The Ancient Ones (The Legacy Trilogy Book 3) (55 page)

‘But you know where Samuel’s son is, don’t you?’

‘I do,’ Lomar said, with a sly smile. ‘Fortunately, I found him first, but I am not telling. I looked far and wide and stumbled upon him quite by accident. I cannot tell you, or Samuel would surely pluck the answer from your head.’

‘Do you have him with you now?’ Leopold asked, fishing for clues.

‘I do not. It is the truth that I was responsible for losing the child and that did cause something of a rift between Poltamir and I. Still, it matters little.’

Leopold was dubious of it all. ‘Why are you so set against Samuel? What did he ever do to you? Can’t you just help us and end this terrible mess?’

‘Oh, I am helping you. You will discover that soon enough. As for Samuel, he was only ever guilty of being my friend. I am not set against him at all. Quite the opposite, I have been trying to save him from himself all this time. Believe me, Leopold. You must trust me, or all is lost.’

‘Trust you? A man who steals children from their mothers? From what I understand, you have cheated everyone you ever met. It was you who took me and my mother to Rei when I was just a boy. She almost killed us.’

‘Ah yes, an error of judgement on my part, but I remained there to keep you safe—to amend my failure. Such things were necessary to get close to Cang and stop his insane plan. I could certainly not challenge him with brute force; I was not so competent a magician back then. You see, I could not let Cang kill the Demon King, or we would all be dead right now—or worse. If Starfall had indeed been successful, even unlikely as it was, the countless demons that Marrag Lin kept at bay would have been upon us. In my folly I followed one mistake with another. I followed Poltamir’s instructions to the letter—until I learned he had selfish plans in store for the King of Demons. He wanted to use him and find a way to steal his power and I could not bear to be part of it. I am now doing my best to make everything well, despite how it may seem. We all must sometimes do things that appear unsavoury to outside observers. I am sure you have some experience of that, Your Majesty.’

‘Very well,’ Leopold said hesitantly. ‘It seems I have no choice but to believe you. What do I need to do?’

‘After Poltamir, he will find his boy. Let me know when that happens. That will be the time to act. But for now, just keep doing as you are. Before I leave, I do need you to tell me just one thing. It is very important. Tell me, what is now in Samuel’s casket?’ The tall magician waited expectantly, brimming with anticipation.

‘Why do you want to know?’ Leopold asked suspiciously.

‘It is important I know, in case he is plotting something else. I cannot open the box in this ethereal form and I do not risk coming here myself. Is the old fool in there? Is Salu, the brother of Janus Anthem, inside the box?’

Leopold considered denying it, but knew it was pointless. ‘He is.’

‘Ah. I felt a sudden flare of power just before he vanished. It must have been a considerable battle for Salu to need the sanctuary of the casket, and he has been in there ever since.’ He mulled over his thoughts. ‘If Samuel cannot cure the old man, he must be seeking more power from Poltamir to do so.’

Leopold was not about to correct him. Lomar snapped himself from his thoughts and returned his attention to Leopold. ‘You know, I sought out Salu many years ago, just as did Samuel—just as many of us did, when we had no one else to turn to. I did not take nearly so long to find him as Samuel, as I had already been plotting his wanderings for many years. I followed the old fool for many months, hanging on every deranged word that fell from his lips. Finally, from the detritus of his maddened utterings, I gathered one precious bead of sagacity.’

‘What was that?’ Leopold asked.

‘He told me of the Void.’

‘The Void?’

‘The Void. A wonderful place that I have been seeking ever since. A place that is pure in every sense, free of the evils of demons and the tinkering of fools. It is the only true answer to this constant peril we face, stuck in the middle between devils that wish to consume us, and meddlers like Samuel that wish to prolong our pain. One day, I hope to find it. It is only a matter of time, if only I can stop Samuel from destroying us in the meantime.’

‘Where is it?’

‘Well, that is the tricky part,’ the magician admitted.

‘Now I recall, Salu mentioned something of The Void to me as well.’

‘He did? Salu?’ Lomar said with a sudden enthusiasm. ‘What did he say?’

‘Oh ... I can’t rightly recall at this moment. I had quite a lot of other things to contend with at the time.’

‘Ah ...’ the magician said disappointedly.

Leopold hoped Samuel would return quickly, but remembered his instructions to keep Lomar talking. ‘But something just doesn’t add up.’

‘What’s that?’ Lomar asked, summoned again from his thoughts.

‘If you are trying to stop Samuel, why are you releasing these beasts across the world?’

‘Oh, I’m not,’ Lomar said. ‘That is squarely Samuel’s work. What better way to keep everyone in favour than to summon a monster, then act the hero dispatching it? He is a demon in the making, your Samuel, and a clever one. Isn’t it he who has killed all the magicians? And he destroys the relics, the only tools of salvation that common men may use to defend themselves. Yes, Samuel has begun his work of devouring the world, soul by soul. Every death adds to his power. He may even convince himself he is doing good at times, but that is his nature. He will never tell you the truth. He doesn’t know it himself. His demons pervade him. There will always be something he hides in every explanation—the hidden keystone that keeps all his deceit from unravelling. If you think Rei has a silver tongue, Samuel is by far her better. She is a timid little princess in comparison.’

‘But when would he have the opportunity to do all that?’

‘He has plenty of opportunity. I am sure he is often skulking about, unseen for days. He is certainly not sitting idle in his cabin all that time.’

Leopold was not convinced. He had only just come around to Samuel being on his side.

Someone else then spoke up, and Leopold and Lomar were equally surprised.

‘You are certainly one to speak of lies,’ said Jessicah, trotting down the stairs from her room.

‘Jessicah?’ Leopold queried as she stopped beside him.

‘It’s me,’ she confirmed.

‘What’s happening? How did you get out of your room?’

‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘Rei has been keeping me locked away more and more. I woke up several moments ago, alone. I called to the guards and they did not answer.’

‘How intriguing,’ Lomar said, observing the woman with interest. ‘It seemed only Rei fell victim to my spell, leaving her beautiful young captive to roam free, albeit only temporarily. Samuel will have to do something about that.’

‘He’s working on it,’ Leopold replied darkly.

Lomar looked towards the tower. ‘Hmm.’ Far away, a black speck of fluttering cloth could still be seen circling the mighty stone. ‘Samuel will return soon. I will be away before he finds me. Remember what I have told you, Leopold. The moment of reckoning is at hand. When it comes, you must be ready.’

Something caught his attention as he finished speaking. His tilted his head, listening intently.

‘Ah ...’ Lomar said with realisation. ‘Very clever, Samuel. I presume you have been here the whole time. My senses are not so keen in this form. Although I should have guessed.’

‘Of course,’ replied the voice of the magician, seeming to echo from all around. Leopold looked towards the great pillar, but the flying shape had vanished, nothing more than an illusion to bait the trap. ‘I must admit it was difficult to remain silent throughout your amusing discourse, but it did allow me to examine your Journey Spell quite closely. I’ve been hoping to learn some of your refinements for quite a while. I must say you’ve done a fine job—sending your image, hearing and seeing from such a distance. It’s just what I’ve been looking for. Now, let me be first to formally welcome you aboard the Farstride.’

‘What!’ Lomar declared, flabbergasted. He flapped his hands and stamped about on the deck with rage, although the cause was not immediately apparent. ‘Why—how have you done this? I should not be here!’

‘But you are here, old friend. I reached through your spell and untied the other end. Now you are here in more than just spirit. I have brought your flesh and blood through to join you. Did you not notice? You are here, whether you like it or not.’

‘Damn you!’ Lomar roared furiously.

‘And don’t try leaving in a hurry; I won’t allow it. It seems we have some talking to do—about my son. You can begin by telling me where he is.’

Lomar eyed Leopold sideways. ‘You see, boy? He is deviously clever. This is what you must contend with and overcome. You have to catch me first!’ he called back to Samuel.

‘Very well,’ came the reply and a black blur exploded from nowhere before anyone had time to react.

The magician struck Lomar like a thunderbolt. The ship shuddered with the impact and Lomar vanished, thrown clear into the sea, skipping across the water’s surface like a tossed stone, sending sheets of transparent spray to either side. When he slowed the ocean swallowed him with a plop, while Samuel arced up and way into the sky.

Gobsmacked, Leopold thought the matter may be finished already, but a geyser erupted from the sea and Lomar rocketed from the top of it, sailing up to meet Samuel high above. They fought in the sky, wisps of white cloud trailing behind them. They circled and collided with resounding booms and crashes, and Leopold was thankful the men chose to battle so far away. The brute force of their conflict would surely do them all harm if nearby.

‘What do we do?’ Jessicah asked.

Leopold looked to their north-east, for they were closing on the towering stone island and it was now looming in front of them. ‘We need to turn this ship. If not, our voyage is going to end very shortly.’

She looked to the crew all frozen in place around them, scores of them still holding onto their ropes. ‘Can we do it?’

‘We must try,’ he said.

‘How?’

Leopold was thoughtful before answering. ‘We cut the ropes, drop the sails.’

‘Won’t that leave us adrift? We’ll be helpless.’

‘You’re right,’ he admitted. ‘Given the situation, that could leave us worse off. I’ll try turning the rudder, but that’s not going to achieve much without also adjusting the sails.’

He made his way below the aftcastle and Jessicah followed. They ducked and weaved along the passageways and corridors until they found the tiller, buried several decks down.

‘How does it work?’ Jessicah asked, passing her eyes over the complex mechanism that filled the room, centralised by a large, rear-facing hand wheel.

‘The rudder is too heavy to turn by hand, so this does the job for us. It’s all gears and levers.’

‘Can I help?’ she asked him as he glanced over the equipment.

‘Just stand back,’ he warned. There was a funnel that led up through the ceiling for relaying commands from on deck, and beside that was the locking arm. Leopold slammed it out of position and spun the wheel. Heavy gears rumbled into motion. ‘Oh. That’s not right.’ He stopped and reversed direction, spinning the wheel back the other way. He paused occasionally to check markings on several of the cogs, until finally, ‘That should do it,’ he announced. ‘Too much at once and I’m not sure what will happen.’

‘I can’t feel anything.’

‘That’s good. A ship this size and sudden changes can cause all sorts of damage. Come on.’

He darted back out the way they had come and Jessicah followed close behind him, soon stepping out onto the main deck.

Poltamir’s citadel had grown uncomfortably close. They could see the waves pounding up against its slick, grey sides and it was now clear they were not going to skim past it at all—they would smash directly into its face.

‘Blast it!’ Leopold swore and looked to the sky. There was no sign of the two magicians, but the sounds of their battle echoed from the heavens, banging and blasting within the clouds. ‘I’ve got to let out the drivers.’ He set about climbing onto the aft deck. They passed the immobile crew, edging past them carefully where necessary, and Leopold wondered if they were still awake and could see and hear what was happening around them. He hoped not.

He drew his sword on the move and ran around one of the huge triangular sails at the back of the ship, commencing hacking at its ropes. The sail slackened, and fell rolling to the deck. He did the same for the enormous twin sail beside it.

Leopold waited, catching his breath and, slowly, just within perception, the ship began to turn with the wind.

‘Is it enough?’ Jessicah asked.

‘It has to be.’

The wall of stone loomed in front of them, enormous spirals and impossibly high motifs ingrained in its surface, gigantic patterns chiselled across its face. There was no sign of window or wall in that solid block of stone. It climbed upwards, endlessly towards the heavens. Clouds still gathered around its top, but they were darker now, angrier, as if in protest that the tiny ship at its foot might just escape, or more likely, they had been churned up by the battling magicians.

Leopold ran to the port side and looked ahead. Slowly, but surely enough, the Farstride was turning, and at last he could see a gap of daylight between the side of the hull and the pillar ahead. ‘We’re going to make it!’

They were close, perhaps only twenty strides away—Leopold could have thrown a stone against its side—but the Farstride squeezed past, edging by the ominous stone in near silence. It was strange to be aboard the ship and for everything to be so quiet.

Only the wind still whispered as she filled the sails. Then, alarmingly, the sailcloth loosened and the wind lulled.

They entered the shadow of the stone, shielded from the breeze, and in response, the Farstride slowed, making Leopold all the more nervous. There was no indication of how the battle was faring above, but there was a mighty series of clamours now coming from within the tower.

They continued very slowly, and as the minutes passed they re-entered the wind. From then, every moment had the pillar further behind them, and the wind blowing stronger in their sails, and they were picking up speed with it.