Letting go of the prince's shoulders, Wigg turned to Abbey. Tristan watched as the lead wizard took a piece of parchment from his robes and handed it to her. It was covered with what looked to be Old Eutracian. Then he touched the locket she always wore around her neck and kissed her cheek. Fear on her face, she stood and exited the litter. Wigg waved his arms at the Minions. "Well don't just stand there!" he shouted. "We must go now!"
As the litter and the Minions climbed back into the sky, Abbey lifted her head and watched her lover depart. One tear of concern fell down her cheek.
B y the time the litter reached the palace, Tristan, Shailiha, Tyranny, and the Minions were spoiling for a fight. But by now Wigg had convinced them of why they must not participate, and also of their need to stay close to him.
Looking down into the courtyard from the roof on which they had landed, Tristan saw his Minions finally go flying down and begin tearing into the surprised demonslavers. Before landing he had given Traax orders to leave none of the white-skinned monstrosities alive. Grinning broadly, the Minion second-in-command had nodded in agreement.
Wigg stepped from the litter and glanced up toward the sky. He was greatly relieved to see that the twin orbs of the craft were not visible; that meant that if Wulfgar was indeed here, he had not yet conjured them. But it was imperative that they find Morganna's firstborn before he was able to enact the Forestallment that would allow him to destroy the Orb of the Vigors.
If Wulfgar was cloaking his blood from Wigg, and he had also been gifted with the powers of invisibility by Krassus, trying to find him could be a nightmare, if not a complete impossibility. Their only hope lay in the fact that Wulfgar had clearly not yet destroyed the Orb of the Vigors, for Wigg still possessed his powers. And so if they could not find Wulfgar, Wigg would force him to come to them.
There was only one way to do that.
Wigg would conjure forth the twin orbs of the craft before Wulfgar did. For wherever the orbs were, Wulfgar would also have to be in order to carry out his plan.
Wasting no time, Wigg raised his arms.
As the four of them watched, a gigantic glow coalesced in the inky night sky. The glow began to spin, quickly becoming the Orb of the Vigors, the massive, golden globe of energy that sustained the altruistic side of the craft. The pale white beams that radiated from its center lit up the night sky for what seemed to be leagues in every direction. Tristan suddenly realized he had never witnessed the orbs at night. It was an awesome sight.
Then the darker, menacing Orb of the Vagaries took shape, its blackness scratched through by bright lightning.
Tristan glanced down to see that the battle in the courtyard below was winding down at last. The surviving demonslavers were being systematically beheaded, just as he had ordered. Traax and Ox landed quietly by his side. Ox looked exhausted, and one leg was wounded. Traax gave his lord a nod, and Tristan nodded back. Satisifed, he looked up at the sky again.
Then Wigg lowered his arms, and a strange sense of quiet descended over everything. The night larks and tree frogs stopped calling out to one another, and the branches of the trees below were no longer swishing to and fro, for the wind had suddenly stopped, as well. The orbs continued to hover silently, as if waiting for something to happen.
And then they changed.
Tristan glanced over at Wigg and saw the lead wizard shake his head, telling him that it was not he who was causing this phenomenon. Wulfgar, he thought.
The orbs had moved closer to each other than he had ever seen. Shards of lightning had begun to shoot back and forth between them, and the orbs themselves were shaking. Tristan glanced at Wigg to see that the lead wizard's face had blanched as he watched, spellbound.
A band of azure light took form between the orbs. It slowly extended itself from the side of the Orb of the Vigors, growing hauntingly until it reached the Orb of the Vagaries and attached itself.
Then this new connection between the orbs transformed itself from mere light into what looked like a tangible mass. It glowed ever brighter, until it became almost impossible to look upon. Suddenly, Tristan knew what it was.
The Isthmus: the bridge between the two sides of the craft that would somehow allow the destruction of the Orb of the Vigors.
And it had been conjured by Wulfgar.
A deep, commanding laugh shattered the silence. Tristan, Shailiha, and Tyranny drew their swords, blades ringing loudly as one through the air. As they did, the laugh came again.
"Tell me, Brother," a voice said. "Do you really think you can kill me with a weapon as crude as that?"
They all looked around, but they saw nothing except the magnificent orbs. The laugh came yet again, mocking them.
Then an azure glow began to build on one side of the roof. Turning, his hand clamped tightly around the hilt of his sword, Tristan watched as the glow took shape. As it coalesced, he and Shailiha found themselves staring at their long-lost sibling, the half brother they hadn't known existed until only a short time ago.
Wulfgar was wearing emerald silk trousers and a matching jacket that lay partially open, exposing his muscular chest. His sandy hair was pulled back from his forehead.
In his arms he held the Scroll of the Vigors.
If Wulfgar had the scroll, that meant he had found Faegan, Tristan realized. Was the wizard dead? And what had happened to Celeste?
Placing the precious scroll down on the roof, Wulfgar gave them all a menacing smile and took several brazen steps nearer.
At that moment, Wigg raised his arms and sent twin azure bolts at Wulfgar.
Casually, almost lazily, Wulfgar also raised his hands and caught a bolt in each. Then, placing his hands together, he joined the two bolts into one and took another step forward. As he did he looked squarely at Wigg and smiled again. Then he spread his fingers.
The azure bolt went screaming back toward Wigg and struck him squarely in the chest, throwing him high into the air, and across the roof. He landed hard on his back, unconscious. The front of his robe was scorched and smoking, and his arms were outstretched, as if in supplication.
Tristan, Shailiha, and Tyranny ran to him and knelt down. Wigg didn't seem to be breathing. Standing slowly, Tristan glared back with hatred at the monster that had just dared call him brother.
"Is he dead?" he asked, his body shaking with anger. He wanted to attack Wulfgar then and there. But after all he had just seen, he knew it would be hopeless.
Wulfgar simply smiled.
"I asked you a question, you bastard!" the prince raged. "Is Wigg dead?"
On hearing the insulting reference to his parentage, Wulfgar's face fell for a moment, and his gaze hardened. Then his composure resurfaced again.
Wulfgar pursed his lips. "Probably," he answered shortly. "I don't really know. Nor do I care, any more than I care about Faegan, or the daughter of the so-called lead wizard." Then the smile came again. "Don't you see?" he asked. He gave a sarcastic laugh. "I'm still rather new at all this."
Completely beyond anger, Tristan took a determined step forward, but Shailiha grabbed his arm. Tristan stopped, but continued to stare into Wulfgar's eyes.
"You had best listen to our sister," Wulfgar said. "You are untrained, and I could kill you with a single thought."
"Then why don't you?" Tristan snarled.
"I may do that yet," Wulfgar answered softly. "But as you have apparently guessed, I have other, more important business to finish first. A mission that your late son first entrusted to Krassus, and then Krassus entrusted to me." A new thought seemed to cross his mind, and he smiled at Tristan.
"Tell me, Jin'Sai," he said nastily. "What does it feel like to know that you have not only murdered your own father, but have also lost your only child, as well?"