The Vitalis Chronicles: Steps of Krakador (21 page)

It was the words Hevetican used to describe him that unsettled Ardin the most. Nearly every conversation wound back around to the concept of godhood, and how Ardin was on the verge of attaining it himself.

“
You are powerful,” Hevetican would say. “Where you are beginning to see the parts of us that are worn thin, we see a great solidity in you. We are translucent in our state of deterioration; you radiate light. You have already passed your test.” Hevetican would point to Ardin's shoulder. “The scar you carry is a display of the evil that was in you leaving its mark as it departed. I can see it even in your armor: it is a badge of honor and a visible sign to your enemies of incorruptibility. You have overcome great powers to claim your place. You are free. In time you will be given your opportunity to become a Swift god.”

“
I can't become a god!” Ardin wasn't sure if he should laugh or rage. “I'm hardly even a man!”

“
You needn't waste your time on manhood, little one. It is the realm of the gods where you belong. We can only pray that your transition happens in time to sway the balance from the darkness. Your fabric is threatening to unravel with the introduction of the Shade. You must tighten the threads, unify yourself into one magnificent creature.”

Ardin would have avoided the old man to give himself space to think, but the need to do so was removed as Hevetican found use for himself in other parts of the wandering mass. Ardin needed to contact Alisia, however that worked, but he wanted answers to some questions before he brought his burdens to her. For once he wanted to make sense of things on his own.

He spent the time patrolling the surrounding area with his mind, occupying himself with exploration to give his subconscious room to process. He found it easier and easier to maintain his own pace walking while traveling farther out in his mind to ensure that no one was nearby. The sensory experience became less and less vague and soon had solidified to the level that he felt he was truly present elsewhere, along the hills or among the trees. Occasionally he had tripped and fallen while doing this, and he had to learn how to split his mind enough at least to guide his own steps, but it was rapidly becoming easier.

Perhaps I can become a god...
The thought came unbidden, but it had been planted firmly there by Hevetican's convictions.
I'm almost as powerful as Tristram.

Searching the surrounding area was better than dwelling on the past, let alone confronting the coming future. Behind him lay the ghosts of everyone he had ever loved; before him lay the end of the rest of humanity. The here and now, for the first time in what felt like his entire life, was the only place he wanted to be.

In the end, no matter where his mind might wander, his thoughts couldn't help but settle on Alisia. She had been so real, so close to him on the Magaic plane, and now he wasn't certain how to call her back. He hadn't even returned to the floating fortress he had begun to build since he had traveled with Tristram. Since Cid had died.

The threat of losing that connection to her forever only put more anxiety in his heart. He was no longer worried about dying, he no longer feared pain, but the thought of being separated from Alisia forever still bit at him like cold steel. It planted a dark fear in him that he might already be losing her. It was irrational, he knew, but somehow the thought was slowly forming into a certainty. He had to figure out how to call her back to him; he needed to know he still could. But he needed privacy, and that was difficult to come by among the masses.

They camped that night on a high hill a few miles from the ocean shore. Ardin hoped that Tristram had been correct and that ships were coming. There was little to forage for here, and though the Truans seemed capable of living off of the soil itself, there was even less of that among the pebbles and sand that comprised the topography. What almost looked like mountains to Ardin stood high and faint in the distant north, blurred by the haze until they loomed like dark specters on the horizon. The hills they had traveled through days before appeared to make something mighty of themselves as they approached the coastline.

He walked a ways off from the group until he found a large rock that stood facing the ocean. From here he could just make out a small patch of water on the horizon as the sun cast long shadows before him. It would be dark soon.

Ardin sat on the rock, fanning his cape out behind him so as to keep from sitting on it. A few minutes on the rough surface of the stone made him rethink his priorities momentarily, but he ignored the discomfort. He closed his eyes and drew his consciousness into the plain. The space was more familiar to him now. The foundations and framework of his unfinished castle still floated in space, rotating slowly in the broad emptiness of the sphere.

His consciousness became a solidified body, and he alighted at the center of the massive structure. The desire to finish what he had started building came upon him with a sudden force. The satisfaction of creation tugged on him like a long-neglected friend, but he had to find Alisia.

“
Alisia?” He said softly as he looked around the carved stone. “Alisia?”

There was no reply. He supposed that whatever happened in here couldn't be heard from without.
That makes sense,
he realized.
What good is building a fortress for your mind if anyone can see through it?

He turned to his imagination, willing his call out through the exit in the walls and along the path to the outside. He focused on her face, calling to her with his thoughts. The idea of seeing her again caused his heart to beat a little faster. A smile slowly grew on his face until he grinned like an idiot.

Alisia!
He knew she could hear him somehow.
I'm waiting!

“
You'll be waiting a long time, then, I'm afraid,”
came a voice unbidden, deep and dark and laced with malice. “
Though I'm glad to find you've left yourself a way out. That means you've left me a way in...”

Ardin took a step back, dropping his hands as his mouth went dry.
Relequim...

“
The same.”

What was he doing here?

“
I will find a way in, Ardin. There is no easier way to defeat a Mage than to circumvent his defenses from afar and destroy him from within.”

You'll have more on your hands than you can handle if you get in here.
The retort sounded weak even to Ardin.

“
I'm not concerned about you, Ardin. Nor your friends the Brethren.”
The laugh that followed was spontaneous, and it made Ardin's chest constrict to hear.
“
I know how to defeat those bird-men. I've already removed their crutch; the Magi stood no chance against their own pupils in humanity. The capacity of man for selfless good is only matched by their selfish ambition. It merely took the suggestion that the aid of the Magi was truly a yoke, and their foolish hearts took care of the rest.”

You were entombed.
Ardin's desire to flee was only mitigated by the unique opportunity to know his enemy better.
You couldn't have undone the Magi.

“
You saw the effectiveness of their tomb for yourself. As for what I can and cannot do, I wouldn't so hastily erect limits if I were you.”

The sphere around Ardin shook as if in response.

“
I think I've found the way through these mountains you've made.”

Ardin's gut dropped to hear the words.

“
And I can always break through if I must. It's not only the Magi who knew how to work on this plain.”

Ardin threw up his hands, finding the gate in his sphere to seal it off.

“
I can also sense where you are now...”
The stone couldn't fall into place fast enough for Ardin.
“
I'm sure we'll speak again soon.”

Ardin withdrew the extension of his thoughts from beyond his sphere, closing off the rest of the gate as soon as he had. He took that time to add another layer to the sphere within itself, leaving space between the two and building a new maze of walls between them. His heart raced. He had never been so scared in his life.

He built and re-built the maze until it was so confusing that even he could just barely find his way back. Once his thoughts were inside the inner sphere again, he sealed the gate to look like just another dead end.
I can't use the plain again...
he realized as he stood in the center of his mind.
I can't go beyond this place until the Demon is dead. I can't... I can't see Alisia.

“
Ardin!”
The sound of Hevetican's voice echoed through the sphere.
“
Ardin! Wake up!”

Ardin opened his eyes to find the world painted in the brilliant sunset hues of the fading evening.

“
Ardin, what have you done?!”

“
Nothing,” Ardin unfolded his legs and slid off the rock next to Hevetican. “What's wrong?”

“
Don't tell me you did nothing, you young fool!” The old man's leathered face was taut in anger. “You were communing with the enemy! I could sense it from the camp!”

“
I wasn't communing,” Ardin's voice rose in response to the accusation. “I was on the plain, building my defenses.”

“
But you called out to him! You must have, or he wouldn't have made the connection.”

“
I didn't call for him,” Ardin said, his heart still pumping from the exchange. “I called for my... friend.”

“
By now he must be trying to break into your mind.” Hevetican grabbed the edges of Ardin's white chestpiece and pulled him closer. “He has found you now, and he will not leave you until he has finished you.”

“
He can't get in.” Ardin wasn't so sure as he sounded. “Not yet.”

“
I'm not concerned about him breaking into your mind!” Hevetican whipped around, as if searching for the now-departed sun on the horizon.

“
What are you talking about?”

“
THAT
!” The old man pointed back the way they had come, and Ardin's gut dropped another notch.

In the distant light of the setting sun, he could see the dark, winged forms of two inbound monsters. He focused on them, drawing on the warmth to see farther than otherwise possible, but the light behind them made it impossible to see for sure. And then the realization of what they were hit as Hevetican shouted.

“
Dragons!”

It didn't take long for the refugees to get back on their feet as the cry went out. Dragons hadn't been seen by these people since the fall of the great city Trua, but the distance in time made the memories of such monsters no less potent.

“
He must have sent them to look for us when his Granhal never returned.” Hevetican ushered a group of children and their caretakers down the hill and towards the coast. “Now he knows where you are.”

“
He can find me any time?”

“
No,” Hevetican said to Ardin's relief. “But if you try to call out from the plain again, I fear he will have no trouble doing so.”

They didn't have much time before the dragons would be upon them, and they had nowhere to flee. They were too far from the hills to seek shelter there, and Ardin feared that they would provide no safety in any case. Unless he could fend them off, the refugees were finished.

Ardin waited as Hevetican led from the rear, encouraging the people to run for the coast. They had miles to go, and once there, they would be trapped. Their only hope lay in the sea. If Cid's friend Donovan showed up, they had to be as close to the shore as possible.

“
What kind are they?” Ardin said as he watched the specks on the horizon grow.

“
What?” Hevetican was ordering the last of his young men off towards the front to lead the way.

“
The dragons.”

Hevetican turned to look as well, squinting against the sharp beams of the dying sunlight. “Onyx dragons... the purple fire.”

“
Cid told me about them.” Ardin swallowed against the story that the name conjured up. Cid had watched dragons just like these destroy hundreds of men in minutes. He had said the Magi had barely been able to kill them at first, resorting to running them off instead.

“
You'll need to use your magic to stop them, Ardin.”

Ardin turned to find Hevetican staring at him implacably, his dark eyes still in their unblinking stare. “I can't... I can't kill them.”

“
You don't have a choice. You could keep them at bay as long as possible, but to what end? I certainly cannot kill them. You brought them upon us, so now you must stand to protect us.” With nothing else to be said, Hevetican turned and ran after his people.

Ardin turned again to face the west. His heart rate began to pick up as the light of the sky began to dim. The sun was no longer in sight, but dusk would last a while yet. The only question in Ardin's mind was if he would live as long. The wind picked up around him slightly, gusting from the sea at his back and calming his nerves. He put out his hands to feel the breeze run through his fingers.
I can do this... I have no other choice.