Disappointment lent anger to Maiev’s tone. “None of this is of any great help to us. If he remains within the Black Temple, there is nothing we can do. He is too well guarded.”
At this point Akama smiled. It was like watching a cold moon emerge from behind dark clouds. A strange glint entered his eyes. “To perform this ritual, he is going to have to leave the temple.”
“What do you mean?”
“The portal can only be opened at a specific time and place. And that place is not within the Temple of Karabor.”
“How can you be so certain of this?”
“I managed to get a glimpse at the scrolls he has prepared. Some of them contained maps.”
Is it really possible? Maiev wondered. Was she finally about to get the opportunity she had waited so long for? “Maps of where?”
“The Hand of Gul’dan.”
“The volcano in Shadowmoon Valley? Why there?”
“It is a location upon which enormous powers are focused. Gul’dan severed the orcish people’s connection with the elemental spirits there.”
“Illidan will be well guarded,” Maiev said.
Once again Akama gave that strange, cold smile. He shook his head. “All of the signs point to the fact that he plans to move in great secrecy. He is assembling supplies for only a few.”
“How do you know this?”
“One of the advantages of being a Broken is that almost all the slaves and servants in the temple speak my language, belong to my people. Few notice the lowly Broken, but we see many things. There is little that is done there that I do not have some inkling about.”
“You think he is planning on performing the ritual in secret.”
“He has talked to me about needing to make a trip in the utmost secrecy within the next few days.”
“Why has he talked to you about this?” Maiev was suddenly suspicious.
“Since the prince of the blood elves vanished, Illidan has taken me more and more into his confidence. He needs someone to take charge within the temple while he is away, and the Illidari Council members are all blood elves. He thinks me too lacking in ambition to plot behind his back.”
Bitterness tinged Akama’s speech.
“Then he is definitely going,” Maiev said.
“I have never seen him like this before. He is consumed with excitement. It is as if a plan that he has held for a very long time is coming to fruition. I strongly suspect that it has something to do with all the elves he has been training.”
Curiosity tugged at Maiev. She had long wondered about the tattooed demonic fighters. “Is he taking them with him?”
Akama shook his head. “Their leaders have been told to stand ready to move at a moment’s notice. I think the order will come if the ritual proves to be successful. I do not think he wants to risk them beyond the temple if it is not.”
“He values them so highly?”
“They are the apple of his eye. He spends more time with them than he does planning the defense of his empire. It is puzzling. They represent something very important to him but I cannot work out what it is. I believe that it will be revealed within the next few days.”
“Who will accompany him for the ritual?”
“I have studied the duty rosters. Small groups of sorcerers are being dispatched from the temple almost every day. All of them are wizards of considerable strength, and all of them are well practiced in ritual magic.”
“He intends to assemble them on the Hand of Gul’dan?”
“It is the only thing that makes sense.”
“And you believe he is doing this in secret because…?”
“He is worried about spies, and not without cause.” Akama gave a sour grin.
“How many of the sorcerers have been dispatched, and how many more are going to be?”
“There will be thirteen groups of thirteen assembled on the slopes of the volcano. The number has mystical significance. It ties in with the number of nodes on the pattern he is trying to create.”
“Even if there is only a small force, that number of wizards could prove a significant threat.”
“Not if they are involved in complex ritual magic when the attack comes.” Akama’s words hung in the air. The moment was finally here. It was now or never. She was never going to get a better chance to attack the Betrayer. If what Akama said was true.
“You are certain of this?” Maiev asked.
“As certain as I can be of anything, under the circumstances. I believe that the Betrayer will be on the slopes of the Hand of Gul’dan and that he will have those sorcerers with him. He intends to perform a mighty ritual and open a portal to somewhere else. Perhaps he thinks he can escape the vengeance of the Burning Legion by opening a way to some other world, where the demons have not yet established a beachhead.”
“No.” The word escaped from Maiev’s mouth before she could stop it. She could not let the Betrayer slip from her grasp again. It would be just like him to leave the defenders of his fortress to face the consequence when the servants of Sargeras arrived. It still did not explain what he was intending to do with his elven trainees, though.
“If you will accept my advice,” Akama said, “you will take your force to the slopes of the volcano and investigate. If I am wrong, you will have lost nothing. If I am right, you will get the best chance you will ever have of capturing your great foe.”
“And what about you? Where will you be?”
“I will be with you. I want to be there when you overthrow the Betrayer. I will bring my people. We will aid you.”
Maiev paused for a heartbeat. “Akama…”
“Yes?”
“I have been critical of you and your people in the past—suspicious of your motives, too—but this day you have proved that my thoughts were unworthy. Together we will bring Illidan down.”
Akama took a deep, rasping breath and held her gaze. “I pray that you are right.”
“I will tell my people to be ready,” Maiev said. “We have far to go and very little time to do it in.”
“I will open a way for you, and then I will return to the temple and prepare my people. The time has come for us to take vengeance.”
Maiev shook her head. “The time has come for us to bring the Betrayer to justice.”
“However you wish to portray it, this is our chance to achieve our goal. Let us overthrow Illidan. Let us free Outland from his wickedness. Let the Temple of Karabor be returned to my people.”
“It shall be done,” Maiev said.
16
Over everything lay the eerie glow of the Hand of Gul’dan. The mountain shivered like a whipped dog as the tremors of some yet-unborn earthquake rippled through its belly. Green lava spouted gigantic plumes in the lakes of burning stone visible on the lower slopes. All around, huge cables of magical power billowed.
Maiev thought the pre-shocks of this volcanic eruption were connected with the spell being woven. Akama was correct—a ritual of immense power was being enacted here. There could be no doubt of the awesome magnitude of the sorcery being worked.
A shower of greenly glowing meteors left a trail across the sky. They were an ominous portent, but of what, she could not tell.
Her people, the night elves at least, were shadows among shadows. They moved from rock to rock, silent as assassins come in the night to a king’s bedchamber. The draenei and the Broken did not move with the same stealth. They were too big, too clumsy, and too powerful.
Akama looked alert and uneasy, as well he might. To one with his sensitivity to the moods of the world, the shaking of the mountain must be very disturbing. She herself was profoundly perturbed. Scores of Ashtongue soldiers lay hidden over the nearby mountainside. Akama had brought a strong bodyguard with him.
Everything was as Akama predicted. Groups of thirteen sorcerers stood in circles, weaving the great spell. Some were blood elves. Some were naga. All were potent magi. Lines of magical power danced among them, linking them together. They chanted and gestured, and something answered their call. A few other robed Illidari surrounded them. They might have been bodyguards or servants, but there were fewer of them than there were sorcerers.