“... you don’t have to like..”

  Zoey stopped when she saw David. He waved to her, following the bald man. From above, rings of light stretched down, close enough for David to see the rings weren’t held up by anything. He couldn’t sense the magic in it, as though it was insulated, hidden. The walls of the hall were just as dark as the outside, they shone unusually too.

  Zoey, Chloe, and Gis turned to face him. Gis’ aura had deepened, but she looked different. Zoey held a small egg. The black shell was streaked with webs of golden lines. Within it, David sensed a faint flow of something similar to Zoey. He looked from the egg to his sister, puzzled. Zoey grinned.

  “I can bond with more than one creature,” Zoey said. “Something Vjognir has known for a long time now.”

  “I didn’t think it was important… yet,” Vjognir said, appearing like a dream made flesh. It peered at the egg in Zoey’s hand and flew close to it, glaring at the egg. “And you shouldn’t link yourself with everything.”

  “What is it?” David asked.

  “I am not sure yet,” Vjognir said. It seemed physically irritated by the egg, but Zoey cradled it as if she was already linked to whatever was inside. “But whatever it is will be a parasite. You can feel it already?”

  “Yes,” David said. Zoey looked at them, turning from one to the other. “And it hasn’t hatched yet?”

  “No,” Zoey said. “And are you going to tell me what you are talking about?”

  “You can’t feel it because it is taking a little at a time. Perhaps, for now, that is how much it needs, but what about when it grows?”

  “What was your insight about?” David asked. He wasn’t sure he could take the Vjognir’s words purely as fact. He could sense the creature’s simmering annoyance. There was a bit of envy there, or something problematic.

  “An understanding of my traits that helped me manifest the egg,” Zoey said. David nodded for her to go on.

  “I am supposed to nurture it. I don’t know how yet, I was hoping he could explain.” Zoey nodded to the bald man.

  The five of them turned to stare at the bald man. If he was unnerved by the sudden attention, he hid well. He regarded them, one by one, before speaking.

  “This is a natural path for Druids,” He said, folding his hands over his chest. David hadn’t noticed before but his feet were on the floor. The stars on his robes were dim now, inert. Whatever magic worked it had been undone. But he still seemed more than human, if he ever was.

  “You are already nurturing it,” he said, confirming David’s thoughts. “Once it hatches, it nurtures you back. Then you might understand the blessing of Lord Balek’s gift.”

  “Yeah,” Chloe said. “Did anyone else get a visit from him?”

  “I did,” Elisha said, following the bald man through the same entrance David had used. David turned to the bald man beside him and saw that he was gone. Only the one beside Elisha remained.

  “I did, too,” Zoey said. “He promised a lot.”

  “Yes,” Gis said. “I was terrified by what he did. He said he was a god. I wanted to bow to him so bad, that my spine might have creaked. But he felt… I don’t know, he felt evil. Like the devil in the stories our parents tell us. Terrifying.”

  That surprised David. He understood Balek going to his siblings, but why Gis? Did that mean he had approached the others too? He chuckled. That would change a lot of things for him, but he was curious. But at the moment, he couldn’t look away from his brother. Elisha seemed to have grown taller. His cloak of shadow was gone, replaced by an armor of flickering shadow. It shone, gleaming even more than the walls of the hall. His helm had two curved horns. The only they could see were his eyes, and that shone pure silver-white.

  “What happened to you?” Chloe asked. “You look more like the devil.”

  “Your insight?” David asked. Elisha nodded. He raised his right hand and shadows coalesced on it, gathering and stretching until he was holding a spear of pit black iron. It gave off a screaming force of essence. The aura was eroding. It scraped against David’s senses. Golden light poured out of Chloe to envelop her and Gis in a protective shield and Zoey glared at him, the Vjognir disappearing into her. David stared at the lance, more curious than disturbed.

  “I don’t know all of what it can do, but it is called a void lance,” Elisha said. Gis was on her knees, breathing hard. She’d been affected before Chloe got her.

  David stretched for the lance. Elisha stretched it out for him and David hissed when his fingers grazed it. It wasn’t any kind of pain he’d experienced before. Its newness was shocking. He flinched from it, getting a grin from Elisha. Then the lance shattered into dagger-size fragments. Their sharp ends seemed rough but David knew that thing would kill someone like Gis.

  “Watch this,” Elisha said and at the snap of his finger, an aperture of darkness formed near him. One of the fragments sailed into it and disappeared. David summoned his sword almost immediately he sensed it coming down on him but Elisha created another aperture above David and swallowed it. The dagger appeared in his hand.

  “That is fascinating,” David said.

  “Terrible,” Chloe said with a smile. David couldn’t see his brother’s face, but he knew Elisha was smiling.

  “How can I get that power?” Gis asked and the others laughed. “That is so badass.”

  “Praise him anymore and we will have a problem,” Zoey joked. “But that is so unfair. I get an egg, Chloe gets an amulet and you get that!”

  “An amulet?” David asked. Chloe pulled a pendant for him to see. It hung from a silver chain. A red, pulsing stone within a mesh of bones. He didn’t know what to say. “What does it do?”

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  “I met an old bard, his teachings are in there. He can teach me how to be a better battle bard. I want that.”

  David stared at her for a moment and nodded, looking away. He couldn’t mend whatever had broken between them, but he was proud of Chloe.

  “What did you get Gis?”

  “Archery training,” Gis said, trying to hide her disappointment. “I mean, now I can shoot two arrows at a time, but I had hoped for more.”

  “Your gifts are according to what you can become. And why do you think an Archer is not as strong as a bard or a Druid?” The bald man asked.

  “I shoot arrows,” Gis said, frowning. “I don’t see how that is special.”

  “Or perhaps, it is your sight that is limited. How you view yourself becomes your reality. Watch.”

  He floated back, waving his hand in the air, and then disappeared as David felt his presence and another enter the hall.

  “What? I thought I would be the first to come out!” Carlos said. “Did any of you get an offer from a demon-looking statue?”

  “That was a god,” Gis said and Carlos froze.

  “Am I going to die?”

  David watched the man. There were more runes on his skin. Even his pupil had some kind of marking. Elisha cancelled his lance and Chloe let her protection fade once Elisha’s power had ebbed. The bald man stood beside Carlos, silently watching them.

  “Watch this,” Carlos said and began to scribble on the floor with his finger. The tip of his finger dug into the stone as if it were sand. The rune was a simple one, but it carried an elegance David couldn’t explain. He was about to ask what the rune did when the ground shook beneath him. Nothing much, only a tremble. David thought that was the end of it, but it shifted slightly.

  Gis lurched forward and David caught her. It had felt like the ground slid right from under them. Carlos and the bald man seemed perfectly fine.

  “What was that?” Elisha asked.

  “I don’t know, but I think with enough time I can do more than that.”

  “You didn’t learn what the rune meant?”

  “It was a command rune,” the bald man said. He shook his head at Carlos like a disappointed father. “You should be careful with your gifts.”

  “You wanted to show us what an archer can do?” Gis asked. The bald man nodded.

  “You are not an archer, you are a Ranger. Which means you can do more than most. And your archery can be multidimensional.” He waved his hand out and four targets appeared above them, scattered randomly. He stretched for Gis’ bow and she gave him. He manifested for arrows that floated beside him. In a quick, fluid move he shot all four so quickly it was almost impossible to follow. The arrows pierced through the targets, the last one curving to split through the first target and then curved again to shatter the fourth target.

  “A ranger can be a close and distant combat soldier, you can learn simple chants that help you in battle. You can do almost anything you want to.”

  Gis nodded, taking her bow back. “You are saying I can do all these things you just said.”

  “And more,” the bald man emphasized. “This journey you are about to embark on will push you through the worst. It should bring out your hidden talents… or kill you.”

  “Oh!” Carlos exclaimed. “You didn’t have to add that last point.”

  “Where are the others?” David asked. He’d expected everyone to come out already, but no one else was coming. The absence of Gis’ giant friend made him uncomfortable. The man would be useful for whatever they face on the first floor of the tower. He wasn’t sure what it would be, but he knew it’d be bad. Balek was not one for half-measures.

  “They have left, Lord Ruler,” The bald man said. There was a smugness to the way he said it. As if David shouldn’t have missed the absence of his people. David felt the beginning of a warmth in his gut. He heard Ignis say something but the words were lost to him. He fixed the bald man with a searing gaze but all it did was get a smirk out of him. For all he knew, this man could defeat him in a fight. He couldn’t tell how strong the man was, but there was a quiet strength to him that made David stop the next thought that came to him.

  “What do you mean they have left?” Zoey asked, even though they seemed to know the answer already.

  “They took Lord Balek’s offer,” The bald man said. “The tower is vast and only the wise will travel it with minimal danger. I hope you meet them again, but I believe you don’t wish for that. You might have been friends, but now you are not. You spat on my Lord’s gift and now you must venture into the wild with what meager blessings you have acquired.”

  “Unbelievable,” Gis whispered. “They left? Just like that?”

  “What does it matter?” Elisha asked, using arrogance to mask his annoyance. “This is probably a good thing. It is better to travel small, than with a large group. They will only slow us down.”

  “So you would cast them off like that, strong man?” Carlos asked. David winced. “You would throw us all away at the slightest inconvenience? Just like that? You too, David?”

  “That wasn’t what he meant,” Zoey placated.

  “That was what I heard,” Gis added. She wheeled on David. “Were we just shields for you like that god said?”

  That damn Balek, Ignis bellowed. And I agree with Elisha. If they betrayed you so easily, then they were of no use to you. They would have betrayed you later on. Better now than later when you have become dependent on them.

  “And they will all die anyway,” Vith said. “You couldn’t have protected them all. Strong as you might be, you are no god. And this is not your tower.”

  “Yet, it brings pain to feel such betrayal,” Aza chipped in.

  Vith snorted but said nothing. David was grateful for the silence. “Carlos, I will not throw those who stay with me away. If you haven’t realized, I was the one thrown away for a god.”

  Carlos nodded. “True.”

  “What do we do now?” Gis asked. David heard the unspoken question, but he ignored it. He didn’t have time to reassure them. They had to see the horrors of what awaited them and decide for themselves.

  “We are ready to proceed,” David said to the bald man. His smirk was gone. His eyes were cold when he regarded David, but in the end, he only nodded and walked past them, leading them to one of the edges of the room. As they got closer to the wall, David saw the door cut into the stone. He would never have noticed it if the bald man hadn’t led them to it.

  He placed his hand on the door and David watched closely to see how he worked essence into the frame of the door, but it was too subtle to catch. He felt the release of power but it was brief, like a spike. The door slid out of the way to show a long, dark tunnel.

  “At the end of this is the first floor,” The bald man said. “You will find my Lord’s tower much more challenging than… others. Be careful, Lord Ruler.”

  David stared at the bald man, not sure if he hated the man or found him amusing. His loyalty was aggravating, but that was exactly what was required to worship a god like Balek. For whatever reason, David felt pity for him. He walked past the others, into the darkness. His first step in changed his mind. There was no solid ground. He screamed as he fell into the darkness… no, through it. There was no end for so long and then the ground came up at him in a rush. David strengthened his body with essence, but on impact, he realized he didn’t have to do that at all.

  His sank down the depths of the water. He relaxed himself, easing away the panic that would normally force him to take a breath. Once he had control over himself, he swam up to the surface. Land was to the east. The cluster of tree heads was not very far away. David wished he could knock the bald man. He had the feeling the man had done that to mess with him.

  He was about to begin swimming when he heard the screams above him. Gis hit the water first and Chloe followed, held from crashing by Elisha who simply stepped on the surface of the water, a thin layer of shadow beneath him kept him afloat.

  David splashed water on him.