A Tale That Dawned [Book 4 of Selvina's Tale series]

Chapter 40: God of Conquest

The empress led Selvina and Amalthea down to the lowest depths of her castle, deeper even than the dungeons where the unicorn had been held captive. The journey there was uneventful but long and arduous. When they finally stopped moving Selvina collapsed in exhaustion and Amalthea was breathing heavily.

"Get up, Selvina," Rhiannon said as she advanced toward a massive door. The huge stone portal was locked by an elaborate mechanism that consisted of various gems, pipes, tubes, and, oddly, a pot of soil popping out of its side that contained the dried, shriveled husk of a dead plant.

Selvina, tired but curious, groaned and complained as she hauled herself back on her feet. She leaned against the wall and watched the empress approach the door.

"Step back, Selvina," she instructed. "I need magic to open this door."

Selvina hesitated in confusion for a moment until she remembered about her elf-arrow. After backing away several dozen paces, the empress spread her arms. Her hands began to glow black, blue, and purple and tendrils of energy spread out from them. With one hand she launched a bolt of lightning toward the gems, lighting them up like stars. With her other she directed a stream of flame into the tubes and pipes until they were all heated through. She then directed a pulse of dark green light toward the potted plant and focused intensely. For several minutes nothing happened until, amazingly, the dead plant slowly straightened and returned to life, vibrantly coloured and beautiful.

There was a nearly inaudible click and Rhiannon smiled, standing straight and lowering her arms. She turned her head and looked at Selvina with a smirk. "The plant's roots wrap around the lock, which resets itself each time I leave this room. Heating the pipes and vibrating the gems readies and settles the lock and the roots, alive once more, twist it enough to unlock the door. Only a master of both nature and dark magic can work this lock."

"But I thought you were a master of only dark magic," Selvina said, eyeing the elaborate lock with awe.

"I am, but learning nature magic was my first lesson. There are few spellcasters alive that can conjure enough heat and power from their flames and bolts to ready the lock and fewer still which can bring life to the dead." She then gestured to the door. "Shall we?"

The doors opened inward slowly and heavily, each one, to Selvina's estimate, probably weighing several tons of solid stone and metal. As they opened, on their own somehow, a dark blue light burst out from the room, flickering and blinking as if struggling to survive.

Once the three women and fairy were inside, the doors closed with a bang behind them. The circular room was massive and contained a great hole in its center that seemed to go on forever. Hanging over the hole was a statue with arms outstretched and mouth opened wide, as if crying out in defiance. The statue itself was that of a man with long hair, two jagged horns upon his head, and huge, feathery wings. He was chained to the ceiling by the wrists and to the floor by the ankles. Surrounding the statue were serpents of dark magic, slithering over its body or swirling in the air around it. Each serpent would impale the statue over and over and come out the other side slightly thinner until eventually they ceased to be. Even the chains holding the statue were surrounded by swirls of dark energy.

Amalthea shook her head and fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face. "This should not be, Rhiannon. You have gone too far! Please, I beg of you, stop this now! You do not understand the danger you are in."

Rhiannon lifted her chin at the distraught unicorn woman. "I do understand, Amalthea. I do understand! I know the risks and the dangers! This is the only option before us. It is the only way I can ensure the world has a future!"

"No, it is not! Selvina is the key to our future; not this! Not this!"

"And what if Selvina fails, Amalthea? What then? The Writer is too powerful for any one person to defeat, at least any one mortal. We need someone greater. We need a god!"