THE KEEPERS RISE

Chapter 10 - Fear's Strike - Part 3

*Remember to click the play button to listen to the soundtrack as you read!*

The kathumis stared at the sword's edge. It would have drawn blood already if his skin hadn't been so tough. The sides of his face and neck were covered in bluish, ice-like armor plates and chips, the defining features of kathumi. "What do you want to know about me?" He said suddenly.

"Your name, perhaps, and your position," Velda began.

"Councilor Quin. I'm a lead member of the Dark Council."

Oh. Cha said in Velda's mind. Oh no.

"Why would the Dark Council care about us?" Velda puzzled.

Councilor Quin grinned and was about to answer, but then the door at the back of the room opened, and several more armed Dark mages walked in. They wasted no time, charging at the escaped captives, and the room was filled with Dark auras.

Will'ym tried to attack Quin with his sword like he had been intending to do before, but the blade slipped against Quin's ice-like armor. Before he knew what was happening, Councilor Quin snatched the sword out of Will'ym's weaker non-dominant hand and sheathed it triumphantly.

Velda knew there were too many mages to put up a shield and defend against all of their magic at once. She launched a few magical blasts at the onslaught, but the mages were too quick in shielding themselves for her to do any damage. Within seconds, they were cornered. Councilor Quin stood triumphantly at the head of the group, and two mages behind him were powering a semispherical barrier that pushed Velda and Will'ym close to the wall.

Velda heard swords slide out of scabbards and bows pull taut in the darkness behind Quin. "How quickly the tables turn," he said, walking forward and circling the two Keepers. They both stood stock-still, watching the shielded mages who looked ready to attack them at any moment. By then, Will'ym's arm had healed completely. The Councilor blocked both of their Powerstones again, fading the only light sources in the room.

Suddenly, as the light faded completely, Velda realized something. Admiral Perryn had surely noticed that they had been taken from the Stargazer. Assuming nothing had happened to any other ships, the admiral would have had Quin's ship followed. "You've got no chance," she sputtered. "The tarrephaene could be here for us in minutes."

Councilor Quin's chuckle echoed through the blackness. "You thought I'd let them chase me? We're far out of range of any of the Tarrephaene Empire's sub-light ships. Be glad that it wasn't too difficult to do."

Velda was horrified. The one thing that could have saved them was gone. "You're just going to get rid of us, then?"

"No. I have better things to do with you, and besides, I do know that you can't be killed completely," Quin mused. "But I also assume that there is a way to keep you on the brink of death. I am willing to do that, should the occasion arise. We still have far to go."

Velda was confused by the Councilor's forwardness. His words made sense, there was probably a way to keep their stones completely occupied with keeping them alive, leaving no magic to heal them. "You're not going to do that?"

Quin's voice came again from the pure darkness. "I would instead suggest a compromise."

"A trap," Will'ym said. Velda was surprised by how close his voice was to her.

"If you two cooperate with me and my crew, and make sure the rest of your team does the same, I won't investigate this rather obvious loophole."

"And what if we don't cooperate?" Will'ym glowered.