by Sarah Noffke
“Adler wants complete control, but that’s not how the House of Seven was supposed to operate,” Liv argued. “It was always supposed to be about balance between the families, not one man’s agenda that trumped everything else.”
“And then Liv came along.” Clark offered her a proud smile. “I will be eternally sad that we lost Ian and Reese, but I can’t tell you how happy I am that you’re back. When you came back into my life, a light that was extinguished the moment you left flickered back on. You’ve changed everything. I’m not sure why I didn’t come after you sooner and drag you back.”
Liv grinned, swallowing the tenderness in her throat. “Because you knew I would have punched you in the face.”
Clark pulled her into a sudden hug, pressing her in tight. “You would have, but I should have done it anyway. I should have never let you get away.”
Liv pushed back, offering her brother a slight smile. “But me being away from the House was important.”
“I know, but I hope it’s never necessary again.”
She hugged him again, talking into his shoulder. “No, it won’t be. Familia est sempiternum.”
“Yes, familia est sempiternum.”
Liv released Clark in a swift movement and strode toward the wall with the symbols in the library. “Ready for this?”
Clark cleared his throat as he ran to catch up with her. “Oh, is it all business now?”
She winked at him. “You know it.”
“I’m ready,” he said when they stopped in front of the wall with the ancient language that danced around like it was excited for them to read its hidden meaning. For once, the area was empty. She’d told Stefan to stay away, and he’d agreed a bit reluctantly.
“Are you prepared for what we’ll find?” Liv asked. “We may not like it.”
Clark released a breath. “I’m almost certain we won’t, but I promise that whatever it is, I’ll help you defend it. Whatever it takes.”
Liv nodded, tired of empty words. Action was what they needed now. She withdrew her mother’s ring from her pocket and slid it onto her finger. She wasn’t sure why, but that seemed like the thing to do. When the ring was in place, she felt a jolt that rocked her to her core.
Her vision went black, and then she saw her mother’s face swimming in her vision: Guinevere when she was younger. When she married Theodore Beaufont. When she was initiated into the House of Seven as a Warrior. Her standing over an enemy she’d slain. Her holding Ian on the day he was born. Her as a mother to five children, checking on them as they slept in their beds before she left on the last day she was alive. Guinevere had walked out the door of their residence with her husband with this ring on her finger. She had then returned a moment later and slipped the Warrior ring off her finger. She had kissed it and then set it in a box on the table next to the door. “In case you’ll ever need to find the truth. In case we fail. This is for you, my loves,” she whispered and closed the box, sealing it shut with a spell only a Beaufont could open.
Liv gasped.
“What?” Clark asked, concern on his face.
She shook her head. “She was an amazing woman. She loved us more than life itself.”
Clark gripped her hand. “You feel her?”
Liv nodded.
“I get those flashes with Dad, too. It’s your connection to her as a Warrior.”
Liv could hardly breathe. It was a sick joke. She felt her mother’s presence so completely she could swear her arms were around her, and her words were beating in her head, telling her she could do anything. “Go forward, my child. Find the truth that lays before you. This is your destiny.”
Liv pulled her hand from Clark’s, fitting the Warrior’s ring into the groove in the wall. She gave him a curt nod. “Your turn, bro.”
His reluctant eyes communicated his fear, but he pulled the knife from his pocket. It had belonged to their father, and their family crest was etched on the hilt. He withdrew the blade, and before he could go back on things, he brought it across the palm of his hand, spilling his blood on the threshold between the library and the Ancient Chamber.
At least Liv wanted to believe this was the Ancient Chamber. Otherwise, she wasn’t sure what this was, or whether it was supposed to be open.
The floor rumbled under their feet.
Liv pulled her hand away from the wall as dust rained down on them and Clark yanked her back, his blood-stained hand gripping her cloak.
They exchanged nervous glances, but a moment later their questions were answered. The wall parted, creating a path into a dark chamber—one that contained all the secrets they yearned to learn.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
The smell that spilled out of the Ancient Chamber was reminiscent of something, but Liv couldn’t put her finger on it. She would have expected must or dust or other old smells, but this was different. It was like moss, and grass, and other things that reminded her of her childhood. For some reason, these smells filled Liv with hope and pride. It made her want to charge forward, unafraid of what she was about to find.
She grabbed Clark by the hand and pulled him forward. He didn’t need much encouragement.
They moved together, taking each step as one. And in truth, that was how Warriors and Councilors were supposed to operate: as one entity that presided over different areas of the House. She’d seen the epitome of this with her parents while she was growing up. However, this was the first time she had felt it. Clark was her other half. He was the uptight version of her. The tense to her calm. The practical side to her spontaneity. And Liv was the passion to his reservation. She was the fire to his cool. They were one, two parts of a whole.
When they stepped into the darkness, the wall shut behind them suddenly, making them spin around. For a moment they were in complete darkness, and then torches lit around them one by one, illuminating a room much larger than she would have expected.
Suddenly Liv felt like she was in an Egyptian tomb, looking around at the oldest carvings in the world as she studied the walls. They were full of more symbols that danced, but none of them seemed to be of major importance to her, although she wasn’t sure why.
Liv wasn’t sure what she had been expecting when they entered this area. It wasn’t lavish or full of gems or glittering with golds and riches. This wasn’t beautiful like the hallway in the entry to the House of Seven. It was dark and mysterious, but for some reason, she felt like she’d been here a million times. Maybe in her dreams? And then there were those smells… They were full of nostalgia and it pushed her forward, triggering a voice that said, “You’re safe. Go on, my child.”
Liv spun in a circle, trying to figure out what she was missing as she studied the domed room. It seemed to be telling her its secrets, but she wasn’t sure she understood the message.
So she took another step, which made the torches grow brighter, illuminating more of the room. The area was similar to the Chamber of the Tree, except it was bigger. Different. And there was only one thing there she realized when they came to the middle of the circular area: a list of words in the ancient language, written in bold ink that glowed brighter than the torches.
She was about to step forward to decipher the words when the floor shook.
On the ground, blue and green spots like the ones in the Chamber of the Tree illuminated. However, there were more than seven. Like on her ring, fourteen spots shone.
They must represent the Warriors and the Councilors, she thought.
As if cued by her understanding, the tree she’d been accustomed to seeing in the Chamber with the Seven illuminated, its branches reaching out over the domed roof. The words that painted themselves on the ceiling were ones she’d studied a hundred times: Together we are strong and balanced.
“What does it say?” Clark asked, looking up at the brand-new words.
Liv gave him a scrutinizing look. “You can’t read it?”
He shook his head.
She slipped the ring off, and the words were just an
cient symbols. She realized that she was starting to understand the language. These were words she’d read many times and now understood in the founder’s language.
Running the ring over the symbols, the words popped up, showing the message: Together we are strong and balanced.
“Oh, wow,” Clark said. “What do you think it means?”
Liv shook her head, feeling as if she were being pushed forward. “I don’t think that’s what we’re here to see.” She pointed to the wall in front of them with the symbols glowing brightly. “I think that’s it.”
He agreed with a nod, and they each took a step forward.
This wall had small and large symbols, some in blue and the rest in gold. The ones in gold were divided into two columns. As before, Liv ran her ring over the first column, finding what she’d been hoping for. It was the list of the Founder families’ names:
Sinclair
Beaufont
Takahashi
There were four other names she didn’t recognize, which was strange. She continued to run the ring over the rest of the names.
“Why are there fourteen names?” Clark asked.
Liv scanned the ring over the words to the right of each family name. Down the first column, she found the same thing inscribed beside them all—Magicians.
Sinclair—Magician
Beaufont—Magician
Takahashi—Magician
She then ran the ring over the symbols beside the second column, but what it illuminated wasn’t what she expected. Beside the other seven names was the word Mortals.
Liv spun to face Clark, her heart pounding wildly. “Oh, my God! I know what they’ve been hiding.”
His face said that he’d seen the ring interpret the ancient language and understood. “Yes, and this is bigger than I could have even conceived.”
Liv could barely speak. Her throat twice tried to close up, and her heart jumped into her mouth. She swallowed. Took a breath. Felt her mother beside her.
“Clark, it was never the House of Seven.” Liv found it hard to breathe suddenly, but finally, she inhaled raggedly. “The House was created as a partnership to balance magic. ‘Together we are strong and balanced.’”
He nodded, dazed. “The House of Seven is actually the House of Fourteen, made up of both magicians and mortals.”
Liv couldn’t believe it, but the evidence was clearly written on the wall in the ancient language—and it made absolute sense. She looked at Clark, pure conviction in her eyes. “You know what we have to do now?”
She hadn’t always understood her older brother, but right then, she knew they were aligned. He narrowed his eyes, determination strong in his gaze. “We have to find the mortals who used to be a part of this House and reinstate balance. We have to finish what Mom and Dad started.”
Liv nodded. She couldn’t have said it better herself.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Indikos always accompanied Adler on his trips to the Black Void. It wasn’t that he felt unsafe around the God Magician, but it made him feel better to have an ally if the One was in a bad mood. It hadn’t been long since he had awoken him, and Adler knew the God Magician was still grouchy, although that wasn’t the right term for an ancient magician who had been asleep for many, many years.
“Father,” Adler called to the mostly white magician who slumped in his throne. It wasn’t Adler’s father, but rather his father’s father’s father. “How do you feel?”
The God Magician stirred, making the wind howl in Adler’s ears. “I need more time. My strength is still building.”
“I understand,” he said in a consoling manner. “But I wanted to assure you that things are going according to plan.”
He pulled the giants’ sword from his back, releasing the enchantments that had kept it hidden. The full sword lit up in the dark chamber, which was full of bones and broken potion bottles. Cracks lined the wall, which mostly allowed the cold a place to come in, but they also allowed the God Magician a way out of his chamber. He’d been the one to brainwash Raina Ludwig. He’d had his hand in much lately, and it worried Adler. He wanted what his father wanted, but things were getting out of control. So many had already died, and he believed that was only the beginning. Hiding the truth had gotten exponentially more difficult.
“Set it on my lap,” the God Magician said.
His skin was transparent and his long white hair was draped on the floor, curling around and around. When he opened his eyes, the two orbs of light shone brightly, nearly blinding Adler.
He shielded his face as the God Magician rested his hands on the giants’ sword.
“I figured it would be safest here,” Adler said, trying to blink away the burning in his eyes from the light.
A loud clattering filled the Black Void and Adler stumbled back. The sword knocked into him, the hilt hitting him across the calves, knocking him to the floor.
“That’s not Turbinger,” the God Magician said, his voice filling Adler’s head.
“What do you mean?” Adler asked. “Of course it is.”
The oldest magician in the world rose off his throne and bore down on Adler. “No, that’s a fake. You’ve lost the real one.”
“No, that’s impossible. God Magician, I promise that I did everything you told me to.”
“You’ve failed me,” the first Sinclair said, his voice vibrating with ancient evil. “The truth is out there, and the girl will uncover it unless you stop her. We can’t allow the prophecy to come to pass.”
Adler stumbled back and straightened up. “I’ve got plans for her. Don’t worry, she doesn’t know anything. I’ve made sure of it.”
“What of her mother’s ring?”
Adler shook his head. “She died with it on.”
“Are you sure?”
“Guinevere always wore her ring,” Adler assured him. “And even if this is a replica, it just means the one in the Natural History Museum was the wrong one. The real one was probably destroyed long ago.”
“You idiot!” the God Magician said. “Don’t ruin everything. Ensure that there is no trail. It will soon be my time to rise. I will not have you lose it all for me.”
Adler threw himself down, kneeling to the strongest power he’d ever known. “Do not worry, my Lord. I promise.”
Before Adler was a person so powerful he’d never oppose him, but he was also fearful of what would happen when the God Magician came back into his full power.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
The flowers in Liv’s hands reminded her of her childhood. Lilies. They had been her mother’s favorite. The sweet scent wafted up to her nose, fueled by the Santa Ana winds.
She kept her head down as she strode through the cemetery. It had been five long years since she had been here, and suddenly she felt her younger self striding beside her, as if she’d crossed into a time/space continuum where all versions of herself existed.
This is long overdue, Liv thought when she spotted the tombstone.
Liv had been avoiding finding this closure and never would have realized that it would have come like this. When she was only two feet from her parents’ grave, Liv halted, the tears seeking to burst out of her.
She took a deep breath. Tightened her hands around the flowers. Felt something so deep and yearning within her. All these years she’d missed her parents badly. The pain was always there when she woke in the morning and realized they were gone. When she laid down at night and knew they wouldn’t be there in the morning when she awoke. When she had a victory and realized she couldn’t tell them about it. Every moment was etched by their absence. They were the best part of who she was, and yet they were gone. It didn’t make any sense, but Liv now understood things so much better than she had before.
Clearing her throat, she read the words that marked their shared tombstone: Together in Life. Together in Love. Here Lie Two Souls Intertwined Forever: Warrior and Councilor.
Liv laid the flowers she’d brought on her parents’ grave and backe
d up two feet.
“Mom. Dad,” she began, interrupted by a crow cawing somewhere in the trees.
“Mom and Dad,” she started again. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I abandoned the House of… I’m sorry I abandoned our family. It’s just that without you, I forgot who I was. I didn’t want to be what you made me, and yet, since I’ve stepped back into your life, all I know how to do is what you taught me. I’m stronger than I ever was. I’m strong like you, Mommy, as if I feel your courage beating in my soul. And I hear your wisdom at every turn, Daddy.”
The tears that broke free of Liv’s eyes made the pain somehow more bearable. “I thought that running would make it easier, but I was wrong. Embracing my role as Warrior has brought me closer to you than I ever thought possible. Losing you will never be tolerable, but now I realize how ridiculous it was to distance myself from my family. It is only now that I feel a chance to be whole again one day.”
The tears came down freely, falling down Liv’s cheeks, soaking her cape, and blinding her. She fell down to her hands and knees, dropping her head, vibrating with ache.
“I love you more than anything,” she cried, hardly able to breathe. “I miss you every damn day, but I know now why you risked everything.”
Liv swallowed, feeling a renewed sense of hope. She lifted her chin. “I know what you died trying to uncover, and I won’t let it be in vain. I will find the truth and reveal it for all. I will restore everything to what it once was. Somehow I’ll take up your mission and restore balance to the House of Fourteen.”
The story continues with THE LOYAL FRIEND, coming soon. Join the email list to be notified when book five is available.
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Sarah’s Author Notes
March 24, 2019
Thank you to you, the reader, for reading the books and supporting the series. The other day I got a review from a reader who wanted to be Facebook friends with Liv. That was one awesome compliment. At times I like to think I’m her and you all want to be my friend, however, I’m not nearly as bad ass—at all.