it myself," Enin replied with pure honesty. "I knew they were going to cause a great deal of pain. Maybe I should have simply sent them to oblivion the first time we were here. I'm not sure why I didn't."

Ryson wondered if maybe the serps themselves had a hand in that decision.

"Do you think they were controlling you?"

"They would not have been able to manipulate my mind with their powers, if that's what you're asking. It would be a nice excuse, but I can't lie to myself."

"So you don't know?"

Enin was silent for long moments, but he finally looked up to the delver.

"It would be nice to use that excuse too, but that would also be a lie."