Nexus grumbled behind me.
I crouched beside Sir Torren and pushed his lids closed. He looked almost peaceful now—almost, as if he were sleeping. "I'm…sorry…" My voice cracked and another tear spilled over my cheek. "Thank you. For coming. For keeping your promise. And I will keep mine." I glanced down at the sword still in his hands, and with sudden impulse, I wrenched his fingers open and took it, then looked back at his face. "I'll take good care of this for you, and…I'll never forget all you've done. I swear it." I leaned over and kissed his forehead, then wiped my nose and climbed to my feet.
Nexus watched me. And when I got close enough, he tipped his wing for me to climb.
Our flight back to the vale was quiet, and my mind swam with guilt and despair. An entire army, gone, and from the looks of things, Lord Vega's casualties had been nominal. Now I knew I had more to worry about than just the shadowguard. Eris also had Lord Vega under his command, as well as pykans and gargons. It would only be a matter of time before Lord Pontefract joined the fold, if he hadn't already. What chance did we have? How could Gaia give me such a vague vision when she'd known full well what was already happening in this world? I was angry that I hadn't known, and I was angry at Gaia for not telling me—for not stepping in to help—and I was furious by the time Nexus landed, talons crunching upon loose gravel. But I forgot my fury when Nexus crouched on all fours, teeth bared and snarling. He wasn't snarling at me. His eyes were fastened ahead of us…on Myez.
Myez stood frozen to the spot, face slack with terror.
Nexus was still snarling.
"Waitwaitwait." I slid from Nexus's neck and jumped between them, hands splayed toward Nexus. "He's with me."
The snarling grew louder, rumbling through my body like thunder, and Myez stood, petrified.
You didn't say he was the human you were with.
"And when did I have a moment?"
You should've left him to die. Nexus stepped to the side, snaking his head around me to get closer to Myez. Myez dropped the spear he was holding.
This is the man who captured and tortured Viridux.
Viridux? "What in the world are you talking about?" I asked.
Nexus snarled, gnashing his teeth.
You saw him, did you not? When you were in the underground city?
Underground city…? Oh! Thieves. There had been a dragon there who'd helped us escape with the aid of a little fairy creature. The dragon must've been this Viridux that Nexus referred to. Nexus's eyes narrowed, and he was still snarling.
"Myez, he's angry about the dragon you were keeping in Thieves."
Myez swallowed, wide eyes fastened on the wall of teeth. "I am sorry." Myez's words trembled, and in that moment he looked and sounded like he'd apologize for just about anything, guilty or not. "Tell him…tell him I only kept the dragon by order of Eris, but I…I made a mistake and I'm sorry—" Nexus moved his jaws closer to Myez, and Myez stopped talking.
And it is a mistake you will never make again.
Nexus reared his head back like a snake about to strike. I suddenly felt very strongly about Myez's safety, and I was not about to let him get eaten by a dragon. "Stop!" I screamed, jumping in front of Myez.
Nexus growled, slit-like pupils fastened on me.
My heart pounded. I'd been afraid of Nexus when I'd first met him, but even then he hadn't looked at me with this kind of fury. And I was afraid.
Move aside. This man is a traitor.
"Was," I said, growing frantic. "Please. He's with me, now. If it weren't for him, I'd be in Eris's hands by now. Probably dead. I swear on my life."
The rumbling stopped, and the silence that followed seemed even louder than the rumbling. Nexus regarded Myez with something like disdain, but he no longer looked as if he was about to eat him. At least not all of him. My chest rose and fell with quick breaths. Myez still hadn't moved from his spot, and a bead of sweat rolled down his temple. Finally, Nexus pulled his head away from us, and I sagged with relief.
If I see even a hint of treachery, I will eat him.
"Okay. Fair enough," I said.
Myez's gaze darted between Nexus and me. "Ah, what's fair?" he asked quietly.
"If Nexus thinks you're going to betray us, he'll eat you."
"Nexus." Myez swallowed, eyes resting on the dragon who was licking his talons. "Right. Okay."
Nexus followed us back to our cave. Myez kept glancing over his shoulder, half terrified, half in complete awe. I explained everything to Myez—how I'd come across Nexus and what Nexus had shown me.
Myez's eyes filled with sadness as he looked over Sir Torren's sword. "Lord Vega never liked your grandfather much, but I didn't think…" A breath. "I suppose we know which side he's chosen now."
"But what does he think he'll achieve through Eris?" I snapped. "My uncle doesn't exactly share power, if you've noticed."
"I'm sure he's made Lord Vega many promises, and Lord Vega has always been a greedy man. No doubt he'll swear anything in order to gain favor in Eris's new world."
Right. He'd even sworn away his niece, Isla. "At this rate, he's not going to have a world."
He does not just want this world. He wants Earth.
I glanced at the entrance to our cave, but all I could see of Nexus was a large claw. I couldn't tell if he was protecting us, or imprisoning us. Maybe both.
"What does he want with Earth?" I asked.
Remember: Earth and Gaia were one, once. Gaia split off from Earth, and in the process, she banished Mortis.
My mind started working through everything I'd been told about Earth and Gaia's history, and how their split had resulted in physical manifestations of light and dark magic, in the forms of both Gaia and Mortis. "Gaia banished Mortis to the shadow world, correct?"
Correct.
"And where is this shadow world, exactly?"
The shadow world is like another dimension, similar to how Gaia exists separate from Earth, though there's no portal linking his dimension to ours, or Earth, for that matter.
"But if there's no portal linking his dimension to ours, then how do pykans bring shadow creatures through? And Lord Cethin…my uncle was able to bring him back. How is that possible?"
Nexus adjusted his crouch with a quick, irritated grumble.
Mortis is still tied to Gaia. There are vestiges of his dimension that bleed into Gaia. He said this as if I should've inferred it already. Those who practice dark magic find ways to access those threads, but only those powerful enough can actually draw creatures through the veil. There was a resurgence of shadow creatures during the Great War, and that is when the northern wall was built. The creatures that had been brought through by the dark wizards of the time were banished there, which is where they've remained. Until recently.
I let this soak in. Myez looked as if he wanted to ask a question, but I held up a finger to hold him off. I was still trying to piece Nexus's words together.
"But no one's succeeded in actually drawing Mortis through, have they?"
Nexus snorted from deep in his throat. Obviously.
My thoughts spiraled, and everything started making sense. Very perfect, very bad sense. "The unity shield is the only thing that could give someone enough power to do that, isn't it? Eris isn't just planning on harnessing the power of the shield to break down the portal system. He's going to use it to free Mortis."
A beat. I would be embarrassed if it took me this long to figure that out.
My thoughts continued whirling. If the shield could give him enough power to free Mortis, then why didn't my uncle just focus on getting the stone? Why was he so focused on destroying all his adversaries here first?
I imagine it is because he'd rather not meet resistance once on Earth. Magic is different there. Weaker. More difficult. Of course, that will change gradually if he succeeds in tearing down the veil and bringing Mortis to the other side.
Right. Magic still existed on Earth—I already knew that, thanks to the Del Contes, when they'd used t
heir amulet to travel from their home in Yosemite to my home in Fresno. They'd emphasized how difficult it was to actually use magic on Earth, but it wasn't impossible. Gaia may have split herself off from Earth long before any of us were aware, but magical traces of her still remained, like the portals, for instance. But the people of Earth didn't know anything about magic.
"And if Eris succeeds here, in destroying all Gaians who could actually use magic to help fight alongside the people of Earth, the people of Earth would be defenseless. They have no knowledge of magic. It doesn't matter if Eris only has a little bit of dark magic on his side. A little bit of magic, plus Mortis, would overwhelm the people of Earth. Eris would easily take over both worlds."
Nexus was quiet.
I stood up and started pacing in our little cave, rubbing my temples. This was bad. This was very, very bad. And here I thought Eris taking over Gaia was bad enough, but Gaia had never been his end game.
"Why in the world didn't the Dalorens just destroy the shield when it was in their possession?" I asked.
The shield can't be destroyed. Destroying it would also destroy this world, since the shield represents a physical embodiment of Gaia's power.
"Ah, I do remember that," I said. It was something to do with the elementals being tied to that shield, and destroying the elementals would be tearing the very fabric of this world apart.
"I'll admit," Myez said. "Hearing only one side of a conversation is extremely frustrating, but I think I understand the gist of what you're saying. Doesn't Lord Pontefract still have the unity stone?"
"He did when I left Orindor," I said, "but I doubt he'll have it much longer. My uncle's been mostly focused on taking over this world and gathering followers, but it looks like he's just about done with that. He'll be wanting that stone soon, I imagine, if he doesn't have it already."
I turned back to Nexus. "We have to go. Today. We need to—"
And do what, my little petulant one?
The voice cracked through my skull, and I winced. Apparently I'd reached my daily ESP limit. "I don't know." The headache pulsed then faded. "Something. We can't stay here and wait for Lord Pontefract to hand over the stone. I'm surprised Eris hasn't just taken it already."
It's not as if he's needed it yet. He's done plenty of damage without it, and right now, I imagine he's more preoccupied with ridding of one last threat before setting his sights on Earth.
"Gesh?" I asked.
No, not Gesh. Gesh has already been headed off by shadowguard, and by the time they reach Valdon—if they reach Valdon—they won't have the strength to prove very effective.
Mercedes was coming. I needed to believe she'd come through alive. "Then who?" I asked. "Who's even left?"
Another beat. I believe you are well acquainted with him.
Nexus sounded smug, and I felt suddenly wary. "Nexus, who are you talking about?"
Nexus yawned, and all I could see through the cave entrance was his wide-open jaws and rows of pointed teeth. The young prince, the last of the Estroians and the rightful heir of Pendel: Alexander Del Conte.
35
ALEXANDER
"Spirits, it's freezing out there!" Thaddeus plopped down opposite me, raked a hand through his hair, and little flakes of snow showered all over the table.
I raised my brow. He lifted one edge of cloth from the basket of rolls, stole one, and took a huge bite.
"Help yourself," I said.
He smiled, showing his teeth and quite a few bits of bread.
I sighed and grabbed a roll.
"How's it going with the hatchet man?" Thaddeus asked, mouth full of food.
Thaddeus had nicknamed Abel, the smithy, "Hatchet Man" once Abel had kicked Thaddeus out of his shop. In Abel's defense, Thaddeus had ruined a handful of swords after pouring some concoction into the furnace to make the flames hotter.
I eyed Thaddeus as I took a bite. "Fine. Any new recruits today?"
Since we'd taken the city of Astor almost two weeks ago, we'd sent ravens to the other territories, instructing the people of Gaia to prepare should they need to flee to the portals. We'd also sent ravens to the villages throughout Alioth, informing the people as to what had happened and asking for any able-bodied men and women to assemble in Astor as soon as possible. As soon as possible ended up not being very soon at all, because a blizzard hit.
Thaddeus shoved the rest of the roll in his mouth and grabbed my scotch to wash it down. "Yep." He wiped his mouth. "Two dozen—all from Durstang. V was showing them to their temporary quarters when I left."
"I'm surprised you left her alone with that many Nordic men."
He snorted. "Come on. It's V. They'd have better luck making a pass at a gargon. Probably better chance of survival, too."
The waitress set down my plate of mutton, which Thaddeus promptly dragged to his side of the table and started eating.
"I was going to eat that, you know," I said.
The door opened and Vera stepped inside, covered in snow like Thaddeus had been. Vera saw us and walked over, and Thaddeus scooted over to let her sit beside him. She did.
She eyed the half-empty plate of mutton, then whacked Thaddeus on the back of the head.
"Hey!" he exclaimed. "What was that for?"
"Your complete absence of manners," she snapped.
"But I was going to offer you some!" He rubbed his head as if it actually hurt.
The waitress appeared. "Can I get you anything, miss?"
Vera leaned back in her seat and marginally shook her head.
"What about you?" the waitress asked Thaddeus.
He shook his head, shoving another forkful in his mouth. The waitress looked at me, and her cheeks completely filled with blood. Thaddeus kicked me beneath the table. I didn't look at him.
"May I have another plate?" I asked.
She smiled and blinked a little more than necessary. "Of course. Anything else?"
"No, that's all. Thank you," I said. She left, and I turned back to Thaddeus and Vera. "So have we finally heard back from all the villages?"
Thaddeus washed down his bite with another swig of my scotch. "Think so. We still haven't heard back from Kurst, but being that they're on the way to Valdon, Lord Tosca doesn't seem too concerned. The only thing left is for this bloody storm to move on."
I was anxious to head for Valdon, although we'd needed every second of our time here to prepare for war while healing our injured—including Lord Tosca. We also needed to give Gesh and Pendel time to arrive at our rallying point: Rex Cross. I'd sent word to both Lady Mercedes and Sir Torren via Ravenshelm's ravens, but I worried about Sir Torren. I remembered what Mistress Astaire Dothrai had said back in Yosemite, about how Campagna would be waiting for Sir Torren and his men on their shores. I prayed to the spirits Sir Torren made it through.
But I was also anxious because of Daria. Ever since I'd taken Nightshade from Lord Cethin, I'd been anxious. It'd been hard enough knowing Daria was with Danton, but at least I'd known she was safe in Bristol, Orindor's capital. The fact that Lord Cethin had taken her blade meant Denn's words had been true: Daria had fled Orindor. I carried that knowledge with me every second of every day. Yes, she'd displayed a great deal of power in Karth, and yes, I'd completely underestimated her, but she didn't know the layout of this world, and the idea of her wandering through it, alone, terrified me.
"Hey." It was Thaddeus. His voice had gone quiet, and when I looked back at him, his face was serious. "We'll find her. I'm sure of it."
"He's right, you know," Vera said. "You need to have a little more faith in her."
I rubbed my thumbs together. "I have all the faith in the world in her. That doesn't mean I don't fear for her. That doesn't mean I don't want to be there for her."
Vera stared at me a long moment. "Actually, I think you've always needed her to be there for you."
"Which is why I'm clearly the better man, here." Thaddeus looked at Vera, all smugness. "I've always known how much I've needed you." He sho
ved a huge bite of mutton in his smiling mouth.
Vera whacked him on the head again, but this time she hit him so hard, he choked on his food.
He coughed, pounding a fist against his chest, and then swallowed his bite down. "Bloody hell, V, would you knock it off…?"
"When you stop being an idiot. So probably never."
The waitress brought a new plate of mutton, this one practically overflowing. And she set down a full glass of scotch beside me.
"May I get you three anything else?" Though the question was addressed to "you three," she looked only at me.
"No, thanks." I gave her a tight smile. Vera kicked me under the table. The waitress left, and I made a face at Vera. "Remind me never to sit across from you two again. For some reason, both of your legs are spring-loaded."
"Don't encourage her," Vera hissed.
"I'm not encouraging her," I said, cutting into the hot slab of mutton. "I'm being polite."
"Why?"
I looked up at Vera. "Why what?"
"Why be polite? You don’t really give a Nord's hide about her, so why pretend you do?"
"You already know you and I have very different philosophies on the subject of humanity." I took a bite.
Thaddeus yawned and stretched, then slid his arm slowly across the bench's back and behind Vera's head.
"And I still think you're ridiculous," Vera said, folding her arms and leaning back. "It's a waste of your energy. It's not like you're going to be seeing her again after we leave this frozen hell."
Thaddeus glanced sideways at her, bemused. "Frozen. Hell." A pause. "Huh."
She glared at him. She didn't say anything about his arm, though.
"Anyway," I said. "I'd like to leave for Rex Cross tomorrow."
"But what about the storm?" Thaddeus asked.
"What about the storm?" I shoved another bite in my mouth.
Thaddeus removed his arm from behind Vera's head and rested both forearms on the table as he leaned forward. "We can't possibly travel in this."
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