Chapter 3 All Is Lost
All Is Lost
“Rhalyf, I must go to him!” Aquilan’s voice was rushed and agonized to Rhalyf’s ears. “Declan is… is alone. He needs…”
Nothing, Rhalyf thought. Declan needs nothing.
He looked down the hallway to where Declan was picking something up that was leaning against the wall.
Was it a pipe? It almost looked like a sword, but made of jet black metal like the famous Niri blades forged by Vex.
But what would one of those be doing lying amongst the refuse in the Pedway? It wouldn’t, of course.
His eyes were playing tricks on him since he now had Illithor on the brain.
His blood fizzed like champagne with the thought of seeing the shrouded purple towers full of mystery.
And he swore he could almost smell the Under Dark down here.
His old life pressed against his new one almost tantalizingly.
There were rifts nearby. Lots of rifts. And maybe lots of Leviathan.
“He’s scouting ahead. We both have an eye on him. It will be all right,” Rhalyf insisted, even though if Declan had really been human he would have said nothing of the sort. If Finley had been poking his head out like that, he’d have dragged the boy by the collar away from the fight. But Declan…
Declan needs nothing from me or Aquilan.
“I know he’s capable. I should think otherwise, but he is,” Aquilan said with confusion mixed with certainty.
He senses that Declan is not like other humans. Not human at all. Even without red eyes and white hair, Declan stands out. Even among elves, he would stand out…
“Yes, I agree, as strange as that sounds.” He flashed a smile that he hoped was comforting.
“Strange? Yes, it should be strange. But it is not. Why is that, Rhalyf?”
Not wanting to answer that question at all, Rhalyf instead tapped Aquilan’s closed hand where sunlight leaked between his tightly clenched fingers. “He was right about you not using that Sun Stone. That kind of magic will attract–”
“Everything, I know. As many will be drawn as repulsed by it and we will have a massive fight on our hands. Not to mention that it might put Darcassan in greater danger.” Aquilan’s lips pulled back from his teeth in frustration.
He was well aware of the danger and yet he had reached for the ultimate weapon against the dark.
“It is just having two survivors down here with us and–”
“I know. Believe me, I understand. I’ve spelled Finley so much that he likely can’t feel his own skin,” Rhalyf realized.
In truth, Finley had delighted at the whole process, asking him tons of questions with each layering of protective magic. It confirmed, once again, that Finley really would make an excellent Mage. He was inquisitive, intelligent and unafraid of experimentation.
Aquilan smiled, but that quickly died. “I should have done the same to Declan, but he is so independent and he recoiled when I suggested it on the way here.”
Rhalyf wasn’t surprised. While Declan might not remember his past–or how the magic that obscured his true nature worked–he clearly sensed that allowing a powerful Aravae to cast anything on him or near him was a bad idea.
But, then again, scouting ahead was a bad idea, too.
Yet Declan was doing that as if he was compelled to do it.
And maybe he is. He is a hunter. I’ve seen his type in the Kindreth. They are compelled to go deeper and deeper into the darkness seeking foes and battle. I wonder if his memory is being tugged at just like mine is by the bitter yet alluring scent of the Under Dark, Rhalyf thought.
Part of him wanted to grab Declan by the scruff of the neck and toss him back into the middle of the party with Finley.
After all, Declan was supposed to be pretending to be human.
But it would have been no use. Declan would not have stayed there.
And part of him wondered if he would be strong enough to keep the young man from doing anything he wanted to do.
Could he be Vex’s son? Gods, no, let that not be true. For if that is true…
His mind boggled at the possibilities of it.
Vex having a son–an heir–was something he never thought his uncle would produce.
Too dangerous in so many ways. First, any child of Vex could have his father’s magical strength and the mother’s line too.
So that child could become a threat in his own right.
But also there would be those who would seek to use such a child against Vex.
If he was fond of the child, to threaten that child’s life to get Vex to do what they wanted.
Or fill that child’s head with ambitions to succeed and surpass his father.
I would have bet everything on Vex killing any child born of him. Yet Declan lives.
“What is Declan doing now?” Aquilan’s voice rose in alarm.
Rhalyf’s head shot towards where Declan was crouched.
The young man straightened and then dashed out of sight around the corner of an intersecting hallway.
Aquilan stiffened as blue-white light suddenly flashed like lightning strikes in the dark illuminating the whole end of the hallway.
Without a word, both he and the Sun King sprinted after the young man.
Rhalyf put more speed into his legs, using magic to augment his quickness even more than usual.
He had to get there ahead of Aquilan in case of…
what? Declan killing Leviathan? Declan performing magic?
This is insane! What is he doing? He’s going to reveal it all and that I will be unmasked and… gods damn you, Declan Wilde!
Rhalyf skidded around the corner just ahead of Aquilan. He sent streaks of blue-white lightning to match the color of the already existing magic into the corridor. It was blinding and meant to be. Aquilan lifted up an arm to shield his eyes.
“Rhalyf, what are you–”
“Sorry! Wrong–wrong spell,” Rhalyf lied.
Gods, did I just say that? He’s not going to believe that!
But Aquilan was more concerned about Declan.
He blinked his eyes furiously to adjust them to the blue-white light that remained, illuminating the air ahead of them.
Having already cast protection spells against light on himself, he could see perfectly well while the Sun King was blinded. So he was the first to spot Declan.
Declan was about fifty feet down the corridor from them. He stood with his back towards them, hood still up, and body loose. Dozens of fangs littered the ground around Declan’s feet and more were scattered along the corridor, some still rolling along the floor as if they had just dropped.
You fool! You bloody fool! You killed Leviathan?! Humans can’t bloody do that! And how many? And in thirty seconds? How? Oh…
It was then that Rhalyf saw the longsword held in Declan’s right hand. The tip was pointed towards the floor and blood dripped down the blade. It was a graceful, wicked weapon. The beauty of it–and its power–was unmistakable. Rhalyf’s mouth went dry as the desert.
It was a Niri blade: Ardreth, Sorrow’s End.
One of the most storied blades that Vex had ever forged. It absorbed the life force of whatever it killed, storing that power in the ruby at the hilt. That stored power could be used later to generate a devastating wave of magic that disintegrated everything in its wake.
Vex had wielded it against the Nhagzad, an ally turned enemy of the Kindreth.
With a single sweep of his blade, he had cut through huge swaths of the lizard queen’s army.
Then he had cut off the queen’s head and lifted it up on the tip of Ardreth.
With almost indifference, Vex had shown it to the rest of her people.
They’d dropped to their knees, begging for mercy, but Vex had slaughtered them all anyway.
Betrayal was never forgiven.
There were no second chances.
How does he have Ardreth? His head swung back to where the blade had just been seemingly left leaning against the wall. Who put it there?
The Niri blades had been entombed in Illithor.
Could a Leviathan have somehow found them and brought one here?
Just dropped Sorrow’s End casually on the floor of the Pedway where–just coincidentally!
--a Kindreth who could wield it came upon it?
That idea was so absurd he couldn’t even hold onto it for long.
The thought tore apart like wet tissue paper in his mind.
Only one person could have left Ardreth here.
And he must have done so specifically for Declan to find.
Vex.
The Night King.
He was here.
Is he here now?
For not just any Kindreth could wield Sorrow’s End.
That Kindreth would–at a minimum–have to be of the Vex bloodline.
But, more than that, they would have to be incredibly powerful otherwise the blade would have devoured them.
But Declan stood, still and unconcerned, down the hallway, none the worse for wear, with his foes dead all around him.
Oh, Declan, you’re bloody family! Of course, you are. And what damnation have you brought with you?
“Declan!” Aquilan’s voice was low and rushed, but loud enough to get the young man’s attention.
Declan spun around to face them as Aquilan raced down the hallway towards him, boots lightly dancing over the fangs. The sword in Declan’s right hand was gone. Declan winced and he reached up and touched the back of his neck.
Blood Weapon. He’s turned Sorrow’s End into a Blood Weapon. No one but Vex could do that… or Vex’s child…
The world spun and Rhalyf felt a mixture of nausea and awe. None of this should have been possible. The Night King had a child! That child was a friend–as he saw Aquilan embrace Declan, he amended that to more than a friend–of the Sun King! Vex was somewhere near here. Close. He had to be close.
It’s over. All over, Rhalyf thought weakly. I did not run far enough. And I have been found.
“Did Lord Declan kill the Leviathan? Oh, my! How many fangs there are!” Elasha stated.
“Lord Declan?” Finley lifted an eyebrow at her.