Part 8 (1/2)

I have to distract Shane. Conor jumped and climbed to the opposite side of the wall, forcing Shane to concentrate on stopping him. He coughed from the dust stirred up by the falling boulders. Halfway there, Conor took another flying leap, and then another, moving as fast as he could. But Shane and Zerif had the Marble Swan. With the extra burst of agility it would give them for their climb, they would undoubtedly reach the top before he could.

The thought of Shane and Zerif releasing Kovo from his prison spurred Conor to even greater speeds. If Kovo escaped, all would be lost.

Faster. Almost to the top. Conor let out a yelp as another sudden avalanche of rocks nearly sent him toppling down. He gripped the wall precariously, his feet dangling for a moment. An image of himself plummeting to his death flashed through his mind. Conor clenched his teeth and pressed himself close to the rock wall. Thanks to the Granite Ram, he found his footing.

Shane and Zerif had already cleared the top. At least the rain of rocks had stopped. Conor spared a second to make sure the others were all still climbing, and then he made three more giant leaps. He lunged up with his arm on the last leap and his fingers curved around the top of the cliff side.

Exhausted, he pulled himself up.

Conor yanked the Granite Ram talisman from around his neck and held it aloft to Essix. The falcon s.n.a.t.c.hed it from his hand with startling quickness and carried it away to the others.

From the top of Muttering Rock, he could see the entire expanse of red and brown plains surrounding the rock formation, stretching endlessly in every direction. A faint sliver of sunlight peeked up from the eastern horizon, bloodred in color.

Conor pulled himself up to his feet. ”Briggan,” he gasped, calling for his spirit animal. With a flash of light, the wolf appeared at his side, already growling. Conor's gaze fell over the plateau he now stood upon.

It looked like something out of his nightmares, and yet also entirely unfamiliar. Red rock. Dead, crooked trees, so unlike the golden leaves he always saw drifting in his dreams. But what commanded his attention was an enormous stone temple standing in the center of the plateau, composed of a ring of towering pillars and twisted wood that looked distinctively like ancient, petrified antlers. One of the pillars was carved in the shape of an elk Tellun's image, he realized as if standing permanent guard. Each pillar stretched high toward the sky, casting long shadows against the ground. In the temple's center, trapped behind the circle of twisting antlers, was the yawning mouth of a pit. Shane and Zerif now stood beside this pit. Conor's throat constricted.

In the waning darkness, he also made out the smooth coils of a snake, and the hulking figure of an enormous eagle. Gerathon and Halawir were here. The hackles on Briggan's back rose, and his growling grew louder. Conor searched frantically for the mighty elk too, but there was no sign of Tellun.

Conor's eyes darted to the pit. It was huge and black, an endless, yawning hole in the earth. Around the edge of the pit's mouth, Shane and Zerif had arranged all of their talismans, each s.p.a.ced evenly apart. The pit looked empty.

Shane met Conor's gaze momentarily. His eyes were cold and hard and full of triumph.

Oh, no.

Kovo had already been freed.

A dark figure crouched in front of the pit, his body illuminated by flashes of lightning. The sunrise had lightened the sky, and Conor could now make out the beast's scarlet eyes. It was an ape. A gorilla.

Kovo.

Kovo lifted his fists to his chest and pounded it twice. He vaulted onto his hind legs and roared again. Conor couldn't believe how big he was he blocked the sun entirely. Behind Conor, the others had finally crested the cliff and looked on in shock.

Kovo smashed his arms back down to the earth, shaking the entire plateau. His mouth curved at Conor and Briggan in a slanted smile. ”Ah,” he said, his voice deep, angry, and ancient. ”One of the Four Fallen.” He glanced behind them to see Rollan, Abeke, and Meilin with their spirit animals flas.h.i.+ng out of pa.s.sive state. Essix swooped down to join Rollan. ”I am glad you've returned, my brethren. I did not wish us to part on such bad terms.” He glanced in disdain at the statue of Tellun behind him, then back to Conor. ”I've been waiting for you to arrive.”

Briggan's fangs gleamed. Conor had never seen his wolf so enraged.

Kovo laughed at Briggan's expression. Then he turned his stare back to Conor. ”Thank you for answering me,” the ape said.

Conor frowned. His mind swirled in confusion. ”What are you talking about?” he snapped back. He glanced around the plateau again. Tellun. Where is he? He's supposed to be here! ”Tellun!” he tried calling out.

Kovo's smile widened. ”There's no use. Tellun is not here, boy.”

”B-but ...” Conor stammered. ”The visions ...”

”Tellun didn't send those visions to you,” Kovo answered. ”I did.”

Kovo did. Conor's eyes widened. They had traveled all this way not by Tellun's beckoning, not to stop Kovo from escaping his prison but because Kovo himself had called them here, deceived them into it. No wonder Conor had been able to see it even when Briggan was in his dormant state, even when he should not have been able to have such dreams. Kovo had been waiting here for them to arrive, with the final talismans. The realization hit Conor hard. I should have known.

”You ...” Conor began. ”You brought us here to get the last talismans.”

Kovo chuckled once. His dark eyes glinted bloodred in the light. They locked on the Granite Ram hanging around Abeke's neck, then to the Coral Octopus around Rollan's. ”Clever boy,” he said. ”I hadn't intended you to make it all the way up Muttering Rock. Shane failed to stop you in the plains below. Ah, well. No matter. The talismans are here.”

Fooled. Deceived. Betrayed. Conor felt so helpless and ashamed.

”Don't look so disappointed,” Kovo said, still smiling. He reared up onto his hind legs again. ”I will put them all to good use.”

Then he slammed his fists into the ground.

The blow radiated out from Kovo in a ring of dust. Conor fell flat again as the entire plateau disappeared in a haze of light. Through it all, Conor could see the talismans arranged around the pit as each begin to glow a different color. Their glow grew brighter and brighter, wider and wider, until the colors all fused into one. Conor s.h.i.+elded his eyes from the blinding light.

Then the light vanished.

When Conor opened his eyes, the talismans around the pit were no longer there. Instead, a beautiful staff made of what looked like radiant silver wood sat in Kovo's open palms, gleaming under the churning black clouds. The top was curled in the shape of a shepherd's crook, a silhouette that Conor knew all too well. Sparkling white lines ran down its length. Kovo took the beautiful staff and held it high over his head, then slammed it down onto the ground. The stone pillars and twisted antlers around him trembled, then cracked. He took a deep breath.

”The Staff of Cycles,” he said reverently, ”is mine.”

KOVO HAD SENT FOR THEM. KOVO HAD TRICKED CONOR. All this effort, all they'd lost on the journey to Stetriol the Greencloaks at the bay, the Tellun's Pride, Dorian had been at the request of Kovo, who'd expected them to appear all along.

”We have to get out of here,” Conor suddenly said beside Abeke. He grabbed her hand and nodded at Rollan. ”They'll get our talismans.”

They only managed to sprint a few steps to the edge of Muttering Rock before Halawir launched himself from his perch. He reached the edge long before they could, then spread his enormous wings, blocking out the sky. They all stumbled backward from a blast of wind. Halawir landed near the ledge, his eyes fierce and menacing.

”Where are you going?” he said in a harsh, taunting voice.

Abeke backed away from the eagle's sharp talons, then whirled around to face Kovo again. Her friends reluctantly did the same. They were trapped here. Abeke's hand tightened so hard around the Granite Ram that she could feel it digging deep grooves into her palm. Her eyes stayed focused on the silver staff that Kovo held aloft. What the staff could do, she had no idea but it held the combined power of every talisman except for hers, the Coral Octopus, and Tellun's Platinum Elk. What would happen if the remaining talismans fused with it too? Already, the sky above them had begun to change again, the clouds rimmed with ominous purple.

A movement from Shane, who still stood with Zerif by the pit, distracted Abeke. He took several steps toward Kovo. ”I've fulfilled my promise,” he said. He stretched one hand out. ”I brought them to you. Now, it's your turn.”

A hungry light had appeared in Shane's eyes, taking over the cold triumph that Abeke had seen there moments earlier. Her hand that wasn't clutching the talisman now clenched into a tight fist. Shane was asking Kovo to hand over the staff.

Kovo cast Shane a brief look. He said nothing. Then he turned away again and nodded toward Gerathon. The serpent's tongue flicked out once, as if in agreement, and her scaly mouth curved into the semblance of a grin. The hunger on Shane's face wavered. For the first time, Abeke saw doubt there real doubt.

”You're not worthy to rule,” Kovo finally said, his deep voice rumbling. He didn't even bother looking at Shane. ”Never speak of it again to me.”

Shane's confusion changed to shock, then incredulity. Then, rage. It twisted his face and made him hideous. ”You promised me,” he snapped. ”Everything I've done, all I've sacrificed.” He paused in his rant to look at Gerathon. Sudden realization hit him as he studied the serpent's cold gaze.

”You ... !” Shane choked out, pointing at Gerathon. In the depths of his rage, Abeke could hear raw grief. ”You killed Drina for nothing!”

Gerathon's eyes slitted as her mouth grew wide. ”Not for nothing,” she corrected him, looking to Zerif. ”Drina believed that we served your pitiful family, when it was you who served us. You should have known, Shane, from the very beginning.”

”You coward!” he snarled. ”Forcing us to do your dirty work. You call yourself a Great Beast!”

Gerathon just laughed. ”Careful, boy,” she said. ”Lest you value your life so little.”

”You ”

”Do you know how painful death can be?” Gerathon hissed. Her slithering coils pushed her higher, and she stretched her neck up until she towered over them. ”I can make you scream when you die, and this time, it will be for nothing.” Her fangs gleamed. ”Nothing but my amus.e.m.e.nt.”