Page 96 of Oath of Betrayal
‘I don’t know.’ I shook my head. ‘I don’t think Iwantto know either.’
Trying to breathe as little as possible, I conjured a bright spark and bound it above my shoulder to light our way. ‘Let’s go. The sooner we find out what’s going on here, the sooner we can get back to the surface,’ I said, pretending not to hear Orm’s muttered curses.
The tunnel was large enough to let us walk upright and I had a sneaking suspicion about what had created it. The question washowan olgoi this size could have passed through the barrier that had seemed strong enough to hold back most of the Vel. Still,it certainly explained the creatures we had fought in the forest, the ground near the Rift that looked freshly ploughed, and the carnivorous demons that kept multiplying in the mountains.
‘I think the spectrae were sent to distract you and the other commanders,’ I ventured as we walked deeper into the underground.
‘Well, it worked. We were so focused on fighting them in the air that we haven’t patrolled the Rift for weeks.’ He looked at me, and I saw the tension in his eyes. ‘You think it is an olgoi, don’t you?’ I nodded.
‘Fuck!’ Orm hit the wall so hard that the skin on his knuckles broke, and I instantly covered his hand with mine. ‘No bleeding here. Vel demons can smell it from miles away, and we don’t need a horde of monsters chasing us,’ I reprimanded him, concentrating on my limited healing skills to seal the wound.
‘You said you weren’t a healer,’ he commented, and I rolled my eyes. ‘I’m also not a cook, but I can boil water for tea. These are just scrapes, so try not to get your guts spilt or you’ll have to carry them to Alaric yourself.’ He smiled a little at that.
‘Sassy wench. Any other commands for your superior?’
‘No bleeding, screaming, or running away. Also, if anything happens, hide behind me. I will protect you. Follow basic battle mage procedures while on a hunt,’ I ordered, and he shook his head, smirking.
‘Let’s go, Nivale, before I give in to the urge to spank you for those brazen words.’
I knew we were in danger and that the Lowland Kingdoms were in dire straits, but in that moment, I felt ridiculously happy bantering with Orm.
I love him.
It wasn’t just the Anchoring bond, an infatuation, or plain desire, although I admit I would happily spend every free moment in bed with him. I loved him, flaws and all.
The thought came so unexpectedly that I gasped, and Orm turned towards me with a drawn sword in his hand. ‘No, it’s nothing. Let’s go,’ I said, hiding my blush. We continued on in silence.
I don’t know how long it took; it felt like an hour, maybe two, but I finally noticed a faint light at the end of the corridor and heard a rustling and screeching sound thatalmostresembled human voices. I gestured for Orm to let me lead.
After a silent argument, during which we waved our hands like lunatics, he finally agreed. I couldn’t cast an illusion spell. That kind of magic was beyond my capabilities; Arno had always taken care of that whenever we fought. However, I could confuse the senses of those nearby, blurring our form using the mud caked to our bodies to blend into the background.
We quietly approached the end of the tunnel and entered an enormous cavern. Grey, sickly tree roots spread out above us, creating a shadowed canopy that was broken up by a few crevices that allowed a little light to filter through. What the weak glow revealed, though, sent icy shivers down my spine in horror.
Foul magic creatures filled the cavern. It was like some twisted vision of horror made reality; hundreds of corrupt bodies writhed across the floor, their hideously content sighs churning my stomach. Strigae, ghouls, and the undead remnants of humans were piled on top of each other. I saw several creatures that weren’t created by foul magic but of wild aether, like biesy and vile1 and beings of nature that inhabited forests or marshlands, harmless to those who didn’t seek to harm them. These, however, looked tainted—as if their very essence were rotten to the core.
‘There’s an entire army waiting to be awakened right here, and no one knows about it,’ Orm whispered before laying a hand on my shoulder. ‘That’s what the spectrae were guarding. Gods,they’re already in the kingdom. The Lich King is pretending to negotiate while staging an army for invasion. We need to go back. I need to inform my brother and the other commanders as soon as possible. Fuck … the envoy is coming today.’
‘I’ll help. I contacted some friends while you were away, and I’m expecting an answer any day now. I also still have some contacts at the university; one or two of them may even be councillors by now. But right now, we have to go up there.’ I pointed to the ceiling where a ray of light fell down through the gap. ‘I can feel something … Gods, I hate I was the reason for the Rift.’
‘Stop blaming yourself for what you did to survive. If anything, it alerted us to the failing magic. The Barrier was already fading, and your unit stopped the wlok; that’s all that matters,’ Orm said, embracing me. And just like that, I found peace in his arms.
I raised my hand, placing it on Orm’s cheek. His stubble scratched at the skin of my palm, but all I could do was look at those green eyes. Even if I had to fight the Lich King himself for this man, I would. If there was a light in the world worth fighting for, Orm was the embodiment of it.
He smiled at me, unaware of my thoughts, and I gestured to the crumbled rocks above before telling him my plan. ‘We’ll have to climb up. Vahin should be still above the Rift, soaring the skies, and we can call him whenever we get to the surface. I can’t see any other way there. The Vel will probably sleep until sunset, and if we’re careful, we should be able to get there unnoticed.’
Orm sighed heavily before grasping my waist and lifting me to the first gnarly root. ‘Off you go. At least this way, I’ll have something nice to look up at,’ he teased. His words confused me at first, but as we slowly climbed, I noticed his eyes were firmly attached to my backside, and if the situation weren’t so dire, I would have laughed.
It took a while to reach our destination. We had to stop several times when falling debris caused several monsters to stir in their sleep, and when we finally made it up, the crack in the ceiling was too small to squeeze through. After a few whispered prayers, I drew a sigil, using the aether to carefully scour away the fractured rock with a mix of air and earth magic to widen the gap.
After forcing our way through, we emerged in a smaller but still spacious chamber, its walls so high the ceiling was bathed in darkness. I could feel a faint breeze coming from above, but it didn’t fully register as my attention was captured by the sight before me.
We were in the Barrier crystal’s chamber. A pulsating crystal floating in midair and I struggled to believe what I was seeing, but the dull glow, the crack, and the shards littering the floor convinced me it was real. There were two tunnels leading from the chamber on opposite walls and a large complex set of sigils in the centre of the chamber. The crystal wasn’t the only thing damaged. Several lines of the diagram were missing, cracked, or smudged, and Orm swore as he pointed towards it. ‘Is this what I think it is?’
‘Yes, and it is clearly damaged. Still, at least the diagram’s an easy fix. You know, since you told me Alaric wanted to replace the crystal, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I wanted to try fixing it. Now I’m here, and I don’t know what to do. It all feels overwhelming, but … I want to try.’
I crouched down, and Orm placed a hand on my shoulder while I lay mine on the ground. I studied the writing intently, then closed my eyes, picturing it in my mind, adding what was missing and repairing the damaged parts. My connection with Orm was firm and steady, and I leant into his strength as I sought the primal energy of the mountain.
The breath in my lungs froze as I connected with the vast power. It rushed through my body, lighting up the diagram with blinding white light, mending and filling the glyphs with magic. Something changed in the air, and I felt the old spell rising like a tide.
