The Guardian's Apprentice (Beyond the Veil) (32 page)

Oh no!
 
They’ve trapped Nisha!

He knew he had to free her from the orb, but had no idea how.
 
He turned the sphere over and over in his hands while he thought.

“Would you stop it?
 
I’m getting dizzy!”

Keegan very nearly dropped the sphere in surprise.
 
Bringing the crystal close to his face, he whispered as quietly as possible, for fear someone would hear him.

“Nisha?
 
Is that you?”

“Yes, it’s me!
 
Who else do you think it is?
 
Now get me out of here!”

“But, how can I hear you?
 
You’re encased in crystal!”

“I can communicate with someone if they are holding the orb,”
she said in an exasperated tone.
 
“Now would you please get me out of here?”

“How?
 
You’re encased in solid crystal!”

“You mean to tell me you single handedly destroyed the Council chambers and faced down Portia Nightshade, but you can’t break a hex?!”

Keegan sighed and shrugged his shoulders.
 
How could he explain something that he himself did not understand?

“Look, it’s a long story…”

“Do I look like I’m going anywhere?”

“Nisha, I don’t have much time!
 
I have to find the key to Talith Nor and use it to open a portal, so I can close the great seal.”

“
WHAT?
 
ARE YOU INSANE?”

Keegan winced at the sharpness of her words.

“Keegan!
 
Listen to me – what you are attempting to do is suicide!
 
Even Cedric wouldn’t go anywhere near Talith Nor once we learned of the return of the Shadow.”

“I have to do this, Nisha,” he said firmly.
 
“It’s my duty as the Guardian to protect this world; I have to close the seal.”

Nisha did not respond for a few moments, and Keegan thought their connection had somehow been lost until she finally spoke again, quietly.

“There is an obsidian gargoyle in the corner, near the bookcase.
 
Use your thumbs to press the rubies in his eyes at the same time.”

Moving over to the gargoyle, Keegan pressed his thumbs into the rubies that were the gargoyle’s eyes.
 
He pressed firmly and after a few seconds heard the
snick
of a latch being released.
 
He pulled his hands back and watched as the beast’s mouth began opening wider and its black stone tongue slid silently outward.
 
Once the mouth had stopped opening Keegan could see a glint of silver at the back of the gargoyle’s throat.
 
Holding Nisha’s orb in his left hand, Keegan pushed up the sleeve of his robe and reached his right hand into the beast’s mouth until he felt a small piece of metal.
 
He was about to pull the key out when Nisha’s voice pierced his mind like a sharp knife.

“KEEGAN!
 
STOP!”

Keegan was so startled that he dropped Nisha’s orb, which came to rest a few feet away.
 
He was about to pull his hand from the gargoyle’s mouth and retrieve Nisha when he felt a sharp pain in the back of his wrist, like a needle being pressed into the skin.
 
Afraid of what might happen, he froze in place, his hand still clutching the key in the back of the gargoyle’s throat.

Unsure of what he should do, he whispered desperately to Nisha.
 

“Something has my hand pinned!
 
What do I do?”
  

When she did not answer, he came to the grim realization that communication would be impossible until he retrieved her orb from where it had rolled.
 
His staff was out of reach, propped against Cedric’s desk.
 
Stretching his leg outward, Keegan knelt down as best he could without allowing the trap to puncture his skin – the last thing he needed was to be injected with some kind of poison or have his hand severed.
 
He reached forward with his left foot and was just able to nudge Nisha’s orb with the toe of his boot, however she still did not answer.
 
He groaned in frustration and struggled to an upright position once again.

Maybe the orb has to contact the skin
, he thought.
 
Struggling to keep upright, he balanced on his right leg while prying off his boot and sock with his left hand.
 
Now barefooted, he stretched outward again until he could just reach Nisha’s orb with his big toe.

“Nisha, can you hear me?”

“Yes, Keegan, I can hear you,”
she said with a sigh.
 
“I’m just glad I can’t smell you right now; having your big toe in my face isn’t exactly the highlight of my life at the moment.”

“Look, it was the only way I could reach you,” he whispered desperately, still afraid of being overheard.
 
“My wrist is pinned inside the gargoyle’s mouth; there’s some kind of needle pressing against it.”

“I tried to warn you!
 
I really did not expect you to plunge your hand in and try to grab the key!
 
You MUST stay focused and remember that people on this side of the Veil play for keeps; a novice mistake like this could cost you your life!”

Keegan was losing his patience, not to mention that his leg was beginning to cramp.
 
“Yeah, well, I get it.
 
Now how do I get free?”

“Twist the gargoyle’s left horn one turn, counter-clockwise.
 
That should release the mechanism and free your hand.
 
Whatever you do, DON’T turn it the wrong way!”

Keegan hopped back to a standing position, unable to keep his balance any longer.
 
He looked at the gargoyle’s short, stubby horns and, taking the left one gently between his thumb and forefinger, began to turn it counter-clockwise.
 
After one complete revolution, he was rewarded with a soft
click
and felt the needle retract.
 
Grimacing, he carefully removed his hand while keeping a firm grip on the key, afraid the beast’s mouth might suddenly clamp shut around his arm.
 
Once his arm was free, he breathed a sigh of relief, pulled his boot back on and retrieved Nisha’s orb.

“Are you okay?”

“There’s a small red mark on the back of my wrist where the needle had me pinned, but the skin isn’t broken,” he said as he examined his right hand and wrist.
 
Satisfied his life was not in immediate danger, he took a moment to examine his prize.
 
The key that would open the portal to Talith Nor was a small, rectangular object, not much bigger than a book of matches.
 
It was engraved with strange runes on both sides that seemed to shimmer and crawl across the surface like so many spiders.

“You must insert the key in the slot on the main portal gateway.
 
That will open a portal to Talith Nor, but you must remember to take the key out just before you step inside.
 
Otherwise you will be trapped in the citadel with no way back.”

“But how did Ducat find the Seal if he didn’t have the key?”

“My guess is that the rogue dragon, Brimstone, took him to the base of the mountain.
 
It lies deep within the dragons’ territory, far to the north of here.
 
From there he could climb to the fortress above.
 
As to his escape, only he knows.”

Keegan deposited the key into one of his inner robe pockets and held Nisha’s orb up to his face for a closer look.

“Now, how do we get out of your prison?”

“You have to break the hex that binds the spell first, and then release me from the crystal, but…”
 

“But what?
 
How do I break the hex and what happens if it doesn’t work?”

There was a long pause before Nisha finally answered, and even though he couldn’t see her clearly, he could hear the tears in her voice.

“If you don’t break the hex correctly, it will permanently seal the spell and I’ll be trapped in here until the crystal absorbs my essence.
 
That’s how the trap works; the crystal feeds on the essence of my soul, growing stronger around me while I grow weaker.
 
It is one of the darkest forms of magic.”

Keegan was dumbfounded.
 
The thought of the crystal slowly draining the life from Nisha made him feel sick.
 
A sense of dread washed over him as he realized he would have to break the hex soon, or else she would die.

“Nisha, I’m going to place your crystal on the desk while I try to find a way to break the hex, okay?”

“I’m frightened, Keegan,”
she said, the fear evident in the trembling of her voice echoing through Keegan’s head.

“I know, Nisha.
 
I am too, but I swear I will find a way to set you free.
 
Just stay calm, and trust me.”
 
Although she didn’t respond he thought he heard her choke back a sob.

He gently placed the orb in the middle of the desk, putting a book and a stack of papers on either side to prevent it from rolling off the desk.
 
Not sure what to do, he sat down in the chair and ran his hands through his hair in frustration.
 
One mistake and Nisha would suffer a slow and painful death – he could not allow that.
 
Uncertain of what to do, Keegan was on the verge of panic when the glint from his family ring caught his eye.
 
Of course!
 
Surely Nekk’ar would know how to free Nisha from the confines of the orb!
 
Keegan clasped his ring, closed his eyes and concentrated on the dragon’s spirit that lay deep within.

“Nekk’ar!
 
Nekk’ar I need your help!
 
Can you hear me?”

“Of course I can hear you, youngling!
 
Have you forgotten we are permanently connected?”
 
Nekk’ar did not like to be disturbed even on the best of days, but his tone was even sharper than usual when he snapped at Keegan.
 
“You obviously did not heed my attempt to warn you at the Council – why bother to seek my advice now?!”

Great
, thought Keegan.
 
I’ve hurt his feelings and now he’s going to pout!

“I can hear your thoughts, youngling! And I do not ‘pout’ as you put it!
 
I am one of the first ones, remember?
 
Of all the dragons, only Seba’an himself is older than I am!
 
Ours is the oldest of races, and you would do well to listen when I try to warn you!”

“I’m sorry, Nekk’ar!
 
I can’t explain what happened at the Council; I was so blinded by my anger I can barely remember what happened.”

“Exactly my point!
 
Your control over magic is tenuous and unpredictable; harnessing the sort of power you used to defy the Council is dangerous - it could have just as easily consumed you!
 
You must discipline yourself or I will be unable to protect you.”

Keegan paused at this – something did not make sense.
 
“Wait a minute – you mean you would not have helped me?”

“It would not be a choice, young one.
 
The amount of magical energy you summoned was astounding for one so young and inexperienced.
 
Had you lost control of the magic it would have consumed you along with most of the others in the room and I would be powerless to stop it.”

Keegan was startled that the spirit would admit this, since Nekk’ar was not only very powerful himself but also very arrogant.

“Then that’s even more reason to help me, Nekk’ar.
 
If you don’t, Nisha will die and I might be consumed while trying to save her!
 
I don’t have much time – I need your help now!”

“
I will guide your hand, youngling, but you must do EXACTLY as I say or your friend will die,”
came Nekk’ar’s grave reply.

Under Nekk’ar’s guidance, Keegan slowly began to chant an incantation while holding Nisha’s crystal prison in his hand.
 
He could feel the energy building within him, the very core of his being beginning to burn.
 
He fought back the urge to release the energy all at once, knowing it would mean Nisha’s death and probably his as well.
 
He could almost feel Nekk’ar’s presence in his mind, acting as a brake to slow the advance of the magic.
 
After what seemed like an eternity, the chanting finally ceased and Keegan placed the orb upon the desk.
 
Slowly the orb began to spin in place, gaining speed until it was spinning so fast Keegan was afraid it would fly off the desk.
 
It began to pulse with a blue-white light and finally a sharp crack resounded throughout the room and the orb shattered, leaving a rather disheveled looking raven perched on the desk.
 
Nisha ruffled her feathers, shuddered and transformed into her human shape.
 
Although she looked exhausted, as if she hadn’t slept for days, she appeared to be no worse for wear.
 
She stood up from the desk and her knees immediately buckled, although Keegan quickly caught her in his arms.