The Call (26 page)

Then she was startled by someone stepping in front of the little crack.

“Ah well,” said the man from Baldur's City. The one who had stabbed her. “I see you're still alive. I suppose I won't get to brag.”

She kicked the door again.

“Open up and let us try again!”

“I don't want to spoil the fun for you and Tovar,” the man said with a smile. “Give him my regards. Perhaps we will meet later.”

He moved out of sight. Katja kicked the door with all her might, with the same results as before, and then backed away from it. She didn't have time for this.

Left or right, left or right?!
she thought and tried to let the sensitivity guide her. She saw no light through either of the hallways available to her, both of them sloped up and she heard nothing but muffled sounds of battle from the large chamber.

Suddenly she sensed sorcery. Quick, sharp and threatening sorcery, and before she could react the flame in her lamp flared up into a small fire. She screamed and threw it away before it could burn her. The lamp broke apart on the rough floorboards and the fire kept on magnifying. In an instant it became almost as tall as Katja herself.

Katja realised she had just closed the way to the left for herself, a moment before she saw someone approaching from that direction.

“Burn, you red pest!” Tovar Savaren screamed as the fire headed towards her. The boards burned with unnatural speed and vigour and in two breaths a wall of flame was coming at her at a brisk walking pace.

She fled along the right-hand tunnel and the fire followed. She felt searing heat lick her from behind and the roar of the sparks echoed in the tight space.

I don't want to burn!

She glanced behind her. The heat forced her to look back almost immediately, but she still saw a human silhouette following her in the inferno. The flames seemed to swerve away to let him through. And it was catching up with her.

The light of the fire illuminated a narrow door on her left and she threw herself at it without hesitation. The door gave way and she stumbled into a darkened room. The flames filled the tunnel and then the doorway just behind her. They spread into the door as if it were doused in oil, and illuminated the opposite door.

Katja heard footsteps approach her and threw this door open as well and exited into another large space. It had a greater incline than the other one and she ran up, to the right, without thinking. The Call came from that direction she thought, and so this was hopefully the way to the peak and at the very least away from the flames.

She ran past support pillars and furniture she saw only vaguely and soon saw wide openings in the dirt walls. She heard flames spew out of the doorway behind her and ducked into hiding behind some sort of table.

The fire seized a pillar and illuminated the room. Katja peeked out beneath the table and saw Tovar Savaren stride into the room with a flaming torch in hand. He looked strained and screamed with rage while he looked about and tried to find her.

“You cost us Vendyha!” he shouted.

Katja crawled out of her cover and upward, and tried to prevent the scabbard from scraping on the floor.

“You killed the council and scattered us!”

Katja was almost to one of the openings when she felt,
felt
, that he'd spotted her. She looked back and saw him hold the torch in front as if meant to fence with it. The little flame on it expanded out into a rough ball shape while the man hissed incomprehensible words and raised the torch high in the air.

Katja stood up and ran. She looked back again and saw Savaren
throw
the gathered fire at her with a loud scream.

She dove to the right and a column of fire blew past her and along the tunnel she'd meant to enter with a loud hiss. Katja rolled like Serdra had taught her and used the momentum to rise. Her left sleeve had caught on fire and she tore it off with the strength of fear.

“You drove us to swamps and mountains and then chased us there too!” the Brotherhood leader screamed with unbridled vitriol.

“Keep it up!” Katja shouted back. “It's fun to hear this!”

She vanished into the opening and total darkness. A moment later she sensed an intersection and ran to the left and slowed down so her footsteps wouldn't be as audible. She heard faint echoes of Savaren's footsteps from every direction but nevertheless felt they weren't growing louder. She constantly peered over her shoulder as she felt her way upwards and then got an explanation when she saw a glow approaching.

A new light. Of course.

She smacked into a beam and fell. The impact and the groan she couldn't suppress echoed in the narrow tunnels, and she almost swore out loud.

Savaren's footsteps now got louder at a great pace.

Damn damn damn!

Katja stumbled about in a crouch and tried to grasp the dimensions of her environment. Should she run? Should she hide and let him run past? Should she wait in ambush?

The glow suddenly came her way and Savaren came panting out of a tunnel. He held a stick that was close to completely burning down. The man couldn't possibly see far with a light like that, but he might well see far
enough
if he chanced upon the right direction.

Katja crept along the wall and let her fingertips guide the way. She couldn't afford bumping into anything now, no more than she could afford to delay.

The man walked along the tunnel rather slowly and waved his makeshift torch right and left in his search for her.

If I just had a throwing weapon!

Her fingertips found a door frame and she entered the opening, which turned out to be deep and hid her well. Her back pressed against a sturdy and well-built door, much better than the ones she'd seen in this place till now. What might lie beyond it? She sensed something. Something unusual which made her hairs stand on end.

Is this the way up?

The light approached the doorway and Katja felt for the latch. She found it and risked turning it. It made neither a squeak nor a click and so Katja risked pushing the door itself. It swung in almost silently and Katja heard no reaction from Savaren.

She entered and eased the door closed. The light shone through the cracks and then began to dwindle away.

He's passed. Now I just need...

Something was watching her.

Katja turned on her heel and raised the sword, but of course saw nothing but darkness. The total, oppressive blackness of a grave. Katja felt it was squeezing in on her.

What is in here?

She took a few steps to the side and kept her back to the wall. There was something in the air here. In the floor and ceiling and walls and the darkness. She sensed no direction. Just something wrong.

What are you?!

The room smelled of wax and incense, and she got a feeling that it wasn't very big.

A little sentinel.

The words didn't travel through the air. They went straight into her mind. Katja slashed out in startled reflex.

A little human with a touch of eternity within her, stumbling about in the darkness.

The tone wasn't like any human voice, but still hinted at condescension.

It has been a long time.

“What are you? Katja whispered.

Can you not sense it?

“You are a demon.”

Katja felt bad. Something very wrong was going on here. This was different from everything demonic she'd encountered so far. This wasn't madness and freakishness. This was...

A true demon. Tovar Savaren established a place to speak through the divide. Here he comes to try to demand and bargain and beg and snatch more power and secrets. Tedious, but sometimes amusing as well.

Katja felt she could almost see something. As if it were too close to see properly. An incomprehensible, dark world with no dimensions, and two eyes watching her from it.

Now go and kill him. Or let him kill you. Either suits me. I will waste no more time on you.

The door swung open at the last word. Katja was just barely able to suppress a shriek, turned and ran out.

The light had disappeared and she heard only faint echoes of footsteps. She ran up. Time was running out, she felt as much clearly. Her homeland was about to fall to an evil she hadn't known about a few weeks ago.

She felt cool night air caress her face and heard voices in the distance. She sped up and soon saw a hint of light up ahead. Then she saw the steps and ascended them in leaps.

Finally she'd reached the peak. The few lights that burned in Baldur's City at night glimmered in the distance like stars fallen to earth. In front of her stood three men by a fire and chanted in unison. They looked completely normal and their clothes were unremarkable. Under other circumstances she would not have suspected them of anything. And somehow she hated them for it.

She ran to them with both hands on the sword and the closest one managed to look around just before she drove it into his head. He fell into the fire and the others had hardly reacted when she slashed the other one across the chest. The third one managed to run and Katja's swing missed. He retreated a few metres as he drew a long knife and then turned around.

He tried to thrust at her but the weapon was too short and he himself too unskilled. Katja slashed him in the arm with a scream, then the side and finally the head as he fell.

The one with the wound in his chest still showed signs of life, so she strode up to him and gave him the killing blow.

The Call fell silent.

The built-up sorcery faded from the air, like a smell blown away by the wind, and Katja watched the distant lights in a daze.

Wow
.

The world exploded. Everything screamed and howled and slashed at her senses. Katja screamed and arched backwards and clasped her head. The pain was blinding, but she still saw Tovar Savaren take weary steps in her direction.

“I will finish the spell myself!”

He had his sword in his right hand and held the other one out in a crooked position.

Mind attack
, Katja distantly heard herself think.

The strength seeped from her legs and she felt her knees beginning to wobble. Savaren took a stance a few metres away and kept up the assault. His face was strained and sweaty, but above the bags his eyes burned with determination.

I won't die on my knees! He won't kill me that way!

Katja fought. She fought to remember where and who she was and to maintain control of her body. She heard groans and gasps come from her as she tried to breathe. Savaren grimaced as if he were lifting a boulder.

Katja managed to straighten out a bit, stared him in the eyes and grimaced back. The pain was incredible, but she wanted to live. She wanted to live and kill this bastard!

“Damn child!” the man hissed out through his teeth.

Katja felt she saw fear in his face and it gave her strength. She gripped the sword tightly and stepped towards him.

“Red devil.”

Thinking through the blizzard was almost impossible, so she let instinct take over. All the training with Serdra did its work and she raised the sword for a blow.

Savaren groaned in anger and put his own sword up. Steel clashed with a loud clang and he lost his grip on the spell.

The effects did not vanish immediately, but she could deliver the next blow with more power and hit Savaren in the chest. The armour shielded him from a cut but the blow knocked him back. Katja followed, pushed his sword at him with her own sword and aimed a kick at his knee.

The kick missed and he ran into her shoulder first and pushed her back. Katja still hadn't recovered and stumbled a few steps backwards, past the fire. Savaren wasted no time in attacking with furious swings and seemed to intend to drive her into the slopes.

He is nothing compared to Serdra!
she told herself as she fended off attacks and tried to counter.

She managed to stop his charge and they pressed their swords together again, almost leaning up against one another.

Serdra
.

Her sword tip touched Savaren's cheek and drew a bit of blood. The man seemed to energize by it, and he pushed the swords into her and managed to cut her torso slightly. Katja headbutted him right in the nose and the pain was enough to make him lose his footing.

Katja leapt back to be able to make another attack, but the man then quickly stepped to the left and kicked the fire. Burning embers blew over her, burned her face and hair and blinded her for a moment. Then he made the final assault.

Katja closed her useless eyes and struck a certain pose with the sword in a certain position. She watched with her mind and felt how he would use her vulnerability to strike downwards at her head. Then she dodged it.

She heard and felt the sword whizz through the air, adjusted her own sword and slashed him right in the neck.

Katja felt the resistance of the flesh and heard the gurgling. A gush of blood hit her, and when her sight returned she saw Tovar Savaren fall to his knees with his hands on his throat in a hopeless attempt at stopping the blood flow.