by B. T. Narro
“What were Souriff and Valinox doing before you created dteria?” I asked as I noticed Eden trying to make her way toward us with her pants rolled up above her knees.
“I was just trying to stop Valinox!” Souriff said.
“What about before that?” Airinold asked with a hinting tone.
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about what you did to destroy Caarda’s soul.”
I had never heard the name Caarda before. I looked at Eden. She shrugged.
“You don’t honestly believe I murdered his wife.”
“Listen to you, still lying! I can’t take it!”
I was too surprised to act as he grabbed the knife out of my hand and jabbed it into Souriff’s chest. He fell onto her as he stabbed her several more times before Failina and I finally pulled him off. Souriff groaned as she put her hands over her puncture wounds and healed them.
She was huffing in a rage when she got back up.
“Souriff, wait,” Failina said, but it was no use.
Souriff took out the sword from her sheath and charged Airinold. Failina and I got in the way, but god Souriff was strong. She threw Failina maybe twenty yards away with one hand. She was about to grab me, but I fell back and let her have Airinold. At least that’s what she thought.
She was about to impale him with her sword when I blasted her with dvinia. She flew farther than she had tossed Failina, but she caught herself in the air and started hurtling toward us at startling speed.
“Enough!” I yelled as I put myself in front of Airinold.
I cringed as Souriff showed no signs of stopping. She would impale both of us, but I refused to move.
She stopped with her sword inches away from my chest.
“Move!”
“If you kill him,” I said, “then I’m going to tell everyone not to trust you from now on. You will become as much of an enemy as Valinox is.” I stepped aside. “If that’s what you are prepared for, then go ahead.”
She looked at Airinold as if she was actually contemplating it, but then she grunted in anger as she put her sword away.
The rest of us shared a collective breath of relief, except Airinold. He glared at his sister.
“You know he’s still alive,” Airinold told Souriff.
“You lie.”
“When have you ever known me to lie? Caarda is alive.”
Souriff’s face softened. “Where did he go? I haven’t felt him for centuries.”
“He did that on purpose. I could bring you to him so you can see him for yourself, but only if you admit to what you did. Let the truth come out, finally. Haven’t you wanted to all this time? How many centuries has it been that you’ve lived with this guilt?”
Souriff’s shoulders slumped. I was surprised to see her break down, tears falling freely as she wept.
“Three,” Failina said, glancing over at Souriff nervously. “Is it true, sister? It really was you who killed Caarda’s wife?”
Souriff rubbed her eyes, but another tear fell right after. “It was the worst thing I’ve ever done,” she admitted.
Eden and I shared a scared look. It felt like we were watching Leon cry.
“I regretted it as soon as I did it,” Souriff said. “I did do it. I admit it. I never killed any other mortal who didn’t deserve it, but she didn’t deserve it at all. I killed Caarda’s wife because I was jealous.”
“Souriff…” Failina whispered in shock.
Even Airinold appeared surprised. “Maybe you have changed,” he said, looking to Failina.
She nodded. “The world is not as it used to be. Valinox has corrupted a kingdom with dteria. They are marching toward this kingdom, Lycast, as the two of you stand here and argue. Thousands of them are blinded by the power of dteria and are prepared to kill anyone who stands in the way of their desires. What you made is horrid, Airinold. It is probably worse than anything Souriff has done.”
Airinold scoffed. “Did my dteria not stop war until now?” he asked.
Souriff had stopped crying by then, though her eyes still glistened. “Yes, but…” She took a few breaths. “We are looking at the worst war in the history of Dorrinthal.”
There had really been no war since the creation of dteria?
Airinold ignored this. “But it served its purpose. It stopped war. Only now things have changed because I’ve lost control.”
“Yes, but it’s—”
“Yes, it is horrid,” Airinold interrupted. “But it was designed to be that way. It sounds as if this war between the mortals is worse than it’s ever been, and I will take some responsibility for that, but it also sounds like Valinox is the one who deserves to be killed for this. Not me, Souriff.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, but even more unbelievable was that I was starting to change my mind. I did see how dteria could have been made to keep peace, which meant Airinold was not the evil demigod we thought he was. Eden and I shared a look of amazement.
“Can you regain control?” Failina asked him.
“I don’t think I can until Valinox is dead.”
I asked, “Will you help us kill him?”
“Of course. It’s what I’ve wanted to do for centuries. My firstborn brother has never known anything but selfishness, and it sounds like he hasn’t changed, even if Souriff might’ve.”
“Speaking of,” Failina said. “We need Nijja’s help. That’s why we came here.” She gestured at Eden. “I will take the enchanter to open the rift now so I can fetch Nijja. Souriff can explain our plans while I’m gone. Come on, enchanter. I must be quick in case Valinox shows up.” She and Eden headed toward the rift.
“Is Caarda close?” Souriff asked excitedly, lovingly, like a wife wanting to reunite with her husband.
“You are the last being he wants to see,” Airinold said. “Fortunately for you, he can’t see anyone right now. I will take you to him after you tell me what’s going on, but first I want to explain myself better to this mortal. It’s time that people know the truth about dteria, especially if I’m going to be involved with these mortals who stand against Valinox. Otherwise, they’ll never accept my help.”
“Start from the beginning,” I said. “Who is Caarda?”
“The most powerful demigod of all of us.”
CHAPTER TEN
It was a relief when I finally separated from the demigods. Their presence grated on me. Although I was beginning to trust Airinold, and I had gratitude for Failina’s dedication, I thought all of us “mortals” would be better off if there were no demigods involved in this war.
The trip back took hours, as it had on the way there. It was night long before I reached the castle. I was hungry, tired, and my clothes were stained by the blood and innards of Gourfist. Still, the thrill of flying was not lost on me. The only issue was the cold. I had given my coat to Airinold so he could cover himself and was now regretting it.
Eden was probably back by now. She had gone with Failina, who had been nervous about dropping a mortal by accident, but this was the only way Eden could return. I didn’t think I had the strength to carry Eden such a distance, otherwise I would’ve. Airinold was much heavier than Eden, so Souriff took him, begrudgingly.
Before we left the center of Curdith Forest, Eden had opened the portal to Fyrren, and Failina had gone inside. Apparently, Nijja had invited Failina into Fyrren centuries ago with the purpose of Failina teaching erto to the fae so they could better defend themselves against the vicious creatures that inhabited that realm. I figured the sisters should still be on good terms even though it had been a long time since they had seen each other.
It didn’t take Failina long before she returned with Nijja. The demigod of ordia looked different than her siblings, mostly because of her revealing attire. She did not have on clothes like those a human might wear but intricate weaves of grass and other elements of nature I couldn’t quite identify.
Failina had already convinced her to destroy the enchantme
nt of her gem that Valinox kept in his possession. The only reason Nijja hadn’t gone into our realm and done this already was because she feared Valinox would come back and kill more of her fae until she made another stone for him. The way around this was simple.
Souriff and Failina were capable of hardening their mana in a spell I had actually cast as an experiment for Charlie. It involved using the three frequencies of D: lD, D, and uD. However, when the sisters cast this spell, the amount of mana they created was ten times what I could ever hope to make. After Nijja disabled the enchantment of her gem, telling us Valinox had it a hundred miles away and it wouldn’t work from now on, she didn’t stick around long to chat.
She asked me something that amused Eden and then left shortly after. After she went back into Fyrren, Souriff and Failina spent hours forming a dense barrier around the rift. It was grayish blue in color, the same hue made by my mana when I had cast the same spell. The barrier was about as thick as a barrel and as hard as metal. It surrounded the portal to Fyrren in the shape of a box.
Souriff and Failina had made it about ten feet taller than it needed to be. When it was done, Souriff and I hovered above it and pummeled the barrier from above with dvinia, driving it deep into the dirt so that no one could dig underneath it to get through.
The sun had already begun to set by the time we finished, and that was before I’d started my long journey back. I’d wished I’d brought more food.
As I arrived at the castle, I saw that someone had lit a beacon on the ramparts. It was a warm welcome and exactly what I needed to guide me home.
It felt like ages ago that I had trouble guiding myself into the castle without slamming into one of the walls, but that was just yesterday, wasn’t it? Now I landed easily in the courtyard.
I had no doubt that Eden had arrived with Failina long before me, though I doubted that Failina was still here. Eden had probably eaten supper with our friends and told them, as well as the king and our instructors, about Airinold. I was eager to find out what everyone thought. He’d shared his story with us when Failina had left to retrieve Nijja. I was convinced by him, but I was a bit more trusting than most. I very much wanted to find out what Leon thought. He was the most cynical person I knew, and he was more aware of the demigod’s history than the rest of us. If there was doubt to find in Airinold’s tale, Leon would be the one to do it.
Although Airinold was most likely an ally, it didn’t seem as if he would be a very powerful one. He had completely lost his hold on not only dteria but all mana. He couldn’t cast a single spell. I wasn’t sure if that would change soon enough for it to matter for us, but he wasn’t very strong physically. Last I saw him, he was on Souriff’s back and guiding her to the mountains somewhere south of here, where apparently Caarda was somehow frozen in time.
I looked forward to one day finding out more about this demigod, Caarda. Airinold had made it sound as if he had created something that had not been discovered yet, but I’d had hours to think about that statement during my trip back. There was one thing Caarda made that we already used, and that was Aliana and Reuben’s tracking through the spell Earth. It made me wonder what else Caarda had created that awaited our discovery.
Airinold had made it quite clear to us that he didn’t care about the oath he and the other demigods agreed to in front of their father. In the form of Gourfist, he’d already killed many mortals, and he was willing to kill many more who had given in to their worst desires and let dteria empower them. He would also gladly destroy Valinox if given the chance.
I wondered if he might go so far as to attempt to kill Souriff when this was all over. As curious as I was about everything, I didn’t want to be involved in their drama. I was tired of them. “Just let us humans fight,” I wanted to tell them. “Let us resolve this on our own.” But there was no stopping Valinox, so we needed the others to face him.
I was even more convinced now that Valinox was the one who’d started this war. For us to end it, he had to be stopped, even if that meant dealing with Souriff and the drama surrounding her.
I had expected Valinox to show up either during or after our slaying of Gourfist, especially when we were fetching Nijja and building a barrier around the rift, but there were no signs of him. We assumed he was just too far away to reach us before we left the forest. He had probably given up attempting to kill me or anyone else here, for we had almost ended his life the last time. It brought some comfort to know he was probably afraid of the curse Hadley had used, but it also terrified me. What if she had become as much of a target as I was?
Valinox could no longer maintain a spell of invisibility, but he could still cast the spell as he had before. Therefore, he could still cloak himself temporarily. That meant that he couldn’t hide in waiting in my room without anyone seeing him because, even for a demigod, the invisibility spell was too difficult to maintain for long. Michael wouldn’t have to spend any more nights sharing my bed in order to keep me safe.
I went to the dining hall before the bathing quarters, finding some dried food on a plate with a metal lid. I ate quickly, as I always did, hoping I might see Michael wander into the dining hall like I had long ago when I had missed supper before. This time, however, all was quiet.
I went to the bathing quarters to find a bath had been drawn for me, the water barely still warm. The castle was eerily quiet. I didn’t know how late it was exactly, though I figured it was closer to daybreak than nightfall. I heated the water by casting the Fire spell with my hand submerged, then took my bath with drooping eyelids. When I was done, I dried off, put on my robe, and returned to the upstairs apartments.
There were still guards standing in the hall. Both of them nodded to me when I walked past them.
“Thank you,” I told them.
“Of course, Jon,” one replied.
“Take care,” said the other.
I was quite tired, but something was really beginning to bother me. I had seen these guards many times, both men in their mid-to-late twenties. I trusted them, and I still didn’t know their names.
I turned around and stopped in front of them. They were murmuring to each other casually as if to pass the time but stopped to face me as if I were their lord. I didn’t like the feeling.
“I should’ve introduced myself long ago,” I said. “You already know my name, but I don’t know yours.”
They grinned warmly.
It turned out that Rick and Randy Wepper were cousins. Rick was older by a year and had spent much of his life acting as a guard to Nykal long before the nobleman became king. Rick convinced Randy to join him during the rebellion against Oquin Calloum. They fought together against dark mages but knew it wasn’t the end of dteria. They had both pledged service to the kingdom since then.
“Do you mind standing guard for so many hours straight?” I asked.
Rick was the chattier one, usually answering my questions so quickly that it was as if he didn’t need a second to think. “Guarding makes fighting appealing, and fighting does the same for guarding. I reckon we’ve done enough fighting for at least a few years of guarding.”
“Except we aren’t going to be so lucky,” Randy added.
“Aye,” Rick agreed. “We’re ready to fight but not eager.”
I nodded. I couldn’t truly empathize because, even after all the fighting I had done, I would grow terribly bored standing guard, but I was glad they didn’t mind.
“You should get some sleep, healer,” Randy said.
“I will soon. There’s something I have to do first.” I bowed. They returned the gesture.
I decided to try the door of Michael’s room. It was open. I wondered if that meant he might have expected me to come by.
“Eden?” he asked as I walked in, his tone hopeful.
“It’s Jon,” I said.
“Oh,” he said with disappointment, at first. “Oh,” he repeated with a bit more enthusiasm. He sat up in his bed. I had gotten used to the coif he wore on his head, but it s
till put a smile on my face to see it.
“I’m sorry to wake you,” I said as I stood at the side of his bed. “I really needed to thank you while I could speak with you alone.”
“Even after I walked in on you and Hadley?” he asked in a gravelly voice.
“Yes,” I said with a light laugh. “Even after that. Thank you for keeping me safe these nights. I take it Eden told you that it’s not necessary anymore?”
“She did, and you’re welcome. By the way, did she mention anything about me?”
“Oh sure,” I said sarcastically. “Between killing Gourfist and flying back against a freezing wind, she was gushing about how much she misses you.”
It wasn’t funny at all. I didn’t even know why I tried. I was about to apologize when Michael spoke.
“Jon, can I give you some advice?”
“Yes.”
“Leave the jokes to me.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry. You’re the best friend I could ask for, Michael. Forgive me for my poor attempt at a joke.”
“I forgive you.”
“I’ll let you get back to sleep.”
I started to walk out, but I turned around. “Michael, Eden is lucky to have you, whether she accepts it or not.”
“Thank you.”
I was about to open the door to my room, but I started to think through the next day. I wasn’t going to have any time alone with Hadley. I just wanted to see her, maybe touch her for just a moment. I figured she might want the same thing. I would find out in a moment.
I tried her door and found it to be open. I took it as a sign that she had hoped I would come see her before I laid my weary head to rest.
She didn’t wake up as I walked in past her hearth and came up to the side of her bed. Now standing there awkwardly, I wasn’t sure what to do. I didn’t feel right waking her up. She was bundled up tightly under her covers, but there seemed to be a look of anguish on her face. I felt like I might be violating her privacy by watching her, but I was concerned she might be having a nightmare.