CHAPTER 14.

DEEP IN THE HEART.

001001011001110.

What was that principle? The more you learn, the less you know? As my perception of Vrin increased, my confusion increased along with it. But as much as I wanted to wake from this agitating dream world, I couldn't help but have a fascination for its diversity. Its complexity was far beyond anything I could possibly imagine. The computer system holding the data generated by this world must have been immense. immense. So I decided, if I ever did find my way back to the world on other side, I would definitely apply for a job. So I decided, if I ever did find my way back to the world on other side, I would definitely apply for a job.

Arganis returned from upstairs carrying a map in one hand and a lantern in the other. "This is a map of the castle. It has taken us a very long time to gather the information for its design. I'm sure it is not completely accurate, but it is the best I have to offer."

"It will do splendidly!" I said, taking it from him and laying it flat on a dirty crate. "I'll need to create a tunnel, the straightest point to the dungeon. And it'd be nice if I didn't have to deal with too many guards, I don't want any chance that word of my presence will get back to Rath."

"How about here?" He pointed. It was a remote spot between some bushes on the left side of the castle. "You would only have to make a tunnel fifteen or twenty feet deep."

"Very nice." I grabbed his arm with approval. "Can you get me there undetected."

"I'm fairly certain."

"Then let's waste no time," I said, pulling up my hood. "We can use the evening mist to conceal our efforts." I rolled up the map and stuck it in my belt as Arganis went to a corner to retrieve a small backpack.

We mounted the narrow stairs and walked through the dusty room to the door. He slid back a small piece of wood and peered out. "Looks clear."

There were no soldiers in sight as we stepped out into the busy street. The denizens were loading wagons with supplies. Old and young alike labored over the tasks.

Arganis scooted off toward the castle. I followed close on his heels. Our journey took us through side pa.s.sages and under wooden overpa.s.ses. All of the damaged buildings had been rebuilt. I couldn't help but admire Rath's handiwork, he had an eye for beauty. We pa.s.sed many townspeople on our way. All were clad in finely crafted clothing, but not one looked happy. These people possessed great riches, but Rath had taken away their peaceful existence.

At last we reached our destination. Between several bushes a small clearing lent easy access to the side of the castle. Arganis stood back and I went to work. I pushed the ground down twenty-five feet to the lower level of the castle wall, then removed my robe and tossed it in.

Arganis had never seen wings on a human before, and curiosity got the best of him. He reached out and ran his hand down the soft white plumage. "Very nice," he said br.i.m.m.i.n.g with excitement.

"Thank you." I gestured to the pit. "Shall we?"

He nodded.

I wrapped my arms around him from behind and lifted him into the air. Together we descended deep into the earth. Once we had our footing, I stripped away the texture of the wall and peered inside. It was a dark hallway, and it looked deserted, so I created a large hole.

Arganis gingerly stepped in as I retrieved my cloak. Once inside, I filled the empty s.p.a.ce with dirt, and applied the gra.s.s covering as I'd remembered it. It was nothing to replace the wall. And within seconds, I was finished.

Up and down the pa.s.sageway there were no recessed areas to hide in, so we would have to make our way down before anyone came through. We listened. Then quickly stole down the slanting hallway until we reached a T intersection at the bottom.

"This way," said Arganis. The dark corridor ended at a large wooden door. "This leads to the dungeon area," he whispered. "If they are here, that is where we will find them."

I removed the texture of the door and peeked through. "One second," I said over my shoulder. "There's a guard." A nearby thread went through the door and stopped near the man's neck. I applied my influence and watched as the end twitched then attached itself behind the soldier's ear. I attached the other end to myself.

It was time to make an impression.

"YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN!" I p.r.o.nounced forcefully into his mind. I p.r.o.nounced forcefully into his mind.

A startled burst of thought came through the thread, allowing me to gather what I could about the man's temperament.

"I AM REASON!"

"What do you want from me?" There was a quiver in his thought. There was a quiver in his thought.

"Spell your name and count to ten," I ordered. I ordered.

"What?"

"Do it-- or face the consequences!"

I realized the statements were far fetched, but it was my intention to confuse him and keep him off guard. If he was allowed even one second to think about his allegiance to Rath, I probably wouldn't get any information.

"J, A, F, U, S-- K, E, N, R, A, one, two, three, four..."

I breathed the name to Arganis. He shook his head, he wasn't one of ours. What could I do with this guy to put him out of commission? Scare him into silence? I whispered to Arganis, "I'm going to need one of your special light displays. Can you do it through the door?"

"No. There must be a connection between my voice and the energy cloud.

"What if I made a sliver of an opening?"

"That should work."

I went back into the soldier's mind. "YOUR SERVICES WILL BE REQUIRED!" "YOUR SERVICES WILL BE REQUIRED!"

"They are already spoken for." He was feigning loyalty; I sensed the indecision in the vibrations of his thought. This was not one of Fyousa's men, but there was doubt in him. He was feigning loyalty; I sensed the indecision in the vibrations of his thought. This was not one of Fyousa's men, but there was doubt in him.

"Rath will never give you what you desire. His path leads to darkness, and all who follow him will be swallowed by the pit. I offer you a chance to join the forces of Ethral. Think hard. I will not offer again." I could feel his anxieties. He feared Rath, but was uncertain of I could feel his anxieties. He feared Rath, but was uncertain of my my validity. validity.

"Time for a light show," I whispered to Arganis. I examined the door and chose the section I would remove. With the appropriate fireworks, my emergence would be very convincing. --But first I needed a little more presence. I focused on my internal structure and began to grow in size until my head was almost touching the ceiling. Now I'm an Now I'm an even match for Armadon, even match for Armadon, I mused. I mused.

"Start your chant," I said to Arganis. "I will open a section here in the door. What I need from you is some swirling colored smoke and a blinding flash of light. When you do this I will step through and convince the man to join us. I hope."

Arganis nodded and began the guttural vocals of his chant. I sent a buzz into the soldier's mind to distract him from the noise. The energy from The Circle of Ghosts began to glow around us, and I opened a small sliver in the door. Faster than my eyes could follow, the energy vanished inside. I opened the hole, quickly stepped through, and closed my eyes.

When I opened them, I was standing over the guard who was frantically rubbing his eyes. I reached out and put a firm, kind hand on his shoulder. He squinted up at me.

"Be not afraid, my son. If you join me, you will no longer have to do the bidding of darkness." As his vision returned, his eyes fixated on my wings. Arganis was generating a glowing light behind them. Nice touch Nice touch, I thought.

The guard's chest filled with resolution. "I will join you Sam' Dejal."

"Good. Then help us now. We are looking for a woman and a girl child."

He nodded. "Yes. They are in the isolation chamber."

"Is that far?"

"No, I can bring you there."

"Lead us then."

The man scurried off down the hall, and I looked back at Arganis with a wink. Reputation was always stronger than reality.

He led us through the musty stone halls down into the abysmal parts of the castle, where the stones were slippery, and moss flourished in the cracks. We descended deeper still, and the corridor grew smaller until it was clear my height would be a disadvantage. I concentrated on the threads of my body and returned it to normal size.

The soldier's eyes grew wide. "You can change your size?"

"It's one of the perks of being a G.o.d." I shrugged.

He looked curious, but said nothing more.

We continued on, and it grew darker. The guard picked up a torch and lit it, and we descended still deeper into the heart of the dungeon. The wail of a prisoner echoed in the distance. I winced at the sound of his screeching howls. He must have been enduring incredible pain to make such a noise. And still we continued on, it was much farther than I had expected.

The pa.s.sageway ended abruptly, and the three of us stood looking out into an immensely ma.s.sive cavern. In the center, an endless pillar reached from the depths of the pit to the ceiling high above. A craggy stone sphere bulged out from the pillar directly across from us, like a rocky bead on a rotted iron bar.

"That is the chamber of isolation," said the guard with a shaky finger.

I waved my hand, but the web did not come up! I placed my hand on the wall, and was shocked by what I saw. The entire cavern had been cleaned out, all of the threads were gone except those making up the structures of the cavern and the three of us. I turned and looked back up the corridor, there were plenty of threads in there.

"This doesn't look good," I said to Arganis. "It might be better if we split ways. Take this guard and travel to the outpost. I will send word as soon as I've finished."

"But there is much I can do to help."

"If this is a trap, I will be better off alone. I wouldn't want your lives being used as bargaining chips."

He nodded. "I understand. We will go." He extended his hand. "Good luck."

I shook his hand. "To you as well my friend." I turned to the guard. "Thank you Jafus. Today you have changed your life path toward the direction of light. Go with Arganis. I will be along shortly."

The man gave a st.u.r.dy nod.

My skepticism was waning. I almost believed the words I had told him. However unbelievable my circ.u.mstances, there was something magical about this place, and I couldn't help but to feel caught up in it.

Even the danger that stood before me tasted of reality. If I failed, I would let the others down. There was a chance I could die, but it didn't matter. I was on the side of justice and harmony, and it filled me with a courage I was sure I had never possessed as a mortal man. Indeed, the more time I spent here, the less I felt like a man in a coma, and the more I felt like a G.o.d on a mission.

I s.n.a.t.c.hed a few threads from the hallway and attached them to my leg. If this was a trap, Rath would most likely snip them and block my escape, but it was worth a try. Pulling the strands with me, I rose up into the dusty heights of the ma.s.sive cavern. The wind felt cool and moist on my face. I rounded the large stone sphere and discovered a bridge crossing from a ledge on the wall, to a small arched opening in the center of the bead.

I touched down lightly on the bridge, examining the entrance to the rocky sphere. It was conspicuously vacant of guards. This put me on edge. I moved cautiously toward the opening, and as I approached, began to hear noises emanating from within-- but couldn't figure the source of the sound. There was a grunt, and then a faint sc.r.a.ping noise, but it was hard to decipher through the persistent whispering of the cavern wind.

I pressed myself back against the wall and carefully peeked in. It was pitch black inside. A single beam of light cut through the darkness from a hidden source. I listened closer. There was a b.u.mp, and more sc.r.a.ping. I leaned in to allow my eyes to adjust to the darkness.

And without warning a figure leaped at me. I jumped back and hit the wall hard. Before I could could piece together a thought, it was on me, grotesque and vicious. At one time it had apparently been an ape, but had been modified in hideous ways. Enraged eyes flashed from underneath a rotted iron helmet. Steel claws bit into my chest plate. The sc.r.a.ping made a frightful noise as I flopped around like a rag doll, stuck between its deadly weight and the lip of the bridge.

In desperation I sent my power into it, but the blood drained from my face as I realized, It had no threads! With no time to contemplate the meaning of this little twist, I pushed my energy into the strand attached to my leg, and in an instant, found myself hovering several feet off the bridge. I picked up the wind weakly with my wings. Blood seeped from my abdomen, accompanied by a burning sensation.

The ape danced about the bridge in a rage, beating its armored chest with clenched fists. There was no way this creature could be here. Yet there it stood. And quite ominously. Moving about the threads of the bridge, a ghost in the machine.

Then it hit me. The Circle of Ghosts! If Kric' tu could walk about in Vrin, then it made sense he could bring forces from the other side. This ape provided evidence of the realm Arganis had spoken of, the place where the ancient spirits lived. But-- was it a real place?

Maybe this creature was just a glitch in the program? It would take a seriously sophisticated computer to hold a world this enormous, and with all complex things, there were bound to be glitches...

It didn't matter.

Whatever it was, it was between me and my goal. And it was time to remove it.

I touched the edge of the railing and sent my energy into its threads, causing the bridge beneath the beast to become air. As the creature began his exit, his mighty claws dug into the rocky sides, holding him for a moment, but I graciously relieved him of his prize. With a screech of terror, it plummeted into the abyss, and I watched until it was nothing more than a tiny dot in the distance.

Returning to the bridge, I examined my armor. It was badly damaged from the impacts of the foul beast. The metal was split and torn around the mid-section. But this, and the gash in my side, was easily mended with a wave of my hand.

Again I cautiously approached the entrance, and paused to listen intently. All was silent, so I took a step in. There were no more surprises. To my left, where the single light beam filtered in, was the outline of a door. I took a section of the thread that clung to my ankle and made a thick match. As I struck it, the room lit up slightly. A bar stuck out of a circular opening in the center of the rusty iron door. Reaching out, I took hold of it. A loud clank echoed through the dark chamber. The door creaked loudly as it slid out of its stony pocket, and light pushed free from inside.

Again I paused. Everything looked okay. At least nothing was jumping out at me.

I crept in slowly. The interior was nothing like the outside. The walls were a rich tan colored stone, and the floor, black marble with creases of white. Silently I made my way down the hall, frequently glancing behind. I came to a door with a small window. Carefully I scanned around its edges for threads or traps. Finding none, I peeked in. The lighting was dim, but I could make out two figures against the far wall. Judging from their sizes, they were the two I'd come for.

My pulse raced. And the fear of the unknown gripped me for the very first time. Anything imaginable could happen. Death could be waiting for me on the other side of this door. --Funny I should start to fear death now now.

I'd seen so much in this odd place, heard so much talk of religion and G.o.ds, good and evil. But I hadn't stopped to think about my own place in the universe. People were counting on me, and it was possible I was the only one who held the key to the way home. But was I prepared to face the greatest unknown? --It didn't matter. At this point, there was no turning back. No matter what the cost, it had to be done.

It was time.

With sweaty hands, I slid aside the five dead bolts. The door swung open.

"Who's there?" came a woman's voice from within.

I stepped in and created a wedge from the threads of the hallway floor to hold the door open. "My name is Jason. I've come to set you free," I said, keeping an eye on the open door behind me.

"Oh thank the G.o.ds!" She picked the child up in her arms, and in crossing the cell, pa.s.sed into the light of the torches. She carried herself in a proud, elegant manner, and was quite beautiful. Her pale features were almost perfect, with wide set green eyes, and flawless skin. The girl's features were much like those of her mother's. Both were very beautiful, but both looked exhausted. I stretched out my arm. The woman gently placed her hand in mine.

A loud CRASH CRASH came from behind. I twisted around to see an enormous stone block covering the door. I pushed my energy into the threads attached to my ankle, but they only brought me as far as the barrier. I laid my hands upon the stone and released my energy, but the threads did not light! In frustration I flung myself against it, but it was no use. The stone would not yield. came from behind. I twisted around to see an enormous stone block covering the door. I pushed my energy into the threads attached to my ankle, but they only brought me as far as the barrier. I laid my hands upon the stone and released my energy, but the threads did not light! In frustration I flung myself against it, but it was no use. The stone would not yield.

Turning back in toward the cell, I found the woman kneeling in its middle with her hands raised to an invisible barrier. "Why "Why are you doing this?" There were sobs in her words. are you doing this?" There were sobs in her words. "WHY won't you let us go?" "WHY won't you let us go?" Her daughter knelt beside her in silence. Her daughter knelt beside her in silence.

A door opened in the rock behind them and someone entered the cell. As soon as he stepped into the light, I knew him.

"Rath!"

"Ah, you remember me. Good," he taunted.

I held my tongue and fixed my stare on him.

Another figure entered, but stayed in the shadows.

Rath stepped up to the divider and smiled a broad sinister smile. "You have done a fine job, Sam, but it is time you took a break." I glared at him as my mind raced to find an escape. "The war is coming along nicely. You have stoked the fires, and we have accepted the challenge. But the finale is yet to come." The sarcasm was thick on his tongue.

"You can't win!"