thought the same.
CHAPTER 6
Lukys walked a little further into the fabulous ice chamber, admiring his own handiwork. He seemed inordinately pleased with himself.
Declan stared at his father's back, a little surprised. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it seemed wrong that all this effort had been expended to kill an immortal if all it would take for him to die was to have him holding a lump of rock at the critical moment. 'Cayal will be holding the crystal?'
'Focusing the Tide into the Chaos Crystal is a tricky business,' Maralyce said stepping up beside Declan. 'You can't just lay it on the ground and hope for the best. It needs something organic holding it in place.'
'Otherwise the magic just ... bounces off,' Lukys said, squatting down to examine some minute flaw in the ice cavern's polished surface that only he could see. He studied the ice for a moment and then rose to his feet. Declan couldn't help the feeling 'bounces off was not what Lukys originally intended to say.
Lukys looked around with satisfaction and then turned to Declan. 'The ice walls should keep the magic contained and channel it back where it's needed.'
Declan felt as if he was starting to get some hint of the bigger picture. 'That's why you built yourself a palace here in Jelidia, isn't it?' he said. 'It wasn't because you liked the idea of living at the bottom of the world in regal but isolated splendour. You needed to cover this up. You had to do something with all the ice you cut out of this chamber.'
'He doesn't miss much, does he?' Lukys remarked to Maralyce.
'I did try to warn you,' his great-grandmother replied. Declan wouldn't have bet money on it, but for once she sounded almost proud of him.
'Do the others know about this?' he asked.
'Kentravyon does,' Lukys said. 'He helped me build the chamber. And of course, Taryx, who disposed of all the ice we hollowed out, in a very aesthetically pleasing way, I have to admit. As for the others — well, we haven't really felt the need to involve anybody else at this stage.'
'Were Kentravyon and Taryx around the last time you tried this?'
Lukys nodded, slipping his hands in the pocket of his vest. It was so cold in the chamber their breath frosted with every word. But Lukys was dressed in a plain white shirt, a simple knitted vest and linen trousers with sandals on his feet, which would have stuck to the ice had he tried to walk on it barefoot. 'Kentravyon is one of the original immortals. Pellys, too, but I'm not sure he still has the ability to concentrate enough to be of use.'
Declan wasn't sure how much of this he believed, but it seemed foolish to waste such an opportunity when Maralyce and Lukys were feeling so garrulous. He pointed to the platform in the centre of the chamber. 'So this is where we put Cayal and the Chaos Crystal when we find it? On that? And then what? We all stand around chanting until Cayal explodes, opening a gateway to this other world you're planning to escape to?'
Lukys smiled, turning to glance at the altar. 'Near enough. Of course, we have to find the crystal first. Or at least retrieve it. Which, thanks to my dear, dear friend, Maralyce, may happen sooner than we'd hoped.'
Declan turned from the distracting vista of the chamber to look at his great-grandmother. This is
what he'd come here to find out. Why she'd come here. Why she'd leave Glaeba, abandon her mine. 'You've found it?'
'If only I had,' she said with a sigh. 'Alas, nobody has found it yet. But it seems Elyssa might know where it is. According to my spies, she's managed to get her hands on an original Lore Tarot.'
'The one Taryx was talking about?' Declan asked, a sudden wave of guilt washing over him. His responsibilities to the Cabal of the Tarot were a burden that grew increasingly heavy, made worse by the fact that despite his noble intentions, he'd learned almost nothing useful since coming to Jelidia, except how to better control the magical Tide. Even now, standing here in the
CHAPTER 6
Lukys walked a little further into the fabulous ice chamber, admiring his own handiwork. He seemed inordinately pleased with himself.
Declan stared at his father's back, a little surprised. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it seemed wrong that all this effort had been expended to kill an immortal if all it would take for him to die was to have him holding a lump of rock at the critical moment. 'Cayal will be holding the crystal?'
'Focusing the Tide into the Chaos Crystal is a tricky business,' Maralyce said stepping up beside Declan. 'You can't just lay it on the ground and hope for the best. It needs something organic holding it in place.'
'Otherwise the magic just ... bounces off,' Lukys said, squatting down to examine some minute flaw in the ice cavern's polished surface that only he could see. He studied the ice for a moment and then rose to his feet. Declan couldn't help the feeling 'bounces off was not what Lukys originally intended to say.
Lukys looked around with satisfaction and then turned to Declan. 'The ice walls should keep the magic contained and channel it back where it's needed.'
Declan felt as if he was starting to get some hint of the bigger picture. 'That's why you built yourself a palace here in Jelidia, isn't it?' he said. 'It wasn't because you liked the idea of living at the bottom of the world in regal but isolated splendour. You needed to cover this up. You had to do something with all the ice you cut out of this chamber.'
'He doesn't miss much, does he?' Lukys remarked to Maralyce.
'I did try to warn you,' his great-grandmother replied. Declan wouldn't have bet money on it, but for once she sounded almost proud of him.
'Do the others know about this?' he asked.
'Kentravyon does,' Lukys said. 'He helped me build the chamber. And of course, Taryx, who disposed of all the ice we hollowed out, in a very aesthetically pleasing way, I have to admit. As for the others — well, we haven't really felt the need to involve anybody else at this stage.'
'Were Kentravyon and Taryx around the last time you tried this?'
Lukys nodded, slipping his hands in the pocket of his vest. It was so cold in the chamber their breath frosted with every word. But Lukys was dressed in a plain white shirt, a simple knitted vest and linen trousers with sandals on his feet, which would have stuck to the ice had he tried to walk on it barefoot. 'Kentravyon is one of the original immortals. Pellys, too, but I'm not sure he still has the ability to concentrate enough to be of use.'
Declan wasn't sure how much of this he believed, but it seemed foolish to waste such an opportunity when Maralyce and Lukys were feeling so garrulous. He pointed to the platform in the centre of the chamber. 'So this is where we put Cayal and the Chaos Crystal when we find it? On that? And then what? We all stand around chanting until Cayal explodes, opening a gateway to this other world you're planning to escape to?'
Lukys smiled, turning to glance at the altar. 'Near enough. Of course, we have to find the crystal first. Or at least retrieve it. Which, thanks to my dear, dear friend, Maralyce, may happen sooner than we'd hoped.'
Declan turned from the distracting vista of the chamber to look at his great-grandmother. This is
what he'd come here to find out. Why she'd come here. Why she'd leave Glaeba, abandon her mine. 'You've found it?'
'If only I had,' she said with a sigh. 'Alas, nobody has found it yet. But it seems Elyssa might know where it is. According to my spies, she's managed to get her hands on an original Lore Tarot.'
'The one Taryx was talking about?' Declan asked, a sudden wave of guilt washing over him. His responsibilities to the Cabal of the Tarot were a burden that grew increasingly heavy, made worse by the fact that despite his noble intentions, he'd learned almost nothing useful since coming to Jelidia, except how to better control the magical Tide. Even now, standing here in the
Similar Books
