Keith Baker - The Gates of Night

Lei waited at the foot of the staircase. As useful as her glowing gauntlet could be in this darkness, it would certainly draw the attention of anyone on the second floor. She needed to give Pierce and Daine the chance to move away from the stairs before she followed. She glanced over at Jode, and he smiled at her. Despite all the horror around them, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of warmth. The four of them were together again, and she felt like nothing could challenge them.

That’s enough time, she thought. She started up the rickety stairs, fighting to maintain her balance. She reached out to steady herself against the wall, jerking her fingers back as a tiny set of razor-sharp teeth snapped at her. Step by step. Slowly.

She reached the top of the stairs. It was a welcome change from the flesh and bone of the lower level. The black stone was comfortingly stable beneath her feet. And there was light, spilling from cold fire lanterns lining the long hall. A hallway that was far too long to fit in the tower, at least as it had appeared from the outside. She looked at the nearest lantern, and a chill ran down her spine.

She was in Blacklion. The stairs behind her had vanished, and there was no sign of Jode, Daine, or Pierce.

“This is a dream,” she said. “I’m not a fool. None of this is real. You’re just drawing images from my mind.”

Lei?

Was it a sound? Or just a thought, pressing into the back of her mind?

“This is a dream,” Lei said again. She remembered what Jode had told them about the nature of this place, and she tried to imagine the black stone walls fading away. Instead, she heard footsteps far down the hallway, the faint laughter of a little girl. And a cold whisper, echoing across the stone.

We’ll have to destroy her .

It was her father’s voice, and she couldn’t suppress a shiver. “Very clever,” she called. “But I began working with illusions when I was a child. You’ll have to do more to impress me.”

We have no wish to impress you .

Cold fire glittered on the thousands of shards of Harmattan’s body, and the razor cloak that spread around him. Just as when she’d first seen him, his head was shrouded in a cloud of mist. Now that darkness settled down into his body, revealing the scarred warforged head … the battered remains of his original body.

We only wish to destroy you, little sister .

“Then why don’t you?” Lei said. “You’re trying to provoke me. Drawing on my memories. Showing me the creature who killed my father. If you want to destroy me, you could have struck me down without saying a word.”

I didn’t say I wanted to kill you, Lei. I said I wanted to destroy you. You have no idea of the troubles you’ve caused. To let you die quickly and unaware … the time for such mercy is long past .

Lei fought against doubt. Could he be telling the truth? She knew so little about Harmattan. What was he capable of?

“Where are the others?” she said. “Daine? Pierce?”

There , Harmattan said. That will do. Die now, never knowing their fate .

She’d forgotten how quickly he could move. His fist was a blur, and she felt flesh tear and ribs break as it smashed into her. The physical force threw her back, but there was something else, a terrible heat that burned her skin.

Harmattan raised his fist for another blow, but before he could strike Lei leapt forward, driving her hands into his chest. She had no idea if she could harm him in this way, but on some level he was still warforged. She could feel a lifeweb before her, and she poured all her energy into it, seeking to shatter Harmattan once more. Only then did she realize-the pattern she sensed was familiar.

Lei!

It was Pierce who was burning in her grasp. Lei released him, her head spinning from her own terrible injuries, and she fell against the ivory floor.

Pierce?” Daine said quietly. The two of them had made their way to the upper chamber, circling around the edge of the room. At first, Daine was merely disappointed. He thought their luck had indeed turned, that they might find the orb unguarded and waiting for them.

When he crossed the chamber and met up with Pierce, his disappointment turned to concern. The warforged ignored Daine’s signal and even his words, moving past him and heading back to the stairs.

“He can’t hear you.” The voice came from behind one of the tusks rising up around the center of the room. And it was a voice that Daine knew well.

“Lakashtai,” he said. “And I thought I’d have to fight my way through that army to find you.”

“Oh, Daine, did you come looking for me? I’m touched.”

Lakashtai walked into the circle of tusks, and her slight smile sent a chill down Daine’s spine. She was a creature of dreams, too perfect for nature, her skin snow-white, her hair a dark river flowing down her back, her features sculpted by a craftsman with an eye for beauty but no grasp of emotion. In the faint light rising from the lower chamber, Lashkashtai’s green eyes seemed truly to glow , and even across the room Daine could feel the force of her personality-her almost irresistible charisma.

Daine didn’t hesitate. He lunged, the point of his blade in line with her throat. Lakashtai’s response was perfect. She took one long step backward, moving with languid grace, as if she wasn’t even concerned about the outcome. But that step was just enough to take her out of Daine’s reach. He was drawing back for a second attack when she spoke again.

“Lei!”

One word, but it was enough to stop Daine in his tracks. He kept his sword steady, ready to thrust. “What about her?”

“If you care about Lei and Pierce, I suggest you lower your sword.”

“Lei!” Daine called. The light was drawing stronger. Lei was coming up the stairs. “Lei!” he yelled again.

No response. Glancing over his shoulder, Daine saw that Pierce was kneeling, as if examining something on the ground. Lei appeared at the top of the stairs. If she’d heard Daine, she gave no sign of it, nor did she acknowledge his presence. She looked around the room with a confused expression.

“What have you done to them?” Daine said.

“Lower your sword, Captain Daine, or I assure you that you’ll find out.”

Lakashtai’s eyes gleamed in the darkness, and Daine could feel the subtle urge to obey her commands. It was a powerful and insidious effect, and only now did he realize how often she had used it against him in the past. It had little impact on him, but he still had no choice. He lowered his weapons.

“I must admit, I never expected to see warforged here,” Lakashtai said, watching as Pierce rose to his feet and Lei walked across the room. “If I’d known this was possible, I could have targeted Lei from the very beginning, and this would have been so much simpler.”

“What have you done with them?” Daine said.

“Mind your temper, Captain,” Lakashtai said. Dark mist played around her feet, shadows clinging to the hem of her black gown. “You’re not in your dreams anymore, little Daine. You’re in mine. They see what I want them to see.”

“And we don’t. Isn’t that interesting?” Jode said. The halfling must have followed Lei; he was leaning against one of the curved tusks. Lakashtai’s eyes widened. For her, this was as significant as a shout. “Surprised to see me?”

“That meddling sphinx,” Lakashtai said, and her calm façade dropped, revealing the anger below. “I admit, I wondered what had become of you, Daine-why I couldn’t touch your mind anymore.”

Daine remembered his first dream after drinking the potion in Karul’tash … the vision of the dark giant, shattering against the shield of light. “You couldn’t match our combined strength.”