Curse Of The Dark Wind (Book 6) by Charles E. Yallowitz Page B

and smiles. “I will make sure to keep you on the right path and stop you from going too far. Now I suggest we go inside where it is warm. We hope to depart by mid-morning and you need a bath.”
    “We know where the next temple is?”
    Timoran holds the Compass Key toward the sun, half-heartedly hoping something will happen. “No. The plan is to return to the Caster Swamp and search the Lich’s castle for information. It is possible that he knew the locations, but could do nothing without the Compass Key. It is a long shot, but it is all we have at this time.”
    “Nyx still can’t figure the Compass Key out? Bet she’s furious about that,” Luke says with a smirk. He glances at Timoran and rubs his hands together, feeling a tingling numbness in his fingertips. “You know, my friend, I haven’t held the Compass Key yet. Maybe I can figure it out since everyone else has failed. I promise not to set anything off or tell Nyx that you let me touch it. I don’t know why she thinks I can cause trouble with the thing.”
    “You cannot do any worse than Nyx,” the large man states, handing the artifact over to the other warrior.
    With a yelp of shock, Luke is launched off the wall and whipped through the air as if an invisible beast is trying to shake him off. He holds onto the Compass Key with as much strength as he can muster in his cold hands, his knuckles aching. Fearing that he will fall or lose the relic, he wraps its chain around his hand. The half-elf can see Timoran rushing to get underneath him, the barbarian holding out his arms in case his friend slips. Spinning Luke like a small tornado, the Compass Key flies at Rainbow Tower and knocks him against the wall. Groaning in pain, the young warrior desperately tries to stop his face from being dragged along the smooth, colorful stones. His thick jacket and shirt are barely able to protect his skin from getting shredded against the tower.
    “What is going on out here?” Nyx asks, covering herself with fire to stay warm in her short-sleeved shirt and thin pants. She glances up in time to see Luke diving at her, the caster killing off her flames and ducking to avoid getting hit. “How can you fly without wings, little brother? Not that you seem to have any control.”
    “He is holding the Compass Key!” Timoran shouts as he hurries across the garden. “I gave it to him since he had yet to examine it. Then it dragged him into the sky. Maybe the Compass Key reacts to whichever champion’s temple is closest and it just so happens to be Luke.”
    “Could even be an order to the temples,” Nyx says, rubbing the points of her ears. She runs her hands along her clothes to transform them into those better suited for winter, a pair of flames flickering on her shirt’s lapels. “If Luke lets go near the ground or the roof, he’ll be fine and the Compass Key will deactivate.”
    “Are you sure?”
    “No.”
    Nyx transforms into mist as Luke is taken towards the top of Rainbow Tower, his body moving like a limp doll in a hurricane. As the relic arches over the roof to dive at the ground, the forest tracker slams his feet against the back of a turret. He pulls back with all of his strength, his arm feeling like it is about to be ripped from his shoulder. Luke nearly slips before a pair of slender arms wraps around his waist and lock him in place.
    “I got you, lover,” Sari whispers, her power of immovability preventing both of them from moving. She worries when Luke begins slowly bending in half, the half-elf grunting and whimpering. “I have him pinned, but he’s still getting pulled! A little help, Nyxie! Move quickly before this gets messy! Oh, please don’t let this get messy.”
    “Relax and focus on the Compass Key,” Nyx says as she solidifies on the rooftop. She ducks under a streaking comet and ignores the frown from Sari. “I can’t do anything. It’s attuned to Luke and my aura could hurt him with a backlash. He has to use his own