Third Power Page 9

  Steve stopped abruptly, nearly rolling his passenger head over heels. “That’s it!” he exclaimed.

  “Where?!” Jiv said jumping to his feet, his eyes frantically searching the forest.

  “Jiv, don’t you get it?” Haldorum sent me here to find something—and sometimes it’s a vision.”

  The sprite rubbed at his chin thoughtfully, nodding. “Ya’ know, ah had never even thought a’that.” After a moment his hands suddenly flew to his temples and then outward explosively. “Ah’m supposed ta’ help you find yer vision, aren’t ah?”

  Steve felt like kicking himself. “Man, I’m so stupid!” The wizard had told him there was a chance the thing he sought might just find him instead. He had been carrying the key to what he was looking for this whole time.

  “All right, Jiv, how do we do this?”

  Jiv pointed straight ahead to start him moving saying, “You’ll need halenberries, for starters. They ave’ a bit of a kick but there be nothin’ better when ya ave’ ta’ commune with the Mem. There’s a whole bush a’them right there. Ah always keep some halenberry juice on me but ah’ve a feelin’ a lad yer size is goin’ ta’ need more than yer good buddy Jiv as’ in his pocket.”

  Steve practically ran to the bush Jiv pointed to—barely more than a scrub, really, but it was abundant with the tiny red berries.

  “You’ll probably be needin’ a small handful a’those,” Jiv instructed. “As soon as ya’ swallow em’ down, put both yer hands on one a’the Mem’s trees and concentrate on what it is ya’ most want ta’ know.”

  Steve nodded and set Jiv carefully down upon a mound of moss growing at the base of the nearest tree. Then he went to the bush and, with quick, darting motions, he gathered a handful of the tiny berries and then poured them all into his mouth. To his rumbling stomach, they were a welcome addition to the early morning apple. He turned then and promptly placed both hands back on the tree where Jiv waited.”

  The tangy sweetness of the berries lingered on his taste buds and made his mouth water hungrily for more. Strangely, they tasted something like a cross between blackberries and raspberries without the seeds of either. Remembering Jiv’s instructions, he quickly pushed the thought out of his mind and concentrated on what he wanted to know.

  He did not wait long.

  A shroud of mist enveloped his senses and drowned out the sounds of the forest around him. Softly at first, but louder with every passing heartbeat, the dull roar of thousands of voices rose in his ears. From somewhere in the distance there came the sounds of beating drums and the clamor of metal against metal.

  “I can hear it, Jiv!” Steve exclaimed, hardly able to believe it was working.

  “So what are ya’ talkin’ ta’ me for? Lissen up!”

  Sight exploded forth and two opposing armies crashed together with incredible ferocity. On one side lay the vast multitudes of the human forces fighting for the Emperor, fighting to protect the immense castle beyond, the last imperial stronghold, within the walled city only half a league behind them. On the other side, the monster legions of Azinon.

  Without knowing how, Steve knew this struggle of eighteen years past was at its climax. This was the last time these two sides would meet in battle.

  Azinon was at the rear of his forces, watching calmly the bloodshed and havoc from an elevated throne borne on the shoulders of Shangee. A small garrison of hideous, four-armed creatures standing on two legs surrounded him and served as his guard. The tough exterior plating that served as their skin shined pale gray in the light of the sun. Their faces were terribly deformed, with one of their two eyes at the end of a stalk capable of bending so far around as to look behind them. Their mouths were gashes in their heads lined with needle-like teeth that moved independently outward and then in, as though dragging food toward the center of its maw. Four huge pincers clashed together at the end of four arms in a savage, instinctive lust for bloodshed.

  Looking back to the battle, the human warriors fought with the strength and cunning born of desperation. They swelled forward like an ocean wave against the monster armies of the Dark One, cutting off slashing limbs and piercing hardened skin to rend vulnerable flesh. Mounted cavalry charged forward with lances and drove back the fearsome monsters, at least momentarily, and skewered others too slow to get clear. It was then Azinon rose to his feet from the far side of the battlefield. A defeat here was not something he would allow to happen, not when the jewel of his desire shined so close behind his enemy. Raising both hands to the sky he brought forth his dark power and the sky above turned black as pitch. Howls rose up around him as the beasts that served as his guard raised their voices in response to their master’s summoning. From out of the magic-dark sky a green shard of lightning raced toward the earth like a terrible spear of heat and light. When it touched down, the resulting explosion sent out a circular, concussive wave of force that tore soldiers apart for fifty feet in every direction, hurling men and horses through the air for a hundred feet beyond that.

  The armies of the Dark One surged forward through this new hole in the human line of defense, killing mercilessly those who were still as yet too stunned from the fierce blast to fight. Azinon beckoned yet again and still more of the deadly shafts rained down from the sky.

  The paltry magicians who served the Emperor stood at the back of the human forces, pooling their powers in a vain attempt to thwart the deadly shower of dark magic, but to no effect. By comparison, their feeble powers were more akin to trying to stop a charging bull with a sheet of paper.

  Steve became aware of the passing of time then. Swift and fleeting, the hours raced by in mere moments and abruptly the scene changed. He was looking inside the castle now. A haggard emperor and his war council gathered around a circular table in the center of a great chamber. Judging from the distraught look on each of their faces, the past few hours had not brought good news of the war. The weary emperor raised his head, his expression showing both sorrow and unlimited concern. “My daughter?” he asked.

  The General to his left replied in a deep and gentle voice. “She is safely away, Majesty. By now her escorts have seen her well clear of the catacombs beneath the castle.”

  “I want none to know of her whereabouts,” the Emperor said sharply. “No one!”

  “It is as you instructed, Majesty. Not even you or I have knowledge of where she travels.” The general’s expression then changed to one of worry as he added, “Please, you must leave the castle now. The Dark One draws closer--only a small portion of your armies stand between him and the gates.”

  The Emperor’s countenance hardened then. “You would have me run? Flee like some coward!” he exclaimed incredulously. “Why should I turn and seek sanctuary when so many have already died--still die--for the sake of the empire. Nay! I shall not flee while there are those still upon the battle field who fight in my name!” He stepped back and drew his sword. “Let Azinon come! If he is even half a man, he shall meet me here with his own blade in hand.”

  A terrible explosion shook the very foundation of the castle. The nine members of the war council looked to one another uneasily. “They have breached the outer walls,” one breathed. “They are inside the city.”

  The lines on the Emperor’s face deepened. “General Corbett.” The first man who had spoken raised his eyes to meet his ruler’s solemn gaze. “You have been both a friend and a valued advisor to me. I do not wish to order you to a certain death. I want you to take the others and go to--”

  The double doors leading out of the room burst open and three men in military uniforms rushed in. Again, without knowing how, Steve knew these to be the men charged with seeing the princess safely away. All three fought to catch their breath from their rapid return from the catacombs, and each wore a look of wild desperation.

  A look fell across the Emperor’s face as though he felt his very heart stop in his chest. “What happened?” he demanded. “Where is my daughter?”

  General Corbett looked on with deep co
ncern, staring at his ruler with eyes that clearly had never seen such an expression cross his features.

  The first man dropped to his knees sobbing with grief. “We have failed you, Your Majesty. The princess...she is gone!”

  “What do you mean ‘gone’?” General Corbett exclaimed suddenly. “You allowed your princess to be taken by the enemy?”

  The sobbing courtier half rose to his feet. “No, sir! At least--we do not believe it to be the Dark One who has stolen her away.”

  “Then who, by God?!” the Emperor shouted angrily. “You are uninjured and I see no blood on your swords. Why did you not fight them?”

  “We could not,” the courtier pleaded. “We were well on our way, deep within the catacombs beneath the palace when a strange white light appeared before us. It filled the entire passageway ahead and froze the three of us where we stood.” Puzzlement danced in the eyes of the grief-stricken man and mingled with his fear and shame. “The princess, she--she spoke to it. As if it were someone--something--she knew. We tried to stop her, Your Majesty, but some power held us fast where we stood. She walked into the light and they both vanished.”

  “Who could it have been, if not Azinon?” one of the other war councilors asked aloud.

  The Emperor spoke in a low voice, even and constrained. Steve could almost feel the pent up anger and frustration threatening to burst from the regal man.

  “My daughter is gone. My kingdom is lost. There is nothing left for me but to fight.”

  That same strange mist enveloped the scene as before and obscured everything from view. Steve opened his eyes slowly, his head sagging; weary with the burden of what he had learned. The Emperor refused to flee, and he was sure the Emperor’s men refused to leave him. The Memsherar was probably sparing him the sight of the bloodthirsty slaughter that must have happened soon after.

  After a few moments of silence the sprite laid a concerned hand upon one of the young man’s fingers. “Are ya’ awright, lad?”

  Steve raised his head after a moment. He turned and seated himself with his back to the great tree and sighed. So many lives, he thought to himself. Then aloud, “Whatever happened to the princess?”

  The little man took a seat on the broad, fuzzy leaf of a creeping vine and rested his forearms on his knees. “Couldn’t tell ya’, really.”

  “But I thought—”

  “Yea, ah know what ya’ thought,” Jiv cut in. “The Mem is supposed ta’ know everything a’the past--an’ it does. But remember what ah said about knowin’ too much? This happens ta’ be one a’them times. Fer whatever reason, tis’ somethin’ nobody knows cause the Mem’s not willin’ ta’share.”

  Steve did not understand how you could know too much about an event long since relegated to history. After all, the past could not be altered, only learned from. He shrugged the idea away. Pursuing it further with the sprite would hardly convince the Memsherar to show him what it had thus far revealed to no other.

  He breathed in the sweet spring scent of the surrounding forest and thought about the significance of what he had learned. The vision the wood had provided certainly had been informative but he hadn’t quite expected it to be so simple.

  “Then again, why look a gift horse in the mouth?” he said rising.

  Jiv looked up. “Say again?”

  Steve reached down and his little companion jumped into his open hand. “Nothing. Just answering my own question.” He looked around briefly and then said, “I guess I’m pretty much finished here, aren’t I?”

  Jiv executed a rather flamboyant look of disbelief. “Ya’ don’t mean ta’ be tellin’ me that yer leavin’ so soon? We’ve scarcely had time ta’ get acquainted!”

  “I don’t get it. What else is there to do?” Steve asked feeling a tad sheepish despite the sprite’s obvious exaggeration of insult. “I’d like to stay but I really have to be getting back to the camp. Don’t think me ungrateful; without you, I don’t think I would have ever figured out that whole vision thing.”

  Jiv placed one hand on his hip and held the other toward his giant-friend matter-of-factly. “Now look, lad, Haldorum never said anythin’ about when he would be expectin’ ya’ back, right?”

  “Well, I suppose not, but--”

  “And ah did help ya find what ya were lookin’ for, right?”

  “Yes, you did, but--”

  “But wot then? All ah’m askin’ fer in return is that ya’ scurry with me fer a bit. We’ll eat, we’ll drink, and ah’ll show ya’ a little bit of what this wood is all about. It’ll be fun!”

  Steve chewed his lower lip, considering the little man’s offer. He was hungry, and he was certainly still curious about this strange forest.

  “Ah’ll even accompany’s ya’ back to yer camp.”

  Finally, Steve shrugged. “Ah, why the heck not?”

  Again the two shook hand to finger and Steve started off in the direction the sprite indicated. During the next hour, Jiv led him to an orchard of wild fruits that were not only delicious but also delightfully new to the taste buds. Steve picked several of the blue, fist-sized fruits from an umbrella-shaped tree which, when punctured, provided them with sweet nourishment.

  “What are these anyway?” he asked wiping his mouth.

  “Fruit,” Jiv replied, as if that much should have been obvious. “None too bad tastin’ are they? Hey, be careful not ta’ be drinkin’ too much a’the stuff, lad. I don’t want ya’ crampin’ up on me further on.”

  “Further on? Where are we going?”

  An impish grin spread across the little man’s face and he folded his arms neatly across his chest. “Ah guess ya’ll be findin’ that out soon enough, now won’t ya’?”

  Steve looked at him with a good-natured grimace. Truth be told, secrets had never done anything but arouse his curiosity--especially sneaky ones. “I’m not sure I like where you’re going with this, Jiv.” The sprite only giggled mischievously in reply.

  Before long, the two of them set off again, Jiv pointing the way. Steve still did not know where they journeyed to but his tiny guide seemed sure of their path. He led the young man along the easiest route: around menacing thorn bushes and across dozens of little streams, up mild inclines and through natural tunnels of twisting young growth trees and shrubs. When at last they emerged from the dense foliage Steve found himself standing before a towering granite cliff face, ageless and worn smooth by the elements. Jiv motioned off to their right.

  Several minutes passed as he paralleled the rock face and then Steve suddenly felt the hairs prickle along the nape of his neck. He glanced over his shoulder but there was nothing. Try as he might, however, he found it increasingly more difficult to ignore. Finally, after the fifth or sixth time, Jiv could keep quiet no longer.

  “Just wot is it yer findin’ so interestin’ back there?”

  Steve glanced over his shoulder yet again. “I--I’m not sure. You don’t feel that?”

  The little man paused in his friend’s open palm, scanning the woods with his eyes and ears. After a minute he shrugged. “Ah’m feelin’ nothin’.”

  Steve stopped and turned then, regarding the direction from which they had come with intense scrutiny. “It feels like...I don’t know. It’s kind of like someone is out there. I can actually feel them watching us.”

  “Nah, lad, that’s just the eyes a’ the Mem yer feelin’. Remember, she’s alive.”

  Steve nodded but did not look entirely convinced. “Yeah, maybe you’re right.”

  The two continued for several more minutes before Jiv jumped to his feet in Steve’s hand. “There be wot we’re lookin’ for!” he exclaimed. Ahead the sheer wall of the cliff face split in an ugly vertical line, revealing the beginning of a worn and beaten path rising steadily up through the wall of rock and earth, then disappearing around a bend further in. “This will see us clear to the top,” the sprite explained, anticipation evident in his voice.

  Steve regarded the opening skeptically, wondering if whatever lay at t
he top was going to be worth the climb.

  Jiv, seemingly reading the young man’s thoughts in his expression said, “Not to worry. It’ll be well worth it, lad.”

  Steve glanced up one final time, sizing up the task of the ascent. And then, the motion done without a second thought, he glanced back in the direction he had come once more. The feeling of being watched refused to abate. With a sigh, he pressed onward into the fissure.

  The afternoon sun lie too far in the west for any of its golden rays to reach them as they moved upward through the rock—though it mattered little; the day was warm and a gentle breeze blew down through the great fissure keeping both adventurers cool, the smell a combination of dusty granite and moist pine. Their path edged left, and then veered right, continuing upward back and forth as though they were winding their way up the body of a snake, and Steve began to feel the muscles in his legs burn more and more with every step.

  Despite the gentle breeze, Steve was sweating with the exertion and wiped the sweat forming on his forehead asking, “Where are we going?”

  Jiv pointed up the path. “That way.”

  “Thanks a lot.”

  “Don’t mention it.”

  Steve shook his head smiling. It seemed his little companion was intent on keeping his secret exactly that. All right, he thought, I can wait. After all, patience is supposed to be a good thing, right?

  Together they ascended higher and higher into the fissure. Another hour passed before the two finally emerged into the open air near the center of the cliff’s plateau—and no one could have been happier about it than Steve. He wasn’t sure he could have kept up the pace—or progress at all, for that matter—for much longer without a good, long rest. Ahead of them, the tree line began again, but far less densely populated than the forest below. To the west, a small range of mountains jutted into the sky and provided welcome shade from the sun the sparsely growing trees here would not have provided on their own. Jiv urged him onward excitedly into this new region, bringing them to the other side of the plateau to look down upon a broad valley, densely forested like the rest of the Memsherar. A dozen feet away a wide and fast moving stream sourced by the distant mountains rushed over the side of the steeply sloping rock and down into the heavy forest. Beyond that, Steve could not trace its exact path through the dense trees on the valley floor but it appeared, he thought, to intersect a clearing a few miles distant.