by Boone Brux
“Rell?” Sir Gregory asked.
Jacob slapped him on the back. “We’ve got more to discuss than you think.”
“I’ll go with her and we’ll meet you inside,” Luc said.
“May I join you?”
The group pivoted to face the feminine voice. Shock rippled through Jade as the white veiled figure approached. She glanced at Luc. His brow was furrowed, obviously as surprised as she was by the appearance of the Order’s Superior.
“Ascendant Meran?” Ravyn’s gaze darted to Gregory and back.
“You were supposed to wait inside,” he said.
The Ascendant glided past him to stand next to Jade. “I’m needed here.”
Jade shifted to the left, to make room for her. Luc laid his hand on her hip and tugged her toward him. The firm foundation of his body pressed against her back, grounding Jade with the reality that he would not leave her.
Sir Gregory glared at the Ascendant but finally conceded to her wishes.
“We will meet you inside after we check on Jade’s sister.”
With confused glances but no argument, the rest of the group made its way to the manor. The Ascendant faced her and Luc, holding her arm out in the direction of the outbuilding.
“Shall we?”
A dozen questions flittered though Jade’s mind. Why was a Superior of the Order at the manor and how did she know about Rell? She bit her tongue, hoping they would get the answers after they rejoined the group.
About fifteen yards from the outbuilding, the grating irritation of the Banes’ presence bit. Jade slowed. The Ascendant stopped, giving her arms a shake.
“Something is off,” Luc said.
“There’s another Bane here.” The woman scrubbed her arms and looked at Jade. “That’s not just your sister’s presence I feel, correct?”
Jade shook her head. “No, there’s definitely another demon.” They crept forward until the building came into view. Perhaps a demon had been injured in battle and hadn’t been able to escape. Or perhaps Sha-hera had returned to claim Rell. A movement caught Jade’s attention and she pointed. “There.”
The demon paced in front of the outbuilding door, searching the front. Jade’s blood ran cold.
“Icarus.” She made no attempt to whisper the word.
He pivoted and glared at them. “Where is she?”
Luc stepped forward. “Some place where you can’t reach her.”
Again Icarus turned and held his arms out, running them back and forth in front of the door. His fingers hovered at the plank that barred the door, as if sensing his inability to touch it. Jade tensed. If the ward didn’t hold, he would free Rell and she would be lost to them.
The demon inhaled and laid his fingers against the metal handle. His body jolted and he yanked back his hand, stumbling away from the door.
“You can’t have her.” Jade moved to stand beside Luc. “We know about the bodies and we’re going to heal her.” Her voice held more conviction than she actually felt about what they were going to attempt.
Icarus slowly pivoted. No longer an unreadable mask, his expression radiated confusion and desperation. He massaged his left hand with his right. “What bodies?”
“The ones we found in the Shadow World. The Bringers,” Luc said.
The demon cocked his head and Jade could tell he didn’t know what they were talking about. “Where in the Shadow World did you find these bodies?”
Jade glanced at Luc. If the demon didn’t know, she certainly wasn’t going to tell him. The firm set of Luc’s jaw told her he thought the same thing.
He looked back at Icarus. “Ask Sha-hera.”
The demon’s eyes flared at the mention of the succubus. “She knows of these bodies?”
Jade nodded.
“And,” he said, inhaling as if reining in his rage, “she freed you?”
“No,” Luc said. “But she did allow us to escape.”
Jade couldn’t repress the snort of laughter. After everything that had happened, she’d grown numb to danger, and facing down Icarus on warded ground seemed like the safest thing she’d done in weeks. The urge to poke the sleeping lion was irresistible. “She seems to have it out for you. Said the king would be interested in knowing you’d held us prisoner.”
She thought that tidbit of information would infuriate him, but instead, Icarus ignored her jab. “This body you found.” He paused. “It is Rell’s human form?”
His question was asked with such open vulnerability that Jade was loath to refuse him an answer. “Yes.”
Ascendant Meran stepped forward. She looked tiny compared to Icarus’s massive frame, but the look on his face told Jade that he feared her more than she feared the demon.
She stopped several yards from him. “What do you seek?” She pointed toward the building. “Not Rell.” She inched forward and he retreated a step, his reptilian eyes rounding. “But you want something.”
“Ascendant Meran.” Luc took a tentative step. “It’s not safe.”
She ignored him and continued to close the distance between her and Icarus. Mere feet separated them. Jade’s fingers itched to be holding her bow and arrows. To finally put down the demon.
Meran halted within reach of Icarus. His eyes bore into her. Tension rippled through Luc’s body and he shifted as if preparing to attack. Icarus paid no attention to Jade or Luc but kept his gaze riveted on the woman.
“You carry a great burden,” her voice whispered. “Not right. Not as it should be.”
The Ascendant reached for Icarus and ran her hand along his arm much as one would do to calm a spooked horse. Like a stone statue, he let her hand caress him.
“So dark.” She stepped closer and gripped his bicep. “So alone.”
Luc took another step forward, his action drawing Icarus’s stare. Yellow eyes swirled to silver. Jade squinted, certain they glowed, but just as quickly the silver faded back to gold.
The demon pulled his arm from her grip and crept backward. “I will be watching you.”
His gaze slid to the Ascendant and for a second he looked like he would say something more. Instead, he spread his wings and launched into the sky.
The fiery burn faded, leaving only the familiar rub of Rell’s presence.
Jade walked to where Meran stood, unmoving. “Ascendant, are you all right?”
For a few seconds she didn’t respond, but finally she turned. “Yes. I’m fine.”
Jade stared at her for a few seconds, knowing what she was feeling, understanding how imperative it was to rationalize the debilitating desolation. “It doesn’t go away.”
Pale blue eyes peered at her. “What doesn’t?”
“The darkness. You will never forget it. There is nothing that can wash it away and forever you will know that this is what the demons…what my sister—what Icarus—lives with…always.” Jade gave a heavy sigh. “It is a fate worse than death.”
Meran rubbed her arms and swallowed hard. “I never knew.”
That was all that needed to be said—the only thing that really could be said after one had touched the dense hopelessness. Jade said nothing more, but walked to the door and lifted the brace.
Rell was there. Her back faced them and she made no move to turn around.
“Are you all right?” Jade asked.
Silence.
“Sha-hera attacked with her army.” Jade glanced at Luc.
Still no reply.
One of Rell’s legs dangled over the edge of the cage, swinging back and forth with tiny kicks. The impulse to go to her pushed against Jade. Her sister seemed so forsaken, as if she had nothing left to hope for. There were no words that could console her. Until they healed or released her, she would more than likely remain angry and despondent.
Jade sighed and turned away. “Let’s go.”
The Ascendant wrapped an arm around Jade’s shoulder. “All will be well.”
No longer surprised by the other woman’s actions, she nodded. “Thank you.”<
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Luc relocked the building, and the three of them moved wordlessly toward the manor. The night seemed oddly quiet in comparison to the battle that had raged less than an hour before. Cool air brushed Jade’s face and the intermittent glow of lightning bugs dotted the darkness as they did every night, oblivious to the monumental events of the evening.
“Sir Gregory, now there’s a surprise,” Luc said, disrupting the companionable silence.
Both Jade and the Ascendant smiled at his attempt at casual conversation.
Jade shook her head. “I did not see that coming.”
“Oh yes,” Meran said. “He’s full of surprises.”
All eyes turned toward them when they entered the great hall.
“Sir Gregory was just telling us the most remarkable thing,” Ravyn said.
Jade noted that her friend didn’t sound all that pleased. “Really?”
“Yes,” Ravyn continued. Her back was stiff and her hands lay folded in her lap. “It seems Sir Gregory and all his men are Bringers.” She tapped her index fingers together in rapid succession. “Not just mixed-bloods or Bringers who have been brought to full power, but real, live, from-the-other-side-of-the-Mystic-Arch Bringers.”
Jade’s mouth fell open, her mind trying to wrap itself around the ramifications.
Luc voiced exactly what Jade was thinking. “Where the bloody Saints have you been while we’ve been out battling the Bane?”
Gregory cocked a brow at Luc and his men shifted uncomfortably, their eyes darting to each other.
Rhys coughed and sniffed, obviously covering a laugh. “In the interest of preventing you from sticking your foot any further in your mouth, I should tell you that Sir Gregory has informed us he is the rightful heir to the Bringer throne.”
Luc’s gaze darted around the group. “Him? King?”
“Rightful heir,” Gregory corrected.
“But I thought Ravyn’s father was king?” Luc asked.
“A lie told by Vile to disarm Ravyn. Lord Mayfield was my most trusted advisor. Many times he acted in my stead.” His voice softened. “He was the father I never had.”
Jade glanced at Ravyn, wondering what her friend was thinking. She knew a bit about the jealousy of finding out that other children had received her parents’ love and attention. Ravyn’s posture relaxed and she smiled at Sir Gregory. The kindness that radiated from her expression made Jade feel guilty for the twinge of envy she’d felt after hearing Willa had another family. She looked at her mother, who was staring at her. An expression of understanding played at Willa’s mouth. None of that mattered now. She returned the smile.
“Your mother,” Gregory continued, “was my strongest Oracle.”
“Oracle?” Rhys asked. “I’m not familiar with this term.”
“An Oracle possesses all the powers of the Bringers—Shield, Redeemer, and Tell. They also see beyond this dimension.”
“Spirits,” Ravyn added.
Sir Gregory smiled. “Among other things, but yes. Oracles are rare.” He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “You are an Oracle, Ravyn.”
Luc moved to an empty chair and sat, pulling Jade down on his lap. “Well, that explains a lot.”
Rhys nodded. “Yes, it does. This is why Vile wants her so badly.”
“Absolutely. An Oracle is the only person who can open the Abyss of Souls.”
Jacob bristled. “Then we must protect her at all costs.”
“Yes,” Gregory said. “It would be the end of the Bringers if Vile controlled the Abyss.” His gaze slid to Rhys. “You may already be aware that Oracles are difficult to…manage.”
Quiet laughter rippled around the group.
“Excuse me,” Ravyn said. “I am not difficult.”
“You are,” Luc said.
She glared at him.
“I mean no disrespect, Lady Ravyn.” Gregory ran his fingers through his black chin-length hair and glanced at the Ascendant. “You come by it honestly.”
The Superior propped her hands on her hips and glared at him. Though all that could be seen were her eyes, it was quite enough to get her displeasure across. The attention of the group turned toward the Ascendant. After a few seconds, she raised her hand and unhooked the veil that covered her face, letting it fall.
A collective gasp filled the room. Under her lip ran a blue-black tattoo exactly like Ravyn’s. Something else registered with Jade. Though the woman’s complexion was lighter and her brows more brown than black, she looked remarkably like Ravyn.
“You’re her sister.” The words popped from Jade’s mouth. Ravyn’s gaze snapped to her. Jade pointed at the unveiled woman. “She’s your sister.”
All eyes turned back to the Ascendant. Ravyn looked at Meran and rose. “Is it true?” Ravyn asked.
The Ascendant nodded. “Yes.”
As if she was afraid she’d break the delicate thread of destiny that had just given her a living, breathing family, Ravyn moved forward and wrapped her arms around her sister. Meran returned the hug with surprising gusto.
“Why reveal this now?” Rhys said.
The women separated but remained holding hands. He stood and ushered them to his seat. They crowded together next to Willa.
“It’s a long story, so let me first give you a bit of history,” said Sir Gregory. “The battle for the Bringer throne has been ongoing for over a thousand years. After my father died, my half-brother disappeared, which meant I became next in line for the throne, but I was too young to rule.” He leaned back in his chair, resting his hands in his lap. “I won’t bore you with the saga of regaining the throne, but after I came of age, I decided to reopen the Arch and bring home our people. What we found was that the Bane had returned and our people were dead or missing.”
“Why not gather an army and put down the Bane once and for all?” Luc asked.
“That had been our plan, but unfortunately we were unable to return through the Mystic Arch.”
“Why?” Jade asked, getting caught up in his story.
“Only the rightful heir can open the portal,” Gregory said.
Luc’s gaze narrowed. “But aren’t you the rightful heir?”
“I was.” Gregory hesitated. “On the other side of the portal.”
“But how can that be?” Rhys asked.
“There’s only one answer. My half-brother is still alive and somewhere on Inness.” He gave a heavy sigh. “I’ve been trying to find him, but have had no luck.”
“All right, back to my original question,” Luc cut in. “Where have you been while we’ve been battling the Bane?” The corner of Luc’s lip curled up. “Besides holding court at Illuma Grand.”
“Luc.” Jacob’s voice was full of warning.
Jade slid her hand into his, giving him silent support.
“It’s all right, Jacob. It’s a valid question.” Gregory sat forward in his chair. “We’ve been waging a quiet war, positioning the Bringers we know we can trust, and sniffing out others. We’ve infiltrated many areas—Illuma Grand, the Order, and key cities across the land.” He waved toward Jade and Luc. “That’s how we knew about your escape from the Shadow World.”
Rhys stood and paced in the space behind the chairs. “How many Bringers total are with you?”
Sir Gregory’s stare was unwavering. “One hundred.”
“One hundred!” Luc leaned forward, nearly pushing Jade from his lap.
“If Vile knows I am here, he will move against us and our efforts will have been for naught. Until we were ready to strike, I had to stay low.”
“What about tonight?” Siban asked. “Why show yourself now?”
Jade turned to face him. She hadn’t noticed the Tell when they’d entered the hall. Even though he leaned against the corner wall, his stance still emanated barely-maintained control. His eyes held hers for several seconds before cutting back to Gregory. She returned her attention to the conversation.
Sir Gregory flicked his head toward Ravyn. “She alerted m
e first.”
“What did I do?” she asked.
Gregory ran his index finger from his lower lip to his chin, indicating her tattoo. “I wager you bear all three marks of the Bringers, correct?”
Her mouth dropped open but she snapped it shut. “Yes. How did you know?”
His eyes drifted to settle on Meran. “She bears the three marks as well.”
Ravyn looked at her sister.
“We are what is called The Trilation.” Meran’s thumb rubbed small circles on Ravyn’s palm. “Three to battle the darkness.”
“Three?” Ravyn glanced to Sir Gregory and back to Meran. “There’s another?”
“Yes.” Meran smiled. “Three sisters. I am the youngest, you are the middle child, and Juna is the eldest.”
“Juna,” Ravyn said the name slowly and looked at Gregory. “She was at Illuma Grand. I saw her.”
He nodded. “You and she favor your mother.”
“Practically look like twins,” Meran added. “Though I think she’s more stubborn.”
Rhys snorted. “That’s hard to believe.”
Ravyn glared at him. “I’m not that bad.”
“Yes you are,” Luc added unhelpfully.
Questions bubbled inside of Jade. The revelations of the evening were too vast to understand completely. “And there’s another,” Jade blurted. The entire group turned to look at her. “In the Shadow World.”
“She’s right,” Luc added, all traces of humor gone. “There is a woman—in the ice. She looks just like Ravyn, only older.”
“I assure you it’s not Juna,” Sir Gregory said. “And there are only three sisters.”
“You say the woman is older?” Ravyn asked.
“Yes.” Jade brushed her fingers against her temple. “Her hair was touched with gray.”
Ravyn turned to Gregory. “Could this woman be our mother?”
Instantly, Rhys was behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders in a show of support. Though it was vital they have the information, Jade almost regretted giving her friend what might be false hope.
“I don’t see how,” Gregory said. “Surely I would have known if she was still alive.”
“Not necessarily.” Jade’s words came out cold, their meaning clear. “I’ve learned the Bane are capable of many deceptions.” Ravyn appeared calm and accepting of what she was being told. Maybe it was her Tell powers that allowed her to understand the situation, but Jade had no such gifts. “Perhaps it’s best to assume the worst when it comes to the demons.”