by T. J. Klune
Because they were the same.
So, yes. I screamed for him.
I begged Ruv to let me out.
He ignored me, eyes only on Ryan.
I pleaded for Lady Tina to help him.
She stood shocked, face pale, lips trembling.
I cried for Caleb to make it stop.
He had a smile on his face.
“Sam?” Ryan said again, sounding like he was choking.
“Shh,” I said, face wet. “Don’t talk. It’s okay. It’s okay, sweetheart. It’ll all be okay. I promise. I promise you, okay? You just gotta give me a moment. I’ll get us out of here.”
“Hurts, Sam.”
“I know,” I said, voice breaking. “I know it does. But I need you to be brave for me. I need you to be strong.”
“You… can’t… I…. Sam.” His head rocked back as more blood spilled from his mouth. “Sam, Sam, ah gods, Sam.”
“You bastards,” I bellowed at the others in the room. “I’ll kill you. Do you hear me? I’m going to fucking kill you all.”
“What have you done?” Lady Tina whispered.
“What was necessary,” Ruv said with a sigh. He stretched his neck from side to side.
“You… you promised me,” she said, taking a step back. “You told me that Ryan would be safe. That he would be free.”
“He’ll be dead soon,” Ruv said. “Free from the shackles of this life. And his death will be the catalyst needed to send this world spiraling into darkness.”
“You promised me!” she exclaimed shrilly. “You said—”
He had her pressed against the fireplace, hand around her throat, before she could continue.
“I grow weary of the sound of your voice,” Ruv said, nose trailing along her cheek. “There are much bigger things at work here than your precious games, little girl. Things that you couldn’t even possibly imagine. If I were you, I would be on my knees thanking the gods that you still draw breath.” His fingers tightened, and she whimpered. “Now. Because you have provided such a valuable service in assisting the downfall of Sam of Wilds, I will spare your life. Leave here, without another word, and you will live to see another day. One peep from you, my dear, and you will join your beloved Knight Commander with your blood on the floor.”
He took a step back, hand dropping from her neck.
Lady Tina sobbed quietly. She looked at Ryan, who was losing his battle with consciousness, then at me.
“You don’t want me to get out of here,” I told her, voice hoarse. “Because I will come for you.”
She nodded.
And then ran from the house, the door slamming shut behind her.
“Sam.”
“No,” I moaned. “Save your strength. Please. Just—”
“Need you… to listen. You remember? What I told you.” He coughed weakly. “At the top of the keep.”
I shook my head. “Don’t you do this. Don’t you fucking say goodbye to me. You hear me? Ryan. Don’t you fucking do this!”
“I told you… that I wished for nothing… more than you.”
“Ryan.”
He smiled a bloody smile. “Still mean it.”
And then his eyes slipped shut, his head slumping forward.
I threw my whole weight against the barrier again and again and again.
Ruv clucked his tongue. “Truly a waste.” He shook his head and turned away from Ryan back toward me. “You might as well save your strength, Sam. You’re going to need it.”
Again and again and again.
He turned his attention away from me.
“Leave us,” Ruv told Caleb. “The time has almost come. Do not return to the castle, as they will soon know something is amiss. Wait for my word.”
“I want to watch what happens to Sam—”
“Leave us,” Ruv hissed. “I will not tell you again. He approaches, and he will not be pleased if you are still here.”
Caleb’s eyes widened a little at that. He looked as if he was going to argue but must have thought better of it. His mouth thinned, and he nodded tightly. He glanced at me again before he too left the house, leaving me and Ruv and Ryan.
The only sounds were the dripping of blood on the floor and the grunts I made when I slammed my shoulder into the barrier, knowing it wouldn’t give but not caring.
“You know,” Ruv said finally, “in the end, I do feel somewhat responsible for what happened here.”
I ignored him.
“I told him that I could get to you, that if he just gave me a chance, I could do what was needed. You would choose me as your cornerstone, and I would eventually drag you away from the light and into the dark. I knew of Ryan Foxheart. Everyone in Verania did. But I figured once you tasted my magic with yours, you’d see. I regret that it didn’t work out like I had planned. I didn’t try hard enough. I went along with Vadoma, and I went along with you after that dragon in the desert. I thought you would just see me, see how I helped you, see how good I was, and in the end, you’d just… I don’t know.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “So yes, Sam. I do blame myself partly for this. And if he hadn’t failed right after I did, I do believe I wouldn’t be standing here. Because again, there’s just something about you that causes people to doubt what you’re capable of. You are stronger than you appear.” He shook his head ruefully. “We won’t be making that mistake again.”
“What do you want from me?” I said, trying to push through the haze that had covered my eyes.
“Oh, it’s not about what I want. I don’t know that it’s ever been. It’s about what he wants.”
“How could you? How could you do any of this?”
“Black and white, Sam. That’s all you see. There is so much more in between. Becoming a Dark wizard isn’t the scary story you’ve heard all your life. Morgan and Randall are so absolute in their magic that they leave room for no alternatives. No interpretation. Magic can go both ways, Sam. You know that. You showed me that in the desert. With the sand mermaids. And with him in the water. Do you really think you could have done that with both feet firmly planted in the light? No, Sam. Of course not. Part of you is in shadow. Morgan knows this. Randall knows this. Why do you think they’ve kept so much from you?”
“I will never be like you.”
His smile took on a melancholic curve. “I suspected as much. And so did he, I think. He gave you a choice once, and you threw it back in his face. He made his mistake then, by acting too hasty, trying to consume your magic before it was time. Even the best of us can act without thinking.”
“The both of you can go fuck yourself.”
“Yes, I suppose you think we can. But in the end, it doesn’t matter. You have lost, Sam. There’s no talking your way out of this one, no using your magic to escape impossible odds. Verania will fall, and from the ashes, the age of the Darks will be born, and he will rule over us all.”
I laughed bitterly. “You really think Morgan and Randall will let that happen? Kill me. Fine. Go ahead. But they will never let him win. This is just one battle, and you are in a war, and I promise you, I will find a way, either in this life or the next, to make you pay for what you’ve done.”
“Ah, Morgan and Randall. Even after everything, you still have faith in them. It’s a remarkable thing.” He stepped closer to the barrier. “Misplaced, but admirable. Do you know where my faith lies, Sam of Wilds?”
“Go to hell.”
“In him.”
“You will lose.”
“You know of whom I speak.”
“You will lose.”
“His name, Sam. Say his name.”
“Villains never win. You may have gotten this far, but we all know how the stories end.”
“Now, Sam. Say it. Say his name.”
“Break the blood seal and see how it goes. Come on, you little bitch. Do it. You think I’m scared of you? Of him?”
“Say his fucking name!” Ruv bellowed.
I spat at him and watched the saliva slide down
the invisible barrier. “Fuck you. And fuck him. You want me to say his name? You think I won’t. Fine. You will fall, Ruv. Just like your mentor. You are nothing. Myrin is nothing.”
The floor shook beneath my feet, the floorboards rippling. I took a stumbling step back, hitting my bruised shoulder against the barrier. The room grew darker as the flames on the candles flickered before going out completely. The ceiling groaned, a large crack appearing right down the middle, dust and plaster sprinkling down. The crack stopped right before it reached the dragon’s blood.
Ruv took a step back. “He’s coming.”
The shadows began to gather along the floor. Soot and ash billowed from the fireplace, caught in a spiral as it swirled into the air. At first it was shapeless, a vortex spinning lazily. But then the shadows coalesced and there was a strange pull in the back of my head, muffled by the blood spell.
Sam, it whispered.
The vortex rose toward the ceiling, leaking shadows like liquid smoke.
And for a moment, that was all it was: a column of shadow-smoke swirling in the center of an abandoned home in the middle of the City of Lockes.
Then the shadows fell away.
And the darkest of all the wizards stood, a small smile on his face. He wore black robes shot with lines of red. His beard curled down against his chest. His eyes were sparkling.
“Sam,” Myrin said. “How lovely it is to see you again.”
Chapter 22: Sacrifice
AND BECAUSE I couldn’t not, I rolled my eyes. “Dude, that entrance was kind of weak. I mean, I get what you were going for, but honestly? I’ve seen better.” I felt like I was breaking apart, but I couldn’t let him see fear. I couldn’t let him see I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how we’d get out of this.
Myrin chuckled. “Have you now?”
I shrugged. “Yeah, dude. I mean, you get points for the shadow-smoke thing, but beyond that? Kind of disappointing. You had your lackey here shouting at me to say your name. Who does that? And did you seriously wait until I did say your name before you showed? Because if you did, that’s pretty fucking lame.”
“Oh, Sam. You are not what I expected you to be.”
“So you’ve said before. New material. Learn it.”
“I see you for what you are.”
“Oh?” I asked, arching an eyebrow. “Are you going to psychoanalyze me? That’s neat.”
Myrin took a step toward me, and it took all I had not to take an answering step back, to stand my ground to show him I wasn’t afraid, even though my heart was splitting down the middle. Ryan was breathing, little raspy breaths, but he wouldn’t be for long. I had to get us out of here.
And if it meant killing both Myrin and Ruv, well.
That’s the way it was going to be.
“Your words, Sam,” Myrin said, coming to a stop right outside the circle of dragon’s blood. “They are your weapons. You wield them as a knight does a sword.”
“Is that right,” I said. “How interesting. Hey, here’s an idea. Break the circle and we’ll see just how strong my words are. What do you say?”
“You’re scared,” Myrin said. “You hide it, but it lurks in you, just along your edges. I can see it, Sam of Wilds. And you’re right to be afraid.”
I glared at him. “I’m not scared of you.”
“I do sense some truth in that. Honestly, I do. And it’s admirable. But I never said the fear was directed toward me.” He glanced toward the wall. “It would seem the Knight Commander is but a butterfly pinned to a board.”
He took a step toward Ryan.
And I snapped. “You leave him the fuck alone!”
But Myrin ignored me. “Love is a curious thing,” he said as he stood in front of Ryan, looking up at his bowed head. “Don’t you think, Sam? It creates art and poetry. Death and destruction. Cities are razed because of it. Wars are fought. It is humbling and all-consuming, and it can drive a person out of their mind.”
He pressed a single finger against the hilt of the sword sticking out of Ryan’s stomach. He moved his finger side to side, causing the sword to shift the barest amounts. Ryan groaned, another thin stream of blood spilling from his mouth.
I screamed for Myrin to stop.
“I loved once,” Myrin said. “With my entire heart. And even when I realized my path was different than those I loved, I still loved them. I told them as much. I told them both that nothing had to change, that we could still be as we were. I understood that they could not follow me. I understood that. Our paths would diverge, but I knew what I was meant to do. And even when they begged me, even when they pleaded with me to turn away from my fate, to ignore what I could truly be capable of, I loved them.”
He shook his head as he dropped his hand from the sword. “They said they had no other choice. They did, in the end. Because it always comes down to choices. They chose to burn the love I felt for them from my heart. They chose to encapsulate what remained in shadow. They chose to let me suffer in a realm that only exists to contain the worst of all existence. And I did suffer, Sam. I don’t want you to think I didn’t. Maybe they thought it’d be a shock to the system. Maybe they thought it’d give them time to find a way to bring me back to the person they’d known.” He laughed bitterly. “But it didn’t. It made me more. And I knew, in the end, that I just had to bide my time. That one day I would return and face my destiny.”
He turned away from Ryan back toward me. He stopped just outside of the circle again. “You, Sam. You are my destiny. We are intertwined, you and I. Chosen by the gods. It’s really rather elegiac, don’t you think? There is a sense of fatalism to it. Was I always meant to be here, now, standing in front of you as I am? Do the gods dictate every single move I make? Has the ending already been written? Because if it has, Sam, if everything I have done in my life has led to this, has led to this moment, what am I to do with it? With this culmination? I feel as if I stand upon a precipice, and all it would take is one final step and—”
“Yeah,” I said. “Do it. You step right off that cliff, you asshole.”
He sighed. “You’re not listening.”
“Oh I am,” I said. “You’re monologuing, but I’m listening. And you know what I think about it? About this whole thing?”
“Tell me,” he breathed.
I leaned forward until I could feel the hum of the barrier just beyond my face. “I think you’re fucking crazy.”
His eyes narrowed.
“I think you’re fucking crazy,” I spat at him. “I think you’re just like everyone else who has come before you. Except no, that’s not quite right. You come with a godsdamn pedigree, all this extraneous bullshit. You’ve somehow got Ruv, and I’ll give you credit for that. You got Lady Tina. You’ve got thousands of people on your side, even though they don’t know they’re on your side. You’ve done all of this while remaining hidden in shadow. That’s just going to make your failure that much worse when it happens. Because mark my words: you will fail, Myrin. I will end you.” I glanced over his shoulder at Ruv. “You too. You shouldn’t have touched my cornerstone. You’re going to pay for that.” I felt a savage satisfaction at the way Ruv’s eyes widened. I looked back at Myrin, a nasty smile on my face. “I’ve got four dragons on my side and a need to kick your motherfucking ass.”
“Four? And what of the fifth?”
My smile widened. “What’s the plan? I’m in here, you’re out there. Hey, if you want to come in the circle with me, I’ll make room.” I took a step back, beckoning for Myrin to step inside. “We could see what happens when neither of us has our magic. Because no matter how strong you think you are, even you can’t fight dragon’s blood.”
“Or,” Myrin said, “I can ask Ruv to pull the sword from the Knight Commander’s chest and use it to cut off his head right in front of you.”
“Don’t you fucking touch him!” I roared, rushing forward and banging my hands on the barrier again.
Myrin laughed. “And that is the downfall of love.
The way it ensnares you, holds you captive. You are wind and bluster, pounding your chest and inviting me inside, but the moment I threaten something you love, you descend into snarls and teeth. Can’t you see, Sam? It is a weakness. And that is the difference between you and I. You are shackled by it. And I am free.”
“You will never win,” I promised him. “Never.”
“I already have,” he said simply. “You have a choice, here. And you will make it quickly, as I grow weary of this back-and-forth. Either you submit to me or Ryan Foxheart will die here and now. His blood, Sam, will be on your hands, more than it already is. There is still a chance he could be saved as he is now, but he doesn’t have much time.”
“Fuck you.”
He shook his head, a frown on his face. “You have to know you’ve lost. Even now I can see your mind whirring about, scrambling for something, anything you could use to talk your way out of this, to live to fight another day. Sam. You. Are. Wrong. This is it. This is the end.”
“And what do you want me for?”
“You know,” he said, eyes flickering down to my chest.
And I did. Of course I did. “The consumption of magic.”
“It will hurt,” he said. “I cannot lie about that. But it will be over soon. I promise you, and unlike Morgan or Randall, I am a man of my word, Sam. I will break the circle. You will bow before me. And I will consume your magic. It will be swift, and once it is complete, I will let Ryan Foxheart go. However, if you step outside that circle and attempt anything, I promise you that I will do everything in my power to make sure Ryan Foxheart suffers. And you may be thinking that you could take me by surprise, but I will remind you that there are two of us and one of you. No matter how powerful you are, Sam, you cannot come for us both before I rip the life from the Knight Commander. His blood will spill and you will watch.”
“Why?” I asked, trying to stall for time, but for what, I didn’t know. “Why are you doing all this?”
Myrin’s eyes narrowed. “Really, Sam? That’s what you’re going with? After all you’ve said about villains and monologuing. I’m disappointed. That was shameful, even for you.”