BDS: Chapter Ten

Malik stood in contemplation, one glowing white hand grasping his blue stone-tipped staff as he gazed at the mountain range before him. His eyes shone with a silvery blue glow as he cautiously studied the landscape and surrounding energy.

The air was without a breeze as if it had left along with the wildlife in anticipation of some disastrous event. The width and height of the range of peaks before him failed to match those of the Ice and Lundar Mountains in Elsaria, but the Kroslian Mountains of Tridaun did not need size to be intimidating. They were well known for the evil that dwelled within.

Both of Tridaun's moons lingered at their fullest above the mountains. Where the Elsarian moons were laced with a blue and white glow, the moons of Tridaun were tinged with blush, casting a beautiful pink shade over the dark copper mountain ridges, enticing innocence and masking inner darkness at the same time.

Sade's voice crackled through the communication piece around Malik's wrist. "Sir Malik, are you sure I can't accompany you into the mountains? It makes me nervous that I am not nearer your destination."

"I am quite sure, Sir Sade. Leave the Vorclán where it is and use the Xita-8 in the lower compartments to take Master Cahira to the palace. Afterward, fly close to the mountain caves, but remain in the ship after you arrive. The Kroslian Mountains are no place for an Elsarian. I would not be going there myself if I did not possess starlight. Even my magic may not be enough to ward the evil off long enough to free Kesól. I will summon you closer when I have found him. Although he is a warlock of great power and has mastered self-alchemy, he may be too weak to teleport a great distance, so it is best you are nearby at that time."

"Certainly, Sir."

Malik teleported in a burst of starlight. He reappeared at the base of the mountain and muttered a detection spell. A blue grid of thin lines appeared between him and the mountain, confirming that the entrance to the Kroslian prison was near.

His eyes lit along with the stone of his staff. As he approached the grid, a blue flame seeped out the tip of the stone and burned away the grid lines, creating a safe opening. He stepped through the gate and disappeared again in starlight, teleporting to different points around the mountains' canyons. He stopped when he neared a large entrance in the shape of an open serpent's mouth. A split tongue stretched between its two stone fangs.

Malik's skin automatically brightened as he entered through the mouth and continued onto a large ledge that jutted out over a vast canyon inside the mountain.

Black smoke suddenly flooded the area, blocking Malik's sight as it swirled around him. The smoke separated into five dark-brown-skinned humanoid creatures with black eyes, sharp cheekbones, and pointed chins. The pointed tip of their ears stuck out beneath bronze, stringy hair that fell just past their jawline. The five growled softly as they surrounded Malik.

The tallest of the group pointed a sharp black-tipped finger at Malik. "This is as far as you go, Mysteis," he spoke in a raspy voice.

Malik smiled politely as he gazed down at the group, his frame towering over the group. "Drenik, I am here to retrieve one of your prisoners. I saved his life years ago and have come so that he may repay his debt to me."

Drenik studied Malik for several seconds before his laugh, a shrill shrieking noise, pierced the air. The other four creatures joined him in laughter.

Malik cringed as their eerie shouts echoed off the canyon walls.

"The shadows do not release prisoners, Mysteis," Drenik replied with a hiss. "The shadow only collects them, and since you so willingly appeared within our dominion, you must wish to be collected as well."

He threw out a hand toward Malik. Black smoke crossed the distance between them and solidified into chains.

Malik lifted his staff. His eyes flashed as rays of light streaked across the distance toward each of the shadow hunters, just as the black chains wrapped around his left arm.

The creatures shrieked and cackled as they watched Malik's beams fly over their head and slam into the stone walls around them.

"He misses!" one of the shadow hunters exclaimed as he pointed at Malik.

Malik slammed the bottom of his staff into the cave floor. A loud crack and thunderous sound reverberated through the area causing the sides of the mountain to shake.

Drenik yanked at the chains around Malik, but the star wizard remained rooted where he stood.

Malik glanced down at his arm, where the chains were locked around him. The light of his skin dimmed and took on a black-green hue as the chains snaked their way up his arm. The glow in his eyes brightened, and the chains stopped winding. Light spread the length of his arm, shattering the chains.

Drenik sneered and dropped the chains as the light continued across their length. He looked at Malik, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. "It is impossible for the chain of shadow to be severed."

Malik raised an eyebrow. "Obviously not."

"You must be of the noble Mysteis. No other would escape."

"I think you have just been buried within the mountains too long, Drenik," Malik replied.

Drenik looked at his companions and signaled for the hunters to leave. The five began to fade into black smoke as it whipped around them once more.

"I don't think you will be going anywhere just yet," Malik stated. "I can't trust that you will stay out of my way as I search for who I have come for."

He waved his hand to clear the dark smoke along the ground. Silver threads protruded from the bottom of Malik's staff. The thick threads had extended to the hunters and latched around an ankle on each, preventing them from transforming fully into their shadow forms. Malik lifted his staff from the ground to reveal a star, each point being the source of the imprisoning threads.

The shadow hunters shrieked and pulled against the threads but could not break their binds.

"He tricks!" one screamed as he repeatedly attempted to jump and yank against his thread. "The beams he cast were tricks!"

"There is always light beneath the shadow," Malik stated with a small smile. "Ignoring it can be detrimental for the dark."

Drenik glared at Malik. "It matters not if you bind us, Mysteis. The tunnels to the cells are hidden in the power of the shadow. Only we can lead you to the one you seek. You will search for years."

"Oh, you may be surprised, Drenik," Malik responded as his eyes lit up even more, "at just exactly how much the light reveals." A surge of light shot up from his staff and spread like a fan across the high walls of the inner mountain. The entire area lit up as if a star had dropped within the mountain.

The shadow hunters shielded their eyes and shrieked as the rays of light descended upon them.

The tunnels leading to the mountain cells became apparent as Malik's light outlined the opening to each. They were multiple in number, layered on the upper tiers of the mountainside.

At each opening sat a short, fat beast covered in brown and green scales. Small, pointed horns spread across its skin. Two thick horns curled inward upon its head. Its face appeared smashed in, its lips and nose stretched flat beneath two slits where two beady, red eyes rested.

"So, you have employed the Bardoc as guards," Malik said. "No wonder the Kroslian Mountains are associated with tales of dark fire."

The Bardocs snorted, shook their heads, and waved their stubby, muscular arms in attempts to swat at the light.

Drenik sneered. "Perhaps flesh of a Mysteis will satisfy their never-ending appetite," he answered with another hiss as his comrades shrieked and cackled.

"I already know that Bardocs do not prefer flesh, Drenik," Malik said. "They may breathe fire, but they only eat stone, moss, and root."

Drenik scowled.

Malik studied the tunnels before him. His eyes came to rest on one in particular. Surrounding the trim of the cave were glittering flecks of yellow light that fleeted in and out of sight, so small that they would go unnoticed by an untrained eye.

"Even with years in a weakened state, Kesól, your cleverness remains," he whispered.

Understanding dawned on Drenik's face as he watched Malik take a step in the direction of Kesól's tunnel. He smirked. "The warlock's power has been suppressed for too long. His binds supply just enough energy to keep him alive. If they are removed, he will die." His voice turned into a low growl. The accompanying shadow hunters joined him as they growled and spit at Malik.

"That will be all," said Malik. The glow of his hand brightened as he gave a dismissive wave. The shrieks and growls of the hunters instantly ceased as each dropped unconscious to the ground.

Malik shook his head. "Easier than expected," he mumbled.

He looked up to the tunnels again and teleported to the entrance with glittering yellow lights. The Bardoc guarding the tunnel stood and shielded his eyes as Malik's star portal opened before him. He grunted in protest and beat his chest. As the portal disappeared, Malik kept the glow of his staff shining into the Bardoc's eyes. The Bardoc shook his head and covered his eyes, then stumbled in the opposite direction along the tier ledge.

Malik entered the tunnel quickly, the light from his eyes, skin, and staff bouncing off the walls and floor. He reached for Kesól telepathically but received no reply. Malik paused and dimmed his staff light when the tunnel forked into multiple pathways. The yellow light reappeared, leading him down the furthest tunnel to his right. The end of the maze led directly to Kesól's cell.

Kesól sat huddled on the floor against the back of the cell. His hands were wrapped around his knees, ineffectively keeping him from shivering. His clothing, which was a torn, dirty sweat-soaked tunic, stopped just above his knees.

Malik peered at the cell door, which was a thick stream of poisonous, clear liquid that spewed from the top of the doorway and dropped to a drain within the floor.

Kesól's yellow eyes sharpened as he peered at Malik from beneath a mass of tangled, dirty blue hair that hung past his brown shoulders. "Still alive, are you?" Kesól spoke in a gruff voice.

"That makes two of us."

Kesól laughed loudly, his throat straining. His laugh quickly turned into a fit of coughing. After several seconds, he took a deep breath. "Given my circumstances, it is more logical to assume you have volunteered to greet me in death than visit me in life. Perhaps I have finally died, and you are the first face I see."

"While it is true that I am here to greet you," Malik said as he continued to study the cell door. "I can assure you it is not in death." His eyes lit up brightly as he looked down at Kesól. "Hold your breath."

Kesól gave a short nod. "Okay, but I warn you that it may be my last," he said just before he took a deep raspy breath.

The stone of Malik's staff lit up, and the liquid doorway began to evaporate until nothing but a few drops of condensation remained on the floor. Malik sucked any remaining bits of steam up with his staff and nodded to Kesól, who instantly released his breath.

Another fit of coughing ensued.

"Health isn't what it used to be," Kesól murmured, his face flushed.

"If you have withstood this place without disease settling in your bones, then you must have resilient blood in that warlock body of yours," Malik replied.

"And yet, disease still lingers in my mind." Kesól brushed back his hair with a shaky hand, exposing a thick energy suppression cuff around his wrist.

"No, my friend. Having the heart of a Shanlo does not mean you possess a diseased mind. You are not to blame for such a burden."

Kesól cast him a cracked-lip smile. "I have missed the wisdom of an old wizard constantly in my ear! I knew you would eventually find your way here, Malik. I was just unsure if it would be before or after my departure to this realm."

The light in Malik's eyes dimmed. He stared in pity at Kesól's right eye, which no longer matched the unique yellow color of his left iris. The entire eye was washed of all color, except for an iridescent white gleam. A vertical scar began above his eye and ended at his cheekbone.

Kesól pointed to his eye. "Courtesy of the shadow hunters."

Malik's expression angered.

"Never mind that, now, Malik. I would jump in joy to greet you, but I cannot stand alone."

Malik crossed the cell and pulled Kesól gently to his feet. Kesól let out a groan. "You will never stand alone again. But, this time," Malik stated softly as he winked, "we fly."

"This is the second time you have saved my life," Kesól whispered.

Malik smiled. "Saving you in your youth from Alpherian classmates who enjoy hunting a target to bully does not count."

"It does for me."

"If you insist, I have a way for you to repay me, which we will address later. He looked down at the suppression binds clasped around Kesól's wrists and ankles. "I will remove these once we are on the ship." He took out a stone amulet with a single rune engraved on it.