by Eliza Tilton
He rubbed my hands with his thumbs, staring at our entwined grasp.
Yells and loud clanging disrupted the calmness in the tent.
“What’s that?” I asked, glancing back.
“We’re being attacked.” Derrick dropped my hands and unsheathed his sword. “Stay in here.”
“What about Avikar?”
“I’ll find him. Stay in here.”
I nodded. “Be safe.”
He tipped his head and ran out as Gwen ran in.
“Battle,” she huffed, resting her hands on her knees to catch her breath.
“Did you see who?”
“Men I’ve never seen before. They were wearing black and red robes.”
I held out my hand and Gwen took it, and we huddled in the back of the tent, waiting for the torturous sounds to end.
Chapter Forty-Two
Avikar
Fog slinked around the thick trees as the setting suns’ last rays shined above the tree tops. Members of The Order hid in the forest, waiting for word to attack. My palms sweat with fear and anticipation. This was it. This was the end of a journey that started so long ago, yet I couldn’t move. Too much could go wrong.
I took Raven’s hand and crouched beside her in the grass. “I love you,” I said, “and when this is over, I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
She smiled and squeezed my hand. “Me too.”
“Marry me.”
Her mouth dropped open. She didn’t answer, but her smile didn’t fade. Was that a yes? The wait made my heart twist.
She’s going to say no. Idiot. I shouldn’t have said anything. We’re about to go to war!
She grabbed the front of my shirt and yanked me forward. “Yes,” she whispered, then crushed my lips in a kiss.
That one word pumped strength and energy into me. Nothing would stop me now.
“Avikar, may I speak with you?” Ginna loomed over us, grinning.
Raven smiled, and I kissed her cheek before leaping to my feet.
“It’s about time,” Ginna said as we walked away. “Cael would be happy.”
I scratched my head. “I doubt that. He had a thing for Raven.”
Ginna rolled her eyes. “He loved her, yes, but he knew her heart. He would’ve wanted her happy.”
“Today, we’ll avenge him.”
“Yes, we will, but that’s not why I wanted to speak with you.”
“What is it?”
She paused and rubbed her black arm. Sunlight glinted off her forearm, and I realized it was made of stone. “That day at Stormwood, do you remember what happened during your fight with Lucy?”
I couldn’t help glancing at Ginna’s arm. “Of course.”
“Not what happened to me, what happened to you.”
“Yeah. I failed to kill Lucy.”
Ginna shook her fists. “Why can’t you ever see yourself for what you are?”
“And what’s that?”
“The Creator’s light fell upon you, protecting you.” A wide smile spread across her face.
“So?”
She chuckled. What was so funny? “
When The Creator chooses someone, his light descends on them, fills them with his power,” she said. “That is how the priests and priestesses are chosen. That is how invocation works.”
“But I don’t have any powers.”
“Because you don’t believe. There’s not enough time to train you or teach you the prayers and chants. When the battle begins, call upon The Creator. He will protect you.”
“I don’t want to be part of The Order,” I hissed, looking around at the robed men. “I’m not leaving Raven, and when we’re done here, it’s the last The Order will ever see of me.”
“Why are you so wary of us?”
“I’m not, but I can’t live inside a tree or take children away from their families.”
Her smile faded and she fell silent. She glanced behind me as if she recalled some old memory. “Not all of us agree with their methods.”
“They took you, didn’t they?”
“Yes, when I was very little. I was playing with my brother at the time. The Creator’s powers bestowed on me when I was four. My family tried to protect me, but four-year-olds don’t listen well.”
“Where’s your family now?”
“I don’t know … I don’t remember. The Order never reveals the origins of the children taken.”
“Can’t you see how wrong that is?”
“They do what they need to. Magic is a disease, and we cleanse it.”
“That’s The Order talking.”
“I was treated well. They never harmed me. They’re good people.”
I slapped a hand on her shoulder. “When this is over, you need to find your family.”
“There’s a lot we need to do when this is over.” She stood straighter, eyeing me. “But, please, don’t forget, not everyone is chosen.”
With that, she walked away. Raven watched us from the side. I wondered what she had heard and what she would think about me being chosen. Raven didn’t believe in The Creator, or any gods, for that matter. She believed in her daggers and the people by her side.
I returned to her, squatting in the grass, looking at the guarded temple in the distance.
“What did she say?” Raven asked.
“A lot. I’ll tell you after. Are you ready?”
She nodded.
“Good. Let’s go find Yoshi and get this over with.”
Yoshi’s pack of junk and rats sat on the ground while he mumbled to a tree …
“What are you doing?” I hissed.
He snapped his head in my direction. “Nothing, boy.” He glanced over at the tree before stepping away from it.
“What’s the plan?” I asked.
“Move those guards away from the temple and don’t disturb me.”
“What are you going to do?” Raven asked.
He smirked. “Destroy the gate.”
Raven grunted. “Do you always have to be so cryptic?”
“Move aside, children.” Yoshi waltzed passed us. “And don’t get close to the temple or you’ll get sucked in.”
“Sucked in,” Raven repeated. “What does he mean?”
“I have no idea, but stay away from wherever he is.”
I whistled to Ginna, who waited with the other members. I waved right, then left. On our way into the forest, we decided to flank the guards and draw them into the woods. Long range weapons only.
Raven and I took one group and crept to the right side. None of us knew what powers the shifters would have. I knew Lucy could wield magic, powerful magic. If I really was chosen, I’d need every ounce of strength The Creator could spare.
Wind rustled the leaves. I took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh scent, and aimed my shot at the nearest guard. With the shot lined up, I whistled twice, then counted.
On three, I released. The Order chanted and fire rained from the sky on top of the guards.
Raven crouched nearby, blowing darts from her blowgun, each dart scoring a hit in the guards ahead.
I notched another arrow and grinned. We’re going to win.
Chapter Forty-Three
Lucino
Fire fell from the sky, lighting some of the trees on fire. I tugged the reins and rode outside the thick forest surrounding the temple to re-group with Lucy’s team in the south. Racing through the brush, I noticed the royal carriage, sitting off to the side.
“Whoa.” I halted the horse, pulling up beside the driver. “What are you doing here?”
“Waiting for Lady Jeslyn to return.”
“Jeslyn is here? Who allowed her to leave?”
“Willis told me to bring her here and not leave until she returned.”
Will
is wasn’t foolish enough to disobey my orders, which meant Jeslyn somehow forced his hand, but why? Had she no sense?
“Your orders, Prince Lucino? The battle rages.” The synergists waited on their mounts, the one nearest to my right watching me with wide eyes.
I scanned the area for Jeslyn, the roar of battle echoing through the forest. “We ride on.” I slapped the reins, leaving the driver to wait.
What purpose would Jeslyn have in coming here? She knew today would be a day filled with death, yet here she was, right in the center. I kicked my heels into the horse, pushing it harder and faster. Guards and priests fought in the woods, but I continued until Lucy’s camp loomed before me.
I jumped off the horse. “Go,” I said to the synergists. “Protect the temple.”
The temple itself was just a structure, but the gate to our world rested within, supported by the runes, which stabilized the gate. While The Council had searched for other gates in Mirth, this was the only active one. If it fell, our people would be stuck in a dying world.
Guards and mages ran past and I pushed my way through the masses preparing to fight.
Lucy argued with a guard, and when the guard left, she paced back and forth, rubbing her hands.
“What is it?” My sister was rarely shaken.
“We have a problem. A rather large one.”
I waited for her to continue, but she mumbled and paced in a circle. “Are you going to share this problem?”
“Yoshi is here.”
“Yoshi?” Neither Reptilian nor shifter, nor human, nor any race we could define back on Mirth, his nature was ancient, and our kind learned long ago to leave the old demi-god alone in his hills. “Why would Yoshi be here?”
Her pacing stopped. “I went to him.”
“You did what?” I stomped toward her. “How could you be so foolish?”
Lucy’s brow furrowed. “I had no choice.”
“What dealings have you had with Yoshi? He kills most who come near.”
She said nothing, and I growled. “Tell me!”
“He offered to train me!”
The revelation sent me back on my heels. “Without our knowledge?”
“I had my reasons.” She glared, her jaw clenched in defiance.
I should have known from our last encounter my sister had plans of her own. As my twin she held the same thirst for power, and in our society, she would only go as far as I or my father allowed. “What did you bargain?”
“Information. After the fight at Stormwood, I told him of Avikar’s dagger. He decided to come here … he’s with the boy.”
If Yoshi had sided with Avikar, there was no hope. Even I wasn’t strong enough to kill the ancient; none of us were. He let us live in Mirth because he had no cause for us to die. Not even The Council knew how to be rid of him.
“Where is he now?”
“In the temple.” She shook her head. “I’ve doomed us all.”
“Not yet.”
“What are you thinking?”
“What would he want in the temple?”
“I don’t know. He obsesses over magic,” Lucy said. “I’ve seen him absorb the magical properties of a sword, wield violent magic … we can’t beat him. We would need more men.”
“I will deal with Yoshi. If it is magic he desires, I may have an idea on what to bargain with.”
“You won’t be doing much with those wounds. Let me heal you.”
I lifted my shirt, wincing at the movement. Blood covered my stomach, leaving a trail down my pants. She pulled out a thin vial and a rag from the satchel on her hip.
“I don’t know why Yoshi would help the humans. If I had thought he would assist them, I never would have said a word.”
The liquid stung and I bit back the throbbing pain as she wiped the wound clean.
“It doesn’t matter,” I said, grimacing.
She raised an eyebrow at me. “You’re not angry?”
“Of course I am, but there’s no sense in fighting with you.”
With the wound cleaned, she took out a black instrument and clicked the side. A flame lit on the end. “This is going to hurt.”
I screamed as the fire seared my skin closed. The pain so intense, my vision blurred and dizziness filled my head. I grabbed Lucy’s shoulder for support.
“There.” She pulled my shirt down and stepped back.
“Thank you.” I searched the camp for Jeslyn. “Where is Jeslyn?”
Lucy shrugged. “Still in my tent, I suppose. She came to speak with Derrick.”
Derrick’s name sent anger through me and I clenched my fists, but I didn’t have time to dwell on Jeslyn’s reasons.
“Watch her. If anything happens to Jeslyn, dear sister, you will answer for it.”
“We’re already dead.” Lucy skulked off.
While I had no dealings with the demi-god, his power must be greater than the stories for her to be so afraid. The gate radiated magic, a source like no other, but even I could not grasp how he would wield such power.
I ran around to the front of the temple entrance. An arrow whizzed by my face, preventing me from entering the giant dome.
Chapter Forty-Four
Lucino
“Don’t move.” Jeslyn’s brother aimed his bow at me, Derrick by his side.
“I don’t have time for either of you.”
Avikar pulled back on his bow. “You’re not going into the temple.”
Specks of magenta flickered in and out of his aura, a sign that someone possessing great magical power had been with him.
“How long ago were you with Yoshi? Is he already inside?”
Avikar narrowed his gaze. “How do you know him?”
“Do you have any idea what you’ve brought upon us?” I stepped away from the temple.
Avikar held his bow straight, but his confidence wavered and the arrowhead tipped down.
“Yoshi is a demi-god. A being more powerful than anything either of us will ever encounter. He will kill us all, just because.”
“You, but not me. He’s here on my request.”
I laughed at the absurdity. “Your request? What could you possibly have that Yoshi would want?”
“It doesn’t matter. He’s destroying the temple so your people will never come into our world again.”
“If that’s what you believe, you’re an even bigger fool than I imagined. He resides in our world.”
I sprinted at him, ducking the arrow he released. My hand was on his throat before he had another arrow notched. “I won’t kill you because of Jeslyn, but I cannot have you interfering.” I activated the charm spell in my gaze. “Retreat. Leave this place, and tell your men to follow.”
His eyes clouded over and I released him, spinning toward Derrick, who pointed a sword at my back.
I looked into his eyes. “Follow Avikar, and never come back here.”
A crazed smile widened on Derrick’s face. “That’s not going to work on me.” He pulled the collar of his shirt down, revealing a tattoo laden with blood crystal dust in the inking. “I’m actually glad Avikar won’t be a part of this.”
“Are you that eager to throw away your life?”
Slowly, he circled to my left, gauging my reactions and measuring me for an opening.
Tauntingly, I scoffed at his enraged glare. “So much anger. You are nothing more than a wild beast who needs to be put down.”
His eyes went wide. His nostrils flared as his face contorted into pure disgust. “You have some nerve calling me a beast when it’s you who speaks with a forked tongue. Your kind are made to slither on their bellies and eat from the dust.”
His insult to my Reptilian side heated my blood. “Yours are but a maggot eating off the flesh of a dead reality, and one that I will now end.”
“You rob
bed me of everything!” The ferocity in his voice was like thunder scraping a deep valley. “She was all I ever wanted and you took her from me!”
I grit my teeth. “Need I remind you that you almost took her from us both?”
His face softened, clearly remembering that unforgivable act.
“My sister will have to find a new plaything.”
His gaze meet mine, two glowing coals in a furnace. He was close to snapping, and that would be a grievous mistake. His rage would become his downfall.
A smirk spread across my face. “You are unworthy of her glory. She is going to be a queen, who will bear me the rulers of our new world.”
Hatred and rage left his lips in a wild scream. A strong wind blew in from behind him, bringing with it the smoky scent from the battlefield. My hair and cloak danced wildly as the air rushed over me. The moment exploded as Derrick became a blur of motion. Never would I have expected someone wielding a sword that large to move as fast as he did, the thickness nearly as wide as three swords and the flat of it as wide as an open palm. He swung in a downward angle so forcefully it could have cleaved me in half, if I was just human.
I ripped my own blade out of its scabbard, meeting the point of impact just in time to set my stance. He hit with a shattering blow that ignited our swords in sparks of metal. Metal embers sprayed and spun in the wind’s howling gale. Shock waves throbbed through my arms and into my chest. His blade deflected and shattered pieces of the temple’s stone steps.
If my blade consisted of metals from this world, it surely would have broken beneath the impact.
Back peddling, I ducked and leaned to my right as the mammoth blade whizzed past my ear, cleaving one of the statues in half. Debris fell between us, and I used the opportunity to regain my composure. Fire filled my gut where Jericho had wounded me.
Once again, Derrick thrust the massive blade. I dropped my right shoulder backward, whirling my blade in a downward sweep across my chest, hitting his blade and pushing it out wide as I spun and struck at his flank. The hit landed on his right shoulder, but he showed no signs of pain and rushed in, smashing my face with a pommel blow.