Shaper of Stone (The Shapers Book 1) (20 page)

Talamas made a grab to stop me, but his
grip fell short.

The nerafpan claws extended along my
wrist as I ran. Reaching the end of the corridor, I turned and jumped
into the room ready to help my friends. Two bodies were on the ground
in front of me. One was face down with blood seeping from his back.
The other was face up with a jagged red line across his throat. They
were both dracomen and it looked like they fell before they even
realized anyone was nearby.

Unfortunately the same couldn’t
be said for the two lizard men guarding the other side. They met
Tibron and Garit in the middle of the room. Fighting side by side the
two guards blocked the way past. Behind them I saw a third man
running off.

“Tibron!” I shouted. “One
is getting away!”

Instead of answering, Tibron blocked an
overhead swing. At the same time Garit stepped in and delivered a
thrust with his sword, driving the point into the attacker’s
armpit. Before he could pull the sword free, Tibron spun around
Garit. His sword a blur of motion as he moved between Garit and the
second guard.

Garit looked back to me and yelled,
“Don’t let him get away!”

Crap! The one running away was almost
at the end of the hall. He was too far for Garit or Tibron to reach,
and I had been too busy watching them to focus on the guy who was
about to escape. If he made it out of here, he would alert the other
guards.

I snapped my arm forward like I was
throwing a baseball. The blades across my wrist broke off and
rocketed toward the fleeing man. They were little more than a blur as
they passed within inches of Garit.

I concentrated on the blades, guiding
them down the hall with my mind. They struck the guard just as he
reached the ladder leading up to the ceiling. He stumbled and fell
forward with his arms flailing in front of him.

The guard stopped moving when he got
tangled in the rungs of the ladder. He hung there with three blades
sticking out his back.

Tibron stepped back as the guard he was
fighting slumped to the floor, then he turned to look in the
direction of the fleeing man. With a snap of his wrist he flicked the
blood from his blade but kept it drawn as he ran toward the end of
the hallway. He dragged the dead man from the ladder and draped him
over his shoulder. When he returned to us he threw the body next to
the other corpses.

Garit finished cleaning off his weapon
before pulling my blades from the man I killed. He wiped those down
as well before handing them back to me.

“Good work,” he said to me.
“I didn’t even know he was there until you yelled. If it
wasn’t for you he would have escaped, then we would have been
in serious trouble.”

I accepted my blades and let them flow
back into the bracelet around my wrist. I knew Garit was right, but
it didn’t make it easier. It wasn’t like fighting Balruc
or the gargoyles. This time he was running away, and I stabbed him in
the back.

As if he read my mind Tibron said, “You
did what needed to be done, as did we all. He was not fleeing to
safety, but to summon reinforcements. Had you not acted when you did,
we would be sorely pressed by the remainder of the guard.”

“Couldn’t he have just
called for help? Why did he run?” I asked.

Garit and Tibron looked at each other.
Neither apparently were able to come up with an answer.

Talamas, having joined us, offered his
opinion. “Sound does not carry to the surface from within the
tunnels. Perhaps those above would have heard a muffled noise, but
unless they were specifically listening for it, I doubt anyone would
have noticed. We are fortunate that it is so, else your battle may
have been sufficient to alert our enemies.”

“We had little choice, Talamas,”
argued Tibron. “We needed to pass this way, and they would have
opposed us.”

They continued to argue about how they
should have handled the guards, but I stopped listening. Instead, I
examined the source of the glow that we first noticed when we
approached the area. Nerafpan orbs lined the walls. There were
hundreds of them. They stretched from one end of the hallway to the
other. Four shelves lined the side walls and each shelf was deep
enough for three orbs. I didn’t see an empty space anywhere.

It was like the room in the mines where
the orbs were stored. Except that room was mostly empty, and even if
it was completely filled it wouldn’t have been able to hold all
of these orbs.

How many people died so that Vatrale
could accumulate this much power? How long had he been harvesting
them? I thought he was a monster before, but now I realized I had no
idea.

“Amazing isn’t it,”
said Talamas as he stepped closer to me, apparently having ended his
discussion with Tibron. “With this power, one could challenge
the gods. It is beyond imagination to consider what could be
accomplished. Think of what we could do if we claimed it as ours.”

I stared in shock at the old wizard.
Before I could say anything Garit stepped between us.

“Can we use this to stop
Vatrale?” he asked.

“No,” answered Talamas.
“This much power could not be safely drawn. It will require a
focusing item to control the flow of energy, and the only one I am
aware of is in the possession of Vatrale.”

Tibron said, “You mean the Soul
Stone that Carvis stole from my people. Vatrale needed it to harness
this power.”

Talamas caressed an orbs. “They
are linked. If we remove one, Vatrale will certainly notice. We are
too close to risk that.”

The buzzing noise that had annoyed me
since we arrived here, hiccuped. Actually it hiccuped twice. It
buzzed along steadily, then it faded only to pop back up. It happened
once and then a second later it happened again. The tone of the buzz
felt different now, almost like it went up a gear. Now there was more
power moving through it.

“They are here,” said
Talamas. “Vatrale’s constructs have arrived with their
prisoners.”

Talamas was right. I felt them too. The
gargoyles were here, and they would have Abella and Talia.

We were out of time.

“Let’s go!” I said as
I dashed toward the ladder leading out of the tunnels.

-o-

The creatures carrying Abella and Talia
landed in the center of the ruins, scattering the dracomen who were
on watch. They dropped the women before resuming their motionless
stance, patiently waiting for their next command.

Talia and Abella moved close to one
another as the dracomen kept a safe distance from the constructs.
They seemed more frightened by the creatures than the two women were.
Abella recognized the guards. If they were here, she knew that Carvis
and Vatrale must be nearby.

“Don’t just stand there!”
shouted Carvis as he approached from the tower. “Take them into
custody. Bind their hands and gag them.”

“Carvis, what is the meaning of
this,” began Abella.

“Shut up, human!” said
Carvis. “If she opens her mouth again, beat the other one.”

Abella almost protested, but she knew
Carvis. She knew he would carry through with his threat. Instead of
arguing, she stepped forward and held her hands out for the rope. She
hoped that if she went along quietly, Talia would not be harmed.

Once they were bound, Carvis lead them
to the base of the tower. They entered a dining area. The roof was
filled with holes, and debris covered the floor. Two tables had been
cleared, although dirty dishes and mugs were stacked upon them.

Carvis stopped and ordered two of the
guards, “Wait here with her. I’ll take the other one to
the master.”

The guards nodded then lead Talia to
one of the tables, pushing her down onto the bench.

“Don’t let the woman come
to harm if it can be avoided. The master may have use for her.”

Talia’s eyes got wide behind her
gag.

Abella shook her head and Talia stopped
moving her hands. The guards may have bound and gagged them, but they
did not bother to search either woman. They both still carried
daggers, and Talia’s hand strayed toward hers.

Now that they were away from the
constructs, they only needed to find the right time to cut their
ropes and escape.

Now was not the time.

-o-

Carvis lead Abella up a ramp. They
passed several guards on their way to the top of the tower. The man
claiming to be Horatio was waiting. He smiled when he saw her.

“Carvis, this is no way to treat
our guest of honor. Release her.”

The guard cut away the rope securing
Abella’s wrist. Without any warning, she pulled her knife and
lunged for Vatrale. The edge of the blade sliced across his cheek
before he could pull back. She chased after him, slashing her knife
side to side, nicking away at him.

Carvis dove on her, tackling her from
behind and throwing her face down onto the floor. Abella pulled the
knife down and slashed at Carvis’ leg.

He blocked the knife, wrapping a thick
hand around her wrist. He wrenched her arm to the side and smashed
her hand against the floor until the knife fell free. Letting go of
the wrist, he grabbed the knife and raised it to drive it into her
back.

“Enough!” commanded
Vatrale. “We have not gone to such efforts bringing her here to
fail now. I need her alive. Get her up!”

Carvis climbed to his feet, pulling
Abella up with him. She twisted side to side trying to break free,
but Carvis did not release his hold on her.

“Careful. I don’t want her
hurt more than necessary. Put her in place.”

Carvis pushed her toward the center of
the tower. Abella took a stumbling step forward, caught herself and
snapped back with a vicious kick to the guard’s shin. Carvis'
grip loosened. Instead of running, she spun into him and tried to
rake her fingernails down his eyes.

Carvis caught her wrists in his hands.
He pulled them up, lifting her onto her toes then smashed his head
against hers.

“Carvis!” shouted Vatrale.

The dracoman’s hold on Abella’s
wrist was all that kept her limp form from crashing to the floor. The
guard turned slowly to his master and bowed his head slightly.

“My Lord, she has been subdued”

-o-

Talamas was shouting as I sprinted
toward the end of the hall. I ignored him. The time for talking was
done. Now was the time for action. I reached the ladder and started
to pull myself up. I was no more than three or four rungs up when I
felt a firm hand reach up and grab my belt.

“Let go!” I yelled while
trying to shake myself loose from the grip.

“Where do you think you are
going?” Garit asked as he pulled me from the wall and spun me
around.

“She is up there!” I cried.
“We need to go now or there is no telling what Vatrale will do
to her. I didn’t come here to hide in the basement.”

Talamas appeared behind Garit. “No.
You came here to defeat Vatrale. If you act now all will be lost.
Vatrale is too powerful. You will be killed and your friends lost. Is
that what you wish?”

“Devin,” added Tibron with
a glance at Talamas, “Talamas would have us move at a snail’s
pace. My blood screams for action as well, but there is wisdom in
choosing our battle. We know Vatrale will be weakened when the ritual
starts. His power committed. Do we risk it all by charging him now,
or do we wait until we have the advantage?”

Tibron placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Whatever you decide, I am with you.”

Garit looked back and forth between
Tibron and Talamas before placing his hand on top of Tibron’s.
“I’ve got your back. If you think it’s time, I’ll
be right beside you.”

Talamas shook his head and muttered,
“You are all fools. Look around. Do you see these orbs. We
cannot stand against the power gathered here. I will not throw my
life away. Go if you must, but I will remain behind until Vatrale’s
power is committed. Alone I will stand little chance, but it is still
more than if we were to attack him now.”

I took a few deep breaths while the
others waited for my decision. Talamas was right. We had a plan. Not
much of a plan, but it was better than nothing. The girls had made it
this long. I needed to have faith that they could make it a little
bit longer.

“OK,” I said. “We
won’t attack right away, but can’t we at least get to a
better position?”

Talamas let out the breath he had been
holding as he waited for my response. “I’m glad you are
seeing reason.” He then waved his arms to encompass the orbs on
the wall. “This is the best place for us to wait. When Vatrale
begins to draw on the power stored here, we’ll know
immediately. Then once he is committed to it, we can make our way to
him.”

Garit and Tibron let go of my shoulder,
but stayed close by my side. The three of us looked up the ladder to
the trap door in the ceiling about twenty feet above us.

Noticing our gaze Talamas said, “That
door will lead into a storage room behind the kitchen. From there we
can climb to the roof. There is a ramp leading from the roof of the
kitchen to what should be the ritual area. Once we are on the ramp
we’ll be exposed. We’ll need to be quick. We can’t
afford to be stopped until we reach Vatrale.Then we confront him.”

“Great,” I said. “You
make it sound simple, but I’ve got butterflies in my stomach
all the same.”

Talamas smiled. It was the first times
I had seen him smile since we started chasing the gargoyles. “It
will be simple, barring any surprises.”

-o-

Waiting sucked. I thought waiting for a
dentist appointment was bad. That was a walk in the park compared to
this. It was like sitting on a thumbtack, over and over again.

We remained silent most of the time.
Garit and Tibron took turns listening at the top of the ladder. If
someone decided to check on the orbs, we wanted to know before they
discovered us.