The Path of the Storm (45 page)

The Evermen would return to a world where the humans were once again enslaved, those that weren't already dead. The Evermen would spread like a disease to other worlds.

They had to be stopped.

45

E
LLA
watched from a distance as Killian spoke quietly with his father, Lord Aidan, the man who had been given a semblance of life after over twenty years in the grave.

She wondered what they were talking about. Aidan had known his wife carried his child, but he had never even met the babe. How much of Killian's father's personality remained?

Unlike the energy in a zenblade, the power of a fireball, there was no way to quantify the unique lore of the Akari. Ella wasn't sure what she believed about death. All she was sure of was that Lord Aidan wasn't the man he had been in life.

While they spoke, she watched the stone archway. There was no way to tell when the portal would open, but Ella planned to move quickly when it did.

She marvelled again at Killian's powers. Ella had helped enhance his body once before, but she had treated him like an item to be enchanted. She'd given his limbs the strength of iron, his skin the toughness of stone. What he was now was something far beyond Ella's wildest imaginings.

Against Sentar Scythran, they now had a chance.

Killian's gestures betrayed the emotion he was feeling. The revenant in contrast was wooden and still. Only the occasional tremble of his arms showed Lord Aidan still possessed an element of life.

Ella wondered about the Evermen. What were they? If they weren't human, where did they come from? Had they long ago opened a portal to Merralya and conquered those they found already there, in the same way they'd conquered Shar?

Somehow it seemed unlikely. The Evermen considered themselves more than human, but to Ella, Killian was just like her, albeit a man with extraordinary powers. His features were human, and his mother had been a normal person. The fact that Evrin and a human woman had produced offspring led Ella to believe the Evermen weren't a separate race altogether.

Would Evrin know? In their time together Ella had asked him about his youth. Evrin Evenstar was incredibly old, his lifespan several times that of an ordinary man, and he said his oldest memories were murky, like pages of a picture book faded to brown over the years.

He had said he remembered a time when he'd been a young man, and for some reason he thought he'd had russet hair rather than ginger, but blamed the remembrance on a muddled memory. Whatever his youth had been like, Evrin Evenstar had been the Lord of the Sky for eons, and ruled over his lands and the humans who lived in them. After the war that saw the humans made free and the Evermen exiled to Shar, he'd travelled the land for eons more, looking for a surviving child from his love with a human woman. His memories were piled one on top of the other, and asking about his youth was searching too deep beneath the layers.

Finding Killian had coincided with Evrin's decision to take action, where before he had stood by and let the people of Merralya fight each other. Evrin had once promised himself he would no longer seek to control the destiny of the people he once ruled. He'd stood by and looked on during more wars than he cared to remember, and always he'd stayed his hand. The Primate's evil had finally changed his mind. The ensuing events had culminated with Killian crossing over to Shar.

Soon, Ella would bring Killian back home.

Ella hoped talking to his father might bring him some peace. She promised herself that if Lady Alise was still alive, she would try to see Killian reunited with his mother.

Ella saw Lord Aidan slump. His head fell and his arms dropped to his sides. Ella didn't know what Killian was saying, but she saw him take the revenant's arms and shake him.

Lord Aidan's fists suddenly clenched at his sides, and Ella's eyes went wide as she remembered the warnings of Aldrik and Barnabas.

Aldrik's words came back to her now.

"It happens only once in a while, and only to the draugar we bring back with more of who they were. Sometimes the eyes turn entirely red, and the life leaves them." The necromancer's voice had turned ominous. "But before they go, they become berserk."

Ella looked again at the revenant. She'd had to bring back much of the man he had been, using the forbidden lore Barnabas had taught her, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to cross the portal.

Lord Aidan straightened, and a shudder went through his body. His body tensed, and Killian took two steps back.

Ella opened her mouth to cry out, when she heard a series of shrieks behind her, sending a chill through her body.

Turning, she saw a black cloud fill the twilight sky. Wraiths. Dozens of them.

Killian had turned also, and Ella saw him point at the wraiths.

At that instant, with Killian's attention diverted, Lord Aidan attacked.

46

W
ITH
the horde thundering towards the walls of Emirald, a rope was finally lowered, and first Amber and then Miro were hoisted up to the walls.

"Quick!" Miro felt a hand shove him. "Get out of here!"

The revenant army crashed into the walls and beneath him Miro felt the stone tremble. A soldier herded Miro and Amber down from the walls even as ladders slapped up against the battlements and the defenders carried buckets of boiling pitch up to the walls in the opposite direction.

"Do you know the way to the palace?" the soldier asked when they were down.

Miro nodded. "I can find it."

"Good. You'll have to talk your own way in. I'm needed here."

The soldier turned around and ran back up to the walls, sword in hand. Miro admired the Veldrin's courage.

"Come on," Miro said to Amber, taking her by the hand. "We need to hurry. This city won't last."

The climb up the sloping streets was arduous after the sprint to the city walls. The roads were deserted as Miro led them continuously upwards and towards the heights.

Miro was surprised to see there weren't any soldiers at the palace. He simply walked in, remembering the last time he'd come here under guard, marvelling at the ivory spires and turquoise domes, the tranquil fountains and grassy courtyards.

"I'm going to look over the harbour," Amber said. "There's a good view from up here, and there must be someone ready to flee the city on a ship."

"Good idea," Miro said.

She squeezed his arm. "Good luck."

As he watched Amber head to the seaward side of the palace, Miro wondered where the Emir would be. He decided to look for a place that afforded a view of the landward side of the city. He saw a marble-columned structure at the rear of the palace and sure enough, a lone figure stood with his white-knuckled hands on a rail, looking upon the unfolding battle at the walls below.

"Emir Volkan!" Miro called.

The figure turned.

The Emir's flowing robe was deep blue this time, the colour of the ocean, and belted with silver. His sharp nose and dark eyes were as penetrating as ever, but Miro could see the lines of care around his eyes. Together with the grey in his beard his worried eyes made him look old.

Emir Volkan was afraid.

"Ah, look who it is, the man I sent north to gather information on the enemy. Tell me, Miro of Altura, what can you tell me about the enemy's numbers?" the Emir asked with heavy irony.

Miro joined the Emir at the rail. The Veldrin soldiers were fighting valiantly, and for now their numbers were holding back the dark tide.

"We now meet under very different circumstances," Miro said.

"What are those creatures?"

"They're called revenants. The dead are given a semblance of life and made to serve in the army they died fighting against. One of the Evermen leads them. He calls himself the Lord of the Night."

"So," Emir Volkan said, "it seems we were both right. Your ancient enemy is here, and lore has destroyed my land."

"We can fight them," Miro said.

The Emir barked a laugh. "How do you fight a multitude of warriors who will not die? They say this ruler is a man no blade or ball can harm. We're doomed."

"There's something I can offer you that may help."

Emir Volkan turned and looked at Miro. "Look at you. You've got nothing. You've been beaten, I see it in your eyes. I don't need to see the bruises on your face to tell me. What can you offer me, Lord Marshal Miro? Can you make this Lord of the Night pass us by?"

"No." Miro shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Veldria was the target all along. Here in Emirald you have the ships he needs to take this army across the ocean. He won't stop until your harbour is in his hands, and your people have been butchered or enslaved just as those in the north have."

"My people will never be slaves," the Emir bit the words off.

"You won't have a choice. You will serve in death."

"No. I will destroy my corpse before it serves my enemy. I will destroy my body, my city, and as many of my people as I can before I allow us to become slaves. I will not allow us to serve the army that comes to destroy your homeland, as it has mine. You have my word on that."

"There's another way for your people," Miro said, "some of them at least. I have something I can offer you."

"What can you offer me?"

"Safe haven... Refuge…. In my land. For as many of your people as we can get out of here aboard your ships."

The Emir turned to Miro, looking deep into Miro's eyes. "You would do that? You would welcome my people, feed them, and shelter them? You have the power to offer me this?"

"We can load your women and children into some of your ships and take them to my land. Once there, I will ensure they are fed and clothed and given a place. I am second only to the High Lord, and I can speak for him," said Miro. "Later, when we have defeated this enemy, we can help your people come back to these lands to rebuild. Veldria can live again. As long as the memory of your civilisation exists, it can live again."

"I need your word," Emir Volkan said.

"I give you my word. But there's something I'll need in return."

"What do you want?"

"I want your help, and that of your men. Those of your ships that don't make it out of here, we need to destroy. Destroying your ships, all of them, will give us the time we need to escape, and to prepare my homeland's defence."

"And I have your word that you will treat my people well?"

"You do. You can come yourself to make sure of it."

"No." The Emir turned his gaze back to the surging battle at the walls. A boy raced a bucket of pitch up to some soldiers, who instantly poured it onto the revenants below. The viscous oil was proving to be the main reason the walls had not yet been overrun. "Do you see the men with their buckets of pitch?" Emir Volkan suddenly asked.

"Yes." Miro's heart went out to the courageous soldiers, who surely knew to a man that to lose the walls was to doom everyone and everything they held dear.

"It comes from the catacombs that worm the hillside this city was built on. The oil seeps from the ground underneath and we collect it and store it in the tunnels higher up. I have had our reserves of black powder also taken to the catacombs, to be stored alongside the oil. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"I think I do," Miro said, seeing the resolve in the Emir's eyes.

"I will stay here, and take as many of the enemy with me as I can. I will watch as my ships leave the harbour, and as you destroy those vessels you don't take with you. Then, when the time comes, I will destroy this city, and everyone in it."

Miro nodded, knowing there was nothing he could say.

"You have my word," Emir Volkan said.

47

S
HANI
looked at the oval mirror, and then crouched down next to the device Ella had placed over the three Lexicons.

Bartolo and Jehral looked at her with concern. The three of them had guarded the portal day and night, and the tension was affecting them all. What would they do if someone crossed, and their combined efforts couldn't prevent some evil force gaining entry?

The ancient chamber within the Sentinel wasn't a pleasant place to sleep, eat, and share each other's company. There was something about the light that came from all places and none. The decayed wall was a mystery that no one could explain, and made it appear as if a dark force had permeated the chamber, melting all in its path. Shani and Bartolo bickered, while Jehral retreated into himself, becoming silent and moody. They had all put their faith in Ella, and each of them secretly wondered if they'd done the right thing.

"They're fading," Shani said, looking at the Lexicons.

"Are you sure?" Bartolo asked.

Shani glared at Bartolo. "I'm sure."

"Just asking."

"How long do we have?" Jehral asked.

"Opening the portal the first time must have taken more power from the Lexicons than Ella planned."

"How long?"

"I don't know. Perhaps there's some loredrain… I've been monitoring them closely. We can't chance it…" Shani made a decision. "I'm going to open the portal."

"Shani," Jehral said, "Ella said to wait exactly three days."

"Do you want to leave her stranded there?"

"What if you open the portal and she's not there?" Bartolo said. "What if you open it and whatever power is left goes, so you can't open it again?"

"If we wait much longer, I can promise you there won't be enough power to open the portal at all."

Jehral and Bartolo exchanged glances.

"Ella said…" Jehral began.

"I know what Ella said! She's my friend too. I'm telling you, we have to open it now, while we still can!"

Jehral spoke to Bartolo. "I'm no loremaster."

"Nor am I."

"What if she's right?"

"I'm telling you I'm right!" Shani said. "Men! Jehral, if Ilathor was here you'd do as he asked without a second thought. Bartolo, you'd be the same if Rogan gave you an order."