The Mage's Limits: Mages of Martir Book #2 (11 page)

“Exactly,” said the Ghostly God. “Now, I do believe it is time for you to go. Once there, you will know what to do.”

The Ghostly God waved at Darek before Darek even realized what was happening. In a minute, the Ghostly God's room completely vanished, replaced by a rocky, bleak-looking beach underneath the morning sun.

Yet Darek was alone for maybe all of five seconds before a dozen of the nastiest, meanest-looking mages Darek had ever seen in his life surrounded him on all sides. They pointed their wands directly at him, like a couple of hunters aiming guns at a deer. Based on their shabby prison clothes and dirty hair, Darek guessed that these were some of the Rock Isle prisoners.

Of course the Ghostly God would toss me right into the middle of a dozen killers who probably serve an even crazier killer,
Darek thought, trying not to panic in the face of so many obviously violent criminals.
Can't waste any time finding Jakuuth, now can we?

Unfortunately, Darek did not see Jakuuth among these prisoners, which meant that, unless Darek thought fast, this situation would only end badly for him.

Chapter Seven

D
urima had only ever seen the Void from a distance. From World's End, the Void resembled a huge black wall. The blue sky above ended where it met the Void, though it was a ragged end, like the Void was literally eating the sky piece by piece. The sea, however, seemed to go inside the Void, though to where, she did not know. There was no light or stars from within. The Void was black during the day and black during the night. No matter what time of year it was, no matter if it was summer or winter, spring or fall, the Void remained the same.

No one knew what lay beyond the Void, but if the legends were true, there were monsters in there unlike anything that dwelt in Martir, monsters so strong that even the gods dared not cross their paths. Some legends even stated that the Void itself was a god, a fallen god who had been transformed into black nothingness by the Powers at the beginning of creation for a crime he committed.

Whatever the Void's origin or true nature, Durima felt drained just staring at it. She and Gujak stood on the deck of one of the large battleships she had seen earlier, their arms and legs tied together with metal chains to prevent them from escaping. The ship, called the
Divine Arrow
, was steadily sailing toward the Void. Around them, katabans sailors worked to adjust the sails, swab the poop, and do other chores necessary to keep a ship in shape. None of them stopped to stare at the incoming Void, although Durima suspected that was because they were too afraid to do so.

The only person on the ship who wasn't working was Commander Erich, who held the ends of their chains. He stood next to them, a triumphant smirk on his face, although unless Durima's eyes were deceiving her, his smirk wasn't quite as big as it had been earlier. Most likely his fear of the Void—a fear all katabans shared—was beginning to affect him, although if it was, he would never admit to it.

“You two should write back to me once you go past the Void,” said Erich, glancing at them briefly before returning his attention to the Void. “Tell me about all of the interesting things you saw there. The Void has always captured my curiosity in a morbid way, so I am curious to see if any of the stories about it are true.”

Durima leaned toward him and bared her teeth. “Better yet, why don't you come with us and find out for yourself?”

Erich yanked on Durima's chain, causing her to choke as he said, “Shut up. Or would you rather I send you beyond the Void with two broken legs? I'm sure it won't make a difference. The Void will obliterate you two no matter how good or bad your health is.”

Hacking, her throat still hurting from Erich's yank of her collar, Durima spat on the deck of the ship. “Keep saying that, Erich, and maybe someday all your wildest dreams will come true.”

Erich said nothing to that. He just kept staring at the Void, though whether it was out of horror or curiosity, Durima couldn't tell.

She heard a sniffle beside her and looked to her right. Gujak, as usual, appeared to be on the verge of tears. That was impressive, considering he had cried all the way from the Hall of Judgment to the docks where the battleships were ported. He had only stopped crying when they got onto the ship, probably because he now knew that there was no hope for them.

For once, Durima felt sorry for Gujak. She hated seeing youth become so distraught. Gujak may have been an idiot, but he was her only real friend. She had worked alongside him for many years, and now she was going to die with him. Part of her wanted to pat Gujak on the shoulder and tell him it was going to be okay, but she knew that was a lie. Besides, she was never the kind of katabans to be encouraging in bleak circumstances anyway. That just wasn't her style.

Half an hour later, the captain of the ship ordered the
Divine Arrow
to weigh anchor. By now, they were close enough to the Void that it was almost all Durima could see whenever she looked directly at it, but not close enough that the ship was in danger of being sucked into it somehow. The tension and fear among the ship's crew was palpable and thick, like red pudding, which didn't help Durima's nerves.

Erich walked Durima and Gujak to the ship's port. On the davit hung a simple wooden boat with a power motor. It was probably meant to be an emergency boat in the event that the ship sank, but in this case, it was going to be her and Gujak's ride to death.

“Get in,” said Erich, pointing at the boat. “It will take you straight into the Void. A waste of a perfectly good boat, but I guess we sometimes have to make sacrifices for the greater good, don't we?”

Durima didn't respond to that. She just climbed into the boat and sat down on the floor. Gujak followed a second later and soon both were sitting with their backs to each other in the tiny boat. There was barely any room to stretch her arms or legs, although being short, it wasn't that big of a deal to her.

“There,” said Erich as he tossed the end of their chains into the boat with them. “This will probably be the last time we see each other. Do either of you have any last words to share with me? Perhaps a message you'd like me to deliver to an old friend you haven't talked to in a while?”

Durima leaned toward Erich and locked eyes with him. “Yes. Tell the Council that I think they're a bunch of—”

She was cut off when the boat abruptly fell. Gujak let out a shriek of terror, only to be cut off when they landed in the sea, splashing water into the air and onto Durima's fur. She shivered when she felt the ice-cold water on her fur, but had no time to dry off, as the boat's engine immediately started and began taking them directly to the Void.

Durima looked back over her shoulder at the
Divine Arrow
. Almost all of its crew was now assembled on the port, watching as Durima and Gujak's tiny boat motored on toward the Void. Erich stood in the middle of the watching crowd, a smug expression on his face evident even from a distance.

There's no going back now,
Durima thought as she turned back to face the Void.
I wonder what dying in the Void will feel like. Will our spirits also be destroyed or will they return to Martir?

The little boat's engine suddenly picked up speed. As they drew closer to the Void, fear rose in Durima's stomach. Her breathing became harder and she found it difficult to think straight. Her body was trying to panic, even throw her overboard, but she kept it firmly under control. Throwing herself into the sea would not be a good escape plan at this point, seeing as Durima was still bound with heavy metal chains that would simply cause her to sink to the bottom of the ocean and drown.

Gujak was shaking behind her, shaking and sobbing. She felt his back heaving against her back. It almost pained her to feel his sadness, but there was nothing she could do or say to reassure him that everything was going to be all right. She wanted to cry herself, personally, but she never cried about anything, so she didn't.

The Void was now all Durima could see. She couldn't even see the water upon which their little bow motored across. As a matter of fact, the boat seemed to be going faster and faster, as if it was being pulled in by the Void. She could feel the Void's sucking force, so powerful that she doubted she could have resisted it even if she hadn't been tied down on a small boat on the edge of the world.

As the darkness of the Void consumed them, Durima kept her eyes wide open. Maybe she and Gujak were going to die, but if so, she was going to die with her eyes open. She would not die like a coward too afraid to face her fate.

-

Durima had expected them to fall through the Void. It was, after all, set on the edge of the known world. She had thought that as soon as they passed through it, they would fall and fall forever, or maybe fall into the grasp of some terrible creature that lay awaiting anyone who dared cross from Martir into the Void.

But much to her surprise, they did not fall anywhere. The boat's motor continued to push the boat through the water. Durima could not see anything at all, not even her toes, and when she looked over her shoulder, she didn't see Martir or the
Divine Arrow
or anything else. Even Gujak was invisible in the blackness of the Void, though she could feel his wooden body against hers.

She turned back to face wherever they were going. She strained to listen for anything in the darkness, but the only sound she heard was the running motor of their boat, as well as the water parting before it. Aside from that, the Void was as silent as death.

Are we still alive?
Durima thought.
Or did we die instantly and it just
feels
like we're alive?

She decided that they were still alive. After all, they were clearly still in their boat, and boats, to her knowledge, did not go to the afterlife with their owners. Still, that didn't mean she and Gujak were going to be safe forever. Any minute now, she was convinced that some type of terrible beast would leap from the shadows and kill them in one blow.

No such monster appeared, however, and it seemed increasingly unlikely that any would. The air in the Void was hard to breathe, making her feel like she was holding her head underwater. She also had the distinct feeling that they were being watched, but it was too dark for her to see if there was indeed anyone lurking in the shadows stalking them.

Minutes passed as the boat's motor rumbled. Durima kept her ears open, even though it was probably not any use. After all, if there was something hiding in the shadows, it would be able to kill them easily. She and Gujak were still bound by their thick, heavy chains. They were easy pickings for any monster that might want to eat them.

Yet no matter how long they sat there in silence, nothing appeared or showed itself. This disturbed Durima more than anything. She had always believed the stories about the Void and the creatures that were said to dwell within it, but she was now starting to believe that all of those stories were false.

What's scary about the Void is not what's inside it,
Durima thought.
What's really scary is what
isn't
inside. There's no life here at all. Only endless nothingness for as far as the eye can see.

“Durima?”

Durima almost jumped straight out of the boat when she heard Gujak say her name. But she righted herself quickly before the boat could tip over and spill them both into the water below. “What?”

“Do you think we'll see the Powers here?” Gujak asked. His voice was quieter than usual, probably because he had been crying so much. Even so, in the silent Void, it was like he was shouting in her ear. “You remember how they came from the Void when they wanted to destroy Martir all those years ago?”

Durima nodded. She hadn't actually been on World's End when that happened—like most katabans at the time, she had been running away—but she had heard the rumors from the others and knew about it. “I don't know, Gujak. The Powers may not be here anymore. They're probably far, far away, building whatever their next world is.”

“Do you think we'll keep floating until we find it?” Gujak said. “That would be amazing, wouldn't it?”

“I suppose so,” said Durima. “Unless the inhabitants of that world want us dead, that is.”

“But if we told them we are creations of the Powers like them, they'll have to accept us,” said Gujak. “I mean, why wouldn't they? Maybe they could even help us return to Martir.”

“You want to go back to the place where everyone hates us?” said Durima. “There's nothing back in Martir waiting for us, Gujak. You know that.”

“Nothing for you, maybe,” said Gujak. “But I guess I didn't tell you about this female I like, did I?”

Durima would have looked at Gujak in disbelief, but the Void made it impossible to see him, so she didn't. “Since when did you have a crush? You've never mentioned her to me. We've worked together for how long now, two decades?”

“Because we aren't together, that's why,” said Gujak. “Besides, you never struck me as being interested in my personal life anyway, so why would I ever tell you about her?”

“Good point,” said Durima. “How long have you known her?”

“Since I came into being a little over a century ago,” said Gujak with a sigh. “We're close in age. She lives on World's End. She works for a salvaging company there. We're friends.”

“Friends, huh?” said Durima. “Tell me, where was this 'friend' of yours when the Soldiers of the Gods dragged us before the Council? I didn't see her anywhere then.”

“I don't know where she was,” said Gujak in an offended voice. “Maybe she was working. Maybe she didn't even know our trial was today. She could be pretty forgetful sometimes.”

“Or maybe she just didn't want anyone to associate her with a god-killer,” said Durima. “No surprise there. I bet every single katabans in Martir hates our guts.”

“I guess it doesn't matter,” said Gujak with a sniffle. “We're never going back to Martir anyway, no matter what happens to us here. I wish I could have at least said good bye to her before we left.”

“'No closure for the wicked,'” said Durima. “That's a quote from Grinf, I think. Someone I once knew said that to me long ago, during the War.”