Shadow Fire (33 page)

"Well, now what?" Taranis asks, his voice echoing against the high ceiling.

He walks over and tries the wooden door on the left, while I try the one on the right. Both are sealed tight even though they appear somewhat dilapidated.

"I'm sure we can break down these wooden doors. It should only take a few good hits with my sword," Taranis says with a wicked smirk, drawing his sword from the scabbard.

"No, I think we need to go through here," Zane says, examining the large stone door. "We just need to figure out how to open it."

Taranis's face falls, betraying his disappointment over being denied the chance to destroy the doors. He and I walk over to join Zane by the statues.

"I wish I could read this, it's just too faded," Zane mumbles.

He continues to examine the door, tracing the worn runic lettering in reverent silence. Zane seems intrigued by the lost civilization and the ruins they left behind.

"Look around for a lever or button or something," Zane commands when he moves away from the runes to concentrate on the seams where the door meets the stone wall.

I glance at Taranis, and he shrugs before dropping his torch to the ground. He starts to examine the statue to the left of the door. Placing my torch on the ground, I begin examining the bottom of the other statue. My hands move around the base, running across the smooth stone, searching for anything out of the ordinary.
I hope there aren't any giant, hairy spiders in the darkened recess!

I move up the statue, making sure to pass my fingers over every inch. When I reach the statue's eyes, I notice something odd. The left eye is different from the right eye; it seems to be a switch of some sort. When I push it, there's an audible click but nothing happens.

"Taranis?" I call out. He mumbles so I decide to continue. "Have you noticed anything odd about the eyes of the statue?"

"I haven't gotten to the eyes yet," he answers. "Why?"

"Check them now, please." I watch as he stands and inspects the eyes. When he pushes on the right eye, the stone door lurches backward then slides open.
"Voila!"
I say, quite pleased with myself.

"Good job," Zane says, "let's go."

"Wait a minute," I murmur, glancing around the antechamber. "Where are the monsters? It's too quiet…"

"Don't worry, Love," Zane says smiling. "No monster could make it through Mother's light barrier."

"We're taught in school that these are monster-infested ruins," I say, tensing against my simmering rage. "Are you telling me it's all a lie? That the dangerous part is actually getting here?"

"I always assumed there were monsters here," Taranis says. "I mean they're ruins and all, so you'd think there'd be monsters."

"Don't let your guard down," Zane says, biting his lip to keep from laughing. "These ruins are dangerous enough without monsters. Those two wooden doors Taranis wanted to break down probably lead to traps like the oubliette Mother mentioned. I read in an old book that there's a room in here with a ceiling that collapses if you push the wrong lever."

"That sounds lovely," I say, rolling my eyes. "I'd rather deal with monsters."

"Just be careful what you touch," Zane says. "As long as we follow the correct path, we're fine."

"How will we know the right path?" Taranis asks, raising his eyebrows.

"Leave it to me," Zane replies before disappearing through the door.

Taranis and I pick up our torches, and I relight them before following Zane through the large opening. We enter another stone tunnel almost identical to the first one, but this one is a bit narrower. As we continue down the tunnel, I notice another disparity. This path is much longer than the last. My breathing comes in shallow pants, though I try to control my racing heart. The air in this tunnel is heavier than the last, and I have to force myself not to gasp each breath. Fortunately, we reach the end of the tunnel before the anxiety becomes overwhelming.

The tunnel ends in another stone chamber, this one quite a bit smaller than the last. There's only one apparent exit unless we backtrack, a stone door in the center of the far wall. We approach the door but can't find any obvious way to open it. Zane shines his torch on either side of the door. There are no runic markings, or markings of any kind, just smooth gray stone.

"Any ideas?" Zane asks. "I'm stumped on this one."

Shining my torch upward, I examine the low ceiling. There are some strange markings in one corner.

"What are these markings?" I ask, highlighting them with the light from my torch.

"Look at the floor," Zane says, holding his torch to light the floor. "Cobblestones. They seem a bit out of place, don't you think? Every other floor so far has been solid marble." He walks over and examines the markings on the ceiling. "I think it's a pattern that should be reflected on the floor. There are five marks on the ceiling which would correspond with…"

Zane trails off and starts moving around the floor. We watch in silence as he turns over five cobblestones.

"Now there should be levers under each." He moves from stone to stone. When he reaches the last, there's an audible click, and the stone door slides open.

"Way to go, old man!" Taranis says, patting Zane on the back. Zane turns a dark glare toward the pirate before disappearing through the stone door.

"Lay off the old man comments, Taranis. He's only two years older than you," I say before following Zane through the door.

Taranis follows, mumbling something about people with no sense of humor. This tunnel is even smaller than the last two. If this keeps up, we'll be crawling to the Goddess Statue. Fortunately, this small tunnel is also quite short. Before I have a chance to panic, we emerge into a large hexagonal room. There's a wooden door set into the face of each side of the hexagon. Zane walks to the center of the room and glances around.

"I think we're almost there," he murmurs. "The door straight ahead is surrounded by a light barrier."

We walk over to the door, and I can feel the crackling power of the barrier. Zane pulls the pouch containing the crystal pendant from his pack then stares at Taranis.

"Hold onto her. I don't know what she might do once the pendant is out of the pouch."

"You got it," Taranis says, pulling me backwards into his arms. He pins my arms to my side. "Ready," he announces.

Zane opens the pouch and drops the pendant into his hand. As soon as my eyes fall upon the glittering stone, I start struggling to get to it. Zane holds the pendant up to the barrier in front of the door. The crackling energy dissipates, and the door swings open. Taranis's arms are tight around me as my struggling becomes desperate.
I must get to the pendant!
My mind screams in frustration until Zane drops the source of my torment back into the velvet pouch.

"You can let her go now."

Taranis releases me, and I bristle when I notice both men eyeing me like I'm a skittish mare. Ignoring them, I walk up to the open door and pass through. This time there's no tunnel, and I breathe a tiny sigh of relief. The small room is circular, the walls smooth, unmarred stone. In the center of the room stands a pedestal. Atop the pedestal rests the object of my quest, an exquisite marble statue. It's smaller than I imagined, only about twelve inches tall. I start toward it but Zane grabs my arm holding me back.

"Careful," he whispers, "There may be hidden traps."

"So what do we do then?" I ask, glancing around the room.

Zane and Taranis circle the perimeter of the room opposite each other. When they meet on the other side of the room, they stalk toward the pedestal in the center. Zane motions me forward and I swallow hard before approaching the dais. I reach out, running shaking fingers along the Goddess Statue. Nothing happens. Emboldened, I take a deep breath, grasping the statue and jerking it from its resting place.

The statue weighs next to nothing, the white marble warm to the touch. Since when is marble warm and lightweight?

As I examine the roughly carved statue, my apprehension soars. This is made of wood not marble! This thing in my hands doesn't match the description drilled into my head by the elders. Turning to face Zane and Taranis, I stare at them with confusion in my eyes.

"Wow. I was expecting the ceiling to cave in or something," Taranis says, glaring at the statue cradled in my arms. "Maybe you should put that thing away," he suggests. I stare at both men unmoving.

"This isn't it," I whisper, my voice choked with grief.

"What do you mean?" Zane asks. Holding the statue out to him, I motion for him to take it. "I can't touch it; last time I checked I wasn't a maiden or pure for that matter."

"Just take it, Zane," I say in a dead voice. He reaches out, removing it from my hands with extreme care. "See, it's a fake."

"There isn't an ounce of magic in this
thing
," Zane says, spitting the last word in his heightened rage. "It's also carved from pine, not marble. The white is just paint," he adds, picking some paint off with his fingernail. "You're right. This is a fraud."

"Now what?" Taranis asks, his forlorn baby blue eyes staring at the offending object.

"We need to get out of here and back to the ship," Zane says, hurling the false icon to the ground. "We need to find Loki or Hosea and figure out where the blasted statue really is."

"I won't even bother asking who they are," Taranis says, his voice sounding dejected.

"Wait," I call out when Taranis and Zane start walking away. "I'm sure Delistaire's waiting outside. He thinks the Goddess Statue is in here just like we did. We need a plan to defeat him."

"I thought you'd just hit him with a light spear and
poof,
" Taranis replies.

"Nothing's ever that easy," I say, shaking my head in disbelief at his artlessness. "Well, Zane, you know him best. What's our strategy?"

"He'll have a shield up. We need to batter it until it collapses," Zane says, his brow furrowed in thought. "Ashlyn, you'll keep a light shield around you until I say otherwise." He glances at me, and I nod my understanding. "Taranis hit him with wind or water attacks. Stay away from lightning; he's aligned with that element. See if you can break his shield with a battery of smaller attacks." Taranis's blue eyes are fierce as he nods his agreement.

"We need to destroy the pendant before we leave," I remind Zane.

"We might still need it," Zane replies, closing his eyes. "As much as I'd like to free my mother, can we really take the chance?"

"She used the pendant to seal these ruins," I say, gazing at him. "Don't you think she would've said something if she knew the statue wasn't really here? We already broke her barrier, the pendant's useless now."

Zane nods to Taranis, and the rogue pins my arms to my side once more. The pouch is ripped open, the pendant dumped to the ground. Drawing his dagger, Zane strikes the crystal with the hilt several times before it shatters into tiny shards. A pink light erupts from the crystal, flaring brightly before blinking out. For one awful moment I feel as though my heart has been crushed as well, and then the sickening pressure fades.

"Rest in peace, Mother," Zane whispers. Taranis releases me, and I rush to Zane's side. His smile is melancholy when I kneel beside him, brushing a kiss against his temple.

"Let's go send that dastardly sorcerer to the netherworld," Taranis says.

****

Racing out of the ruins, I'm stopped in my tracks by the oppressive dark aura now hanging over the once peaceful clearing. The protective light barrier must've dissipated when Zane broke the one inside. I breathe out a relieved sigh when I see Freya and Shadow waiting by the entrance. Zane stiffens beside me, and I follow his gaze beyond the ruins. Delistaire is waiting in the clearing, undisguised glee on his face, the dark power seeping from him in waves. My body feels heavy from the dark aura, an almost physical weight on my heart and soul.

"Shield now," Zane orders.

My pink bubble appears around me, and the world once again takes on a pinkish hue. The heaviness dissipates beneath the glow of my shield.

"Remember what we discussed. I'll go distract him. He always did like to gloat," Zane says in a low murmur. Taranis nods and I'm surprised when he mounts Freya.

"Sorry, girl," Taranis apologizes to the griffin. "I know you're still injured, but I really need the ride."

She snorts and takes to the sky, stirring up the air around us with her flapping wings. Zane steps away from me and walks out to confront Delistaire. Shadow moves to my side, hackles raised, low growls emanating from his throat.

"Well, well, son," Delistaire says, his lips curled in a delighted sneer. "Looks like you somehow managed to survive Palma. How many innocent people did you slaughter in your escape?"

"None," Zane replies, "unlike you I don't harm innocents."

"Impossible," Delistaire snickers.

Taranis hits the sorcerer's shield with a wind attack while he's distracted. Delistaire turns and sends a lightning bolt at the griffin. Freya banks to the side avoiding the attack.

"Foolish mage, you're merely an annoying gnat. Such weak attacks cannot harm me."

Taranis sends a flurry of wind blades at the sorcerer, while Zane attacks with a tempest of swirling water. For a moment, I can't see the sorcerer as the magic attacks surround him. When the magic disperses, Delistaire appears unaffected by the attacks.

"Something isn't right," the sorcerer murmurs. "I don't feel the power of the Goddess Statue." His menacing red eyes turn to me. "Where is it?"

"It wasn't in the ruins," I reply, raising my chin and smirking at the glowering sorcerer. "It seems your wife was one step ahead of you." I laugh in his face, making him scream in rage.

"You will suffer a slow and painful death, little light mage," Delistaire says, his lip curling into a snarl. "I'll chain you up in my dungeon and drag it out for months. I bet you'll look beautiful begging for an end to your suffering."

Zane and Taranis once again throw double attacks at the sorcerer. When the wind and water dissipate, Delistaire is still on his feet, his face dark red, seething with rage.