I smiled again, “Why don’t you ask Karenth then?”
“Where is my brother?”
My eyes never left Doron’s. “I could show you, but I don’t think you’d like my methods.”
“If you have such power why are you negotiating with me? You offer to let me leave? Why not simply make good on your threat?!” The shining god gloated at his sudden insight, “Your words betray your weakness!”
I kept my voice calm and level, “I never said I would ‘let’ you leave. I offered you a chance. You will give me something of value, or I will crush you into a mindless vessel of power, subservient to my will. I am beginning to suspect you have nothing worth bargaining for, however.” My words dripped with malice.
“I am Doron the Breaker and I have riches beyond your imagining, mortal,” said the indignant god. His posture told me all I needed to know though, he had shifted, and now he would seek to impress me with his value. Without admitting it aloud, he had already surrendered the advantage to me.
I scoffed at him, “I could care less for your wealth. There is only one thing of value to me…” I let the words trail off without finishing.
“What is that?” said Doron leaning forward as he took the bait. He was firmly in my grasp now.
“Information.”
I could see the thoughts flickering across the child-like god’s face as he realized he might escape for the price of nothing more than a few words. Unlike his brother, Doron had no real grasp of the importance of knowledge. “What would you ask of me?” he said after a moment.
“Why did you, your brother, and Millicenth leave your home? How did you cross between the worlds?” I asked immediately.
“Mal’goroth,” answered Doron. “He has grown powerful beyond imagining, from the sacrifices you fed him. He devoured his brethren and grew more powerful still. He opened the way.”
“The shining gods have allied themselves with him?” I said, shocked.
The god’s face flinched at the thought. “No. We seek to avoid him. Karenth sought to release Celior that we might have the power to face him again.”
It was a polite way of saying they were on the run, but I had to make sure. “Why did he open the way between the worlds for you then, and for that matter, who helped him?”
“No one helped him. After consuming the power of the remaining dark gods, he no longer needs assistance from the other side. He tore a breach between the worlds that he might cross at will. We merely took advantage of the rift to escape before he could capture us as well,” admitted Doron.
I couldn’t imagine Mal’goroth being so clumsy as to make a gateway and then allow his enemies to cross through it. There had to be more to the story. “How did you manage that, and where is Millicenth?”
Doron frowned, “She engineered the distraction that allowed us to use the rift, but she was unlucky. My brother thought Mal’goroth had caught her before she could follow us.”
“And now you are all alone,” I observed.
The Iron God grew angry. “Do not mock me with your false pity mortal.”
I dismissed his protest with a wave of my hand, “Very well, I accept your information in payment for the damage you have done to my home and my servants.”
“Your impertinence will be your undoing,” growled Doron.
“It will be yours first. Do you wish to renege on our bargain?” I said icily.
He paused for a long moment before replying, “No.”
“Then you may leave…,” I started, and the shining god had grown wings in preparation for his flight almost before I could finish. “… but, you need to be aware of something.”
Doron paused impatiently, “What?”
“I will give you a few minutes to be clear of my lands. If I find you within them again, or if I sense you near my vassals, my king, or my family, I will show no mercy. Make certain that we do not meet once more, or it will be the end of you. Have I made myself clear?” I declared with a venom in my words that required no acting on my part. Power or no power I meant it.
The Iron God glared at me in hatred and frustration before answering with an ear-shattering scream of rage as he leapt skyward, smashing through the roof of the kitchen and several floors of the keep, before he emerged above the castle. Seconds later, and he was gone, while I dodged to avoid the falling masonry and broken timbers that he left in his wake. I waited, staring upward for long minutes before I decided he must surely be gone.
“I think it’s over, Walter,” I said tiredly, as fatigue washed over me in waves. The adrenaline that had kept me standing firm was fading now, leaving me weak and trembling.
The other wizard reappeared, standing near the back wall, and moved to stand beside me. “What you did defies my ability to describe in a credible manner. Even if I try to tell this story to the bards, no one will believe it,” he said wonderingly.
“They will believe that and more,” I insisted. “Stories grow larger with every telling. By the time my grandchildren are grown, they will be saying I challenged him to an arm wrestling competition and bested him at it, or something equally silly.”
Walter shook his head, “No, the truth was even more amazing than that.” Then his eyes grew worried as he saw how pale I had become. “Are you alright?”
The light was dimming, and my head felt light as I sank downward. I might have fallen but for Walter’s intervention. “I don’t feel so good,” I told him. “Perhaps I should find my bed for a while.”
“You need help,” said Walter. “What would you have me do?”
“Find Penny, she always knows how to make me feel better,” I suggested. “I think I’d like to see her again, before the world is done with me. I’ll sleep well if I can make sure she and the children are still alright.”
“Dramatic speeches don’t suit you,” said Walter looking down on me. There were tears in his eyes. “You aren’t dead yet. You still have a few days ahead if the stories are true. How do we find your family?”
“Just take me to my room and knock on the door. If it isn’t too late, I’m sure she’ll let us in,” I said blearily. “She doesn’t like it if I come home too late,” I added softly, closing my eyes.
“She’s in your apartments? That doesn’t make sense, Mordecai. They should have evacuated. Where would they go in an emergency? Mordecai! Can you hear me? Wake up! Where would she have gone?” he said urgently.
I could barely hear his words however, and I was tired… so very tired. “Take me home,” I managed, before slipping away into the soft gray silence that surrounded me.
As I faded away, I thought I could hear someone yelling, “Dorian! I need your help!”
Chapter 29
“I’m not an expert in these matters but it doesn’t look good for her,” said Lady Rose from somewhere close by. Consciousness had come upon me gradually and I hadn’t stirred yet, preferring to enjoy the warmth of my bed.
Penny responded then and her voice sounded closer still, “It just isn’t fair. She fought so hard to protect you and the children. Isn’t there something her father can do?”
Elaine, I realized, they must be discussing Elaine. I kept still and remained silent. My awakening would change the conversation, and I wanted to hear about my student’s condition before they started fussing over me.
“He’s spent the last few hours with her,” answered Rose, “but he says there is only so much he can do. His skill in healing is very limited. He told me that he has fixed the bone and sealed her skin, but the muscle and soft tissues are a mess underneath. Even if infection doesn’t take her and she somehow recovers, she’ll never walk again.”