Realms of Infamy - James Lowder [106]
"What… what if he does not?" Marnok asked tentatively.
Then he will be imprisoned forever. The image of the ancient sorcerer bowed. Fate be with you. Like mist before a wind, the image was gone.
Marnok drew a handful of glistening powder from a pouch and threw it toward the relic. A crimson sphere appeared, surrounding the pedestal. His magic had revealed the ancient trap. They could go no farther.
"So close." Ravendas clenched her hands into fists. "We can almost reach it. Almost." She knew now that the relic was indeed priceless. Certainly the Zhentarim would have the power to resurrect Ckai-el-Ckaan-and to bind the legendary sorcerer as their slave in the process. For that opportunity, the Zhentarim would pay dearly. If only…
"Let's go, Ravendas," Marnok said gently, reaching for her hand. "It's no use."
But that wasn't true. Suddenly she knew it. There was a way, after all.
Time turned to ice. For a crystalline moment, Ravendas could see a future. Not the future, but one future, one of many. She and Marnok stood in the doorway of a country house, his arms encircling her. Golden sunlight spilled through the windows, and small children laughed as they ran on the green grass outside. Marnok whispered something gently in her ear-she could almost hear his words. But then the thread of that future unraveled, and another, darker tapestry was woven to take its place. She had made her choice. Time melted to flow once more.
She drew Marnok close to her. He did not resist. She brushed her lips softly against his.
"I… I'm sorry," she whispered.
His clear green eyes widened in surprise, but before he could react, she shoved him with all her strength. He careened backward, falling hard against the pedestal. Ruby magic flared brilliantly as the basalt cylinder crashed to the floor. A small white object rolled away. Quickly Ravendas moved to snatch it up. The Finger of Ckai-el-Ckaan.
She stood in victory, but when she turned around, her heart caught in her throat. Marnok floated above the fallen pedestal, imprisoned in a sphere of crimson fire. His limbs were contorted in frozen agony, as if he were dead. But his eyes were alive. They watched her with a strange look that was part anguish, part understanding. She could not look away.
Without warning the floor lurched violently beneath her feet, and thunder cleaved the air. The crystal windows high above shattered, shards falling like glittering rain. The floor shook again, sending her to her knees. Just as the mage's book had foretold, the tower was collapsing.
"You must… go," a voice croaked. It was Marnok. His face was twisted with the terrible effort of speaking. "Remember the book…" Blood flecked the corners of his lips. "The third… test. Face the sunset… give yourself to… darkness."
The tower shook again in its death throes, but Ravendas could not seem to move.
"Go-" Marnok gasped in agony. "Go… Kela."
It was like being freed from a spell. Ravendas turned away and dashed toward the stairway. She did not look back. Chunks of stone streaked wildly past her as she leapt off the stairway and sprinted down the spiral corridor. She bounded across the bridge to the top of the wall. A heartbeat later the fortress shook again, and the bridge collapsed into the abyss.
Ravendas did not stop to watch. Marnok's words echoed in her mind. Face the sunset. She picked her way precariously along the jagged top of the wall, clutching the stone each time Gurthang convulsed, until she reached the western edge. She peered down but could see nothing in the gloom. The moon had set behind the mountains. There was no hope in light.
Give yourself to darkness. Yes, she thought. Wasn't that the choice she had made? Sounding a thunderous death knell, Gurthang's central tower began its slow, ponderous collapse behind her. Ravendas did not turn toward the grim spectacle. Closing her eyes, she drew in a deep breath. And stepped off the wall.
For a moment, it seemed she was flying. Darkness encloaked her, cradling her gently within its soft, velvet folds. She laughed aloud.