Sentinelspire - Mark Sehestedt [133]
One of the things stepped forward, crouching and keeping a wary eye on Talieth's fire. It reached out a hand toward her, then its entire body stiffened, its head shook, and its eyes rolled back. "Talieth," it said, though she knew that it was not the creature's voice, but something speaking through it. "Bring it to me. You fought a good fight. You lost. Give me Erael'len, and even now I will forgive you. Come to Kheil. Join me in our new world."
A shudder passed through the creature, and all stiffness left its body. It was fluid grace again. It watched her, waiting for her answer.
Talieth took a deep breath and squeezed her hand shut, extinguishing the fire. "Take me to him," she said.
+++++
Berun struck a gout of flame with the hammer and dodged another. From the edge of his vision, he saw Chereth muttering, and he knew the druid was toying with them. His power was beyond anything that he or Sauk could hope to withstand. Berun's heart dropped as he watched his old friend. His master, the one person in the world that Berun had held as an ideal, had gone mad. Whether it had truly been the seductive evil of Sentinelspire, the druid's own blind ambitions, or a combination of both… at this point, did it matter? All that mattered was stopping him.
Despite Berun's delusions to the contrary, Chereth had indeed become the Old Man. No matter what Chereth told himself, his motives were little different than Alaodin's. Alaodin had sought power and dealt in murder, but he'd rationalized it, believing it necessary to protect himself and those he loved. Was Chereth any different? And had he always been that way?
Swinging the hammer, Berun deflected more fire. It shattered into sparks and singed his bare arm. Berun backed away for a moment's respite and risked a glance behind him. "Lewan!" he shouted. The boy had succeeded in getting most of the vines off the girl. "Get out of here! Run!"
Lewan did not look up from his efforts. "Trying!"
"Enough of this!" Chereth called out, and he thrust his staff toward Sauk.
The writhing vegetation surged like a wave over rocks and hit the half-orc. Sauk struck at the greenery with his arm, but it did no good. The thick mass of vines, leaves, and writhing wood slammed into him, his legs struck the stone ledge, and he toppled over. His feet went up over his head and then he was gone, tumbling over the tower's edge.
Chereth swept his arm around, and a mass of leaves and branches rose and enveloped Berun. He lashed out at them with the hammer and knife. The blade sliced through a few branches before the vines wrapped round both his arms and pulled them to his chest. More snaked around his legs and torso. He screamed as the sharp leaves and prickly vines tore into the blistered skin along his stomach and chest. The mass of vegetation constricted, pulling his limbs tightly against his body so Berun could move only his head. He felt himself lifted up and borne toward the druid. He looked down upon the half-elf, who was not even breathing heavily.
"You see the power I now wield?" said Chereth. "You see the folly of opposing me? Forsake this foolishness, my son."
Chereth turned away, leaning upon his staff as he walked across the roof. The vines holding Berun bore him along after the half-elf. Chereth stopped before two statues-one of a winged lion, the other of a great stag whose antlers spread wide, reaching toward the lion's wings and forming a sort of arch. The druid reached inside his robes and withdrew a rod carved from white wood, or perhaps bone. He spoke a string of words in a language Berun did not recognize, and the air under the arch shimmered and blurred like a summer haze on the horizon.
"See?" said Chereth. "This portal leads to a realm of endless wild, where bricks and mortar are unknown, and the highest creatures live in harmony with the lowest. There, I will dwell while this world cleanses itself of Sentinelspire's fire and ash." He faced Berun again. "Do you still wish to oppose me? To die here amongst those who would trample upon all we hold dear?"
Berun looked down on