The Compass Key (Book 5) (12 page)

“Oh, I’m really interested in you,” the Lich hisses, his rotting tongue snaking out to lick his teeth. “Zeclobi! Appear and defend!”

Timoran and Delvin charge as Nyx tries to cover the flying archers with a rolling wave of fire. All but one of the quick creatures dart under the spell and fire away at the caster, who covers herself in a shield. She is about to hurl a lightning bolt when she sees a glimmer appear in front of Timoran. Transferring the magic into her body, Nyx sprints forward to knock the barbarian to the side. He turns in confusion until he sees a scythe-like arm slash down at the half-
elven caster. Nyx’s magic bracelet jerks her arm up to block the attack, sending a dull pain through her body. The towering, red-skinned creature growls at its frozen limb and raises its other bladed arm to attack.

“Thank you,” Timoran whispers. He returns the favor and blocks the razor sharp scythe with his great axe.

The Zeclobi steps back on hooved feet and tries to slam its domed skull onto the barbarian. Timoran jumps back, taking Nyx with him and blocking several arrows. The monster dents the ground with its head, immediately standing up without a sign of injury. More arrows fly at the barbarian, who leaps to the side with Nyx held under his arm. He smiles as Delvin yells and waves his arms at the archers, getting their attention.

“We need magic!” Delvin yells while dodging and blocking arrows.

“I need a few more seconds to recover!” Nyx shouts back, cursing the bracelet’s side-effect. She keeps flexing her fingers and focusing on making a spark. “At least we’re holding them back!”

“Where is Luke?” Timoran asks, noticing that the forest tracker is not flipping around the battle as usual. He glances back at the stairwell to see that Luke is standing still, the half-elf’s rage-filled eyes locked on the Lich. The young warrior’s breathing is pronounced and his body is quivering. “What in all of Windemere is he doing?”

“What? Damn it, Luke!” Nyx screams as she feels her magic return. Stepping away from Timoran, she fills the air with lightning and has her spell chase the speedy archers around the ceiling. “Help us, Callindor!”

“This ends now,” Luke growls.

“Agreed,” the Lich responds from the balcony.

Taking a deep breath, Luke sprints toward the Lich’s balcony as fast as he can. Arrows bounce off the floor around him with one striking him in the meaty part of his shoulder. Another arrow cuts across his forehead, but he refuses to slow down. He races past the Zeclobi, which lashes out with its scythe arms. Leaning forward, Luke avoids most of the attack, feeling one of the arms rip a shallow, burning cut down his back. Using his speed and momentum, he runs a few feet up the wall and leaps for the balcony. Catching the edge, Luke flips himself over the railing and lands in front of the Lich.

“Aura bolts!” the Lich screeches, unleashing a swarm of small orbs of magic. The spells explode around Luke, covering him in dust and smoke. “Don’t play games with me, child. I feel your heartbeat.”

The cloud of debris disappears to reveal Luke standing with his sabers crossed in front of him. Steam is wafting off his body and his shirt is nothing more than charred rags hang
ing out of his belt. Before his enemy can cast another spell, Luke races forward and the pink energy explodes around his sabers. The forest tracker’s blades sink into the Lich’s chest as a lightning bolt appears in the necrocaster’s hand and promptly sparks out of existence.

“Until we
meet in my next life, old friend,” the Lich hisses, grabbing Luke’s forearm with his remaining strength. The sizzling of flesh fills the air and the half-elf grimaces at the pain. “I only hope that I get to continue watching because the one who replaces me is worse than every demon in the Chaos Void. If you defeat him then I’ll be taking credit for making you strong enough to survive. After all, you would still be wandering Visindor Forest looking for an adventure if it wasn’t for me.”

The Lich’s
body crumbles into a pile of ashes and only a rainbow-colored shawl is left of him. Luke is not sure what to do as he stares at his oldest enemy’s remains, the wind from the archers’ wings spreading them across the balcony. He rubs at the pain in his arm, cringing at the feel of melted flesh pulling away from his shirt. To satisfy the part of him that is unsure if the fight is over, he pokes at the ashes with one of his sabers. The pink energy ignites the central pile, which sends trails of eerie flame along the floor to devour every gray mote.

“He killed the Lich,” Nyx mutters in disbelief. She jumps in surprise when the Zeclobi
unleashes a dying shriek, its head being lopped off by Timoran.

“Sorry, but I was not going to pass up the opportunity to kill that thing,”
the barbarian states as he nudges the severed head with his great axe. “It appears the archers are no longer a threat.”

Nyx looks up to see the winged archers floating lifelessly in the air. Taking a cue from Timoran, she covers the ceiling with fire and burns the bodies to cinders. She is about to say something when she sees Luke collapse on the balcony. Without a word, she rushes to the
crumbling stairs and scrambles to his side.

“Is he okay?” Delvin asks as
he approaches.

“He’s alive, but the injuries are pretty bad,” Nyx answers, rolling Luke onto his back. She
chokes back a yelp of surprise when Luke’s eyes suddenly open. “Don’t do that, little brother. You scared the life out of me.”

“We need to get Sari,” Luke groans, struggling to his feet. Nyx drapes his arm over her shoulders and helps him stand. “We really have to stop getting into this position, big sister. I’m too heavy for you to carry.”

“Then I’ll toss you to Timoran when we get down the stairs.”

“I believe I have something of yours!” a loud voice announces from the middle of the room. Everyone looks up to see Stephen standing a few feet away from Timoran, an unconscious Sari held under the black-haired man’s arm. “I’m done with this toy and thought I would give her back. She’s broken, but I believe you can fix her.”

Timoran swings his great axe at Stephen, but the weapon is easily caught between the other man’s fingers. Before the barbarian can react, the smaller warrior pushes the axe away and backhands him across the face. The force of the strike is enough to send Timoran flying into the far wall with an echoing crunch.

“Give her back!” Luke demands as he pushes away from Nyx.
His body fueled by rage, he leaps off the balcony and storms toward Stephen. “I want Sari back!”

“Such a one-track mind. No wonder you don’t interest me,” Stephen says. Looking down at Sari, the man shrugs and smiles. “You may have her. Catch.”

He throws the gypsy toward Luke, who moves to catch her. She is almost within the half-elf’s arms when Nyx tackles him out of the way and pins him to the floor. Sari lands with a dull thud and the ground beneath her is immediately covered in a thin layer of ice. From on top of Luke, Nyx turns around and throws a fiery cocoon around the gypsy, preventing the ice from spreading any further.

“What are you doing?” Luke angrily asks, jumping to his feet and knocking
the caster down. “Sari could have been-”

“It was a trap!” Nyx snaps, cutting off his words. She nods toward Stephen, who innocently shrugs and holds his hands out. “His arm and side where she was touching him were covered in ice. He must have the power to keep her naiad powers in check when they’re out of control. If you had touched Sari, you would have frozen to death in seconds.”

“Very observant, my beautiful Nyx. You should have been a forest tracker,” Stephen teases, bowing toward the caster. “Your little friend didn’t take to my attentions as well as I had hoped. She’s well on her way to burning out or freezing over or whatever it is when a naiad is killed by its own powers.”

“Then fix her!” Lu
ke roars. He is about to charge when Delvin firmly grabs him by the shoulder.

“You know he’s not going to do that,”
the warrior whispers, turning Luke away and sitting him down next to Nyx. “If you have no intention of fighting us then please leave. We have our friend to take care of.”

Stephen adjusts his cuffs and uses Timoran’s axe to wipe some remaining ice off his arm.
“None of you are a challenge, so I’d be wasting my time. I’m sure we will meet again soon enough. I’m looking forward to learning what happens to our little gypsy. I sense that she will blossom into a dangerous creature. Good day, my champions.”

Delvin is startled when
their new enemy vanishes in the blink of an eye and the axe clatters to the floor. A strange clicking catches his attention and he turns to see a bulky form stepping out of the stairwell. Dressed in a red cloak, the black-scaled fireskin rushes to Sari’s side without a second glance. His staff hovers next to him while he reaches through Nyx’s flames to touch the gypsy. With a jump of surprise, he pulls his hand back and shakes the ice off his claws.

“Is she going to be okay, Isaiah?” Nyx asks the powerful caster.

The fireskin looks up at her with a toothy smile and pats her on the cheek. “Her powers are consuming her, but I believe she can recover. You might have given her a few precious minutes with this fire cocoon.”

“Tend to injuries!” Selenia orders as she enters the room. Several warriors rush to Timoran and Luke, healing potions already being pulled out for consumption. “What’s the situation, Cunningham?”

“The Lich is dead and his ally has escaped,” the warrior reports, standing at attention with his arms behind his back. “Sari has been saved, but she appears to be in a coma and turning everything into ice. Timoran is unconscious and Luke is badly injured. I think. I haven’t had time to examine him. Nyx and I are unscathed.”

“I’m fine,” Luke declare
s while he approaches the two warriors. He finishes the healing potion that he is handed and tosses the bottle to Selenia. “The Lich is gone and we can be on our way to Gaia. I’m guessing we have business there.”

“More than you know!” Isaiah shouts over the growing noise of
clinking armor. He rises to his feet and has Sari float next to him. “This girl must be brought to the Island of Pallice off the shore of Gaia. It holds the source of her power and that is the only place that she can access enough aura to heal herself.”

“The Island of Pallice is a myth,” Nyx says before she can stop herself. She rolls her eyes and
crosses her arms. “Let me guess. It exists and is connected to the champions.”

The black-scaled fireskin glances at the suffering gypsy before giving a hurried explanation.
“Every champion has a temple that will help them reach a new level of power. I don’t have time to go into the details, Nyx. If Sari is not on the island within the next ten minutes, she may very well die. I can get her there and hand her to the assigned guardian. To get inside, you need to find the Compass Key. The masters of Rainbow Tower can give you more information, but there is not much to be found. It is an ancient relic that was lost during the Great Cataclysm. Recently, the Baron’s agents have found evidence that it has been hidden in Gaia all this time.”

“We’ll leave as soon as we heal and replenish our gear,” Nyx promises.

“Take these teleportation stones. They will bring you directly to Rainbow Tower and your enemies won’t know you have arrived,” Isaiah says, dropping a dirt-covered canvas bag at Nyx’s feet. “I will try to meet with you later and share what I know. Good luck.”

The fireskin bangs his staff against the floor and disappears with Sari in a blast of dull light. Nyx clutches the canvas bag and lets out a shuddering breath. She smiles when she feels a hand on each of her shoulders. Reaching up, she pats both hands and turns to face Delvin and Luke. She immediately sees the faint, skeletal handprint on Luke’s left forearm.

“The Lich scarred you,” she whispers, touching the mark. A few tears grow in her eyes, but she burns them away. “Does it hurt?”

Luke flashes her an impish smile, but his eyes remain tired and worn.
“I’ll be fine. It isn’t like it’s my first scar. The griffin already checked my aura and told me that the mark is only physical. Probably a parting gift to make sure I never forget about him.”

“How sweet.”

“I think I’m going to miss him.”

Delvin chuckles as he asks, “Because Stephen scares you?”

“Very much,” Luke calmly admits. “Now, let’s get out of here.”

“Then stop talking!” Timoran bellows from the stairwell. “I have had my nap, so come on!”

“Kids,” Selenia mutters under her breath. She hides the smile on her face, which only Duggan is short enough to see under her hand.

*****

Trinity angrily mutters to herself while she sits in the plush chair and waits for Baron Kernaghan to acknowledge her. The elegantly dressed nobleman is absorbed in his scrolls, which are scattered about his dining room table. He points at a distant scroll that flies off the table and into his hands. Reading it silently, he sighs and rubs his short beard in thought. When he reaches out for another scroll, it abruptly rockets into Trinity’s lap. The chaos elf picks it up and carries it to her dark master, her expression one of restrained annoyance.

“I really would like to return to my mission, master,” she whispers, a sparkle in her violet eyes. She places the scroll in the Baron’s hand and ignores his cold stare. “You summoned me at a delicate stage. The guards are still pushing our
defenses and the griffin riders are starting to regain their nerve. I can’t keep blasting those beasts out of the sky.”