Shadow Mage (Blacklight Chronicles) (10 page)

“The Masters probably changed it after the builder left Naru,” Talis said. “Be careful about touching anything.” Since Talis had learned about magical wards, he suspected their use by the founders of the Order of the Dawn. Or even more recently, by Mistress Cavares….

“You might have warned me before we went down here.” The sorcerer’s voice held a tinge of fear. He stared down the corridor behind Talis.
 

“What is it?” Mara glanced back, following Talis as he turned around.
 

“We’re extremely vulnerable down here,” Nikulo said, twisting around uncomfortably. “What exactly are we looking for, anyways?”

“The Dark Archives…” Palarian raised his hands, still staring down the corridor where they’d come from. “So why shouldn’t have I touched anything?”

“Magical wards…I’m guessing one of the wizards might have set them, as traps or to warn of intruders. If this is a forbidden area, that’s what I’d do.” And Talis guessed that’s what Mistress Cavares would do as well.

“If someone comes down here they’ll find us…it’s too narrow.” Mara squeezed herself against the wall.

“How long would it take before they’d arrive?” The sorcerer’s hands trembled as he aimed them down the corridor.

“Ten, maybe fifteen minutes at the most.”

They waited in silence, staring down the corridor and listening for any hint of movement. But no one came after what seemed like an hour.

“Safe?” Mara said, and glanced up at Talis.
 

He nodded, and turned back to the dead end. “Search for any levers or loose stones.”

“I doubt they’d make it that easy.” Palarian searched the stone wall. Talis joined in, but the surface revealed nothing. Mara and Nikulo found nothing either after minutes of searching.

“So what do we do now?” Mara said.

“I wish I could say I had a spell to aid in this, but I can’t think of anything.” The sorcerer frowned at the wall. “Any direct elemental assault would most likely be guarded by magic.”

Talis had an idea. “Whatever is down here was probably only accessible by Master Viridian, and maybe only one other wizard as backup.”

“Why do you say that?” Nikulo said.

“Who are the two wizards in the Order that possess the only knowledge that none other in Naru have? Master Viridian knew Light Magic, and Mistress Cavares knows Rune Magic. May I?” Talis gestured towards the dead end. Palarian and Mara moved aside, allowing him to pass.

“I doubt we’ve activated any magical ward.” There was still magic resonating along these walls, perhaps some kind of ward that was permanent? He closed his eyes, imagining Master Viridian and Mistress Cavares sneaking down to the dark part of the archives. He pictured Master Viridian illuminating the way with Light Magic, and coming here, to this very spot, and having the way magically open for him. That was it. Light Magic.
 

He stepped back and cast a spell summoning a small amount of Light Magic. With the golden light burning knife-edge shadows across the stone wall, Talis heard a rumbling sound as the end of the stone corridor opened before them. Mara beamed and flung her arms around him. They did it, the spell had worked.
 

Talis stepped down into the dark chamber, allowing the orb of light to illuminate the massive room. The door scraped closed behind them. The ceiling was made of stone blocks held up by enormous pillars, but parts of the walls were exposed earth mottled with rocks and crystals. The center area contained hundreds of wooden cabinets stacked atop broad stone tables. A thick layer of dirt and dust covered the surfaces, as if no one had ever cleaned in the last hundred years.
 

“We’ve found it…the Dark Archives.” Palarian sauntered over to a cabinet, and ran a finger across the thick dust. “Unused, perhaps? Kept and stored, but not taught or practiced. I wonder if any of the masters have even learned Shadow Magic?”

“I think at least one. I suspect Mistress Cavares has spent time down here learning a few of the spells. At least what she taught me seemed infused with dark magic.”

“But wouldn’t she have been required to come with Master Viridian?” Mara said.

Talis scratched the back of his head. “Not necessarily. Either she also knows Light Magic, or she set a different opening ward on the door to allow entry using another spell or possibly a spoken password.”

“It’s likely that she came on her own,” Nikulo said. “Master Viridian hated dark magic, I doubt he would have allowed any wizard of the Order to study it unless there was a pressing reason to do so.”

“Like an invasion from the Jiserian Empire? Whose sorcerers have mastered Shadow Magic?”

“They’re just as bad.” Palarian searched for a way to open a cabinet. “They practice dark arts but fail to master the light. They go mad as well. The Jiserians exploit that madness to their advantage. Driving them to even more ruthless acts of war. No sane person could ever be compelled to do that.”

“Can’t open it?” Mara said, and inspected the cabinet the old man was trying to open.

“Doesn’t seem to want to let me open it.” Palarian stepped back and thrust his hands on his hips.

“More locked doors down here,” Nikulo said, and poked his head around a stone block. “I’ve found six other stairwells.”

“So this is the main chamber?” Talis glanced around the huge, shadow-infested room.

Mara shrugged. “Let’s explore. We can always come back later.”

“Keep together, you never know what’s lurking down there.” Talis pictured the shadow creatures from the Underworld.

“You’re telling me the archives have some kind of shadow guards?” Mara said.

“Who knows what your Order placed down here.” Palarian sniffed the air like he caught a hint of some secret. “Could be magical wards with all manner of spells behind them, or perhaps the young master is correct, there might be shadow creatures farther down, guarding their secrets.”

Talis furrowed his brow as he ran a hand along a cabinet. “Or the Dark Archives themselves, the scrolls and tablets and runes, they might be so infused with Shadow Magic that the creatures are compelled to be near them.”

“I’ve caught a hint of something important down this corridor.” The sorcerer stalked towards one of the stairwells off to the far corner of the chamber. “Be on guard.”

As Talis followed Palarian, stepping quietly, Mara flanked along his left side. Her face held the expression of pure terror and her arms trembled. The room seemed to darken as they approached the stairwell. They took several steps down, and a wind gusted up, smelling of rotten corpses and sulfur. The same smell as the Underworld.
 

Mara gripped his arm, and glanced up at him like she didn’t want to take a step further. Palarian had entered a large, misty room with a massive, swirling shadow portal lying flat in the center of the floor. Lightning charges struck the air above the portal. There were four white crystals on each cardinal corner. This was a World’s Portal, similar to the one created by Aurellia at the Temple of the Sun.

“Ah…here it is. The one spoken about hundreds of years past.”

“What is this portal?” Talis gaped inside, catching glimpses of other worlds and other places within those worlds.

“This is known as the Portal to Many Worlds.” Palarian fingered a stone altar in front of the portal. “If you have the appropriate runes, the portal will take you to your destination of choice. The runes are placed here, in these slots. Unfortunately for many wizards in the past, who’ve placed incorrect runes, the portal only led them to their deaths.”

“And right now death is stalking you,” Mistress Cavaress said, stepping out from the shadows.
 

Talis spun around and raised his hands defensively. How did she know they were here?

“Relax, young apprentice, I mean you no harm. This one, however…” She inspected Palarian up and down, an expression of disgust and curiosity on her face. “How did you ever convince these children to grant you access to the Temple archives?”

The sorcerer spread his arms wide in a gesture of supplication. “The young master must have balance in his instruction—”

“Yes, yes, or he’ll go mad. Do you take me for a fool? Why do you think I’ve been teaching him Shadow Magic?”

“You have?” Talis said, and stared at Mistress Cavares.
 

“Runes are often disguised for teaching the dark arts, and of course the other wizards avoid Rune Magic. Our little outing in the swamplands? Dark magic combined with summoning the shadow gods.”

“But why did you do that? Ralakh Lei was killed because of the ward we cast, and now Naru is at war….”

“Was that truly the reason?” Mistress Cavares puckered out her lower lip and placed a hand on her chin. “I think not… Ralakh Lei tempted fate many times and the gods called their just due…his life. Internal strife amongst the Royal Houses has been brewing for months now.”

“And Master Viridian?”

“He refused to acknowledge the dark gods he secretly worshipped. And they struck him down for it…and many others in the Order like him. Fear not, child, you’re not at risk. At least not by the gods.” Mistress Cavares glared at Palarian.

“I mean the boy no harm.” The sorcerer bowed low, a look of mock humility on his face.
 

“Then why have you led them here?” She aimed her gaze at the rune slots in front of the portal. “Planning to go somewhere? All who have tried in the past have failed, and by failure I mean their total disintegration.”

“Ah, but they lacked my extensive knowledge of runes.” Palarian flashed a hideous grin. “I daresay vaster than your meager knowledge.”

“You claim superior knowledge? Prove it.”

The sorcerer flourished four rune tablets and placed them in the rune slots. Without hesitation, he leapt inside the shadow portal and disappeared.
 

“Has he just killed himself?” Mara studied the portal for signs of movement.

“Oh, we can only hope that’s the case.” Mistress Cavares rolled her eyes, and glanced around the room.

Moments later, a shimmering silver portal appeared on the side of the room, and Palarian stepped through, his eyes beaming.

“Did you miss me? As you can tell, the portal failed to disintegrate me. Why do you suppose that is the case?”
 

“Do enlighten us…” Mistress Cavares sighed icily.

“Those four runes returned me to my study amongst the snowy pines of the Island of Tarasen. Of course since I’ve now been to the archives, it was simple for me to return using a portal.”

“I thought you said you don’t know Shadow Magic?” Mara said.

“That wasn’t Shadow Magic…portals can come in different colors, so to speak.”

“So I take it you were responsible for teaching them the portal spell?” Mistress Cavares frowned at Palarian.

The sorcerer waved a hand dismissively. “They already possessed that knowledge, and a shadow portal spell at that.”

Mistress Cavares raised an eyebrow at Talis. “This day has been strange, indeed. Tell me, stranger, why are you in need of a World’s Portal? You have the smell of the ancients on you.”

“I long for home.” Palarian sighed. “Alas, I tire of your world, it’s time for me to return, if I can.”

“Well, I’m afraid to disappoint you. After the war with the Jiserians, their summoned demon destroyed the crystal underneath the temple. Luckily these archives were not damaged, however the power source for the portal was lost. There’s enough residual energy in these small crystals to allow porting within our world, but not nearly enough for whatever purposes you desire. Does this come as a surprise to you?”

“Indeed, yet not totally unexpected.” Palarian glanced at Talis. “However, doesn’t this one hold the power of the black crystal within his grasp?”

“Why should he help you? And furthermore, I’m sure he lacks the knowledge of casting World’s Portals. None of the Order possess such knowledge. And I doubt you know of it, either.”

The sorcerer spread his arms wide in an expression of defeat. “Such a shame, really. I was hoping this would be easier. That my story would bring pity on an old man, trapped on an alien world. But it appears I am wrong.”
 

Mara gazed at him sadly, and stepped close. “Isn’t there another way back home?”

Palarian looked up, holding back tears above a wicked smile. “Yes…I’m sure there is. You’ve given me an idea, dear.” From within his robes he tossed something at Mara that looked like a giant moth. The moth’s wings, black and grey and copper, expanded to a size larger than a man, and enveloped Mara in several flutters. The sickening pattern of the wing wrapped itself around her body, creating a sticky translucent cocoon.

Though shocked, Talis aimed his hands at the sorcerer and shot out quick bursts of Light Magic.

The sorcerer cried out in a shrill, hideous wail, and raised his fingers to the sky while falling down on his knees. “Stop…stop, you’ll kill her!”

Talis ceased his casting after he noticed the cocoon around Mara had darkened and dried, a crust forming around the latticed edges. Mara’s eyes went wide in terror and her hands were clutched to her throat as if she’d couldn’t breathe.