“Listen to me, my Queen,” Rena demanded. “You will not jump into the abyss. Even with your energy surrounding you, you’d die, and we both know it.”
I stumbled toward the calm, lifeless lake. “I have to do something. I feel it, Reen—he’s suffering. The abyss is no longer strong enough to block his emotions from me.”
“Then we use that to our advantage.” She glanced back, watching Elias take off another demon’s head as he ran toward us. “And put your shield around me too before Elias throttles me where I stand.”
I extended the shield to include Rena.
She turned to me. “Listen. I’ll probably end up wandering in the deserts of the other realm, but I’m not here to take you back. I’m here to help. We’ll follow your instinct and do this your way.”
Relief flooded through me.
Her jasper brown eyes sadly warmed. “This is what Weylin meant by my truth changing. I should chuck you over my shoulder and haul you into the mountain right now. But I can’t. You’re my best friend. I trust you.” Rena hugged me. “Let’s finish this.” Her eyes blanked, and Elias stopped. The guard protecting us shifted.
Hooves thundered as the unicorns cantered in front of us, their ancient energy and sharp horns clearing the way.
Rena grabbed my hand, pulling me forward.
The Dokkalfar must’ve called to the ones that fled because onyx bodies poured in from all directions.
Black tar lapped over my shoes as we stepped on the oil-soaked sand. I glanced back.
Elias’ sapphires, liquid with grief, met mine. Emotion waved across his expression before he clamped them down, his features becoming razor sharp once more. His eyes blanked as he glanced at the unicorns standing next to me. The white beasts that had helped get us this far now surrounded the lake’s perimeter until the dark bank was rimmed in white. The guard fell in behind, keeping their backs to the abyss, creating an outer ring of protection against what was left of the Dokkalfar army.
The unicorns dipped their horns in the black waters of despair, turning the edge of the abyss silver.
Panicked, I grabbed Rena’s hand. “What are they doing?”
“They’re helping us get the Prince.”
“No, they’re not—they’re trying to seal the abyss! They’re going to block the only way Gavin has of getting back!” I started to extend the shield, but Rena forced me to look in her eyes.
“My lady, I’ve listened to you, now you must listen to me. The unicorn’s power cannot contain the abyss, but it can act as a barrier for a short while. The abyss is a portal, which means any dark creature can access it. We will get Gavin out, but Elias wants to contain as much of the abyss as we can first. The unicorns will pour their energy over the waters much like ice freezes over a pond. We’ll wait until most of the surface is protected. Elias, Elaine, and Tark will keep the Dokkalfar back, and you and I will call to the King.”
The silver framing the abyss grew, gleaming in the limited light. I whimpered.
Rena became adamant. “It’s the only way. With any luck, Gavin will swim to you, and we’ll pull him out before the silver completely covers the abyss.” Her jasper brown eyes glittered. “But if we cannot get to him, we go back, and you survive. You understand, my lady? You must protect the young growing within you. You must not die this day.”
I wrapped my arms around my torso and nodded. Rena was right. I’d do everything I could to save Gavin, but I couldn’t lose sight of the babies that needed me to survive. We took a cautious step onto the silver edge as it seeped further over the lake’s surface.
As we inched our way forward, the sounds of war grew faint, distant. Gavin’s emotions lashed as he struggled, turning from rage to despair to hope and back to rage. My stomach roiled as bile rose to the back of my throat.
“It’s taking too long. We’re losing him.”
Frustrated, Rena frowned. “Nora, please. We can’t afford doubt right now.”
The silver extended another few yards, and Rena took a cautious step, testing the shell with her weight before tugging me forward.
I looked at the silver slowly creeping over the water’s surface.
“That’s enough,” I said.
Rena shook her head, her hand tightening around mine. “Not yet. I told you, Gavin’s not the only living being down there. Something is bound to fight us, and I’d rather it not be able to make its way on land. We wait until the space is big enough just for Gavin to get through.”
“What if those things block his way?”
Rena’s lips lifted in a harsh grin. “Nothing is stronger than love. You know that. And with the exit being so small, your energy will be concentrated in one area. It’ll destroy anything that gets close.”
Hope trickled through as I realized she had a point. Gavin was the only thing down there that could feed off the positive. It would kill or at least weaken anything else.
The silver closed in, leaving a hole the size of a well. Rena’s eyes blanked. “The unicorns have no more to give. They need to leave. Otherwise the Dokkalfar will kill them easily.”
The guard struggled to keep the Dokkalfar at bay, and I grew anxious. “The warriors are already past exhausted. How are they going to help get the unicorns out of here and still defend the shell covering the abyss? If the Dokkalfar make it through, they could undo all the work the unicorns have done.”
Rena let go of my hand. “I’ll take care of it.” Her jasper brown eyes grew somber. She patted my shoulder and stepped back, releasing the energy from Tark’s stone. Hundreds of snorts and sputters came from the lake’s perimeter as the unicorns took in her strength.
Rena smiled. “That should give the herd enough power to find their way to safety.”
The leader of the white beasts reared, standing on his back hooves. With a clear, bright whinny, he called to his herd. Depleted and exhausted, the unicorns staggered through the black and silver bodies littering the ground, killing any Dokkalfar that came close as they cantered away.
Gavin’s emotions faded, becoming distant, hopeless.
“We’re losing him,” I mumbled as I dropped to my knees. Taking energy from Gavin’s stone, I directed it to the black waters of the deep.
Chapter 35
The Cost
Bone-jarring emptiness washed over me, and all seven rails of my mind begged for Gavin to keep fighting, to find his way back.
The thick tar bubbled and churned, growing angry as I threw more energy into the abyss. I channeled the power, concentrating it under us, hoping that it might help guide Gavin home. The water a few yards beneath our feet filtered from liquid onyx to murky gray. Within it depths muddy shapes churned, sinking and then rising before floating away.
A large form came from the deep, its wraithlike shape getting clearer as it drew near. Rena grabbed my shoulders, and I gasped as the beast with seven heads emerged. Sharp talons swept through the water as if slicing through the belly of its prey. Its crimson eyes glowed as it looked up. Large enfolded wings rested behind its powerful haunches. Two slits for nostrils widened then narrowed as if the beast were trying to locate a scent. It opened its cavernous maw, snapping and lunging, but then something pulled it downward, and it disappeared into the shadowed water below.
“You were right,” I muttered, glancing at Rena. “About waiting until most of the lake was sealed. What was that thing?”
Rena’s eyes stayed on the dark water. “Jayril’s pet.”
Panic twisted through me. That’s what was down there? With Gavin?
Opening my mind, I searched the abyss again. Where are you?
Dawn was little more than a smudge of gray on the horizon as the current churned once more.
“Look!” Rena pointed as a glint of blue reflected several meters below us.
Afraid to touch the water, I leaned forward, and hope threaded through. The energy of the mountain was the same color ... maybe it protected Gavin now, like when we went through the portal. Maybe it was bringing him back
to me.
I knelt beside the well and placed my hands on the rim. The warm silver beneath my palm held an energy all its own. I funneled more into the deep, the blue glinted again, and I concentrated with all I had. Shallow ice-blue irises drifted toward the surface, and I scrambled back.
Mia’s lifeless eyes, full of desperate longing, stared out of the abyss. Her slack mouth held an expression of disbelief, trails of flesh and brain floated around her disembodied neck. I gagged, backing away, and the head floated down into the darkness.
Rena knelt beside me. “Well, that cleared up any doubt that the Empress is dead.” Her normally tan complexion held a sallow tinge, and she swallowed several times before trying to smile. “Call to Gavin again, my lady. He must be close.”
I leaned back over the well and took a deep breath. Gavin ...
Nothing.
My heart twisted at the silence.
The black waters remained eerily calm. The beginning of dawn fought through the battlefield’s deadly haze.
Please ...
“Can you feel him?” Rena’s voice shook.
Nothing.
The silver beneath my shins cooled, its energy waning. Hope that had threaded through moments ago faded to nothing.
I put my hands over my face and wept.
Rena kept her arm around me, her chin resting on my shoulder. She spoke in the Ancient Language, words of comfort and love, but it didn’t help.
“My lady,” her voice cracked. “Elias is requesting—”
“Not yet.” I forced the words from my lips, still not able to face in the inevitable.
Rena took a deep breath, her jasper brown eyes muted in loss. “Nora—”
“No.” I shook off her arm and leaned over the well once more. I wasn’t leaving here without bringing Gavin home. If he’d already died, his body would be buried next to his father and mother. He would be honored by the kinsmen that loved him, by the Keepers that fought next to him ... by the children that would never know his touch or hear him laugh.
No, I wouldn’t let him rot in this nasty place with Mia. He deserved much better than that.
I plunged my left hand into the water, submersing Gavin’s soul stone into the evils of the deep. My flesh burned as if it had been dipped in acid, the amulet around my wrist heated, twisting this way and that as it fought to get out of the darkness. Tears of pain dripped down my face, but I kept my focus and released the last of the amulet’s energy.
Dark clouds rolled in as lightning streaked across the sky. The wind whipped, creating a plume of ash around the water’s edge.
The north wind carried with it a hint of sweetness, and my mind latched onto the scent, reminding me of home. Not all of the kingdom had been lost. There was something beyond this dismal place ... something beyond this pain ... there was life, as it was meant to be lived.
Closing my eyes, I drew from all that I had and called to Gavin once more.
A deep boom sounded beneath us, shaking the silver as if something far below had exploded. The water churned and frothed, and a fresh round of agony blistered the flesh submersed under the silver shell.
Rena grabbed my shoulder. “Nora, look.”
An ephemeral shape appeared in the murky depths, fading in and out as it floated toward the surface. Its lengthy form fought the stygian waters below.
Long fingers reached from the darkness, a golden ring glimmered in the sallow light. I plunged my hand in further until I grabbed hold of a cold, clammy wrist.
Agony hammered through me. My arm felt like someone had poured gasoline on it and lit a match. My thighs burned, but I found leverage and pulled. Rena wrapped her arms around me, straining to find her footing. With one final heave, we fell backward, my hand never letting go.
A tall figure, dressed in tar-soaked robes, rested at the lip of the opening. I scooted closer, kneeling next to him, daring to hope that he was still alive.
“Gavin?” I whispered, rolling him over and fumbling to pull the hood from his head.
His face was past gaunt, his cheekbones jutted below sunken eyes. I opened the robe, needing to place my hand over his heart. I gasped at the fresh rope scar, black and thick, which extended across this chest. It looked as if Mia had cut him to the bone. His oil-slicked hair held a blue sheen against the gray light as his head rolled to the side.
My thoughts ran on how much I loved him, needed him, how he was going to get his wish and see his young. Nothing else mattered. Not what had happened with Mia, or Ester, or what happened on Earth. As long as we were together, we’d get through it. I bent down and kissed his soft lips, determined that it would be so.
His body jerked as if he’d been shocked, and he took a deep breath and opened his eyes.
“Oh, my Light.” He reached for me. “I can’t believe you did it.”
“We did it.” I smiled, sinking next to him. “Two halves equally strong, remember?”
My heart plummeted as I searched his eyes, so empty and miserable.
“I never betrayed you.” His voice thinned to a whisper.
“You did what you had to do to survive. And because of that, we’re together now. That’s all that matters.”
His emotions, faint but warm, ebbed through me, and I welcomed the feel.
Gavin struggled to sit, and I helped him up. He glanced down and palmed my stomach. “You’ve grown.”
I placed my hand on his. “You weren’t here to slow things down.”
Rena patted his back. “It’s good to have you home, but I won’t be at ease until we’re in the mountain.”
Gavin ran his fingers over the silver shell. “Nora, did you do this?”
“No, it was the unicorns.” The hair stood on the back of my neck, as the clouds thickened, completely blocking the early morning sun. “I agree with Reen. Let’s get out of here.”
It took both Rena and me to get Gavin’s legs under him. I was exhausted and had no energy left in the stone. Rena’s legs trembled as she shouldered Gavin’s weight, and I realized that she was almost as drained as I was.
Maybe Tark was right. Maybe we should get into the mountain, strengthen, and then come back and seal the portal another day.
Something rumbled deep below us. The silver shell trembled as the black water churned, spilling over the lip of the small opening. I took Gavin’s hand and started toward the edge. We had only gone a few feet when Gavin stopped in his tracks.
“Look.” He pointed to the onyx creatures darting in and out of the dead cedar trees. The rumble beneath us grew louder.
Rena’s eyes blanked. “It’s calling them back.” Frantic, her gaze darted from one side of the lake to the other. “The darkness is calling them home.”
The white noise rose as the rumble beneath us turned into a thundering roll, and the last of the Dokkalfar charged.
Elias and Elaine called the warriors to that side of the lake, leaving the east vulnerable. Elaine looked to the sky, and the Kestrels screeched from the north, but no other animals remained.
The water churned, spilling over the lip of the opening. A loud clap whipped beneath our feet as the silver barrier cracked.
The Dokkalfar cried, triumphant, their hideous screeches surrounding the lake as they scrambled, killing the weaker guard and charging our way.
The putrid smell of death smothered the breeze as the water foamed, growing, frothing, slowly inching toward us. The unicorn’s barrier beneath the foam hissed, turning translucent before disintegrating and melting away. Gavin looked at his soul stone hanging from my wrist. Not a hint of silver could be found.
“Rena,” his voice, torn and gruff, barely made it across the rumbling growing beneath us. “Do you have any energy left?”
She shook her head. “I used it to help the unicorns.”
Gavin’s eyes blanked, and Elias and Elaine turned from the fight and ran toward us.
They’d made it to the bank’s edge when the Dokkalfar charged, coming from all directions. It only took a moment for
them to break through the exhausted warriors, but instead of heading toward the abyss they ran straight for Elaine.
I stumbled forward, but Rena grabbed my arm. “I’ll go. Tark is meeting me there. Stay with Gavin.”
She gave me a quick hug before crossing the broad expanse of silver encasing the lake.
My heart sank as one of my worst fears played out before me. Black bodies writhed where Elias and Elaine once stood. Rena and Tark crouched back-to-back as the Dokkalfar charged, their white noise hiss getting stronger with every passing moment.
The rumble beneath our feet grew, shaking the silver barrier like an aspen leaf in strong wind. The foam expanded, growing darker, the silver around its rim grew jagged, and more of the barrier fell away.
Rena and Tark disappeared beneath a sea of black.
Alarmed, I looked at Gavin. “We can’t let this happen. We have to do something.”
The silver beneath Gavin’s feet cracked into a million fragments as the unicorn’s barrier weakened. His eyes dimmed as he clenched his jaw.
I looked at the scene before me ... the Dokkalfar smothering the place where I’d last seen my clan ... the fallen warriors that lay lifeless on the oil-soaked bank ... the Petrified Forest and the charred remains of the southern evergreens. I looked at the weakening shell the unicorns had made, their sacrifice slowly being eaten away by the froth the abyss had created.
King Frey’s amulet warmed beneath Ester’s camisole, and Rune’s memory rang in my mind. “... Only be usin’ it if it’ll be lookin’ like the end of all things.”
Pulling the chain from beneath my shirt, I brought out the amulet with a sold gray center.
Gavin grabbed my hand, and I concentrated on unleashing the Khiton’s power encased in the stone.
A thousand memories rushed through, all centered on the anguish of war. Energy exploded, crashing through me in wave after terrible wave. Slamming my eyes closed, I tilted my head back and screamed. I screamed until the blood rushed to my face and stung. I screamed until my eyes watered, and my voice cracked and grew hoarse. My cry mirrored the agony running through me, and I screamed until every ounce of power I had was ripped from my body.
The Heart of the Ancients Page 36