The Compass Key (Book 5) (37 page)

The Sword Dragon roars and
destroys the nearby buildings. The air fills with dust and debris, which is spread into the sky by the beating of the dragon’s wings. It slows down its destruction as it looks around, oil dripping from its mouth in anticipation. A small disturbance in the debris cloud catches its eye and it rears on its back legs, snapping its jaws shut on the small form. The Sword Dragon shakes its head to rattle Fizzle around, feeling some pain as the drite bites and claws into its soft tongue. Throwing back its head, the large beast swallows the drite whole and burps a plume of fire.

“Fizzle taste good?” asks a small voice from the ground. Fizzle waves to the Sword Dragon from
his perch on a crumbling archway. “Ground cloud help Fizzle hide. False dragon not smart. How Dawn Fang taste?”

“You tricky, conniving little caster,”
Nyder growls while the dragon hacks up the gooey remains of a vampire.

Fizzle rockets off the archway and blasts the Sword Dragon in the face with a burst of rainbow mist. The
creature blows the mist away before taking to the air and chasing the drite around the island. Flaming orbs of metal rain down on the city, powdering buildings and ripping ogres apart. A quick turn by Fizzle causes the Sword Dragon to crash through a second crystal spire, another bolt of lightning firing off the beast’s tail. The drite flies straight into the sky to get a better look at the island while the screaming of the larger beast follows him.

Both creatures stop and hover when an ear-shattering shriek cuts through the air.
The remaining crystal spires pulse and glow, their light cycling through the colors of the rainbow. At the end of each spire appears a crackling ball of magic that causes the beams to twist into a wobbling spiral. With a final shriek, the aura beams sputter and die as the mountain turns a sickly blue. The silence is filled with tension as every living thing on the island senses that the worst has yet to come.

The maels
trom starts with a large spark from one the spires. Soon another spire unleashes a torrent of hissing beams that rip through the ground. Several buildings are thrown across the island, rolling and bouncing until they crumble. The other spires crackle to life, emitting their own beams to raze the island. With the sound of tinkling glass, the destroyed crystal spires regrow and join in the destruction. The remaining ogres roar as they are obliterated by the devastating attacks. Using their unearthly speed to dodge the blasts, the vampires rush toward the entrance to the mountain.

“Fizzle and false dragon make oops,” the drite says w
hile he watches the chaos below them. “Sari be mad. Temple need fix.”

The Sword Dragon lunges at
him, but Fizzle darts out of reach. Muttering in Draconic, the tiny dragon flips in the air and sends a whirling hoop of aura at his enemy. The spell tears through one of the beast’s golden wings and explodes against the whipping tail. Dropping to the ground, the Sword Dragon screeches in rage and Nyder curses in gnomish. The giant beast repeatedly spits flaming orbs at Fizzle until nothing more than sparks and pebbles sputter out of its mouth.

Fizzle disappears in the swarm of orbs, blending into the sky instead of turning invisible like before. He hovers above the Sword Dragon and whispers a spell
while stretching his tail out as far as it can go. A soft aura coils around his body and locks his tail in place. Aiming at the ruby in the Sword Dragon’s forehead, Fizzle spins and dives at the beast. His piercing tail cracks the ruby in half and the large monster freezes in mid-roar. The enormous body quivers as Nyder’s cracking voice tries to speak through the broken gem. With a series of wet snaps, the Sword Dragon falls about at the joints.

“Fizzle magic strong,” the drite declares
as he lands on a rooftop.

“
I wonder how strong,” Stephen whispers as he approaches. He half-heartedly tries to grab the small dragon, who zips into the air. “You are fast and cunning. I wonder if you will pose a threat to me.”

“Fizzle no like you
. You hurt friends. You big evil.”

“Big evil?
I like the sound of that. Make this interesting, drite.”

Stephen yawns when Fizzle breaks into a dive, the simple attack making him feel like the tiny creature is not being serious. A twinkle ripples through Stephen’s eyes, but his cocky grin fades when he notices Fizzle is still moving. He tries to freeze the drite or pause time to get out of the way, only to find that nothing works.
The black-haired man only has enough time to draw his black sword and deflect his enemy with the hilt.

“You’re immune to my time magic,” Stephen growls, tossing the blade from one hand to another. “Gabriel made another champion. That cheating bastard found a way to change the prophecy. Wait until my father hears about this. I’m sure he will be able to use this blatant abuse of power to his advantage. Prophecies cannot be changed after the fact, Gabriel! Not even by you, old friend!”

“You are correct, old friend,” Gabriel’s voice whispers on a sudden breeze. The wind whips around Stephen, gently slapping him across the face. “I cannot add chosen or change the full prophecy. Yet, there is no rule that prevents me from creating destinies to run alongside the champions. Let me introduce you to the one destined to protect the champions from the Baron’s minions. Enjoy and good luck.”

Stephen glares at Fizzle, who is defiantly staring down at the warrior. “Well played, you bastard. Very well played.”

*****

The mountain shakes and the
silver chandeliers swing above the adventurers. They glance around the circular throne room as a salty breeze comes through the windows. Frost-covered banners wave in the breeze, slapping against the wall with a dull echo. Set near an enormous bay window is a long table and chairs made of pure white ice. A collection of kneeling pillows sits before the blue marble dais. At the top of the dais is an elegant throne made of flowing water, which never drips or sloshes.

“The
barriers are down,” Risar calmly says, touching the nearest wall of the throne room and listening to the mountain. “There is a battle outside. You must act quickly to activate the temple and free your friend. She is the only one with the power to expel your enemies from the island.”

“Our friends must be in trouble,” Luke says as he races to the windows. He looks out to see the crystal spires destroying the building
s, bodies of ogres being sent flying. “It’s chaos out there and I see dead ogres all over the place. I think I see the parts of a Sword Dragon too. I don’t see any sign of our friends, so I hope they’re still on the Matriarch. We need to get Sari and help them.”

“Then, why are we here?” Nyx impatiently asks. She examines the
throne by putting her hand into it and pulling it out, her sleeve arm and sleeve dry. “This is a nice room, Risar, but we should be going after the bile serpent. It sounds like it’s in one of the lower levels, so we should get going.”

The ice giant reaches up to stop a chandelier from swinging as the mountain shakes again.
“The path is blocked. You need to energize the temple to unlock the path. It is a defense system to prevent our enemies from easily moving around the temple. Once you unlock the path, the traps will be activated, but the doors will be open.”

“Do we have
to fear the traps?” Delvin asks. Standing by the open door, his hand is on his longsword and his shield is ready for enemies. “What about monsters?”

“Many of the monsters have been killed by those that worship the bile serpent. They were either enemies or chosen as sacrifices
. The traps were designed to test the champions and they have been made more dangerous by the corruption. The original purpose of this place was to test the worthiness of the associated champion. Now the temples are a place to test teamwork because part of them belongs to the enemy. I will guide you as far as the library where you can research the bile serpent.”

“It is good that you kept a record on this creature,” Timoran states, slapping
the ice giant on the leg. He pulls his hand away immediately before the cold burns his skin.

“It was not me that created the record,” Risar admits, his attention focused on a smooth patch on the icy ceiling. He reaches up to touch the
spot and scowls. “The followers of the bile serpent created the tome and put it in the library. I do not know where the tome is, but I do know that it speaks about the bile serpent. The key to your victory might be in that tome, so we must hurry and energize the temple.”

The mountain shakes and a chorus of howls erupt from the walls. Cracks appear around the room, spewing bubbles that cover the ceiling. Gradually, the howls turn into crying moans and the bubbles coalesce into watery forms. These featureless creatures stand on the chandeliers, watching the champions with eyes of foam. They drip onto the floor, creating puddles that eventually crawl to the wall and climb back to the ceiling.
They gurgle threateningly until Risar claps his hands over his head.

“These are the
other champions,” the ice giant says to the creatures. He claps again when they hiss like the spray of a waterfall. “They are here to cleanse the temple and avenge you. Please contain your rage, brothers and sisters.”

“I don’t like the look of them,” Nyx whispers, creating a fireball in her palm. The creatures turn toward her and
bare jagged shark teeth at her. “I really don’t like the look of them.”

“Put that away,” Delvin says as he pokes
the caster in the shoulder. He smiles when she drops the fireball near his foot. “He called them brothers and sisters. I’m guessing these are some of the surviving monsters, who are still loyal to us. They might not have the intelligence to recognize us as champions.”

“They’re smart,” Luke interrupts, his eyes never leaving the
phantoms. He can feel the hair of his arms stand up and rubs the pommels of his sabers. “You can tell because of how they’re watching us, but not attacking right away. Risar is keeping them at bay since he isn’t trying to kill us. I don’t know how long that is going to last. I can taste that they’re getting agitated.”

A creature hisses and drops to the ground where it turns into a puddle. It reforms and approaches Luke, putting its face a few inches from his. It
reveals rows of pointy teeth, which Luke calmly stares at until it pulls back. Satisfied with its performance, the creature extends its body into a long line of water and pulls itself back to the chandelier.

“They are the
Lost Ones, the spirits of my friends and family who died protecting this temple,” Risar says as tears rolls down his cheeks to create icicles on his chin. “They are the ones who sacrificed their lives to seal the bile serpent in the lowest level. I’m afraid they see you as a threat, but they are being held back by the thoughts of your friend. Although, they seem curious about the male half-elf.”

“I was kind of dead once,” Luke
says, grinning at the stunned look on Delvin’s face. “Maybe they sense that and it will keep them at bay if Sari loses control. All of this must be torture for her.”

“
The mistress is sleeping soundly in the crystal peak. Now, we must activate the temple. Who has the Compass Key?”

Nyx silently pulls the
Compass Key out from under her shirt and offers it to the ice giant. He steps away and holds up his hands to avoid touching the relic. The gems are spinning in their setting while the central pearl emits the soothing sounds of the ocean. Holding the artifact in her palm, Nyx nervously raises it above her head. She drops her hand to watch the Compass Key hover and rotate in the air.

The sound of hundreds of doors opening echoes throughout the hallways as light pours out of the
relic’s central pearl. The creatures on the chandeliers begin to sing like whales while the light passes through the walls. With a crackle of energy, the Compass Key disappears and reappears on the top of the watery throne. A crest of water rises from the throne to absorb the artifact, turning the water from blue to a glistening green. Pulses of magic burst out of the throne’s legs and into the floor, each one causing a distant roar from the bile serpent.

“I guess the temple is open,” Luke states, not knowing what else to say. “I hope we can find our way around.”

“Your friend will guide you if you listen,” Risar says as he gently touches the wall and listens. He smiles at the warm feeling he gets from Sari’s mind. “She is still sleeping, but part of her knows you are here. She is searching the temple to help guide you after I take you to the library.”

“
Then we must not make her wait,” Timoran declares. He starts to draw his great axe when the creatures screech and howl, forcing him to put it back. “Your brothers and sisters are going to pose a problem. I would hate to fight ones that are important to you, Risar. Will you be able to put them to rest?”

“It is beyond my power, but I hold onto hope that all of you will find a way to put them to rest. If you must fight them to end their suffering then that is how it must be
. When you are done in the library, I will come here to await your return. I can open a lift that will take you to the crystal peak. I refuse to activate it now in case intruders are in the temple. Your friend is defenseless up there, so we must keep her locked away until the last moment.”