Destiny (41 page)

Komir gazed into her eyes, hesitated for a moment, then said: “All right, then. If the majority wants it that way, let’s go in, I’m not the one to decide. Let’s go, but very carefully.”

Sonea set the two Books in the correct position above the Dais, and Komir went up to the circular door. For a moment he thought it was solid gold. With a slightly unsteady hand he placed the Dark Medallion in position. To his surprise it fit perfectly in the spherical lock.

The medallion began to give out a blinding golden light, and the Books of the Sun and the Moon shone with equal intensity. The light moved to the door which opened in half with a sharp crack
.

“Come on,” Komir said, without much conviction.

A long narrow corridor opened before them and the group went in slowly, in silence. As they moved forward a soft golden light began to illuminate the floor, then the walls. At the end of the corridor was a golden barrier, which disconcerted Komir.

Suddenly, behind them, they heard a desperate cry:

“Noooo! Fools! Come back!”

They turned in alarm. It was Haradin, and his face showed the greatest anguish. With him were five men, his Keepers, who broke into a run and entered the corridor. The first one reached Lindaro, grabbed him by the robe and dragged him out. Another began to drag Lasgol, while two others reached Hartz and in vain tried to do the same with him.

“What the…?” Komir said.

At that moment the golden barrier in the opposite side moved and slid rapidly down the corridor. Komir saw it was nearly on him. Instinctively, expecting a strong impact, he closed his eyes and covered his face with his arms. To his surprise the barrier passed through his body without any effect at all. It passed in turn through Aliana, Asti, Iruki and Sonea behind him. But when it reached Hartz the barrier struck him violently, together with Lasgol and the Keepers they were struggling against. The impact propelled them outside the corridor, towards the antechamber they had come through. With cries of pain they rolled across the floor. The barrier settled in place, sealing the entrance.

Haradin hastened to try and pass through it.

“I can’t. It’s Ilenian magic, too powerful.”

The great Mage invoked Fire, Water, Earth and Air to cast powerful spells against the barrier, but nothing seemed to be able to destroy it.

Komir checked his companions in the corridor to make sure they were all right, then realized something which surprised him. He stared at his medallion.

“The barrier let us pass…” he said.

Aliana looked at Asti, Iruki and Sonea. “Yes, but only the Bearers,” she said.

Komir pointed at the last person in the corridor. “And her?”

Kayti was still with them, and beside her on the ground, Hartz’s broadsword.

The redhead shrugged. “It must be because of the armor,” she explained, seeing them all staring at her. “It’s Ilenian…”

A buzzing reached Komir’s ears. It was like the murmur of the breeze in the mountains, but sped up a little. It was very pleasant: more than that, extremely appealing, almost hypnotic. Komir could not help but look for its origin. It came from inside the chamber they were heading for. Following the appealing echo, he went closer and saw that the Chamber was circular and beautifully proportioned. The floor and the ceiling formed two golden rings and the walls were slightly concave. Both floor and ceiling were crystalline, and the walls were the characteristic golden of the Ilenians. In the center of the ring which formed the floor an immense golden sphere, translucent and with Ilenian runes carved all over its surface, spun rhythmically above a silver pedestal and was the origin of that captivating sound. Komir went up to the sphere, followed by his companions.

“Come back, you fools! You have to get out of there!” Haradin shouted at them. There was desperation in his voice.

Komir heard the Mage’s words, but could not take his eyes off the sphere. He wanted to obey Haradin, but the sphere called him with that irresistible sound. He reached the sphere and saw the outline of a five-pointed silver star on the floor below it. In the corner of each point was a rune. He recognized the rune of Ether, though he could not say how as he knew nothing of Ilenian runes, and stepped on to it. His companions followed his example in silence, each one taking his place on the appropriate rune. The five Bearers stared fixedly at the sphere, unable to look away from it, totally mesmerized.

The Ilenian sphere had them in its power.

“Stop!” Haradin shouted again. “Come back! Get out of there!”

None of them turned. They were staring at the sphere, in position, ready without being aware of it for the great event which was about to occur: an event of unimaginable proportions.

What the sleepers had been waiting for.

Waiting for over three thousand years.

“Stop! You’ll wake them! You’ll raise the Ilenians!”

But to Komir the idea seemed perfectly sensible. They had to wake the Ilenians. Of course, that was what they had to do. An unshakeable certainty filled his spirit amid the sweet sound of the rotating sphere. There was no doubt in his mind, he must go on to perform the ritual. The sleepers were waiting. The masters were expectant. And guided by this feeling, he put his hands on his medallion of Ether. His companions followed his example, all of them trapped in the same perceptions.

“You can’t awaken them! If you do, they’ll enslave all humanity!”

Haradin was trying to break their concentration, but Komir knew he must go on with the ritual. He cast aside the disturbance with a flick of his head. His medallion flashed strongly and a beam of crystal light shot out towards the sphere. Instantly the other medallions followed.

“The Ilenians are a race of slavers, ruthless lords of magic, with a power only comparable to that of gods. They’ll raze the earth, enslave whoever survives! Stop the ritual! Stop it or we’re doomed!”

But the five Bearers were already under the absolute control of the Ilenian sphere, and the ritual for awakening the sleeping civilization went on. Komir, Aliana, Asti, Iruki and Sonea were not aware of their actions. The magic of the sphere ruled them, possessed their minds.

But there was one person left in the corridor.

The magic of the sphere did not seem to affect her.

Kayti was watching her companions fearfully. She glanced back at Haradin for support.

“Kayti, listen to me carefully,” the Mage called from the other side of the barrier. “You have to stop the ritual, or else we’re all doomed. The whole of humanity! You can save it, you’ve got a chance. You have to stop this now!”

Kayti heard Haradin’s words in confusion. For the first time in her life she found herself doubting the purpose of her mission. She felt she lacked the strength of conviction she needed in order to do what she must.

“How?” she stammered at last.

Haradin shouted:

“The sphere! Stop the sphere!”

Kayti breathed deeply and waited for her nervous unease to subside. She had a sacred mission to fulfill, and that was what she must do. She had been preparing for this all her life in the Brotherhood. She could not fail now, at the supreme moment. She began to walk resolutely towards the chamber. As her feet fell on the crystalline floor she looked down and saw that a golden luminescence lit up an infinite pit beneath her feet. Through the crystal floor she could see something which shocked her even more than the feeling of vertigo. Floating in the middle of the chasm, as though asleep in a sea of unfathomable depth, were the inert bodies of the sleepers.

They were the Ilenians!

They floated eternally, in some golden substance, sleeping an endless sleep, waiting to be awakened.

This filled her with such terror that took all her conviction to overcome it. She went up to the sphere.

The five Ilenian medallions were feeding the energy of the Chosen into the sphere, which was now spinning much faster above its pedestal. It shone with an intense golden light.

I’ve got to stop the sphere before it completes the ritual, because then it’ll be too late for all men.

Kayti unsheathed her sword and struck the sphere hard with a two-handed stroke. The sword bounced off without even scratching the sphere, which kept spinning. Kayti swore and struck again even harder, with the same result. This was not going to work.

I have to stop the ritual somehow, but what can I do?

An idea came to her… She tried to move Komir from his position. He was rigid as a statue, and weighed as much as though he was really made of rock. She could not shift him an inch, not with all her might and all her own weight behind her.

It’s impossible!
The
failure dampened her spirits. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself.

If she could not move the Chosen, she would have to… she would have to…

Have to kill them…

She could not allow evil to awaken. The consequences for the whole human race would be devastating: death, destruction and slavery. That she knew. She raised her sword and looked at Komir. The eyes of the Norriel were blank. He was in a deep trance, his energy, his power, emanating from his body to the sphere through the medallion… Kayti laid the sharp edge of her sword on his throat.

“Nooooo! Don’t kill him!” she heard Hartz shout from the far end. The big Norriel was beside Haradin on the other side of the barrier, and there was pure agony in his face.

Kayti knew that if she killed Komir, the ritual would stop and they would have a chance to get out safely themselves. But Hartz would never forgive her. That act would condemn their love forever. She would lose what she loved more than life itself: she would lose Hartz.

But she had to fulfill her sacred mission, regardless of personal cost.

She grasped the handle of her sword.

A thread of blood began to run down Komir’s neck.

And she stopped.

She could not kill him.

Defeated, she took away the sword and fell on her knees.

Through the pedestal which acted as a catalyzing agent, the sphere began to suffuse the abyss beneath the crystalline floor with radiant energy. Kayti could see the golden energy reaching the sleepers.

It’s the end. I can’t stop it. I failed you, Zuline, my Lady Custodian. I failed the Brotherhood, I failed humanity. I wasn’t able to complete my sacred mission.

Tears came into her eyes and for the first time in her life, Kayti felt the bitterness of defeat. She who had always been so sure that nothing would get in the way of her sacred duty.

I’ve been a fool. My pride has defeated me, and at the final moment I’ve given way. But I won’t give up! I’ll stop this damned ritual!

She stood up and lunged at the sphere, hurling her shoulder and all her fury against it. The impact was terrible and Kayti was pushed backwards, but she had managed to make it waver for an instant.

It moved!

Hartz gestured at the broadsword on the floor of the corridor. “My sword! Use my sword!” he shouted.

Kayti hesitated. She had already tried that, without success.

The big Norriel made a explanatory gesture and Kayti understood.

She ran to seize the huge sword and dragged it to the sphere.

“Now we’ll see!” she said angrily, and placed the sword between the pedestal and the spinning sphere.

With all her strength she used the broadsword as a lever, heaving with furious might. In the end she was hanging from the pommel, using all the weight of her body.

With a crash, the sphere came off the pedestal.

It rolled around the Chamber, spinning, and struck the wall at the far end.

It stopped transmitting energy to the Ilenians.

The five Bearers fell to the floor, unconscious.

“You did it, Kayti!” Hartz shouted.

“Yes!” Haradin exclaimed.

Kayti sighed with relief. It was as though the weight of a mountain had been lifted off her soul.

Hartz’s idea had worked. There was more to the big Norriel than met the eye.

But the Ilenian sphere flashed once again.

Kayti’s heart lurched.

“Get them out of there, quickly!” Haradin shouted.

Kayti grabbed Komir’s arms and dragged him to the barrier. Without leaving the corridor she pushed the Norriel by the feet so that his body would cross it. From the other side they grabbed his shoulders and pulled.

“Hurry up! Get the others!”

Kayti repeated the operation as fast as she could. Under her armor she was sweating with the effort, but nothing would stop her now, her conviction was strong once more and she was surer than ever that she would carry out her mission. Physical effort would not be an obstacle, however painful it might be. Sonea was last and fortunately the lightest to drag. As they pulled the Librarian out of the corridor Kayti dared a backward glance and saw the sphere moving back into place on the pedestal.

“Get out of there! Now!” Hartz urged her.

Kayti crossed the barrier, lost her footing, and fell exhausted into the big Norriel’s arms.