Control (Book Seven) (Fated Saga Fantasy Series)

by Humphrey - D'aigle, Rachel

  He got dressed and went back out into the kitchen.

  Maria was sitting at the table.

  “You’re awake,” she said with a kind smile.

  “Yeah, um, how long was I out?”

  “About four hours.”

  “That’s it? It felt like much longer.”

  An apologetic grin spread across her face.

  “You did that, didn’t you?” It came out more harshly than he planned.

  “Don’t be mad, please. You looked so tired. I wanted to repay the favor, help you in some way. To say thanks for everything you’ve done and everything you’re about to do. Rest was all I had to offer you.”

  He wanted to be mad. But he felt better than he had in weeks. Renewed. Sharp and ready to face the oncoming battle. He also wanted to tell her that she had much more to offer than just a sleeping potion, but he suddenly felt his cheeks burning and decided to reply, “Maybe next time just warn me or something, before you drug me.”

  “So you can be all manly and stubborn and refuse?” she exclaimed innocently. “I’ve been taking care of my dad since I was a little girl, so I know a thing or two about stubborn.” Her eyes grew watery as she finished, and she turned away from him so he could not see.

  Ivan had two realizations just then. One, he wanted there to be a next time. And second...

  “Maria, you lost your father, didn’t you?”

  She did not respond. He heard her trying to hide her sniffles.

  Hearing her cry was possibly the most dreadful thing he had ever heard. It felt like someone was trying to reach in and pull out his heart.

  “This is why I keep fighting,” he told her. “It won’t always be like this. I know it doesn’t bring your dad, or anyone else we’ve lost, back. But we can make their deaths matter. Make sure they didn’t die in vain.”

  She nodded, still with her back to him, but could not speak.

  He came up behind her, leaning in, wanting to comfort her. To tell her he would make everything right. But what could he really offer her? Yes, he would keep on fighting, but to what end? He said he believed it would end, but did he really believe it? Did he really believe he would survive through it? Would anyone he cared about survive? Sebastien’s words rang through his mind.

  He lifted his hand to stroke her hair but stopped, letting his arm drop back to his side. He hated himself for not being able to comfort her. She deserved better than that.

  He turned to leave, stopping just before he opened the door.

  “You’re very easy to be around,” he told her. “That might not mean much to you, but it’s... it’s not easy for me to say. Can I ask you to do just one thing?”

  She wiped her eyes and turned to him, nodding.

  “I’ve always thought your kindness was extraordinary. Please don’t let this ugliness we’re shrouded in take that away. Our world needs more people like you, Maria.”

  He left the house and leaned up against the door.

  There was that feeling again.

  He couldn’t breathe. Everything inside him ached.

  His eye caught Billie, Maura and Noah Flummer, not too far away. Sebastien and his father, Milo had joined them too.

  “You just missed the big speech,” Sebastien called out, seeing him approaching.

  “What did I miss?” Ivan asked, trying to get his mind back into focus.

  “We’re breaking into two groups. Our group is going out to confront Fazendiin and another group will remain here, in case it’s some kind of trap.”

  “I like that plan, so far,” said Ivan. “Covering the bases.”

  Sebastien looked at his dad, whose eyes were wandering toward the back of the encampment.

  “Mom’s going to be fine,” he told his father. “She’ll be safer here than with us.”

  Milo rolled his eyes. “My son. Smarter than I am sometimes. Have to remind myself he’s just seventeen.” Milo got a distant look in his eye as if he’d just reminded himself of something terrible.

  Sebastien ignored him. His dad had tried to talk him out of joining in, but he had outright refused.

  “Looks like we’re pulling out,” Milo said instead. “We’re taking the Tunkapog boats,” he told Ivan. “Fastest way to get to where we’re going.”

  “I’m ready,” Ivan replied, falling in line next to Billie.

  “You look more rested, at least,” Billie noted. She grasped his arm for a moment in solemn greeting. Ivan nodded to Maura and Noah; they returned with nods of their own.

  It was eerily quiet, considering that an army was marching into battle. It wasn’t a morose quiet. More contemplative... soldiers readying themselves for the dangerous task ahead.

  One by one, they took a seat in one of the boats.

  And one by one, the boats lurched forward, taking them closer to another battle.

  After just a short while, the boats went underneath a tree-branch lined archway, and when they popped through the other side, they were about a quarter mile away from their destination.

  The sun was just starting to set, beaming little streams of color down into the trees.

  The army, a mix of banished Svoda, Tunkapog warriors, some in human form, some in animal form, along with Billie and her fighting members, all stepped quietly and cautiously through the woods.

  They were to meet Fazendiin in a meadow, not too far ahead. A fresh dusting of snow wrapped itself around the pine trees, casting a sparkly hue over them as they marched toward the meadow.

  As they approached the edge of the woods, Nashua gave the sign for them to spread out and encircle the meadow. He wanted it surrounded so they could enter at once.

  There would be a second line of defense behind the first circle.

  Once everyone was in place, the line advanced into the meadow, each step perfectly in sync with each other’s; they were poised and ready for an attack.

  But none came.

  They kept at the ready.

  But still, nothing happened.

  The Tunkapog had seen this ruse before.

  The banished had used this ruse before.

  Neither lowered their palms.

  Neither relaxed their stances.

  Someone gasped.

  Someone else did the same.

  Gasps raced through the circle.

  In the middle of the meadow appeared the Immortality Stone.

  Out of nowhere. It just appeared as if it had been sitting there all along.

  The army held their stances, their gazes wildly searching for the attack sure to follow.

  But it did not come.

  The Stone just sat there as if waiting for them to carry it away.

  Nashua and Curtis carefully approached the Stone, examining it, fully expecting Jurekai Fazendiin to appear at any moment.

  But nothing happened.

  All was quiet.

  Too quiet.

  Unsettlingly quiet.

  The only sound was the swaying of tree limbs and the heavy breathing of an uneasy army.

  Nashua called to someone close by and whispered, “Return to the encampment.” He was not alone in his concern. They all feared they had been duped.

  The young man started to run but took flight half way through the meadow, transforming into a large eagle. He flew back to the boats with great speed, soaring low, aiming his body through the archway they’d come from, returning to the banished camp.

  All was fine. Many long minutes later, he returned and shared his findings with Nashua and Curtis.

  In the meadow, nothing had changed. They waited at the ready, but nothing was happening.

  A snap in the air caught Nashua off guard. His fierce wolf-like eyes watched an orange colored maple leaf appear out of nowhere, just within his reach.

  He grabbed it, looking around, still sure that Fazendiin was about to pop out, just when he was distracted. Again, this did not happen.

  He cleared this throat and read the message that appeared on the leaf.

  “Thank yo
u in advance. You always make my job so much easier- signed, J. F.” Nashua let out a frustrated grunt. “Stand down,” he ordered.

  Curtis approached him, along with Arnon and Kanda, Billie, Milo, Sebastien and Ivan. Although many were in earshot.

  “What is this?” asked Curtis. “He uses the Stone like a mere play thing to use at his disposal?”

  “A distraction,” said Kanda, tossing a weary look towards her brother.

  “A decoy,” agreed Nashua.

  “But for what purpose?” asked Billie.

  “If Fazendiin is using the Immortality Stone as a decoy,” started Curtis, “I’m not sure I want to know.”

  “What do we do now?” asked Kanda.

  Nashua sucked in a deep breath. “We do what we came to do. Secure the Stone. Regroup. And then start planning our attack on Juliska Blackwell.”

  Billie, Maura and Noah exchanged looks of relief. They had succeeded in finding help. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be too late.

  ##

  Meghan and Colin stood outside the gate to the vast estate, which now belonged to Jurekai Fazendiin.

  “I wonder if it is the same one, or if he just made a replica or something,” asked Meghan.

  “I think it’s the same one. My guess, he didn’t like the location so he moved it here.”

  “Moved an entire estate? Guess he really liked the place.”

  “Probably liked the idea that it once belonged to Jasper, or was at least somewhere the opposition gathered. So how do we get in, anyway? And what do we do if we come face to face with your father?”

  “I have no idea and, I have no idea.”

  Meghan tried to reach out to Colby but he was blocking her thoughts. Colin tried blasting the gate but to no avail. He tried to think himself inside, but that did not work, either.

  “Perhaps I might be of some assistance,” a voice purred.

  “Elisha,” said Meghan, seeing Colby’s Catawitch stepping towards them.

  “First, I’m only doing this because my master has lost his mind. Second, I’d rather his father didn’t kill him.”

  She seemed calm considering what she’d just said.

  “He can’t kill him, Elisha,” said Meghan.

  “I’d rather not test the theory.”

  “I take it our father is not home,” she asked hesitantly.

  “No. He’s been away. The gate won’t open without a sacrifice,” she purred hostily towards Colin, who was getting ready to try blasting it again.

  “Why don’t you explain what you mean so we can get in already,” he spouted back just as hotly.

  “What kind of sacrifice?” asked Meghan.

  “A kind only you can give,” Elisha answered.

  Meghan thought on that for a moment. What sacrifice could she give that no one else could give? It didn’t take her long to figure it out.

  “How sick!” she blurted. “Must everything I do need my blood?”

  “The only people allowed to open this gate are people with the blood of Jurekai Fazendiin running through their veins.”

  Meghan asked Colin to use magic and draw a drop of blood. She let that drop fall onto the gate and it instantly opened. They stepped inside and followed Elisha up the stone pathway, which wound its way through decaying winter gardens.

  She led them inside the house. Before long, they were forced to stop. Glass was strewn all over the place. Colored shards lined the floors and windowsills.

  “Did he do it already?” asked Colin.

  Elisha did not answer, but kept moving down the hallway working her way through the glass. They followed until they came to a wide part of the hall and saw Colby speaking to someone, someone still in the glass.

  He pretended not to notice them arrive.

  He had shattered every bit of glass except for this final pane, in which Aloyna still stood.

  “Did my father really do this to you?” Colby asked her.

  “I’m sorry. I cannot speak of it,” she replied.

  “Did he kill his own father, your husband?”

  “I’m sorry, I’m forbidden to speak of it.”

  Colby kicked a shard of glass and it slammed into the wall, shattering into sand.

  “Did you betray my father?” he asked more forcefully.

  “You ask me things I am forbidden to speak of, Colby. I’m sorry. The truth is, I think you know the answers to these questions. You don’t want to believe it, but you do know.”

  “Were you once in love with a man named Jasper Thorndike?” he asked her, not giving up.

  A stained glass tear fell down her cheek.

  Colby looked down, no longer able to look into her eyes. “You are my family. My father made me love you. Why would he do that if he hated you so badly? Why would he make me kill the man you loved?”

  Colby’s fists tightened. His mouth turned up exposing his teeth.

  He lifted his arms looking at his fists, tightening more and more.

  When he opened his hands, blood trickled down his arms; his fingernails had slit into the palms of his hands.

  Meghan and Colin backed away from him.

  Elisha hid behind a corner.

  A bloodcurdling wail escaped from Colby as he punched his fist into the final pane of stained glass.

  However, the shards did not go flying through the air. They swirled like a tornado, taking the shape of a woman. The glass tornado came out of the windowsill and landed on the floor, whirling and clinking as it moved.

  It started to slow, the glass forming into arms and legs and a head. A coarse breath escaped a forming mouth. The shards of glass started to smooth and seal together, forming skin.

  Dark shards formed over the skin, reforming the clothes Aloyna had been wearing on the very day she’d been cursed into the glass. She looked exactly as they’d seen her in the vision. She had not aged a day. Meghan guessed her age to be around the same as her mother’s, around her early forties.

  How odd, Meghan could not help but think. To have my mother and my grandmother be the same age.

  Aloyna was back. In her body once again. She breathed in an out deeply, stretching her fingers, feeling her face as if to make sure she was really back in her human body.

  She dropped her hands and looked up. Her eyes sharp and serious. She had a dark intensity about her.

  “Colby, thank you,” were the first words she spoke. “I knew the moment you were born you would be the one to free me.”

  He just stared at her, bewildered.

  She stepped forward and took hold of his hands. She leaned in and gave each of his palms a kiss. The blood dripping down his arms dried up, dissolving back into his skin. The cuts sealed up, leaving no sign that he had injured himself.

  “I know you could have done that yourself, but it’s my small way of saying thank you.”

  “Why should you thank me? I killed Jasper Thorndike.”

  “Yes. I know. And I dare say you’ll spend the rest of your life beating yourself up for that. I won’t add to your misery. And I don’t blame you. I put the blame where it belongs.”

  “My father?” he questioned.

  She patted his shoulder but said nothing.

  She looked over his shoulder at Meghan and Colin.

  “And this will be the sister you spoke of,” Aloyna said.

  “Yes,” Colby answered, his voice shaky.

  Meghan nodded a greeting, having no idea what to say.

  “What an odd thing,” Aloyna said. “To have lived only so little of my human life, to have lived for hundreds upon hundreds of years in the glass, only to just now, have grandchildren.”

  “We need to get you somewhere that’s not here,” Colby warned her. “I know my father is going to be furious when he finds out what I’ve done. I’ve never defied him before.”

  “Will you come with me?” Aloyna asked him.

  “Only to get you somewhere safe. I... I need to have a talk with my father,” he said flatly.

  “Wait,” said Colin, b
efore anyone could leave.

  “Oh, right,” said Meghan. “The reason this all happened.”

  She stepped over to her grandmother.

  “I’m sorry I have to ask this of you, at the first time we are meeting and after you’ve just been freed, but I have a favor to ask of you.”

  “Please, ask.”

  “I need a single strand of your hair. To prove that you are free.”

  Without question or hesitation, she reached up and plucked a strand from her head, and handed it to Meghan.

  “Thank you,” she said, grasping it, folding it, and wrapping it inside a tissue she had in her pocket. Meghan looked up, wanting desperately to ask Aloyna something, but didn’t have the nerve.

  Aloyna could tell and encouraged her to do so.

  “I realize you’ve just gotten your body back and all, but if I could ask, what exactly do you know about the prophecy? The one about the three immortal children...”

  “Ah yes, the prophecy. You must first understand that we were in desperate times. The world was in complete chaos. It wasn’t like it is today. Or what I’ve been told it’s like today.” She nodded at Colby. “Today, most people don’t even know magic exists, never mind that they should each possess it.”

  She paused for a moment.

  “For better or for worse, at our most desperate hour, I made a choice. A choice I knew would forever change the course of the future.

  You see, I know my son, and I know his desire for power; his desire to maintain control would be his undoing. He’s a power hungry mongrel willing to do anything to get what he wants, without getting his hands dirty to get it done...”

  Colby flinched.

  “So the choice I made, one you should all know, was for the greater good of all mankind. The truth is... the prophecy is a complete fabrication. It’s not real.”

  “What?” the three asked at once.

  “A terrible lie that I created. But a necessary lie. Which planted the seeds for what needed to grow. I knew my son would not be able to help himself. He would find some way to control the prophecy. To make it work to his advantage. Which in the end, would make it come true.”

  She looked at the three of them.

  “Three children born of an immortal bloodline, the most powerful children ever born into the world of magic, with the power needed to overthrow my son and restore balance to our world. In my son’s arrogance to control the prophecy, he created the very thing I wanted him to create. The three of you.”