The Crystal Sorcerers Read Free

divine. But then again, Mark realized, what would his own ability to fly like a bird, and fight with the power of magic crystals, seem like to his old comrades in the Air Corps?
    Allic could at times come forth with a regal bearing and terrifying power; and yet at other times, he was like an old comrade, ready for a drink, a coarse joke, and a jovial smile.
    There were hundreds of sorcerers, those mortals who could wield magic on this world, in Allic's service, but Mark noticed that it was the offworlders, the Japanese and American soldiers who had arrived here on Haven through the dimensional portal, whose company and friendship Allic preferred.
    "Ah, here comes Ikawa," Allic announced, shaking his head and smiling as he pointed straight down.
    Coming under the base of the cloud, Ikawa arched upward, his climb slow but steady, lacking the smooth precision of Mark, or the blinding swiftness of Allic. But then again, Allic was a demigod, the son of Jartan the Creator, and Mark had been a combat pilot, while Ikawa Yoshio had been an infantry officer in the Imperial Japanese Army, who still looked at flying with a bit of a jaundiced eye. Watching his friend fly up, Mark smiled over how strange this all was. A year ago he would have killed Ikawa without the slightest hesitation. Now he would lay down his life to protect the man he considered to be the closest friend he had ever had.
    Ikawa pulled up before the two and shook his head with mock disdain.
    "You and your damn games of darting all over the sky," Ikawa snapped. "And this throne on top of a cloud. Looks like your work, Mark: western European in style, and far too plain."
    Ikawa waved his hands and the throne shifted in form, expanding outward with a wild assortment of swirls topped by a fanlike canopy. On both sides the clouds grew upward and turned into two giant samurailike guards who stood poised in watchful observance with blades drawn.
    "Now I'm ready to sit," Ikawa announced with mock gravity, and swinging over, he settled down by Allic's side. Scooping up the proffered flask, Ikawa took a long drink and sighed.
    The three friends sat in quiet contemplation of the beauty around them. To the east Mark could see the brooding heights of the Sarnastu, the barrier mountains that guarded the approach to what had once been the realm of Sarnak the Accursed. Their destination was just on the other side of those mountains. Though the war was over and Sarnak had fled in defeat, still there was a sense of foreboding to the place.
    As he looked eastward at the Sarnastu he could not help but feel uneasy.
    "My lord, would you mind sharing with us what this is all about?" Ikawa asked.
    Allic looked at the two and smiled.
    "I'd have told you earlier, but felt it best to wait till we were out here alone."
    The two nodded. Ever since the war there had been some concern about a possible security leak in Allic's ranks. It wasn't so much that there was direct evidence, but rather just an uneasy feeling on Allic's part, backed up by Pina and Valdez, his two most trusted lieutenants, that somehow word was sifting out of the city regarding Allic's activities.
    "Word came in yesterday that we've found Sarnak's secret office and command center."
    "We've been tearing that palace apart for three months," Ikawa interjected. "I thought we'd never find his command center."
    "One of his sorcerers had enough of hard labor and felt that his old master had sold them all out, so he decided to talk in return for a reduced sentence."
    "Maybe now we can find out where that bastard Sarnak is hiding and finish off the job," Mark said grimly.
    "My intentions exactly, and the sooner we get there the sooner we'll find out."
    Leaping forward, Allic dived down the face of the cloud and rolled out eastward.
    "Let's get going." Laughing, Mark gave Ikawa a friendly shove. His friend tumbled off the throne and with a curse plummeted down the side of the cloud. Mark focused his attention and did a magnificent spring