Pool of Twilight - James M. Ward [120]
"I'm not certain how long this will take," Evaine explained to the others. "I've never encountered a pool quite like this one before. The other pools I've destroyed have all been either purely dark or light in nature." As she talked, the sorceress deftly twisted her long hair into a knot to keep it out of the fire. "But this pool is different. Its essence is-" she struggled for the right words-" primal… chaotic. Its source lies in a magic far older than that of the other pools, a magic that comes from the time before light and dark were separate, and all the universe dwelt in twilight."
"Will you be able to destroy it, Evaine?" Kern asked solemnly.
She laughed grimly. "There's just one way to find out." She held her hands above the brazier and gem, chanting arcane words. Suddenly her voice fell silent, and her green eyes stared blankly into space. The sorceress sat as if hewn of stone.
"She will be like this for some time," Gamaliel said, standing protectively behind Evaine. "She cannot be disturbed. Should anything wake her from her spell before it is complete, the gem will break, and she will die." By the fierce gleam in his eye, it was clear the barbarian man did not intend to allow such a mishap to occur.
There was nothing to do then but wait. Kern sat down on a rock.
Daile sighed, wandering a short distance from the others. She felt strangely let down. She had vowed to avenge her father's death, but Sirana was dead, slain by the dragon, and the young ranger's arrows had played no part in it. The fire of revenge still smoldered in her heart. What of her oath now? she asked herself. How could she keep her word to her father? She rested her hands against the smooth wood of her magical bow.
"How much longer?" Trooper asked Gamaliel with a scowl. The older paladin paced fretfully.
The stone-faced barbarian shrugged. "I am no sorcerer. I cannot say."
"What is it, Trooper?" Listle asked in concern.
The old man shook his head. "I'm not certain. It's just that there's something about this place that bothers-"
A gurgling sound emanated from the pool, cutting off the old paladin.
All turned to see the surface of the pool begin bubbling furiously.
In a spray of foam, something began to lift from the roiling waters. A gigantic creature uncurled itself from the depths of the pool to tower above the companions.
"By Tyr above!" Trooper whispered.
For a scant moment, Kern wondered how Sirana and Dusk could still live. Quickly he realized the truth. They were dead enough. But the magic of the pool had fused their gigantic corpses into a hideous new undead form.
The dragon's tattered wings sprouted from the back of the gigantic half-fiend, and her hands ended in his claws. Dusk's neck sprouted from the center of Sirana's chest, his fanged maw snapping mindlessly. The creature took a lumbering step forward, wading through the pool. Its sinuous dragon tail snapped behind it like a huge, deadly whip. Sirana's dead eyes stared with blank malice. The pool of twilight finally possessed a guardian that it could utterly control.
The dragon's maw opened wide.
"Beware dragonbreath!" Trooper shouted.
Hastily, Kern, Listle, and Daile dove out of the way. Gamaliel crouched protectively before Evaine, still deep in her spell, but a heartbeat later Miltiades stepped between the barbarian and the creature of the pool.
A black, acrid-smelling cloud issued from the dragon's mouth, gouging the stone floor and melting stalagmites into piles of slag. A spray of dark acid splattered against Miltiades' armor, pitting the hard steel. A few droplets flew past, burning into Gamaliel's flesh, but Evaine remained unhurt. That was all that mattered to the barbarian.
The new guardian reached the edge of the pool. It could not leave the water that had spawned it and gave it continued strength. So the guardian reached high above with its gigantic arm and wrenched a huge stalactite from the cavern's ceiling. Dead eyes blazing, it hurled the sharp chunk of stone toward the adventurers.
The stalactite