The Soul Sphere: Book 01 - The Shattered Sphere (13 page)

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Rowan had expected to see the cave lit dimly by Tala’s torch, but instead was greeted by the sight of two pillars of fire that stretched from floor to ceiling. The cave otherwise appeared empty—the pillars cast enough light for him to see the full interior of the place, and Tala and Lucien were not there.

The pillars were close, just to his right and left, and although he could feel no heat from them, he noticed they burned in silence, and he determined to keep his distance. He edged to the right, pressing against the wall as he slid within a few feet of the flame. Once clear he turned and saw that the pillars had multiplied, a third and a fourth having appeared, then a fifth, forming just where he had entered. The pillars moved from time to time, slowly, but if there was any sentience to them—or guiding them—they did not appear driven to approach him directly. One of the flames near the hidden entrance flickered out, but a moment later was replaced by a new pillar of fire.

*          *          *

Demetrius wondered at the description Tala had given to this place—“a small cave,” she had said. Perhaps up ahead and out of sight he would find something matching that description, but what was before him now was a long corridor hewn in the rock, similar to the pathway that led to the lair of the pit demon. Torches lit the way here as if in welcome. He already had a hand on the hilt of his sword, but now he drew it while taking a few uncertain steps forward. He could not understand why those before him would race down the hall—perhaps there had been something that had compelled them to rush forward. Caution caused him to beat down the urge welling up inside him to call out to the others.

He turned, wondering what was keeping Alexis and Corson.

*          *          *

Alexis had her spear at the ready even as she stepped into the cave, yet she still started at what she saw.

The room was bathed in soft yellow light, which glinted in the eyes of the large arachnids that were arrayed around her. Their black bodies were marked with red circles and stood to her knee, the hairy, jointed legs nearly as high as her waist. Cruel mandibles flexed in preparation for use, while their myriad black eyes studied her with brooding malice.

She reared back as if to strike the nearest, but something stayed her hand. These spiders could not have so quickly devoured her companions, and none had made a sudden move in her direction. One came toward her now, but slowly. She slid aside, almost bumping into one she had apparently missed before, just to the right and slightly behind her. It jumped away but then held its ground a few paces away.

Unhappy with her position, surrounded as she was, she chanced a few quick steps and worked her way behind the jumping spider, which ignored her completely. As she turned back to view the lot of them, she thought she saw a spider form near the entrance, as if it had been created out of thin air.

She shook her head and chased the thought away, keeping her spear leveled at the nearest eight-legged beast.

*          *          *

Corson only had an instant to react. A large chunk of rock, almost as large as him, came hurtling toward him as he stepped through the false stone door. He leapt to his right and watched the slab of rock slam into the hidden entrance. It bounced back and fell into the pit whose edge began little more than a foot inside the cave.

He caught his breath and studied his surroundings. The cave was much as Tala had described it, but its most prominent feature must have been hidden from her. A stone precipice ran along the edge of the chamber, no more than eighteen inches wide and narrower in sections. Beyond this narrow walkway the rock dropped off in a sheer face that offered no place for foot or hand to find purchase. Far below a pool of molten lava waited to devour any who slipped from the rocky ledge. Rising from the center of the pool was a single stalagmite, which rose just above the height of the ledge, and on it was a piece of metal with a familiar yellow-green glow. The stalagmite was well-centered—nowhere on the ledge would he be within ten feet of it.

He studied the fiery pool, seeing no sign of what must have fallen there before the flying rock—his friends. Shaken with grief, he considered what he might do, and whether his quest was doomed to fail even if he could possess the shard placed before him.

*          *          *

Tala tried to dispel the magic she knew the cave was infused with, but the spells were far too powerful for her meager skills. With a sigh she gave up the attempt, and then searched for a few loose pebbles or rocks, which the smooth cave floor refused to yield. She checked her pockets for something expendable, settling for one of the coins she had. She sent it skidding across the cave floor, and wasn’t surprised when it appeared to melt into the stone and vanish some ten feet short of the pedestal upon which the shard sat.

She slid forward carefully, following as best she could the path the coin had taken, always keeping her weight on her back foot. Finally the toe of her boot found a spot where resistance disappeared. She knelt, then probed ahead with her hands, tracing the edge of where the cave floor—the real one—fell away. She moved to the right, unable to see past the illusion that hid the gap in the floor, hoping her fingers might find a place where a path to the shard might still be present.

*          *          *

Lucien had kept his feet planted firmly as he studied the suspended piece of the Soul Sphere, unable to risk moving due to the utter darkness of the cave. If need be he would move forward on hands and knees, wary of traps, but until he had a course of action, he need not do so.

A warrior at heart, he despised magic, and he feared any attempt he might make would be rebuffed somehow. He considered a rope, a shot from a bow, a makeshift ladder…and wished the others were here to aid him.

Something bumped him in the dark, not hard enough to disturb his balance, but whatever it was large enough to hit both his thigh and shoulder. He whirled his blade before him defensively and felt a slight tug as it grazed something in the blackness before him.

*          *          *

Despite the absence of his companions, Rowan felt almost no threat from the columns of flame. They moved but little, and although two had lurched in his general direction, both had moved in short, quick motions that stopped as suddenly as they started. The fact that the pillars were the same in number as his friends was not lost on him, and he wondered if perhaps they had been consumed or had taken these new forms, or if maybe they were somewhere, even here, seeing him in the same way.

The flames lit the cave well, and there was clearly no sign of the missing shard, although he knew it could be hidden as easily as the entrance to the cave had been.

He started to edge cautiously around the room, always keeping an eye on the flames. He saw two of them come into contact, one jumping back from the other, which remained perfectly stationary.

*          *          *

Demetrius began to creep down the narrow tunnel, trying to avoid any sudden motion. The walls were close and could be hiding anything, although his all-too-human eyes could make out nothing but smooth rock.

He hit something directly in front of him, bouncing back from it with a small grunt. He could see nothing there but the tunnel ahead, but he had clearly felt something large and unmoving blocking his path.

There was a sharp pain in his right bicep, and he looked down to see blood welling up from a thin slice that had been carved there. The wound was not bad, but it was a stern warning.

He held his sword before him, unsure how he could fight an enemy he could not see.

*          *          *

The confusion in Alexis’ mind was deepening. There was no sign of the shard Tala had said was in this hidden cave, no sign of those who had preceded her inside, nor of Corson, who was to follow. There were only the spiders, which moved in slow, strange patterns, oblivious to her and even to their own surroundings. She even saw two of them bump into each other as if blind.

She had no answer for what had become of her fellow travelers, but it came to her that the Soul Sphere pieces they had retrieved were both inside the beasts that guarded them—the demon she had helped slay and the swamp creature Corson had told her of as they rode side-by-side.

She couldn’t be sure which spider was the true guardian, but she did not doubt that once she struck one, the others would move to its defense. She would slay them all or they would slay her.

She lifted her spear above her head, ready to make a killing thrust.

*          *          *

Corson tried to settle himself, to move his mind from grief to how he might retrieve the shard of the Sphere. As a group it might be simple. Maybe they could hold a rope across and strong arms could support someone moving hand-over-hand across the chasm. Perhaps Tala might have a spell of some sort. He and Demetrius…

He had known and been friends with Demetrius for almost his whole life. They had been through so much, shared hopes and dreams, fought side by side. Even when this, their final quest, had seemed to Corson a path to ruin, there had been no doubt in his mind that if Demetrius was going to face these perils, he would face them as well, standing at his friend’s side.

And now Demetrius had stumbled into a lake of fire and been consumed instantly. After all they had done and seen, it seemed such a stupid way to die, a pathetic end to a life well-lived.

The only small saving grace would be if he could finish the task they had set out to do. Doubt assailed him immediately, but he quieted it, at least for a time. Nothing would bring Demetrius back, but if Solek was destroyed too…

Corson began to consider what supplies he had that might be of use.

*          *          *

Tala had given up her faint hope of finding some sort of bridge to where the table with the shard stood. She took her bow and aimed with a steady hand, targeting the nearest leg of the wooden table, then let fly.

She was disappointed but not surprised to see the arrow pass through the leg and slap harmlessly against the far wall.

“Wait a minute,” she breathed as she pulled another arrow from her quiver.

*          *          *

Lucien stilled his breathing, remaining totally motionless. Whatever, or whoever, had bumped into him was still near—he could sense a closeness in the air around him.

*          *          *

Rowan moved toward the rear of the cave, keeping his distance from the blazing columns, hoping he might find another hidden chamber. He brushed his fingers upon the wall as he circled the room.

*          *          *

Demetrius backed up a couple of steps, lowered his sword so it pointed directly in front of him, then prepared to charge. Perhaps the blade would have some effect on the invisible barrier before him.

*          *          *

Alexis took aim at first one spider, which skittered away along the wall and toward the rear of the chamber, then at another, which moved off in another direction. Apparently they were aware of her presence after all, and of the deadly nature of the spear she wielded.

*          *          *

Corson knew he needed something other than what he had on his person to reach the prize. He started back toward the cave entrance, thinking to retrieve some rope and see what else might be in the horses’ packs.

*          *          *

Tala took aim again, this time directly at the piece of the Soul Sphere. In that instant, something sprang from the hidden pit, dark and menacing, but neither her gaze nor her hands wavered. The arrow flew true, passing just beyond the shard and the glass dome that covered it, stopping in mid-air, the tip of the arrow now invisible.

*          *          *

Like a curtain falling, the magic flowed from the room. Demetrius, Lucien, and Alexis stopped abruptly, each seeing they were ready to strike one of their companions. Rowan and Corson held their positions. Tala stared straight ahead, and could now see the arrow had buried itself in the chest of a small, man-shaped creature, hairless and ghastly white, with large, round eyes that stared at nothing. In one clawed hand it held the shard. It fell to its knees, and then collapsed onto the stone pedestal upon which it stood, the shard dropping out of the dead hand with a distinct “click” of crystal on stone.