To Baldur's Gate

Chapter Thirty-Two

I could only lay there and watch as Cazador sent Astarion flying through the air and crashing down onto the hard stone ground. Shadowheart knelt beside me, murmuring healing incantations. My throat was burning with thirst. It hurt so badly that my eyes watered and I was gasping for air, wishing for the pain to end.

After Cazador drained me of my blood and left me for dead, my transition had begun. It was agonizing. It had felt as if my blood was on fire, like my insides were being ripped out and stuffed back inside me. What had only taken minutes seemed like hours of torture. Then, after all the pain, I had the realization that I was now immortal. Undead. No longer truly living. I had cried, mourning the life I'd had and terrified for the future. How could I tell my family? How could I face them, knowing that the rest of my existence I would have to feed on innocent beings to sate myself?

Cazador came soon after. He dragged me by the hair out of my cell, pulling me down the stairs until we had reached the giant cavern we were now in. He had carved into my arm the same infernal markings that were on Astarion's back, and I realized that Cazador was going to use me as a replacement for the one missing spawn. I was so relieved. Astarion would stay away, just as I prayed he would, and the others would be safe as well. My life would be given protecting those that I loved.

But now they were all here. And Astarion was in danger.

Shadowheart's spell sank into my skin, stopping the bleeding on my arm, clearing the haze from my eyes and quieting the roar in the back of my head. I sat up, then stood, thanking Shadowheart for her help. She grappled me into a hug, her body shaking.

"Gods, we've been so worried, Tav." She stepped back and took my face in her hands. "We need to end this. Can you fight?"

I nodded. "We have to act quickly - he has the ability to control us through the tadpoles." I met Astarion's eyes and saw the way his gaze instantly softened with relief.

"Enough of this! You," Cazador pointed down to Astarion. "I've had enough of you." He cracked his staff against the floor and Astarion soared through the air once again, arriving at the apex of the semi-circle that his brothers and sisters created around Cazador's dais in the middle. Magic burned his shirt away, exposing the scars on his back which began to glow a burning red. The rest of the spawn's marking lit up as well, all with the same red light.

"Stop him!" Astarion yelled, struggling against the hold on him. "We can't let him finish the rite!"

"Silence," Cazador snapped and Astarion's mouth clamped shut.

Before he could speak another word, I conjured a fireball and hurled it at Cazador, and Gale followed with a blast of his own just a moment later. Cazador threw up a hasty shield, but our magic was too strong, leaving the frills of his tunic and ends of his hair singed. While Gale and I continued our assault, Lae'zel let loose every arrow in her arsenal, Wyll and Karlach inched closer to attack with their swords, and Shadowheart backed us with healing and shield runes. We hit Cazador with wave after wave - and as powerful as he was, Cazador was no match for all of us together. Karlach swung at him, but Cazador blocked with his staff, then pushed her away with a gust of air. Wyll slashed and caught Cazador in the arm, slicing and crippling him.

"I will not loose to you - you vile underlings." Cazador shuffled back and raised his arms to the sky. "I summon the power of the Absolute! Goddess, give me your strength!"

The entire stone slab that we stood on began to shake and my companions and I held on to each other for support. Astarion and the other trapped spawn remained still, even through the earthquake that we were experiencing.

"What the fuck is THAT?" Karlach shouted.

A giant was emerging from the depths of the cavern. A brain the size of Cazador's entire ballroom floated to our level, bringing lightning and swirling thunder with it. The tadpole in my mind squirmed at the very sight of it, recognizing it as the source of power and magic that controlled everyone infected. Cazador was chanting in latin as the brain continued to rise until it was at least fifty feet above our heads.