Chapter 33: The Mechanical Failure

  Yana and her familiars stood outside the tower quietly. Yana watched the tower complete its circuit several times. She wanted to make sure the soft spots within the layers coordinated well—this line of thinking was about to teach her how the tower got its name. She was still apprehensive about going into the side of sand, so she kept ignoring that option.

  She nodded as she made her decision. She would begin with the water side. She found a spot she liked and the door opened. They walked through and stepped out onto a shelf covered in soft blue-green algae that seemed to greet them happily. The water at this level seemed to flow in slow motion, each droplet pausing to both see and be seen.

  Yana nodded and the group moved down, deftly jumping from ledge to ledge, until they came to a section of ledges covered in an angry red algae. Yana had begun to understand the connections of the sides. The darkness was bordered by the water and glass sides on the outside, and thus could be traveled between along those lines of connection. But once inside, she could see the third connection to the sand side that moved through the tower.

  She looked into the depths of the tower to find the spot in the glass side that she wanted and opened a dimensional door to it. At this level of the tower, the glass shelves were made of dense layers of cooled lava. The walls of the tower were scorchingly hot, and the center was a combination of cold and hot with harsh steam streaming up the middle. She looked to the darkness side and frowned.

  “I think we are too low; we need to move up.”

  “Mistress, I think we need to use void magic to do this. This way is too hit-or-miss.”

  “And we keep missing,” Tasha spoke dryly, cutting Amber off. The shadow cat merely looked at her friend with pursed lips. Everyone seemed to glance at DD as one. The Marked Demon pretended not to notice, and they moved up the ledges together.

  They came to a section of beautiful colored sea glass and Yana stopped. She looked off in the direction of the darkness side and nodded. All of her familiars knew the crinkle in her nose meant she was not sure as they all braced for the free fall. The dimensional door opened, and they all stepped into the drop.

  This time, there was a suffocating force in the darkness side and they were all thrown to the side. The tower rumbled and quaked as the group was dragged forcefully down the tower wall. Yana strained and thought the command instead of speaking it.

  Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

  ‘AMBER… TASHA… DD… ALISHA… TO ME!!!’

  A dimensional door opened even as her familiars were drawn to her, and she used her [Spell Weave] magic to toss them all out of it. They all came out of the tower in a chaotic tumble but corrected in mid-air. Tasha hovered above them. Amber landed on her feet, her long tail coiled and touching the ground to stabilize her. DD landed with a thunderous thud, and Yana landed gracefully in the air to slowly float to the ground as Alisha landed lightly on her shoulder in a sitting position.

  Yana bit back a curse just as Almawa spoke in her mind.

  “Your magic ability [Dimensional Door] has increased by 0.5 levels.”

  Yana sighed. ‘At least I am making some gains.’ She looked back out over the tower and narrowed her eyes.

  “Again.”

  Her familiars were ready without a word as she looked to the tower again, searching for the next perfect path. The group entered again; this time they went in through the darkness side, over to the side of glass, through the tower to the side of water, and back to the darkness side. In this manner, they tried several more times. Finally, a dimensional door opened on the valley before the tower, and Yana and her tired familiars walked out.

  Almawa spoke into her mind: “Your magic ability [Dimensional Door] has increased by 1 level.”

  She sighed. [Dimensional Door] had risen a full 1.5 levels in this session alone, and she still hadn’t figured out the abominable maze.

  Tasha sighed. “This isn’t working, Mistress. We need to think about it.” Her darkness had dimmed a bit, evidence of her growing exhaustion, and her voice was much calmer than usual.

  Amber nodded in agreement. “We should consider the sand side. This tower is beyond convention; what you are perceiving may not be as it seems.”

  Yana nodded as she listened, considering all her possibilities. Could the weight of their group be the obstacle hindering her? She looked to the tower as Alisha spoke.

  “I agree, Mistress. We have not even tried the sand side. We have to at least try. I am sure you can bring us to safety if it is as you fear.”

  Yana shook her head once and used [Spell Weave] to place Alisha onto DD’s shoulder.

  “I will go in alone this time. Maybe that way I can slip through the layers better.”

  All of her familiars stiffened in apprehension. DD’s abrasive voice rumbled through the valley first. “Alone, Mistress? That is too dangerous.”

  Amber and Alisha nodded and spoke as one. “Agreed.”

  Tasha looked to the tower, an expression of uncertainty on her face. She glanced at DD, then to her mistress. “What is your plan?”

  Yana began to work before she spoke, her spell weave becoming dense and extending out in vast, unbreakable strands of magic. They connected to each of her familiars and tightened. Tasha nodded and looked back to the tower as her mistress explained.

  “This spell will allow you to bring me out if I seem to be in trouble. You all will anchor me and be able to send me vitality if you feel I need it. Only if you feel I need it. Starlight, Jasmine, and Mag can help me with that first, so don’t worry.”

  They all heard the finality in her voice, so none spoke, but they gave each other worried looks—all except Tasha, who braced for a fight. Yana looked to the tower once more, and a dimensional door opened on the side of glass. She entered the Truthless Lie Tower without a word.