Several of the skeletons in front of the alcove reacted to the sound of my rock hitting the side wall. They turned and marched off.
That left only ten in front of the alcove, and they weren’t looking in my direction. I grabbed another rock. This was the best shot I would get.
Hugging the wall, I ran for the corner. I sucked in my belly as I eased around it. The two closest skeletons turned toward me as I slid into the alcove. I lobbed the rock over their heads. It clattered to the ground, but this time, none of them turned to look.
They had sensed me.
Sindari roared again, broke away from his fight, and charged toward the alcove. Blood dripped from dozens of gashes on his flanks. That didn’t keep him from springing at the skeletons that were stepping toward me. They were forced to turn, swinging their axes to keep him from tearing their skulls off.
Again, I had to fight the urge to leap into battle with him. As he’d said, he could disappear into another realm. I could not.
I backed into the dark alcove, the light outside contrasting with the deep shadows and making it hard to see what was inside of it. The faint outline of a cage dangling from the ceiling was just visible. Li lay crumpled on the bottom.
A door at the back of the alcove stood open, more magic emanating from somewhere beyond it. Damn, did the tunnel system continue back there?
Two of the skeletons evaded Sindari and strode toward me, their axes hefted over their heads. I tried to call upon the magic Freysha had taught me, forming a barrier across the alcove between them and me.
They bumped against it. One swung its axe at it. Even though he was several feet from me, somehow the barrier was like an extension of me, and I gasped as the magical blade bit into it. The pain resonated in my skull, and I barely managed to keep the barrier up.
Sindari roared, knocking one of the skeletons into the side of the alcove. Another bumped against my barrier and lurched back, startled by it.
I ran to Li’s cage, struggling to concentrate on keeping my magical defenses up as I tried to figure out how to free her. I didn’t see the sword or any artifacts, not in the alcove, and I worried I would need her to direct me to them.
I’m going to try to get you out. I hefted my sword, hoping I could reach the cage, and that it was breakable. Get off the floor of that thing if you can.
One of the skeletons swung its magical axe at my barrier again. Again, the blow drove pain into my skull. They knew I was back here, and there was no way I would be able to keep my meager barrier up much longer, not when their blades could hurt it—and hurt me through it.
Sindari lunged in and grabbed the offending skeleton by the leg bone, flinging it into others that were trying to surround him. One of the winged creatures got close enough to rake him again.
Val, I cannot last much longer.
Save yourself, I ordered as I swung my borrowed dwarven sword at the bottom of the cage. I’ll figure something out.
Whatever the cage was made of, it cracked under my assault, and a piece of it gave. A shard tumbled down, clattering at my feet. Bone. Of course.
Inside, Li finally stirred. She found the energy to climb up the side bars. I swung again, no finesse in the movement, only hoping I could damage the cage enough that she could rip her way out. Or that I could leap up and rip it apart. She might be too weak to do anything but hang on.
My foot slipped on something wet as I swung again. Blood. Li’s? I couldn’t see her well in the shadows but had no trouble sensing her pain and weakness.
Why did she capture you and torture you? I connected solidly with the corner, and more bone splintered and cracked.
Because I sneaked in here to get a dragon blade… before I knew the lich was here. Li, clinging to the side bars, thumped her foot against the bottom of the cage, trying to help me break it. Remember how I said I got in, stumbled across the lich, and escaped before it caught me?
Yeah.
I didn’t. It caught me and scoured my mind for everything I knew. Dragon blades were on my mind—like I said before, I’d just become aware of you and yours—and the lich found out what I knew about your weapon. It commanded me to go back to Earth and get your sword. It didn’t want any weapons with the power to hurt it unaccounted for in the realms. The lich is crazy. Li stomped again, and the bottom of the cage fell free. I sprang back, the heavy piece barely missing me.
It thinks it’s going to kill all the other dragons and take over everything, Li added, letting herself drop down.
When she landed, her legs gave way, and she would have pitched over, but I rushed back in to catch her. She took a shaky breath and visibly braced herself.
I didn’t want to be a slave to a lich. I thought that once I got back to Earth, it wouldn’t have any sway over me, but it had put a magical compulsion on me.
Yeah, I know about those.
I had to obey the lich. Had to get that sword and bring it back here. It said it would free me if I succeeded, but I knew all along it was a lie. Li shook her head, gripping my arms for support. I couldn’t keep from obeying it though. It’s too powerful.
Outside of the alcove, Sindari ducked under another attack from above. He spun, leaving blood of his own on the floor, and raced toward the stairs and the tunnel out of here.
Some of the skeletons and flying creatures chased him, but most didn’t. They turned to focus on Li and me, axes raised to strike at the barrier I was barely maintaining. I had no idea how their magic was attacking me through the barrier, but the worst migraine was building behind my eyes. It felt like my brain was swelling in my skull.
“Do you know where that artifact is?” I panted, giving up on telepathy—it wasn’t like they didn’t know we were here—and fighting to concentrate enough to keep the skeletal warriors from getting to us. “The one that can kill the dragons?”
Several of those axes struck my barrier simultaneously, and the collective pain stabbed into my brain from all sides. I gasped and dropped to my knee. I couldn’t maintain the barrier.
“I don’t give a damn about the dragons.” Li pulled away from me and ran to the doorway in the back of the alcove, disappearing into the tunnel.
“I helped you!” I yelled after her, intending to ask that she help me, but another axe struck my barrier, bringing another blast of pain.
My barrier shattered in my mind. The skeletons rushed into the alcove.
I lurched to my feet, fury at being abandoned propelling me after Li. The skeletons clattered after me, their axes swinging.
If I caught up with Li, I would brain her. But she was probably sprinting for some hidden exit out of the mountain. I wished I could, but if I didn’t find and destroy that artifact first, I might lose Zav forever.
29
Far ahead, orange light came into view, promising another chamber. I sprinted down the long dark tunnel toward it, dozens of skeletal warriors chasing after me. Even though I’d let my barrier fall, my head still pulsed with pain. The idea of trying to stop and conjure another barrier, one they would once again attack, sounded less appealing than driving nails into my eyes. I would rather fight them with my borrowed blade if I had to.
As I pumped my arms and legs, Sindari disappeared from my awareness. He’d either reached the end of his one-mile magical tether, or he’d been so injured that he had no choice but to flee this world. I didn’t want to think about another possibility—that he’d refused to leave and they’d managed to kill him.