Wild fear gripped her. Kalena was trapped between him and the wall. He was beyond reason. The gold in his eyes was frozen. Gone was the familiar warmth that characterized everything Ridge said or did. Something was shadowing the fire in him, something that could turn water black and dim a firegel lamp. Something that was a product of the darkening mist that surrounded the shelter.
“No, Ridge!” Kalena caught at his hand. “You’re my husband. I wear your lock and key around my throat. You are honor bound to protect me, not hurt me. I’m your wife, Ridge.”
She thought she saw some sign of response in his eyes and hope flared within her. He was staring at the amber lock and key with a faintly puzzled expression, as if a part of him sought to comprehend it.
“My wife,” he repeated. His hand slowly fell away from her.
“My woman,” he added in a harsh whisper. “My responsibility is to care for you…”
“You would never hurt me, Ridge.”
His eyes lifted back from the lock and key to her strained face. His frown deepened. “No,” he agreed, still sounding vaguely puzzled. “I would never hurt you. You belong to me. You’re a part of me.” He shook his head as if seeking to clear it.
She was reaching him, Kalena thought. In some way she was getting through to him. Whatever it was that had tried to control him was failing.
“Ridge, we must get out of here. Even if it means going through that fog. We must leave this place at once.”
And then all hope died in Kalena as the door crashed open, striking the wall with a violent clatter. A blast of cold air shot through the small room. The fire on the hearth dimmed, but it did not die out completely.
Kalena looked over Ridge’s shoulder and wanted to scream, but her voice was trapped in her throat. A figure stood in the doorway, a black, hooded cloak swirling around him. In the faint light she couldn’t see more than the shadow of a man’s face under the wide brim of the hood.
“Go ahead, Fire Whip. Take her if you wish.” The hooded man’s voice was harsh and brittle. “I’m sure my master would not want to deprive you of one last tumble with the woman.”
Ridge turned slowly, as if the small action required a great effort. He confronted the apparition in the doorway, his hand resting on the sintar in his belt. “Who are you?” he rasped.
“One who wears the black glass. There are more of us, Fire Whip, and we have need of you. There is a need for the woman, too, but only for a short while. Soon she will be useless. So take her if that is what you want. Perhaps when you are finished, I will enjoy some sport myself. It has been a long time.”
The arrogant, derisive words seemed to free Ridge from whatever force held him partially in thrall. The sintar suddenly appeared in his hand. He moved toward the cloaked figure in the doorway with savage intent. “No one touches her but me. No one.”
“I was warned you might make this difficult.”
Kalena saw the blade in Ridge’s fist begin to glow, and a part of her was violently glad. The fire in him was not yet completely quenched.
The figure on the threshold fell back before Ridge’s silent advance. Kalena’s flash of relief lasted only a split second. In the next instant a roiling black mist poured through the doorway, swamping the room before Kalena could even shout a warning. The firelight winked out.
Kalena thought she saw a faint glimmer from the sintar before Ridge and everything was lost in the whirling, seething mist. She opened her mouth to cry out as the darkness seized her, and then she was flung into an endless night. All consciousness fled.
The first thing Kalena became aware of was the cold. The sensation was relentless, no matter how much she tried to retreat back into unconsciousness. She had heard somewhere that one fell into a deep sleep before one froze to death. But this chill seemed calculated to keep its victims awake while they suffered.
She opened her eyes to the pale gleam of a lamp hung high above her on a rocky wall. Starkly flaring shadows danced on the stone around her. For a moment she thought she was back in the spa cavern at Hot And Cold. But there was no warmth from the bubbling waters, and this subterranean room was a different shape than the one in which she had been trapped several days earlier. This was a smaller cave, lit by only one lamp. An arched entrance that had been hacked out of the rocky wall was sealed with a barred gate. Beyond the bars she could see an uninviting corridor of stone that vanished into darkness.
Kalena tried to sit up and discovered that she was bound hand and foot. The hard, stony floor on which she had been tossed like a sack was damp and cold. As she struggled to elevate herself slightly she could feel the stiffness in her muscles. There was no way of telling how long she had been lying in the small chamber.
“Ridge? Are you here?” She peered into the thick shadows cast by the single lamp.
“You’re awake.”
His voice came to her from the depths of a shadow formed by a large boulder on the opposite wall. There was almost no inflection in his words.
“I’m awake,” she acknowledged. “Are you all right?”
“I’m not bleeding anywhere and nothing’s broken, if that’s what you mean. But I’m not all right.” He shifted position, emerging slightly from the shadow as he used the surface of the boulder to brace himself in a sitting position. He, too, was tied. Across the short distance of the chamber his golden eyes were brilliant, but as unreadable as his voice. “What about you?”
“I’m not hurt,” she murmured. “Just stiff and sore. Ridge, where are we?”
“I don’t know. I only woke up a few minutes ago. That black mist that came through the door…”
“It was like the mist that trapped me in the pool caves at Hot And Cold.”
“I was afraid of that.” There was a faint pause. “I should have believed you that night. I thought it was all your imagination.”
“Given the circumstances, it was perfectly logical for you to think that way.”
“Dammit, Kalena, don’t go polite on me now. I know this is my fault. If I’d listened to you back in Hot And Cold, maybe none of this would have happened.”
“I don’t see what difference you could have made. We still would have gone on to the valley and we still would have been trapped on the way back out of the mountains. You were sent to find out what was happening around here, Ridge. It looks as though you’ve begun to get the answers to Quintel’s questions.”
“I’m beginning to wish Quintel had never asked the questions in the first place.” Ridge groaned. “I should have known that cut of the Sand trade was going to cost me more than a quick trip into the mountains and back.”
They both heard the scrape of boot leather on the rocky floor of the corridor outside the cave chamber, then saw a flash of lamplight. The barred gate was unlocked and a cloaked and hooded figure stood in the arched opening. When he spoke Kalena knew it was the same man who had entered the shelter during the night.
“Answers are what we all seek,” the cloaked man said, holding his lamp so that the light added a bit more illumination to the shadowed room. The reflected glare made a mask of his hooded features. “Final, absolute, powerful answers. You, little whore, are going to help provide them, although you will never have the ability to understand what you have done.”
“Only a fool would insult my wife,” Ridge said softly. “I will remember every word.”
The hooded head turned in Ridge’s direction. There was a low chuckle that held no grain of real humor. “I am called Griss, and I am anything but a fool. You deserve that label. You have grown soft because of her, Fire Whip. It is dangerous to consort with women. Their power may be weak, but it is insidious and subtle. An unwary man, blinded by his own lust, too often falls victim to it. Fortunately, the damage is usually not permanent. It can be undone. Soon you will understand what I mean.”
“I assumed that all those fancy magician’s tricks with that black mist had a purpose,” Ridge said bluntly. “You’ve gone to a lot of trouble to get us here. Those were
your men back in Adverse? The ones who wore the black glass pendants?”
“A case of overzealousness, I fear. The fools thought to please their master by delivering you ahead of schedule. You were not meant to be taken until we had proof that the woman was the one who could get through the barrier that guards the Healers’ valley. The two in Adverse paid for their disobedience.”
“You could say that. They’re dead.”
The hooded figure nodded somberly. “Of course. Death is the reward for disobedience as well as failure.”
“Were they the ones who killed Trantel?” Ridge asked.
“Ah, yes. Trantel was asking too many questions. He was learning too much, you see. He questioned what had driven the hook vipers out of the mountains and he wondered at certain disappearances that have occurred in the neighboring foothills. We needed men, you see. There was work to be done. The Cult of the Eclipse prefers complete secrecy, however. When he began snooping around it became necessary to get rid of him.”
“The black mist in the caves at Hot And Cold,” Kalena whispered. “You caused it?”
“The caverns at Hot And Cold are linked to these caverns. Over the years we of the cult have explored most of the passages and not long ago we found the ones that lead from the core of the mountains to the pool caverns. We wished to test the black fog. It is a recent creation of our master’s, and we were curious to know if it could counter the residual power that flows in the water of those hot springs, it would have been interesting to see its effects against you, too, although we did not intend to take you that night. As I said, it was necessary to see if you could get into the Healers’ valley before any move was made.”
“You learned that the black mist couldn’t overcome even the minor power of the Light Key that is in the water,” Kalena observed with satisfaction.
“It is only matter of time. The mist is being perfected daily. It was finely tuned enough to affect the Fire Whip in the shelter, was it not? You yourself saw that. Of course, it has an affinity for males. Against women it is a weapon. But when used on men it enhances all the power in them that comes from the Dark end of the Spectrum. That power grows daily among those of us in the Cult of the Eclipse. When the Light Key has been destroyed, nothing will stand in our way.”
Kalena shivered. “You can’t be serious. Nothing can destroy the Light Key.”
“So stupid females such as the High Healers would have us all believe. Women know nothing of real power. They exist only because of the indulgence of males, although in their arrogance, women refuse to admit it. Whatever small power a woman possesses derives from the Light end of the Spectrum, the weak end. All men know that ultimately the Dark end is stronger than the Light. You will find that out for yourself when the Keys are brought together.”
“That can’t be done,” Kalena stated softly.
“Of course it can be done, little whore. Why do you think the Dawn Lords took such care to separate and hide the Keys if it could not be done?”
Ridge answered. “What makes you and your kind think you have more knowledge than the Dawn Lords? You’re fools to play with power you can’t possibly comprehend.”
“No, Fire Whip. It is you and the other males who have allowed themselves to become tainted with the Light end of the Spectrum who are the fools. You will flock to us soon enough when we have shown you the truth.”
“But what will you do if you manage to destroy the Light Key?” Kalena asked desperately. “What’s the point of taking such risks?”
“Don’t you understand anything, whore? The Cult of the Eclipse will know no boundaries on its power once we have subdued the Light Key. We can then go on to discover the hiding places of the Stones themselves. Without its Key the Light Stone of Contrast will be unable to withstand the power of the Dark.”
“You don’t know what you’re saying,” Kalena whispered. “If it’s true that the Keys actually exist and if the Stones themselves are real, than you dare not try to destroy any of them. The lines of power that run between them form the Spectrum. If you destroy one end of the Spectrum, the other end becomes meaningless. The instability that would result could destroy our continent, perhaps our world.”
“No,” the hooded man snapped with cold arrogance, “that is only a story spun by women. The truth is that the destruction of the Light Stone will free the total power of the Dark. The ones who control the Dark Stone’s Key ultimately control the Stone itself.”
“And who,” Ridge asked grimly, “will control the Dark Key? Who the hell are you?”
The man reached inside his cloak and held out the pendant of black glass he wore. Lamplight flickered on the dark glass, producing an odd effect, as if faint sparks danced for a moment on the surface of the pendant. “I am a member of the Cult of the Eclipse, Fire Whip. That is all you need to know. You and the woman have both been brought here to serve the cult.”
“How?”
“You have spent too long with the woman, Fire Whip. She has indeed dulled your mind. Don’t you understand yet? The Keys can be handled by a very few. According to the ancient books, only a man who can make the steel forged in Countervail glow with fire is capable of holding the Dark Key.” The cloaked figure turned to glance disparagingly at Kalena. “And only a special Healer who has never been trained to heal can handle the Light Key, because the power it will draw must be in its raw, unformed state. In addition to their talents, these two people must balance each other on the Spectrum. So say the great books of mystery and the Mathematics of Paradox.”
“How long have you known of our existence?” Kalena was stunned by what the man was saying. Her voice was a thin thread of sound that was barely audible in the rocky chamber.
“We knew you were the ones we sought shortly after you came to Crosspurposes to conduct your whore’s business, trade wife. When the trade marriage was negotiated we knew that the forces of logic and destiny had finally worked themselves to their ultimate conclusion. It was said the groom was one who could make the steel of Countervail glow and the bride was one who might have been a Healer had she been so trained because the Talent ran in the women of her family. The two of you had formed an alliance and were bound for the Heights of Variance. All the signs were right. We decided to act.”
“Are you saying you’ve got access to the Dark Key?” Ridge asked roughly.
“Oh, yes. It is in our possession, although none of us can touch it yet. That is for you to do, Fire Whip. Your whore will soon leave for the valley of the Healers to bring back the Light Key. Then the two of you will have the task of bringing the Keys into contact with each other.”
“My wife,” Ridge said with dangerous emphasis, “knows nothing about the location of the Light Key.”
“The High Healers will show her.” The man seemed unconcerned. “They cannot touch it themselves, but they know its location. It has been their secret for generations. They will give it to her because in their foolishness they will choose to believe that in her hands it will be stronger than the Dark Key.”
“If what you say is so,” Ridge gritted, “then I will not allow Kalena to bring back the Light Key.”
“You will have no choice in the matter, Fire Whip.”
The hooded man took a few paces into the room, his cloak swinging around his booted feet. The light reflected upward from the lamp, revealing more of his features. Kalena knew she would never forget that beaked nose, his thin, brutal mouth and dark eyes that reminded her of bottomless pools of black water.
“Listen to me, whore,” he rasped, halting a short distance away from Kalena. “You have a task ahead of you. Do you understand it now? You are to return to the valley of the Healers. They will show you the location of the Light Key. You must bring it back down the trail with you. There you will be met and brought here to carry out your destiny.”
Ridge’s voice was a snarl of anger. “She will not do your bidding, you fool. She is my wife and she will do as I say.”
The hooded man chuckled. “I
t is precisely because she has been in your bed that she will follow my instructions. We soon realized that the physical union between the two of you was a necessary part of all this. You have done your job well, Fire Whip. You have possessed her completely, and in so doing you have bound the woman to you. There is always a danger in such unions because they can weaken a man, but this time I think it will work to our advantage.” He turned back to Kalena. “You will go to the valley, won’t you whore? You know what will happen to your lover if you don’t.”
“Damn you,” Ridge gritted. “Leave her alone.”
Kalena glanced at him and then back at her captor. “You will kill him if I don’t return with the Key.”
“Ah, I see that you are not entirely brainless after all. Always the chance of that in a woman. Silly, stupid creatures.” The hooded man swung back toward the door. “Food will be brought to you and you will be given a short rest. You will need your strength for the trip back to the valley. Then you will be sent on your way.” He walked out of the chamber without a backward glance. The barred gate clanged shut behind him.
Silence descended. Kalena looked across at Ridge, who sat with his back against the boulder. “I must go, Ridge. You know that.”
“You will let them lead you out of these caves, but they can’t follow you into the valley. As soon as you’re on the other side of the veil, tell the Healers what’s happening. They might be able to get a message to Quintel. He commands enough men who know what they’re doing with sintars and crossbows. He should be able to flush out these bastards.”
Kalena said nothing, knowing in her heart that such a plan was hopeless against these men in their hidden caverns. She stared at Ridge helplessly.
“Do you hear me, Kalena?”
“I hear you, Ridge.”
He closed his eyes in grim despair. “But you’re going to try to bring back the Light Key, regardless, aren’t you?”