CHAPTER SEVEN
Henry looked up at the ruined temple. He would have doubted if he was in the right place but the device the professor had put together had worked surprisingly well. It had led him straight to the Ergun Mountain. They had tested it thoroughly before crossing over but who knew what crossing over would have done to it. He turned the device on and it gave the precise beep that told him he was close enough to the stone. It could not tell exactly where it was as there were no satellites in this world. So being close was good enough for him.
He came down from the horse and went to tie it in a nearby broken pillar. He took his bag from it and started to walk to the inner temple. He could feel the underlying spells protecting the temple from evil in general. What he was interested in was the spell protecting the inner sanctum. He was prepared for it. The spells had been placed there a long time ago and such spells would have loop-holes. What was clever in those times was child’s play at this age and time. He could cast better protective shields himself and yet he wasn’t an avid user of witchcraft.
He walked through the destroyed temple wondering what or who the people would have been worshipping at the time. Religions changed others evolved. What was considered sacred then was not now and other things simply remained the same. The temple had been sacked over time and it was stripped clean of any art or statue that may have decorated the place. He followed his instincts which were leading him through a corridor that slopped down. It went on and on and at some point, he stopped and looked around. He was in the same place he had been for quite a while.
“Clever,” he muttered to himself. At this point others would have been too creped out to continue. He had a choice, to continue as he had been until the spell termed the payment for passage paid or simply force his way through. He opted to force himself through. Who knew how long he would have had to appease the spell. He closed his eyes and murmured a counter spell. When he opened his eyes, he was in a different corridor. It was less ruined in this part. The statues were still there, most of the walls were still erect but as everything else in the temple, it was all covered in dust.
He went where he was drawn to and the stronger the pull got the more dangerous the booby traps became. He questioned why he was so intent on retrieving the stone. As far as he knew, the renegade wizards only had one. If they were fighting fairly that would be enough for them to win but he didn’t think the Astrakhans would follow the rules of engagement.
He got to a round room with no other doors or even windows. The only opening was on the ceiling. To get to it, he could either use the air around him to lift him up or use the earth to lift him. He looked at the ground and saw the ancient symbols curved out on the floor. They were instruction on how to get up. To distort a portion of the floor that isn’t meant to be moved would lead the floor to collapse in what he suspected was an endless abyss. He moved. One step, two, lift, jump, lift and so forth.
He pulled himself through the opening just as the lifted ground was restored back to the ground. He was halfway through when he fell through to the ground as if gravity had been reversed. A sharp pain short through his body. He had cracked a rib. He kept still for a moment as he evaluated how bad the damage was. He could still breathe so it didn’t pierce his lungs. He sat up slowly. He looked around. He was literally sitting on what was the roof before. He turned his body to support himself up and that was when he was electrocuted. The pain was so intense that the moment it stopped, he passed out.
He dreamt.
A female voice was speaking to him. He could not make out the words at first then they cleared out. “This is not your place. That which you seek should not be let out into the world.”
“What is it that you think I seek?”
“You seek a lot of things.” The voice changed to be male. “Immortality being the first but here you seek the Mantegna stone. The stones brought death and misery to many. To be released would mean such pain.”
“Two of the stones are already out in the world. If I don’t get this one then there will not be an end to the pain you speak about.”
“It would not help you even if you acquired it. The other stones are useless in the world. It does not mean we are ready to allow them to wonder the world.”
“This power was meant to be in the world, not hidden in some cave.” “Untrue.”
Henry waited for something else to be said but it started from the beginning stating that this was not his place. He interrupted, “The elementals are back.”
“Untrue.”
“My daughter is an elemental.” “Untrue.”
“She is. There are three elementals in the world.”
“No, there are no elementals in this world. They were all killed.” “Wendy is an elemental. She can activate the stones.”
“There are no elementals in the world,” the voice insisted. It changed into a child’s voice. “They all died. The ones you did not kill died because of the isolation. Elementals could not survive isolation. They needed their own around them. They needed to interact with others like them. They all died.”
“Then why can she activate the stones?”
“Whatever she is, she is not an elemental. She is neither wizard nor Izanami. She is neither normal nor abnormal. She is neither light nor darkness. She is neither human nor inhuman. She is neither mortal nor immortal. She is neither life nor death.”
“Then what is she? She has the powers of an elemental. She cannot perform magic…”
“Are you sure she cannot perform magic or is that what you told her? Has she ever tried?”
“No,” he paused as he tried to locate the origin of the voice. “You know what she is. Tell me.”
“She is your daughter and you want to steal my stone to give it to her. The stones are not meant to be in this world. All elementals are dead and so this world has lost its right to be in possession of the Mantegna stones. Leave now.”
“I cannot. I need the stone.”
“To take the stone would be to take the curse meant as a final failsafe.” “What is that?”
“Your first born will always seek a way to kill you until he succeeds.” “I already know how I will die and it is not because of Wendy.”
“You think you know your future because you once saw glimpses of it but the future changes especially with a curse. Heed my words. Leave now and escape the curse. Leave the stone to be in our safekeeping. Save yourself. You can win the war without the stones.”
Henry concentrated on finding the stone but it was all around him. He opened his eyes and looked around but the stone was nowhere in sight. He closed his eyes again and focused. He had the same sensation he had before. It was all around him. He focused on the tiny sensations and pulled them to him. He held out his hand as the dust particles settle on his hand. It was a tedious process but he went on without stopping. As the dust settled on his hand it drew energy from him as it coalesced into a single solid. By the time it was done, he was wet with sweat. The stone gave out a single pulse and the ground started shaking.
He realized with a certainty that the stone was of Earth and he realized that whatever the stone had done, had led to the fault lines beneath the temple to cause an earthquake. There was one more failsafe that Henry wasn’t prepared for. The designers had known that when the stone was reassembled, it would release a pulse which would lead to several cataclysmic reactions leading to an earthquake which would at the very least prevent the stone from reaching the outside world.
He had to make his way out before the whole temple collapsed on itself. He had to find another way out and fast. His energy had been sapped with the stone. Whatever power he could use was not one which he could use to force his way through. Fortunately the stones had existed at a time where darkness and light had not been considered elements and as it were, they were still benign in most people. In his case, not so much. He was of Darkness. He released his power and the darkness sought out the shortest way out of the deathtrap he had found himself in.
He ran blindly following his instincts as he jumped over broken pillars and broken floor. He found himself running straight into a bright light. He was going too fast to stop and analyze whatever it was. He slowed slightly but still shot through the light. He found himself tumbling on grass on the outside. The fall had the cracked rib break fully and dig deeper and pierce his lung. His last thought before he passed out was that he was far away enough that he had escaped the earthquake.
*
Henry’s awareness was the first to return as he got out of the temporary death trance he had put himself in. There were wizards around him, not his own. They were arguing about what to do with his body now that they had the stone. He knew he couldn’t stay there for so long. Eventually they would be able to tell he was alive. He couldn’t also go back to the trance as he would lose all awareness and who knows if they would realized that to ensure that he was dead they would need to chop off his head. He had to get up and escape.
He opened his eyes and in an instance he evaluated his surroundings. He tried to access his powers but the other four were still down. He rolled away just as a knife was thrown at him. He jumped up punching the nearest man as his other hand unsheathed his sword. He turned around just in time to see the fire directed at him. He sidestepped it to block a sword attack on his right. He knew he couldn’t defeat them all without his other powers. Eventually the other wizards within the encampment would hear the commotion and come running.
He accessed the darkness within and released it the second time that day. It was more than what he had used the last two decades. It came easier than before. The darkness swirled out of him in a tangible mass and blasted away from him. The wizards in the tent all went down. He went and retrieved the Mantegna from one of the fallen ones and stumbled out.
He stopped in shock just outside the tent. His brother was waiting for him. “It was too good to hope that you were actually dead.”
“What are you doing here?” Henry asked straightening up to hide the fatigue.
“I got word that they had found Henry’s dead body. I guess they were wrong.” He studied his brother and smile. “You are weak.”
“Not as weak as you think.”
“Indeed,” he said as he looked at the collapsed bodies. “But just enough that I can take you.”
“You don’t want to kill me. You want me to surfer before you do so.” “That doesn’t mean I won’t take this opportunity and put you down.” “You can’t. You’re not strong enough to do it by yourself.”
The other considered this for a moment. “You don’t seem surprised to see me here. Shocked that I’m the only one standing, yes but not surprised that I’m here.”
“No, I’m not,” he sheathed his sword. And started to walk towards a horse.
“Why not just kill me now? Why let any of us live when we are just going to continue with the war?”
“You know why.” “No, I don’t.”
Henry took the nearest horse and straddled it. He looked down at his wayward brother. “You haven’t done anything yet to warrant death. That is the law we abide in.” He waved his hand at him and the latter collapsed. “Besides, I need this war to actually happen.” He rode away.
*
Wendy sat at the dais as she watched the training progressing. The wizards had come to accept that they would help in the training. They were surprisingly good at it with the occasional tantrum Serena threw. It made everything less monotonous. Ella was seated next to her watching with interest and giving interesting strategies that apparently worked. Wendy had come to accept that the latter was especially gifted in strategy. She to attack the wizards with a fifth person with the surprise attack and hopefully the killing blow. It worked a couple of time, not that any of the wizards were dead but that was the whole idea of using blunt weapons. It had lifted the soldiers’ morale.
Everything was progressing well. Even Sidney had decided to take part in the training against the request of Gorham to let the others handle it. She wanted to take part in saving her son personally. After a while he gave up trying to stop her. Unfortunately, Max was using the training as an excuse to avoid her. Of course every time she would approach him it would draw the attention from every other wizard.
She had decided on seeing him and so she had planned an elaborate scheme which included Martin drawing him to her office in the pretense of breaking the connection between them. At that moment Max would be assured she was overseeing the training and would fall into the trap. Martin would send her a message for her to come and thus she would go and confront Max.
This had been what she had been waiting for since she had come to the field. She stood up and Ella asked, “Where are you going?”
“I need to talk to Max.”
She smiled, “It’s about time.”
Wendy found Max and Martin in her office planned. Martin excused himself and left them in private. Max knew he was trapped and had no way out of it. He stared at Wendy cautiously. “I know you have been avoiding me. I want you to stop.”
“I can’t.”
“Can’t what? Stop avoiding me?”
“Do this.” He waved his hand around. “You stalking me around the castle like I’m some sort of lost pet. Strategizing on how to get me in one place as if it is a game.”
“You are the one who’s avoiding me!” she objected vehemently.
“For good reason. What we thought of as a casual affair was a mistake. It was a distraction that led me to fail in one of the tasks I was given.”
“It wasn’t your fault that Leo was a traitor.”
“That is not how Henry sees it. That is not how the wizard council will see it. Sleeping with you was a mistake that I regret.”
“But – you … I don’t understand.”
“It is pretty simple. My duty will always be to the council and I failed them because of you. So whatever it is that you think we started, has to stop.” He started walking to the door.
As he passed her, she burst out, “I’m in love with you.”
He stopped and turned to her. “You claim to have loved Victor and yet you didn’t. You think you love me but you don’t know what love is. You get attached to every person you sleep with and confuse that with love. Grow up Wendy. If you can’t handle it don’t try it.” He walked out leaving her in a daze. Martin came back a minute later.
“That was fast. I thought it would take longer,” he said as he went to the table with maps.
“Where did he go?” her voice came out in a whisper. “Max? He went back to the field.”
“Have him break our connection as soon as possible. You are ready.” She walked out of the office ignoring Martin’s calls behind her. She shut down her mind to him. She was about to head to her room when she saw Oliver running towards her. He stopped before her panting for breathe. “What is it?”
“Where is he?” she asked looking behind him to see any sign of Henry.
“He passed out in the stable. The wizards have been called to take care of him. They are planning to carry him to his room but there is something wrong and they can’t get close enough to him. You are to come.”
Wendy ran after him to the stables and found a group of wizards gathered around him. She walked through the path they cleared for her. She tried not to look and see where Max was but she could tell however hard she tried not to. She ignored him and knelt down next to her father. “Has this ever happened before?” she asked in general.
Serena was the one to answer, “No.”
Wendy tried her best to see what was wrong but he wasn’t hurt. There were signs that he had bled but she didn’t see any wounds so they had already healed. Her eyes were drawn to his hands which were clutching something so tightly the veins were visible. She opened his hand and saw the stone and took it from him. It looked so ordinary but knew it was not if Henry was holding it. She focused on the vibrations of the stone as she had been practicing with the professor. A slight tremor went through her to the ground before it came back up again with energy which she assumed was Henry’s. She put her hand on his chest and channeled it to him.
Henry gasped awake just as Wendy passed out on him. “Wendy?” He called out in a panic. “Wendy?” he took her pulse and relaxed visibly when he realized that she was still alive. He put her aside and stood up looking at the crowd watching him. “What is it?”
“We could not pass through to you,” Serena complained. “I spelled myself for safety purposes.”
“You can spell yourself?” Amber asked in surprise.
“Yes. Blood magic. Only blood would be able to break the spell. In this case, Wendy.”
“Why would you do that?” Serena asked in annoyance.
“The stone was sapping my energy. I could not protect myself while holding it. It was the only course of action left.” He looked down at Wendy. Her guards came to take her but Henry waved them off. “Not yet. The earth has to give back the energy she gave me.”
“How long?” Oliver asked.
“It’s almost done,” he said just as Wendy opened her eyes and looked around then sat up. “It’s done.”
“What …”
“You need your rest.” He turned to her guards. “You may take her to her room.”
*
Wendy woke up knowing that something had changed. She checked the link between herself and Martin and found it was broken. She was no longer connected to him she could now wallow in her broken heart without worrying that Martin would budge in trying to comfort her. She cried silently in her bed for a while ignoring the knocks at the door.
It took a while but eventually someone had the courage to open the door. “Wendy?” it was Henry’s voice. “What is wrong?” he asked in the darkness.
“Nothing.”
“You are crying.” “I’m allowed to cry.”
“Yes but why are you crying?” he waited for some time then the lights flicked on. “What happened?”
Wendy sighed, “You were right.” “About what?”
“Max, that he wasn’t the one.” “He broke it off?”
“I’m a fool to think he would have wanted me enough to stay here. His duty is to the council first.”
“Duties change over time. Believe me, I know.”
“Well, I’m not waiting for it. I have to move on,” she paused for a long time. “There’s something else?” Henry stated suspiciously.
“Yes,” she forced a smile. “He marked me.” “Marked you? You mean claimed you?”
“I suppose so. I have a tattoo on my back that will forever remind me of what it was I missed out on.”
Henry walked over and sat next to her. “What else?”
“I’m pregnant,” when Henry didn’t say anything Wendy turned curiously at him. “You knew?”
“I suspected especially when I talked to Andrew. He claimed something had changed within you between the time you were at the other universe and when you came here. It wasn’t hard to make that conclusion after factoring other things.”
“No, he’s still clueless. It’s only you and I who know.” “Let it remain like that.”
“Max is the father of the child. He needs to know.”
“No, he doesn’t. I don’t plan on seeing him ever again.”
“Wizards react badly when they discover that they were denied the chance to raise their children.”
“You want me to trap him here with a child?” Henry frowned, “I guess it would seem that way.” “I don’t want to tell him.”
“Very well. Hiding the pregnancy is easy enough. It won’t show for a while. The mark on your back would eventually alert him that something is up.”
“I was hoping you knew of a way to remove it.”
Henry shook his head. “Other than killing Max, I don’t know of a sure way to remove it.”
“I don’t want you to kill him.”
“I thought not.” He sighed and then kept quiet for a while as he thought about it. “Did he ever reinforce it?”
“What?”
“Did he ever sleep with you after he claimed you? After the tattoo showed up?”
“No, he doesn’t even know it is there.”
“He knows, deep down in his subconscious mind he knows. But this new fact opens up a new possibility.”
“You can remove it?” she asked full of hope.
“No. The claiming tattoos are met to be permanent. The ‘till death do us part’ deal. But since he has not reinforced his claim, it is possible to change it.”
“How?”
“It would be painful but it’s the only thing I can think of.” “Have you ever done it before?”
“No, which also give it a possibility of failing.” “I’ll take the chance.”
Henry stared at her for a moment. “Think it over. This cannot be undone and if he was the one for you, you will lose the chance.”
“I don’t think I’m meant to be with wizards.”
“Think it over and rest. We will do it tomorrow if you are sure. Have a good night.”
“Thank you.”
Henry smiled, “You keep forgetting I would do anything for you.”
*