Rise of the Mages by Scott Drakeford

Author:Scott Drakeford
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tor Publishing Group

15

Emrael snapped out of sleep into a state of heightened awareness. He could not have said what woke him, nor how much time had passed since he had lain down, but sleep fled from him in an instant.

He swung his legs out of bed, and when his bare feet hit the floor, he was surprised to find it warm to the touch. The lights in the chamber had dimmed, as if the temple itself were aware that its guests slept. This place was creepy as hell.

Even still, he could not help but be curious about the Craftings he had seen earlier in the rooms off of the main entrance chamber. If they offered him a better chance of getting Ban back, he had to take the risk. He was desperate for something, anything that would help him fight his brother’s captors. He had to.

He padded on silent feet toward the main chamber and as he did, he noticed that the light coming from the script on the walls was much brighter in the main chamber than it had been. An uneasy sense of wonder filled him as he headed toward the storage rooms.

“Em?” a voice whispered.

Emrael turned quickly back toward the sleeping chambers, but no one was there. A shiver of fear quivered through him.

“Em, can you hear me?”

He looked around again. He could have sworn that was Ban’s voice. Gods, he just had to follow Jaina into the haunted temple.

“Emrael, if you can hear me, just speak into the pendant I gave you, and be quick. I can’t talk too long or the guards will hear me. I’ve seen others disappear for less. I can’t be caught.”

“Ban, is that really you?” Emrael asked, clutching the pendant next to his mouth.

“Yes! I managed to finish the pair to your pendant days ago and have been trying to contact you ever since. You must have just come within range. I knew you wouldn’t abandon me,” Ban whispered back.

Emrael, flooded with hope and relief at hearing his brother’s voice, was instantly weighed down by guilt. “Ban … I had to leave to find Elle, and then we were arrested … I’m in Barros, about to cross into Iraea. I’m trying to find a way to come get you. Can you tell me where you are?”

Ban didn’t respond.

Emrael tried again, shaking the pendant. “Ban, where are you? I need to know where you are so I can come get you.”

After several more tries, Emrael sank to his knees, all energy sapped from him. Had he imagined the whole thing? Was it some trick of this place? No, that had been Ban; he was sure of it. But why had he stopped responding?

Panic struck him. What if the guards had discovered Ban talking to him? What would happen to him? He tried to convince himself that the damn pendant contraption probably just malfunctioned. Craftings could be finicky.

Finally, he stood and crossed the main hall to the rooms filled with shelves, determined to find out whether this temple had anything he could use to get his brother back.

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