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Lorimal's Chalice by Jane Fletcher © 2002 They dropped their packs and followed the dwarf captain. The cracked surface presented an easy climb to the cleft in the rock wall. When they reached it, they saw the opening was the entrance to a sloping shaft about twenty feet in length. It was so narrow in parts that Tevi and Jemeryl were forced to squeeze through sideways. By the time they edged into the low-roofed chamber beyond, the dwarf captain was leaning against the wall, waiting for them impatiently and pointing at something the middle. The space before them was maybe fifty feet across. The floor was hollowed out like a dish. Across the ceiling ran lines of small stalactites. In the centre was a shimmering transparent green sphere encasing a limestone block. Lying motionless on this platform was Levannue. "Oh, of course." Jemeryl exclaimed, under her breath. "Is she alive?" Tevi asked softly. "Yes. She's created a force field around herself and gone into a trance. There's no need to whisper. We won't wake her - the roof collapsing wouldn't do that." "How long can she stay like this?" "Indefinitely. Entranced sleep is easy to induce. You can set when you want to wake and even have an energy influx so you don't need food. The drawback is that you still grow old, but that's no longer a problem for Levannue." Tevi took a few steps closer to the barrier and studied the sleeping sorcerer. "I wonder if this hasn't been her intention all along - the reason why she came north. She could stay here a hundred years, even a thousand years, and not come out until people have stopped looking for her. She could wait until everyone who knows what she'd done is dead." "You could be right. These caves are a good place to hide. The dwarves might have found her, even without our advice, but they couldn't get to her and they wouldn't have gone rushing out to tell anyone. In fact, they'd have made a very good guard. And, even if rumours did get back to Lyremouth, what would they have been? Simply a tale of a mysterious woman, asleep in a distant northern cave." "So can we leave her here and go for more help from Lyremouth?" Jemeryl thought it over. "We don't know how long she means to stay put. She might be merely sleeping out winter and be gone by the time we return." "Is that likely?" "She can't be certain the ghouls got us. She may well be intending to spend decades in a trance but she doesn't have to do it here. The safest thing, from her point of view, would be to move to a new secret location come spring, before we have a chance to return with reinforcements." Jemeryl drew a deep breath. "And we can't risk losing her again." "So what now? Can you break down the barrier?" Tevi asked. "Yes." "What can I do to help?" "Nothing, except stay safely away." "There must be something." Tevi protested. "There's nothing you could do, except be a weak spot. If Levannue directed an attack at you, I'd have to drop my own defence to shield you." Jemeryl reached out and squeezed Tevi's shoulder. "I'm afraid I'm in this one on my own. Come on; let's go back to our packs. I might as well have something to eat first." They returned to the outer cavern and found some provisions in their bags, however neither of the women had much appetite. The thought of the coming battle left Tevi's mouth dry. Food stuck as a hard lump in her throat and she found it impossible to swallow. Jemeryl stared sombrely at her meal but made little attempt to eat. "I would be so much happier if you were a long way away from here." "There wouldn't be much point. Levannue must realise that I'm the only one, apart from you, who knows where she is. If she kills you, she'll chase me all the way back to the Protectorate to keep her whereabouts a secret." "Maybe." Jemeryl sighed. In unspoken agreement the pair stopped the pretence of a meal and packed away the unwanted food. The lantern was lit. Jemeryl faced the entrance to Levannue's chamber and squared her shoulders. "Whichever way the battle goes, it won't take long. If I don't come out after it goes quiet, you should sneak back into the cave. Even if I don't kill Levannue, I might injure her. If she's weak or unconscious it will be the best chance you'll get to finish her." Jemeryl turned her head so her eyes met Tevi's. "Wish me luck." Tevi wrapped her arms about Jemeryl. "Take care. I love you." "I know and I love you." Tevi closed her eyes and kissed Jemeryl's mouth very slowly and deliberately. She didn't want to even consider the idea that this might be the last time but she couldn't stop herself making mental notes, as if trying to impress on her memory how it felt to hold Jemeryl in her arms and feel their lips and tongues moving together in soft exploration. Jemeryl was the one who broke away. She stared for long seconds into Tevi's eyes. "I'll always love you. Please, never forget that." There was nothing else to be said and no other excuse for delay. Jemeryl slipped from the embrace and then, with Klara on her shoulder, climbed to the opening and disappeared from Tevi's view. ***** Nothing had changed inside the chamber. Levannue lay in her enchanted sleep; Jemeryl viewed her foe uneasily. It would be a straightforward trial of strength. Surprise was on her side but Levannue had years more experience. Jemeryl reached up to stroke the magpie. Klara was probably her best weapon, allowing her to attack Levannue from two directions at once. It might make the crucial difference. She sent the magpie to a perch on the far side of the chamber and then grasped her sorcerer's staff firmly in both hands. The force field was a knot in the sixth dimension, unbreakable to the ungifted, but easily loosened by those who could see it for what it was. It was a simple exercise for Jemeryl to reach out and strip back the bonds. The force field burst apart in a storm of light and sound. Jemeryl was prepared for some sort of booby-trap; even so, she was knocked to the ground. A bruising rain of broken stalactites fell around her. The blast left her momentarily blinded and deafened. She fought her way to her feet, rubbing her eyes clear of dust, and saw that Levannue was also recovering from her violent awakening. The two sorcerers studied each other coldly. Only the distant echo of dripping water broke the silence. "Will you surrender?" Jemeryl asked. Her answer was a slashing kick of raw power, ripping through the ether, but the attack was miscued and easily parried. The fight was brief. Three times Levannue sent balls of white lightning hurtling towards Jemeryl. A desperate effort was needed to dissipate the bolts before they struck and Jemeryl was pushed backwards by the force. Then, she made her own assault, opening a drain under Levannue and attempting to suck all heat into the rock below. The older sorcerer dammed the out-flow of energy, responding more quickly than Jemeryl would have thought possible. The speed of the riposte loosened Jemeryl's hold on the lines of power. Immediately, Levannue caught and twisted the eddying forces, ready to subvert the flow for her own use. However she had committed herself to a path of attack and shifted her guard. Jemeryl seized the chance. From a mesh with Klara, she sent a hail of invoked darts towards her enemy's back that caught Levannue by surprise. The older sorcerer raised a shield, moving with frantic haste, yet she only just reacted in time and her defence was awkward and unwieldy. Her aura was knocked off balance and her grip on the lines of power weakened. Before she could recover, Jemeryl struck out, aiming at the ether rather than her shielded opponent. The shock waves tore control of the sixth dimension from Levannue's persona. Again, Jemeryl ripped open the drain, and this time there was no way for her opponent to counter the freezing onslaught. Ice washed over Levannue's feet, flowing up her legs in a surging tide. Levannue's eyes fixed on Jemeryl in horror and despair. "NO!" A last pleading hand shot out towards Jemeryl. The sound of Levannue's
scream faded. She flung back her head and raised both arms to the ceiling.
Thunderbolts shot from her fingertips. As the encircling ribbons of ice
reached Levannue's heart, the roof of the vault came crashing down about
their heads. |