The Calling (The Andovia Chronicles Book 1)

by Tiffany Shand

  Darius had been so caught up in his own thoughts he had almost forgotten his friend was tracking the creature with him. It’s probably mine.

  Lucien let out a low growl. What? You shouldn’t —

  Not now, Luc. We will talk about this later. We have to find that thing so I can search for Nyx. I have a bad feeling something has happened to her.

  A glowing beacon of light lit up the darkness below them, and he knew his spell had found purchase. He urged Sirin into a dive, and they headed straight towards it.

  Luc, can you see that light? I think I found the creature.

  I see it. I’m on my way.

  Darius leapt from Sirin’s back the moment the dragon touched the ground. “Good girl,” he told her and took off in the opposite direction. Branches thrashed against him and snagged his clothes as he ran through the dense foliage towards the spell. He muttered a curse and raised his hand. With a flash of light, the branches moved aside, clearing a path for him.

  He sensed Lucien coming towards him but didn’t bother stopping to wait. Lucien would catch up soon enough using his speed.

  When he reached the clearing, he found the creature waving his arms around, trying to get rid of the spell that lit him up like a torch.

  Darius raised his hand but hesitated. He thought of all the usual methods he had learnt in the Forest Guard, but somehow he knew none of those would work, only dark magic had found the creature.

  “Rhombus.” He raised his hand and arcs of lightning shot from his palm, enveloping the creature in a cage of energy.

  The creature screeched as the bolts of energy charged against it and knocked it to the ground.

  “Tell me what you are and why you’ve come here.” Darius raised his hand, causing more bolts of lightning to crackle between his fingers. “If you don’t, I will force you to give me answers. You know I can do that.”

  Lucien’s presence grew closer. Darius used his free hand to create a wall of energy between them. Lucien would only interfere if he saw Darius using dark magic. He didn’t have time for that. He wanted answers. Now.

  “You have no power, druid. You are nothing.” The creature laughed and yelped as the cage of energy struck him again.

  Darius, what are you doing? Lucien demanded. Why are you blocking me? Let me through. I am coming to help you, you fool.

  Darius ended the connection and put a wall up inside his mind so he wouldn’t have to hear Lucien. He had to remain focused, or he would lose his grip on this unpredictable magic. He couldn’t control it all the time — not in the way his brother could. Gideon used high magic as easy as breathing. He drew more magic and clenched his hand into a fist. He muttered more words of power, words to force someone to obey, the very magic he despised his father for using. Magic that had once been used to enslave entire races.

  The creature yelped. “The dark time is coming, druid. You better be ready for it.” The creature screamed as its body exploded in a burst of flame.

  Darius stumbled back from the force of the blast and gasped. Dark magic or not, he hadn’t been the one to kill the creature. Someone else had. The question was who and what did they want with Nyx? He had to find her before it was too late.

  Chapter 23

  Nyx couldn’t see anything but blackness when she opened her eyes. A piece of cloth now covered her face. How had someone managed to catch her off guard like that? Why hadn’t her powers warned her about the threat? Perhaps it was because of the bracelet, but that had come off and was inside her pocket. Or at least it had been before she had been taken.

  She moved and found thick rope binding her arms and ankles. The last thing she remembered was being thrown out of the Crystal Palace. Now, where am I?

  Nyx tugged at the ropes, but they held firm. Someone’s presence came to her. She didn’t need her eyes to sense him. Why had they attacked her? Was it another creature that had come out of the rift?

  Nyx remembered that she hadn’t put the bracelet back on, so her powers should still be accessible. She moved her fingers, but the ropes refused to budge—stupid magic.

  “Hello?” Her voice sounded weak. It surprised her how her captor had not put anything over her mouth to stop her from calling out for help.

  Someone was nearby, that much she knew. If they wanted to kill her, they would have done so already.

  “Where am I? What’s going on?”

  Still no one answered.

  Nyx’s power burned just below the surface. She had half a mind to relinquish her hold on it and use her influence, but Ambrose kept telling her not to do that. He said she had to calm her mind and learn to hold her power in or else she would lose any grip she had on it.

  Nyx had scoffed at the other druid during some of their earlier lessons together. She had been practising the different techniques he had shown her. It still surprised her how much he knew about mind whisperers. She took a deep breath to calm herself. Her head pounded harder.

  To the underworld with calm. She wanted out of there. Now!

  Her power flared but didn’t explode outwards as she had expected.

  Why hadn’t it worked? Has she been drugged? Or her powers bound?

  She couldn’t be sure.

  The other presence grew stronger as someone stalked towards her. They reached out and yanked the covering off her eyes.

  Light blinded her for a moment as her vision adjusted.

  A face came into view, the face of the winged servant Gideon had forced her to use her power on earlier. She gasped. “You.” She glowered at him. “What are you doing? I thought they were going to kill you.” Nyx glanced around, half expecting to find guards there, but found none. “Did the prince put you up to this?”

  “The prince believes I’m dead, and it will remain that way.”

  “I don’t understand. Why did you kidnap me?”

  He laughed. “You don’t know, do you?”

  “Know what?” Nyx demanded. “If you think I’m part of some stupid prophecy, you —”

  He cackled. “Can’t you feel it? It’s all around us.”

  Nyx took in her surroundings. Glowing crystalline walls surrounded them with crystal torches lighting the tunnel.

  Nyx realised they must be somewhere underground. She tugged at her bindings and energy prickled against her skin.

  “Don’t bother trying to escape. I know how to bind, mind whisperer,” he told her. “You are the key to getting what I want.”

  At the end of the tunnel, green plumes of smoke rose from cracks in the earth.

  A rift.

  “You’re the one who fractured the veil.” She scanned the fae with her senses. Her magic couldn’t have been fully bound as she could still sense things.

  The name Mervyn came to her.

  “Mervyn, is that your name?”

  His dark eyes narrowed. “Clever girl.” He raised his hand, and the cracks of the rift grew larger.

  “I don’t know what you believe about the prophecy, but I’m no one. I can’t bring about a dark age,” she insisted. “You saw what happened at the palace. I’m not the one the prophecy speaks of.”

  Nyx knew she had to find a way out of there. She didn’t want to find out what he had planned for her.

  Mervyn snorted. “I couldn’t fracture the veil even if I wanted to. I, like the other Andovians, have been forced into servitude. Our race is being destroyed by the Archdruid and that priestess who calls herself queen. Now is the time of the calling. The break in the veil is the first step, that’s why the dark things and creatures banished from this world are walking free once more.”

  “What does that have to do with me?” Nyx demanded.

  “You are the key. The darklings are gathering power.”

  She had to keep Mervyn talking and keep him distracted, as well as figure out a way to escape. If she could sense things, maybe she could call for help with her mind.

  Druid? she called. Can you hear me? Darius? Anyone? I need help.

  She waited, but no answe
r came.

  Mervyn yanked her up. He pulled her towards the ledge. Worse still, he had bound her arms and wings together so she couldn’t fly.

  “No, don’t.” Nyx dug the heels of her boots into the ground. “You could at least tell me what this is all about. I deserve an explanation – I tried to save you back at the palace.”

  “You’re part of the prophecy — that’s obvious. You’re the one who set her free.”

  “Set her free? The person who broke the veil?”

  Mervyn yanked her forward.

  Gods no. Some of the ground fell away.

  Get away! She let go of her power and willed him to let go of her. Power reverberated through her like thunder without sound.

  Mervyn didn’t let go but did flinch. “Your powers won’t work on me.” He backhanded her so hard stars flashed in front of her vision.

  Mervyn yanked her towards the rift once more.

  Nyx struggled and thought, No! Then, a burst of energy slammed Mervyn into the far wall.

  Nyx wriggled her fingers and the ropes finally loosened. She yanked them off.

  Mervyn gaped at her. “Impossible, I bound you with runes to stop any mind whisperer. That’s why your touch didn’t work on me.”

  She shrugged. “Guess I’m special then. Now you’re going to tell me what I want to know.” She raised her hand, light sparking between her fingers. “Or maybe I’ll use my powers and burn my way through your immunity.”

  Mervyn hissed and drew back. “Why should I tell you anything?”

  “Because I’m sick of people coming after me. I want answers. Now.” She grabbed his arm and let her power flow free. Energy reverberated through the air like thunder without sound.

  Mervyn stumbled backwards and would have fallen into the rift if Nyx hadn’t kept hold of him.

  “I told you your power won’t work on me.” Mervyn gripped hold of her arm and used his other arm to reach for her. Nyx blocked his blow and punched him in the face. She had dealt with enough drunkards at the tavern to know how to defend herself.

  Mervyn crumbled to the ground.

  “Nyx?”

  Ranelle ran towards her. “What happened?”

  “Guess I hit him harder than I thought.” Nyx frowned. “What are you doing here?” She wondered if Ranelle was somehow connected to Mervyn, but she didn’t sense any deception from her, only concern.

  “I heard you call out for help. Darius told me to look for you.”

  “We need to take him somewhere. He knows things about the darklings.” She motioned to Mervyn.

  Ranelle gasped. “He works in resistance with me.”

  “Yeah, well, he tried to kill me. Were you part of this?” She scanned Ranelle with her senses deeper.

  Ranelle shook her head, and her thoughts and emotions didn’t waver. “Of course not. I had no idea about Mervyn. I swear to you.”

  Nyx rubbed her aching knuckles. “We should call the druid.”

  “He’s out hunting for darklings. We will have to deal with him ourselves. I know somewhere we can put him,” Ranelle said. “It’s too dangerous to take him back to Ambrose or Alaric’s house.” Ranelle conjured some ropes. “Help me tie him up.”

  Nyx waved her hand, and the ropes wound themselves around Mervyn. “Where are we going to put him then?”

  Ranelle’s eyes widened. “You are getting good at moving things with your mind. I know somewhere we can take him.” She bit her lip. “It will hold him until we can figure out what to do with him.”

  “Where?” Nyx glanced around, uneasy. She hated the thought of being underground where she could be buried alive.

  “This tunnel was part of the resistance’s underground network. We grow our own tunnels through crystals so we can move around easily underneath the different islands. It’s the only way to stay one step ahead of the guards.” Ranelle yanked Mervyn to his feet. “Good thing you called for help or I might not have found you.”

  Together they dragged Mervyn up the tunnel and took him to a small separate cavern. Ranelle sealed its entrance with runes.

  “Looks like you hit him pretty hard. We’ll have to wait for Ambrose and the others to get here before we can question him.” Ranelle ran a hand through her long hair. “Whilst you’re down here, would you like to meet some other members of the resistance?”

  Nyx scoffed. “I shouldn’t be around anyone.” She wanted nothing more than to find the druid and see what they could glean from Mervyn. Her mind raced with unanswered questions, questions only Mervyn could answer.

  So far Darius hadn’t responded to any of their calls. Ranelle insisted that was not unusual since Darius sometimes blocked out mental calls when he was busy.

  “Many in the resistance are being killed,” Ranelle replied. “Nowhere is safe on these islands, not with the Dragon Guard killing anyone suspected of working with us. War is coming, and everyone in Andovia will be affected.”

  “Everyone here is affected by the Archdruid’s tyrannical rule,” Ranelle told Nyx. “As a former slave, you should know better than anyone how much people long for freedom. That’s why I thought you might want to help.”

  Nyx shook her head. “I don’t see what good I can do. I’m a danger to everyone around me. You of all people should know that.”

  “Let me show you something.” Ranelle motioned for her to follow.

  Nyx hesitated. “I need to get back to the druid.” She would also be glad to get back to the warmth and safety of Ambrose’s house.

  Ranelle shook her head. “We’ll catch up with him later.” She motioned for Nyx to follow once more.

  Nyx and Ranelle travelled deeper into the caves. It amazed her how much had been carved out of solid rock. The rocks here shimmered with a rainbow of colours, sending pools of iridescent light dancing around the caverns.

  “This place is beautiful. How large are these caves?” Nyx asked.

  “They run for several miles under the island. Most people don’t even know of their existence.” Ranelle motioned to the glistening walls. “The stone here can channel magic, and we use it to create barriers and cast protective wards.” She went over and picked up a large lump of glowing crystal. “We can also use these to create new tunnels. We are forever having to move them to stay one step ahead of the Guard.”

  “I still don’t understand why you think I can help.” Nyx shook her head. “Or why anyone wants to use me for my powers. I can’t even control them, let alone use them to help.” Tonight had been a perfect example of that, she hadn’t been able to use her influence on Mervyn even though she had wanted to.

  Sprites danced overhead, their laughter like the sound of tiny bells.

  “I know what it’s like not to fit in in your homeland. My people, the wyverns, are cursed to remain in human form. They despise the fact I am half-fae – or at least my father does. I came to Andovia because I wanted to belong somewhere. Despite the fear of the Archdruid and the awful things he and the high court do, there is still good here. I found that by working with the resistance. It’s one of the few chances we have of doing good in this chaotic world.” Ranelle set the crystal back on the ground, and it exploded with a rainbow of light, expanding over the wall like a spider’s web.

  Nyx gasped as the light formed into a glowing portal of shimmering light and a tunnel grew within it. She wanted to stay there and watch the entire process, but Ranelle motioned for her to follow.

  “Let me show you some of the people we help down here.”

  Nyx reluctantly followed her friend. She still wanted to get back to Ambrose’s house soon. She needed to talk to the druid and tell him what happened with Gideon and find out if he knew anything about her sisters. She didn’t want to believe what Gideon said, but she couldn’t ignore the possibility that he might have them.

  The tunnels opened up and expanded into different smaller caverns where people seemed to be living. All kinds of fae moved around. Some looked on edge and others took curious glances at Nyx and Ranelle as they a
pproached.

  Most of them were fae with distinctive features that made them resemble fae more than human. It was so unlike the fae she had seen on Eldara.

  Some of their thoughts buzzed at the edge of Nyx’s, and she sensed their fear. These were the fae that were sent to the slave islands or forced into servitude. Nyx was surprised by how many people there were down here. People hadn’t liked the Archdruid’s rule back in her own realm, but no one there had been concerned enough to do anything about it. They preferred to keep to themselves and dole out their own justice.

  “This is Lorek.” Ranelle stopped when they came to a huddled figure in the corner of the main cavern. People sent sympathetic glances his way, but no one seemed to want to go near him. “He used to work at the palace as one of the Archdruid’s personal slaves. The Archdruid liked to torment him.”

  Nyx expected to be overwhelmed by the man’s thoughts, yet his mind remained silent. She frowned. “What’s wrong with him?” People usually had something going through their minds, whether it be thoughts, images, or different feelings. Some people gave off stronger readings than others, yet she felt nothing from this man, only a strange emptiness. She wondered if he might be immune to her power like the druid was, or perhaps he had a mental shield like Gideon. She doubted such a thing was possible, not for a servant at least. The Archdruid wouldn’t have cared enough to put mental blocks on his slaves.

  Ranelle placed a sympathetic hand on Lorek’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “His mind is broken. The Archdruid likes to scan the minds of his servants and slaves to keep them in line. We tried to help him, but there’s not much more we can do. His body is here, but it’s like his spirit is gone.”

  “How could someone do that? The Archdruid isn’t a mind whisperer, is he?”

  “No. The Archdruid and other members of the high court have power and technology that can breach someone’s mind. I suppose it is one of the reasons why they feared mind whisperers. They were always stronger than any of the magic and technology they could wield.” Ranelle turned to Nyx. “Maybe you can help him.”

  Nyx gaped at her. “Me? How?”

  “I’ve read about mind whisperers and the things they could do. The Archdruid might have tried to wipe out all the information, but some of it remains. Some of them could heal people’s minds. Maybe you could go in and see if he is still there.”