The Cor (All Chapters)

The pressure on the tip of the knife increased with each of Jorad's words. The light ball wobbled in an arc around them, then rolled back and stopped in a depression near Corvan's head. Jorad's shadowed face appeared above him as the man sat back on Corvan's chest, pointing the black knife that had belonged to the Rakash leader at Corvan's face. "I should have guessed, the great Corvan is still trying to save the girl and make a name for himself; still playing his childish games." Jorad's face pushed in closer. "What have you done with Kate's body? Where did you take her?"

"That's none of your business." Corvan tried to twist and get out from under the man, but Jorad pressed the tip of the blade tight against Corvan's chest.

"It is my business. I need the medallion Kate wore if I am to save Tyreth's life."

"What about Kate's life? You brought her up here to feed her body to the burak, and now you've come back to search for her medallion. What sort of person are you, anyway?"

Jorad glared at him.

"I heard what you told the High Priest in Morgon's crypt. You were going to murder the two men that carried her if I hadn't scared them off. That's not the kind of person Tyreth would even want to be rescued by. Tyreth would rather die than have you rescue her."

Jorad's eyes blazed as he leaned in closer, his face twisted in rage. "You don't know anything about what Tyreth wants. You don't belong here, and she is not interested in you."

Jorad lifted the knife, as if he was about to stab him and Corvan grabbed his wrist to stay Jorad's hand. As they wrestled over the black knife, the tip of Saray's key with its switchblade knife came up tight against Jorad's knife hand. Slipping his thumb up the shaft Corvan pushed hard on the release. The blade shot out and stuck deep into man's wrist. Jorad shouted, the black blade clattered to the ground and Corvan threw all his weight to one side, toppling Jorad in a heap. Corvan scrambled to his feet and scooped up Jorad's knife with his free hand, then leapt back and pointed both blades at the man.

Jorad only crawled away, holding his bleeding hand up to his chest, then propped himself against the tunnel wall. Reaching inside his tunic, he tore out a strip of cloth and began to bandage his wounded wrist.

"I am not your enemy, Corvan. Do you not recall that I am the one who helped you save Kate's life when we carried her to Molakar? I saved you from falling into the karst with that beast and was captured by the palace guard. After that, I saved both of you from the guards by letting you escape back to your world." He paused winding the cloth and looked up. "And you are wrong about the rebels. I did not turn Kate over to their leader, they knocked me out and took us both away, so I made a deal to keep her alive. I am not the one who got Kate killed. The High Priest and Mara are to blame for that. She got caught in the struggle for control of the Cor. All along, I have only wanted to do what was best for Tyreth and the Cor."

Corvan's knives dropped to his sides as Jorad continued to work on his wrist. The man was telling the truth, but he didn't know the full story. He obviously didn't kow that Kate was still alive.

Jorad finish wrapping, tucked the loosed end into the strip of cloth and looked at Corvan. "This is not your fight. You are not from the Cor."

Corvan leaned forward and pointed the switchblade knife at the man. "You don't know what you are talking about! My family is from the Cor and so am I."

Jorad's eyes narrowed but he remained silent.

"That's right." Corvan spit out the words and pointed up the slope. "I have been living on the surface and that is where I come from, but I belong here. That's why the hammer brought me back and also why my medallion pulled Kate here - I was brought here to be the Cor-Van, your Cor-Van!"

Jorad squinted up at him and chewed on the inside of his cheek before speaking. "I'm not ready to accept that you have a role in the future of the Cor, but it does appear the legends were true. All three were indeed taken to the surface, and now you are the one returning them. That explains all the recent activity in the chamber and among those fighting for control of the Cor." He sat up straighter and tested his hand, opening then clenching his fist. "Am I correct that you have Kate's medallion with you?"

"No," Corvan stated as he stood down and backed away. "Someone else took it."

Jorad studied his bandaged hand, flexing each finger in turn. He grimaced as his index finger refused to cooperate. "Who took it?"

"That's none of your business."

Jorad looked up and studied Corvan's face before speaking. "You need to know that when I first saw Kate in Morgan's fancy tomb, I was absolutely certain she was dead. I deeply regretted that I was not able to . . ." He paused, shaking his head as he looked to the ground between his knees, swallowed, then looked back up. "I also knew the High Priest would have already searched her for the medallion she carried and didn't find it. That's why I agreed to take her body away from there. It was wrong to let him use her in that way."

Using his good hand, Jorad pushed himself to his feet and looked intently at Corvan. "I wanted to leave her here, a place where I knew for certain her body would not be discovered. Yes, I was going to lock the men inside the passage and leave them to fate but when the three of us got back to Kadir, one of the men that carried her searched me out and swore she was still alive. At first, he thought he only imagined seeing her breathe, but when they carried her through the portal door, he said her eyes opened, blinked, and focused on him." Jorad pushed himself to his feet. "I knew that if there was any chance he was right, I would not leave her in here to starve to death, locked in the passages because of my choices." He held his bandaged hand over his heart. "If Kate is still alive, I promise I will help you save her. I can help you take her back to your world so she can be well again."

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"Why would you do that? What's in it for you."

Jorad flinched at the words, then looked left toward the doorway into Kadir. "When I met her here, after Kate appeared in the chamber, she saved me from the burak at the door. She befriended the creature so I knew it would not harm her. I owe her my life. I took a vow to her, and my promise stands as long as she lives." He turned to Corvan. "As for myself, I made a mistake when I was younger, and I want to set it right. I took a path that I thought I could control, and all the people I cared about suffered and died. I don't want that to happen again."

"Was that when you started eating lumien seeds?"

Jorad pursed his lips, then shook his head. "I started out selling lumien seeds to others. I secretly stole lumien seeds from Kadir and sold them to a contact who sold them on to. . . to someone else. I had great plans for Kadir and my family, but when everything unraveled, I began using the seeds to help me think. That's when my contact double-crossed me, and my wife and child were taken to the Chief Watcher. Morgan betrayed me and, in the end, they were executed for my crimes. One that day, I finally quit using the lumien power. I tried to rebuild my life, but it hasn't been easy."

Jorad took a deep breath and Corvan studied the man's face. He appeared to be telling the truth, but Corvan knew firsthand how deceitful people could be when they used lumien seeds.

Jorad gestured down the slope. "I thought the burak might take Kate to its nest, and she would revive and be alone here in the dark. I was determined to search all the tunnels until I found her but you know where she is?"

Corvan only shrugged. Jorad looking for more information, but he didn't want to tell him anything about the secret entry to Molakar.

Jorad carried on. "Kate wore the glowing medallion when I met her in the chamber. Do you know about the council chamber of the Cor? Have you been there?"

Corvan hesitated, then nodded. Jorad had a lot of knowledge about the chamber and how it worked. Maybe he knew where it was located.

"You said someone took her medallion. Are you referring to someone you met inside the chamber?" Jorad asked.

Corvan nodded but said nothing more.

"Your silence speaks louder than words. You would not be here, searching for her body at the portal door, unless you knew these things as well. Have you been to the chamber? Did you meet," he paused, "Him?"

Corvan shuddered at the memory of the foul breath, the angry words, and the bloody slaps on his face.

Jorad studied his face and nodded. "I wondered if that could be the reason Kate's body appears to be dead. That evil old man he holds her spirit hostage in the chamber, and he has made a bargain with you for Kate's life. I would bet that he has asked you to bring him the hammer, the master medallion, and the scepter. He told you that once he has all three that he will let her go, but he is lying to you. He will take all three and let her die. I can help you, Corvan. If we work together, we can still save Kate's life."

Jorad took a step forward, and Corvan raised both knives at him. "Why should I trust you?"

Jorad bent down to pick up the light ball and held it between them. "Because I need your help to save Tyreth's life. The rebel leader has taken her to Rozan and is demanding a medallion as ransom."

"You already have one. You used it to meet Kate in the chamber. Why can't you use that one."

"He also wants the master medallion. The glowing one Kate carried." Reaching gingerly inside his tunic with his bandaged hand, he pulled out a medallion on a chain. "This one will not save Tyreth's life, and it will not allow me inside the chamber to talk to Kate."

Corvan watched the silver disk spin and catch the glow of the light ball. Although Jorad's medallion wasn't the glowing one, would it open the labyrinth doors and lead him to the surface?

Jorad drew nearer. "If I help you rescue Kate, will you help me rescue Tyreth?"

"You know I care about Tyreth, I already proved that to you, but my first allegiance is to Kate. If I help you out then right after that, I am taking her and my father home and leaving the Cor forever."

"I understand. Let's agree that I will help you but when you leave you the Cor you will pass the glowing medallion on to me. Do we have an agreement?"

The medallion dangled from Jorad's hand. It would most likely be needed to get through the labyrinth to retrieve the scepter from his home. Once he had rescued his father and Kate, he would be more than willing to leave Jorad's medallion, the master medallion, the hammer, and the scepter all behind with the man. "If you will let me use your medallion until we can rescue Kate from the chamber, I will do as you ask. I will help you rescue Tyreth but after that we will be done with making any more deals."

Jorad nodded and held out his medallion. "I appreciate you are not trying to trick me with false promises. What you have suggested sounds fair. My only stipulation is that you return this medallion to me if I am in immediate need of it."

Pressing the switchblade knife blade against the blade of the black knife, Corvan retracted the blade into the long handle, then put it into his pocket. He reached out and Jorad dropped the medallion into his hand.

He held gingerly. Could the old man pull him to the chamber through this one? He reached out with his thoughts but there was no sense of connection. Looping the chain over his head, he let it dangle outside his clothing.

Jorad was studying him. Beads of sweat glistened on the man's tightly creased forehead and his eyes betrayed an uncertainty and fear Corvan had never seen in Jorad before.

"We need to get going." Corvan said.

"Where?"

"I need to go home and get the scepter."

Jorad shook his head firmly. "I can't leave the Cor."

"Then you can wait for me in the last room below my home."

"What about Kate?"

"She's somewhere safe." Corvan shook the light globe and gestured up towards the labyrinth entry. "We need to go that way. It won't take long to find the scepter and we can come right back."

His words sounded confident, but he knew it would all be in vain if Jorad's medallion wouldn't open the labyrinth doors.