Zach Brenner's Arc

Chapter 43 of 86

The tunnel opened into a wide stone hall. Red light glowed at the far end, where fire waited at the world's center. Malachar stood between them and the flame, his skull staff raised. He held a black crystal in one hand. Zach saw it and knew they had one chance. "He hasn't reached the fire yet," Zach said. "Now." Malachar turned to face them. His green eyes flared under his hood. "You crawled a long way to die," he said. He lifted the staff, but Zach was already moving. Zach raised his sword and let it go free of his hand. White light poured off the steel. The blade shot forward on his will alone. Malachar threw up a wall of shadow, but the light tore through it. Raven fired her crossbow. A bolt struck the sorcerer's shoulder. He staggered. Garrok charged with his axe. Lyra sent flames across the floor to cut off Malachar's retreat. Ayla stood behind them, her crystal glowing, ready to mend any wound. The room filled with light and smoke. Malachar swung his staff and knocked Garrok back. But Zach pulsed the sword again. A wave of white light hit the sorcerer full in the chest. Malachar screamed and dropped to one knee. His staff cracked on the stone. Zach called the blade back to his hand. He crossed the floor and drove it down. The light flared. Malachar fell and went still. The dark crystal rolled from his fingers across the stone. Raven lowered her crossbow. Garrok wiped his mouth and grinned. "That was it?" he said. "That was the great sorcerer?" Zach stared at the body. His heart still pounded, but something felt wrong. Malachar had chased them for months. He had raised demons and broken seals. And he had fallen in one fight. "It was too easy," Zach said. Lyra pressed her hand to the floor. Her face went pale. "Zach." Her voice shook. "That heartbeat. It's fading." She looked up. "But it was never strong. It's not the beacon I tracked. This isn't him." The body on the stone shimmered. It faded like smoke, like a picture made of glass. Then it was gone. Malachar's voice rang from above. They spun. He hovered near the ceiling, whole and untouched, his real staff in his hand. "Fools," he said. "You killed a shadow. You won't stop me from taking ultimate power." He drifted higher. "I know where the tower is, and you won't reach me in time. I found a shortcut." Four stone statues ringed the hall, each facing the center. Malachar flung the seal stones toward the spot where their carved eyes met. The stones burst into light. A portal opened, black and spinning. Malachar vanished into it. The floor shook. Something dropped through the ceiling and landed hard. It had eight legs and the body of a giant man. Its head swung toward Zach. "Weapons up," Zach said, and raised his sword.