The Crystal Sorcerers (10 page)

Her words were sharp and forceful. The demon lords could kill your body, of course--and death would be a blessing. But if their hatred for you was strong, they would work their incantations over you as you died, then capture your soul before it fled to the
Sea
of
Chaos
and hold you in their torment for eternity.

It was a power that even the gods of Haven had not mastered--nor desired to control.

"If all equipment is in place," Jen continued, "you should now don your cold weather gear."

Going over to a long rack of clothing, Ikawa pulled down the fur-lined parka, hood, boots, and leggings, all of which were camouflage white, that had been tailor-made for him only hours before. He found it unusual to be in heavy clothing again, for with his shield he could go out in any type of weather. Yet it might be necessary to hide from a sweep, and shielding could reveal their position.

Suited up, he went back to stand before his men and give them a final check-through. Then he turned about and came to attention, his men following suit, with Mark's contingent falling in alongside.

Jen made a final inspection, nodding her approval, and then, with a salute to Allic, Storm, and Leti, she stepped back to the corner of the room.

"We will depart as soon as Kochanski arrives with the God-chair. You've all been through a portal before, so you will remember the sensation."

Several of the men grimaced at the memory and Allic smiled.

"You'll get used to it. Remember,
we jump
through. I'll go first and Storm will bring up the rear. We will be landing at a hidden outpost on Uye, the only moon of the world under attack. The air there is breathable, but the temperature will be cold enough to freeze off certain of your appendages. Once we have secured the base, Kochanski and Leti will depart, via the Godchair for a reconnaisance of the battle zone. If the demons are gone, we'll jump down after them. If the demons are there, a full evacuation will be made. If they are detected, we either go in to get them out, or they fall back to Uye."

There was a stir at the far end of the room as Kochanski floated in, astride a magnificent throne that was carved in a stunning and intricate display of crystals and polished wood.

"We're ready to go. Let's move to the portal." Allic strode down the length of the armory, his sorcerers marching behind him in a double column, Americans and Japanese mingled together, with Kochanski bringing up the rear.

Ikawa felt a swelling of pride as he looked over his shoulder. The soldiers behind him, though nervous, were tough and proud, bonded together in a comradeship undreamed of only a year ago.

Following Allic's lead, the party passed through the armory and then into a vast colonnaded staircase that descended into the subterranean corridors of Jartan's command center. The area had been sealed off hours earlier as a security measure, and the once bustling section was cloaked in an eerie silence. Allic went up to what looked like an ornately paneled wall, which slid back at his approach.

In the center of the vast room there was a pulsing white glow, which immediately sent a prickly feeling down Ikawa's back. It had the exact same appearance as the portal opening in the Chinese temple, which they had fallen through what seemed like a lifetime ago.

Allic turned and looked back at the offworlders.

"Don't hesitate, just step briskly through. On the other side, quickly move out of the opening to make way for the next man."

It has been known for a person to materialize on the other side in the exact same space as another--with, I might add, unpleasant consequences for both.

"You all know the drill. There is a chance we might be jumping straight into a fight, so have your shields up, and deploy at once into a defensive perimeter."

"Now take a final minute to recheck your equipment,
then
let's move out."

Ikawa felt a certain reassurance in Allic's tone. There were times when the demigod could appear to be nothing more than a good drinking partner in a bar, but at moments like this he projected the command presence of a seasoned combat veteran.

Ikawa turned to Mark. "This time we go through the portal as comrades, a prospect that is a pleasant change," he said calmly. Ever since the incident in Sarnak's chamber, Ikawa had sensed the fear eating at his friend's soul. He had already resolved to stay close to Mark at all times. If Mark should break, no matter how understanding the men would be as to the cause, he would be finished as a combat commander.

It was a situation Ikawa knew would destroy his friend forever.

Mark smiled wanly and extended his hand, which Ikawa gripped firmly, focusing his thoughts as if to communicate inwardly that Mark could rely upon him no matter what happened.

"Ikawa."

Looking over his shoulder, he saw Leti and Storm standing behind them.

Without a word Leti reached into a pouch hanging on the outside of her parka and drew forth a black leather belt, in the center of which was the sparkling glory of the
Crystal of the Sun. She slid the belt around Ikawa's waist and cinched it tight.

Her eyes glowing with love, she kissed him on the cheek and drew back. "It will serve as a protector for you and your friends."

Storm stepped past the couple and reached into her tunic to produce another belt of leather, this of supple whiteness into the center of which was set a large crystal of lightning. With a light kiss she handed it to Mark.

"Just burn their damn hides off with it," she said with a smile.

"Well, as I always said," Goldberg interjected, breaking the
embarrassed
silence, "It's good to have friends in high places."

Smiling, Storm shot a gentle bolt at Goldberg, who staggered backward in a mock display of pain.

"It's time," Allic said quietly, nodding to the circle of sorcerers around the pentagram.

The men fell silent, except for the sing-song murmuring of the portal weavers.

The room started to pulse with light that shifted through a wild kaleidoscope of colors, twisting and turning upon each other. A shower of hot white sparks soared to the ceiling and hovered above the group, to be joined an instant later by tendrils of forest green, which changed in a moment to an icy polar white. The white held, absorbing, washing out the other colors, dropping downward, becoming a glaring intensity that seemed to hold before them as a solid wall.

One of the sorcerers around the pentagram looked over to Allic and nodded.

"Follow me," Allic shouted, and with a wild cry of delight he leaped into the pentagram and disappeared.

The head sorcerer pointed at the next man in line.

"Go!"

Kraut leaped into the void.

"Go!"

Saito followed.

"Go!"

"Banzai!" and Shigeru disappeared into the light.

"Go!"

"Oh shit!" and
Walker jumped through.

The line quickly moved forward, and soon Ikawa stepped up to the jumping-off point.

"Go!"

Taking a deep breath, Ikawa ran headlong into the light.

The world disappeared, and he felt a dropping away as if all gravity had been nullified. There was an eerie sensation of falling away into the heart of a sun, as if he was riding a comet that in an instant would traverse the entire galaxy.

Lights snapped past, like a shower of stars racing towards him, violet in color and soaring past to shift to the darkest red before disappearing. He felt godlike, soaring through the universe on wings of fire.

The cone of light bent and shifted, dropping away around him with yet more speed--a racing tremor of power pulsing into his very heart.
Not even a god,
he thought,
could know such power, such limitless joy as this.
A glowing barrier
appeared,
which stood like a cascading wall of fire. He snapped through it with a jolt, as if an invisible hand had stunned and slapped him.

Dimensional gate, he thought.

The falling away continued. He could now hear a distant shout ahead, like the delighted cries of a companion who in a boat farther ahead was already shooting the rapids.

More lights shot past the tunnel, twisting and turning, and then
a darkness
was before him. At first it was only a pinprick in his field of vision, racing up like the mouth of a tunnel.

He hit the ground hard, knocking the breath from him.

"Move out and away," a voice called.

Rolling over sharply, he tumbled out of the narrow confines of the portal onto a field of ice.

There was a thump behind him. Looking back he saw Mark standing in the narrow cone of light.

"Keep moving," Allic shouted.

Jumping high in the moon's low gravity, Mark landed beside Ikawa.

"Better than the Cyclone at
Coney Island," Mark said, forcing a grin.

"That ride made me sick," Ikawa replied, remembering his student days in
America. "This one was far better,"

Together they raced out for several dozen yards, their shields snapped to highest intensity, and crouching defensively they concentrated on farsearching, scanning the snow fields for the slightest sign of movement.

There was nothing but the icy darkness.

More and more came through the portal, until nearly a score of warriors stood in a circle facing outward.

"Respond if you sense anything," Allic called.

The group was silent.

"Maintain position once the
portal's
closed, and dampen your shields to avoid detection."

Ikawa spared a quick look over his shoulder.

Suddenly the Godchair appeared with Kochanski and Leti aboard, and under his skillful guidance it gently came to a stop an inch above the ground, then sharply veered off to one side. Behind them, Storm came through. Without hesitation she rose into the air and soared into the darkness, disappearing from view.

Allic extended his hands and then brought them together. The portal flashed down, lingered for a second,
then
disappeared.

Darkness returned to the frozen steppes of Uye. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Ikawa looked around.

He could barely see the skillfully camouflaged buildings set into the side of a frozen glacier.

"It was open for less than two minutes," Allic said, coming over to the chair and looking at Leti.

"You shielded it as soon as you got through?" she asked quietly.

"Yes, but they might have detected it when the portal first snapped open. We didn't have anyone on this side to shield it before I arrived."

"We knew the chances of that," she said evenly.

Allic looked around once more, as if to reassure himself.

"At least we timed it right. The planet is just rising." He pointed to the far horizon.

Far faster than any sun or moonrise on Earth, the vast green planet rolled above the horizon, a massive crescent. Its forested surface reflected the red light of the system's star with a ruby glow.

The sight was awe-inspiring, and for the moment the group's anxiety was washed away in silent admiration.

"If we survive this, I want to come back here," Saito whispered, coming to Ikawa's side.

"Worthy of a hundred Hykos," Ikawa replied.

"Hell, I'd pay fifty bucks for another ticket on the ride we just had,"
Walker said, approaching Mark.

The planet continued to rise before them, the group whispering to each other in awed tones, even as they tried to concentrate on scanning the ground and sky for danger. The glare from the planet now lit the snow field and cast shadows of lavender darkness.

Suddenly, at a ninety degree angle from where the planet was rising, a red shimmer filled the sky. For a moment it appeared as if a storm of fire was rolling across the horizon, and Ikawa prepared to leap into the freezing air, to gain altitude for a strike.

A long red band of light shimmered in the morning air, and, with dull flaming glow, a red, giant star broke the horizon.

"Look over there," Kochanski called, pointing to the planet.
"On the darkside, near the equator and ten degrees in from the terminator line."

Straining his eyes, Ikawa scanned the planet's surface--and then he saw it.

A glow of fire pulsed and wavered.

"The last base is under attack," Allic said quietly. He looked at Kochanski and Leti in the Godchair. "You know what to do. Get ready."

He turned back to the rest of his command.

"The last fortress is already under siege, and shielded by an enemy field. Getting in and out without detection will be almost impossible. I want the defensive perimeter of this base manned and ready; we can expect company before this day is out."

Pina glanced again at the report, before continuing to interrogate Imada.

"The medical diagnosis shows you've been through a lot, young man. You were given up for dead months ago."

"I never would have made it without Vena here," replied Imada, gesturing to the girl beside him.

"Yes, so you've told us," responded Pina dryly. "You seem to have had a very harrowing time of it."

His glance fell on Vena, who stood a little behind Imada, her head slightly lowered, obviously unused to being in a palace and addressing such high ranking sorcerers. Even as he watched, Imada reached out to grasp her hand in a gesture of reassurance.

Pina carefully kept his face blank, but inside he smiled. How long had it been since his first case of puppy love?

Still, the story was almost too pat, and he was responsible for the realm during Allic's absence. Making a decision, he turned his glance to
Valdez, who was standing over to the side. "I'd like you to escort these two young lovers back to the healers for a more complete check."

Valdez
nodded approvingly.

Imada started to look a little flustered, as if unsure what to say, so
Valdez said diplomatically, "There is no way you can join your friends at present. They are on a mission for Jartan. So, we have the time to make sure you are totally fit before we restore you to duty." He motioned for them to follow him and walked out of Pina's office.

"My daughter is about your age and has heard of your arrival and adventures. She pointed out that with all the outlanders gone, you two wouldn't really know anyone here, and has asked if you would care to join us for dinner."

Imada hesitated, but Vena said smoothly, "Thank you. It would be nice to have another girl to talk to right now. I'd never dreamed that I would ever be in a palace, and even with Imada's support I feel almost lost."
Valdez nodded absently, letting her prattle on.

"You're doing fine, Kochanski, just fine," Leti said.

He smiled and gave her what he hoped was a confident wink.

At least this approach was much easier. Before, he had traveled to places he could not see, guided by symbolic logic, or wherever his imagination might take him. Now Kochanski could clearly see where he was going. The forest world seemed to fill the entire sky; and since there was no sensation of movement, the vast planet appeared to be racing up to smash them.

It was strange, he thought. He knew space was a vacuum. Yet there was no sensation of the absolute cold. He still found himself breathing and even hearing Leti as she spoke softly, giving him directions.

Of course, only their spirits were riding the Godchair toward the planet. When they had departed, he had even looked back to his "real" self, who sat as if lost in a deep slumber, with Saito and Shigeru standing to either side of the chair as guards. He knew that if any harm came to his body, or to the actual physical presence of the chair still resting on Uye, then he would be forever doomed to be a wandering spirit. There was also the risk that his spirit could be injured by forces unseen. At that moment his real body would simply cease to breathe.

"
The battle's
reached its climax," Leti whispered.

Directly below, Kochanski could see what appeared to be a wall of fire encasing an inner shield which was glowing white hot.

"Let's speed this up a bit," Leti suggested.

Nodding, Kochanski let the directions pass through his mind. Their speed instantly doubled. The world
came
racing up, the lit crescent marking the approaching dawn shifting to the edge of the globe and disappearing over the horizon.

The vast red orb of the star shifted over the horizon as well, passing in an instant through a spectacular sunset that sparkled through the upper bands of the planet's atmosphere.

The pair dropped through the upper atmosphere, Kochanski slowing the chair as they swept in toward the planet's surface.

"Shift us over behind the mountain range north of the base," Leti said, pointing to the high peaks about ten miles away from the battle.

Kochanski spared a quick look down at the fighting, a hundred miles below. Bright flashes illuminated the dark sky, the shield snapping white hot with each impact, so that it seemed like brittle glass about to burst under the strain. There was a blinding flash. For a brief moment the shield went dark,
then
came back up, smaller than before, and obviously weaker.

Kochanski knew there were people dying down there, sorcerers of Jartan's that he had most likely never met, but comrades all the same. His fear was gone, burned away by the grim determination to finish the recon as quickly as possible so that a relief force could be dropped in before all was lost.

Turning his thoughts from the battle, Kochanski guided the chair toward the towering mountains silhouetted with the lavender glow of the approaching dawn.

"Between those two peaks, a bit off to our right," Leti whispered. Kochanski propelled the chair forward--but felt the slightest of tremors, a vague uneasiness as if someone were standing behind him and looking.

"You felt it?" Leti murmured.

Kochanski nodded.

"Get us behind those peaks." Her voice held a controlled urgency.

The mountains now filled their view: Peaks sheathed with mantles of ice, carved by the ceaseless winds into a wild cathedral of fluted columns, soaring arches, and high vaulted caverns illuminated by the crystalline red of dawn.

Kochanski focused on a narrow cavern near the summit of the mountain, and soon the icy walls embraced them into their protective folds. With a sigh of relief, Kochanski brought the chair to a halt and settled it down on the cavern floor.

"Did they see us?" he finally asked.

"Something out there swept us," Leti said, and Kochanski realized that even this demigoddess had known a moment of fear. "It didn't lock onto us, though, so I think we got through without any problem."

The two smiled at each other with relief. Then Leti said, "Let's take another look," and Kochanski slid the chair forward to the edge of the cavern.

Far below, in the distant valley, the battle continued to rage. From a hundred different points, sheets of fire and energy bolts slammed into the shimmering defensive shielding.

"Can they hold out?" Kochanski asked.

Even as he spoke, a blinding hot flash snapped across the field.

Leti was silent, grim-faced.

"Over there," she whispered finally, and Kochanski looked to where she was pointing. A thin point of white light, tinged in red, was pulsing and glowing inside the fold of a crevice that flanked the main battlefield.

"Their portal jump point?" Kochanski asked.

"I want to get a closer look at it," Leti replied. "Bring us in underneath it,
then
rise slowly. We'll break the surface for a quick look and pull back down if threatened."

"That's right on top of them," Kochanski replied, trying hard to sound matter-of-fact, but knowing that his fear was evident.

"They'll be sweeping a lot farther out, expecting an approach to come in from a distance. If we're in almost on top of them, we'll have the element of surprise. Besides, this chair and its abilities are a well-kept secret, so they won't expect it, or be looking for it."

"All right, then," Kochanski replied, swallowing hard. Focusing his attention, he gazed at the jump point, calculating distances, and in his mind drew an imaginary line which terminated farther up the crevice.

A shudder passed through the Godchair, and the ground rose to swallow them. Kochanski guided them through the darkness by probing forward with his mind through a shadow realm of projected image and phantomlike echoes of energy.

"Can you sense where we are?" Leti asked cautiously.

A bit shocked, Kochanski realized that what he had already come to take as second nature was a complete mystery to the demigod by his side. The realization gave him a sense of satisfaction with his ability, but it was slightly unnerving to think that a being of such power was now totally dependent on his ability for guidance, and for survival.

A ripple of energy swept past him.

"There is something powerful, malevolent out there," she said nervously.

In the blackness he could see, as if with other eyes, the goal looming closer, the pulsing energy of the portal, surrounded now by other forms, radiating power. They were unlike anything he had encountered in his practice sessions back on Haven, or even in his encounter with Sarnak. These forms emanated
a darkness
deeper than the blackness of the rock through which his spirit form drifted. Occasionally the darkness would swirl outward, probing, and for a moment he would feel cornered, his heart freezing; then the probe would sweep on. As he drew closer, though, he could feel his confidence growing. They were constantly sweeping the area, but had not detected him.

The energy glow of the portal now filled the world before him. Shifting to the left, and judging that the place he had selected was directly overhead, Kochanski cautiously guided the chair upward. In an instant the blackness gave way to a blue, opaque light. He felt a momentary thrill over the precision of his approach. Exactly as planned he had emerged inside a ridge overlooking the portal.

Leti gave him a nod of approval.

Carefully, Kochanski edged the chair forward to breach the edge of the hill, projecting outward just far enough to see the world before them.

Not a hundred yards below, the portal stood revealed, surrounded by a hundred or more demons, while a larger circle of demons faced outward, watching intently.

Kochanski tried to suppress a ripple of fear by forcefully reminding himself that he was only here in spirit, and thus invisible to normal eyes, and that Leti was bending all of her tremendous power to blocking out unseen eyes as well.

"Why such concentration around the portal?"
Leti whispered through the mind link.

Kochanski could not answer, and after a moment of watching he lifted his gaze to the battle raging not a mile away. The glow of the shielding was up again to white hot intensity, and there was another explosive snap as the shield overloaded. Wild howls of delight burst from the demon host as it winged over the besieged outpost. The demons were unlike any he had ever seen before--bigger, darker, and all of them frighteningly capable of wielding the Essence for the casting of bolts in battle. The demons he had first met and feared on Haven were mere children to the power he now saw.

The defensive shielding of the outpost came up again, this time as a small cone of light not a hundred yards across. The outer buildings of the fortress city were now beyond protection.

"Inner defense line," Leti said grimly. "They're down to the end."

White-clad figures emerged from the unprotected buildings. Several lifted into the air. But a rain of fire arced down and in from every side. The white forms crumpled, fell, those in the air flashing into incandescent brilliance before tumbling away, trailing fire and smoke.

"For Christ's sake, can't we help them?"

"No."

Kochanski's sense of fairness rebelled, although he knew the correctness of what she was saying. Gathering intelligence
had
to come first; then it would be up to Allic to evaluate and consider the possibility of a sortie to take the pressure off. But the screams could still be heard, and the lurid light of the flaming city cast an ugly glow across the morning sky.

"I estimate over seven hundred of Gorgon's demons here." Leti's voice was cold, and her tone snapped Kochanski back to the harsh reality of what had to be done.

Tearing his gaze away from the destruction, he looked over at the ghostly image of his companion and saw that though her voice might seem detached, her face was contorted with pain and rage.

"Don't look at me," she said softly. "Keep watching the portal for anything that comes through. I've got to determine who is leading this assault."

Kochanski followed her orders, but there was nothing to report. The portal was still surrounded by the demon host, yet nothing was coming in or out. Long minutes passed, and then ever so slowly the portal started to pulse with a deeper intensity. The inner circle of demons began to nod excitedly, their guttural growls echoing up the narrow valley, momentarily blocking out the roar of battle.

"Something's up," Kochanski whispered.

The light of the portal shifted suddenly to the deepest of reds, and doubled in size so that the host had to step back or be pulled in.

"What in the name of the gods?" Leti whispered.

An expectant hush came over the assembly below them. As one, the demons went to their knees, taloned and winged arms stretched forward, fanged heads lowered.

The portal snapped and flared again with a blinding intensity, turning into a pillar of flame half a hundred yards across. The battle beyond came to a stop, and Kochanski spared a quick glance up to see that the enemy host had broken off its assault and was pulling back toward the portal. Feeble shouts echoed on the wind, the defenders crying out in triumph at the apparent retreat.