Chapter 48
Plan 'B'
The five surviving party members remained in the tower of the monastery throughout the night. None of them dared to check the stairwell to see if the thrakes had left. Let sleeping thrakes lie was the unspoken motto of the night. When morning came, Connie cast Nourish spells on every party member to sate their hunger. Theo reexamined Snow’s injury, now that the swelling had gone down. He determined that she had indeed injured her spine, although it was not a complete break. Mercifully, despite her weakness, she did not suffer enormous pain from it. Connie cast a triple-node Boneheal on Snow’s spine to fix the wound (expending one of her last few precious wood nodes in the process). Although it brought immediate relief from the pain, it did not cure the paralysis, nor could it. Theo restated that the nerve damage was the kind of injury that could be rectified with a specialty spell, but such a spell was unavailable to them in their current situation. It was around noon that Rahl came down with a fever, a result of the injuries he’d sustained a few days earlier. Connie spent the day tending his him, wiping off the perspiration that covered his body, despite the chill in the room.
The short hours of polar daylight came and went quickly. The party, for all the illness and stress they felt, had no problems falling quickly asleep for that night. Despite her weariness, Connie could not sleep, so she elected to take the watch. She sat by the fire and gazed at the flame. The night outside was moonless, dark, and punctuated by the howls of the thrakes. Occasionally, she would open the window and look out. All was pitch black, the star blocked by low-lying clouds. She looked over at Theo. He slept soundly with Tristana dozing by his side, her battle axe in her lap. Snow lay next to her, lying flat on her back. After checking on Rahl, who was sleeping soundly, she went over to Snow, who lay nestled in a bundle of blankets nearby, and tried to rouse her.
“Are you awake?”
“What is it, Connie?”
“I can’t sleep. What are we going to do?”
“I’ve been thinking about that myself.”
“Are you in pain?”
“No, the Boneheal spell really helped. Thank you.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t help you more than I did.”
“There’s no need to be sorry.”
“Listen, I was thinking: Is there any way you can cast a protection enchantment on us so we can enter the Atranox?”
“I can, but it’s a limited-duration spell. It would wear off before you got there.”
“Can you enchant an item with it, something we can carry to give us protection?”
“Maybe if I had some time, perhaps a few days or so. But we don’t have that much time.”
“Can you teach me the spell or the extension?”
“I have them memorized, Connie. I would have to write one or the other down for you. That would also take at least a day. And then you would need to practice it.”
“Is there any other way we can enter the Atranox?”
“Yes. In fact, there is,” Snow withdrew her hand from beneath the blanket and pointed toward Tristana. “She may be able to survive long enough to enter it.”
“Tristana?”
“Yes.”
“You would like to send her alone into the Atranox?”
“Indeed.”
“And what will happen to her?”
“Without the talisman, it is unlikely she’ll be able to leave the Atranox.”
“My own reservations aside, I’m sure Theo would never allow it.”
“I know, but ultimately, he must.”
“Do we have any other options?”
“Only the enchantment.”
Connie sighed. “If you sincerely think that’s what we need to do,” she said quietly, gazing over at Tristana, “then we should talk to her.”
“Now?”
“Yes. Theo’s asleep—or would you rather he take part in our discussion?”
Snow nodded. “Let us do this, then,” she whispered. “Fetch her. Quietly.”
Connie tiptoed over to Tristana, who awoke and sat up on her approach. “Snow and I need to talk to you,” she whispered to the conjuration. “Come.”
Tristana rose to her feet and followed Connie over to Snow. Snow sat up as best she could, and the three sat in a tight circle. The two women spoke to Tristana in low tones so as not to wake up Theo or Rahl.
“Tomorrow, you are going to go to the Atranox,” Snow said to her, “and we will need your help once you arrive.”
Snow nodded to Connie, who pulled up her sleeve to reveal the Heptakon bracelet she wore.
“Take the bracelet. Tomorrow, you will put it on before you enter the Atranox.”
Connie slipped the bracelet off her wrist and gave it to Tristana. The conjuration turned over the solid iridium artifact in her hands, examining it. Connie watched her face as she did. Even in the dim, flickering firelight, Tristana was exquisitely beautiful, and her cool, tranquil demeanor radiated forth. No wonder Theo was so besotted with her. Connie glanced over at Theo. For now, he slept blissfully, unaware of the traumatic day she and Snow were planning for him.
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The conjuration looked up at Snow with a quizzical expression.
“Tristana, honestly, I do not know how to use it, but you must somehow let it guide you through a labyrinth that might be inside the Atranox. If you make even one mistake—make a wrong turn, go down the wrong passage—you will not be able to turn back. I don’t know why this is. It is said that some unknown, malevolent presence guards the innermost chamber. No one knows for sure.”
“And don’t let Theo see that you have it,” Connie broke in.
“Yes, Tristana. Hide the bracelet on your person so that Theo does not see it. This is important.”
Tristana slipped the bracelet onto her wrist and dutifully covered it with the sleeve of her fur coat.
“Tristana, once you reach the heart of the Atranox, you must replace the crystal you find there with the Stellarad Marax. Connie will give it to you when the time has come. Do you understand all that we have told you?”
The blackness of the night gradually faded into a dreary, overcast day. All was quiet outdoors aside from the gusts of icy wind that swirled around the tower and the occasional, plaintive howls of chaos-tainted thrakes prowling around outside the abandoned monastery. Occasionally, they heard the thrakes fighting in the grounds around the monastery, presumably over the meat of their fallen numbers.
Connie dreaded heading to the Atranox. She also dreaded having to rely on Theo, who still smarted from Rahl usurping the chain of command by putting her in charge. And how would he react when he found out about her plans for Tristana?
In the morning, the flames of the fire grew low as the light outdoors gradually increased. Connie checked on Rahl. His fever had broken. Now he sat up, chewing on a piece of frozen jule Connie had found in the Threshibian bag. Strangely, the sounds of the thrake had ceased. This puzzled the group. Perhaps they had moved on.
Theo and Snow moved the bookcase away from the door and cautiously opened it for the first time since they escaped from the thrakes the night before. The stairwell smelled strongly of smoke from the bookcase they’d burnt in the passage, but it was silent and seemed empty. Tristana stood by the doorway, battle axe in hand, while she and Theo gathered their equipment. It was agreed that Rahl, with his yet-unhealed injuries, would stay behind to guard Snow. Connie addressed Snow and Rahl as she stuffed the Stellarad Marax into her backpack and double-secured it for safety.
“You both realize that we might not make it back,” Connie said.
“Yes, we realize that,” Rahl said.
“What will you do if we don’t make it to the Atranox? Will you try to go back to get help?”
“No. There will no longer be a reason to do so. Chaos approaches. If you fail, our deaths will come soon enough.”
“Do we have any other option?” she asked.
Rahl shook his head. “There is none.”
Connie finished tying the leather straps that held shut her coat. Theo was already standing next to Tristana at the open doorway.
“I was thinking of Alyndia. What will happen to her if I die?”
Rahl looked to Snow.
“She will die, too,” Snow answered. “And she will most likely share your final emotion at the time of your death.”
“Snow, I would like to give her one last message before I go. Is it possible?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “My injury has blocked my ability to accumulate energy, and my energy is still low. Is it important to you?”
Connie nodded.
“I could try for you, but your presence in that realm would be very, very slight, and you would have only a few moments.”
“That’s enough, I think.”
“Then, I shall do what I can.”
She raised herself painfully to a sitting position. Rahl came over to assist her.
“Come sit here with me, Connie.”
It was a jarring experience for Connie to suddenly appear in the modern bedroom after spending the evening at the derelict monastery. The last rays of sunlight of the day were shining through the thickly curtained window when Connie appeared. Alyndia was sleeping alone in the bed, covered by thick blankets. Scattered on the nightstand were a bunch of medicines, preparations taken in the event of a severe cold or flu. It was obvious that she was suffering from some kind of malaise.
Connie stood by the bed, looking down on her.
“Alyndia. Wake up. It’s Connie.” She attempted to touch Alyndia’s head in order to rouse her, but her spectral hand passed through her former body without any resistance whatsoever. “Alyndia.”
Snow’s power was feeble, and there was no telling how long she’d be able to sustain the spell; there was no time to waste. Unable to awaken Alyndia from her slumber, Connie spoke to her slowly, softly, using all her mental energy to communicate with her soul.
“Alyndia. I have a message for you. I’m now going to complete the quest. It is my duty to do so, and today I will bring it to swift completion to the best of my ability. I must warn you that the situation is perilous, and there is a very high probability that I will die in the process. I am told that if I die, you will go with me. You must now prepare yourself for this. Tell Gerald, if you must. But if I die and you somehow survive my death, I will guide my spirit here to resume my place in this world, and you must therefore depart. You must give back what was taken from me. Farewell. This may be my last communication with you.”
Connie’s presence in the room vanished. The magical flux roused Alyndia from her sleep. She sat up in bed, looking around. “Connie? Are you here?” She quickly realized she was alone. Then she recalled a dream that came to her moments before. She remembered the words. Tears came to her eyes.
“Connie! Where are you? Come back!” she shouted into the thick darkness of the room.
Back on Cerinya, Connie rose to her feet. She looked at Theo and Tristana. “I’m ready. Let’s go,” she said.
* * *
Alyndia went to Gerald’s bedroom and sat on the bed. She switched on the light and shook him. “Gerald, wake up.”
He looked up at her sleepily. “Alyndia?”
“Gerald!”
“What time is it? It’s 3:00 am. What’s wrong?” He felt her forehead. “Your fever seems to have fallen. We should take your temperature and see how you’re doing.”
“Not right now. Connie came to me—at least I think she did. I saw her in a dream. She stood her right by the bed.”
“And?”
“She gave me a message, or rather I should say—a warning.”
Alyndia described the message Connie had given to her. Gerald listened to it, nodding occasionally.
“Do you think the message was real?”
“Yes, I do.”
“You mean you will trade places?”
“That, or we will die together. In either case, you and I will be parted forever. You need to prepare yourself now. It can happen at any time.”
“Why does it have to be this way?” he said, his voice tinged with grief. “I lost my Annelise. Now I’m going to lose you too.”
“Let us just hope I don’t die and return to Cerinya instead.”
“And what do you plan to do if you go back?”
“If the Council doesn’t punish me too harshly, I’ll just take up my profession again. I’ll do as I did before.”
“And what if you’re banned from practicing magic again?”
She shrugged. “Then I suppose I’ll make a living painting scenes of Earth.”
“Become a starving artist?”
“I don’t know.”
“Maybe we could find another vessel for you.”
“No, Gerald. I’ve already told you that I won’t do this again.”
He turned to face her. And what about us?”
“This time and place that we now share is stolen. And what we have stolen must be given back. Now, you must be prepared for the end, whether it comes through our death or her return. In any case, it comes quickly. But haven’t we had good times together? And we really did try, didn’t we?”
He nodded. “All right. I suppose I can’t complain.”
She embraced him, resting her head on his shoulder.
“Don’t look so sad, Gerald. Let us lie in each other’s arms until daybreak and enjoy our time together. We may never have this opportunity again.”