Malediction (Scars of the Sundering Book 1) Read Free Page B

experience with magical portals was
limited to his knowledge of the one in Drak-Anor. With the help of Delilah, he
spent the last several years studying it off and on, and although he never tried
to close it, he was confident he understood the theory behind the process, a
theory he had, until now, not tested.
    Kale sailed
past him through the air and into the rift. Pancras's heart skipped a beat, and
willed himself to concentrate on the task at hand. If Kale was inside the rift
when he sealed it, he would be trapped in the elemental chaos for eternity. He
realized, however, leaving the rift open was far more dangerous to more than
just one drak. It pained him to admit it, but closing the rift was worth the
life of one drak or even all three of them.
    The air
crackled as lighting arced across the room. The kaleidoscopic colors caused
Pancras's head to ache. He saw no sign of Kale but noticed Edric struggling
with a veritable forest of toothed, suckered tentacles. Pancras felt the portal
weaken. Its connection with the Mortal Realm was tenuous, at best, and with the
magic he wove around it, that connection diminished further.
    As the wispy
tendrils of shadowy smoke coalesced into a familiar, frightening demonic form,
Pancras redoubled his efforts and ended the ritual. " STENEE PYEALEE !"
    Splurrrt-woosh!
Air rushed past them as the rift contracted, and then a sucking sound,
reminiscent of viscous goo squirting from a wine skin, filled the room. Pancras
felt a force slam into him, driving the breath from his lungs. There was a
flash of light, and then all was still. Edric's sword clanged on the ground as
the tentacles he fought vanished. The closing rift bisected the bloodmaw: the
part in the rift gone, and the part still within Calliome mortally wounded. It
slithered out of the hole in the ceiling and crashed to the floor with a
grotesque, wet plop.
    As he tried
to catch his breath, Pancras fell to his knees. Smokey tendrils wafted from his
limbs, growing more and more nebulous until they vanished completely. He no
longer saw the shadow demon, but that was no guarantee he eliminated the
threat. The dwarf was behind him, getting to his feet. He couldn't see the
drak. "Kale?" Pancras's voice was hoarse and raspy.
    "Ow."
    Pancras
strode around the bloodmaw's carcass to find Kale curled up against the wall.
The drak held his head and moaned. Kneeling down next to him, the minotaur put
his hand on Kale's shoulder. The drak's scales felt hot, feverish, and
uncomfortable to touch.
    "Kale?
Can you move?"
    "Can
I?" Kale lifted his head as if lead weights were attached to his skull.
His eyes seemed different to Pancras, though they had not changed their outward
appearance. "Yes, but I don't want to. I hurt, Pancras. I feel like I'm
burning up from the inside out."
    "It'll
pass." He helped Kale to his feet. I hope.
    "What
now?" Edric poked at the remains of the bloodmaw with his sword. The
angular blade sank into the carcass like a knife into a quivering pile of
jelly. He grimaced and yanked it out, shaking slime off it.
    Pancras
looked around the room. There was still no sign of the shadow demon.
"Let's try to head back to Ironkrag. You dwarves can probably deal with
any remaining beasties down here. I recommend collapsing these caverns
entirely." He figured the dwarves would ignore his advice, but he gave it
anyway.
    "They
sent me down here to get rid of me. I bet they never thought I'd come
back."
    "Why is
the room all twisty?" Kale held his head and staggered. Pancras reached
under his arm and picked him up, surprised how light the he was, given his
propensity for ale.
    "If
nothing else, you have quite a tale to tell."
    "Aye."
    The three
made their way up the twisting tunnel back into the main chamber where Pancras
destroyed the ghouls. The cavern was quiet and still, with only the
phosphorescent glow of fungus providing light. No creatures stirred, not even
cave rats, and in comparison to the cacophony in the cave earlier, to