The Tessellation Saga. Book Two. 'The One' (48 page)

Gideon heard
the voice in his head call him; he knew the owner of the voice was
close and Rhoàld believed he could feel Bastian, as he hovered in
the ether waiting for release. Lemba too felt the fear once more as
she thought of Gath, then her hair began to curl, twisting and
turning about her head and she paled. She knew what it meant, it
meant Toby was near but her thoughts of Gath, and what he was
capable of turned her heart to ice, even Jed squeezing her hand
could not warm her the way it usually did. Each of the travellers
moved slowly, each filled with their own thoughts.

Varan alone
felt a strange release, he had carried the warning, Thaddrick’s
spell, built into the wall so long ago, the warning of the child
with the dead eyes,
it could not happen, not now we have come
this far. It would not happen, not now
, he thought as they
rounded the last corner and advanced into the room where his back
had been so painfully tattooed and past the column where he had
slit his grandfather’s throat along with many others before him. He
had brought the one here, to this place to begin the healing, life
would return to the earth just as soon as Gath was dead and the
gateway to the void closed.
Easier said than done,
he
mused.

Oily yellow
candles burnt around the room giving off a yellow light making the
room dark and smelly. The chamber was exactly as he remembered it,
rock hewn pillars surrounded the outer walls, now though; he knew
they were built originally to represent justice
. A reminder of
the chamber of justice in some castle or other in Boetesh I think
Thaddrick said, anyway it was on Arotia,
Varan’s thoughts
waffled on in confusion, trying not to listen to the voice
insidiously creeping inside his skull, his fear making him dizzy
and sick.

High on the
altar stone lay Mayan, stiff and cold. In his muddled state Varan
heard Gideon sob. Behind them opposite the altar stone, the purple
and black crystal sat nestled atop its plinth.
It really doesn’t
look too safe,
Varan thought as Thaddrick followed him into the
room.

‘Aahh,
Thaddrick, well met.’ Gath said as he entered the room from a side
corridor behind the altar, a soldier, dressed in a dirty red and
green uniform with a scantily clad boy in a white and gold toga
followed him. Darnel’s eyes flew open as Lemba recognised him, her
eyes full of pity, her fingers clutched Jed’s arm tightly.
Thaddrick stared at the altar stone that had once held Dèvin’s
body, now it held Mayan. The stone if possible, looked more
intimidating now than it ever had, then, it had not stained black
with the blood of innocents as they gave their lives, hoping in
vain to save their families. Thaddrick looked at the channels cut
into the rock taking the blood away from the altar; they ran across
the floor to the back of the plinth behind him, where he recalled
Varan saying the crystal cooled in the blood before a servant
carried it to the site of the old gateway.

Gideon’s father
bringing up the rear with Jonus in his arms stopped just outside of
the stone chamber. Rhoàld in front of him stopped too, fear
paralysing his legs, a large wooden door stood between them and the
open chamber. Still in Jed’s arms, Jonus wriggled against Jed’s
hold so Jed put him on his feet.

‘Close the
door,’ whispered Jed, ‘close it now, coz iffen those little men
awaken we’ll ‘ave a fight on our ‘ands,’ he said and as Rhoàld
pulled the door closed, Jonus joined him.

‘You should be
dead.’ Thaddrick said calmly, looking at his family’s one time
nemesis. ‘You have wasted how many lifetimes attempting to get
home? You will never reach Arotia, Gatherer.’ Thaddrick smiled,
‘you may kill us all but you will never get home,’ he smiled again
as Gath’s demeanour grew ugly, his face purple with anger.

‘You will be
the first to die Thaddrick,’ he spat as he threw a killing spell
toward the old man. The spell missed Thaddrick as the silver grey
wolf twisted out of the way just in time. The spell crashed into
the rock plinth holding the purple crystal making it wobble
precariously, the spell entered the rock column between the minute
natural holes and fissures and slowly it began to crumble the
plinth from the inside out.

The explosion
forced the sleeping servants awake and they charged the corridor
only to find the door closed and barred.

‘You have my
woman Brewster,’ began Toby, his silver necklace of hair curling in
time and rhythm with Lemba’s, he walked toward young Jed, a long
savage looking sword in his hand.

‘Never scum,
not whilst there is life in me body,’ Jed spat back, pulling Lemba
behind him.

‘Such a pretty
bird, will she be as good as Mayan d’yer think?’ Toby asked as he
advanced toward them slowly, ‘Mayan fought ser very ‘ard as I took
‘er, an’ she never told yer...’ he said, taunting the unharmed man
in front of him. ‘Ahh, well, this un’ll be more compliant, that I
do know. Eh Lemba, we’ll make a few bruises together won’t we
love,’ he said as he lunged at the pair. Jed pushed the small girl
further behind him as he rushed for Toby, pushing Darnel out of
harm’s way and ducking behind the stone plinth, there he slipped on
some sticky substance on the floor and went down wedging himself
between the column and the wall. Sparks flew off the stone when
Toby’s sword broke in two as it smashed into the base of the
crystal’s stone column inches away from Jed’s head and further
damaging the failing pillar. Jed called to Gideon to get out of the
way fearing the heavy stone would fall on top of him, Gideon stood
still, rigid even, almost dazed with his eyes fixed on the blue and
purple crystal as it spun precariously and slowly atop its plinth.
Each movement at the unstable column’s base making the crystal spin
more as the column moved, Varan rushed to aid the strangely
stricken Gideon who stood compliant, listening to the voice inside
his head. Jonas, also seeing Gideon’s plight raced from the
relative protection of the corridor to aid Gideon as Gideon’s
father and Rhoàld fought the strange but strong men, some, still
half asleep as they threw themselves at the door with axes and rock
hammers.

‘The door won’t
be ‘oldin’ fer ever,’ shouted Gideon’s father as he turned to see
Toby Hollins baring down on a fallen Jed, at once his knife flew
from his fingers, straight and true, landing solidly in Toby’s arm.
Blood flowed from the wound as Toby tore the knife free and
advanced once more now trailing fresh blood as he moved, his
injured arm hanging uselessly.

Darnel standing
hopelessly vulnerable and hidden behind the stone plinth saw Toby,
the bloody knife still in his hand as he advanced toward the
stricken Jed and himself. Without a second thought, he reached into
his toga for his only possession, the box that contained his dried
up tongue; he flung it as hard as he could. The box hit Toby
squarely on the brow and he fell to the floor unconscious, landing
heavily on top of Jed. Wedged as he was between the plinth and the
wall, Jed struggled to get out from under the now bigger and more
solid man.

‘Don’t remember
yer bein’ so big, you oaf,’ Jed cussed as Darnel moved silently to
help him.

Rhoàld once
more managed to push the door to the corridor shut finding an inner
strength he knew was Bastian and together with Gideon’s father,
they kept the wiry misshapen men behind it for a time. They were as
exhausted as the others still fighting for their lives in the stone
room were and the lack of clean clear air made every movement a
labour. Lemba and Sonal dashed to where Mayan was still comatose on
the altar stone as Varan and Jonus attempted to pull Gideon away
from the line of increasing spell fire. One moment Thaddrick was a
man shooting a spell of protection and warding toward the other
members of the group and the next a wolf, dodging the return
spells. Sonal grabbed at the unconscious Mayan and pulled her from
the table her arm hit the floor hard and her wrist snapped badly,
as the pain from her broken wrist lifted the sleep spell, her cry,
also woke Gideon from his trance.

The crystal
atop the plinth moved as the plinth itself shuddered, Toby’s blood
was seeping along the grooves cut into the rock and running behind
the plinth. Varan watched in horror, as he knew the crystal itself
would react to the fresh living blood, it began to change colour as
it sensed the blood and Varan, realising the danger attempted to
open himself up to the stone as he had for years as the stones
highest servant. If I could occupy the stones consciousness for
just a moment it may give the others time to fight back, he
reasoned.

Sonal, deep in
the magic as he attempted to heal Mayan’s wrist, felt the change in
his twin, he sat still and quiet listening for his brother’s mind,
waiting for the chance to aid the brother he had let down so badly
so long ago.

Gath stood over
the old mage, victory in his stance, stronger than he had ever
been.

‘You will make
me the gateway home old man and you
will
feel the wrath of
your conqueror.’ He said, spittle gathering at the corners of his
mouth. ‘I shall have your blood; you will feed me Thaddrick as your
family have done for many, many generations. When I return to
Arotia, which I will and in the body of a young God, the body of my
son, have no doubt I will kill all of your blood line,’ he said, as
Thaddrick, looking completely exhausted threw one last spell at
him. The spell, easily knocked aside by Gath flew across the stone
chamber hitting the wall solidly, it left a small line fixed almost
invisibly to the back of Gath’s hand, the spell grew and spread as
it fed off Gath. The rock beneath the spell changed and became
oily, tiny pinpricks of light appeared. Gath laughed as the spell
left his hand not noticing the small line still attached.

‘Is that all
you have?’ He laughed again, as he flung another death spell toward
the stricken vulnerable mage. Gideon felt the vibrations in the
ether as Thaddrick appeared to weaken.

‘No,
Thaddrick,’ he called and as he pushed his strength into that of
his friend, he opened his mind wide offering all that he was to the
frail old man. Immediately Gideon felt the voice enter his head
once more, calling to him, asking for release from torment,
pleading. In his state of heightened perception, he located the
voice in the crystal above his head and he reached out to the
crystal, curiosity filling him, unknowingly depriving Thaddrick of
his last hope. At once Varan appeared in the ether before him.

‘
No
Gideon,’
he pleaded.
‘The crystal is evil and it will kill
us all, it is a creature of the void.’
Gideon’s mind was
suddenly full of pictures of Varan as a high priest of the crystal,
drinking blood and slitting the throats of men, women and children.
Gideon, horrified at the frightening imagery, pulled away in horror
from the man he knew, drifting nearer to the voice in the crystal.
Lemba, still sitting beneath the stone altar with Mayan nursing her
half healed arm and Sonal offering what comfort he could, kept
listening to his brother’s mind and felt the horror of the things
he had done and his shame of it all. He felt Varan’s grief as he
spoke the last words to his grandfather and heard again the command
his grandfather had given him.

‘
I love you
boy, always have, now then, slice deep so I die quick.’
He
heard his grandfather say and then watched as Varan with tears in
his eyes resolutely slit the old man’s throat. With his heart heavy
and his own eyes watering, he joined with his brother in pleading
with Gideon to stay away from the evil within the crystal.

Gideon felt the
pull to enter and join with the power, to become one with it, the
desire increased as he drew nearer, he could see such power, power,
as he had never seen before. Unexpectedly before him in the ether,
swam the lady, pain filling her face.

‘
Gideon my
son,’
she said,
‘look, Thaddrick has need of you.’
Gideon turned to his mother and saw Thaddrick as he struggled with
death, instantly Gideon fell from the ether and as the lady
vanished, he knew Thaddrick was dying; he threw himself bodily
against the king. Unused to being the victim of physical violence
Gath stumbled and fell in turn, knocking against the unsteady stone
plinth once more. As he fell, he hit his head, temporarily knocking
himself out; the crystal atop the plinth slipped from its already
unsteady perch and now balanced precariously at its edge.

The death spell
Gath had sent into Thaddrick died with Gath’s consciousness, just
as the gateway Thaddrick had attempted to create continued to draw
on Gath’s comatose form. There was not much time, Thaddrick gasped
as colour returned to his skin and breath, scant as it was to his
stricken lungs.

‘Do
not
go near that gateway,’ he said breathlessly.

Rhoàld and Jed
struggled to hold the door closed the steady boom, boom, boom, of
the axes and rock hammers sounding like drumbeats as the noise
echoed around the room.

‘The door is
about to collapse,’ Rhoàld called as Thaddrick faced a second wall
and began to sing. The words were unfamiliar to all who were
conscious enough to hear but their blood began to rejoice as they
realised the unfamiliar words spoke of home. As Thaddrick sang, the
plinth finally gave out and as if in slow motion the crystal along
with the stones began to fall, down it went, falling even as
Thaddrick sang. Gideon had that same feeling of foreboding that had
plagued him for weeks, something irked him, causing him to reach
for his candle and light the flame. He balanced the flame carefully
and reached out for the crystal within the ether, not trusting
himself to touch the once beautiful but dark stone; he held it
steady with his mind as Thaddrick sang. Finally, a second gateway
opened, tessellating just as the door to the room began to collapse
under the strain of the hammers and axes.