Kull worked the knife back and forth, slowly shaving away bits of dust and small pebbles, filling the chamber with the echoing sound of crumbling rocks as the broken stone fell to the floor. After creating a narrow space through the stone, he moved back.
With only a little light to illuminate the space, I couldn’t see if the fractured stone opened into the sword’s chamber. “Does the opening go all the way inside?” I asked.
He sheathed his knife. “I believe so, but there’s no way to be sure.”
“I can try to send a spell through the crack and see what happens,” I said, “but if this doesn’t work…”
“If it doesn’t work, we run. Fast.”
“I agree.”
Controlling my magic would be a problem. Since we’d restored the fairies’ stone, my magic had been less erratic, but it was still a pain to control both the Earth and Faythander powers. The two magics were in a constant struggle for supremacy, and I wasn’t sure if I could ever balance the two. Plus, having Theht’s presence in my head seemed to dampen my powers—I’d felt them weakening ever since our encounter.
Steadying my breathing, I prepared to bypass the web spell and conjure a spell to undo the protection enchantment instead. When I felt ready, I reached for the crack in the stone. “Here goes nothing,” I whispered before allowing the spell to rise to the surface and then releasing the magic into the fracture.
Blue wisps of magic glowed over the stone’s surface as I concentrated on sending the spell through the gap and toward the sword.
The azure wisps fed into the stone while I held my breath, praying the spell found a way through the stone and around the web spell. A tiny tendril of magic threaded through the crack in the stone, and more followed, wrapping around the sword. I exhaled my pent-up breath as the magic stripped away the protection spell surrounding the sword.
“It worked,” I said. “I can’t believe it worked.”
“I knew you could do it,” Kull said.
“Yes, but now we have another problem. How do we get the sword out of there without tripping the web spell?”
“Could you remove the web?” Kull asked.
“No. I can’t touch it with magic or it will trip the spell.”
“What if you were to make the sword invisible and move it through?”
“No. It would still be covered in magic, which would also trip the spell.”
Kull removed his blade and flipped it from end to end as he stared at his sword. We were too close to fail now. There had to be a way.
“What if I were to widen the gap in the stone?” Kull asked.
“It might work. How big can you make the gap?”
“With this?” Kull held up his knife. “Not very big. I’ll only be able to remove the stones that are already loose.”
“Do what you can,” I said.
As Kull chipped at the stones, I studied the sword. I reached out, focusing on the narrow path of non-enchanted air leading inside the sword’s chamber.
“I’ve almost got this opened up,” Kull said. A small stone fell to the ground, leaving a tunnel in the stone leading into the bottom portion of the sword’s chamber.
Kull stuck his hand into the opening, but as he reached inside, his elbow got stuck in the hole. He heaved a frustrated sigh as he reached for his sword, his hand within a foot of its pommel, but failed to touch it. Pulling away, he turned to me.
“Can you reach it?”
“I doubt my arms are long enough, but I’ll try.”
The cold stone chilled my arms as I reached inside the hole and tried to grab the sword. I pressed my body against the stone encasement, using every bit of leverage I could muster, stretching my arm as far as humanly possible, but I failed to reach it.
It was impossible for either of us to reach it, but maybe a spell would do the trick. It wasn’t my first choice, and it would be risky, but at this point, I had no other choice.
“I’ll try a spell,” I said, hoping I could control the magic without interfering with the web enchantment as I steadied my breathing. “Levitate,” I whispered.
Magic flowed from my fingers and through the gap, then the shimmers of blue and amber light wrapped around the sword, lifting it up and moving it toward us. I controlled it downward until I was able to grab the pommel, the metal cool in my hands, and then I pulled it free through the narrow gap.
I stood, holding the sword as the pommel warmed in my hands. Maybe I only imagined it, but the faint impression of Kull’s hands seemed worn into the metal.
“Here,” I said, handing it to him. “Pretty sure this belongs to you.”
He took it from me cautiously, as if he couldn’t believe it was really his. Standing straight, he held the sword with reverence.
“It looks good on you,” I said.
He smiled. “Remind me never to bargain it away again.” He ran his fingers along the blade. “I’ve missed you,” he said quietly.
I tried not to get teary eyed at the heartfelt reunion. Honestly, Kull and that sword.
“Should we get back to the doorway?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said. “Lead the way.”
I started down the path that wound toward the staircase, expecting to find Maveryck and Heidel at some point, but as we navigated down the steep steps to the bottom floor, I saw no sign of them. After quietly passing by the enormous double doors, we crossed back toward the stacks of treasures where we had first entered.
“Where are the others?” I asked.
“Perhaps they made it to the door already?”
“Yes. Maybe.”
We made our way through stacks of jewels and coins, but my thoughts were elsewhere. Oddly, I thought of the elven door.
“Kull, have you ever heard of a door like the one we passed through to get in
