Maveryck nodded. “I hope you’re not angry that I didn’t return for you. I tried, but Lucretian forbade it. He said it was too dangerous and that you would come to me. I’ve been waiting for you ever since I arrived here.”
“No, I’m not angry,” Heidel said. “Let the newness wear off, though, and then I’m sure I’ll find something to be mad about.”
“Then let’s enjoy this moment, shall we?” Kull said. “This is the first time in several months Heidel has not been angry about something. I say we celebrate.”
Heidel shot her brother a dark look. “Don’t get too comfortable, Brother.”
Brodnik spoke up. “Well, if this is indeed the man you once knew, and we’ve actually found the druid, then tell us, Lucretian, where is the lost sword?”
We turned to Lucretian. He folded his hands into his robes. Behind him, the fire in the hearth crackled and sputtered. His gaze turned dark.
“The sword is gone,” he said. “It has been stolen, and it is in a place where I cannot go.”
“Stolen?” Kull asked.
Lucretian nodded.
“Who stole it?” Rolf asked.
Lucretian paused before answering. “Dracon’s sword was stolen by a warlock named Jeven. He is the high ruler of Slavom—our planet’s last remaining city, and he is a man who controls magic more powerful than my own. The sword is guarded by a web of spells so strong I cannot break through them; not on my own, at least.”
I eyed the druid. We’d crossed worlds and nearly been killed by Regaymor just to get that sword. It was my luck that it wasn’t here.
“Is there any way to get it back?” I asked.
“Yes,” Maveryck answered. “We will retrieve it.”
He sounded awfully confident. “We will? How could you know that?”
“Lucretian saw it in a vision. We will reclaim the sword.”
I eyed the druid. “You’re sure about that?”
He nodded. “Yes. You will reclaim the sword. But be warned, the vision was clouded and filled with darkness. I suspect not all will go as we anticipate.”
“But you know we’ll get it back?”
He only nodded.
“Those are good enough odds for me,” I said.
“Me too,” Rolf answered.
“When do we leave?” Brodnik asked.
Maveryck cocked his head. “Night approaches, and no one dares travel at night with the Regaymor preying upon these lands. We will leave in the morning, if that suits you all?”
“Morning sounds good,” Kull answered. “We’ll need the rest before setting off on another quest.”
Another quest. Just when I thought this one would be done and over with very soon, now we were headed to a city with a dark warlock who couldn’t die. Great. This was just what I needed. Nothing like a dark warlock to keep things interesting.
“Before you leave, I should like to have a word with you,” Lucretian said, glancing at me. “I have waited a very long time to meet you, Deathbringer.”
The name sent shivers down my spine as he spoke it, realizing that he’d been the first person to use that name. I had questions for this man. Some of them wouldn’t be pleasant.
“If you’ll follow me,” he said, leading me into another room, which could have been some sort of lab. Pots bubbled and beakers of different-colored liquids cluttered the workspaces, but we didn’t stay in the room. Instead, he led me to a staircase and we took the steps leading up. At the top, he opened a door and led me into a room that could best be described as an observatory. Overhead soared a dome that was made of panels of silver metal, though some of them were missing. There were no walls. Only pillars supported the dome.
At the room’s center, there was what could have been a telescope—a large round ball with a piece on top that jutted out, pointing to an area of the sky where the panels were missing. Gears whirred inside the device, clicking with a rhythmic cadence, slowly turning the piece on top.
Wind gusted from the open spaces between the floor and ceiling. The evening air smelled of the desert. A few stars twinkled in the sky as the sun sank beyond the mountains. The moon shards glowed pale white, growing brighter as the sunlight disappeared.
“Is this a telescope?” I asked, circling the machine.
“Yes, it is a telescope of sorts, though not the kind you’ll find in your world. I use it to track the movement of the cosmos. One object you may be familiar with—the asteroid that you set in motion.”
My stomach squirmed. Why did he have to remind me? I ran my hands over the telescope’s metal casing. Magic whispered from the machine.
“Do you know of the prophecy?” he asked.
“Yes, but I wish I didn’t.”
“Why is that? You’re destined to be a great person.”
“Great? I disagree. Killing is not great—in fact, it’s evil and I want nothing to do with it.”
“I wasn’t referring to that part of the prophecy. I was referring to something else.”
“Something like what?”
“I was referring to your magic.”
My magic? “What about it?”
He took a guarded step closer to me. I still hadn’t become completely okay with those eyes, but he had a sort of gentle way about him, so I let him approach me.
He opened his hand, and a flame ignited over his palm. “What do you see?” he asked.
I eyed him. Was this some kind of test? “I see fire.”
“Yes, but what colors?”
“Mostly amber. A little blue at the bottom.”
“Yes, blue and amber. Does it remind you of anything?”
“I guess it reminds me of magic.”
“It should remind you of your magic—the blue of Faythander and the amber of Earth—a unique magic unlike anyone else’s.”
“All right. It reminds me of my magic.”
The flame flickered, grew dimmer, and then extinguished. Lucretian led me across the room where a small wood stove sat against the wall. “I keep this here in the wintertime when the chill gets to be
