“It’s a modification of the interplanetary spell,” Lumi explained. “It requires fewer of the original ingredients, and the pentagram is slightly different, as well. I think it’ll allow us to fly over the land. Nethissis and I can change its direction based on what Eirexis shows us, in real time.”
“You think?” The Widow Maker scoffed. “I thought you swamp witches were a tad more secure than this.”
Lumi shot him a cold stare. “What do you know about swamp witches? You’ve been locked inside a stick for what, eight, nine, ten million years? More?”
“Your kind has been around for almost as long as I have. I’ve come across your predecessors, lady, before I committed myself to protecting Eirexis,” the Widow Maker replied, his chin high. There was pride in his voice, booming through the forest.
I made a note of this particular moment. The Widow Maker’s skin wasn’t as thick as he’d made it out to be. Fortunately, my mask concealed my grin.
The winds began to rise, howling over the woods. The ocean’s rumbles got louder, as well, crackling and swooshing as if a terrible tempest was about to unfold. The hairs on the back of my neck curled up, a sign that something dangerous was coming. Varga and I exchanged glances. We both knew it.
“The Hermessi are circling in,” I said. “I think they caught on about the decoys.”
“I can confirm they’re getting close,” Eira replied, the color gone from her cheeks.
“Then let’s get this show on the road.” Raphael sighed. “I am in no mood to fight elementals again. My ego can’t take another ass-whipping.”
Herakles snorted a laugh. “Never thought I’d hear you say that.”
“Yeah, well, don’t get used to it. My odds of survival against Brendel are still higher than yours,” Raphael retorted. It earned him a scowl from Herakles.
“We’re all dead meat if she finds us,” Riza interjected. “Well, most of us, anyway. Mr. Older-Than-Time-Yet-Still-Donning-Leather over here can’t die, since he’s already dead. And Taeral, Lumi, and Eira were marked by the Death lady.”
Lumi and Nethissis prepared the ingredients for this flight bubble—mostly rare herbs and crystals they always carried around for interplanetary travel. Once they were done, we gathered in the middle of the pentagram. My nerves were stretching once more, warning me that danger was afoot. It was inevitable, and we all knew it, but we’d grown tired. The Hermessi had been hunting and hurting us for too long, and, while the mission was crucial, it was also exhausting.
To me, there was a pattern of rinse and repeat as we got closer to a conclusion in this quest. As the final and greatest prize shifted within our reach, the elementals’ attacks grew bolder and deadlier. Heck, Brendel had even taken Sherus to discourage Taeral from pursuing Thieron. I had a feeling she had even dirtier tricks up her fiery sleeves, and I was also convinced that not all of us would survive this, in the end.
Lumi whispered the spell, and light expanded around us in a perfect sphere. Following her instructions, Nethissis put her arms out. Lumi showed her the movements, and Nethissis followed. Soon enough, they were both in perfect unison as they guided the spell bubble off the ground and out of the woods.
Bringing both arms up caused the spell to move forward very fast. It slowed as they lowered them and came to a complete and hovering halt as they rested them at their sides. “Get it?” Lumi asked Nethissis, and the young Lamia swamp witch nodded in return.
They raised their arms again, prompting the spell to regain speed across the forest. Around us, the winds raged with impressive strength, but not enough to knock us off our trajectory. Taeral stayed close to Lumi and Nethissis, so they could watch Eirexis and its intensifying glow. The witches moved their arms left and right, depending on what Eirexis wanted. The brighter the light, the better the course.
We left the ocean behind and headed north, farther away from the rocky coast. The spell was remarkably fast, and it put some distance between us and the Hermessi. They were bound to catch up, eventually, and we knew it. There was little time left for us to reach Thieron’s blade.
“Notice how the glow begins to steady now,” the Widow Maker said, his galaxy eyes fixed on the sculpted handle in Taeral’s hands. “The closer we get, the more accurate it becomes.”
Lumi nodded. “I can tell from the decreasing amount of arm movements that we need to make. The trajectory is straightening, isn’t it?”
“I think so,” Taeral agreed.
The world beneath was extraordinary. The sight left me breathless. We darted over dark woods with rippling canopies and red lava rivers that trickled down from stony mountains. Hot springs and volcanic lakes, surrounded by lush greenery and a plethora of bright colors. Foamy seas. Reddish stone clusters sprinkled across the golden desert. Thousands of miles passed in a few blinks of an eye. Hours compressed into minutes as the flight spell gained more speed, its trajectory firm and straight as an arrow.
It broke my heart to think of all the fae that would be destroyed in the ritual. They would never see all this beauty, ever again. They’d never smell the spring flowers or dip their toes in the hot springs. They would never harvest the summer grains or taste the sweet fruits of the rainy season. It would all end for them. For us.
“This is amazing,” Eira murmured, eyeing Eirexis. The symbols were almost incandescent, their light white and bright enough to make us squint. My heart was pounding with excitement, as the thought of retrieving Zetos became central to my existence.
This is it. We’re almost there.
Something invisible rammed into us with such force that the spell bubble simply broke. Thousands of sparks erupted, like slivers of a glass bauble thrown against the wall. We plummeted toward the ground. There was enough of a distance to at least break some crucial bones in my body.
My pulse raced as I tried not to scream. Eira drew water from a nearby stream and used it as a jet—the water smacked us to the side, then shifted into a frosty slide as she dropped its temperature. I hadn’t even known she could do the latter, and it all happened extremely fast. The only thought I could form before hitting the hard ground was a thank-you to Eira for being a Hermessi child and for having such exquisite control over water and its properties.
We rolled through the tall grass, gathering scrapes and scratches along the way, as the water she’d drawn for us splashed outward and seeped into the dirt. I heard Varga moaning several yards away from me.
The Hermessi were here…
Taeral
For a moment, all I could hear was the distant thunderclap and the rustling grass as the winds grew stronger. They’d found us, and they’d taken us down.
“May the stars bless you, you wonderful woman, you…” Raphael grunted as he pulled himself back up and gave Eira a bright smile and a thumbs-up. She blushed, almost instantly, but couldn’t bring herself to smile back. She knew who was responsible for our crash-landing, and so did I.
My upper body was sore, and my palms were bloody and covered in newly formed mud, but I was able to stand up and look around. Eirexis was on the ground just a few feet away from me. My heart stopped for a moment when I realized I wasn’t touching it anymore. I quickly grabbed it and settled it back into its straps. The glow of its symbols was so bright now that I didn’t need to hold it up in order to see it.
Black clouds swirled above, the eye of a dark storm fixed on us. Soon enough, we were all back together, panting and grimacing from various bruises.
“I think they found us,” Herakles said, rubbing the back of his neck. He gave Riza a swift glance. “Are you okay?”
She shrugged. “It happened so fast, I didn’t even react. I could’ve teleported at least one or two of us to the ground before impact.”
“That’s fine,” I groaned, moving my head around to relieve some of the tension that had gathered in my upper back. It was too early to start guzzling the healing water, though. We’d learned to withstand minor injuries and to ration our curative potions. “I hit the dirt like
a dropped tomato, too.”
“Okay, so! Crippling gust of wind is for the Air Hermessi. Check. Oh, look, the ground is… shaking,” Herakles said, worriedly looking around as a tremor set in and shook us all to our core. “That’s the Earth Hermessi, so… check.”
Rain poured down as the dark clouds ruptured above. “And there’s the Water Hermessi,” Raphael muttered, running a hand through his wet, dark blond hair. “Fantastic. Who’s missing?”
“I am.” A voice shot through the rapping of water drops.
We all turned around to find a fiery figure standing approximately twenty yards north of us. The Fire Hermessi of the Fire Star. The very source of my elemental power.
“Pyrr,” I breathed. “Took you a while.”
We’d prepared for this. The Hermessi converging on us was no longer a shock, but rather a nuisance. A deadly nuisance for most of my crew, but a nuisance nonetheless.
“You should abandon this quest, Taeral,” the Fire Hermessi said.
Around us, the weather worsened. The rain got so heavy and thick, it pelted us with snowball-sized droplets of cold water. The winds changed direction, making sure the showers hit us from all sides. The earthquake subsided, but the long blades of grass curled around our ankles, tightening in an attempt to keep us from running. All of these efforts were futile. They could also do a lot worse, but they weren’t. It was the first sign that this particular encounter was different from all the others we’d had with ritual Hermessi in the past.
“We should get out of here,” Eira said, reaching out to me.
I raised a hand to stop her. “Hold on. I want to hear what Pyrr has to say. I’m dying to know why my patron Hermessi is okay with the destruction of this world and all the fae it basically helped create.”
“Seriously? You think now’s the time for a Hermessi ethics discussion?” Raphael asked, watching me nervously.
Amelia squeezed his arm. “Notice how they’re grandstanding. Not attacking, but grandstanding.”
“They knocked us out of the flight spell. Pretty sure that qualifies as an attack,” Raphael replied, lowering his voice, as if that would keep Pyrr from overhearing.
“I would like to not have to resort to violence again,” the Fire Hermessi said. “It was a warning.”
“You know we can’t stop,” Lumi replied. “We’ve come too far.”
“What does Brendel have on you? Is she holding your child hostage?” I asked. “Because I don’t see any other reason for you to support her, if I’m honest. I know this planet well enough to understand that it was made with much love and care over billions of years. Why would you be so keen to destroy it?”
“I’m asking you nicely, Taeral,” Pyrr replied. “Unlike my brethren, I am attempting civility. There is no need for motivation as to why I’m doing this. It’s for everyone’s sake that the ritual happens. Period.”
“That’s a load of crap and you know it,” I shot back. “The ritual is for Brendel’s sake. She’s insane, and she’s got you all playing along like it’s your only option. You folks have dug yourselves into such a deep hole with this Hermessi folklore that you can’t possibly fathom an existence without having to try this level of destruction, over and over again!”
Pyrr stepped forward, his flaming figure towering over us. It seemed to get bigger with every move he made, as if the fire itself was growing, swelling and making him all the more threatening.
“The ritual is older than most life in the universe. It was made for a reason,” he said.
“But do you remember the reason?” Eira asked him.
Raphael chuckled. “Spot on.”
“I remember many things. Including your father’s loyalty, long ago. He’s been a sore disappointment, I’m afraid,” Pyrr shot back.
Lumi scoffed, crossing her arms. “He’s digressing. He doesn’t remember. Also, your father and Inalia are now on equal footing with Leb and Sebbi, and they’re likely off Cerix, away from potential attacks and destruction.”
“Oh, and let’s not forget that Inalia doesn’t have a child of her own, and Brendel can’t afford to lose Cerix at this critical moment,” Eva added, smirking.
“You made me. You made my people possible. How are you so fine with destroying us?” I asked Pyrr, unwilling to cut him any slack. Out of all the Hermessi in this world, he was the one who angered me the most, because he was practically rooting for my planet’s destruction. I just couldn’t tolerate the mere thought of it.
“Taeral, please. Don’t make me resort to more violence,” he said, though there was a clear menace in his tone, sharp and eager to cut deeply.
Why wasn’t he, though? Why weren’t the four elements of my home planet pouncing on us? We had Eirexis, and we were dangerously close to Zetos, too. If Brendel were here, all-out war would’ve broken out by now. I’d already be teleporting us across hundreds of miles, to get as far away from them as possible.
Eira looked at me. “The other three aren’t intervening, either,” she whispered. Aside from the cold and uncomfortable rain and winds, there wasn’t much else to describe as Hermessi opposition to our presence here. Eira was right. Even if Pyrr was more of a pacifist, the other elements would’ve cut in by now.
“I control Water, Earth, and Air,” Pyrr said. “They will not attack you without my say-so.”
“Oh, good. Can you tell them to turn the faucet off, then?” Varga retorted, pointing at the dark sky. “I’m soaked, and I didn’t bring a towel.”
Pyrr didn’t move, but the rain stopped, all of a sudden. This was all peculiar, to say the least, and it put me more on edge. Any other creature in my shoes would’ve been thankful for this type of Hermessi behavior, given the mission… but it made me feel uneasy. It was the exact opposite of what we’d prepared for, and we weren’t sure how to proceed.
“Why are you not attacking us?” I asked.
“Because I am hoping you have more sense than your father,” he said.
I pointed an angry finger at him. “Don’t you dare talk about my father! Brendel is using him to try and stop me from retrieving Thieron! And by hijacking us like this, you’re helping her!”
“I am trying to protect my son,” Pyrr snapped, his flames swelling bright and furious.
Silence settled over our group, as his motivation became clear. I nodded, unable to hide my disgust. “I knew it. Your child trumps the needs of your people. How pathetic,” I said, my voice trembling and my eyes stinging with tears I could no longer hold back. “I’m ready to let Brendel do whatever she wants with my father, and you—”
“My son,” Pyrr cut me off.
I blinked rapidly, wondering why he’d interrupted me. “What? I… Yes, I get it. She has your son!”
“Your father,” he said.
The realization hit me with the force of a battering ram to the chest. I nearly lost my balance. Pyrr stayed silent, waiting for me to speak up and draw the conclusion. One quick glance at my team, and I knew they, too, understood the horrifying truth.
Pyrr and I were both in pain over the same person.
“Your son. My father,” I managed.
“Yes,” he replied firmly.
“Sherus is a Hermessi child,” Lumi breathed.
Amelia pinched the delicate bridge of her nose. “And no wonder no one knew, because fae are the easiest to confuse with Hermessi children, since they share so many of their traits. Wow…”
“Is… Is that why you’re here? To save my father by stopping me?” I blurted, overcome by a whirlwind of rage and despair. My blood ran cold, as the bigger picture formed in the back of my head.
Pyrr nodded, and I wanted nothing more than to douse him in cold water and stomp him out for this. How dare he? I had gone through all kinds of hell to save my father, my mother, our kingdom, our friends, and every other innocent creature out there. I’d spent most of last night coping with the possibility of losing my father in the process… I was tormented and eaten alive by guilt, and here he was… the almig
hty Pyrr, tossing everything and everyone to the side, just so he could save his son.
My father.
“Say what you will, Taeral, but I will do whatever I can to protect my son,” Pyrr said.
What a complicated mess this was. What awfulness.
What a ridiculous standstill, as Pyrr and the other Fire Star elementals were ready to do everything in their power to stop us from saving billions, just so my father could live. It painted me in the worst of lights—ready to basically cause the death of my own blood to complete this mission and stop the ritual that would claim many more lives than just my father’s.
Eira
It made sense. Well, to me, anyway.
I’d felt something coming from Sherus when I’d seen him in the fae sanctuary. Nuriya had assumed it likely had something to do with his power and fae heritage. It certainly involved heritage, but not related to the fae, directly.
Taeral had told me about his grandfather, the king that Sherus had been forced to remove. I understood now that Sherus’s fae father wasn’t his biological father. I wondered how Pyrr had pulled that off. Had he possessed the fae to impregnate Sherus’s mother, maybe? It seemed reasonable to assume that. What did that imply for Sherus’s right to the throne, though? I figured that, for the time being, that was literally the last thing anyone might think about, given the circumstances.
“No one knows about it?” Taeral asked, staring at Pyrr. His shock was understandable. I should’ve realized this sooner, but my own Hermessi child capabilities were still not fully clear to me. I’d sensed Inalia before, but I’d blamed it on our frequent close proximity while growing up. I’d thought it was because we were so carefully attuned, aware of and protecting one another. Then again, I’d felt my skin tingle sometimes, when Hermessi were nearby. I hadn’t paid enough attention to Sherus, clearly.
“I made sure of it,” Pyrr replied. “It was for Sherus’s own safety.”
A Shade of Vampire 75: A Blade of Thieron Page 4