Suddenly his eyes went wide in fear and pain, while his mouth gaped, as if he were a fish dying for lack of water. His entire body went tense before it relaxed, and he fell forward into my arms. “Walter, are you alright?!” I asked worriedly. “Talk to me, did he find us?”
A few seconds passed before the other wizard got himself under control. “Sorry, I almost couldn’t shield myself in time,” he explained.
My eyes were locked on his face, reading every expression, searching for hidden signs. “Thank goodness you did. I’m going to leave you now. The hidden door is down that way,” I said pointing in the direction I would be heading. “I’ll use it to enter the Ironheart Chamber, while you make your escape. I don’t think he will be able to find you if you make yourself fully invisible. Just try to get as far away as possible.”
He grabbed my arm, “Wait. You never told me what the chamber does. You owe me that much at least.”
I sighed, “Fine, but make sure you are completely invisible to magic first, otherwise he might glean the secret from you.” I waited a moment while he complied and then continued, “The Ironheart Chamber is actually a gigantic enchantment I designed, to allow the user to fully absorb the power of the God-Stone. It will give whoever uses it, full control of Celior’s power.”
Walter’s eyes were wide with disbelief, “Is that possible? Why haven’t you used it before?”
I grimaced, “I wasn’t willing to take the risk. I’m not certain what it will do to a human being, to undergo that sort of transformation. It might kill me, or I might be overwhelmed by whatever remains of Celior’s mind. It’s only now that the risk is worth taking. It’s all or nothing.”
Walter nodded, “I’m glad you never told me before, Mort.”
“Why’s that?”
“I might have been tempted to use it for myself if I had known,” he admitted.
I clapped him on the shoulder, “Now you understand my secrecy. Go ahead and hide yourself, I’ll go the rest of the way alone.” Turning away I left him there, walking confidently down the empty hall. Inwardly, I feared that I might never make it to my destination. If I had miscalculated, I might be struck down at any moment.
Rounding the final corner, I made my way to the spot that hid the secret door. The enchantment was such, that it was invisible to magesight, as well as mundane vision. Because of that, I had memorized the location I had to touch to open the door. The enchantment should recognize me even without my magic, just as the one guarding the Keystone room had earlier.
I placed my hand upon the correct area and watched the door slide open, but before I could step forward a voice sent a chill of fear down my spine. “Did you really think you could make a fool of me and get away with it?” said the icy voice of Karenth the Just.
“You never know if you don’t try,” I answered keeping my voice light, though my heart had leapt into my throat at his sudden appearance.
“Kneel!” grated Karenth, in a tone that would brook no disobedience. Under normal circumstances it would have taken all of my power simply to resist his compulsion, and that would have been using every bit of my aythar. It had taken that and the strength of the earth to enable me to truly defy Celior. I had neither of those things now… and it hardly mattered, my mind was just as dead to his commands, as it was to magic.
I kept my face passive. “You really should listen to yourself. You’ve been playing at being a god for so long, that you’re starting to believe yourself. You really did capture the essence of ‘authority’ there.” I made no attempt to genuflect before him.
Karenth stared at me for a moment, “The magebane has made you resistant to certain things I see, as well as destroying your ability to use magic… how unfortunate.” Reaching out, his hand caught me by the shoulder and my world dissolved into pain as his power coursed through me. It seemed to last for an eternity, and through it I could hear nothing beyond the sound of my own screams. He did not relent until I had run out of air and I had begun to think I might die before I could draw breath again. When his hand let go of my shoulder, I collapsed bonelessly to the floor.
Staring down he smiled, “Good thing the old standbys still work just fine. Pain is such an excellent teacher. It is almost a shame you won’t have very long to learn your lessons.” Turning, he looked over his shoulder at Walter, who had appeared quietly behind him. “Why did you ever serve this man?”
Walter’s jaw clenched as he attempted to answer, but his lips would not move.
Waving his hand, Karenth said dismissively, “Speak your mind slave, I would hear the truth from your lips,” and the tension in the older wizard’s face relaxed.
“Because I believed in him,” said Walter in a dry voice, “because he saved me, saved my family… he gave me hope.” His words echoed with empty resignation, the tone of a man who knew his death was near, yet hoped it would not be too painful. “Forgive me Mordecai, I couldn’t stop him! His will was too strong for me…”
“How touching,” commented the shining god, with mock sympathy. “Your tragedy is so poignant I can hardly bring myself to cut it short. But then I suppose I hardly need to do so… the poison will kill you slowly over a course of days.” He looked down upon me in pity.
“How did you poison me?” I asked in sudden curiosity.
“It was the wine, of course,” he replied succinctly, “I’m surprised your pet wizard didn’t drink it as well.”
I frowned, “How did you get it into my cup… what of the tasters?”
The god of justice smiled beatifically at me, “You think too small. It was in all the wine given to you by the King of Gododdin. It’s harmless to your tasters and other humans. Only those with the forbidden gifts of wizardry need fear its taste upon their lips. Frankly I’m surprised you waited till this celebration to drink it. Millicenth even thought you would sample some before today. Your patience is admirable, and it certainly made for a most dramatic day.”
My lip curled, “He betrayed us?”
Karenth laughed, and the music of his laughter echoed down the halls, until I thought it might drive me mad. “Fool! The men that attacked your king were a ruse, to draw attention from those that were tampering with the wine. Your petty kinglet is of no use to me. I have spies enough amongst your people. Now if you will excuse me, I have my brother’s mantle to claim.” The god moved to enter the Ironheart Chamber.
“It’s a trap,” I told him. “You’ll never leave that room if you enter.”
“Such a pathetic attempt,” replied Karenth, staring down at me. “You’ve told too many lies wizard. I’ve already drawn the information out of your servant’s mind, and honestly, I don’t care. If your enchantment works… wonderful! If it doesn’t… well at least Celior will be free again.” Without waiting for my answer, he stepped inside and drew the door closed behind him. The heavy iron door shut with a massive ‘click’ that carried a sense of finality.
Lying on the cold floor, barely able to move from the recent magical torture, I still smiled as the Ironheart Chamber door sealed itself. “Can’t say I didn’t warn you,” I said quietly, fighting to control a giggle that probably would have been more frightening than reassuring. “You were the only one I told the truth to…,” I added with some satisfaction.
Once the door had finished closing, Walter collapsed, much like a puppet with its strings cut. Shuddering, he looked over at me where I lay not far off. “I’m sorry, he was too strong,” he apologized, “I couldn’t fight him.”