Invocation

by Tera Lyn Cortez

  His voice rang bitterly, and I almost felt a moment of pity for the poor creature. I could not imagine how terrible it must be to be trapped under her thumb.

  “The rumor is that she does not feel she is yet strong enough to wage war and be successful. She attempted to capture the Soul Scribe magic but failed. The magic was passed to a successor the mage did not know even existed. Her fury was felt by all that day.”

  I nearly jumped out of my skin when he mentioned the attack on my mother. I wanted to march up to him and choke the information out of him, but Taryk's soothing presence in my mind kept me where I stood. These two knew better than I how to extract information.

  Now that he had begun to speak, the words couldn't come fast enough. “There is a rumor that the next scribe will be more powerful than any creature the realms have ever seen. It is said that she will receive magic not only as a Chosen Scribe but from a mighty king as well. The dark mage wishes to see her dead before she is able to come into her powers.”

  Landon interrupted him. “Why were you sent here to the chateau?”

  “Nobody has been able to locate or identify this scribe. The dark one heard that a prophecy regarding the birth of a hybrid, resulting from the mating of a pegasus and a unicorn, had been fulfilled. She believes that if the foal is killed, she will be victorious in her quest. Our job was to capture it if possible so the dark one could absorb her magic, or kill it if we had no other choice.”

  His head hung then, dropping to his chest rather suddenly. For a moment, I thought he had perished in front of me. Then he lifted his eyes, meeting mine directly.

  “Please. Kill me now. I have told you all I know.”

  I shook my head slowly, a thought forming in my brain. I requested via the bond for the three of us to step outside for a moment, if someone else could stand guard briefly. Landon summoned a replacement and we stepped into the hall.

  “I had originally thought to attempt to create a one-sided bond with him and return him to her,” I began.

  “No.” Taryk's interjection was firm. “It is too risky. The last thing we need is her to get her hands on a creature who is bonded to you. She could—”

  I held up my hand. “If you would let me finish?” He nodded, looking slightly guilty. “Thank you.”

  Looking at Landon, I continued. “I assume she has some sort of control over the forces she sent here?”

  He nodded. “We believe the only reason he still lives is because we brought him directly to the shielded room. We managed to capture two before him, and they both dropped dead within minutes of us laying hands on them. This one had been injured and could not escape fast enough. We brought him directly here knowing this room would null any spell she had put on him. As you can see, he has survived thus far.”

  “The wards over the entire castle would have the same effect as this room does, right?” I looked at Taryk.

  He nodded thoughtfully. “I think so. We'd want to double check with Xavier to be sure.”

  “Why don't we return him to the castle and put him in the dungeon downstairs? We can alter the cells slightly, so they are less barbaric, and he can stay there until the war is over. I hate to have to kill him, and I know we cannot turn him loose, even though he doesn't know who I am yet.”

  Landon looked shocked at my suggestion. “Chosen, I dislike arguing with you, but this is not like finding a stray puppy that you wish to give a home.”

  I giggled at the image. “Do not feel like you can't speak your mind with me, Landon. I appreciate those who are willing to tell it like it is. I may be making it obvious that I am not cut out for war, but I couldn't live with myself if we killed him for no reason.”

  “No reason?” Taryk's incredulous voice broke in once more. “He attempted to kidnap and kill Jewel. Remember her, cute fuzzy little thing with a pair of wings and a unicorn horn?”

  I frowned his way. “Why no, my memory must be faulty...” He had the good grace to look slightly chagrined but did not apologize or change his stance.

  “Landon is right. This is not a stray puppy. Redcaps are very dangerous creatures.”

  “Redcaps?”

  Landon spoke up. “Redcaps are a breed of gnome. The dark mage magically changed them as part of growing her army. They are much taller and meaner than normal.”

  “I am going to ask Xavier what he thinks.”

  Turning my conversation inward, I reached out along the bond with my brother to get his opinion. After a brief back and forth with him, my decision was made.

  I looked at the two men. “Xavier is reinforcing the dungeon wards and spells as we speak. He says we can always kill him later if the need arises.” The last half of my sentence almost choked me, but I knew it would go a long way to convincing Taryk.

  Both guys shrugged their shoulders, neither looking entirely convinced, but not arguing either.

  “So be it.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “How will you get him back to the castle?” Landon asked.

  “A portal, I suppose. The same way we planned to get back. He'll need to go straight from one protected space to another, and I will make it directly into the dungeon on our end.”

  Landon looked thoughtful. “You cannot make a portal into or out of this room. The protections will not allow it. And I have a feeling if he sets foot outside the door, he will drop dead.”

  Details, details. Pesky little buggers.

  “And,” Taryk added, “how will we be sure he cooperates? We can't just drag the whole chair there.”

  Celeste, who had not shown herself, nor made a peep during the entire trip here, manifested beside me and spoke up. “Perhaps, my child, you should give him a choice.”

  Landon visibly startled at her appearance, which made me smile. “A choice. Prisoners don't usually get choices.”

  She nodded at him. “True. But Everleigh has yet to strip magic from a soul. When it comes to cooperation, if she were to take his magic from him, he would be less of a threat to move to the castle. She needs the experience, and this would be a good one. He can have his magic stripped and move to the dungeon, or choose to pass from this world.”

  “If Ev needs the experience,” Taryk suggested, “perhaps she should strip the magic either way.”

  My heart constricted a little at the thought of stealing a creature’s magic, even a prisoner. Even one who could cause me great grief if I left him with it. Even one who was going to die anyway. I really did not seem to be cut out for war. I couldn't argue with his logic though. I needed to begin mastering all the skills I possessed in order to become capable of beating the dark mage.

  “And,” she continued, “she should be able to create a portal in the room. Her Chosen magic should override any other here at the chateau. There is nothing she cannot do here within these wards.”

  I looked at her. “Will that be true even though my ability to make portals comes from my Fae magic?”

  “It should be. Once the invocation was performed all your magic became one. There is no longer a distinction between one half of your magic and the other. There is only you, as Chosen, and your magic.”

  “I'm sorry to rush you,” Taryk began, “but we do need to get moving. There are pressing matters to be dealt with back at the castle.”

  Taking a deep breath, I turned toward the door. “Let's do it then.”

  We strode back into the room as a collective and stopped before the chair. The prisoner looked up. “Are you going to kill me now?”

  I stepped forward. “You have a choice. I will strip you of your magic, and you can return to our dungeon for the duration of this war. When the dark mage is defeated, you will be free to return to your lands. Or you can choose death, right now.”

  He looked at me, shock clear on his features. His mouth opened, but no words made their way out. It made me wonder what his existence had been like up to this point.

  After a brief moment of working his mouth like a fish out of water, he finally managed to form a
sentence. “I would rather die than go back to your dungeon to be tortured.”

  I shook my head. “No. No torture. Confinement, yes. But I will make your cell comfortable, and you will be fed and treated fairly as long as you do not try to cause problems for us. I can't take the risk of setting you free now, but once her reign of terror has ended, you may return to your life, and your family if you have one. I will even return your magic to you.”

  His suspicion was obvious. He sat staring at me in disbelief, brows drawn together and lips pursed. “There is no way to return magic to a person once it has been stolen. You are a liar.”

  I took a step closer and leaned in close, whispering. “That is true... for everyone but the reigning Chosen Soul Scribe.” Once the sentence had been uttered, I returned to full height, arms crossed and waiting.

  Eyes wide, he nodded after a brief hesitation. “I will go to your dungeon. You should know that there are many who wish to escape her clutches. You may find allies in the most unlikely places if you are looking for them.”

  Glancing at Taryk and Celeste, I just nodded at his statement. I was too busy praying that I would be able to successfully strip his magic without hurting him since I had never attempted to use this particular skill before.

  Celeste could feel my worry and did her best to give me comfort via the bond. Her instructions were clear, I just hoped I followed them correctly.

  I positioned myself near the chair, explaining the process as I did so. “This won't hurt. I am going to lay my hand on your shoulder-”

  Landon interrupted. “I'm sorry to interrupt, Chosen, but you should not touch him before his magic is stripped. The dark mage may be able to access you in some way with physical contact.”

  Acknowledging him with a tilt of my head, I continued. “I will simply pull forth your magic, separating it from you. I will then hold it until such time that I can return it to you.”

  Without waiting for an answer, I closed my eyes and pulled his soul into view, hoping to find what I needed quickly and easily. The colors were muddled and ran together like an ink drawing soaked by the rain. I could see the dark strands shot through the weave, indicating how much influence the dark mage had exerted.

  After conferring briefly with Celeste, we decided to remove the magic and leave the dark mage's other work. Removing it could alert her, and once he had no magic, she would have nothing to control. Since he would be in a shielded area for the remainder of the time she would be a threat, we weren't worried. I knew I could always go in and remove those strands later if we deemed it necessary.

  Pulling the magic out proved to be easier than I expected, and it took only a minute. Opening my eyes, I informed him that I had finished.

  While I didn't feel as worn out after doing that much magic as I would have previously, I still felt the drain. I excused myself to step out into the hallway for a moment, thankful Yuri had sent me with a little pick me up. I pulled the tiny pouch out of my pocket. Briefly, I felt like I had hidden myself to take illicit drugs, but laughed it off.

  Feeling better, I returned to the room and prepared to create the portal home. Before doing so, I let Xavier know we would arrive shortly, and he agreed to meet us downstairs.

  “I have altered the wards and added some specifics to the dungeon area. I also reformed the cells as you asked.”

  “Thank you. See you in a minute.”

  Taryk addressed our prisoner briefly. “We are going to remove you from the chair and bind you magically. You are expected to behave as docile as a newborn lamb, or I will snuff out your life where you stand. Are we clear?”

  The redcap simply nodded.

  I rested my hand on Taryk's arm, pausing him briefly. “Do you have a name?” I asked the prisoner.

  Again, his surprise was evident on his face. “Angus.”

  “Okay, Angus, let's proceed.”

  The process went off without a hitch, and Angus did exactly as he was told. After saying our goodbyes to Landon, I opened the portal directly to the dungeon hall, and we stepped through. Xavier and Solomon waited for us.

  Solomon immediately reached out and grabbed Angus's arm, yanking him roughly and pushing him against the wall.

  “HEY!” I stepped between them and blocked Solomon as Taryk took his arm and moved him back.

  “What?” He snarled at me and yanked his arm out of Taryk's grasp.

  I looked toward Xavier with raised brows. What the hell was this crap? Taryk had positioned himself between Solomon and me and watched him with a wary eye. I could see him struggling not to sock the Fae in the face for touching me. But he let me handle it, and that impressed me greatly.

  “I will not put up with this treatment of anyone within our care. Do I make myself clear?” I stood my ground, and there was no way anyone would be challenging me on this. Not if they knew what was good for them.

  He gave a sarcastic laugh. “I'd like to know why you think you're the boss around here.”

  Xavier chose that moment to step in. “Because she is the Royal Princess of this realm, and you will treat her as such! Apologize, NOW!” The power he pushed forth was impressive, and I loved knowing he had my back.

  Solomon shot him an exasperated glance. “Fine. Sorry.” It sounded insincere at best, but I elected not to push it.

  “Which room are we putting Angus in?”

  “Room? This isn't a hotel, princess. They are cells.” Solomon's attitude grated on my nerves.

  I hadn't had any restful sleep in ages, my stomach demanded to be fed again, soon, and my emotions were running high after seeing my mom in the dream world. The temptation to sock him in the nose myself had become almost impossible to ignore.

  Xavier saved the day. With an exasperated sigh, he instructed Solomon to head upstairs and wait for him in the library. With a last dirty look in my direction, which garnered a glare from Taryk, Solomon stalked back down the hall and through the door to the stairs. I had no doubt in my mind that if he had been able to slam the door like a petulant child he would have.

  Xavier led us to one of the middle doors. “Here we are. I enlarged it and made it as comfortable as possible.”

  I had to admit, the result left me impressed. Gone was the damp feeling in the air, and the musty smell had abated as well. The room held and actual bed, plus a chair and small table.

  Turning to Angus, I smiled. “I know it is still a cell, but we really are trying. Are you hungry?”

  The over-sized goblin stared at me as if he waited for me to tell him I had been joking and intended to kill him after all. It took him a moment, but he did respond. “Your Highness, thank you. I am hungry.”

  His gruff voice covered what I would have bet to be real emotion, not that he would ever admit it out loud. I felt good about having done right by him no matter what manner of creature he was.

  “A meal will be sent down momentarily.”

  He settled himself in after his magical bindings were removed. As Taryk swung the solid door shut, I caught him stretching out on the bed.

  The three of us moved down the hallway and stood at the bottom of the stairs. We needed to have a meeting amongst ourselves before heading back to deal with the issues upstairs.

  “So. Wanna tell me what our so-called cousin’s problem with me is?” I let my full irritation show.

  Xavier shrugged. “I'm not totally sure, but it probably stems from the fact that as one of the few living descendants of our father, he had hopes to take over the throne when the dark mage was finally defeated. Now not only do I stand in front of him, so do you.”

  “Do you really think it's wise to have him involved in any of this then? How do we know we can trust him? You may know him so he might feel some loyalty toward you, but he probably wouldn't hesitate to accidentally help me disappear.” I had genuine concerns over his trustworthiness, relative or not.

  “Because he knows that I will kill him on the spot if he jeopardizes your life or safety in any way. No questions asked.”

&
nbsp; While I felt a little better knowing Xavier had my back, it still wouldn't make me any less dead if Solomon had nefarious plans. I made a mental note to always be on guard, just to be on the safe side.

  Taryk's voice rang out through our bond as well. “I won't ever leave your side. And I will put the fear of my wrath into him next time he dares be disrespectful to you.” Giving them both a grateful smile, we headed up the stairs to put out whatever fires awaited us.

  Yuri announced her return as we started, so Xavier left to meet her in the tunnel. As Taryk and I climbed the stairs, I expressed my concern over Solomon. Not just for my own safety, but that of Angus, and whatever other creatures may find their way to our dungeon. He was untrustworthy at best, and downright dangerous, at worst.

  Without being asked, Taryk steered us for the kitchen upon exiting the stairwell. He instructed me to sit down in one of the chairs and proceeded to make me a plate of all my favorite things and brought it to me.

  Through the big picture windows, I could see all the way to the stables and watched as Jewel made her way out into the paddock. She leapt and pranced as if she were a kitten, and I laughed out loud at the sheer joy of it. Even from this distance I could see she had grown, and it made me wonder just how long we had to keep her alive for the prophecy to be fulfilled.

  I wanted her to be around forever, but it would be nice to check one major thing off the list. I didn't even know how long unicorns, or pegasus, lived.

  “Do you know?”

  Taryk shook his head. “Not exactly. Both unicorns and pegasus can live a couple hundred years, but as with any hybrid or new species it is hard to say which rules will apply to them, and which rules they will write for themselves. Just like you.”

  “I need to get more practicing in. I've been running around doing all these things, which has been necessary, but there is still so much I cannot do. Or do well. We need every advantage.”

  “I will be with you, but you're right. I want to be sure you can defend yourself at the very least if we somehow get separated.”

  Before we could go any further, Yuri came zipping out of the stairwell. “Hello! I missed you. How did it go?”