Willing Sacrifice

by Shannon K. Butcher

  Torr slipped through the trees, keeping out of sight as he approached the hut from behind. When the coast was clear, he pushed through the rickety door, not giving a shit that he was uninvited.

  Brenya sat in a sturdy chair made from smooth black twigs and branches. Her eyes were closed, and she looked older than he’d ever seen her look before. Skin that had been smooth only a little while ago was now drooping and lined with age. Her shoulders were bowed inward, and her whole body rocked like a metronome.

  “You should not have come unannounced,” she said.

  As he watched, her wrinkles smoothed and her body straightened. Whatever magic she used to appear younger drained her visibly, blanching her skin.

  “Save your energy. I don’t care what you look like,” he told her.

  She waved toward the door. “They do. They need me to be strong, not old and frail.”

  “So you waste your power looking younger?”

  “Do not judge what you do not understand.”

  “Fine. Whatever. I came because I need your help.”

  “I have done for you all I can, young Theronai.”

  “It’s Grace. You said if I hurt her you’d end my world. Well, without even knowing it, I’ve been hurting her.”

  “I know. You should have learned to control your emotions better.”

  “The woman I love was taken from me, possibly dead. That’s not the kind of thing a man just shrugs off without feeling something. And for me, it’s only been a few months. I hadn’t even had time to think about getting over losing her, if such a thing is even possible.”

  She let out a long sigh. “What do you ask of me?”

  “How do I take the disk off?”

  “You do not.”

  “She’s better now. There shouldn’t be any danger.”

  “She has worn it for too long. Much longer than you.”

  “I figured that out. She said she’s been here four years.”

  “Not just that. It is part of her. She has never known a life without it. Or without the feelings flowing through it.”

  “So what do you want me to do? Stop feeling?”

  “If you must. You said you would do anything for Grace. This is your chance to prove that was no lie. Find happiness. Give that to her instead.”

  “Then let me tell her who I am. Who she is. Once she remembers me and the love we shared, we’ll both be happy.”

  “If only you had as much intelligence as you do determination.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Some things are best left forgotten. The pieces of Grace that I hid were not ones that served her future happiness. They would have kept her from healing.”

  “Are you saying you don’t think we should be together?”

  “She is human. Not your kind.”

  “So? I’d rather have a short life with her than a long one without her.”

  “You will live a long life without her no matter what you do. The closer you tie yourself to her, the harder losing her will inevitably be.”

  “I’m already tied to her as close as a man can get. I love her.”

  “What about her? You have seen how gentle her heart is. When she realizes that she will die and cause you great sadness, that she will stand in the way of you fulfilling your destiny as a Theronai warrior, do you think that will add to her happiness? Or will she mourn for what she will take from you because you give her no other choice?”

  Torr had never considered how it would make Grace feel to know she was going to age and die before him and cause him pain. He’d never even once stopped to consider how it might hurt her to know she kept him from finding the female Theronai who could channel his power and save his life.

  He still had several leaves on his lifemark. He still had time. But it would run out, and the years he spent with Grace were ones he would never use to find a mate who could help fight the war against the Synestryn.

  Even the idea of looking for another woman to spend his life with—one who wasn’t Grace—was enough to make his stomach turn. But it was his duty to live, to fight, and the only way he could stay alive was to find the woman who would stop the decay of his soul.

  If Grace ever learned that she was standing in the way of him finding the woman who could save his life, it would kill her.

  Brenya closed her eyes in sadness. “So you see now. Being with her own kind is her best chance at happiness. She should grow old with one of her own. Feel that her life is long and full, rather than short and fleeting by comparison.”

  Finally Torr realized the truth. “You didn’t bring me here just to fight that lizard, did you?”

  “No. I could have slain the beast with a mere thought. But I needed your presence, and I am tired, even for thought.”

  “You want me to take her back to Earth, don’t you?”

  “Among other things. I do have need of you here, but I also knew that if you were the one to escort her home to her own kind, you would see to her safety. Without her memories or knowledge of the danger she would face on Earth, I thought it best if she had a protector. Someone she trusted.”

  “She doesn’t even know me. You saw the way she flinched when I touched her—like I’d hurt her.”

  “Before you leave, she will know you. Trust you. You will stay here and spend time with her while you drive back the invasion that the Solarc has sent to draw us out.”

  The Solarc? The instant spurt of fear that shot through Torr was completely involuntary. If the Solarc wanted something from this place, Grace was in horrible danger. So was everyone else here.

  It took Torr a minute to wrap his head around just how much trouble he’d stepped in. “Why does the Solarc want to draw you out?”

  “I am growing an army.”

  “Of what?”

  “The Sanguinar are dying. Without them, you have no hope of driving the Synestryn back, away from my home world.”

  “We do what we can, but there’s not enough blood for them to survive. If we spent all our time letting the Sanguinar feed on us, we’d be too weak to fight.”

  “That is why I left Athanasia. Why I convinced my daughters to make the ultimate sacrifice.”

  Torr had been so wrapped up in seeing Grace again, he hadn’t really stopped to think about why Brenya was here with all of these women.

  “I don’t understand. What exactly are you doing here?” he asked.

  “You will understand in time. For now it is enough to know that the women and children here must stay hidden from the Solarc at all costs. If he senses my hand in slaying his minions, then it will be like a beacon showing him the way to me.”

  “Why are you hiding? I thought the Solarc ruled Athanasia, not this place.”

  “He does. With terrifying authority. But when I left him, I knew he would not stop searching for me until he found me.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I was the first to leave his domain against his will. I gave his subjects the idea that they did not have to stay under his rule. He seeks to make an example of me.”

  Torr eased into the nearest chair. The bulk of his weight made the black branches groan, but it held him up.

  His mind slowly put together the pieces she laid out. “You were the one who cracked open the Gate. You’re the reason the Athanasian men have been able to sneak out and father children with humans. You’re responsible for the birth of Helen, Lexi, Andra and the other Theronai women.”

  “I only opened the door. What my children did with it was their own decision.”

  Children? “Wait. I thought the men who came to Earth were Athanasian royalty—the sons of the Solarc himself.”

  “Yes.”

  “And they were your sons, too?”

  “Yes.”

  “Are you telling me . . . ?”

  “I’m the Solarc’s wife, Queen of all Athanasia, and he will not rest until I am once again under his control.”

  Chapter 6

  Torr sat there, shocke
d. The Solarc’s wife was not five feet from him. How could he not have known? “No wonder he’s looking for you. I can’t imagine that he was pleased that you left him.”

  “He killed thousands of our subjects in his rage. Earthquakes, floods, interrogations. For that, I am truly sorry.” Some of her wrinkles deepened for a moment before smoothing once again.

  “What will he do if he finds you?”

  “He can see through sunlight, peering in on distant worlds. It is why the Sanguinar cannot step foot into the sunlight. He sees them and sends his Wardens to slay them. The twin suns here prevent him from seeing me. He must have learned that such a thing blinded him, so he has begun using other means to find me—sending his Wardens to all the worlds where I might hide.”

  “That doesn’t answer my question. What will he do?”

  “Bring me home. Strip my mind clean of all I have done to defy him. All who have ever aided my cause will die a horrible death.”

  The crescent-shaped mark on his arm burned. “Does anyone else happen to use the same mark as you put on me?”

  “No. It is mine alone.”

  “Then I guess it’s in my best interests to make sure he doesn’t find you.”

  “It is. But for more reasons than you may realize. If he finds me, this whole world and every creature on it will be slain. Including your Grace. I have touched her mind in my efforts to heal her. That leaves a kind of mark the Solarc will recognize instantly.”

  Like hell. “Tell me what to do.”

  “As long as I am free, he cannot use me to find those I have touched.”

  “If you’re safe, we’re safe.”

  “Yes. You must kill the minions who seek me and destroy their entrance to this world.”

  “Where is the entrance?”

  “When I came here, there were no portals, no Sentinel Stones, no way for any being less powerful than myself to travel here. It was safe. Clean.”

  “But I saw a Sentinel Stone in the village.”

  “Then you saw that it only opens to one place: Earth.”

  “Is that why there were so few runes over the surface?”

  “Yes. I needed a way for my daughters to come to me and return home, but I sense every time it opens. Nothing has come through that I did not allow.”

  “You built it, didn’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  She really was powerful. Maybe she was weaker now, but he would be smart to remember that the woman had serious juice. “If you know every time the Stone is used, then how did the Solarc’s minions get here?”

  “The only way his creatures could be here now is if someone powerful allowed them passage.”

  “So the Solarc sent them directly,” guessed Torr. “The same way you got here.”

  “Yes, but he would not have sent them after me without some way for them to force my return.”

  “Are you sure he wouldn’t just send his guys here to kill you?”

  “He doubtlessly wants me dead, but my death will not be a simple one. Nor will it come quickly. He will make an example of me first.”

  “And that means bringing you home,” he said. “What kind of minions are we talking about?”

  “Wardens are likely.”

  Torr let out a low whistle. “They’re hard to kill.”

  “Extremely. They are designed to withstand the blade of a Theronai, so you will need to find the hammer of a Mason.”

  “A Mason?”

  “They are the Solarc’s craftsmen. They built the Sentinel Stones and will likely be here to erect a portal powerful enough to send me home. They work in pairs, so if you see one, know another is nearby.”

  “Will my sword kill them?”

  “For a time.”

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  “They wield the power of creation.”

  “So . . . what? They rebuild themselves?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then how do I kill them?”

  “You do not. You may delay their efforts, but that is all.”

  “So there’s no way to win.”

  “The Masons are rare, precious creatures. Only the Solarc can create them, and the effort leaves him weakened for a time. The Masons will stay here only until their task is done. Once that happens, they will be sent to the next world to do the Solarc’s bidding.”

  “That means we have to let them do their job, which is probably all kinds of bad news for us.”

  “Precisely. He will have sent Masons who will carve their own portal. Once that is complete, I will have lost control of this world and what beings come here. That is why I sent for you.”

  “You want me to find whoever—whatever—the Solarc sent here, keep them away from your people, then destroy their way in before any more bad guys can arrive.”

  Brenya gave a tired nod. “The Masons have already created beasts to protect them—Hunters that will scour the area in search of me.”

  “How do you know? Have you seen them?”

  “Grace has. I have kept careful watch over her mind since you arrived, and it was easy to see what she saw earlier today. The Hunters are close. My magic will mask our village, but not for long. You must kill them.”

  “Won’t that give away your location?” he asked.

  “Not if it is done by a hand other than mine. There are many worlds like this one—many places the Solarc must search. He will assume my hatred for him will demand I fight back. He will be searching for the essence of my power in every one of his minions’ deaths. Nothing I do can give away my presence. If he cannot sense my power trying to keep him from this world, he will keep searching elsewhere.”

  “You mean you can’t kill them yourself or he’ll know you did.”

  “Indeed. He knows the feel of my magic too well for me to mask it. Your strength must be enough to defeat the Solarc’s minions. Do this in repayment for me saving the life of your precious Grace.”

  There wasn’t even a question of whether he’d agree.

  “I do so swear,” he vowed without hesitation, bracing himself for the weight of his word. Not only was the repayment a tiny one for Grace’s recovery, but she was still in danger so long as the Solarc touched this world.

  With the life of the woman he loved at stake, he would find a way to protect this planet, no matter what it took.

  Chapter 7

  Torr sat outside all night waiting for the Solarc’s Hunters to appear. With Grace’s life—as well as those of many other women and children—on the line, he wasn’t going to trust the magical defenses of one weakened woman.

  The tingling edge of Brenya’s protective barrier was at his back. The dark woods surrounding the village spread out in front of him, filled with the sounds of wild, alien creatures.

  He saw a few small nocturnal animals scurrying about, but nothing more.

  The morning sky was beginning to take on the color of burning embers when he heard someone approach from behind. He turned, sword in hand, to find Grace pushing through the brush at the edge of the village.

  As soon as she saw him, relief eased the lines across her brow. “You’re safe.”

  “Did you think I wasn’t?”

  “Your bed was empty when I came to check on you in the middle of the night. I’ve been looking for you ever since.”

  What he wouldn’t have given to have been there in his bed when she’d come. Nighttime had its own sort of magic. Maybe seeing him in the depths of night would remind her of all those times she’d sat with him in his suite back at Dabyr, holding a hand he couldn’t feel. He could see her touching him and know that she cared, but her warmth was a distant thing beyond his reach.

  But not now. Now if she touched him he’d feel every gentle stroke, every bit of gliding pressure and heat.

  It seemed that no matter how close he and Grace were, they were always destined to be separated. He couldn’t feel her touch before, and now that he could, she had no reason to touch him. He was no more to her than a stranger.

/>   “I’m sorry if I scared you,” he said.

  “I’m just glad you’re okay.” She leaned against the thick black trunk of a nearby tree. The metallic leaves cast shimmering bits of reflected light across her face. “What are you doing out here?”

  “Guarding against attack.”

  “From those creatures? I thought Brenya was doing that with her magic.”

  “She is. But my way is better.”

  “What’s your way?”

  “I won’t just keep them out. I’ll kill them.”

  Grace shivered, but he couldn’t tell if it was the latent violence of his words or the chill of night that caused it. “You should come back and eat. As soon as it’s lighter, I’ll show you where I saw the creatures.”

  He had no trouble seeing in the dim light, which only served to highlight Grace’s humanity. She had no magic, no powers she could use to defend herself.

  “I’d rather go alone. If you could just point me in the right direction . . .”

  “You’ll get lost out there. The trees are thick, and it’s easy to get turned around.”

  “I have a good sense of direction.”

  “Brenya told me it was my duty to guide you to what I saw.”

  “Aren’t you afraid to go with me?” He knew she was. He could see it in her eyes. But she was hiding it well. If he hadn’t known her like he did—if he hadn’t spent hours talking with her and watching her face and studying her expression—he might not have even seen her fear.

  She bit her lip, drawing his attention to the little dent she’d left behind.

  Torr wanted to lick away the mark and ease the sting, and make her forget all about her worries.

  When she spoke, her voice was steady, without a hint of fear. “After what I saw . . . I wouldn’t want anyone going out there alone. If you were to get hurt, you’d never be able to make it back here for help. At least if I’m there, you’ll have someone who can keep you safe.”

  The idea tickled him, forcing a smile to lift one side of his mouth. The move felt so odd after going as long as he had without smiling, he was afraid he might pull a muscle. “You want to protect me?”