Cast A Spell (Mages and Mates #4)

26. Thal

Thal

U nder the shadow of the mountain, we set out to cover the last few kilometers of our trip. This close to the source of corruption, none of us had slept well. The respite had, however, helped renew our strength, which had been the real point of the stop.

Percy and Gio, however, hadn’t recovered as much as I’d hoped. They weren’t dragging, but they seemed more focused and less apt to volunteer anything.

“How much farther?” Lysandor asked.

“We're close,” Gio said. “The path we seek is a few minutes ride from here.”

I shuddered and Otto sent me calming energy. Father always said, no matter how prepared you are for a fight, when it happens you feel ill-prepared. I believed in Otto and Owen’s skill, but that didn’t make me confident we’d get out unscathed.

The biggest concern had been the guardians. Though they never factored into our plan to destroy the sword, the corruption affected them more than we anticipated. They relied on earth magic to anchor their part of the Great Ward. They had to work harder to maintain their connection, and the effort was showing.

Finally, we exited a short pass and my breath caught in my throat. Tucked into a small valley lay a swarth of utter desolation. The earth screamed its pain, and the dark magic felt like a raw, angry wound. In the center of the rocks, opposite our position, the cave sat like an open maw of death.

“I doubt you need my confirmation,” Percy said with a hint of humor. “But the sword is in that cave. ”

I stared at the entrance, its darkness reminding me the worst was still ahead. I took a deep breath to steel my nerves. The dank smell of decay hung heavy in the air. The cave certainly felt like the right place.

“Stay alert," Otto said. “There are likely several hidden defenses along the way.”

I took the lead, heading down the narrow path. The corrupted magic grew more intense. Each step felt like we waded through thick mud and even the air seemed to resist our progress.

Halfway down the slope, a stone noisily tumbled down. The sound of the small rock echoed off the walls, announcing our presence. A blast of energy quickly greeted our arrival.

The attack missed us, striking just below everyone. Our relief was short-lived as the path began to crumble under Lysandor’s hooves.

Otto’s stone flared and a translucent road appear beneath us. The next three attacks also targeted our path, but they didn’t slow us.

Two large boulders crashed down, but Owen’s magic sent them soaring over our heads. The pair landed on the floor of the valley, rolling harmlessly to a stop.

Next a burst of black energy struck us, but Otto’s shield deflected it like rain drops on an umbrella. The others were targeted next, but they also repelled the attack.

Otto and I reached the floor, and I braced for the next attack. We started across the dusty ground, and I started to hope we’d make the last twenty meters without incident. An earth-shaking boom quickly dashed that dream.

“Look out!” Owen cried, pointing ahead of us.

A large stone figure had detached from the rock wall beside the cave. It was fifteen feet tall and half that wide. It lurched forward, and when it planted its foot, it shook the ground. I assumed it would come for us, but instead it moved to block the entrance.

Light flared inside Otto’s stone and an image of the both of us running down the slope and away from the cave appeared. Our doppelgangers raced off, and the creature turned its head in their direction. It didn’t move, and I felt Otto’s mild disappointment.

“Now we know its job is to guard the entrance,” Otto said to the group.

“It’s a smart move,” Owen said. “It can’t see us, so it would’ve followed your illusion if it was keyed to intruders.”

“Unless it could tell they weren’t real,” I said to Otto.

“Unlikely,” Otto replied. “It’s not highly intelligent, and our copies would’ve felt real to all but the most determined exam.”

It went without saying we wouldn’t get inside if that thing was there. Given its size, it was possible we could move fast enough to get around it, but it was unlikely we’d all make it.

“We can if we distract it,” Otto said.

I’d always thought I’d be angry if someone read my thoughts, but with Otto it felt comforting. “You have an idea?”

“Yes, but I’m not sure if it’s too dangerous.”

He refused to let me see his thoughts as he mulled the risks. If it was just him, he wouldn’t hesitate. “Dragi. You can’t worry more about me than you. We’re a pair.”

“What did you call me?”

I hadn’t meant to use such an affectionate term for fear I’d insult him, but his aura was happy. “Dragi. It means beloved.”

“I like it. It’s how I feel about you,” he said.

Otto lowered the wall and let me see his plan. It was dangerous, but it also had a good chance of success. “Why can’t we sneak past it? Aren’t we hidden?”

“ We are, but remember the stone that tumbled down the path? That’s how they knew we were there. The ground’s so dusty we’ll almost surely leave a trail.”

Open as he was to me, I saw the full extent of his plan. We were going to distract the creature and hold it off while the others snuck into the cave. Four would easily make it, but we might not survive.

“I have a suggestion.” I pushed my idea into his consciousness.

“Fortunately, my dragi has a keener strategic mind than his mate.”

I laughed despite the situation. “Your accent needs work.”

“We have a lifetime for you to teach me better.”

Otto called everyone into our link. He explained the first part our plan and as I expected, his brother objected instantly.

“When will you stop trying to sacrifice yourself for someone else?” he said.

“Stand down, Owen.” Otto snapped out the order and I felt Owen’s surprise through the link. “Nothing will happen to us if you handle your half.”

Otto showed him my suggestion and the mood changed somewhat. He cut off any apology by continuing. “Percy, I need you to be ready to reinforce my spell if needed.”

“Gio and I understand.”

I’d expected them to object to being left out, but the guardians were more astute tacticians. They understood the value of keeping reserve forces ready to deploy.

We reviewed our plan of attack, and once everyone confirmed they understood, Otto and I rode forward. I expected to be attacked immediately, but neither the rock creature nor the enemy mage reacted.

“What are they waiting for?” I asked Otto.

“The fact we’re here and they never detected us lets the mage know my magic is stronger than theirs,” he said. “They’ll attack as soon as the rock guardian attacks.”

We made it halfway to the entrance before the stone giant moved. It raised its foot, and I could feel Otto’s satisfaction. As the creature tried to step on us, Otto released his spell.

A shimmering dome of energy enveloped us, and the ground rumbled as it stopped the giant foot in midair. Energy struck us from the area of the cave, but it splattered against the energy wall Otto had created.

Yellow fire appeared out of nowhere and a ball of energy rocketed into the opening. The entrance to the cave remained blocked by what appeared to be a mini sun.

Otto’s grunt pulled my attention back to him, but the barrier wasn’t in danger of failing. He was trying to expand it to topple the being blocking our path. A moment later, a series of purple globes struck the creatures torso.

“Aim higher!” Otto shouted. “Get it to lean backward.”

The pressure on the dome protecting us increased. Latching onto our bond, I pushed energy through our link. I expected Otto to drink it in but instead he blocked it.

“Let me help, Otto,” I said. “Take my strength.”

“Save it,” he said. “Once we enter the cave, we’ll need every bit you have.”

A loud explosion high above showered us in pebbles and flecks of stone. I looked up and Owen had staggered the creature. Crimson light engulfed Otto’s hand and our enemy leaned back, clutching the air in vain.

“Move away,” Otto said. His urgent tone matched what I could feel through our connection.

What began as a slow motion fall accelerated into a rapid descent. When the massive body landed, it shook the ground beneath us like a localized earthquake. I managed to keep my feet and not dislodge Otto as I put distance between us and the fallen guard.

The six of us came together to the right of the entrance. I turned back and was stunned. The creature had broken into thousands of chunks of rocks. Some quivered as if they’d retained some life, but detached from the whole, they were powerless to move.

“Quite the effective strategy,” Gio said. “That went easier than I’d hoped.”

“If only the rest of the tasks were so easy,” Otto said.

The three mages took a moment to discuss the next step. Otto was considerate enough to allow me to hear the discussion, but I didn’t understand much aside from Owen would block the entrance and Percy would remove the fireball.

“You and Lysandor should shift,” Otto said. “It may be too narrow for a unicorn in places.”

I took a step back and willed myself to take my human form. My body rearranging itself encountered an unexpected resistance. The transformation, usually as natural as breathing, now felt like pushing through thick mud. A chill ran down my spine as I realized the implications.

Keeping the unsettling information from Otto was impossible. His concern came through without him saying a word. “The earth magic is harder to access,” I said.

“No,” he answered softly. “Shifting is instinctual. It follows its own familiar pathways. Those norms are different here. If you reach out, you’ll find it will answer you.”

The certainty of his answer calmed me. I did as he suggested, and he was correct. “How did you know?”

“Earth magic isn’t one of my stronger disciplines, but Cael and Bart are experts,” he said . “They suspected this might happen, so I’ve been testing it every time we stopped.”

Thankfully his “network of brothers” was available for constant consultation. “Always two steps ahead of us, aren’t you?”

“Whatever it takes to keep you, Owen, and Lysandor safe.”

The way Otto kept his focus on the prize didn’t surprise me. Anyone who could reject a mate bond for as long as he had needed enormous willpower. It was his determination to see us all safe that convinced me we would succeed. He wouldn’t be doing this if he didn’t think he could win.

With a nod to Gio and Percy, Otto led us into the cave's maw. The moment we crossed the threshold, a surge of malevolent energy hit me. The wave felt like the air was trying to physically expel us to preserve the cave’s dark secrets.

Lysandor stumbled, but I caught his arm. “You OK?

“Yeah,” he nodded. “I wasn’t prepared for that.”

None of us were, but Otto and Owen seemed less affected than my brother and me. “Maybe we should stick closer to our mates. Their magic can give us additional protection.”

Despite speaking privately, Otto’s shield moved over me until I was inside its defenses. I didn’t need to ask to know Owen had done the same for Lysandor.

We pressed on, the darkness seeming to thicken with each step. Otto's stone provided a dim, comforting glow, but it did little to dispel the oppressive atmosphere.

The narrow passage widened suddenly and the ceiling disappeared into darkness overhead. Dozens of eyes blinked open along the walls, glowing with an eerie, sickly, green light.

“Don't look directly at them!” Owen shouted a moment too late.

I’d made eye contact and something tugged at my essence. Panic surged through me as it felt like my soul was being pulled through my eyes.

“Close your eyes and focus on our bond, Thal.” Otto’s voice sliced through my fear. “Trust me. I’ll guide you to safety.”

It took an effort to force my eyelids to close, but when I faltered, Otto’s presence lent me strength. I latched onto him as my anchor. My heart rate slowed and the pulling sensation lessened.

“It’s a soul-sucking trap designed to drain your life force,” Otto said. “Stay still while Owen neutralizes the spell.”

Energy tingled across my skin and a gut-wrenching screech filled the space. I told myself the eyes weren’t alive, but the shrieks were so lifelike.

“Keep your eyes shut,” Otto said.

I hadn’t realized I was about to look to see what Owen was doing. The warning snapped me from the near trance the sound had put me in.

“Thank you.”

“Of course, dragi.”

His accent still sucked, but it pleased me he’d worked it into his vocabulary. I focused on Otto to distract myself from what I couldn’t see.

“It’s safe,” Owen said.

I opened my eyes and the cave looked different. Hundreds of yellow crystals were embedded in the wall. They were the size and shape of the green eyes, but the eerie feeling and sickly light was gone.

“Well done,” Otto said. He squeezed Owen’s shoulder. “Do you need a minute?”

“No. The spell didn’t fight back,” Owen said. “It wasn’t meant to stop a mage.”

The red and purple lights from the mage stones illuminated the space. The cave was smaller than I thought when we entered. There were also two openings across from us.

“Which one?” Lysandor asked, putting words to what everyone was thinking.

I stared at the right tunnel. If it came to a coin toss, I usually chose to go right. A jot of wrongness hit me. It was tiny but noticeable. Moving closer to the opening on the right, it happened again.

“Lysandor, can you come here?” When he joined me, I held up a hand to silence any questions. “Think about going this way.”

There was confusion on Lysandor’s face as he turned toward the pitch-black tunnel. His eye went wide after only a second. “What does it mean?”

I understood his puzzlement. The earth was sending us a warning, but what was it warning us against? Danger awaited us if we made the right choice and found the Demon Sword. If we went the wrong way, was it worse? Or was the earth trying to communicate with us in the only way it could? “I’m not sure. Let’s try the other tunnel.”

In the twinkling light of the two glowing mage stones, we stood in front of the other dark opening. The undercurrent of fear vanished. If we were merely seeking a safe passage out, the answer was clear.

I wanted to ask Otto his thoughts, but it made me feel weak forcing him to make the decision. He wouldn’t see it that way, but I wanted to be a partner, not an assistant. Instead, I explained what Lysandor and I felt to our mates.

“This is like that mind game—if I tell you everything I say is a lie, does that mean I’m really telling the truth when I say I’m lying?” Owen said.

“Not exactly.” I walked back to the tunnel on the right. “The earth wants us to find the Demon Sword. It wouldn’t warn us away from the path that led to it.”

“That assumes a level of sentience I don’t think the earth possesses,” Otto said.

His doubt almost caused me to question my convictions, but then I remembered what he said. Earth magic was his weakest discipline. My role in the union was to turn that weakness into a strength.

“That’s only partially right. The earth doesn’t think at an individual level. It doesn’t know it chose Otto or Owen, only that it chose the two best mages to cure this sickness.”

I waited for someone to object, but they were listening and processing, so I continued. “Even if we accept the earth acts instinctively, then it’s guiding us to where it needs us to go. Which means we go left.”

We all turned to Otto. He ignored the pressure of everyone’s expectations to consider what he’d heard. Finally, he nodded.

“I agree with, Thal,” he said. “We go left.”

Otto’s stone glowed a bit brighter and we followed him deeper into the cave system. The air grew thicker and more suffocating as soon as we left the chamber of eyes. Beneath our feet, the floor turned soft. I looked down and my boots were covered in a fine, gray sand. Walking through the shifting ground slowed our progress.

Several minutes later, we emerged into another chamber. I stiffened, waiting for the eyes to return. They didn’t, but a soft sound filled the space. It grew until it had the force of a thousand whispers speaking at once. The floor began to shift on its own, and Owen increased the illumination from his stone.

The sand flowed in different directions and formed into solid bits. Those small specks connected to others and grew larger. When the objects took shape, I realized we were standing on a sea of bones that had been ground into dust.

A ball of crimson energy burst from Otto’s hand, and it shattered the newly formed bones back into flecks and bits. We ran for the far end, but the scattered remains reformed before we made it a few steps.

Otto used fire next, but the charred pieces reconnected into blackened skeletons. There were thousands of them between us and the exit.

“Owen!” Otto yelled. “Create a shield to cover you and Lysandor. Extend it until it touches mine. On my mark, push your energy outward until we grind them against the walls. Then we keep the shield up and run for the opposite end of the cave.”

I understood the basics but worried we’d be pushing some into the tunnel we wanted to use. Otto disrupted my thoughts by pushing an image of a fireball into my head.

“Thal, I need your help,” Otto said. “I’m going to give you a weapon, and I need you to throw it into the tunnel right before Owen and I clear a path.”

He reached back and handed me a glass sphere about the size of a plum. “Your concerns were valid,” Otto said. “This will block the entrance so we don’t push any skeletons into our escape route. However, I need you to trust me.”

It stung that he needed to ask. “Of course I trust you.”

“Thal, I don’t mean it like that,” Otto said. “That weapon is going to light up like a fireball right before you throw it. I need you to believe it won’t hurt you. That I’d never hurt you.”

I swallowed my butt-hurt feelings and remembered even if he didn’t show it, Otto was under a mountain of stress. “I won’t drop it.”

“I know you won’t.” Otto turned and flashed me a grin. “Ignore the skeletons in the way. The ball will slice through them.”

I didn’t need to ask what would happen if I missed. Expect to succeed and the chance you will increases. At least that’s what I’d learned as a kid. “Understood.”

“You throw on ‘one,’ Owen and I will push on three.”

I didn’t answer, steadying myself to throw when told. To avoid being blinded, I kept my focus on the goal and not the orb in my hand.

“One!” Otto yelled.

When I threw the ball, it shocked me to see my hand engulfed in red fire. The flaming globe did what Otto said it would, cutting its way through the creatures in its path.

“Two.”

My aim was good and the glass ball landed a few feet inside the tunnel. It exploded and expelled anything standing by the opening.

“Three!”

A blinding surge of purple and red light exploded outward from our small group. When I could see again, our path had been cleared and we started to run. The skeletons had crumbled into dust again and slithered around the outside of the shields, trying in vain to find an open space to reform.

We reached the tunnel and ran through the fiery barrier. Otto had his stone out, but his plan had worked and none of the skeletons made it out of the chamber. He didn’t relax, but motioned ahead of us.

A light flickered about a hundred yards ahead of us. Otto led the way, his hand poised in front of him. My heart thudded with each step. This was it. We’d reached the endgame.

The tunnel was wide enough that we could stand side by side as we approached. Owen and Otto shielded us with a flickering wall of energy.

Finally, we reached the end and the passage turned into a house-sized cave. I didn’t see any other exits, which meant the enemy had long planned to make its last stand here.

In the center of the room, a dark blade with a blackened jewel in the pommel had been thrust into a slab of rock. The stone, which should have been solid and unyielding, looked diseased and brittle. It was black and seemed to pulse with a sickly energy.

Standing behind the sword, as if he'd been waiting for us all along, was an old man. His skin was pale and drawn, his eyes sunken. Power radiated from him—dark, corrupt power that made my stomach churn.

He didn’t seem bothered by our arrival. It was as if everything had gone according to his plan.

“Welcome, my young friends,” he said, his voice dripping with mock politeness. “We've been expecting you.”