There was a sound like a tidal waving crashing into a rock mass as Julie unleashed the energy and it collided with a wall of purple and orange magic Zuna had put in front of the group as a shield.
The two energy forces collided, crackling and sizzling. Connor stood rooted to the ground, mesmerized by the light battle.
“Connor—Connor, we have to get out of here.” His father was struggling to stand and support himself. Caderyn’s eyes were wild, taking in the scene.
“Right. Katie—the keys. Can you get them?”
Katie nodded. She shot out her hand and within a second, the keys literally flew to her.
“Go! Now! Caderyn, get them out of here!” Zuna yelled at the group, bowing under the pressure of Julie’s magic.
“Let’s go.” Caderyn wobbled on his legs, regained his balance, turned, and headed down a row of cells to their right.
Connor grabbed Katie’s reluctant hand and headed after his father. Half running, half stumbling, they wove their way down the cellblock. The lights trembled and flickered with the magical discharge. The noise of the battle behind them filled the air.
Shouts and roars joined the crackling energy in the air. There was no doubt an epic battle was taking place between student and teacher.
“Which way did you come from?” Caderyn asked.
“It doesn’t matter. Zuna gave me a spell to get through the outer wall. We just have to find it,” Katie answered.
“There!” Connor shouted above the noise. He pointed towards the end of the row of cells.
The three reached the wall and Katie placed her palm on the hard rock surface, repeating a spell under her breath. The wall quivered at first, then shimmered and gave way, creating a small opening. The three stepped out and the sea of undead greeted them, licking their lips in anticipation of human flesh.
“Light, Katie. Help my father and stay close. I’ll clear a path,” Connor said, lifting his axe in a high swing and taking the head from the first corpse that approached.
Katie shot her hand in the air and a flame lit the area above their heads. The fire hovered there and followed them as they waded into the sea of open arms and gnashing teeth.
Connor grunted as his axe stuck in the corpse of an undead creature dressed as a knight. Ripping it free, he swung again, this time cleaving his opponent in two. Looking for the power inside, his vision reddened and lent him strength. It seemed as though they waded through the sea for an eternity, Connor in the lead with his axe, Caderyn stumbling along, doing his best to keep up, and Katie in the rear, holding the fire spell in place with one hand and sending bolts of magical energy into whatever target got too close for comfort.
Reaching the mouth of the tunnel to the surface, the noise of the battle finally stopped. The light streaming from the prison pulsed a steady blue. The fight was over. Although no one said it, they knew that if Zuna had won, she would be with them now.
Their thoughts were only confirmed as a whisper met their ears, Julie’s voice that came from nowhere and everywhere at once. “Zuna is dead, and soon, when I free the inmates of Karnag and Vercin marches on your position, you will be, too. Think about where your allegiance lies, Katharine.”
Katie visibly shivered. Still followed by the army of undead, the three escapees couldn’t afford a break. They turned their backs on the God-forsaken place and headed to the surface.
Most of the journey was spent in silence. Caderyn soon collapsed, too weak and tired to go on. Connor lifted his father’s limp form over his shoulder and they continued forward, ever upward.
“Why would she bring me, Connor?” Katie asked, finally breaking the silence. “Why wouldn’t she or Morrigan just tell me about my mother?”
Connor looked at the path in front of them and set his jaw. “Maybe they needed you to see it so you could believe it was the truth. Would you have really believed who your mother was if you hadn’t seen her for yourself?”
“No, that—that thing is so far away from the mother I grew up loving. You knew her, Connor. What happened to her?”
“Dark magic? Greed? I don’t know.”
“My father is dead and my mom might as well be. I don’t have anyone left.”
“Yes, you do. I’d hold your hand right now but I’m carrying the father I never knew in one arm and some kind of ancient war axe in the other.”
“Connor,” Katie said, shaking her head and laughing, “This isn’t the time for jokes.”
“I’m not joking. I really am doing both of those things. It’s going to be okay, Katie. You still have Morrigan and me.”
Katie wiped away the tears. “Do I really, Connor? Do I have you?”
“What? Of course you do.”
“You know what I mean. I know you and Laren have something. I’m just not sure if that ‘something’ is going to end with us being together or apart.”
Connor hesitated now. What was he supposed to say? All he could do was be as honest as he could. Katie deserved that much, and after their long history together, she needed to know. “If I said I don’t feel anything for Laren, I would be lying. When you broke up with me, I went through a really rough time, then Laren came along. I still have feelings for you, Kat, but I have to figure out if there’s still a chance for us or if it’s too late.”
“That’s fair, but for the record, I never should have broken up with you and I can see that now.”
The time for talking was over as the two approached the area of the path that slopped upwards into a wall of dirt. Katie let the flame above them go out and spoke into the ground above them, making the air swirl and shake as a portal was opened. The two walked through the window of space, not prepared for the scene that met their eyes.
Chapter Twenty-Five
They had stepped back onto the Abelardus’ extensive property. They were about a mile from the castle itself near the road that led to the highway. The sun was long gone, but the moon was bright and its rays shone down on the castle. The castle that once stood tall and proud was now reduced to a pile of stone and smoke and ash permeated the air, carrying with it the smell of death.
“The Council! Vercin was here! We’re too late!” Connor ran with his father still over his shoulder and Katie in his wake.
The walls were caved in and only half remained intact. The outside wall looked as though it had been struck down with a battering ram. Connor ran across the blood-soaked courtyard littered with bodies, some of whom he recognized, others he didn’t, but all were dead.
Elites were spread out on the ground in awkward angles. The orange and red flames of fire were visible as they approached and heat emitted from the entrance of the castle like a furnace. “Take my father somewhere safe,” Connor told Katie as he placed him gently on the ground.
“Why? Where are you going?”
“There might be someone still alive inside. I have to go in.”
“Connor, don’t. You don’t know if you’ll make it out.”
“I have to, Katie, I’ll be right back, I promise.”
Katie nodded. “Okay. Hurry back and be careful.”
“I will, I promise.” Connor dropped the axe on the red grass and shielded his face with his arms as he entered the castle’s double doors. The heat was fierce and made the air in the castle hard to breathe. Sparks and embers swirled in the air. Everything was on fire. The only things resisting the fire’s warm embrace were the rock walls.
Much like the scene outside, bodies and the signs of battle were everywhere. The castle guards lay on what remained of the carpet like rice thrown at a wedding. “Hello?” He tried to yell over the sound of the crackling flames. “Is anyone here? Hello?”
There was no answer. All that remained was flame and the smell of charred flesh. Connor was about to turn and leave when he remembered his first dream and conversation with Vercin. In the dream, the Council lay dead in their large meeting hall. Connor headed there now, hoping against hope that he was wrong. Tapestries burst into flame on either side of him a
s he ran towards the large conference hall. Fixtures and suits of armor that lined the walls had fallen or became twisted and warped by the flame’s-unforgiving embrace.
He reached the room. Its doors were wide open and covered in blood. What he feared the most had become reality. Every member of the Council was there; Adolpho, Raban, Arden, Tien, and Thema were all there lying lifeless on the stone floor.
Connor ran to each of them, tears in his eyes. They were all gone. Vercin had exacted his revenge on the Council and had not spared a single soul. “Connor? Connor, you’re back.”
Connor turned to a dark corner of the room. Morrigan was lying under a large wooden case, half concealed by a torn tapestry. “Morrigan? Are you okay? What happened?”
Blood ran from Morrigan’s left temple, her left arm and the rest of her body were pinned under the case. “I’m okay, I think. He left me alive.”
“Shhhhh… I’m going to get you out of here. Hold on.”
Connor grabbed the bookcase that pinned his mentor and threw it to the side like it was a child’s toy. Carefully, he knelt and picked up Morrigan’s slim frame in his arms. “Hold on. Just hold on… you’re going to be fine.”
Connor ran through the castle to the entrance, carrying the woman that had watched over him his entire life, the woman who had believed in him from the beginning of his journey as an Elite and a Judge. Tiny whispers of doubt and fear poked at him, opening the idea that Morrigan’s wounds were fatal, that he would lose her just like he had lost everyone else.
He hadn’t found Laren or Lu among the dead. Were they dead? Taken? Something worse? Connor shook his head. The doors to the entrance were in sight now. The flames were worse and he held Morrigan close to his chest as the flames licked around him, seeking an opening to burn his precious cargo. He gritted his teeth as he felt the sharp sting of the flames burn his legs and arms.
None of that mattered, he could handle the pain. What he couldn’t handle was life without the people he loved.
He burst out of the castle at a sprint, timber and the castle’s wooden support crumbling behind him.
The air outside felt glorious as a cool wind ushered away the heat and offered a relief.
“Connor, over here!” he heard Katie yell. She had taken his father a safe distance from the burning castle to a grassy patch off the courtyard that was free from blood.
Connor ran and gently placed Morrigan next to an unconscious Caderyn.
Connor’s expression must have betrayed him, because Morrigan gave him a faint smile and said, “Connor, you can stop looking at me like that. I’m not going to die.”
Connor released an audible sigh he didn’t know he was holding. “What happened?”
“Vercin happened. He came swiftly with what followers he’s already managed to call to his ranks. Had it just been them, we could have held them off, but Vercin’s power has grown. No one was able to stand against him, not even the Council and my brother.”
Morrigan’s voice trembled, but only for a brief second before she cleared her throat. “He let me live to give you a message. He said to tell you that it’s not too late to join him.”
Connor sat back on his knees. “And everyone else? Laren, Lu, Miyanda?”
“Lupus and Miyanda were not at the castle when the fighting took place. They had taken the dragon to a forested area that the Abelardus family owns. They probably still don’t know about the attack. And Larentia—” Morrigan’s voice faltered as she chose her words carefully. “I’m not sure Larentia is alive, Connor. The last time I saw her, she was being carried away by a group of Vercin’s men.”
Connor’s eyes went wide as he was faced with one of two possibilities, either Laren was taken as a hostage or she was taken to be killed. Either way, he had to get her back. He could feel the anger building inside him as he searched the courtyard grounds, looking for his axe.
“Connor,” Morrigan said, “you will do no good to anyone by chasing off after her now.”
“What do you want me to do, sit around and wait? Sit and wait while Vercin becomes more and more powerful? Julie, Katie’s mother, killed Zuna, and she’s freed all the Elites in the Karnag prison. They have an army now, and what do we have?” Connor asked as he opened his arms, taking in the scene around them. “A burned castle and the four of us.”
“It’s not just the four of us,” Morrigan reminded him as a shout and running feet met his ears.
Lu, Miyanda, and the dragon came running at a full sprint. “What happened?” Lu shouted, confused and angry. “What happened?”
Connor’s head fell, eyes pointed to the ground. “Vercin attacked and he killed—he killed everyone, Lu. He carried away Laren.”
Lu fell to his knees in front of the castle, shaking, stunned by the scene in front of him, numbed by the realization his father was dead and his sister taken.
“And my grandmother?” Miyanda asked.
Connor shook his head.
“That’s why she didn’t want us to come,” Miyanda said to Morrigan, her voice cracking. “She knew she was going to her death.”
The group stood silent, even the dragon, who was happy to see Connor at first, now sat quiet, feeling the tension in the air.
“So he’s won,” Katie said quietly. “Vercin’s beaten us.”
“Not while we still have a Judge, he hasn’t,” Morrigan said as she rose to her feet.
“Two Judges.” Everyone looked over to Caderyn. His eyes were open and Katie helped him struggle to his feet. “I can teach you how to embrace the power that flows through you, Connor. Not just simply control it, but to really be one with that part of yourself. Together we will make Vercin wish he had never escaped his prison.”
“My people will answer your call if you ask,” Miyanda chimed in, tears still running freely down her face. “My mother will come with our warriors.”
“I may know an island or two of fighters that would come if you asked them,” Lu said, rage in his green eyes and taking deep breaths in a weak effort to control his emotions.
“Then we stand together, and make sure that those who have died tonight have not died in vain,” Morrigan said.
Connor could feel the anger inside him burning hotter than the flames inside the castle. He would use this. He would use the anger. Use the raw emotion that boiled inside of him to be the Judge he was meant to be. With the help of his friends, his family, he promised himself he would rise stronger than ever before and do what he was meant to, what Morrigan’s prophecy said he was born to. He would save his race and the world from Vercin and a second dark age.
“We need to go after them now—if Laren is alive, if there is even the slightest chance,” Lu said, rage clear on his face.
“Lupus,” Morrigan said, “you know as well as I do we have no chance right now to take on Vercin and his army, especially if he has freed the inmates of Karnag. The best thing we can do now is bury our dead and prepare for the coming days.”
“But my sister—”
“Your sister will still be alive. Vercin obviously wants her that way or else he would have just killed her like the others.”
“Morrigan’s right, Lu,” Connor said, placing a hand on the large man’s quivering shoulder. “You know I want to go after her, too, but we can’t now. Not like this. Vercin will pay for what he did. I promise you.”
Lu hung his head and turned away from the group to hide his tears. Miyanda went to him and placed a comforting arm around his huge shoulders.
“The human race, Morrigan? Will they know of the attack?” Caderyn asked.
“No. The Abelardus estate is on hundreds of acres of land, and even if someone could see the smoke, Adolpho had me put a shrouding spell on the castle grounds hundreds of years ago. The spell would conceal the castle from prying human eyes.”
Caderyn nodded, stretching his stiff arms and back. “Well, Connor, it looks like we have work to do. What do we tackle first?”
Connor looked at his father closer. Caderyn was st
ill a mess from his years in Karnag; filthy, starved, and barely standing, yet his father was offering his help and even asking him what he wanted done.
“I—I don’t know.”
“Connor, you are the Judge now. People will be looking to you for guidance and answers. We’ll be here to support and counsel you, but the final word should come from you from now on.”
Connor nodded at his father and then Morrigan and Katie. “Morrigan is right. We need to bury the dead and find a new place to call home. We can’t wage a war on Vercin from a courtyard.”
Inspired by his father’s strength, Connor put his back into digging. Lu had recovered from his wave of grief and offered to get the digging tools from a shed that had survived the attack. Lu helped Connor dig while the rest of their crew combed the courtyard and surrounding areas for bodies. The entire time, the castle burned. They were powerless to do anything about the flames besides let them run their course, and with the majority of the castle made from stone, they knew it wouldn’t take long.
Connor and Lu grunted, digging hole after hole beside the burning castle, channeling their anger at the hard-packed dirt with grunts and moans. They didn’t say a word to each other, they didn’t have to. They were both feeling and thinking the same thing.
Katie, Morrigan, Caderyn, and Miyanda separated the bodies. The ones they knew they placed in the graves. Those of their enemies, they threw in a pile on the opposite side of the castle. The bodies they put in the graves were all familiar to Connor. They were Elites he had seen in the castle during his time there; stoic guards, busy servants, and spectating guests all wore the same looks now, looks of fear and death.
“Memorize their faces, Connor,” his father said as he laid yet another body in a grave. “There may come a time when our enemies ask for mercy. Look now and remember these faces so you can tell our enemies exactly how much mercy they deserve.”
“The others? The ones who attacked us, we aren’t going to bury them?” Connor asked his father as he threw another wave of dirt behind him.
The Trials (The Elite Series) Page 14