“Yes,” she said. “The desert can be beautiful, even in its desolation, but there is room on Athas both for the desert and for this.” She hesitated. “How do you feel now?”
“Strange,” said Sorak. “Very strange. There is an emptiness inside me that I have never known before.”
“They are all gone then?”
“Yes. All gone. I shall miss them terribly. I did not realize what it felt like, to be ... normal. I feel like a mere shadow of my former self. Or selves,” he added wryly. “Yes, I shall miss them. But I shall have to learn to live without them.”
“You still have me,” she said, gazing at him, then looking down at the ground. “That is, if you still want me.”
“I have always wanted you, Ryana,” he said. “You know that.”
“Yes, I know. And I knew what stood between us. So ... what stands between us now?”
“Nothing,” he said as he took her in his arms and held her close, kissing her neck softly. “And now nothing ever will.”
“It is time,” said Kara, as they stood in the top chamber of the tower. “The gateway is about to open.”
“Can we not say our farewells to the Sage?” asked Ryana.
Kara shook her head. “We are between the worlds now. If you go down those stairs now, it will take you back to Bodach. You cannot reach the Sage’s chambers, where he sleeps. And even if you could, you could not wake him. Someday, there will be another time. But for now, we must return back to the time from which we came.”
“Very well, then,” Sorak said. “We are ready.” Kara glanced out the window as the dark sun slowly dipped below the horizon and the last rays of its light faded from view. “The gateway is now open,” she said.
They started down the stairs. As they descended, the stone walls seemed to age, and a thick layer of dust appeared upon the steps. They passed the lower levels, which no longer had floors, and the fresh smell of the sea was gone now, replaced by the harsh odor of the silt that blew in through the narrow apertures. They were back in their own time once again, and it suddenly seemed even more desolate than they had remembered.
“It will be night outside,” Ryana said. “What of the undead?”
“We shall wait within the tower until sunrise,” Kara said. “They will not come in, and we will be safe
“You are a most persistent man, Valsavis,” Sorak said. “But you are too late. I have already fulfilled the object of my quest.”
Valsavis stared at him for a moment, and then he started laughing. Sorak and Kara both gaped at him with astonishment while Ryana hung limply in his powerful grasp.
“You know,” Valsavis said, “this is the first time in my life I have ever truly found something to be funny. So, you have crowned your wizard king, have you? And what a splendid palace he resides in! Hail the mighty druid king, hiding in a ruin, like a cowering rodent among the rotting corpses of Bodach. I had assumed this place held more than met the eye when I saw that the undead would not come in here. What a wail they set up outside when I came in. It seems they wanted me to come outside and play. It was a shame to disappoint them, but I had already killed some of them two or three times, and there’s a limit to my patience. So, you have found what you were searching for. And to think, I could have fulfilled the object of my quest, as well... if only I had possessed the strength to climb those damned stairs.” He started chuckling once again.
“Let her go, Valsavis,” Sorak said. “There is nothing to be gained from this.”
“There is always something to be gained,” Valsavis replied. “It all depends on what you want, and what you will settle for. I was half dead when I came in here. But never have I fought so fiercely. You should have seen me, elfling. I was a bloody marvel. I waited here all night, and then throughout the day. I did not know what posed the greater danger, those corpses coming in here or you coming back down and finding me asleep. Still, I napped a little here and there, when I passed out from the pain.” He chuckled again. “You know, it truly is amusing. Nibenay would give anything to see this, but right now, some walking corpse is chewing on his yellow eyeball, along with my left hand. Of course, the Shadow King has doubtless withdrawn the enchantment from the ring and cannot feel it. Pity. I would so like to share some of my discomfort with him.”
“Valsavis ...” said Sorak. “It is finished. Let her go.”
Valsavis snorted. “You realize that I came here to kill you,” he said.
“Well, your success seems somewhat doubtful at the moment,” Sorak said. “You can scarcely stand. Give it up, Valsavis. The Shadow King cares nothing for you. He has only used you, and look what it has brought you.”
“It could have brought me everything,” Valsavis said. “It still can. Nibenay would give much to know where he can find your master. He did not tell me who it was. He pretended not to know, but I am not a fool. There can only be one preserver wizard whom a sorcerer-king would fear. You see, elfling, even if Nibenay did not discover the location of the Sage through me, I still succeeded. I am here. And neither you, the priestess, nor the pyreen, nor even an army of undead could stop me.”
“Indeed,” said Kara. “Your tenacity is without peer. I must congratulate you.”
“I failed only in one thing,” Valsavis said, glancing at Ryana. And then he grinned with bloody teeth. “If I’d only had more time, priestess. Too bad. We would have made quite a pair, you and I. It really is... too bad.”
“If you harm her, Valsavis,” Sorak said through gritted teeth, “then I swear you shall not leave this place alive.”
“Do you, indeed?” Valsavis said. “And what about you, shapechanger? I will have you swear, as well. Swear by your vows as a preserver that if I release the priestess, you shall do nothing to interfere. Swear, or I will drive this point right through her lovely throat!”
“I swear by my vows as a preserver that I shall not interfere in any way, if you release Ryana unharmed,” said Kara.
“You have my word,” Valsavis said. “But first, the elfling must give up his magic sword.”
“It would not do you any good, Valsavis,” Sorak said. “You serve a defiler. Galdra’s enchantment would not work for you.”
“Give it to the pyreen, then,” Valsavis said. “We will fight like men, with daggers and without enchantment, so we can see each other’s eyes.”
Without hesitating, Sorak removed his sword belt and scabbard, then handed them to Kara. Valsavis released Ryana, and she collapsed to the floor. He put his knife between his teeth, drew his own sword and tossed it aside, then grasped his dagger once again with his one remaining hand.
As Sorak drew his own knife, he realized that, for the first time, he would not have the tribe behind him. The Shade would not be there to storm forth like a juggernaut from his subconscious. The Guardian’s gifts were no longer his to call on. The Ranger, Eyron, Kether ... all were gone. He was deprived of Galdra, and Kara had sworn not to interfere.
He faced Valsavis alone.
But at the same time, the mercenary was seriously injured. He had even lacked the strength to climb the stairs. True, he had rested some, but he had also lost a lot of blood. How could he hope to prevail in such a weakened condition?
“I have no wish to kill you, Valsavis,” Sorak said, shaking his head.
“You must,” Valsavis replied emphatically. “You have no choice. I have found the sanctuary of the Sage. If I fail to return, then Nibenay shall just assume that I was killed by the undead and joined their ranks, and that you have gone on with your quest. But if I live, then I shall take what I have learned and sell it to him. And he shall pay whatever price I ask. One way or the other, Sorak, one of us shall not leave here alive.”
“It does not have to be that way,” said Sorak as they slowly started circling. “You have seen the treasure room. There is more wealth there than you could ever hope to spend. Surely, there would be enough to buy your silence.”