A Shadow Flame (Book 7) (8 page)

In the darkness, behind sleeping eyes, Calexis listened to the slow breathing of the young man who lay next to her, upon the rich bedding of the royal bed. Her other self, the part of her that had become one with the madness and the shadows had slipped into an unconsciousness resembling sleep, but was far deeper. It was nearly all Calexis could do, to gain some small amount of respite from the horrors wrought in her name by the power that had taken over her existence, using what little power she had left to bid the creature to sleep. It was too much to hope that Aaron, the young warrior and mage, whose power she could feel radiating from him like heat from a glowing iron, would throw off the shackles that bound him to the shadow, and strike her dead, releasing her from the dark prison that her own mind had become, but the grip of the dark god was too great. And so Calexis listened to him breathe, taking satisfaction that though he was held captive by the power of the shadow, he had not yet given in.

In some small way, she felt a kinship to Aaron, and from what she had learned about his relationship to Lexi, the daughter she had forsaken, she wished she could help him in some way, or at least express her thanks. So many such thoughts began to run through her mind that she did notice at first when the room slowly became quiet, unnaturally so, and the sound of his breathing faded. Curious, and making sure the god within her remained unconscious, Calexis slowly opened an eye, and looked out into the dim light of the room.

A wisp of white appeared next to the bed, slowly materializing into a hand, then an arm, followed by a body and the face of a young woman, who leaned over and gently touched Aaron on the arm. With frightening speed, Aaron's hand shot up and clutched her by the throat, and she choked for a moment, before shifting her form to something less solid, and his hand suddenly clutched at nothing, grasping at only empty air.

"Aaron," she whispered, her voice like an echo, one that only he could hear. "It's me, Ehlena."

Aaron sat up, his eyes glassy and black, glimmering like the night sky, and a strange power surrounded him, driving back the shadows that surrounded him, though they continued to twist and turn, as though reaching for him. Ehlena stepped away, sickened at the deathly feeling of the shadows in this place that seemed to rekindle the poison that still lingered within her, but even more unnerved by the feeling of the power that shone in Aaron's eyes. It was like standing upon the edge of a precipice and nearly losing balance, and it somehow felt both strange and familiar.

Aaron glanced over at Calexis, testing the power of the shadow that connected him to her, and he could tell that the dark god within her still slept, in a kind of dream. The temptation to strike her, to use his power to end her, was nearly overwhelming, but he knew that it was not yet time, and he must wait, and he would only likely anger her, the way he was now. Aaron stared at Ehlena, who stood before him, shifting in the air like a spirit, curious that she seemed different, and he could tell that she was using her magic to hide something, but he did not have the power to see through what it was.

"What are you doing here?" he whispered.

"You can speak, Aaron," Ehlena said. "She cannot hear you."

"It is dangerous for you to be here, Ehlena," Aaron warned, still worried that Calexis might awaken, and feeling an odd presence within her, something he had noticed a few times before. "I am sorry if I hurt you."

"I am fine," she said. "I woke you, and you do sleep in a very dangerous place. What is happening to you, Aaron? I can feel the shadow all around you, and the fire of your power has nearly turned to darkness."

"I will resist it until the mages complete their work," he told her. "I can feel what they are doing, and they have almost finished."

"I already know this," Ehlena said. "But once they have finished the spell, what will you do?"

"I will do what must be done and fight the shadow with my flames," Aaron said. "I don't know how, but you must try to get the people to safety. Perhaps Stavros can use his magic, but once Calexis learns of this, I will only be able to hold her off for a short time before things will become very dangerous here. She has spoken of others coming to Maramyr. Perhaps they can help, but they will face many enemies in the city, and more in the palace."

"Ariana leads an army of Maramyrian and Kandaran soldiers, with Borrican and a number of dragons, who fought to defend the elven forest," Ehlena told him. "The elves send a force, and there are ships with even more who will fight, coming up from the Aghlar coast, led by Carly."

"What of the Ansari?" Aaron asked.

"I have heard a few whispers on the wind, but after the battle at Elvanar my power is not as strong as it was. It is strange that they are not decisive about this, for the Ansari do not waver once they have perceived an enemy."

"I cannot tell what she is planning, but I do not doubt that it will involve the power of the shadow," Aaron told her. "Tell the others they must get the people as far away as possible once the battle begins, for I fear the destruction that may be caused either by the darkness itself should I fail, or the fire that it will take to destroy it."

"I will," Ehlena said. "We will do as much as we can."

"As will I," he replied, then he looked at her a little more closely, the power deepening in his eyes for a moment. "What happened to you at Elvanar, Ehlena?"

"The poison of the shadow," she said, and reached out her hand tentatively toward the dark tendrils that hung in the air around him. "It is very strange that this power no longer seeks me, though I cannot bear to be near it." They moved slightly at her touch, but it was as though the shadow was somehow blind to her power.

"How did the shadow touch you?" Aaron asked, curious at what he saw. He could feel the hunger of the dark power, determined to consume his power and the life of anything that came near to it, but through his connection to it, he could tell that it paid Ehlena little notice, as though she held no power, and yet he could also sense that even though she was weakened, she was by no means weak.

"It was the poison stones the Darga used," she said. "They gave off a deadly smoke that withered much of the elven forest, and killed many of the elves as well. I used the wind to draw it away from the trees, but time was short so I drew it toward me. Thankfully, most of it was burned away with dragonfire."

"And some remained," Aaron said, with a somber sigh.

"Yes," Ehlena told him. "In time, perhaps I will be free of the poison that lingers, but I do not know. I can only hope, and carry on, for I would like to continue to be in the world."

"Of course," Aaron said, with a tired smile. "I would like for you to live, Ehlena, and free of the shadow." He reached out his hand, and Ehlena took it in her own, then she felt his power touch her gently. "I will try to help you, but I cannot do it now, not without waking Calexis."

"And here I am trying to help you," Ehlena said with a sigh and she offered up her own tired smile.

"Warn the mages that they must complete their spell soon," Aaron told her. "That would help me best, for they are now in grave danger of being noticed, and I cannot distract her for much longer."

"I will tell them," Ehlena said.

"Good," Aaron said. "And promise me that when the time comes, you and the others, you will not hold back." Aaron suddenly glanced over at the sleeping queen. "I can feel her beginning to wake. You must leave, Ehlena."

"What do you mean, Aaron?" she asked. "What do you plan to do?"

"If I fail, if my power cannot overcome the shadow, I will try to hold its power here so the others can burn it with their fire," Aaron said, and he let go of her hand, his eyes flashing darkly as the shadows closed in upon him once again. "Go now."

Ehlena disappeared into the night air and out through the open window, worried for Aaron and knowing the risk he faced. She made her way down into the city, and began to search for the mages, making sure to keep her power obscured, for she knew that Calexis had awakened and with the power of the god within her and the shadow, she would be able to sense her power if she was not careful. Stavros was very skilled at hiding himself, and despite her ability to hear and feel most things upon the wind, it still took her some time to find him. There was only the barest shift in the air on the tiled roof of an inn, where a dark glowing crystal had been ensconced at its peak. Floating in the air, without form, Ehlena saw the crystal slowly turn around, moved by an unseen hand, then she felt a subtle shift in its power and the crystal began to pulse with light that at first seemed almost unnoticeably different but she quickly realized that it was only an illusion, and underneath it, the crystal glowed with pure, white light instead of the dark, purplish light of the shadow, and somehow it was the crystal itself that seemed to pretend it had not changed.

"You must hurry, Stavros," Ehlena whispered. "Aaron cannot wait much longer."

"Ehlena," Stavros said, his voice a raspy whisper, as his magic expanded around her, allowing her to see him. "You have returned."

"Yes, and I bring you a warning," she said. "Calexis is very close to being able to sense what you are doing."

"Come now," the mage said. "I have used my best magic to obscure this work."

"And yet I could still find you," Ehlena said. "Kenra is a god of lies, secrets and shadows. His obsession with trickery and the power of the shadow is what now resides in Calexis and Aaron cannot distract her for much longer. He says you must hurry."

"We have imbued and realigned most of the crystals," Stavros said, his eyes dark from lack of rest. "There are only a few more we need to shift and then we can deal with the final crystal in the Temple. If we had more time, I would rather realign all the crystals in the city, but even with Calthas and a young mage named Coraline, who escaped from Calexis' spell, there are still quite a number of them. It will require more power this way, but we are ready."

"Coraline," Ehlena said, catching her name. "Yes, I remember her. She was the one who ran from the temple."

"It seems that you know a good many things, Lady goddess," Stavros commented.

"I hear things on the wind," she said.

"I think you might whisper a few things as well."

"Perhaps," she admitted with a tired smile, then she frowned. "Stavros, I am very worried about Aaron. I do not think he believes he can destroy the shadow with his power."

"Aaron has the potential to be more powerful than any other mage I have ever seen, even Zachary, and his fire burns true," Stavros said as he began to climb down from the roof. "If he cannot best the shadow...if he falls prey to it, then our chances become very slim."

"Aaron knows it may come to that, and that is why I am worried," Ehlena told him. "He said that when the time comes, we should not hold back, and the way he spoke, it was as though he has already resigned himself to a certain fate."

"If everything my brother wrote to me in his letters is true, then you need not worry about that," Stavros said as he leapt from the edge of the roof to a nearby wall, as Ehlena floated along with him as he walked along it. "Tarnath always talked about how Aaron would drag his heels and try not to promise much when it came to tasks that were put before him, but when it came down to it, he would always do more than he was asked."

"That does sound like him," Ehlena said, remembering how they first met, and while it warmed her heart to think about how he helped her without question when he barely knew her and owed her nothing, it also caused her some concern. "That is what worries me. After what happened with the Ansari, I am worried that Aaron might intentionally sacrifice himself, and the shadow has a way of taking away thoughts of hope."

"Let us not dwell on such thoughts," Stavros said, with a frown. He hopped down from a low point in the wall and landed silently on the cobbled street. "Come, I must return to Calthas' workshop, and have Coraline reimbue this crystal. It is truly an interesting form of magic, this." He reached into his robe, then he held out a crystal that resembled the one atop the building. "The resonance of one crystal can be passed on to the others, almost perfectly and I can already think of a number of spells that I might create this way."

"I cannot stay, Stavros," Ehlena said. "I must travel again, for our time grows very short. Please hurry, and be careful."

"I am always careful," Stavros said, giving her the best reassuring smile he could muster as the girl goddess wisped away into the night.

The grey cloaked, grey haired mage sighed tiredly. Ehlena had every reason to be worried, and he could plainly see that she was not well, despite the spell she had placed upon herself to hide it. He gritted his teeth and hurried along the street toward Calthas' shop, cursing the fact that he could not travel with his magic without the sound of it waking up the entire city and Calexis, along with everyone else. As much as he did not want Ehlena to worry about him and the others, and had tried his best to reassure her, he knew the danger they might face at any moment, and he hurried his step, making his way back to meet with the other two mages. Based on what Coraline had told him about the magic of the crystals, and what he had observed in the way the gemstones were arranged throughout the city, they would be able to disrupt and alter the spell with the stones they had realigned thus far, and the ones they missed would likely resonate along with the others, though it would require a little more power on his part, but if they were truly out of time, then it would have to be enough.