“You guys make a Death God proud,” I said to them, meaning every word I said, “and I’m honored to serve with every one of you. Percy, steer us to Castle Island. We’re going through the Black Passage, and then we’re gonna kill some wyrms!”
Chapter Thirteen
Castle Island was a bleak and inhospitable place. The monstrous jumble of boulders that gave the island its name were gray, the only color variation being the black, white, and green streaks of harpy shit. Since the ballistae had been installed on the cliffs, the harpies seemed to have been roosting here, out of ballista range.
Percy dropped anchor as close as he could get to the isle, then my party and I set off in rowboats for the rocky shores. Percy said to us that the entrance to the Black Passage could be found at the highest point on Castle Island. Beyond that, he had no further advice to give. He wished us luck and said he’d see us at the final battle, which he was eager to dive into. Like all those under my command, he couldn’t wait to slit a few Church soldiers’ throats. He promised to keep the dragon bones safe—a promise I had insurance on, with one of my undead harpies now a permanent resident on the ship’s mast—and then wished us farewell.
Standing on the rocky shore of Castle Island, we watched the warship turn around and sail away, while the flock of harpies, like a mass of black storm clouds, flew off over the ocean in the opposite direction. Aside from Fang, Talon, and Rollar’s undead direbear, there were no undead creatures with us. It was just me and my party.
I felt strangely alone and almost naked without being surrounded by my undead troops. They were not simply inanimate pawns I could use in my battles. Instead, I had discovered they were a part of me, extensions of my spirit, and physical manifestations of my power. Without the undead, I may have still been a god, but I would forever be an incomplete deity in the absence of their presence.
“I hope this passage is big enough for your lizard and my bear,” Rollar said, looking a little worried.
Fang and the direbear were not only coming along because they were our mounts. In addition, they were serving as improvised pack mules. The direbear was carrying the heavy steel wolf’s head weapons from Yeng, which used the Emperor’s alchemists’ explosive gray powder to launch the red balls that detonated immensely powerful fireballs. The powder and red balls had been stored in waterproofed barrels strapped to Fang’s flanks. I hoped that these weapons could be used against the wyrms, as long as we were able to get them into the caverns, of course.
“If it’s not, those two are going to have a very long swim—well, a walk along the ocean floor—ahead of them,” I said. “But we might as well try. Come on, let’s see if we can find the entrance to the passage.”
We explored the isle and found the entrance to the Black Passage in a few minutes. It was a large cave, located between two Jotunn-sized boulders that formed the peak of the fortress-sized isle. This part was large enough for both Fang and Rollar’s undead direbear to fit into, and I hoped that would be the case for the rest of the passage.
“How are we going to find our way through the dark down there?” Friya looked uncharacteristically uncertain. “This part of the journey has not been in my dreams, so we are truly heading into unknown territory.”
“We can’t use torches,” Layna said, “because of the swells of water that periodically flood the labyrinth with the tides and waves, according to what the pirates said.”
“And I can’t use my Light powers because there’s no sunlight, starlight, or moonlight down there,” Elyse said.
“Ah, but I can, with the Dragon Sword,” I said. “Call upon your Light powers now, Elyse, and I’ll use the alchemy of the Dragon Sword to fuse the light magic to some Death energy. We’ve got enough of it to keep a bright light burning for years with Fang and Rollar’s direbear.”
Standing on the highest boulder of the isle, Elyse raised her mace to the sun. A shaft of brilliant light beamed down on her, enveloping her in dazzling luminescence. In an instant, she transformed, covered in gleaming golden armor, with her mace doubling in size. I held out the Dragon Sword and drew on the Death energy of Fang and the direbear. My vision was filled with the glowing gray skull of Death magic and the shining yellow sun of Light magic, both hovering like phantoms in the air in front of me.
I pulled the Light energy into the Death magic, keeping the idea of constant, inextinguishable light in my mind while blending them. I asked my party for an unenchanted weapon, which I could imbue with this new power. Layna was eager to volunteer one of her prized weapons for the task: a beautifully crafted dagger with a long, wavy-shaped blade.
I poured the new power into the dagger, and the blade turned from a polished silver hue into gleaming metallic purple. The weapon now glowed with a bright violet glow. I climbed down to the shore with it and dipped it beneath the lapping waves. It continued to glow underwater, its brightness not dimmed at all.
“I’ll give it back to you when we’re back above ground in Prand,” I said to Layna. For now though, I needed to keep it as I would be leading the expedition through the Black Passage.
I took one last look at the ocean and open sky, wondering whether it would be day or night when we emerged on the other side. Steeling my resolve, I clambered down the rocky slope that led into the heart of the caves. The usefulness of the dagger became immediately apparent as soon as we got
