“Maybe not,” I agreed after a few seconds, “but this connection we have between us, it’s strong. I don’t think of you as an enemy anymore. You… you’re like the brother I never got the chance to have.”
“Really? Now you’re going to get all sappy on me?”
“I’m serious. I feel closer to you than I have to any of my cousins, closer than even my father.” I scooted to the edge of my bed, struggling to find a way to explain what was going on with me. “And with Kate, with her, it’s like… it’s like…”
“Like finding your way home,” he whispered in a breath, and I nodded.
“Yes, yes just like that. It’s like being home, finally, after a horribly long trip. I’m not ready to lose whatever is the three of us have found together. Are you?”
“No, but what if I can’t stop her from dying? What if to save the world, we have to let her go?”
My mind flashed back to the mural we’d seen at the ruins, of the Vindicar appearing to give his life to save the rest of the world.
“When we come to that moment in time,” I finally replied, “we’ll deal with it then.”
He smirked and shut his eyes.
I settled in to try and get some sleep, too, but doubted I would now.
When I was on the brink of sleep, I heard Craig murmur almost too quiet for me to hear, “Night, brother.”
22
Forrest
Kate had been anxious the night before, but now she was damned right dancing on the spot. The sheath was slung across her body, both weapons ready to go, and she was even holding the knapsack she’d packed with the shield pieces and several other items Lucy had given us to take just in case we ran into trouble.
Greyson assured her, again and again, we’d be fine, but she screwed her lips up, and by the look on his suddenly concerned face, she threatened him to get us there and back again safely, or she was going to turn him into something worse than a dog.
“Now, this coin works a bit differently than the other one,” Lucy explained as the four of us gathered around in the front entry, the same as before.
The house was far from empty, but she made sure to clear the witches away, so no one got sucked along for the ride. The house would be full for a while as the witches prepared as many batches of the potion as possible for the rest of the realms.
“When you need to travel with it, the holder must place a drop of their blood on it.”
“Really?” Kate grumbled. “Who wants to be designated finger pricker?”
“I’ll do it,” I volunteered and held out my palm for the coin. I started to reach for one of the daggers Craig lent me since I no longer had any of my own, but Lucy stopped me. “What?”
She nodded to the coin, and I squinted down at it. “All you have to do is press your finger on it, the coin will do the rest. Once it’s activated, hold it firmly in your grasp and say, Thora Dorus. That is the name of the dimension the sorcerers created.”
“And we’ll land right on the doorstep,” Greyson said, though he didn’t sound as thrilled about going home as I thought he’d be. “What? Do you realize the lecture I’m about to get? Imagine going home to a house full of hundreds of older brothers who all told you that you were a fool for chasing after some witch. And that you just spent the last few hundred years running around like a dog.”
“Wow, this is going to be a fun homecoming for you,” Kate agreed.
She was smiling, but I saw Craig tense and his eyes shot to mine, then down to the coin in my hand.
I was not going to let this out of my sight.
“Now, I expect you all back within a day, two at the most, understand?” Lucy pulled Kate into a tight hug. “No getting captured this time, please?”
“I’ll do my best,” she replied, but her heart wasn’t in it, and I caught a wave of regret rushing out of her before it was quickly covered up by an overabundance of excitement. “Right, let’s get going. Forrest, you sure you got this, or do you want me to do it?”
“No,” I said quickly. “No, I’m good.”
I waited until we were closer together before I pressed my thumb down hard on the coin.
At first, nothing happened, but then sharp prick made me gasp, and when I lifted my thumb, there was a drop of blood smeared across the coin.
It began to glow, and I whispered, “Thora Dorus.”
The coin began to hum with power, vibrating up my arm and through me.
Kate, Craig, and Greyson quickly grabbed hold of my arms just as my feet were lifted off the ground and we were hurled through the portal.
This one was dark blues and greens, but it was over far quicker, and the landing was extremely smooth. When everything around me stopped spinning, I shook my head out and carefully tucked the coin in my pocket, out of sight and away from Kate.
“You weren’t kidding,” Craig said with a whistle as he leaned his head back. “We really did just land on their doorstep.”
“We are lazy by nature,” Greyson confessed. “With our bodies at least, not our minds.”
“Right, so where’s the doorbell?” Kate stepped closer, searching around for something to press.
Greyson tapped her on the shoulder and pointed to her left where a silk rope hung down. “They’re old fashioned. No new technology, not even a doorbell.”
Kate reached up with both hands and gave it a hard tug.
What sounded like a gong instead of a bell made the three of us cower and jump as if the damned thing was about to fall on our heads, but Greyson sighed with a weird look on his face.
“Home, sweet home,” he mused.
“Does it ever stop?” Craig growled, holding his hands over his ears.
Then, as if by magic, which it probably was, the noise vanished as if it never started, and the large, double doors swung inward into a massive hall with glass for a ceiling, and lined with braziers and torches.
I hesitated to go in, but Greyson confidently stepped over the threshold, and we were left to either stay on the porch or follow him inside.
“Brothers! I’m home!” he declared, holding his arms out wide as he came to a stop.
I frowned when the doors closed behind us, and from the sound of the heavy thud that followed, locked us in. “Great, so much for a quick escape if this goes badly.”
“You fret over nothing, I assure you,” Greyson said.
More doors opened at the far end of the hall and men wearing robes with hoods covering their heads marched toward us.
They formed two columns, and without even thinking it, Craig and I moved to block Kate from their view.
I heard her huff in annoyance, but didn’t bother turning around to tell her to deal with it.
The sorcerers continued their march until they reached us where they then spread out, forming a half-circle. Their hands were hidden in the sleeves of their robes, but when they lifted their heads, the firelight glinted off their silver eyes.
“Who has come to seek us out?” the one directly in front asked.
Greyson motioned for us to be quiet, and he cleared his throat. “Brothers, it is I, Greyson. I have finally returned home to you.”
Every single head lifted as one, and the man who spoke before tossed his hood down revealing a bald head and sharp cheekbones. “Greyson. Dear gods man, why do you stink of dog?’
“It’s a long story, but I assure you a good one worth its weight in wine.”
“We shall see,” the sorcerer said, then shifted his gaze.
I sensed Craig’s growing panic when the sorcerer hissed, and the others followed suit.
All eyes were on Craig as the sorcerer spoke. “You dare bring a thief into our house! Seize them!”
“They’re not thieves,” Greyson argued, holding his arms out to stop them from snatching up Craig and me. “They have come here on a very important mission. They need information, and I swore to them for saving my life I would ensure they received it.”
“That bastard son of Raghnall stole from us,�
� the sorcerer snapped. “He will pay for his crimes!”
“What on earth did he steal from you?”
“A blade we hired him to find.”
They surrounded us and lifted their hands in the air.
Purple and green mist shot out, starting to form a shield around us.
I tried to fend it off with what little magic I could use as a shield, but nothing worked in here, not against them. This was their home and probably warded against outside magic.
I cursed and closed in, shoulder to shoulder with Craig.
“Now what?” he growled. “Greyson, do something.”
“You neglected to tell me you had dealings with my brothers,” he snapped. “Did you steal from them?”
“It was for good reason. Can we just leave it at that?”
“No, we cannot. You must pay for your crime and return the item at once!”
“Yeah that’s not about to happen,” Kate said, and I heard the sound of the sword being unsheathed.
I turned, about to ask if she was stupid, when she held the sword, tip down against the stone, and growled at the sorcerers.
The runes on her body began to pulse, and she narrowed her gaze, focusing on the sorcerer before us. “I have come for answers, and I am not leaving without them.”
“We do not answer to foolish girls who associate with thieves.” He pointed to Executioner in her hands. “That blade is ours. Hand it over, now, and we may yet let you leave with your lives… after several hundred years of service!”
“Are you deaf? I said it’s not going to happen.”
“Kate,” I pleaded, but she ignored me.
I glanced to Craig for help, but short of tackling her and taking the blade, we could only let her say her piece and see how this was going to play out.
The sorcerer lifted his hands, moving them in a circular motion before him, filling the space with a harsh white light. “You will pay for your insolence, girl!”
“Careful,” Kate sang in a voice that was much deeper than her own.
I reached out, searching for the tether that I was starting to recognize as Kate, but it was mostly obstructed by another’s emotions.
“Celandine,” I breathed. Either she was channeling her past life, or Celandine had come out to play.
Kate’s hands tightened on the hilt, and the sorcerer let out a yell as he shot the blast of light outward.
Craig and I fell flat on our stomachs, but it hit Kate straight on, surrounding her and cutting her off from my sight.
“No! You bastard!” Craig snarled. “I’ll kill you!”
The sorcerer watched the swirling light with a satisfied leer, but slowly, it started to fall from his face and instead turned into a look of utter confusion. “No, no it’s not possible.”
I glanced over my shoulder, staying on the floor in case he attacked again, and saw Kate’s figure still standing in the midst of a blast that should’ve killed her.
The runes on her arms glowed even brighter, repelling the attack from the sorcerer. Her hair blew out behind her in long black strands as power consumed her.
Even her eyes glowed a dark green as she lifted the sword as though to attack. In a move too fast to follow, she was before the sorcerer, the blade at his neck, and glared at him.
A hush fell over the room, and the magic from the other sorcerers immediately ceased.
“You try my patience, old man,” Kate said, but that voice, it wasn’t even close to her own.
“You, it cannot be,” the sorcerer gasped. “The Vindicar Celandine.”
Kate’s body trembled, and she backed off, lowering the blade as the glow dimmed on her body. “Yes. And no. But she is here with me, and we need your help.”
The sorcerer adjusted his robes and glanced over her shoulders at us. “These two, they are…”
“Broden and Malcolm Darrah,” she replied. “I think now you know why we are here, and why I cannot and will not give up this blade. Will you help us or not?”
I saw her waver on her feet, but didn’t dare move to support her, not while she was trying to show a face of pure power and strength.
Craig took a half step forward, but I gently pulled him back, shaking my head. His jaw clenched, but he didn’t move again.
“We never expected this day to come,” the sorcerer explained. “The sword, it belongs with you. We will forgive the half-demon’s transgressions against us.”
“Thank you, I’d appreciate it. I need him.”
“Yes, yes, I daresay you will need both of them before the end,” he agreed cryptically. “I am Crane, head of our order. Please, come into the hall. You and your friends have had a long journey so far, from the haunted look lingering in your eyes.”
Kate sheathed the sword at her back.
He held out his arm.
She smiled politely, letting him take her hand and tucking it into the crook of his elbow. “That we have.”
“Then as Greyson has said, let us open some wine and share our tales.”
23
Forrest
Several barrels of wine were rolled into the hall and glasses were filled as Crane sat the three of us near him at the head of the largest table. The rest of the order followed in behind, and once all the seats were claimed, he asked us about our story.
Kate looked at us, and I did the honors of filling him in on what happened so far.
I kept it as short as possible and by the end, was ready to drain the glass of red wine sitting before me on the table.
“That is truly remarkable,” Crane said softly, “but I fear these fights you speak of are small compared to what is yet to come.”
“Great, because we couldn’t get any more bad news,” Kate muttered.
Crane smiled gently. “I wish I had good news to give, but when the realms were separated, and important events forgotten, our new course was set in motion. None remembered what happened, none except the oldest amongst us.”
“Can we speak with them?” Kate craned her neck, searching the hall, but Crane shook his head.
“Sadly, though they live, their minds have… moved on, as you might call it,” Crane explained. “They have mentally transcended beyond this life and can tell you nothing. However, we do keep very good records. They are not complete. The traitor you say was mentioned in these visions of the past? He sent others to our home as well, and attempted to destroy our archives.”
He snapped his fingers, and a few sorcerers rose and left the room.
“They will return shortly. While we wait, do you have this letter from Broden you spoke of?”
Craig dug around in the knapsack he managed to snag from Kate and held it out. “We believe he died while writing it.”
Crane unfurled the letter, his lips moving over the words as his fingers lingered on the blood stains. “You are correct. From what I recall, Broden was grievously wounded after the realms were split. An attack came at the palace, and he took a blade meant for Malcolm, so he could get away with the shards of the shield.”
A wave of guilt hit me hard, but it didn’t come from anyone but me. “And did he come here? Malcolm, I mean?” I asked.
“I am afraid that is where our story turns darker, but we will wait until the proper documentation is brought.”
I picked up my wine glass and drained half of it, hating this waiting game.
“Can you tell us how the three of them met?” Kate asked. “Celandine, Broden, and Malcolm.”
“That memory has not returned to you?” Crane’s brow rose. “Interesting, very interesting. I wonder if you are not meant to know.”
Kate fidgeted nervously, but whatever she was thinking, she kept it well hidden from me, emotionally at least.
Crane told us a bit more about the order and why they went after the Executioner blade.
“For centuries, we waited for the Vindicar to return and when she never did, we feared the worst. We were going to take the sword and imbue it with our own power to use against the darkness when
it came.”
“And the shield? Do you have the rest of the pieces here?” Kate leaned forward as if willing them to magically appear in Crane’s hands.
The doors opened to the hall, and the sorcerers returned, carrying a trunk between them. They set it on the table before Crane, and he thanked them.
“Everything we have from that time is in here.” He opened the metal latch and peered inside.
He picked up a yellowed scroll and spread it out on the table for us to see.
Kate’s face paled, and she gripped the edge of the table hard.
“That wave of darkness,” she whispered, voice shaky, “I’ve seen it before, washing over the lands.”
“So have I,” Craig growled. “In my visions of the future.”
“This attack was what came toward the end, it nearly wiped out those that were left, but the races managed to rally and beat it back.”
“Until they were betrayed, and the shield was stolen.” Kate ran her fingers over the drawing, tilting her head in thought. “Allis, he was manipulated by the darkness.”
“He was, but he was not alone. Another was above him, and had been turned first, a traitor no one saw coming, not after how hard he fought in the battles to stop the plague.” He spread out the scroll farther and faces appeared, one I recognized as Celandine’s, but the other two men I didn’t. “Celandine’s younger brother.”
“What?” she gasped. “No, no it’s not possible.”
I squeezed her hand, trying to give her some semblance of comfort, but her gaze wasn’t looking at the younger face, but the older one.
A sense of familiarity flashed through her eyes before it was gone.
“It’s true. He dragged Allis into the darkness, and no one suspected him because he helped lead the attacks against the enemy,” Crane continued. “He did not reveal himself until the end, when the enemy knew they would be defeated unless the shield was destroyed.”
“What was his name?”
Crane shrugged at Craig’s question. “It has been erased from history. We do not know it.”
“But he is the traitor then, the one that messed up what Broden and Malcolm did?”
Legends (Dragon Reign Book 3) Page 12