I was standing in front of a dying madman whose bloodshot eyes no longer saw the truth. ‘The srebrec is killing your people, and it’s killing you,’ I said calmly. There was justice in Mlot’s fate, but I wasn’t here to gloat.
‘Ernesto told me you’d be my end, but I didn’t want to listen,’ Mlot muttered, his words turning more incoherent with each passing moment. He fell back onto his throne, hitting his head. A grimace of pain twisted his features. ‘It’s fine. It’s all fine. We’re all going to die in Svarog’s furnace.’
‘No!’ Tova shouted when Mlot reached for the lever hidden beside the throne. I whipped out a dagger and threw it at the king. The blade embedded itself in his shoulder, but it didn’t stop him. Even as his scream tore through the air, his griptightened on the handle and pulled it back. A low rumble followed, the floor beneath our feet shaking.
‘I don’t think so,’ I said, passing his subdued men while he writhed on the floor. Mlot’s screams became maniacal laughter while I struggled to reset the lever. It was stuck.
Suddenly, the dwarven king threw himself at me. Using my own dagger, he lashed out, the blade only stopped by my armour. My fist shot forward, connecting with his chin and whipping his head to the side. The old dwarf tumbled down the steps of his own dais to land in a crumpled heap at Tova’s feet.
‘Reynard, time’s running out. What do you want to do with him?’
Tova wasn’t looking at me. He was staring at Mlot, breathing hard with his hand gripping the axe so hard his knuckles turned white.
‘He’s yours to deal with. Let him live, or kill him. This is your home, and your choice to make.’ I dropped to the steps of the dais, bone-tired, then I watched, gesturing for my men to stay back. My anger fizzled out looking at Tova’s grim face. From my seat on the steps, I watched the dwarves circling the fallen king like a pack of wolves.
‘Did you do it? Did you fucking do it?’ Tova’s voice raised an octave when he ripped the strange-looking key from Mlot’s neck. ‘Tell me the combination.’
Combination?That caught me off guard. Tova was holding Mlot by his long, plaited hair. The edge of his axe blade was pressed against the old dwarf’s neck so close to the artery that I feared we’d never get an answer to his questions.
‘You think taking the key will change anything?’ Mlot grinned, bloody saliva bubbling on his lips. ‘Tick, tock… Tick, tock… Your time is up, and fire will cleanse us all.’
‘You gutless swine. Your people still live in the mountain. Why did you activate the heart?’ Tova snarled, turning towards me. ‘Take your men and go. Save as many as you can. Please.’
He dropped Mlot. Horror filled my veins when the king laughed, even as his former prisoners began ripping him apart. Bile rose in my throat. I thought I’d seen it all, but the savagery of people who’d lost everything to his madness threatened to turn my stomach.
‘Tell me what’s happening,’ I asked, turning to Tova while gesturing to my men to abandon the mine.
‘There’s a mechanism our ancestors made to protect the secrets of Wiosna. If I don’t stop it in time, the volcano will awaken, killing us all,’ he said, running past me and disappearing into a passageway hidden behind the dais. I chased after him, ignoring the shouts of my men and cursing up a storm.
I never thought I’d have trouble keeping up with the dwarf, but my size worked against me in the tight corridors, and when he finally stopped in front of a small, inconspicuous door, I was pissed.
Tova tried key after key, his hands trembling so much that he dropped them on the floor. His gaze darted over the row of stones on the wall. ‘If I push the wrong one, a trap will block the entrance,’ he muttered.
‘We don’t have time for this,’ I said, kicking the door. The hardwood shuddered but held, and Tova gave me an annoyed look before pointing to the space right under the lock.
‘The frame is reinforced with steel. You need to kick beneath the lock.’
Pain spread up my thigh when I did what he asked, but the wood creaked, and after we took turns kicking it, the lock bent inwards, and we forced our way inside. I followed Tova, hobbling into the darkness. Except for a dull red glow flickeringin the distance, there was barely any light, but I kept going, placing a hand on the wall for guidance.
The tunnel ended in a large cavern, where the red afterglow was much stronger. It was a menacing sight. I swore I was staring into Veles’ cauldron, with its pool of lava slowly churning at the far end. The cave was hotter than a dragon’s belly, filled with benches and workstations. On the floor and on the benches, scattered like toys, were half-finished projects and precious artefacts, a testament to dwarven ingenuity.
‘Here!’ Tova shouted, dragging my attention from the burning pool. ‘Help me with this before the chain melts.’ He stood by a crane, or at least I assumed it was a crane because the strange construct was attached to a boulder blocking a fissure in the wall.
‘Help you how?’ I asked, noticing the lava had risen, almost spilling over.
‘Turn the chain wheel while I keep the mechanism open. Hurry up, or the pressure will become too much.’ Tova was frantic, pushing another key into the crane’s heart while I gripped the wheel.
Mlot’s laughter reverberated in my mind. He knew it was almost impossible to shift the boulder once it was in the lava, but still, I tried. My thoughts drifted to the villages decimated by the wraiths, the diseased dwarves who still believed their king, and my Viper’s tears when she told me Mlot’s treatment of his people.
I couldn’t let the old bastard win.
My muscles bulged, and blood thrummed in my veins as I channelled every ounce of anger and pain into moving this bloody wheel. Liquid fire licked at my boots, searing the leather. ‘Fuuuck!’ I screamed, a golden haze obscuring my vision. My boots were burning, fire climbing up my legs, but I felt no pain.
What kind of man would I be if I let these people die? Could I accept Veles’ grace knowing my Sanika would mourn us both?
Wild Magic exploded from my chest at the thought of her pain. The power I’d always denied gave me a strength I could never have imagined. The boulder rose an inch, then another. Higher and higher it went, the half-melted chains groaning against the strain, threatening to give way and drop the granite rock back into the lava.
Without a thought, I grabbed the blazing chain, the heat burning despite my resistance. It wobbled, shifting towards the bank, then the white-hot metal gave way, and the boulder crashed down, bouncing and almost crushing me as I scrambled to the side.
