The Gem Lords

The Sapphire City - Part 6

     Albad was waiting when Saturn finally emerged from the casting crypt accompanied by the two black robed necromancers, one of them holding the Sepulchre under his arm; the large urn of black glass containing the ashes of Theron Wardok, arguably the most powerful necromancer the world had ever known.

     The other necromancer held a long, knobbly staff in a long fingered, yellow hand and was whispering something over and over under his breath, words that Albad couldn't quite make out but which brought to mind the slimy crawling of worms in the grave. Saturn looked exhausted, and his single eye was red and dark ringed, as if he'd spent a day and a night poring over old books in poor light. He said nothing in reply to Albad's concerned enquiry, merely stared ahead of him as if trying to assimilate a vast amount of new information, but finally he turned his head to regard his assistant.

     "What?" he said. "Oh, yes, it was a success. I was able to read her mind. I now know everything she knew. Everything." He looked haunted, and terrified, an alien expression on his face that alarmed Albad considerably. "Gods!" he gasped. "The Realms! They're vaster than I ever imagined! The threat... The danger... To think I was worried about a single world far off across space, when there's a hundred worlds right here, on our own doorstep..."

     "He will need to rest," said one of the necromancers as they stepped aside to make way for a pair of proctors, entering the crypt to take Lapis Lazuli back to the cells. "See to it, or we will not be held responsible for his condition."

     Albad nodded, and breathed a sigh of relief as the two dark robed figures slipped away. "They're right," he said to Saturn. "Let's go back to your rooms. We can talk again when you've rested..."

     "No time!" cried the elder wizard, striding forward. "No time! I saw the Realms. A hundred times vaster than Tharia! A hundred times our population! They could muster an army of millions. Even without magic, they could overwhelm us with sheer numbers. We have to seal them off. There are only seven doorways between their world and ours. Seal them off and we'll be safe. I know how to do it! They have no magic in our world, the simplest barriers will keep them out. They may be gods in the Realms, but they'll be trapped there. Forever!"

     He laughed and walked faster, leaving Albad having to almost run to keep up with him.

☆☆☆

     Lirenna spent the most miserable, most wretched night of her life in the huge, palatial guest room. She didn't sleep at all but spent the whole night pacing frantically up and down, the image of Thomas's ravaged body clear in her mind. The Gem Lords will save him, she told herself over and over. Here, they have the power of gods, and he's vitally important to their plans for survival. They'll save him, no matter what it takes.

     She was still pacing up and down when dawn came and Barl came for her. Lirenna pounced as soon as the door opened, flinging herself at the Gem Lord. "Did you save him?" she cried.

     "Yes," replied Barl, and the demi shae gave a great sobbing gasp of relief. "In a way."

     It took a moment for his words to sink in, and then she stared at him, her eyes wide with terrible suspicion. "What do you mean, in a way?"

     "I told you that we couldn't do anything until the bubble of frozen time had been dissolved, and that then we'd only have a fraction of a second in which to act. We couldn't restore him to the way he was. I'm sorry, but we just didn't have time." He felt a tiny twinge of shame at the lie, and gave thanks that she couldn't read his mind. It's for the best, he reminded himself. The fate of a dozen worlds is at stake.

     "So what did you do to him?" demanded the demi shae, but of course she already knew the answer and a new horror dawned on her face. "No!" she cried, shaking her head wildly, sending her silky dark hair flying around her face. "No! You didn't!"