The Allseer Trilogy

by Kaitlyn Rouhier

  The Seekers glanced between each other and in each glance, he could see their apprehension and fear. Beyond those emotions, there was something else, something instilled in each of them by Mirin. A solid, unbreakable will. They’d followed her through the chaos of Val’shar, and they’d follow her into the abyss. Each of them nodded one by one and prepared for the task ahead.

  CHAPTER 3

  With a hand held over a candle’s flame, Kirheen tried to wake herself up, to break out of whatever terrible nightmare she was trapped in. This isn’t real, she thought gritting her teeth against pain she shouldn’t have been feeling at all.

  Her skin bubbled and blistered, the smell of scorched flesh filling her cramped hiding space. No longer able to bear the pain, she yanked her hand away and stared at her palm. Her skin was twisted and disfigured, marred by the terrible burn she’d inflicted upon herself. Red and oozing, the wound cracked as she shifted her hand, trying to see better in the waning light of a dying candle.

  A strange power swelled within her chest, hot as a burning ember pressed against her heart, and the skin on her palm rippled and changed. She allowed herself a single blink, a small flicker to reset her vision, and looked upon a palm smooth and devoid of the injury that had been there just seconds before. The crystals protruding from her chest glowed faintly, growing warmer still with the power healing her, then faded into darkness.

  It couldn’t have been real. Wounds didn’t heal like that. And yet, nothing she’d seen gave any indication that she was stuck in a dream, that she was trapped inside her own mind, or anyone else’s for that matter. Her eyes roamed the closet she’d chosen to hide in, a chill spreading through the warmth left behind by her power. Across the floor, a darkness spread, black corruption creeping up the walls. The movement was sluggish, as if in her own weakened state, it hadn’t managed to a get a firm foothold in the world.

  The Darkness…

  “It’s not real,” she moaned. “It can’t be.”

  But it was. She’d watched it come oozing out of her skin, dark as the night sky. The more she panicked, the faster it spread. Hiding seemed the best option, the only option, until she could figure out how to stop it.

  She turned her attention inwards, reaching towards the strange new well of power burning within her chest. It was impossibly deep, a swirling ocean of power, energy, and light just waiting to be unleashed. And for what? What did it mean? A terrible song had lured her to Val’shar, a power beyond explanation. She’d looked upon a skeletal man, the rattle of the chains that held him still ringing in her ears. A voice like smoke had told her to awaken and she’d been powerless to stop what had followed – a hazy dream world of pain and darkness, and a vision of a friend she hadn’t seen in so long.

  There were too many questions and trying to conjure the answers set her head to throbbing, a pulsating ache bursting to life in her temples. Fear kept her anchored to her hiding place, kept her from seeking help. She wasn’t ready to face anyone, to explain what had happened, what was happening.

  And what if she hurt someone? Darkness or not, whatever was oozing out of her skin felt so out of her control. Or was it? There was a connection between herself and the corruption, she just needed to figure out how, or even if, she could control it. With all that power slumbering within, there had to be some way of stopping it, or at least a way to contain it until she could figure out the details.

  Her thoughts turned to Tomias, to what she’d tell him when he came looking for her. Memories of him flashed through her mind, his voice ringing in her ears, an echo lost in the power that had been consuming her. He’d pulled her out of that labyrinth of darkness, away from the man that had set her blood on fire, but she could remember little else.

  When she’d woke, she’d been covered in blood, her chest marred by a landscape of jagged stone, glowing like a beacon in the dark. And from those crystals, and out of her very flesh, the corruption had come crawling into the world.

  “What am I?” she whispered and lowered her hand once more to the candles flame.

  CHAPTER 4

  Tomias sat across from a person more skeleton than man. Bones protruded through paper thin flesh, a sharp landscape of valleys and shadows. Across his chest, dark crystals punctured through sallow skin, jagged and sharp.

  The man had refused to speak, the only words whispered being a sharp demand for food. Tomias watched too-thin fingers reach towards a leg of chicken, watched it lifted to the man’s lips. He tore into it with a ferocity born of starvation. Grease oozed between his fingers, coating his lips and dripping off his chin.

  Nobody should have been able to survive looking the way he did, but there wasn’t time to unravel that mystery. Finding out what had happened to Kirheen came first. His curiosity was just going to have to wait.

  Tomias glanced to his left where Mirin leaned against the wall, her arms folded across her chest. Her face was unmasked, her ashen hair unbound, and the similarity to Kirheen caused his chest to contract. Storm cloud eyes drifted to his and she raised a brow, a silent question in the small gesture. Shaking his head, he turned his attention back to the stranger. He was working his way through the food piled before him, scarfing it down piece by piece. He growled as he consumed, the sound animalistic. The noise grated at Tomias’ nerves, made him shuffle in his seat. He scraped at the edge of the table with his nail, distracting from his desire to leap across it and throttle the man.

  His eyes settled on the line of dark crystals poking out of his chest. They looked unnatural, as if someone had nailed them into him with a hammer. They were a deep, inky black, so dark they seemed to absorb the light in the room.

  The man let out a pleasured sigh, pulling Tomias out of his own thoughts. Wiping away remnants of grease and bits of food with the back of his hand, he reached across the table for a mug of water, and spent several seconds washing down his meal. Tomias watched each movement carefully, his eyes drifting back to the crystals. For a moment, they glowed with some inner light and a strange ripple spread across his chest. It took several blinks for him to notice the change, the way the man’s skin seemed less gaunt and sunken than it had before.

  “Did you just see that?” he asked Mirin, shoving the question against her mental barrier.

  She caught his eye and gave a curt nod, her expression troubled.

  “So, are you ready to talk?” Tomias asked, leaning forward in his chair. “We’ve got a lot of questions that I hope you’ll be willing to answer.” He tried to sound threatening, but that had never been Tomias’ strong suit.

  Hazel eyes rose to meet his gaze and in their depths was an emotion he could not place, some overwhelming sadness that could not be given a name. What had years of isolation and silence done to him? The man coughed, a sound dry and brittle as fall leaves. When he spoke, it sounded like he was forcing broken glass up and out of his throat. “This is a waste of time.”

  “No, it’s not – not to me. You have answers and I’ll sit here all day if that’s what it takes to get them. So, let’s start with something simple. Who are you?”

  “That seems irrelevant now. I’ve been dead an awfully long time for anyone to care.”

  Mirin’s eyes narrowed. “That’s impossible.”

  Pale lips twisted into an amused smirk. “Is it? Perhaps the murdered prince wasn’t so dead after all.”

  “There were plenty of people that confirmed it. I saw the body! There is no way he could still be alive.”

  “Not in a way you’d understand,” he whispered. “What did they tell the world? What lies did they weave? Illness? Did I stumble and split my head like an egg? No. We all know the truth is much darker than that.”

  Mirin looked startled, her mouth gaping open as she studied his face. “No. The prince is dead.”

  “It was my father that held the blade and he who opened my throat with it. I was a threat to their reign, a truth they couldn’t accept. I stood in the way of all they wanted, and knew, and lusted after. Cursed with power th
at they’d given me.” He stopped to wheeze, his chest rattling as he pulled air into his lungs. “They had the same look when they found me very much alive.”

  Tomias shook his head. “So, you are him? The prince?”

  Mirin did not take her eyes off the man as she spoke. “Only if he speaks the truth. If he is who he claims to be then that would make him Prince Elfrind, but that isn’t possible. I know what I saw.”

  “And yet here I am,” he sneered, his cracked lips stretching in a pained grimace.

  “All right, then how? How did you not die?” Tomias asked. It was the only thing he could think to do, to humor him in hopes of getting answers.

  “I don’t know. It is a question without an answer. There is something inside me, some power keeping me rooted to this world. This burden I bear is a terrible one, and I’ll need her help if I’m ever to be free of it.”

  “Whose help?”

  “The one that found me. The one that heard my call.”

  Tomias ground his teeth. “What did you do to her?” His fingers curled around the edge of the table, knuckles turning white with the force of his grip. “Tell me what you did!”

  Elfrind glowered. “My power reached for her just as her power reached for mine. They are one and the same. Has she changed yet? Is her chest as marred by this as mine is?” he asked, gesturing towards the crystals.

  Tomias looked to them, still glowing and radiating with a power he could almost feel, a strange sensation that scratched at the surface of his skin. “She’s nothing like you.”

  “She will be. It’s only a matter of time. She won’t understand at first what she is meant for, what she’ll have to do, but she will-”

  “- Just stop,” Tomias growled. “I just want you to tell me how to help her. Explain what you did to her so I fix it.”

  “I did nothing to the girl,” Elfrind said, leaning closer to Tomias. His breath smelled of rot, his skin of dirt and aged parchment. That strange flicker spread across him again, making him look healthier, less broken. “She was bound for this fate with or without me. And she isn’t alone. There will be others.”

  Mirin scoffed, her eyes glittering with irritation. “What others? What are you not telling us?”

  Before he could respond, the door was flung open by a bedraggled looking princess. Lillana was a mess, her hair in tangled knots, her clothing disheveled, the skin under her eyes dark and sunken, hazel depths brimming with hope, with fear. She looked across the room, gaze settling on Elfrind. A small sound escaped her, somewhere between a sob and a gasp. “El?”

  Elfrind had gone perfectly still. He surveyed the girl, realization dawning in hazel eyes, a mirror image of Lillana’s. Tomias barely had time to register the hatred burning there before Elfrind was leaping across the table, a guttural noise tearing out of his chest. An elbow collided with Tomias’ face, sending him careening to the floor. “You bitch!” Elfrind yelled. “You knew, you knew, you knew!”

  Mirin had already sprung towards Elfrind by the time Tomias had found his feet. She grabbed his arms and pulled him back, her strength fueled by her powers. It was a struggle she was quickly losing as Elfrind thrashed and flailed. The air around them was thrumming with power, and Tomias shouted as the crystals in Elfrind’s chest flared to life. “Guard your mind!”

  Power exploded outwards, aimed straight at Lillana. He could feel the ferocity of it, the damage it would cause if not deflected. Steadying himself, he flung his own power towards Lillana’s mind, lending his strength to hers, fortifying the barriers she’d already erected inside her head. The mental attack shattered their combined defenses, sending them both to their knees. All thoughts fled, his mind wracked by terrible pain. His ears rang, and he could barely hear Mirin shouting through the sound. Tomias shook it off, stumbling as he got back on his feet. Elfrind stopped struggling, the force of his attack seeming to have drained him of his recovered power. Tomias wasn’t about to take any chances with him. Balling his fist, he pulled back his elbow and did the only sensible thing he could think to do. He punched Elfrind as hard as he could manage and watched in smug satisfaction as he dropped to the ground like a sack of grain. It would only be a temporary fix, especially if his crystals were helping him recover.

  “Well that was something,” Tomias huffed, shaking his hand in hopes it might dull the pain radiating across his knuckles.

  “You’re telling me,” Mirin huffed. “Hurry. We need to get her out of this room before he wakes back up.”

  “I’ve got her,” he said. Lillana was a crumpled ball of black fabric and lace, great heaping sobs shaking her thin body. He knelt beside her and gathered her up off the floor. “Hey. Are you okay?”

  “What did they do to you, Elfrind?” she cried. “What did they do?”

  He frowned, unsure of what to say. It was her brother, a man she’d long assumed was dead. To find him like this, to hear his accusations, would shake anyone. People weren’t supposed to come back from the dead, but after everything he’d seen over the past few years, anything seemed possible. If the Darkness could exist, why not Elfrind? “I’m so sorry. We’re going to figure this out, one way or another. We’ll find out what happened to him.”

  “I didn’t know. I didn’t know he was still alive. I didn’t know he was there.”

  “This isn’t your fault,” he said. He set her on her feet, allowing her to lean against him for support. “Nobody but those responsible could have known he was there. Don’t blame yourself. Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked. His ears were still ringing, and his head throbbed, each thud making him sick to his stomach. If the attack had hit Lillana directly without his intervention, it could have seriously damaged her mind.

  “I’m fine,” she said, wiping at her face with her sleeve. “Thank you.”

  “Are we safe here? I mean, as far as the castle is concerned?”

  Emotions were shoved away, tucked back into whatever box she’d formulated to stay strong during the chaos. She became the princess once more, her chin held high. She stepped away from Tomias, righting her dress and meeting his gaze. “I’m wandering around alone without an escort, so yes, it’s as secure as it can be given the circumstances.”

  Tomias smiled. “With how quick you ran in here, I just assumed you’d outran your escort entirely. Well, securing the castle was a good start. We’ll take care of things here. It might be best if you weren’t here when he wakes up though. I’ll do what I can to make him see reason. And Lillana… you’re sure?” He hesitated, the question sticking to his tongue. “You’re sure this is him? You’re absolutely positive this is your brother?”

  Lillana swallowed hard, her eyes shifting towards the man collapsed on the floor. “Yes. He doesn’t look the same at all, but his eyes. It’s his eyes. Please make him understand. If I’d only known, maybe none of this would have happened.”

  “We’ll do what we can, Princess,” Mirin said. “He won’t be out long. It’s best you leave.”

  “Of course,” she said softly. She gave her brother a final, mournful look before turning away. “If anything changes, please let me know.”

  “You do the same,” Tomias said. “Keep us informed. Just... maybe send a messenger next time, just to be safe.”

  She gave him a meek smile and disappeared through the doorway. With a hearty sigh, Tomias turned back to their unconscious captive. “This is a mess.”

  “None of this makes sense,” Mirin grumbled. “I’ve been involved with the royal family for years. I knew Elfrind. This is…monstrous. Whatever they did to him, however they kept him alive, it’s unnatural. He’s obviously unstable after all of this. Help me get him into a chair.”

  He knelt next to Elfrind. The man was starting to look almost human again, his body changing by the minute. Ripple after ripple, layer by layer, he was becoming the prince once more. Tomias wasn’t even ready to comprehend what power he possessed that allowed such a change to be happening. With a huff, he helped Mirin hoist him up and into the closest cha
ir. “Now if we could just suppress his powers.”

  “I’d say that was fairly minor compared to what he’s fully capable of,” Mirin grunted. “He’s still weak, but his power is growing. I can feel it. I’m afraid this storm is only beginning.”

  “Just when I thought things would finally calm down.”

  “Wishful thinking,” Mirin said, her lips pulling into a smirk. It caught Tomias off guard. He hadn’t forgotten what she’d done to him back when he’d been her prisoner. She’d almost broke him, and now they were strange allies, forced together by even stranger circumstances. And he held a secret Mirin would kill to protect.

  “I really need to go check on Kir,” he said. He hesitated at the door, unsure whether leaving Mirin alone with an undead prince was a good idea.

  “I’ll be fine. There’s enough Seekers to go around. Go,” she commanded.

  “Got it. I’ll be back soon.” He turned to leave when Mirin whispered, her voice low and threatening.

  “Does she know?”

  About you. About how you abandoned her, abandoned all of us. “No, she doesn’t.”

  “Let’s keep it that way,” she said, her voice devoid of all humor. A warning, one that threatened to repeat the torture he’d experienced the last time he’d crossed her. Without another word, he trudged from the room, her threat following over his shoulder like a storm cloud. Secrets were going to be the death of him, he was sure of it.

  CHAPTER 5

  Samira sat cross-legged on the floor, a book balanced in one hand. It had ceased to be entertaining days ago, but she kept looking at it, the familiar weight giving her something to focus on besides the corruption threatening to burst out of her chest.

  The ship rocked with the waves and she let the motion soothe her, let is ease her into a state of calm. It seemed to be the key to keeping her disturbing new power at bay. A physical weakening of her body or mind could lead to it resurfacing and she didn’t want to think about what would happen if she lost control of it entirely. At least if she did, they would be in the middle of the sea and far away from the shores of Taverin. She felt like a living plague, a maelstrom of destructive possibilities.