Keith Baker - The Shattered Land

“I would tell you that his death will mean your own.” Zulaje’s voice was barely audible over the crackling flames that surrounded her, “but I suspect he’ll outlive you either way.”

Harmattan studied the patch of glass on the ground. Can you feel it, little brother?

“Feel what?” The supposed door seemed completely unremarkable, and Pierce was more concerned with Lei. She was surrounded by Hydra on the far side of the clearing, and Pierce could see her glaring in his peripheral vision.

The spirit bound within the door. Watching. Waiting .

Pierce looked down at the glass. “It’s alive?”

Alive as an airship is alive. A half-life at best, but it is a beginning. Study the glass. Look for the fire within, the reflection of a flame you cannot see. That is the spirit within. It was bound over forty thousand years ago. For tens of thousands of years it has waited for the key, destroying any who sought to force passage .

“Destroying?”

“I did tell you not to touch it,” Indigo said.

It holds the power of an inferno. Look closely. There. Burnt bone. A tooth .

Harmattan was right-looking across the clearing, Pierce could see a layer of ash and fragments of charred bone spread beneath the undergrowth.

“How do we open it?”

We do not, little brother. You do, and in the simplest way possible . Harmattan held out his hand, and there was a rustling and rattling as the shards of metal that comprised his body shifted. A moment later, a small amulet rose out of his palm. With the key .

Pierce looked down at the medallion. He’d seen similar objects before: it was an essence disk, a magical tool designed to enhance the abilities of a warforged soldier.

“Why me? Any warforged could use this.”

Not this one. This is a relic of this ancient land, a key of a most unusual nature. Only a warforged designed to interface with it can make use of it. Hydra, Indigo-it will not interface properly with their auras .

Pierce wanted to look at Lei, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so. “What makes you think I can use it?”

Because I could, if I still had a body, and you are my brother .

“Indigo also calls me her brother.”

She speaks of our larger family, of the bond between the warforged, but you and I-we were built by the same hands, for a purpose beyond mere battle. Do you remember your creation, your first awakening?

“No,” Pierce said. “I … I have always assumed that age or damage has clouded my memory.”

Even as he spoke, he remembered his vision beneath Sharn, when Lei had almost destroyed him. The room with six tables. Lei, lying on the slab next to him. The woman’s voice, whispering.

“Protect my daughter.”

Perhaps . Harmattan’s voice broke the reverie, or perhaps the knowledge was buried in your mind. Your mind is a magical engine, little brother-how do you know which memories are real?

“This makes no sense. If I am the only one who can use the key … you came to Xen’drik without me. If we had not met, your mission would have failed.”

Faith. The warforged were not born by accident, little brother. We are part of a grand design, older than human civilization and far more ancient than House Cannith. When this key was placed in my keeping, I was assured that one would arrive who could use it-and so we found you .

“What grand design? Who gave you the key?”

These are not my secrets to tell, and you are not ready to hear them. You must learn faith, brother. Only then will your destiny be revealed .

Was he mad? Pierce had never heard of warforged going insane, but if Indigo’s story was true-if Harmattan had truly pulled himself back from the brink of death-such an experience would be bound to challenge the strongest mind. Pierce remembered the ravings of the changeling Hugal, who claimed that the people of Cyre could harness the power of the Mournland and turn it against their foes. Was Harmattan insane? On the other hand, his power was undeniable. Was a higher power acting through him? Did it have plans for Pierce-and for all the warforged? He glanced at Indigo, but she said nothing.

He took the essence disk from Harmattan’s massive hand. “What do you want me to do?”

Bond with the disk, than walk to the sigil. Stare into the glass until you see the flames, then command the door to open .

“You said the door would destroy any creature that tried to force it.”

The key will protect you .

“You may trust your nameless benefactor. I see no reason to do so.”

It doesn’t matter. You have no choice. You will do as I say. It is why you are here .

“I am not your slave, and if you destroy me, you still cannot open your door. I want information. If you expect me to use this key for you, you will start by telling me who gave it to you.”

“Why are you doing this?” Indigo said, watching from the side.

“When I was a soldier, I served without question. You promised freedom. Do you even know what that is?”

Harmattan rustled. You are a fool, little brother. You cannot fight fate, and you cannot bargain with me. I have been given all the tools I need, even if I did not see their value right away. I have you … and I have her . Harmattan’s glowing eyes turned toward Lei. Disobey me, and she dies .

Even as the words hung in the air, Pierce’s mind was racing, evaluating the positions of the combatants and the actions he could take. The results were disillusioning. Despite his bold words earlier he wasn’t sure he could defeat Indigo, though he would have the momentary advantage of surprise. Lei was surrounded. Even if Pierce could reach her in time and somehow scatter Hydra, he had no idea how to defeat Harmattan.

“Why should I care?” he said. The calculations had taken less than a second; hopefully Harmattan hadn’t noticed the hesitation.

So you don’t care after all? Good . He gestured, and two of Hydra’s bodies grabbed Lei’s arms. Hydra! he called. I’d like to make a point to our brother Pierce. Please remove one of his fleshling’s fingers .

An instant later Lei cried out in pain. “Damn you!” she screamed, moaning.

Pierce moved toward her, but Harmattan slammed him to the ground with a single blow. He had no skeleton, but whatever force bound his body together gave him tremendous strength. Do I tell Hydra to bind the wound, little brother, or should I move down to the wrist?

Protect my daughter . It was a voice from a dream, but now Pierce realized that it had been with him all along, that on some level he’d known it was his purpose when he’d first laid eyes on Lei. Protect my daughter .

“I told you that I would destroy you if you harmed her.”

Fate seems to have other ideas .

“Very well. I will do as you ask, but you will pay for this.”

I think not. I am doing this for you, little brother, and for all of us. In time, you will realize this. One day, you will kill her at my command . He turned back toward Hydra. Search that pack of hers. I suspect she has rope and bandages. Restrain her as you bind her wound-she won’t be coming with us .

The scouts pulled the wounded Lei to the ground, but even as they worked a rope gag into her mouth, she straightened up, staring straight at Harmattan. “I remember you,” she said. “I know who you are!” The rope was pulled tight between her teeth, and any further words were lost.

We have work to do, little brother. Hydra will stay with your fleshling to keep her safe. Of course, he will also be with us-and he will be watching you. Challenge me again, and she will pay the price. Now let us begin. Open the door .