The Sorcerer's Tome

Chapter 14: The Trap

The snow fell for over an hour, and such a fall had scarcely been seen in living memory, which, when you consider that many of the locals were immortal, is really saying something. At its height, the blizzard was such that you could not see more than two feet in front of you and the howling wind drove it into huge drifts several feet deep.

The cave in which Garren, Maya, Tom and Valcris had taken refuge offered them little shelter from the intense cold. The snow drifted inside quite a way, but where they were huddled at the back, it didn't quite reach them, and at least they were out of the wind. They watched as the snow drifted across the entrance, shutting out more and more of the weather as the opening grew smaller.

The respite in the cave gave the vampire chance to heal himself completely. By the time the snow finally ceased, he had managed to close the gash in his side where the Chimaera had bitten him, and he was free of puncture wounds, though there remained areas of redness on his pale skin to indicate where his injuries had been.

Their foray into the tunnel had been disastrous. Not only had Valcris lost his protection against the sun and been tortured by the agonising fungus spores, but Garren had lost his staff, and more importantly the gemstone at its head. Without the focal stone, he was unable to project his magic, their only real weapon.

"You can use my crystal," Tom offered.

"I can no more use your gem than I can use the key to the Dragon's Tome, that you bear," Garren replied sadly. "Do you remember, back in my cottage when I told you that a stone and its owner are a pair? They must be compatible."

"Oh yeah," Tom said.

"What do you plan to do now?" Valcris asked. "Do we attempt the other way, to the rear of the monastery?"

Garren thought for a moment before answering resolutely, "No. We will go back into the tunnels."

"We were nearly killed in the tunnels," Maya said, shocked by the reply.

"The tunnel is blocked by the gate, and that two-headed, fire-breathing thing is there, remember," Tom said.

"Also, Balfour is aware that we intended to enter the monastery that way, and that I was with you," Val pointed out. "I do not believe it was a coincidence that there was a trap laid for one such as I."

"No," Garren said. "Neither do I. I am most concerned that every step of the way, our plans have been anticipated. He is being informed of every move we make. But how?"

"It is most unnerving," Val agreed. "But how can we go back into the tunnels, it will be far too dangerous. The spores will still be there, and as Tom says, our way is blocked."

"Returning to the tunnels will be the last thing Balfour will expect, and I am willing to wager he does not know the passages as well as me. If he has followed it from the monastery, he will not be aware that there is another way up, by taking the path to the river. It is a more demanding route, certainly, but it will lead us to the network of hidden passages just the same.

"Those spores are still going to be lying all over the ground," Maya stressed. "Will they not attack our feet as we walk through?"

"Yes, they will," Garren replied. "But it is nothing that Tom can't deal with; with a little help from me."

"Me!" Tom exclaimed.

"I have every faith," Garren assured.

"I'm not much good at magic," Tom said. "Remember the dead animals in the woods."

"You have also managed to save Val from the sun as well as yourself, from Lyca, not to mention the boat you summoned when I could not," Garren said.

"I could give it a try," Tom agreed reluctantly.