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  She was taken aback by the crystal structures she saw winding in and out of her brain. She found where the crystal in her forehead attached to the delicate web and followed a fine web work as it made its way down her spine. She could see where the structures were still growing and where others ended at the end of her nerves.

  At first she was afraid that the crystal structures would shatter along her body and do damage to her nervous system but a closer look showed that the crystals lost their sharp edges when they bonded to tissue and became flexible.

  She sensed the power flow running from her contact with the earth all the way to her head where it pooled in the crystal. She tried to follow the power into the earth but met a solid barrier. She realised the intricate crystal structure was a web binding her thoughts to the crystal and the crystal to the magic.

  Drawing her mind out into the real world she was surprised to find that she was tired again. She tried to draw more magic from the earth but the effort failed. Finally she lay back on the bed and as she drifted off to sleep her thoughts turned to Gabriel, remembering the time she had spent with him watching waves crash against the cliff and spray into the air.

  CHAPTER 55

  Gabriel

  A cold autumn wind blew through the trees, pulling off dry leaves and sending then down like rain. It also raked the leaves on the ground masking Gabriel’s noisy progress amongst the four silent men.

  They travelled during the day so that they could see where they were going rather than risk drawing attention by stumbling around in the dark. At night they huddled together in small caves, heavy bush or even in trees when no better cover was available.

  Gabriel being the least experienced travelled in the centre with two men scouting ahead and two men covering the trail behind. At night they taught him all they could about tracking, stealth and hunting but as the weeks wore on he still made more noise than all four of the others put together.

  Gaia was true to her word - the creatures of the forest called out warnings when goblins passed nearby, small animals seemed to bar their way at times by sheer numbers at first then fewer and fewer when they got the message. Whatever they avoided seemed to keep them alive as goblins never beat their war drums or stumbled upon them.

  As winter drew closer his men persuaded him that they had to hunt to make winter clothing as soon as possible. The next day five deer were found lying dead at the edge of their camp. His men whispered amongst themselves about magic and Gabriel couldn’t find a reason to disagree.

  The deer must have been gathered from the herds roaming the forest and had run until their hearts gave out. Gabriel gave thanks to Gaia and the others hearing him did likewise.

  They skinned the carcasses for the meat and fur and spent the following nights making their first winter clothing. As the first snow began to fall the small band stumbled into an abandoned goblin camp where fires still smoked but the rustic wooden buildings had been abandoned. The fact that they had no warning of the camp implied there was no threat but Gabriel kept a watch going even while they used a fireplace to cook their meal and the shelter of a hut to stay out of the wind.

  Gabriel decided after his watch to venture into what he believed was the shaman’s house. It was made of the stoutest wooden beams in the village and rose twice as high as other buildings. While the other huts appeared to be in various states of disrepair this one was carefully maintained and no wind blew through gaps in its walls.

  Inside the dwelling he found a block of stone, smooth sided and stained black on top. He moved to touch it but his hand grew cold and a feeling of uneasiness came over him reminding him of his contact with the shaman staff, and he quickly withdrew it. He searched the shelves but found only dust and rotting food. On the second level he found only one well kept mat and three mouldy ones.

  Finding nothing of value he moved towards the doorway and felt something give beneath his foot. He knelt and searched beneath the mistreated skins and discovered a stone box. A pebble had become wedged in the corner preventing a perfect seal and making it wobble when he stood on it. Inside he found clay jars filled with coagulating blood and various sizes of crystals.

  Taking the crystals from the stash he shut the box and covered it again with the furs. Let them figure out what had happened when they came back, he thought. When he returned to Central he would give the crystals to Tasha as a present and ask her for forgiveness for leaving without saying goodbye.

  CHAPTER 56

  Katar

  Katar swept towards Magdar and felt the bite of a rune weapon pass painfully through its shadow form before it entered the dwarf’s body. The wraithlord fought the dwarf’s mind until Magdar screamed in agony and finally Katar took control of the battered body. Using magic the wraithlord began to reform and repair the dwarf’s body and was amazed at its resilience. The body would last for years and by then it would rival his previous dweller’s body in strength if not size.

  He decided to let the dwarves leave with their puny toys, but when he found Dagar again, he would make him suffer.

  CHAPTER 57

  Grayface

  Grayface dragged his belongings behind him making a line through the thin layer of ice. The rest of the tribe had left him far behind in the winter migration. The goblin almost laughed but instead spat to the side watching the spit cool in the night air as it arced towards the ground. The shamans called it migration but he knew the packs were running now, flowing down from the north in search of prey.

  Their numbers were uncountable, their strength equal to a goblin’s and their speed far superior. They hunted goblins for sport, sometimes driving goblins mad before they killed them.

  This time he did laugh and dragged the sack a bit faster.

  The hair of the back of his neck stood up as a cold breeze blew from the north. He stopped for a moment to listen and heard a twig snap behind him. Wolven were intelligent, if you heard them then they wanted you to hear them, whispered the voice of fear in his mind.

  He dropped the sack and ran without looking back. Around him he could sense the pack chasing him but not a single noise stirred the forest, even the wind died down as if in silent witness.

  Something snapped shut behind him ripping off a shred of his leather shirt, he darted a look behind in time to see the wolven disappear into the trees.

  They were playing with him, he realized, and finding a clearing with thick bush to protect his back he stopped and lifted his rusty mace, ready to fight.

  Scanning the forest for threats he began to see the eyes of the wolven around the edge of the clearing. Six pairs of yellow eyes watched him patiently from the shadows while he waited for them to attack or surround him.

  Realizing he could not attack any one of them without exposing himself to the others he decided to wait them out.

  Two hours later he was still waiting for them to attack when he noticed one of them missing. He double checked and his pulse raced as his fear grew. He tried to calm himself so that he could listen for some sign of where it was.

  The wolven eyes continued watching him from the tree line.

  Grayface heard a leaves rustle from the thicket behind him and he spun around but saw nothing. When he checked on the other wolven he found another had slipped away. His hands began to grow slippery on the mace as he noticed the sky light up with the first rays of dawn.

  The sun crept across the clearing, raising mist as it melted the snow. He began to feel the warm touch of predawn heat tingling on his skin and fear washed away his patience, he dashed towards the cover of the trees to the east only to come short when a wolven shot out of the shadows and clamped its jaws on his arm.

  He felt the bones break instantly and his mace fell to the floor. Another wolven ran and jumped at his chest sending him towards the middle of the clearing.

  Beyond the pain emanating from the broken bones he could feel the fire building in his skin as the sunlight caressed him. He tried to crawl south but the wolves were not longer waiting pat
iently, they blocked his every move.

  As his skin began to smoulder he made one last effort to escape by rushing the wolven. They held their ground before him while two others clamped their jaws around his ankles from behind dropping him on his face. Then they dragged him back into the centre of the clearing. Grayface scrambled desperately with both his good arm and broken one to get free of the sunlight as the smoke grew thicker.

  The wolven jumped back as he burst into flame. He staggered to his feet howling in pain and ran into the forest unbarred. The pack followed the goblin at an easy pace, knowing he was as good as dead and looking forward to their first winter feast.

  The north wind began to blow again, carrying new snow that soon covered the burnt grass and mace.

  CHAPTER 58

  Gabriel

  The Dragon Spine mountain range loomed on the horizon. A jagged scar of sheer cliffs topped with snow that stretched from north to south in an unbroken line. Storm clouds covered the highest peaks attacking the bare rock with lightning that thundered down to the forest below.

  Gabriel moved up to the two lead scouts leaving a trail through the thin layer of ice. Weeks of practicing stealth were beginning to tell and one of his men nodded approval when he lay down beside them. They pointed out the city in the distance and passed him the binoculars.

  Gabriel scanned the ruins. The outer wall circled the city and rose four storeys high blocking out all but the highest towers beyond. The wall joined the mountain to the north and south and spanned a river in a huge archway with traces of a metal grille that had been eroded away by time. The entrance on the southern wall was a cobbled together monstrosity and the northern entrance appeared to be blocked by rubble.

  Goblins were spaced randomly along the wall in the shade of the mountain acting the part of watchmen. Some appeared to be sleeping while others were talking but for most part very few actually bothered to keep watch.

  More interesting to Gabriel was the sizable gathering of wolves that roamed around the walls in packs. Occasionally they would move closer to sniff the wall until a goblin hurled something at them and they would retreat to a safer distance.

  The youngest soldier, Russell, asked Gabriel in a whisper, “Do you think she sent them?”

  “No, this feels like the work of someone or something else,” said Gabriel.

  Gabriel heard the other two soldiers hurrying up from the rear, and turned in surprise. Following them was a pack of wolves the likes of which Gabriel had never seen. White as snow and huge, the creatures circled around Gabriel and his men as they drew their weapons to defend themselves.

  Behind them strode Gaia, her form fainter than the last time Gabriel had seen her.

  Gabriel bowed towards Gaia in greeting and reluctantly sheathed his sword. The wolves in unison sat back on their haunches.

  “Gaia, by your presence here I presume you control these wolves,” he said.

  “Far from it, the wolven follow only the Wolf King. He has granted you safe passage through these lands for the last week, in exchange for which I have offered your services to rout the goblins out of the city.”

  Gabriel’s jaw dropped and before he could ask what she meant Gaia continued, “The city that lies before you is the Citadel. The dwarves built it to defend themselves against the goblins before the rise of the goblin gods. But the goblins were relentless and eventually its great gates were ripped out and they marched their armies in. The goblins have never left it since, using it as a hideout during winter while the wolven run south hunting them down. The dwarves fled into the mountains and took their revenge on the goblins by taking control of their homeland beneath the earth. They left behind a manned keep near the top of the waterfall to prevent the goblins from following them into the mountains. If you can reach the keep you will have the aid you need to open the gates and save the elven expedition.”

  “Any suggestions on how to get in?” asked Gabriel.

  “I leave that to you, but remember this. If you can gain access to the city for the wolven they have the numbers to destroy the goblins inside. Lockjaw will remain with you.”

  Gaia faded from view before Gabriel could ask how a wolf got the name Lockjaw. Most of the wolven got up and left, disappearing into the forest without a sound. One remained sitting and watching the group like a guard.

  It took all of Gabriel’s courage to turn his back on the wolven especially one named Lockjaw. He scanned the walls with the binoculars, noticing the waterfall cascading down the cliff face. Following the waterfall to its source he could just make out the silhouette of the keep at the top.

  “Its going to be a hard climb,” said Gabriel.

  “How do we get in, sir?” asked Russell.

  “How do you feel about swimming in ice cold mountain water?” asked Gabriel.

  “Not highly motivated sir.”

  “Then we had better build ourselves a raft before daybreak tomorrow.”

  “Yes sir!” agreed Russell enthusiastically.

  CHAPTER 59

  Dagar

  Blood ran down every passage in the city as the bodies piled up making his footing perilous and the smell unbearable. The runes ran constantly across the axe blades lighting the tunnel ahead in a sickly golden light. Whenever the axe glowed with warning runes he changed course into another tunnel and the axe seemed to resist.

  The golden axe felt alive in his hands like a predator smelling the air for prey. It was almost as if the blades were testing combinations to see if it could find something to kill.

  Dagar slipped past the last group of dwellers and the goblins as they fought without mercy in the darkness and the golden light faded to the point where he could barely see.

  The goblin warriors far outnumbered the dwellers but the insect like dwellers were more adept at killing, some had pincers, some tails, others used only their dangerously powerful legs. The shamans were the backbone of the goblin army, driving them towards certain death while attacking from a distance with magic.

  Dagar had seen the occasional wraithlord fighting the goblin forces but even with their enhanced bodies and magic they fell one after another, weakening the dwellers resolve.

  In his mind he could picture the tunnels leading to the surface, but only one route remained unused by either enemy. If his people could secure the route to the surface with ward gates and soldiers they could escape the Fire Gardens and safety. Dagar knew that Stronghold was lost and the only refuge beyond the Valley of Kings was Broken Pass Keep. However the keep did not have the space or resources to hold the remaining dwarven population.

  Maybe an answer would come to him when he reached the surface and he prayed to the Allfather for help. Warning runes crept across the axe blades but their golden light remained muted.

  CHAPTER 60

  Tasha

  During the night Tasha dreamt of terrible things - goblins fighting in the dark against other monsters, huge wolves running through the forest hunting goblins and Gabriel and his men approaching an ancient city. She felt the dream was true but couldn’t put much of it in context. Only the realization that Gabriel might still be alive kept her sane.

  During the day she tested her new powers trying to help the soldiers recover from their wounds and in her spare time she helped with the women who had fallen pregnant since arriving on Aurora. She was amazed to discover that the crystal that had bonded to her were also beginning to appear inside the developing foetuses.

  Not wanting to alarm the mothers she kept the information to herself as she searched for the source. Soon she realized the obvious - that the crystal dust was in everything, the ground, the water and even a small amount in the air. It would be almost impossible to stop it even if they had the technology.

  She studied the development of the children but could discover no abnormalities. They were as healthy as was possible under the circumstances.

  She tried to hide the crystal as it grew in size on her forehead but soon the rumours of her healing abilities became i
mpossible to hide.

  Young women came to her to bless their children as if she had mystical powers. Others came to ask if she could train them to heal as well. At first she sent them all away but General Esperanza called her to his office one day and persuaded her that giving them hope was better than nothing and so she pretended to bless them, and they left spreading even more rumours.

  Eventually she met a young woman unlike the others who seemed more persistent in trying to learn how to heal.