Kelos was silent for a moment, staring into the flames of the fireplace. “Then… then I fear we are lost.”
“Come now, Kelos. That’s not the spirit. Is this truly the man who stood up to the great Keldren? What was this vast reservoir of power that enabled the sorcery in the first place?”
“The blood of a dragon.”
“Really? Good grief.”
“See? I told you we were lost.”
“No, no. Not at all. You see, serendipity may well have placed the solution within our grasp. As it would happen, one of my colleagues, living on the borders of the Sardenne Forest, has recently written to me concerning the sighting of a great lizard in the foothills of the World’s Ridge Mountains. Now, let me see.” Keldren sorted through a haphazard pile of papers that sat upon a low desk. “Ah, yes, here we are. ‘I, with my own eyes, saw a flash of scaled flesh, the swish of a vicious barbed tail, and heard the beast’s roar; a sound which chilled me to the core.’ Hah! Yes, Alymere always had a sense of the melodramatic.
“Anyway, if this does indeed turn out to be a true sighting of a dragon, then it sounds like a trip to the World’s Ridge may be just what we require.”
“I don’t know, Keldren. It’s an awfully long way.”
“Clearly, then, you are not as well-read as you claim.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“The Zephyros Translocation. Volume Two, page one hundred and twenty-four of Elemental Sorcery and Applications of Natural Magery.”
“Yes, yes, of course! How stupid of me. I must admit that I have only attempted that particular spell once. Doesn’t it require the ink of a chasm squid?”
“It does indeed. Good job, then, that I live by the sea. Now, let us plan our journey, and then inform Silus and Emuel of the good news.”
As Keldren unrolled a map, a skein of dust detached itself from the ceiling and a coal shifted in the fireplace, rolling out onto the hearth.
But only when the door of the study flew off its hinges did the two mages finally look round.
CHAPTER TWENTY- ONE
Silus had been on the verge of sleep when the floor of his cell collapsed, spilling him into the passage below. His fall was cushioned by the short, stocky man on whom he’d landed, and who swore profusely as he extracted himself from beneath him.
“Gods below!” the dwarf said. “Where did you come from?”
Silus pointed to the hole above them.
“See, Orlok?” a female dwarf said, emerging from the darkness. “I told you that wasn’t solid rock. Surely any fool could see that?”
“So suddenly you’d like to lead this mission, is that it, Greta?”
Beyond the bickering couple, Silus could see more dwarves crowding the tunnel — all heavily armed and armoured — and amongst them several frightened human faces. His heart surged with joy when he saw Katya and Zac within the huddle, and he pushed his way past Orlok and Greta to gather them up in his arms.
“I thought you were lost forever. I thought I’d never see you again.”
“Daddy!” Zac cried, throwing his arms around his father’s neck.
Dunsany, Illiun, Shalim and Bestion were also with the dwarves; all looked on the verge of exhaustion and all were covered head to toe in rock dust.
Behind Silus, the arguing stopped as Greta and Orlok became aware of the emotional reunion.
“Yes, human,” Orlok said. “We have liberated your kind. And now the streets above us will run with the blood of the elves.”
Silus tried to hide his smile as, behind Orlok, Greta rolled her eyes.
“If it’s elves you’re looking to kill,” he said, “there’s one not very far from here. Above us are another two humans requiring liberation from the tyranny of an elf mage.”
“We’ll chop him into offal!” shouted someone from further down the tunnel.
“Our axes will drink his blood!”
Weapons were struck against shields in a quickening tempo as the lust for battle overtook the dwarves. The noise was deafening, and it took Orlok some time to calm his troops.
“You’ll show us the way?” he said, once order had been restored.
Silus held out his hand. “If you can supply me with a weapon, I’ll lead you to him myself.”
“Silus, are you sure about this?” Katya said.
“You may want to arm yourself, too. Zac, stay well back, do you understand?”
The little boy nodded solemnly.
“Above us, you say?” Orlok said.
The dwarf secured his axe and put his hands to the wall of the tunnel. He looked back at Greta and smiled before closing his eyes. Beneath Orlok’s hands the stone began to trickle and flow, yet even as it began to pool around his feet, the dwarf was imposing his will on the rock. It rose from the floor like a fat grey snake, seeking the lip of the hole above them. Finding it, it flowed across the cell, until a smooth ramp rose from the tunnel floor. The stone groaned as it solidified and Orlok stepped back, surveying his handiwork.
“Not bad,” he said. “Not bad at all. Silus, after you.”
Now armed with a shortsword, Silus found the door of the cell to be little impediment to their progress. The wood splintered after two powerful blows and the lock fell to the floor. Looking behind him, he saw that the whole contingent of Orlok’s troops were at his heels.
“Orlok, don’t you think that with so many people we may lose the element of surprise?”
“You’re right of course, human. The first ten, with me. The rest of you stay back.”
“Thank you, Orlok. And, please, don’t refer to me as ‘human.’ My name is Silus.”
Silus edged into the corridor. The passage was short and contained only three doors; the one through which they had come, one leading to the room with the ruined water tank, and a door at the far end that he presumed led to Keldren’s quarters.
Silus pointed to this last door and signalled for Orlok and his team to follow.
“Can you get us past this?” he said, looking at the sturdy door.
“Not a problem,” Orlok said, “though you may want to catch it when it falls, otherwise it’s going to make a hell of a racket.”
With a gesture from the dwarf, the stone surround liquefied, the hinges fell off the door and Silus braced himself.
As solid as the door looked, he hadn’t expected it to be quite so heavy. Silus took its weight against his outstretched hands, only to find his arms being shoved painfully back against his chest and his boots skidding across the flagstones.
“Someone?” he said, from beneath the iron-banded wood. “A little help?”
Katya and Orlok came to his assistance, and they managed to lean the door against the wall.
“You know,” Orlok said, stepping back and looking at the empty doorframe, “this place may have been built by the elves, but I know a good lintel when I see one. That’s a nice lintel. Look at that, that’s flush, that is. Nicely carved, nicely placed.”
“Orlok?” Greta said.
“Yes, my love?”
“Are you done?”
“Yes, my love.”
Although the corridor beyond contained many more doors, Silus knew the one to pick right away, by dint of it being the only one with light coming from beneath it, and by the stench of incense wafting from the room beyond. This time, Silus didn’t ask for Orlok’s help. Instead, he aimed a swift kick just below the handle. This door appeared to have been less well crafted than the last, as it fell off its hinges after just one blow.
In the book-lined study, Keldren and Kelos looked up from the map they had been perusing.
When he saw the elf, Orlok thrust himself into the room with a growl. He drew his axe and slammed the handle of the weapon hard against the floor. They all staggered as the room leaped beneath their feet. Arms of stone thrust themselves through the floor and wrapped themselves about Keldren’s torso.
His hands trapped his hands against his sides, the mage was still able to cast a spell, thin ochre tendrils snaking from his mouth with each word he spoke.