The Divided Knight - Chapter Nineteen

In hindsight, Thaddeus should have seen it coming. The newness of being whole, however, coupled with how incredibly powerful he now seemed to have become, made him forget two very important things. The first was the fact that, before Zoe had stitched him and the Wanderer back together, the Wanderer had been unable to use or sense magic. The second had been how Zoe, when casting the spell that had made Thaddeus whole, had drawn all the power around her – the power that Thaddeus now understood had been something called a static spell, which was a spell that was meant to remain in effect without direct influence from its initial caster, and which had been what had kept the Guardian animated all these years – into herself, which had amplified her abilities and, ultimately, had disrupted the original spell.

That original spell had snapped back into place almost immediately after Zoe had finished, but Thaddeus had at first been too tired, and then too distracted, to realize how much her actions had changed it. His ability to sense magic after waking back up should have been the first clue, and, had he acted on it, then, he'd have given himself more of a chance to do something before the Guardian destroyed the door to the sleeping chamber and flung he and Zoe across the room. Maybe, if he'd acted when he should have, Thaddeus could have kept Zoe from hitting the wall so hard – no matter how long he lived, he was sure he would never forget seeing how hard Zoe's head struck the stone, and the memory of it would haunt him even more if she didn't survive – or, perhaps, he could have kept the Guardian out of the room entirely. More powerful, but still a fool, Thaddeus thought as he lay against the wall, feigning unconsciousness as he waited to see what the Guardian would do next.

Tromping into the sleeping chamber, his great, stone feet scraping against the floor with each step, the Guardian came over to them and looked down, studying them with eyes that no longer glowed blue – there were flames, there, now, and Thaddeus didn't need magic to understand that that meant the construct had fallen under the sway of Atraxos the Black. Seeming to have made a decision, the Guardian reached out for them with both hands, meaning, Thaddeus sensed, to grab them by their throats and squeeze until their heads popped off from the pressure. And so Thaddeus moved, flinging one of his hands out toward the Guardian and hurling a ball of energy at him. The ball of energy struck the Guardian square in the chest and caused him to stumble backward, and Thaddeus grinned when he saw some the Guardian's rocky skin flake off and crumble to the floor.

“YOUR ACTIONS DO NOTHING BUT POSTPONE YOUR DEATH, BATTLEMAGE!” the Guardian roared, starting forward once again.

“You're probably right,” Thaddeus said, springing to his feet and hurling energy at the Guardian with both hands, the twin balls of light striking with resounding cracks that caused more of the construct's skin to fall away. “I mean, everyone dies eventually, don't they? I just don't plan to fall at the hands of a rock too stupid to think for itself.”

“YOU CANNOT DESTROY ME! I AM AS ETERNAL AS THE MOUNTAINS THEMSELVES!”

The Guardian had held back during the taunt, giving away his fear and showing that, no matter how much control Atraxos had, the Guardian couldn't be forced into risking his own existence. Thaddeus picked up his sword from where it had fallen to the floor and unsheathed it, not even thinking twice when he saw the blue glow that now surrounded it. Gods Above, Thaddeus! Aylander said. You are powerful!

I know, Thaddeus said. I think I might even be powerful enough to free you. And then bring you back.

Bring me back? That's impossible!

“Nothing's impossible, anymore, my friend,” Thaddeus said out loud, and then lunged at the Guardian.

The Guardian attempted to block Thaddeus's lunge with his arm, but, when Thaddeus's sword made contact with the stone, it sliced clean through, the Guardian bellowing as his hand fell to the floor in a pile of dust. Thaddeus charged forward, swinging wildly with the sword, hacking and slicing at the rock that made up the ancient Eltaran construct. After a time, Thaddeus realized he was laughing – a mad, cackling laugh that rang throughout the Guardian's dwelling. Killing the Guardian was turning out to be easy, but, not only that, it was also turning out to be fun. A thousand years the Guardian had done its duty – a thousand years that, aside from being made out of stone, the Guardian had been just as alive, just as much an individual, as anyone else – and Thaddeus was putting an end to it in a matter of minutes. When at last the Guardian was no more, Thaddeus returned to the sleeping chamber, still tittering to himself as he sheathed his sword and strapped it to his back. And then he looked at Zoe, still crumpled unconscious against the wall.

All at once, Thaddeus realized what he had just done. Had he really thought taking the life of another being had been fun? Had he really laughed like a madman while hacking the Guardian to pieces? What was wrong with him? Zoe groaned – Thaddeus had never heard a more welcome sound in his life – stirring as she regained consciousness. Thaddeus helped her to sit up, wincing with her as she tried to clear her head by shaking it, then found he couldn't look at her when she opened her eyes. He was too ashamed of himself to meet her gaze, too horrified by what he'd done, even if it had saved their lives.

“Thaddeus?” Zoe said. “What happened?”

“The Guardian tried to kill us,” Thaddeus said, still not looking at her. “There was a spell of protection around this place that must have gotten changed when you put me back together, and when that change happened, Atraxos was able to gain control of the Guardian.”

“So, what happened to the Guardian?”

“I . . .” Thaddeus finally looked at her. “Zoe, I killed him. I hacked him to pieces with my sword. And I enjoyed doing it.”

Zoe looked at him in silence for a long time. At first, Thaddeus almost looked away from her gaze, but then he saw there was no judgement there, no condemnation – not even any fear. There was only love, mixed with what he thought might have been a small bit of sadness. Thaddeus's eyes suddenly overflowed with tears, and he squeezed them shut, swallowing hard to keep from sobbing. Not by any of the Gods Above was he worthy of the love of someone like Zoe. Not by any of them.

Suddenly, Zoe was touching him, both of her hands on either side of Thaddeus's head. Warmth radiated into him through her hands, and, as it spread, he felt the anguish at what he'd done begin to recede. In place of the anguish, he felt her love for him, and he heard her voice in his head, soft and soothing, telling him that he was worthy, and reminding him that what he'd done, despite the pleasure he'd taken in it, had saved their lives. Thaddeus opened his eyes – his tears were gone, soothed away and dried by Zoe's touch – and found himself looking at what had to be the most beautiful sight he'd ever laid eyes upon: Zoe, surrounded by a halo of golden light, and smiling at him.

“I told you I'd help you,” Zoe said.

“What . . . what if I do something worse?” Thaddeus asked. “What if the next thing I destroy is something made of flesh and blood, and not a construct made out of rock?”

“If it's evil, is taking pleasure in destroying it a bad thing?”

“No. No, I suppose it isn't. But what if I lose control?”

Zoe leaned forward and kissed Thaddeus's forehead. “I guess we'll just have to make sure that doesn't happen,” she said, sitting back and letting go of his head. When she let go of him, the halo surrounding her vanished.

“You killed my master.”

Thaddeus and Zoe turned their heads in unison at the sound of the Sprite's voice. Thaddeus was surprised to see the Sprite's color hadn't changed, and it didn't look agitated, at all. Was it possible that Sprites were somehow immune to the touch of someone like Atraxos the Black? Since he had been an Eltaran Sword Priest, and since the Eltarans had had far more dealings with Sprites than humans, Thaddeus tried asking Aylander about it, but all he got back in response was an apprehension-filled silence. Did that mean that Aylander was afraid of the Sprite?

“Only because your master was trying to kill us,” Zoe said.

“I know,” the Sprite said. “I saw it happen, and sensed everything behind it, as well. I would have stopped him if I had been able to, but my powers have no effect on creatures under the influence of others.” The Sprite shifted a bit, and Thaddeus suddenly had the sense that it was looking right at him. “My master would never have been the same after being touched by a creature like Atraxos the Black. What you did not only saved yourself and Lady Zoe, it also gave my master a humane end. I thank you for that.”

“You Sprites aren't as simple as you seem, are you?” Thaddeus asked.

“We are what we are because we can never again be what we were. Thaddeus, there is something I must ask of you before I go, and before this place begins to collapse. If you can free the soul within your sword, and, if it is possible for you to bring him back, to make him again as he once was, please do not hesitate to do so. And, if you cannot bring him back, I trust that, when the time comes, you will know what to do to set him truly free. Not just from the sword, but from everything.”

Thaddeus understood, and, in that moment of understanding, knew all he needed to about what Sprites were. “By all the Gods Above, I swear it,” he said.

“Thank you,” the Sprite said. And then, “Farewell.” The Sprite seemed to flicker, and then was gone.

Mad as all of them, Aylander said. Pay what it said no mind, Thaddeus. Listening to a Sprite leads to nothing but ruin.

And I thought Eltarans venerated their ancestors, Thaddeus said.

That was not one of my ancestors! Nor that of any Eltaran!

“You know I know better than that, Aylander,” Thaddeus said aloud. “And I know you know it, too.”

“What's going on, Thaddeus?” Zoe asked.

Before he could answer, the floor started to shake and a deep rumbling filled the room. Dust began to rain down on them, and when Thaddeus looked up, he saw cracks starting to spiderweb their way across the ceiling. The Guardian's dwelling was starting to collapse.

“No time,” Thaddeus said, standing. “We need to get out of here. Now!”

Grabbing Zoe's hand, Thaddeus pulled her to her feet, then hurried them out of the sleeping chamber. Initially, he thought to leave the way they'd come in, but, looking in that direction, he saw that most of the ceiling had already come down, blocking their way. Turning the other way, Thaddeus lead them what seemed to be deeper into the Guardian's dwelling, but, by reaching out with his magical senses, he knew there was another exit – and that there was something very powerful on the other side of it.

As they came to the rear exit of the dwelling – which looked more like just another blank wall than a way out – Thaddeus barked out a spell. The wall seemed to shimmer and dissolve, and, when enough of it was gone, he pushed Zoe out ahead of him, leaping through beside her just as a large part of the ceiling broke off and fell to the floor. Once he was outside and the dust from the collapse of the Guardian's dwelling had cleared, Thaddeus found that he and Zoe were standing on a circular platform with a large, seven-pointed star carved into it. There were words all along the outer edge of the platform, and Thaddeus recognized them at once as an Eltaran spell of transit.

Once, back during the height of the Torvaran Empire, platforms like the one Thaddeus and Zoe were on had been commonplace. Borrowed from the Eltarans, they had allowed all but instantaneous travel to any other point that had a matching platform. To use one, all a person had to do was stand in the center of the platform and speak the spell – which is what Thaddeus would have done, now, had the center of the platform not already been occupied.

“So, we meet, at last, Thaddeus Alvarem,” Atraxos the Black said, grinning as flames danced in his eyes. “A pity I can't stay. Fear not, however. When next we meet, I will happily give you the death you so rightly deserve. And then I will make you mine!”

Atraxos spoke the transit spell. Fire sprang up from the platform, seeming to engulf Atraxos and one of the Sword Priests who had accompanied him. The fire, along with the two figures it contained, vanished as quickly as it had appeared, leaving behind a tall, spindly Eltaran who reminded Thaddeus of a Vampire – an Abomination which fed on the blood of the living. The Eltaran drew its sword – it would have been the twin of Thaddeus's own if it hadn't been black from tip to pommel – and bared its obscenely sharpened teeth, hissing in perfect imitation of the blood-red serpent emblazoned on the front of its armor.

It was only when Thaddeus went to draw his sword that he realized that the Eltaran's hiss hadn't just been a hiss – it had also been a spell, a spell meant to make it impossible for Thaddeus's sword to be pulled from its scabbard. Well, that complicates things, Thaddeus thought, sharing a glance with Zoe as the Twisted Sword Priest began to advance toward them.