“I stopped the game,” she said. “I stopped…”
By the time Lathaar reached her, she had closed her eyes and fallen into a much needed sleep.
K rieger reappeared deep within the forest. From a pouch on his side he drew out a silver-blue vial and drank its contents, then broke the vial on a root beside him.
“That damn sorceress,” he said between grunts of pain. He could feel his legs again, that was good. “I proved you weaker,” he continued. “I was the stronger! I proved, I proved…Karak is the true god, you wretch!”
He fell back, his hands clasped around his waist. It would take months before he was back at full fighting shape. But the girl was free, and with her at Lathaar’s side there was no way for him to fight a fair duel.
“Because of her, you think you are not abandoned,” he seethed. “Because of her, you think your god saved you. You cannot win by your own strength so you coddle to others and act as if they were divine intervention.” He sheathed his swords and struggled to his feet. His legs were uncooperative, and he walked as if he were incredibly drunk. At least they did work, however poorly. If his back had been broken, no amount of potion would have saved him.
“Come to me, Demonwail,” he said, rubbing a red ruby on his gauntlet. Black smoke pooled at his feet, growing thicker and thicker while taking the shape of a demonic steed. The creature neighed in greeting, its hooves fire, its eyes shimmering ash. Krieger cast aside the broken pieces of his armor, knowing the weight would only slow him down. He used all the strength in his upper body to mount the creature, gasping in air at the pain it caused.
“Ride on,” he told Demonwail. “Out of the forest. We ride to Karak’s hand.”
7
M ira dreamt of a field of roses, the vibrant red petals swaying in a soft breeze. A small patch of grass in the center was her bed. The sky was clear. Everything was at peace.
It’s waiting for you, she heard a voice say. Everything is well. The mirror must be shattered, Mira.
She saw a dagger appear, floating above her breast in the hands of an unseen assailant. It twirled and then plunged into her heart. She felt no pain. Peace, pure peace, flooded her.
As it must.
A shadow fell across the land. Heavy rain clouds covered the blue sky as the roses wilted and died. She heard their cries, a swan song of crimson petals. A hand shimmered into view, still clutching the dagger. Crawling upward, the shimmer revealed more and more of her attacker. Mira saw a shadow twin of herself holding the dagger. She remembered the mind she had touched, the chaotic being that had heard her psychic pleas.
“Tessanna,” she said, her voice a whisper. Thunder rolled through the clouds.
“Shattered,” said the other girl. With a gruesome cry, she twisted the dagger and tore it through flesh.
T essanna!” she screamed, waking from her nightmare. Lathaar’s arms were around her instantly, his long brown hair falling down about her face. She buried herself in his chest, sobbing.
“It’s all right,” he told her, gently rubbing the back of her neck. “Everything’s all right.”
Mira sobbed, still hearing the shrieking of the flowers. Lathaar continued to stroke her head, but his mind had latched onto her cry of a name she had no business knowing. Troubling as it was, it was a departure from obsessing about Krieger, and his mind needed the distraction.
“I’ve healed you as best I can,” he told her. “Keziel’s abilities make mine look like a child’s. Just a few days ride, and you’ll feel right as rain.”
“Thank you,” she told him as her sobs slowed. “Thank you for coming for me.”
The paladin nodded but kept silent about his own guilt. She had suffered greatly, all as a ploy to bring him to fight. Her mouth and hands were both terrible sights. All across her body he found cuts and bruises. Worst of all, he had let the man responsible escape.
“Mira,” he asked, “how do you know that name?”
“What name?” she asked, wiping tears from her face.
“You screamed it as you awoke,” he insisted. “Do you remember what it was?”
“Tessanna,” the girl said. “I don’t know who, just…I know the name. I think it’s important.”
Lathaar bit his lower lip. Keziel had been right. The two girls were identical.
“You need to come with me to the Sanctuary,” he told her. “Keziel has things you need to hear, to understand. He knows what you are, Mira. Your eyes, your magic… he can explain.”
Mira accepted his hand as she stood.
“I’m afraid to hear it,” she said. “The world beyond my forest is a mystery to me. But I sense in your heart you feel it best, so I will go.”
“Thank you,” Lathaar said, standing. The two embraced. “Let’s go,” he told her when they separated. “I’m sure Jerico will be thrilled to meet you.”
“Who’s Jerico?” she asked, taking his hand.
“Jerico’s a paladin like me,” he said. “He’s a bit older, carries this enormous shield. You know my swords? Well, his shield…”
They walked and talked as Lathaar told her all about the red-haired paladin, who at that moment was receiving a soft, burning kiss from the girl with the blackest eyes.
S everal miles away, as the sun was just beginning its rise above the horizon, Tessanna touched Seletha’s mane and whispered for her to stop. She readily obeyed. Qurrah leapt off the horse, ignoring the sharp pain in his back. Daylight was finally upon them, enough so he could read the words of the tome he clutched to his chest.
“Will it be dangerous?” Tessanna asked as she levitated to the ground. “Reading it, I mean.”
“Stories tell of many who went mad looking upon its pages,” Qurrah said as he stroked the cover with his fingers. “If this is true, my will is more than sufficient to overcome it.”
“Be careful,” the girl said, crossing her arms and twisting her body side to side. “I don’t want to see you hurt. It’d make me sad, and I don’t want to be sad.”
“If I appear to be in pain or suffering, do not disrupt me,” he told her. “If my concentration is broken, I might be lost to madness.”
“At least you’ll be with me amid it,” Tessanna said. Qurrah was unsure if she was joking or not, so he let the comment pass. He put his back to the mountains and faced the rising sun. He undid the straps around the book, tossed them aside, and opened it. His entire body tensed, and he sucked in a single breath. Tessanna watched, her black eyes timid and curious. For a few moments he remained quiet and still, his eyes flicking over the page.
“Qurrah?” she dared ask.
“Lies,” he said, exhaling. “But this doesn’t appear to be spells, this is…”
He turned a page and read, his eyes darting over the words. Tessanna watched, curious but not wishing to intervene. He flipped another page, then another. His jaw dropped as he read, and his face locked in a stunned expression.
“This isn’t a spellbook, not in the standard sense,” he said. “No magical enchantments protect it, and it contains no inherent power.” He looked up at his lover. “It has spells, many in fact, but all the stories, all the legends, were wrong.”
“What is it, if not a spellbook?” Tessanna asked.
“There is only one person who could have written these words,” Qurrah said, holding the book before his face as if it were made of gold. “This is Velixar’s private journal, telling of the very creation of man.”
S teady, Demonwail,” Krieger told his horse as they neared the stone structure. Seven obelisks formed a circle around a faded carving of a roaring lion. Before the lion was a giant pit filled with ash. The statue seemed almost alive in the dim light of dusk, ready to devour those who came before it without proper sacrifice. Kneeling before it was a man clothed and hooded in black robes. The dark paladin dismounted, wincing in pain from his wound. He had not stopped to bandage them like he knew he should have.
Krieger limped to the altar, his hands on his sword hilts.
“Priests of Karak used to meet here at every full moon,” the man at the altar said, not moving from his knees and his head still bowed. “They would cast a thief or murderer upon the flame, burning the chaos from his flesh.
