Tides of Faith: Travail of The Dark Mage Book Two (62 page)

Miko allowed the quivers produced by
James’ crossing to subside before he crossed over. This time he
landed much more balanced and kept his feet.

They were close to the pit now. The
rising structure was definitely organic; its sides could be seen
undulating ever so slightly. Dark green veins coursed throughout
the outer skin. Making their way to the pit’s edge, they discovered
the structure vanished into the darkness below. All along the sides
as far down as the light would reach, anchor lines held the
structure in place.

James stood at the edge and peered
down. “That’s a ways.” He glanced to Miko. “Can’t even see the
bottom.”

“The Star is down there,” he said with
absolute surety.

“Wouldn’t we be able to see its glow
from here?”

Miko shrugged. “I do not know.”
Closing his eyes, he felt the Star’s presence. “It is
waiting.”

“We could use those anchor lines to
climb down. Not sure how this thing is going to take us clambering
all over it.”

Just then the structure gave a
shudder. James and Miko backed away from the edge; all the while
looking for the cause. A bulge appeared in one of the six large
tubes where it connected to the main structure. Unlike the others,
this one was being pushed outward. It traveled through the main
tube, making its way past several of the smaller conveyance tube
branchings.

James hopped over a tube to avoid
losing sight of the traveling bulge.

At roughly fifty feet from the pit, it
came to a short off-shoot extending less than five feet from the
main tube and having a diameter over half again that of the
conveyance tubes. The bulge slowed its progress then stopped just
before the off-shoot. A shudder went through the tube and it
throbbed like a heartbeat along the area surrounding the
bulge.

Green ichor oozed from the end of the
short off-shoot as the bulge was pushed into it. Then a flood of
the green fluid was expelled as a slimy mass squeezed its way out.
It plopped onto the ground with a squish.

“What is that?”

James ignored the question for it
began to move.

An outer membrane split open and an
animal’s leg emerged; another quickly followed. Then came a head
with four stalks upon it.

“A stalker,” James said. “This is
where they come from.”

It stood on wobbly legs,
took several hesitant steps, then headed out toward the
Waste
. It got two feet
before a stone took it down.

James turned to Miko. “Couldn’t just
let it walk out.”

Miko nodded.

Moving to the pool of green ichor,
James asked, “Can you tell if this is radioactive? Or at least has
a higher concentration of radiation than this area?”

Morcyth’s glow surrounded Miko, then
extended to the green ichor. It remained for several moments before
vanishing.

“I would say the concentration is very
high.”

James nodded. “Then we should try to
avoid coming into contact with it. These suits will protect us from
heightened ambient radiation but I doubt how well they will do if
they were deluged with it.”

Miko’s gaze turned toward the large
structure filling the pit. “That is full of the stuff.”

“I was thinking the same
thing.”

“And if it should rupture or otherwise
expel the green ichor while we are down there…?”

“Then we would die.”

Miko considered the structure.
“Perhaps you should stay topside while I go down.”

About to argue the point, James took a
second look at the anchor lines he would have to climb down, then
back up. “You may be right,” he finally said.

“Make sure nothing sneaks up on us,”
Miko said. “If you are up here, you will also be in a good position
to see if this thing decides to do something unpleasant.” He jerked
a thumb at the structure.

James nodded. “Just be careful. Those
gloved hands are not going to work as well as your own
hands.”

“I figured as much.”

Moving to the side of the pit again,
Miko looked for a viable way down. The anchor lines were spaced
fairly evenly in a rotating pattern. Looked as if each successive
level of them were skewed slightly out of line with the ones
immediately above and below. He sat on the edge of the pit near one
connecting to the pit wall only a foot below the top and set his
foot on it. Firm yet pliable, it took his weight without
snapping.

“Here I go.”

“Good luck.”

“Be back up before you know
it.”

Miko slowly worked his way down
through the tiers of anchor lines. By the fifth, Morcyth’s glow
surrounded him to provide a little light.

James watched from the top. It looked
as if the pit went down quite a ways; the glow had yet to reach the
bottom.

Testing each hand-grip, Miko would
make sure it was secure before stepping down to the next level. The
anchor lines were not slick, but the plastic coverings of his feet
and hands made the descent treacherous at best. By the time he had
reached the sixth level, his feet had slipped out beneath him twice
and his hands had lost their grip no less than three times.
Reflexes developed on the streets of Bearn proved adequate to the
task and he had been able to recover.

After Miko’s fourth nearly fatal slip,
James was glad he had decided to remain on top. The way down would
have been bad enough; trying to come back up would have been a
nightmare for him.

He alternated between observing Miko’s
progress and scanning the horizon for trouble. The structure seemed
oblivious to Miko’s encroachment into its lower regions. It
quivered at one point and caused him no end of worry, not until the
tell-tale bulge emerged from the central structure and traveled to
one of what he thought of as a birthing port. He dropped the
stalker that emerged and returned his attention to Miko who by now
was more of a glowing form in the shadows.

“Come on,” he murmured. He wished to
have Star in hand and be on their way back.

He had the hang of the anchor lines
now. Periods of slippage had all but vanished, what remained was
manageable.

Green ichor oozed in droplets around
the twelfth tier. Dried buildup coated the lower section of the
structure and had even somehow managed to coat the anchor lines in
places. Maneuvering along the lines to avoid this new, deadly
obstacle proved a challenge. The next level of anchor lines was not
always situated in a suitable position for him to easily reach; and
with the green ichor reducing the available hand and foot holds, he
was forced to take more chances than he would have liked. Instead
of a steady climb downward, he would have to at times leap
laterally in order to gain a position above an anchor line on the
next level.

At level twenty-one, he had to do just
that. The anchor line directly below him was nearly covered in the
green ichor; the one directly to its left held only a fraction. He
had to leap laterally to the one above it, then climb down. Only
problem was the one he had to leap to was itself fairly covered in
the green stuff. One side was relatively clear and he aimed for
that section. Readying himself, he leapt.

Soaring through the darkness, he hit
the anchor line hard. Arms wrapped around it for dear life, he
stayed his momentum and kept from falling to the depths below.
Taking a moment to recover his balance, he continued holding on
while turning his attention to the anchor line on the level below
where he planned to go to next.

Had to scoot left half a foot in order
to avoid a smear of green ichor on the one below. Moving a hand
leftward, he felt the anchor line drop downward a miniscule bit.
Eyes darting to where it adhered to the wall, he saw that it had
begun to come loose. His impact must have dislodged it
somewhat.

Very slowly he scooted his hands to
the left; first one hand, then the other. Inch by inch he worked
his way over. Each time he felt the anchor line shift ever so
slightly with his movement. Then just as he reached a point where
it would be safe to descend, the anchor line gave way.

Miko let go of it, twisted and came
down hard on the one below. Again, a death-grip saved his
life.

Above him, the anchor line hung nearly
vertical from where it remained attached to the structure. Green
ichor ran down the line from where its dislodging from the wall and
subsequent new downward angle had ruptured the outer surface to the
end and the ichor now dripped precariously close to where he
hung.

Spying the next anchor line to which
he needed to go, he saw it had most of its surface clear of the
ichor and swung down to it. From his new perch, Morcyth’s glow
revealed the bottom of the structure. Not much below that was the
bottom of the pit. It was clear that filling the bottom was a pool
of the green ichor. One more section of anchor lines remained below
where he hung.

The main surface ended in a curvature
that was symmetrical. However, there was a tumor-like protrusion
extending downward for another five feet. It was about two feet in
diameter, pale and slightly luminescent. The protrusion throbbed
and vibrated in regular intervals leading Miko to believe this may
in some way be its heart.

About to descend to the final level,
he paused when something tugged at the back of his mind. It was the
Star, and it was very close. Gazing to the ichor-filled bottom of
the pit, he wondered how he would manage to retrieve it without
losing his life. The pool of green ichor could very well continue
down for a long ways; only one way to know for sure.

Summoning the power of Morcyth, he
sent his senses down into the green pool. The liquid turned out to
be only a few feet deep, but the Star was not in it. Then his gaze
turned toward the protrusion and its luminosity. Sure enough, he
sensed the Star within, lying a third of the way up from the bottom
of the growth. Furthermore, now that he was concentrating on it,
and being so close, he could tell that this thing that filled the
pit fed off the Star’s power. To take the Star would in all
likelihood kill it, or at the very least seriously hamper its
ability to flourish.

How to take it? Now that was a
problem. Any incision made to retrieve the Star would assuredly
cause copious amounts of green ichor to be expelled. It would be
all but impossible to avoid contact, and James’ words as to the
lethality of such an eventuality stayed his hand.

The anchor line he stood upon
connected to just above the tumor-like growth. Those just below
hooked to the section which contained the Star.

Indecision stayed his hand. So he did
what he had done the last five years when the road proved unclear;
closed his eyes, calmed his mind, and sought Morcyth’s
guidance.

“What is he doing down
there?”

The glow was now far below.
James had watched Miko traverse the layers of anchor lines until
all he could see was the movement of Morcyth’s glow. He glanced to
the structure rising out of the pit.
Where
had it come from?

That question had plagued
him ever since first encountering it. It was unlike anything he had
seen on this world, or Earth for that matter.
Was it natural? Left behind after the destruction of
Ith-Zirul? Planted here by a malignant entity as yet
unknown?
No time to waste worrying about
the whys and wherefores, he put aside the question for the
present.

Every few minutes, another bulge made
its way in along the conveyance tubes. Twice since Miko had begun
his descent, bulges had emerged from the main body of the structure
to travel outward through the large main tubes. One passed from
view while the second traveled to a nearby off-shoot and another
stalker was expelled. James dropped it as he had the ones
before.

The area remained clear of stalkers
and any other creature for that matter. Aside from himself and the
intermittent bulges, nothing moved. He returned to the pit’s
edge.

“Come on,” he mumbled, looking down to
the stationary glow. “Haven’t got all day.”

Peace. Absolute peace and contentment
was what he felt. Always did when communing with Morcyth. Neither
asking nor begging for help, he merely made his mind a void and
opened himself up to whatever his god decided to give. Morcyth had
yet to let him down.

Images flashed through his mind; bits
and pieces of what was and possibly what was yet to be, he could
never be entirely certain. Most came and went making little
impression. A few, a very few held strength and power unlike any
before.

…the Star lying amidst the
shattered ruins of Ith-Zirul…

Miko nodded to himself; the aftermath
of Ith-Zirul’s destruction. “Yes, I understand.”

…now enveloped by a
cocoon…power being drained…being fed upon…

This thing had come and used the power
of the Star to grow and spread.