Page 72 of The Thief's Mark

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Cal

Calstaredglumlydownat the void orb, lowering his latest selection of lock rods. Once again, the Void-cursed thing had reset. At this point, he was about ready to hurl it across the room and take his chances with it shattering. Better that than waiting to be torn apart by whatever it conjured next.

He didn’t even know how many monstrous aberrants the High Commander had slain by now. The room looked more like a battlefield than an office, scattered with charred scraps of paper and broken hunks of wood. Dark only knew what would happen when the void orb ran out of furniture to animate. Somehow, Cal doubted it would simply fizzle out.

When something stirred yet again in that tear in reality, Cal braced himself for some fresh horror to emerge. Relief flooded him when it was Griff who appeared instead. His coat billowed dramatically behind him, and he held his revolver raised at the ready.

He came back for me.The thought buoyed Cal’s flagging spirit, and for the first time since the void orb activated, genuine hope returned to him. Maybe they’d actually make it out of this in one piece.

As Griff took in the scene with wide eyes, Cal could only imagine what it must look like to him: Cal crouched there amid the destruction, his clothes torn from countless minor wounds, while behind him the bloodied High Commander engaged in a gallant standoff with his former chair that now resembled a monstrous spider.

When Griff’s eyes met his, holding his gaze, the concern and love in them sent warmth spiraling through his veins. Barely aware of what he was doing, he surged to his feet and rushed to Griff, wrapping him in a tight embrace. The gesture was made slightly awkward thanks to the orb and lock rods he still grasped, but Griff didn’t hesitate to return it.

“Thank the Light you’re all right,” Griff said. He buried his face into Cal’s neck. “I was worried I’d be too late.”

A great crash echoed behind them. Cal pulled back, holding up the void orb. “You’re right on time. Mind putting that aura-sight of yours to good use?”

“For you?” Griff smiled. “Always.”

The aberrant let out a horrifying shriek, followed by another crash. “What the Void is going on over there?” High Commander Pern shouted. “Am I going mad, or are theretwoof you now?”

Oh, right.Feeling a bit sheepish, Cal canceled his duskflame disguise. In all the confusion, he’d honestly forgotten he was still wearing it.

“Sorry,” he shouted. “My bad. No time for explanations right now. Just hang in there while we get this mess sorted out.”

Ignoring the High Commander’s curses, Cal proffered the pulsing orb to Griff. The inspector took it, wincing slightly as he squinted at its swirling depths.

“Merciful Light,” he cursed. “Its aura was bad enough before, but now that it’s active, it hurts my eyes just looking at it.” Fierce determination tightened his jaw. “But I’ll do my best to describe what I see.”

Cal nodded. “It’s just like that ward guarding the archives at the Treasury. We’ve got this, no problem.”

Hoping he was right, he huddled on the floor with Griff while the High Commander fought to defend them in the near distance. They kept the orb between them while Cal raised up his tools, took a deep breath, and dove back in, listening for Griff’s callouts.

“Here. The voidflame is bunching around this spot.”

“Its aura has shifted again. It’s wilder now, untamed.”

“Wait, it’s slowing down. I can sense several disparate threads of magic slowly weaving together.”

Cal swapped between his rods with lightning speed as he struggled to keep up with every minute fluctuation Griff detected, grateful for his agile fingers. One slip-up would force them to start anew.

Living wood, obsidian, jade, back to living wood...

Each new rod had to be moved in an incredibly specific pattern to match the voidflame’s shifting pattern. A series of light taps here, a slashing motion there. Tight, concentric circles that shifted into slow, undulating waves.

Even with Griff’s assistance, he struggled to keep up. Gradually, however, they fell into a rhythm. It got to a point where Griff barely even needed to call out an order, Cal already anticipating the next rod he’d need by feel. It was as if the two of them were practically working as one, Cal almost able to see the aura himself.

The closest he’d ever come to feeling so perfectly in sync with another person was Kelsith, and that was nothing but a paleimitation to how he felt now. It was glorious, everything he’d ever wanted. And Void, how he’d miss it once it was gone…

With one final jiggle of a harmonite rod, the storm of violet light infusing the void orb finally began to settle. As the voidflame receded, the purple haze hanging in the air faded along with it. The gaping hole in reality where the door had been resealed. The violet energy coating the walls flickered out. And in the blink of an eye, the room was once again nothing but an office…albeit a heavily destroyed one.

High Commander Pern staggered over. His uniform hung in tatters, his face and side coated in slick blood. “Excellent work, you two!” He squinted at Cal. “Though I believe some amount of explanation is in order.”

Cal hesitated, too worn out after his efforts defusing the void orb to think of a good excuse on the fly. He was grateful when Griff jumped in.

“Sir, this is Cal. He’s been assisting me on this case. We’ve been tracking the void orb in secret for over a week now, trying to determine who purchased it and why. All we know for certain is that someone on the Pentarchy is involved.”