Lusam: The Dragon Mage Wars Book Five Page 22

Lusam smiled at her. “You were right, Neala, I should have had more faith in Aysha. The answers we sought were in my dreams all along. I didn’t recognise it at first, but Monmeriath is the island that I’ve dreamt about so many times. It looks different now, but it’s definitely the same island. In my dreams, I saw the dragon fly through a great sea arch on the eastern side of the island, and when it emerged through the other side, everything had changed. The island became much larger and was covered by lush forests and meadows. Strange looking creatures inhabited the ground and skies, and even the air felt different there. I can’t explain it, Neala, but I just know that’s the place where I’ll find what I’m looking for.”

  “Can you show me?” Neala asked, looking towards the eastern side of the island.

  Lusam shook his head. “There’s nothing there to see. In my dreams, the island and the sea arch are much higher above sea level, maybe three or four times higher than they are now.”

  “So it’s underwater now?” Neala asked, still looking towards the east end of the island.

  Lusam nodded. “Yes, I believe it is.”

  Neala turned back to face him. “You don’t know for certain then? Couldn’t you still see it underwater with your mage-sight?”

  “No, apparently not. But I guess that’s not really a surprise if you think about it. If it was visible to my mage-sight, it would have also been visible to Lord Zelroth’s, as well as anyone else’s who might have been looking for it over the centuries. Whoever created it, had enough power to stop even Aysha from seeing beyond its boundaries. So it stands to reason that they would have hidden its magic from people like me.”

  “Then maybe we should go and see if it’s still there,” she said, already walking in that direction. Lusam had to move quickly to stop her from walking into his magical shield and almost twisted his ankle on one of the slippery rocks. He hissed loudly at the pain, and fortunately, Neala stopped in her tracks to see what had happened to him.

  “I’m alright, but don’t be rushing off too fast or you’ll walk straight into my shield,” he said, rubbing at his sore ankle. Neala nodded and waited for him to catch up, before continuing at a much slower pace.

  It took them a good twenty minutes to reach the eastern end of the island. It seemed the further they travelled, the worse the footing got. Loose rocks littered the ground, and the prevailing strong easterly wind had supplied enough sea spray to coat them all in a slippery moss that was almost impossible to walk on. Even Neala’s deft footwork was undone on several occasions, eliciting an abundance of curses from her, some of which Lusam had never heard her say before. By the time they reached the edge of the eastern cliffs, Lusam was amazed that neither of them had broken any bones, or at least sprained something.

  Lusam was very thankful that the wind was blowing from the east as he stood on the cliff edge looking down at the dark turbulent water below. He wasn’t concerned for himself, or even Neala whilst he was still there, but after he left her alone, he didn’t want to have to worry about her being blown over the cliff edge to her death. The direction of the wind wasn’t the only thing that he was thankful for, either. Although they had discussed in length Neala’s inability to accompany him into the hidden realm, he still harboured his doubts as to whether she would still try and follow him inside. ‘At least the entrance is now out of her reach,’ he thought to himself, more than a little relieved.

  “So where is it?” Neala asked, leaning out carelessly over the edge of the cliff to take a look. Lusam couldn’t help smiling to himself. Here she was, confidently leaning out over a drop-off that could easily kill her, yet she was terrified of being levitated anywhere by him.

  “What are you smiling at?” she asked, catching him off guard.

  “Oh… nothing,” he lied, trying to keep his face neutral.

  She raised her eyebrows at him and gave him look which left him in no doubt that she didn’t believe him, but she said no more about it. “So?” she prompted, nodding towards the water.

  From his recollection of the dream, Lusam pointed to the general area where he believed the sea arch to be, but there was no evidence of it now. Whilst levitating in the air earlier, he had been almost certain that he could see an underwater shadow there, but from his current location, the dark turbulent water hid it from view.

  “I don’t see anything,” Neala said, leaning out over the edge of the cliff again.

  “No, me neither, but I’m pretty sure it’s there. I’ll go down and take a look, then come back and let you know what I find.”

  “Alright, but be careful down there. We’ve no idea what kind of booby traps might be in place on or around something as powerful as that… that thing—whatever it is,” Neala said, with a worried look on her face. Lusam knew it was her old instincts as a thief resurfacing again, but he also knew it was good advice. Anyone, or anything powerful enough to create something like that and imbue it with enough power to hide its existence from Aysha, was certainly not to be trifled with.

  “I’ll be careful, just as long as you can promise me the same,” Lusam replied, guiding her gently away from the edge of the cliff. “I don’t want you going too near the edge of that cliff when I’m not here. Once I’m gone, you won’t have my magical shield or me to protect you from being blown over the edge. So just find yourself a comfortable rock and wait patiently for me to come back.” Lusam knew instinctively that she would argue with him about how secure she was on her own two feet, so even before she drew breath, he braced his foot against a rock in front of him and dropped his shield. The strong gust of wind hit him solidly in the back, forcing him to press hard against the rock with his leg. Neala, on the other hand, was caught completely off guard and the wind sent her flying backwards through the air.

  Neala squealed and flailed her arms wildly. Lusam knew the moment he saw her face that he’d gone too far and would pay dearly for his mischief later, but he couldn’t help chuckling to himself all the same. He had already prepared a soft landing for her in the form of another modified magical barrier, but he doubted that it would gain him much favour in the coming moments. He watched as she scrunched her eyes tight shut and pulled herself into a tight ball for the impending impact, but of course, it never came.

  It took Neala only a moment to realise what had happened, and Lusam watched as the look on her face went from one of relief to one of murderous intent when she saw him laughing at her. Fortunately, the howling wind masked whatever came out of her mouth, as she scrambled back to her feet and began moving swiftly towards him.

  “You see, I told you that wind was dangerous. It’s a good job I was here to catch you,” he said, trying desperately to keep a straight face. He saw her face flush bright red with anger, and when her hands balled into fists, he knew it was time to leave. He levitated himself off the ground and matched her pace backwards.

  “Be careful whilst I’m gone,” he said, pretending nothing was amiss, then added, “I love you.” He waved at her as he passed beyond the cliff edge and she shouted something after him. He didn’t quite catch all of what she said because of the wind, but he got the general idea—and it wasn’t the three words he’d been hoping for.

  Chapter Twenty

  Lusam smiled to himself as he levitated towards the surface of the ocean below. He knew he would be in trouble when he got back, but at least Neala would have had some time to calm down a little before then. Besides, if the lesson was enough to save her from any harm whilst he was gone, it would all be worth it—not that the look on her face hadn’t been worth it alone, he thought, with his smile growing even wider. He shook the frivolous thoughts from his mind, knowing that Neala’s own words of warning about the sea arch deserved just as much attention as his own, if not more. He hovered for a moment above the water’s surface, checking one last time to see if he could see any evidence of the sea arch below the waves. He used both his mage-sight and his regular sight, but there was simply no sign of it anywhere.

  Lusam reduced the size of his
magical barrier, making it a much snugger fit around himself. He had quickly discovered outside Irragin—when he had failed to rescue his mother—that a smaller magical barrier made it far easier to remain underwater. He sent out a single strand of power towards the ocean floor, and tethered it securely. Then he lowered himself into the dark turbulent water, pulling against the single strand of power, and submerging himself under the waves.

  It took a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the underwater gloom, and even when they did, he found that he could still only see a few feet in any given direction. The water here was far more turbulent than it had been outside Irragin, and as a result, it contained far more sediment, making it difficult to see very much at all. He tried using his mage-sight again, but he found that he was surrounded by so much life in the form of tiny creatures suspended in the water, that it all but blinded him to anything else. No matter in which direction he looked, all he could see was their combined life glow.

  Lusam caught an occasional glimpse of several larger creatures with his mage-sight, and guessed they were fish by their size and the way they moved. He knew he was perfectly safe inside his magical barrier, but his inability to see very far, combined with the unnatural environment he was in, had him feeling quite uneasy. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to steady himself, then sent out a second strand of power to the sea floor in front of him. He had already orientated himself in the direction that he believed the sea arch to be before submerging, and decided to simply move slowly in that direction. Neala’s warning of potential booby traps was still fresh in his mind, but he had no idea how he was supposed to check for them when he couldn’t see anything. He guessed that he’d just have to hope she was wrong about them.

  Slowly and steadily he moved forward, pausing every few feet to see if he could detect anything new in front of him. It was during one of these brief pauses that he noticed something strange. It was difficult to judge the exact distance, but a few feet in front of him he could see hundreds of small pulses of light with his mage-sight. He edged forward slightly to try and get a better view, but it didn’t seem to help very much. He watched the spectacle for several more minutes whilst trying to figure out what it was, and was about to try and get even closer when a large fish swam into view. He watched as it swam directly towards the disturbance, obviously unaware of what was happening directly in front of it. As the fish arrived at the disturbance, there was a much brighter flash of blue light, and the fish seemed to disappear.

  Lusam scanned the water directly in front of him, but there was no sign of the fish anywhere. At first he wondered if the fish had been killed, and that was the reason why he could no longer see it with his mage-sight, but then he suddenly remembered something else about his dragon dream. When he had first dreamed about the island he had flown through the sea arch as the dragon, and there had been a bright blue flash when he had passed through it. It was then that he had found himself flying above the lushly forested island, instead of the desolate wasteland he had just left behind.

  “That has to be it,” he whispered to himself, realising that he’d just found the sea arch from his dream—and the entrance to Aysha’s fabled hidden realm. He moved a few feet closer to the entrance, and could clearly see the boundary where the tiny creatures flashed brightly as they came into contact with it. He tentatively reached out his hand towards the boundary, adapting his magical barrier around his outstretched arm as he did so. As he made contact with the invisible boundary, a bolt of pain shot up his arm. His immediate response was to pull his arm away, but it held him firmly in place.

  Lusam began to panic and pulled harder, but he was still unable to dislodge his hand. It wasn’t until a sudden surge of water pushed his arm deeper in that he realised he was no longer tethered to the sea-floor. Desperate, he tried to send out another line of power to prevent himself from being pulled in any further, but nothing happened. He tried several more times, but no matter what he did, nothing seemed to work. He could now also feel the magic being drained out of him at an alarming rate. He knew that if he didn’t do something soon, he would die there.

  He could still feel his hand, so he knew it had not been injured in any way—it was just that he couldn’t pull it back out again. He’d already discovered that pushing it in further took little effort at all, and began to wonder if it was only possible to pass through the boundary in one direction at a time. His mind raced as the magic was torn from his body. Neala’s words of warning echoed in his mind, along with the prophetic words of Aysha. Through the myriad of confusion and uncertainty, he managed to remember one thing clearly. Aysha had told him that Neala would not return if she entered the hidden realm. She did not say that he wouldn’t.

  Everything happened so quickly that he barely time to think. He had never intended to enter the hidden realm without returning to Neala first, but now he didn’t seem to have a choice. If he stayed where he was he would be dead within less than a minute. But if he entered the hidden realm, there was at least a chance that he could return from the other side. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and with a silent prayer to Aysha, plunged himself into the invisible boundary.

  An enormous blue flash erupted before his eyes, and he screamed in agony as the magic was ripped from him at an astonishing rate. His vision darkened at the edges, and spots of light flashed behind his eyes with the immense pain inside his head. His magical barrier collapsed a moment later, delivering him into the icy grip of the awaiting seawater. He thrashed his arms wildly, desperately seeking a surface that was no longer there. Then just as he had given up all hope of survival, a bright light suddenly appeared in front of him—and he was falling.

  He suddenly felt the air rushing past his face and he tried to fill his burning lungs with a little, as he tumbled downwards surrounded by seawater. He could feel himself teetering on the edge of blacking out. The pain in his head was like nothing he had ever encountered before. Even when Lord Zelroth had drained him of power, it had not been as brutal, or painful as what he had just endured. Almost too late, he noticed the fast-approaching water below him. Instinctively he tried to raise a shield around himself, and barely managed it before hitting the surface of the water. The magical drain of the impact sent a fresh wave of agony through him, and his shield failed once again.

  Lusam sank deeper and deeper into the blackness of the cold water. His feeble attempts at trying to reach the surface far above him were no more than that of a dying man—all strength gone from his limbs. Even with his oxygen-starved mind, he knew he was about to die, but all he could think about was Neala, and what would happen to her now that he had failed his mission. If he’d had the breath to scream his frustrations he would have, but his lungs were empty—empty and burning. As his vision began to fade to black, he thought that he saw glimpses of movement in the gloomy depths around him. Small flashes of light reflecting off metallic-like silver scales. “Fish,” he thought to himself, as he sank ever deeper towards the ocean floor.

  As his body and mind started to shut down, he began seeing strange visions before him. At first, he thought it was Aysha that had come to collect his soul. A beautiful woman hovered in the water directly in front of him. Her long blonde hair flowed with the ocean currents, creating the effect of it being blown by a strong wind. Her face sparkled in the limited light, like it was covered in tiny diamonds, and her wide eyes were the colour of opals. Lusam found himself smiling at her, and she smiled back at him, revealing a set of perfectly formed white teeth. His vision darked and his head slumped forward. The last thing he saw, was the strange fish-like tail of the beautiful woman… then there was only darkness.

  ***

  Lusam stirred slightly to the sound of a tiny voice. “Eat quick—or wet take…” it said, then several more voices echoed the words. He continued to slip in and out of consciousness, unable to rouse himself fully. His lips were dry and cracked, and his neck burned as if it had been scalded by boiling water. His legs felt cold and wet, and sand c
logged his ears and nose. All he wanted to do was sleep, but something at the back of his mind kept trying to drag him back into the waking world. He could sense the pain throughout his entire body, but it seemed so distant and irrelevant to him whilst he teetered on edge of oblivion.

  Cold water washed over his numb legs in slow rhythmic pulses, and small cries of panic and urgency echoed within his mind. Just as he was becoming accustomed to it, his entire head was suddenly submerged in cold water, causing him to inhale sharply. The salty seawater entered his mouth and nose, and he coughed and retched violently. He tried to push himself up onto his hands and knees but fell forward on his face in the wet sand. A series of sudden sharp stabbing pains in his legs and arms made him cry out and roll over onto his back. The saltwater and wet sand stung his neck, but it was the pain in his arms and legs which hurt the most. It felt like someone was pouring alcohol into a series of open wounds, and it made him gasp loudly.

  “Run… run… run…” tiny voices echoed inside his mind.

  Lusam rolled onto his side, and saw over a dozen yellow and red crabs running away and disappearing down their burrows. His mind was still a haze of confusion and pain, but as the crabs disappeared, so did the tiny voices. His head throbbed with every beat of his heart, and he could barely stand the pain of opening his eyes to the glare of the strong sunlight. A fresh wave of pain assaulted him as he shifted his weight on the sand, and when he looked down to see what was causing it, he could barely believe his eyes. His tunic and pants were soaked in his own blood, and countless cuts in his clothing testified to the reason why; the crabs had been attempting to feed on him.

  He had no idea how long he had been unconscious, but judging by the severe sunburn to his neck, and the damage the crabs had done to him, he thought it must have been at least a couple of hours. He was severely dehydrated, and needed fresh water badly, but he was in far too much pain to go in search of any right now. He checked to see how much of his magic reserves had regenerated, intending to repair the small cuts to his arms and legs, but what he found, shocked him. His reserves were still almost completely depleted.