by Lisa Cassidy
She slept away most of the morning and early afternoon, allowing her body and magic to regain strength. As late afternoon settled over the valley, she took a walk to loosen still-sore muscles. Without conscious effort, her steps took her to the dome housing the Taliath sword she’d been so fascinated with during her time at DarkSkull.
She wasn’t the only one. Councillor Yirith stood before the cracked dome, eyes on the empty casing inside that had held the sword.
“Someone stole it?” she asked, stopping beside him. “A looter, maybe?”
“No,” Yirith said distantly. “It’s why he attacked DarkSkull first. He wanted to strike a blow against the council, yes, but he also wanted his sword back.”
A shocked gasp escaped her. “The sword you were keeping here was Shakar’s?”
He nodded. “He had it made during his time on ShadowFall Island. We kept it here as a way to remind ourselves of what had happened. To keep alive the memory of all the mages he’d killed.”
“More likely it was to remind yourselves how scared he made you,” she countered. “Why does he hate you so much? I don’t understand. It’s not just about power—I’ve felt his bitter hatred, it’s personal.”
“It doesn’t matter. It was a long time ago.” Yirith gave himself a little shake, seemingly coming back to himself. “And if I told you, you would twist it all around to make us sound evil, just like you always do. You never learned how to think outside black and white terms, despite how hard Rothai and Romas tried.”
“Oh I learned,” she said, cold and cutting. “I’ll see you later, Yirith.”
After walking off her anger with Yirith and his condescension, she settled by a small campfire with Tarrick and Finn. Ladan and Dawn had been conspicuously absent all day, and Alyx was glad that amidst everything they could find some time just for themselves.
Tarrick eventually rose to walk a patrol, and Finn soon after to seek his bed, leaving her by the fire. She welcomed the opportunity to be alone and have some time to process recent events. It was a lot to accept. The council had been reduced to three old men and a scattering of surviving warrior mages, leaving her to lead the mage order and face down Shakar. But overriding all of that—Dashan was alive.
As if summoned by her thoughts, he appeared out of the darkness. For the first time since she’d learned he was alive, she felt as if she had enough control of herself to look at him properly as he walked towards her.
He was older, that was the first thing that popped into her mind—he would be twenty-seven now, given their age difference. His features were subtly different, his face was harder and there were faint lines around his eyes. The lines only added character though, and the touch of maturity in his features made him even more handsome. He walked with the grace of a Taliath, tall and muscular, his dark eyes watchful and rarely still. The aura of reserve he held close around him like a cloak hadn’t changed.
“Scare everyone off?” he asked, taking a seat to her left, but leaving a comfortable distance between them.
“They’re sleeping.”
“And you’re not?”
She shrugged. “I got some earlier.”
“You look better than you did,” he said, then hesitated. “Can I ask you something?”
She glanced at him. “Yes.”
Dashan took his time, shifting slightly along the log they leaned against to get more comfortable. “Would you prefer that you never discovered I was alive?”
The answer came instantly, without any hesitation or doubt. “Not for a second,” she said firmly, meeting his eyes for the first time since that moment in the Great Hall.
He smiled then, that tiny smile that curled up one edge of his mouth and lit up his eyes. She almost leaned into him, the response so instinctive it scared her. Instead she stayed where she was and tried not to feel cold.
“What sort of mages do you think would be most useful to you for this guerrilla war you’re planning?” she asked, turning the conversation to business.
Surprise lifted his eyebrows. “You’re going to help me?”
“Like Adahn said, your plan is a good one, and it will certainly help us in Rionn if you’re harrying the Shiven in Tregaya.”
“How is Rionn coping?” he asked soberly. “I would get regular reports over the past few years, but I usually left those for my captains to keep up with. I was too focused on Carhall and Tregaya.”
“We’re barely holding on. You’ll see for yourself when we get back. I’m sure Ladan will be happy to give you an outline.”
“He seems different,” Dashan said. “I saw him laughing this morning. I think I can count on one hand the number of times I remember him even smiling.”
Alyx chuckled. “He’s changed a lot. He and Dawn married recently, and I think she makes him so happy he can’t maintain that angry, stern exterior of his. I tease him about it all the time.”
He nodded, accepting that, and his expression changed slightly, as if his thoughts were shifting. “You know, when I first saw you back in Carhall, it was…you’ve changed too. More than the rest of them, I think.”
She gave a startled laugh. “You think so?”
“You’ve got such a presence about you now. Part of it is your magic, anyone near you can feel your power, but it’s more than that. You command the attention of everyone around you without even thinking about it.” Sadness crossed his face. “It will take some getting used to.”
She didn’t know what to say to that, and he didn’t seem to expect a response. Silence fell, and Alyx listened dreamily to the crackling of the wood in the fire. It was a peaceful night. She grabbed on to that moment of peace and kept it close—it wasn’t going to last.
“In answer to your original question, I could use any telepaths you could spare me, and some warrior mages,” he said eventually.
“I’ll discuss it with Tarrick.” She looked over, trying to keep her voice casual. “How long will you stay in Alistriem?”
He turned to her, shifting slightly to bring them closer. She didn’t move away. His gaze caught hers and held it. “Not long, Alyx. I think that’s best for both of us. The last thing I want is to cause you more pain or unsettle the life you’ve built. And for me—” His voice dropped to a whisper. “It’s like I only saw you yesterday in Sandira, and now I’ve woken up in a world where you’re not mine anymore.”
She bit her lip, the words spilling out of her. “Dash, I had to let go…to become the Magor-lier, I had to let go of me and what we were together. You were right, I’m not her anymore.” And that was a good thing—she’d become what was needed to lead the fight against Shakar. But she also mourned the girl that had spent those magical weeks of an Alistriem summer with Dashan, free and in love. Before knowing he was a Taliath. Before Shakar’s re-emergence and the destruction of DarkSkull.
He stood, brushed the soil and leaves from his breeches, and gave her another one of those sad smiles. “Give it time, mage-girl.”
Her gaze tracked him as he left, her thoughts returning to her conversation with Adahn earlier that day and the realisation she would have to talk to him soon. Nothing had changed. Not in three years of thinking Dashan was gone. Because he’d been wrong. Maybe too much time had passed to go back, and maybe they could never be fully together because of what they were, but it didn’t matter. She was his. Always.
Chapter 30
At the touch of familiar dark magic on her mind, Alyx woke with a gasp, sitting straight up on her pallet. Rain pattered against the stone wall outside but otherwise all was quiet. Her heart thundered in her chest—nightmare or reality? She threw out her telepathic power, withdrawing almost instantly when it brushed up against Shakar’s familiar mind. She froze, heart continuing to pound as she sat still as stone. But his magic didn’t follow her.
Tentatively, she reached out again. He wasn’t looking for Alyx, but he was close enough for her to sense him, and his thoughts were less ordered than usual. Hesitating only a moment, she decided to take adva
ntage of his distraction. As delicately as her skill allowed, she hovered over the surface of his thoughts. What she learned had her leaping from the blankets.
“Dawn!”
“Alyx?”
“Help me wake the others. Quickly! Are you all in the old boys’ dormitory too?”
Dimly she sensed Dawn scrambling, untangling from Ladan’s sleeping form and waking him in the process. “Yes. Cario’s on your floor, two doors down. Finn, Brynn, and Tarrick are near us on the ground floor. I’ll get them. Ladan’s already going for Dashan.”
“Meet in the foyer. Now!”
She yanked on boots, reached for her staff, cursed when she remembered it was gone, then pulled her door open and ran. Cario was fast asleep but thankfully fully dressed on top of the covers.
“Cario!” she hissed. “Up, quickly!”
As soon as she saw his bright blue eyes blinking awake she turned back for the door. His long strides caught up to her and they ran down the stairs, clattering out into the dormitory foyer. The single lamp lit by the door flickered wildly as it was shoved open—Ladan, with Dashan on his heels.
“What’s going on?” Tarrick demanded, striding into the open space, Brynn and the twins flanking him.
“Shakar’s on his way here. Right now,” she said, trying to keep panic from her voice.
“How close?” Ladan demanded.
“I don’t know. I was sleeping, and my magic snagged his unconsciously,” she tried to explain. “I was able to read his intentions because he was distracted. He’s after the councillors.”
Dashan didn’t hesitate. “I’ll rouse the militia.”
“Dawn, go with him,” Alyx said tersely. “Your telepathy can help find and gather them all more quickly.”
As they ran for the door, Cario turned back and started up the stairs. “I’ll get the councillors and bring them to you.”
“Tell them to hurry, but reassure them,” Alyx called after him. “We’ll do our best to protect them.”
Finn stepped forward. “The focus needs to be on getting you out, Alyx, and well away from here before Shakar arrives. Not the council.”
“We leave the council members behind,” Ladan added. “If it’s them he’s after, hopefully he won’t keep coming after us.”
“No,” Alyx said clearly. “I’m not leaving the masters to die.”
Ladan’s features went taut with anger. “You owe them nothing. Every moment we stand here arguing about it puts you in greater danger.”
She stood firm. “They are mages, and that makes them my responsibility. I owe them my protection as much as I owe any other mage. There is no picking and choosing about who we do and don’t like.” This was directed at Tarrick, Brynn, and Finn. “We are not the council. Remember that.”
Tarrick’s jaw was clenched tightly. Her heart went out to him—he was clearly torn between duty to the council he’d been raised to respect and his desire to protect Alyx—but he gave a terse nod. Finn was looking at her oddly, like for the first time he truly understood something. “Then we all go together,” he said simply.
“And then what?” Ladan demanded. “We keep running until he catches us or we run out of places to hide?”
“I—” Her words were drowned out in the resounding boom of a concussion burst rocking the valley. Orange light flashed through the windows followed seconds later by the ground shuddering beneath their feet.
For a moment they simply looked at each other in horror. Alyx swallowed. Shakar was here.
“Too late,” Brynn spoke for all of them.
Ladan was already backing towards the door. “We go for the horses while Cario gathers the mages. Dash will be doing the same with the militia. Quickly now!”
It was still raining outside, but the valley floor was alive with activity as soldiers ran to bolster the perimeter defences. Alyx paused on the threshold, scanning their surroundings, trying to work out where Shakar was. Could there be some way to flee without him knowing they’d gone? It was certainly possible he was directing this attack from a distance.
“Let’s go!” Tarrick shouted, grabbing Alyx’s arm.
She yanked her arm away. “I can run on my own. Dawn?”
“We’ve roused the soldiers—they had contingency plans for the valley being attacked, so they’ve all got rendezvous points to head for. We’re on our way to the stables. Dash says we don’t have the numbers or defences in place to stand and fight Shakar—he wants to know if you agree?”
Alyx hesitated only briefly. Running wasn’t a good solution, but she couldn’t see how staying and fighting would lead to anything but death. “No, he’s right. We’re headed for the stables to ready the horses while Cario gathers the council members. Can you send to Cario to meet us there too?”
A pause, then, “Done. I’m on my way to the stables. Dashan will be close behind.”
Shakar hadn’t come alone. Two warrior mages and a stream of Shiven soldiers had cut off the open space between the dormitories and the stables. Another concussion burst went off, bathing the open space in bright orange. It lit up Dashan as he led a group of militia to intercept. One of the mages stood at the top of a large piece of fallen rubble, hands raised as he used his magic to attack every militia soldier in sight.
Unhesitating, Dashan went after him, leaping gracefully up the rock, sword raised and glinting in the light of magic. Ahead of Alyx, Ladan lengthened his stride, letting out a roar as he drew his sword and joined the militia fighting through to the stables.
Alyx and Tarrick, flanked protectively by Finn and Brynn, summoned magic and helped Ladan fight through, their green and pearlescent magic lighting up the night in a beautiful echo of their opponent mage.
Moments later they were clear and sprinting towards the stable door. Inside, Dawn was already working quickly and calmly to saddle the horses. Alyx glanced back when she realised the night had gone quiet and the flashes of concussive magic had temporarily ceased.
Dashan was still on the rock, but the Shiven mage lay crumpled at his feet. As he turned to go back down, the air shimmered and a cloaked figure flashed into existence behind him.
His power was like a slap, clear across the space to where Alyx stood. And it was instantly familiar. The magic of her nightmares.
“DASHAN!” she screamed.
He heard her and spun, sword raised, but the cloaked figure was too quick, knocking Dashan a hard blow. He dropped, rolling precariously close to the edge. Alyx took one step forward then launched into flight, magic burning through her as she used it desperately for speed. She hit the cloaked figure mid-air. They tumbled endlessly towards the ground. In such close contact the tendrils of his magic clung to her, winding around and through hers, dark and oh so familiar.
Her magic fought back instinctively, and then they slammed into the ground. She caught a flash of pale skin, the blink of an eye, and then her vision blurred and she slumped into the wet ground, almost eating a mouthful of mud. He’d vanished from underneath her as quickly as he had appeared.
That was a mage ability she hadn’t seen before.
Alyx scrambled to her feet, breathing hard, trembling from head to toe at the knowledge she’d just faced Shakar in person for the first time.
“Dashan!”
She sprinted for the rock. A concussion burst hit the ground at her feet, lifting her bodily off the ground in a flash of blue light. Instinctively she reached for her flying power, using it to spin mid-air, and then to propel herself forward to where Dashan had been standing. As she flew she drew magic, located the mage with her telepathic ability, and sent two bright green concussion bursts at him.
They went off with a magnificent explosion of light and power. The moment she landed she summoned her shield just in case, but there was only silence. She’d hit her target and the second mage was dead.
“Dash?”
He was alive, moving, clambering to his feet. A moment later he was almost knocked off his feet again as she threw herself against him.<
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“Alyx, I’m all right!” he said. “I’m fine. Invulnerability, remember?”
She nodded, pressing her face into his neck and holding onto him as tightly as she could. His arms settled around her, holding on just as fiercely.
“I’m okay, Alyx.” He eased her back from him, Shiven eyes alive and well as he watched her.
“Good,” she said firmly. “Now, let’s get out of here.”
“Alyx!” It was Tarrick, shouting up at her.
“We’re fine.”
They dropped quickly to the ground and made straight for the stables. The open space was filled with stamping, snorting horses picking up on the anxiousness of their riders. Her mount tossed his head and backed up a step as Alyx approached, her gaze searching to make sure everyone was there. They weren’t. “Where’s Cario?”
“With his grandfather.” Dawn looked grim. “They’re in the main hall—I think Walden had the bright idea they could hole up and hide in there.”
“What are they thinking? That Shakar will just give up and go away?” Dashan asked incredulously.
“Cario was trying to convince them to come with him and meet us here, but then his mind was cut off, like another telepathic mage was blocking me.” Dawn didn’t say any more. They all knew what that likely meant.
Alyx took a breath, bracing herself for the inevitable barrage. “We need to go back for him.”
“Alyx, no!” Tarrick’s response was quick and firm, brooking no argument.
“Tarrick, it’s as simple as this,” she said steadily. “I’m not leaving Cario to die. I won’t deliberately engage Shakar, and I won’t put myself in unnecessary danger, but I will not leave him to die any more than I would leave you. Is that clear?”
“I—”
“This is what you didn’t understand that night in Sandira,” she cut him off, trying to keep the remembered grief from her voice. “I won’t walk away from those I love and leave them to die. I can’t. I will avoid Shakar if I can, but I won’t leave.”