She Who Has No Name (The Legacy Trilogy) (88 page)

Samuel became angered by the admission.  ‘So it is you who has engineered this entire scheme.  Why would you do this to us?  What were you hoping to achieve?  The relics were false and had no part in the return of the Demon King—the Emperor told me that.  Everything we’ve done has been for naught.  So what did you have to gain by sending us to Hol?  Why put us through all this?’

Cang slowly drew back his lips.  ‘My goal has never been to stop the return of Lin, young Samuel, but to ensure it.  You and your party were sent to Hol for a few simple reasons, all of which were achieved.  We now have everything we need to kill
the
K
ing of
D
emons.’

Samuel looked around the vast
and
empty chamber.  There was nothing to which the old devil could have been referring.  ‘Where are they?  What are these things?’

‘Time was the most important.  We needed to ensure he arrived at the time of our choosing...or at least thereabouts.  That is why we did not come blazing to your rescue during these past nine months that you were imprisoned, for it was better for everyone that you just stayed put.  The other thing we needed to prepare was the method of his destruction.  It is no simple matter to destroy a god.  It takes more power than all the relics and magicians on earth.  Indeed, no power on earth
can
destroy Lin, but we now have the tool of his destruction at the ready.  I have been summoning it to us for the last seventy years.  It is above us now, seemingly still but
,
in reality
,
it is speeding towards us at an incredible rate and it will strike with the vengeance of all the untold souls that Lin has stolen over the Ages.  This will be the weapon of his ending.’

‘The Star of Osirah?’ Samuel asked.

‘That is what the Paatin call it, but I have no interest in naming such a thing.  It is only what it can achieve that concerns me.  I am no trivial magician, Samuel, as I am sure you have come to learn.  I have powers beyond almost every other magician in this world, and still I am not foolish enough to think I can face Lin directly.  I have put all my energies into finding and directing this heavenly body, a frozen block of stone the size of a mountain.  Inch by inch, I have nudged it towards us, pushing it from its natural course and ensuring it will strike exactly as required.  In less than an hour, it will be here.  A humble stone to kill a demon.  I think it is fitting—like the fables of old.’

‘You will pull a star down upon us?’ Eric said.  ‘This is madness.  Surely it will kill us all.’

‘Not all
of us
, but most of us, yes.  In truth
,
it is not a star, but such details matter little.  I have scried the heavens all my life and the inner bodies offer little mystery to me.  Occasionally, such wanderers come skimming past our world, but this one proved special.  It seemed to be
in
just the right place at just the right time, almost as if it w
ere
sent to me for this very purpose.  All I needed was time to get the players into their position.  That has now been achieved.  When it strikes, half the world will be destroyed
,
engulfed in hellfire and destruction
—
even Lin cannot survive this.  His first few breaths upon our world will be his last!’

‘You are mad!’ Eric said.  ‘You will kill everyone!’

‘So would Lin, but this way the demon is destroyed also and he will never return to blight us.  Man will survive and claw his way back, as he does after every new Age, but this time, once we recover from the ashes, we will be free forever more.’

‘I won’t allow it,’ Samuel declared, but Cang only scoffed.

‘You have no choice, boy.  Look up!  Starfall is here.  Not even I could prevent it now.  This mountain of rock will strike us with such tenacity that the sun will turn black for decades to come.  Lin’s fate is sealed.  We have won.’

‘But what about us?’ Eric asked, fearful.

‘That is where you come in, my dear boy.  Do you think we brought you here for your good looks?  Your role is to save us.  I am not so valiant as to be a martyr for the sake of a humanity I now no longer understand.  I had to remain here to oversee my plan, but now
,
all the pieces are in place, it is time for us to depart.’

‘My Journey spell,’ Eric whispered with sudden realisation.

‘Of course.  Again, opportunity and chance have blessed us with the knowledge of a spell lost for Ages.  Our only chance of surviving lies in you transporting us away from here.’

‘But I can’t.’

‘Of course you can!’

‘Not so many of us.  I can only take one or two with me at the most.’

‘We can take as many trips as you wish, boy.  Everything is ready, so we can now leave at your leisure.  The only trick will be focussing on our destination, as we will need to Journey somewhere far away, where you have never been.’

‘That’s not how it works.  The spell will only take me to places I am familiar with.  We could return to Cintar.  That would be simple.’

‘Cintar will be destroyed, dolt, or haven’t you been listening
?
  This valley will be struck directly and the eastern side of Amandia will be turned to molten rock and ashes.  The
W
est will be blasted with hellish winds and buried in poisonous soot for a thousand years.  Nothing will survive.  I will help you visualise where we need to go, far across the world.  I have constructed a chamber just like this, in the land of Euda.  I had it constructed for just this purpose.  There, protected, we will weather the storm and emerge to rebuild civilisation from scratch.  We will lay the foundations of a better society, free from the evils that haunt us now.’

‘Is that why you have done all this?’ Samuel asked.  ‘To make yourself a king?’

‘Of course not.  I have no need for power or riches.  I barely understand what such things are about any more.  This wretched quest of mine has consumed my very being and all I seek is an end to it all.  Then, I shall pass the responsibilities of overseeing mankind to any who are suitable to take them.’

Eric nodded dumbly, as if accepting their fates.  ‘Very well.  If we have nothing else to do, let us go.  If time is as short as you say, we should be away from here while we can.’

‘But wait,’ Samuel said.  ‘My son is about to be born.  I will go
and
see how much longer it will take.’

‘I’m afraid that’s not possible, Samuel,’ Cang said.  ‘We are not taking your woman or the child in her belly.’

‘What is that?’ Samuel stated, in disbelief.  ‘I am not leaving them behind.’

‘Then feel free to stay, Samuel.  You have served us well, but we need you no more.  In fact, you ceased being useful some time ago and have only complicated matters by returning here.  By killing the Paatin Queen
,
you may have allowed her to escape her destruction, but it matters not.  We will find her in the end.  You have served your purpose and can come with us if you choose, but you must leave the woman and child behind.  That is the reward for your service,’ Cang said.

‘What manner of nonsense is this?’  Samuel said angrily.  ‘I will not leave them here to die.  They are coming with us.’

‘I’m afraid not,’ Balten said, stepping in.

There was an awful silence.

‘Why would you condemn them to die?’ Samuel asked, incredulous at their intention.  ‘Has everyone gone mad?’

‘It is not worth arguing over.  Time is of the essence,’ and Cang looked at Eric, for the first time showing some urgency on his face.  ‘Time is fleeting.  Make your spell, boy, or we are lost.’

‘How can I?’ Eric stammered, but Cang stepped over and guided him firmly into the middle of the stones.

‘All you need to do is focus on a room identical to this, but coloured blue as the desert sky.  Focus on that and your mind will find the place we seek.  The circle stones here and at our destination are cut from the same source.  Use that, too, to guide your spell.  In all the world there is only one such place unique as that.  It should only take you a moment.’

Cang then hurried out of the raised circle and Balten and Celios followed, leaving Samuel alone with his friend.

‘What should I do, Samuel?’ he asked.

‘Go,’ Samuel told him.  ‘I will follow.  Damn this lot and damn their plans.  We will make do.’  And he moved out from the circle of stones, beside the others.

‘I feel the
D
emon
King
approaching!’ Celios called out, looking around with alarm, as if the door to hell could open anywhere about him.

‘Very well,’ Eric said and closed his eyes.  He began knitting the spell, weaving a lattice of magic around himself.  The power that went into the thing was not enormous, for it was a masterpiece of efficiency, based on precision rather than brute force.  Samuel took careful note of all around him, and he noted Cang’s eyes darting about as Eric moulded his spell.

‘It’s done,’ Eric said, standing in the middle of the spell, as it slowly revolved around him.  ‘I can feel the destination.  I only hope everything is as you say, or this will be the last time you see me.’

‘I’m sure you’ve done well, young Master Pot,’ Cang said, circling the spell and ogling it with interest.  ‘I never would have guessed some of this.  It is intricate
,
as I expected, but some of the design seems confounding.  The concepts are beyond my understanding.  You are truly talented.’

‘I don’t know how it works,’ Eric said.  ‘It just does.  Let me test it.’

And with that his spell fell inwards and Eric disappeared.

‘Wait!’ Cang called after him but he was too late.  Eric had gone.

‘It’s coming!’ called a strained voice from the side chamber.  It was the Koian woman, calling out in pain.

Samuel ran to the room and went to her side.  The bed sheets were wet and the three Paatin women there were helping as best they could.  One was
waiting
beside the foot of the bed, where the sheets had been rolled up, with her hands
poised ready
as if to catch something.  Master Celios rushed in beside Samuel and began gawking at the labouring woman and Samuel had to push the man back towards the doorway.

‘It is coming!  Push now,’ one of the midwives said, gesturing to the Koian woman with her hands.  Taking her prompt
ing
, the Koian woman puffed and panted, then paused, before pushing again with all her might as the midwife instructed.

‘It is coming!  It is coming!’ Celios echoed with glee.

Samuel tried to quieten him, but he kept jumping and clapping like a senile fool
,
and so Samuel did his best to ignore the man as he danced and cavorted just outside the doorway.

The Koian woman continued puffing and shouting intermittently, crying out so as to fill Samuel with alarm.  She strained and sobbed until, unexpectedly, the chief midwife stood up and she h
eld
a newborn infant in her hands, wet with fluid and covered in streaks of blood.  She immediately set the child onto a towel beside the bed and began to gently clean it off.  The Koian woman took great breaths to recover her strength and closed her eyes with utter relief.

Samuel went beside the midwife to look at his child and he could see that it was a healthy boy.  There was no aura of life around it, just as with h
imself
and the mother, but he supposed it was natural that the child should also share their common traits.  Looking to the midwife, Samuel felt bewildered, for that woman
,
too
,
had no radiance of power about her and Samuel looked around to the others in the room, for he realised his magician’s
sight
had left him entirely.  Everything in the room suddenly seemed dull and grey and he could not see the natural energy in anything around him.