102: A POINTLESS WASTE

(Kihrin’s story)

“You know, we have to stop meeting like this,” I told Relos Var. “People will start to talk.”

He glanced over at me. There was nothing like affection in that expression. This was the man I’d first met back in Kishna-Farriga, the one whose eyes had been filled with only hate and malice. “I should have known you’d be able to convince him to change the plan. Grizzst’s never had any stomach for necessary sacrifices.”

Relos Var was angry. I honestly don’t think I’d ever seen him this angry before.

“You did not just say that with a straight face, did you?” Grizzst hopped down from the throne while giving Relos Var a rude gesture. “Because seriously, you wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for me.”

“We’re not going over this again,” Relos Var said. “And you made a promise.”

“Oh, under very false pretenses. You hadn’t told me what the vané really are.”

I blinked. “Wait. What? What do you mean, what the vané really are? What are you talking about?”

Both men ignored me.

Relos Var said, “I’m not going to allow you to interfere with my plans, Gahan. Not this time.”

Grizzst shook his head. “Revas, the situation’s changed. You need to know what happened when we went to the—”

A lightning bolt hit him square in the chest and sent him flying backward into the wall. If he’d been any normal person, that alone would have killed him, but Grizzst definitely wasn’t normal.

Thurvishar and I both dove off the metal stairs we’d been sitting on, just in case. Way too much of this room was outright made of metal.

Before we’d even had a chance to stand, Grizzst pulled something from his waist and pointed. A giant ball of light gathered in the center of the room, focused into a tight beam, and slammed down into Relos Var in a column of pure energy so bright it obscured him completely from view.

Thurvishar waved a hand, and a giant wall of earth rose up between us and the rest of the fight. I crawled over to the wall and put my back against it. Thurvishar followed. Behind us, a cacophonous sound rose up and then quieted again, followed quickly by what sounded like an inferno coupled with a blast of heat.

“Wow,” I said.

From the other side of the wall, Grizzst yelled, “Why haven’t you changed back into a dragon yet?” This was followed by an intense sizzling sound and the smell of smoke.

“I’m not a fool. You raised the barrier. Smashing through that would hurt.” Then Relos Var laughed. “Besides, I don’t need to be a dragon to deal with a toy-based hedge mage like you.”

“Toy-based? Toy-based? Who bound the demons? Who created the Crown and Scepter of Quur?” Grizzst’s voice rose to a pitch that reminded me of a rug dealer arguing with his wife.

“Yes, fine crutches for half-assed wizards of insufficient talent.” A large cloud of doves flew overhead.

I turned to Thurvishar. “Doves?”

He shrugged in confusion.

“Oh, that does it!” Grizzst yelled, which was followed by an incredibly loud boom. I had to cover my ears.

“What the hell was that?” Relos Var said.

“Just a little ‘toy’ I came up with using saltpeter and bat guano.”

There was a pause. “Well, shit.”

“That’s what I said.” Grizzst’s laughter was maniacal.

“Did someone once tell you that you were funny? They lied.” And that was followed by a loud cracking sound and several staggering thuds. A shimmering curtain of cyan-blue energy swept across the room.

I looked over at Thurvishar. “You know Grizzst better than I do. Who do you think is going to win this?”

He winced. “Sadly, Relos Var.”

I suspected he was right about that. “Then we’d better do something, don’t you think?”

“Have any suggestions?”

I pointed in the direction of the throne, which we could still see from our vantage point. “Why don’t we get rid of the reason for the argument.” I pointed toward Thurvishar’s robes. “I bet Grizzst’s wand would do the trick.”

Thurvishar pulled himself to his feet. “I suppose it might at that.” He pulled the thing out of his sleeve, and pointed it at the crystal.

Nothing happened.

Thurvishar stared at the thing. “He’s probably keyed it to only work for himself. It would be the smart thing to do.”

“Great.” I made a face and then flinched as something very heavy slammed into Thurvishar’s earth wall, putting a long crack along its length.

I looked around. There had to be something I could use …

My gaze fell back on the slender metal wand in Thurvishar’s hands. “Let me see that.”

“It’s not going to work for you either.” But Thurvishar handed it over.

“Oh, it will, just not the way its maker intended.” I tested the wand’s spring, which was considerable. It made a ringing sound as it snapped back into position. “I can work with this.”

Thurvishar looked confused for just the briefest moment, and then comprehension dawned. “Right. I’ll try to keep you from being interrupted.” He set himself at my back, facing toward where the mage duel was still ongoing.

The theory was the same as what I’d done several times before. This was simple stuff. The only part that was different was that I didn’t really know what the hell the crystal was made from. That was easily remedied by looking past the First Veil, letting the innate nature of the crystal show itself. Even if I didn’t have a name for the material, I still knew enough to break it with the wrong harmonies. While every kind of element split the air just a few dozen feet away, I flicked the wand to produce that ring and let magic and vibration do the work for me.

I have to say that this time when that crystal shattered into a thousand pieces, it felt pretty damn good.

“No!” Relos Var screamed.

Okay, that felt good too.

The wall between where Thurvishar and I were separated from Grizzst and Relos Var’s fight vanished in an instant, disintegrated.

“No, you idiot! Do you know what you’ve done?” Relos Var rushed over, but it was a little late to stop me. Grizzst followed close behind him. Neither one seemed seriously injured. At best, they were singed around the edges.

I handed the wand back to Grizzst, figuring he could use it if the fighting started up again. “Did you mean that question seriously, or were you just being rhetorical?”

I’d have died right there if Relos Var’s expression had been a spell.

“You son of a bitch,” he growled.

I ignored the name-calling. He was in a bad mood. “Now you have a choice. You can stop them from performing a pointless ritual, or you can let them go ahead and … hey, what happens when all that tenyé energy hits a warding crystal that doesn’t exist anymore?”

Relos Var stared at me.

Then he spun around and opened a gate.