Robert Keller - The Hand of Tharnin

Lannon shuddered at the thought. The aura of the pit filled him with revulsion, and he knew it was the last place he would ever want to go.

"I should be at the gates," said Timlin, a nervous glint in his eyes as he glanced toward the pit "commanding our Soldiers in your absence. May I go?"

"And leave me alone with Lannon?" said Vorden, with a chuckle. "And what if he attacks me, Timlin? What if he tries to kill me?"

Timlin shrugged. "I can stay if you'd like-or send some Soldiers down here to assist you in dealing with him."

Vorden sneered. "I was joking, Timlin. I don't need any help in dealing with Lannon. Go on then and make sure we're prepared for Dremlock's arrival. Bear in mind that no sword is to be raised or arrow fired. If anyone tries to start the battle, kill them instantly."

Timlin bowed. "It shall be done, Master Vorden. Are you sure you want to be left down here alone with Lannon?"

"Just get going!" Vorden said, glaring. "Lannon isn't going to harm me. It's not his way, Timlin."

With a nod, Timlin departed.

"As I said," Vorden continued, "we are going into the hole. I have pressing business down there. And it will be a great experience for you."

Lannon gazed at the yawning pit in horror. "There is no way I will ever enter that pit. And I won't help you destroy the Knights."

Vorden glared at Lannon, then sat his helm on the cavern floor. "You're going with me, Lannon, if I have to drag you down there. I want you to understand what Tharnin is all about. There are only a small amount of portals like this in all the land, so you should welcome this wondrous opportunity to learn about the Deep Shadow. It's not what you think it is. Trust me, my friend."

Lannon readied the Eye of Divinity. "I won't go."

With a snarl, Vorden strode toward him. Lannon seized him with the Eye and froze him in place. "Stay away from me, Vorden."

"Don't be a fool!" Vorden growled, struggling to break free. "I don't want to fight you. You're like a brother to me."

"I don't want to fight you, either," said Lannon. "But I won't enter that evil pit!" He was surprised at how powerful the Eye felt to him-as if its strength had increased from repeated use. The Eye seemed to be growing and adapting.

With a hiss, Vorden broke free and lunged at Lannon, seizing his throat. "You're going to do as I say! You may have been Dremlock's most prized Squire that everyone fawned over, but here in my fortress you must obey my will!" With that, Vorden began dragging Lannon toward the pit. "We've talked enough. Time to find out what lurks below!"

In a panic, Lannon ripped the Hand of Tharnin from his throat and shoved Vorden away. "You want me to go in that pit and become a monster like you! Well, I'll never do it, Vorden! I'd rather die!"

Vorden slammed his gauntlet against the cavern floor and chunks of rock exploded into the air. "I'm not going to kill you, Lannon. Not yet, anyway. But I will render you immobile and force you to go with me!"

Vorden again hurled himself at Lannon and the two grappled with each other. Vorden threw Lannon against the cavern wall, but Lannon shielded himself with the Eye of Divinity and suffered no damage from the impact.

Enraged, Vorden charged at him again. Lannon stepped aside and, using the power of the Eye, flung Vorden against the rock wall with shattering force. Vorden staggered, then whirled around, the blue stones in the gauntlet glowing almost white hot. "Don't force me to crush you, Lannon!"

When Lannon tried to seize him again, Vorden hurled a fireball at the Squire. Lannon froze the blazing orb on instinct and flung it back at Vorden-who simply batted it aside with the Hand of Tharnin. The fireball struck the cavern wall and exploded into a shower of bouncing sparks.

Vorden hesitated, his rage giving way to a sudden, hurt look. "I never thought you would betray me like this, Lannon. All I asked was that you accompany me on a brief journey. I let you come into my fortress and walk freely about-not as a prisoner but as a trusted friend. I've offered you unlimited power. Yet this is how you respond-to ignore a simple request and lash out at me in anger?"

"I'm sorry, Vorden. I just can't do it." Lannon folded his arms across his chest to show that he wasn't going to budge.

"Then I will go alone," said Vorden, his yellow eyes narrowing. "And when I return from the land of shadows, there will be no mercy left in my heart. I won't just destroy Dremlock-but all of Silverland! Every man, woman, and child-slain! Every town-burned to ash!"

Lannon gazed at him in disbelief. "You would never do such a thing, Vorden, not even…even like you are now. You're lying to me!"

"I'm capable of anything," said Vorden, sighing. He seemed to wrestle inwardly with himself for a few moments. At last he added, "Maybe I just want you to come with me to…to try to talk me out of all this. Maybe I want you to stop me somehow. I'm out of control. Even my master has abandoned me now and gone back into hiding. He gave me power over the Blood Legion and now believes it was a grave mistake. The Hand of Tharnin is too powerful and too wicked for anyone to control. It should never have been created. You're my last hope, Lannon!"

Lannon glanced at the pit, wondering if Vorden was simply trying a new tactic to get him to go down there. And why was Vorden so desperate to get Lannon to go? Yet Vorden's eyes did look sincerely haunted. Lannon tried to peer into Vorden's thoughts, but the Hand of Tharnin turned his gaze aside.

"What do you hope to accomplish down there?" Lannon asked.

"I was going to command a terrible beast to fight for the Blood Legion," said Vorden. "This gauntlet was really designed to control the great beasts of Tharnin-creatures so powerful they typically can never be controlled by anyone. Any other abilities the gauntlet possesses are secondary. But now I want to sever my link to the creature that I've summoned. You can help me break that link-and help me rid myself of this terrible device. If we take it into the pit, we can destroy it!"

"That's a rather sudden change of heart," said Lannon. "Seems a bit too sudden. Are you trying to deceive me, Vorden, just to get me to go down there?"

Vorden shook his head. "Lannon, I'm fighting a horrific battle within that you can't imagine. Sometimes my mind is gone-enslaved entirely by the demon that lives in this gauntlet. Other times, I awaken as if from a fog, but it doesn't last long. I'm having one of those moments of clarity. When you threw me against the wall, it jarred me back to my senses. But it will fade quickly!"

Lannon groaned in frustration, almost certain that Vorden was tricking him. But Lannon was a hopeless optimist and couldn't ignore the slim chance that Vorden was being truthful. "Fine, I'll do it," he said at last. "But if things don't seem right, I'll turn back immediately and never trust you again."

Vorden nodded. "You won't regret this, my friend."

As they stood at the edge of the pit, Lannon found himself gazing down into a mass of curling fog. A wooden ladder descended into the fog. He turned a questioning gaze toward Vorden. "It's just mist down there."

"Just follow me," said Vorden, and he started down the ladder. Moments later, Vorden was completely concealed by the fog.

Reluctantly, Lannon climbed down after him, until he was standing on solid rock and engulfed by the mist. He gagged on the aura of the Deep Shadow. He could see nothing but the fog around him in the faint torchlight from above.

Suddenly, a blue glow broke through the fog-the stones from Vorden's gauntlet. "Follow the light, Lannon. A tunnel awaits us."

Lannon followed, but after a few steps, a shock suddenly tore through his body. His flesh shivered and his knees buckled. He was suddenly sick to his stomach. It almost felt like something was writhing around inside him-a dark force seeking to break free. He groaned and clutched his belly.