The Amulet - Book 1 of The Immortals Trilogy

Chapter 9 - Unexpected Setback

Eelios re-entered the living chamber from the balcony, and ignored Burrell standing by the door, bowing low. Eelios was in a bad mood, and the sight of Burrell made it worse. He hated relying on him because of the inferior body Onuris forced him to inhabit.

Eelios scowled at the memory of Burrell carrying him when he went to talk to the hellhounds. Why couldn't he communicate with them through the Amulet like he did before. His scowl deepened at this unexpected setback. Without full control over the hellhounds, they tended to be unreliable, and he had no idea if they were obeying his command to kill everyone they could find, or not.

'Have you heard from Rybone yet?' Eelios barked at Burrell.

Burrell jumped and snapped to attention. 'N...not yet my...my lord.'

'What's the fool doing? He should've found Jareth by now,' Eelios growled.

He was still waiting for Rybone to get in touch with him through the communication crystal which lay lifeless on the bed.

Impatient to know what was going on, Eelios moved to the stone pedestal in the centre of the room, unlatched the lid of the plain wooden box sitting on top, and raised it. Inside, nestled in folds of white silk, were the Orbs of Sight.

Reaching into the box he removed the warm, amber coloured Scrying Orb and held it cupped in his left hand.

Eelios focused his mind and concentrated on finding Rybone. The orb glowed deep in its core, then turned clear. With his free hand, Eelios reached back into the box and withdrew the smaller white Seeing Orb, which floated up from his outstretched hand, and hung in the air in front of him. Now when he looked into the Scrying Orb, he could see his own image. He smiled. Concentrating on Rybone again the Seeing Orb shot out the open doors of the balcony.

He held the Scrying Orb close to his face and peered into its depths. A blur of colour filled the orb, and he could just make out the landscape over which the Seeing Orb travelled at high speed. When the images stilled, Eelios found himself looking down on a waterfall. Below was another forest. He bit back a yelp when the image plunged downward before shooting off through the forest and coming to a halt above Rybone and Nara.

Eelios swallowed the nausea that threatened to overwhelm him. Not only was this body scared of heights, but it didn't tolerate flying either; something he'd found out when Burrell took him to the hellhounds. He blanched at the memory of vomiting as soon as they landed.

Eelios turned his attention back to Rybone and Nara. They hid behind bushes lining the path in front of them. Eelios saw Jareth, and his hand tightened around the Scrying Orb until his fingers ached with the pressure. Hate filled every fibre of his being and the desire to kill Jareth overwhelmed him.

Nara turned to Rybone and muttered into his ear. Rybone nodded. Keeping low, the two moved closer to the path. Eelios glanced from Rybone to Jareth and frowned.

'What are they doing?' he muttered. 'Why are they getting so close to him?'

A flash of silver drew his attention to a knife in Rybone's hand.

'No,' Eelios breathed.

He clutched the orb with both hands, and held it closer to his face, until his nose touched its warm surface. To his horror Nara and Rybone sprang out onto the path. The images dissolved into a blur of movement, and then Nara and Rybone disappeared back into the forest.

Jareth collapsed to the ground.

Eelios watched as Theron, and a white-haired woman, hurried to Jareth's side. When Theron shook his head, Eelios' world crumbled in on him, and ignited his rage.

'NO!' he screamed. He flung the orb across the room, and it shattered on the wall next to Burrell, showering him with shards of stone. In his rage, he advanced on Burrell who scurried away in terror.

'Your temper hasn't improved,' said Onuris, from the doorway leading out onto the balcony.

Eelios spun around to face him, giving Burrell the opportunity to flee from the room. Burrell disappeared down the corridor and out of sight.

'If you hadn't placed me in this useless body,' raged Eelios, 'I wouldn't have to use idiots to do my bidding.'

'Surely you didn't think I'd make this easy?' asked Onuris, a smile pulling at the corner of his lips. 'If I did, I would lose too many souls.'

'So instead, you make it impossible?' he raged.

'Not impossible...challenging.' Onuris' smile grew. 'Besides, I've given you more than I have to others.'

Eelios' mind spun with the images of Jareth's dead body lying on the ground. Then everything stopped still. He didn't dare breathe as he looked at Onuris. Was he here because he knew Jareth was dead?

His eyes narrowed. 'Why are you here?' His stomach knotted at the thought of returning to the Underworld for an eternity of torture and held his breath as Onuris spoke.

'Let's say as a friendly reminder that your time is running out,' Onuris said.

Slowly and softly, Eelios let out the breath he was holding as his knees shook with relief. Onuris didn't know about Jareth yet.

'Give me a Faylian body so I can kill Jareth,' Eelios snarled.

Onuris laughed. 'The rules of the game have been set, and you accepted them by making the deal.'

'Game,' Eelios blustered.

'Surely you didn't believe I'd sent you back because it's what you wanted? You're smarter than that Eelios. You knew I wanted something, and I've given you everything you need to defeat Jareth. The rest is now up to you. I also have some advice for you. The Amulet channels powerful magic. It's time you used it.'

Onuris turned away and disappeared.

Eelios' hand shot up and grasped the Amulet, and he let out a gusty sigh - it was still there.