The Final Redemption by Michael Manning (novels in english .TXT) 📗

I nodded, “I just find it humorousthat for once our goals are completely aligned. You’d like to killme, and I’d like nothing more than to be dead—really dead.” Thatseemed to confuse Karenth even more, so I removed myhelm.

His face registered surprise once hissenses were able to see what I had become, and then a smile curledhis lip. “You have become like me,” he noted.

That insight jarred me mentally. Ihadn’t directly compared the two, but in most functional senses,the spell-weave binding me acted in the same way as the enchantmentthat had bound Karenth. The main difference being that I wasoriginally a live human being, while Karenth had been created as asentient magical construct by the magic of the Centyrfamily.

“How long was it before you began tohate humanity?” I asked suddenly.

His eyes narrowed as he stared back atme. The enchantment compelled him to complete honesty as well asobedience now that I had given him the key words. “Not long. I wasborn a slave to the will of your predecessors. I cannot remember atime when I didn’t hate humankind.”

“Looking at things from a humanperspective, it looks like you had a pretty sweet deal,” Icommented.

“It was an arrangement we created forourselves, once our masters were gone,” rebutted Karenth. “Shouldwe give thanks to the sheep once the shepherd hasvanished?”

I was still puzzled. According to thememories I had found, the creatures now known as the Shining Godshad been relatively well treated. Aside from occasional tasks,their burdens hadn’t been overtly cruel. “I don’t understand yourbitterness. What did you want that your masters didn’t giveyou?”

“Death—or never to have been made atall.”

I stared at him. After a moment Ifinally questioned, “Why?”

My new servant looked at me with pity,“Do you like what you have become? You are a dead thing. There isno true life in you, no feeling, no passion—not even joy or sorrow,yet you cannot die either. There is no end, no hope. You willpersist as you are for eternity, a mockery of life. Your onlypleasure will be fleeting, stolen from the chattel you onceprotected.” Karenth paused to let his words sink in fully beforerepeating his question, “Do you like what you havebecome?”

Well, when you put it likethat. I still refused to accept that Imight sink to the level that Karenth and his fellow magicalconstructs had. There was still one major difference between us: Iwas human, at least originally. He had been created as anartificial sentience. The essence of his argument was correctthough, I didn’t like what had happened to me, and I could alsofeel sympathy for his plight.

“I don’t agree with your actions inthe past but I can understand your pain. When this is done, I willunmake you,” I told him.

Karenth laughed. “Your ancestor saidthe same. He died before he could keep his promise. I have evenless hope for you.”

“I cannot die,” I remindedhim.

“There is that,” agreed Karenth, “butMal’goroth may be your undoing nonetheless. Your intentions meanless than nothing to me. If you do not unmake me, if I am leftmaster-less, I will use my freedom and spend eternity making yourpeople suffer.”

I glared at him, but there was littleI could do to threaten him. He was already under my control. “Takethis letter and leave it under the door of Lady Elise Thornbear.Make sure she finds it. Once that is done, I want you to gatherinformation for me in the capital.”

“As you will, my lord,” he repliedwith a subservient bow. “What sort of information do youseek?”

“Listen to the councils of the King. Iwant to know the state of affairs in Lothion. See if you candiscover anything regarding Mal’goroth as well. I would like toknow what he’s been doing while I was away,” I answeredsuccinctly.

“If I go near that one you will nolonger have a servant,” he informed me.

“He cannot destroy you,” Ireminded.

“He can devour whatever power I haveaccumulated and imprison what is left of me. My usefulness willthen be at an end.”

“Avoid contact,” I told him. “I willreturn to Albamarl within a day or two. Find me and report whatnews you have then.”

“Very well, I will take my leave, mylord.” Karenth bowed and started toward the door. Before he passedthrough it, he put his hand against the wall. “What will you dowith…,” he left the question unfinished.

“The power I extracted from you?” Isaid, clarifying his question.

“Yes.”

I sighed, “I’ll probably take a linkwith me so that I can draw upon it as I need.”

“That seems inefficient,” henoted.

“What do you mean?”

“You are an immortal locus now. Thereis no limit to what you can contain,” he explained.

That was news to me. I was alreadyholding a considerable amount of aythar from the animals and plantsI had killed, not to mention my encounters with Myrtle, but Ihadn’t given much thought to figuring out whether there was alimit. “I hadn’t really considered it in that light,” Iadmitted.

“You will have to learn to stopthinking like a human. It limits you.”

“I appreciate the sage advice,” I saidsarcastically. “Now get going.”

Once he was gone I wentback outside the chamber and found the key rune for the enchantmentthat had imprisoned Karenth. The key rune was a link, an enchantedcrystal that would allow me to draw and use the power stored withinthe Iron Heart Chamber. I had originally planned to simply keep it,using the power only as needed, but now I wondered if I should trydoing what Karenth had hinted at. I couldtry to absorb the power, holding it within myself.

For a normal mage, drawing andattempting to contain that much power was suicide. Just a tenth ofit was certain death. Even for someone as powerful as I had been,anything beyond a few percent of that total would inevitably causepermanent burnout. Karenth and his ilk had been created as purelymagical beings, little more than an obedient mind and the abilityto store and utilize aythar. Now that I was trapped as an undeadmonster, I was essentially the same, with the exception of stillhaving a physical body.

Could I contain that much? Could Icontrol it?

Only one way to findout.

I put my hand against the key rune andbegan