The silence stretched on as he continued to examine my cup, set it down, then picked up Kate’s. I shot a look to Greyson, and he shrugged, seeming lost himself. Hank appeared bored at his post by the door.
“Well then, that answers a few questions.”
“It does?” I asked. “About what?”
“Yes. But I will not bore you with the details. You are here to learn more about your uncle, the god Baladon. You also seek a way to keep him from your mind, and to find the gods trapped by his darkness. And finally, you fear the vision you saw of your death.”
I’d been waving my hand, trying to cut him off, but too late now.
Hank was at my side in a shot. “What did he say?” he growled.
“It’s not what you think,” I started to say as Hansi repeated word for word what I’d seen in my vision as if he’d seen it himself.
Hank was growling by the end of it.
I was too shocked to do anything except lean back in my chair and stare. “How…”
“I know many things, Sabella. The tea tells me so. Old tricks, but good tricks.”
“You need to tell Tristan,” Hank snapped. “Right now.”
“Why do you think she left?” Hansi asked calmly.
Hank’s growl intensified. “We’re leaving.”
“No, we’re not. I came here to get answers and figure out how to make myself not a danger to him or anyone else. And to learn about Baladon, my uncle, who if you remember is causing all of this,” I yelled. “You are not the alpha, and you will not order me around. I am your queen, and you will do as I say.”
I waited for Hank to get mad at me, to yell back, do anything, but instead, he smiled and bowed his head as Kate whistled, a smile on her face. “As you command, my queen.”
“I… wait, no that’s not… what just happened?”
“You acted like a shifter,” Hansi explained. “Something you seem to believe you cannot do or be.”
“Because I’m not a shifter.”
“No, not in the normal sense, but your mother is a goddess, yes?”
“Yeah, but—”
“And where did all the races stem from? The gods, of course, which means essentially, on some level, you have a bit of every race residing within you.” He grinned at me.
“But…” I started and stopped, scratching my head to try and make sense of what he was saying. “Are you sure? Because I don’t exactly feel like I’m a shifter, at all, ever. I feel like I want to kill the alpha every other day for being so stubborn.”
His grin turned into a knowing smile. “That is what it means to be with the alpha. You are two halves to a much bigger whole, needed to balance out the other.”
“And what is that supposed to mean?”
“Tristan cannot only be Tristan, just as you are not only a seer or half god. You both are many things, and though your relationship will not be easy, you two are meant to be together. Running away, no matter how far, will not change that.” He tapped the side of his nose then clapped his hands. “Now then, why don’t we get into the more interesting topic of your uncle.”
“What, just like that?”
“Be happy you received this much already,” Ashan stated. “I heard much less when I was to be wed to Drake, an elf I did not know.”
“And look how happy you are now?” Hansi pointed out as he pushed out of his chair and with a pop and vanished from sight. “Now then, Baladon. He is a nasty god, one of the worst. They were right to lock him away, and it’s a pity he managed to escape, is it not, Katherine?”
Kate glowered up into the tower. “Quite.”
“But that is neither here nor there,” he continued, calling down to us.
“Is this normal?” I whispered to Ashan.
“Sadly, yes. However, the amount of information in that elf’s head is staggering. Trust me, it’s worth putting up with his… eccentricities.” Her pointed ears twitched, matching her aggravated sigh.
We waited for Hansi to rejoin us on the main level of his tower and with another pop—I didn’t jump this time at least—he was there again, holding out a text to me. Very old text with pages that appeared to shimmer in and out of sight.
“What is this?” I asked as he handed the book to me. It was heavier than I expected, and I nearly dropped it. “The pages, they’re not really here.”
“They are, and they aren’t,” he said by way of explanation, and then—pop!—was gone again.
I carried the book to a table and set it down, staring at the image of the creature displayed on the page.
Baladon.
The twisted horns were against his head just as I’d witnessed. Those eyes flared red with living flames and a tail curled around his feet. Spikes I hadn’t noticed the first time we met ran along the tail. But the shadows that surrounded him, those I’d seen all too well and too many times. He carried the same dark staff with a glowing crimson stone, and though this was only a drawing,
I felt those eyes pulling me in deeper and deeper, until a hand grabbed my shoulder and gave me a shake.
“Sorry,” I muttered to Kate.
“What is this?” she yelled up to Hansi.
“That is a text of the gods, from the gods,” Hansi replied from somewhere overhead. “It’s very old and very, very powerful. Be careful and don’t stare at the images too long.”
“Now he tells me.” My fingers hovered over the image, too scared to touch it just in case.
“Does it say anything about him?”
“There are no words on the page,” I pointed out.
“Then turn the page,” Hansi instructed.
I did as he said and reached for the semi-translucent page. When I turned it, the next two appeared blank at first, but then words appeared before my eyes, glowing, written in scrolling cursive.
“I don’t see anything,” Kate said.
“I do… I see it all,” I whispered and started reading.
Baladon was one of the first gods, along with Farrah of the light, his opposite. There were many, many more, but I skimmed over their names, wanting more specific information.
I tapped the page when I reached something interesting, but Kate gave me an annoyed look.
“Right, I guess it’s a god thing,” I muttered and cleared my throat. “It says Baladon was meant to be a balance to the light, and his monsters were only ever created to test the races when the time arose for them to prove themselves. But, he started creating more monstrous nightmares and unleashing them without cause… started several wars and finally killed one of their own, Ebon, god of joy and hope. After Ebon’s murder, the other gods banished Baladon and his monsters, locking him away, but he swore vengeance in the form of a war that would… would cover the world in darkness. Well, I’d say he’s getting close to accomplishing that goal.”
“Anything else? Like where he might be?” Kate asked.
I read the next page, but all it did was list his charges, and then the next page moved onto a different god. “Nothing, that’s it. Hansi. This isn’t very helpful.”
“Did you read about his abilities?”
I rolled my eyes but read back over the page. “Monsters and shadows… can suck the light out of the world… and he feeds on fear and negativity. So?”
He popped in front of me.
I did jump this time, the damned elf.
“Tell me, you’re worried about Baladon getting inside your head, yes? Because he has done so two times?”
“Yeah, and?”
“And what were you doing before each of those times, Sabella?”
I didn’t have to think too hard to know exactly what was going on. “Tristan and I were… we were fighting,” I mumbled. “We were angry with each other, and scared.”
“Exactly. You gave Baladon the way into your mind. The more negativity, the more fear you let seep into your mind, into your soul, that’s what lets the darkness inside. And there it festers and grows, but, if you hold true to hope and love, Baladon will not be
able to access your mind.” He gave me that grandfatherly smile again as he added, “You and Tristan need to be together. You are stronger together because of the love you share for each other. That is what will keep Baladon from your head.” He tapped my forehead hard, and I frowned in annoyance, rubbing the spot while he walked away.
“That’s it? That’s the great wisdom of the elves? Stay happy?” I grumbled.
“How else do you combat darkness?” Hank chuckled from his spot by the door.
I shot him a look.
“He’s got a point,” Kate told me. “When I was taken over, it was because I’d let the darkness in just enough, and then I had to fight to get back to Craig and Forrest.”
“We’re in the middle of a war. How am I supposed to stay hopeful and happy? Have you looked outside?” I marched to the window, motioning to the dark sky. “We can’t even tell if it’s night or day anymore. It’s making me crazier than I already am.”
Hansi was turning more pages in the book on the table. He waved me back over. “This is your mother, Sabella. She is the embodiment of light. She was created to keep the darkness at bay, but now that she’s been taken, she passes the mantle onto you. You have to be strong for all of us now. That is your destiny.”
“My destiny is to die,” I reminded him.
“No, it’s not,” he said fiercely. “Your visions are never certain truths. They are given to you to give you a chance to make a choice on how to act.”
Was he right? Everything I’d seen so far had come true, hadn’t it? Or mostly. Why would this vision be any different? I replayed it over again in my mind and then heard the words of the riddle with it, pausing when the words started to make sense.
“Three must rise… three rings abound…”
“Sabella?” Kate asked.
“Sorry, just a lot going on in here.” I pointed to my head. “That riddle and the vision, I think they’re connected.”
“The key to everything,” Hansi murmured.
We both turned to stare at him.
“What did you say?”
“That riddle, it is the key. Solve it, and you solve the mystery. Come, we have much to discuss and the day is young. Who wants more tea?”
We all shook our heads, and he laughed.
I glanced down at the page in the book of Farrah. She was magnificent with fiery red hair just like mine, though my eyes were Crane’s, according to Greyson.
Light magic writhed around Farrah, and her face wore a fierce smile as she appeared to protect those behind her. I rested my hand on the page, and a burst of warmth filled me from my head to my toes.
I gasped, the weight of this war lifting free of my shoulders only for a few seconds, but it was enough to make it easier to breathe and to know what had to be done.
“Baladon,” I said quietly when I removed my hand. “We have to find him and save the gods before he kills them all.”
“How?” Kate shrugged. “We have no leads on how to get to him, and we’ve no news about what they found at the seam.”
I heard the worry in her voice, the same worry that hit me again, that Tristan and Craig could’ve walked right into a trap, but my gut told me they were both safe.
“Baladon wouldn’t have stayed there,” I said, unsure of how I could be so certain. “But if we don’t get ahead of his plans, we’ll be too late to stop him.”
“Then let’s start hunting,” Kate said, rubbing her hands together. “Hansi?”
He grinned broadly and pointed upward. “Time to show you my collection.”
9
Sabella
You should get some sleep at some point.”
“Huh?” I blinked against the candlelight in Hansi’s tower as Ashan set down a steaming mug of something in front of me. “Please tell me that’s not more of his tea?”
She laughed lightly. “No, elven coffee, has a bit of a kick.”
I thanked her for it and took two gulps. Seconds later, I was wide awake, and my hands were shaking. “What’s in that stuff?”
“Our version of caffeine. I suggest you drink it slowly.”
I pushed the mug away, so I wouldn’t pick up and drink out of habit. “Any news?”
“No, not yet, but I’m sure if they find something, they will send word.”
“I wish we had something.” I shut the book I’d fallen asleep paging through and glanced at Kate, passed out on the couch by the hearth. “Nothing on how to track a god, or find a god. Nothing on how to get to their realm. Nothing.”
“And you don’t think you already know how—instinctively, I mean—to find them?”
I shook my head.
Hansi and I had worked with my godly powers. I managed to get a few flickers in my hands, but nothing to the extent I used when defeating the stone guardian. He too thought I had to have some sort of connection to the gods through my blood and be able to find them, but no matter how hard I meditated, focusing on that part of me, nothing happened. I couldn’t sense my mother, or the other gods. On the bright side, I couldn’t sense Baladon either, and the voices were still being kept at bay thanks to Ashan.
And then after that, I sat down to research whatever I could find on Baladon and his plague of darkness. A few times, I thought I’d heard Tristan’s growling voice in my ear, but each time I opened my eyes, it was just me and Hansi in this tower I felt I was never going to leave.
Then, I fell asleep over the book.
“Have you had any more visions?” Ashan asked, pulling me from my thoughts.
“Not that I know of, though lately it’s been almost every day. I’m kind of surprised I haven’t had one in a bit.”
“And if you tried to get one?”
I almost picked up the mug of coffee to take another drink to buy myself some time, but my hands were still a bit shaky from the first few gulps, so I paused. “I try, but nothing happens. It appears I’m useless at the moment. Can’t make my light work and the visions refuse to come and help me out.”
“You, my dear, are far from useless. You heard Hansi. You’re important to this war.”
“How? I haven’t done anything except hurt Tristan and nearly get myself killed.”
“What did Hansi tell you?” she said sternly.
“Have faith, I got it.”
“Do you?” she challenged. “You’re letting the darkness get to you.”
“It’s not that easy keeping it away.”
“You must have one central thought that you can hold onto that pulls you back from the brink every time you feel it creeping closer,” she said softly, her eyes taking on a faraway look. “One single memory that reminds you what you’re fighting for.”
Any of those happy memories involved Tristan, and I focused on the last time we were together, not fighting. We’d been sitting before the fire in his rooms on the pile of furs he favored over his bed. For the first time in a long time, we’d been talking about ridiculous things, things that didn’t hold any weight to our current predicament. And we laughed.
I smiled sadly, realizing how much I missed that warm, growling chuckle, how it would vibrate through his body and into mine. I kicked myself for not making time for more moments like that. The war couldn’t be put on hold, but we lost so many moments together because of our stubbornness and fear.
I pictured that night perfectly in my mind, and my whole body felt lighter.
“Sabella,” Ashan whispered.
I opened my eyes to find a smile plastered on her face.
My eyes were glowing, lighting up the room, as was the rest of me.
It only lasted a few seconds, but in those few seconds, I sensed my mother’s power flowing through me again, and I breathed easier, just as I had when I touched Farrah’s page in the book.
“There, see? You have it within you, and you can keep denying it all you want, but Tristan is your center. Your love for him. You can’t abandon it now.”
“You’re right,” I admitted, and she balked in surprise. “What? There
’s no point wasting time fighting the truth, but I can’t go back to him yet. Not until we have a way to get to Baladon and hopefully stop my vision from coming true.”
There was a knock at the door.
Hank, who had taken up his post right beside it in a chair, jerked awake, falling to the floor with a growl.
I bit back a giggle as he scrambled back up and opened it.
Greyson stood there with Hansi, both wearing concerned frowns. And they weren’t alone.
“You are in deep shit,” Danielle said once she was through the door. “Just remember that.”
I went to greet her and winced when she squeezed my hand a bit tighter than necessary. “I know, and I’m sorry for doing that to you.”
“Not to me, to our alpha.”
“I had no choice, alright? We needed answers, and he was being a stubborn furball about it.”
“To keep you safe.”
“Yeah and putting everyone else at risk.”
She ground her teeth and glared at Hank when he sidled over to my side. “Was it worth it, at least?”
Though I knew at any second, Ashan’s shield on my mind could break, and the voices would come rushing back, being here had helped me find a sort of inner peace and tapped into my god powers if nothing else. The visions, well, we’d get to that eventually, I hoped.
“Yes and no. We’re no closer to finding Baladon, but I believe I’ve figured out how to stop him from getting inside my head.”
She dug around in her cloak and pulled out a heavy stack of papers. “Maybe these can be of some use. Tristan and Craig explored the stone maze and castle ruins, but there was no sign of Baladon. However, they sent these back to the castle, hoping Greyson would be able to identify the symbols, if they mean anything.”
“I can’t,” Greyson said as I opened my mouth to ask him, “but Hansi, he knows of them.”
“Hansi.” I turned to hand him the papers, but he was gone. “Hansi.”
“Up here. I have to find it.”
I frowned, but set the papers on the table. “And Tristan and Craig? Where are they now?” I asked hesitantly, worried the alpha himself was standing out in the hall now.
Visions (Dragon Reign Book 7) Page 9