“Should we try orantium?” Tark asked.

Ferrin nodded. “It might be our only remaining option. I wish we could use the gatecrasher, but there is no way it will fit through the bars.”

“A normal one might do it,” Tark said.

“Let’s find out,” Ferrin said.

An arm came scissoring back to them. Tark handed it an orantium sphere, and the arm wriggled away.

“Use the crossbow,” Ferrin said. “I want to get my arms clear, in case this doesn’t work and we need more use out of them. I swear, Tark, if I have to cram myself through these bars piece by piece, I will see it done.”

“I thought you said it would be too hard,” Tark replied.

“It would be risky,” Ferrin replied. “There are limits to how much of myself I can separate at once. If my displacement fields falter, I would become a big mess. Still, if all else fails, I’ll try it.”

Tark laid down on the ground and sighted with the crossbow. “It’s too dark. I can’t see the target.”

“Throw a bit of seaweed that way.”

Tark tore off a segment of seaweed and threw it through the bars. An arm moved to retrieve it. Tark settled back on the ground. After the arm put the seaweed at the back of the white clay excavation, Tark could see the globe perfectly.

“Give me a moment,” Ferrin said as his arms retreated. “Want me to take the shot?”

“I can do it.”

“I have two spare quarrels. With that bow at this distance, you’ll want to aim about four inches high. No wind. The quarrel should fly straight.”

Tark aimed as Ferrin described. The arms reached the bars.

“Do you want to attach your arms?” Tark asked.

“No,” Ferrin said. “I’m missing an eye, an ear, my nose, part of my neck, even part of an artery in one arm. It’s fitting that I should meet my end in pieces. We might still be hours away from a conclusion. Or this might be it.” Ferrin turned slightly and looked right at Tark, giving him a nod. “You’re a brave man, Tark. It has been an honor.”

“Likewise,” Tark said, letting his mind relax as he squeezed the trigger.

The quarrel sprang from the crossbow. At the end of the hall the orantium shattered. The mineral inside flared white and exploded. After a gasping rush of air, there came a second, stronger explosion. The second blast wave sent Tark rolling. Debris slammed against the bars. With a stronger rush of air, a third detonation followed. The last thing Tark knew was a sense of relief coupled with an intense white flash.

CHAPTER 36

THE FLASH

The sun was almost to the top of the sky by the time the lurkers delivered Rachel to Galloran. She found him in the western foothills, on the far side of a stony bluff. Having sensed the lurkers coming, the king reacted with apprehension at first, but soon Rachel explained how she had destroyed the Myrkstone and entrapped Maldor.

“You struck a bargain with the torivors?” Galloran clarified.

“Most are free to go,” Rachel explained. “They can return to their home world. But three must unconditionally serve you until the day you die. It seemed fair, because three have attacked you with swords. And one must unconditionally serve Jason for as long as he lives and remains in this world, because they sent one for him. And one must unconditionally serve Farfalee, because one of them killed her brother.”

“Unconditionally?” Galloran asked. “No limits? Not even Zokar attained that level of commitment.”

Rachel shrugged. “I guess Zokar didn’t free most of them.”

“Will any serve you?” Galloran asked.

“One used swords to attack Maldor for me,” Rachel said. “He’ll keep on him until the job is done. And the three that will serve you vowed to help me escape Felrook and bring me to you. That was all I really needed.”

“So Maldor is pinned down by a former minion,” Galloran mused, his mismatched eyes remote. “Yes, I can sense his Edomic exertions—potent, but strained. He seems both weary and unwavering, no doubt still holding off the torivor. A protective barrier such as he raised requires a great deal of power and concentration. As long as the lurker stays on him, Maldor won’t have an opportunity to attempt any other commands.”

“The torivors promised that the attack would not end until Maldor died,” Rachel said.

Galloran shook his head and fixed Rachel with an intense gaze. “Do you know how many people have tried to undo the emperor? The attempts date back to the war between Zokar and Eldrin. Great warriors and wizards have failed.” The king chuckled. “I privately feared he might find a way to escape the upcoming blast. Now I can rest easier. You have distracted and incapacitated him at precisely the right time. For years Maldor feared others with Edomic talent. Yet he insisted on you as his apprentice. That arrangement did not take long to unravel.”

“I got lucky,” Rachel said. “He was a much stronger wizard than me. The prophecy gave me the crucial hint. Orruck’s command worked perfectly on the Myrkstone, turning it to glass. When I first faced Maldor, I noticed that an Edomic suggestion momentarily stunned him. So I hit him with a bunch of suggestions that slowed him long enough for me to smash the Myrkstone. Then he attacked my clothes with fire. When I had fought him earlier, he’d spoken words to quench my fire, and I memorized them. I guess he didn’t expect me to remember.”

“Fire is the quickest attack,” Galloran said. “He was probably furious and reaching for a hasty victory.”

“He didn’t have much time,” Rachel said. “By the time the fire had failed, the lurker was on him.”

Galloran nodded. “He harnessed dark entities to do his bidding. That can lead to peril if the harness breaks. I am overjoyed that you survived, Rachel, and unspeakably proud of you.”

“What now?” Rachel asked, blushing slightly. “What was the big weakness you discovered? You said something about a blast?”

“Felrook is built upon the mount where orantium was mined anciently. The mining was halted because they encountered a vein too large to extract. Tark is currently working to expose that vein.”

Rachel covered her mouth. “Oh no.”

“He was eager for the opportunity,” Galloran assured her. “He volunteered without coaxing. The mine entrance was so deep underwater that he was the only man for the job. Maldor has founded a mighty empire. Even if he perishes, others could rise to finish what he started. But if the mountain erupts soon, his top leaders and his main fighting forces will be obliterated with him.”