Firemancer Collection (Fated Saga Box Set Book 1)

by R. H. D'aigle

  Her thoughts also strayed to Colin. Would he be all right without her? He had never been completely on his own before. Guilt suddenly took over as Meghan realized she had not been in contact with him for days.

  She had promised Uncle Eddy she would keep the connection open, always. Moreover, look at what had happened the last time she had not … Colin had nearly been killed!

  But Colin had his secrets now, too. Still, she should be taking better care of him. He might be turning fourteen also, but he’d still barely grown any taller.

  “Nona,” whispered Meghan.

  Nona stood at attention, sensing a request from her mistress.

  “I have a very huge favor to ask of you.”

  Nona knew already what she wanted, and though she was not happy about it, she understood Meghan’s concern and agreed without argument.

  Being able to stall their departure no longer, Meghan advised Ivan she was ready, and they took their first steps into the red rock valley of Eidolon.

  Chapter Four

  Colin grabbed his bag at the last minute deciding to tag along a small amount of food and water, just in case. Jae paced anxiously in the Mochrie kitchen. The rest of the family was off attending the opening of the Feast.

  Jae was late, which typically would not have been tolerated by his father. However, since the outburst a few weeks prior, Irving had been unusually quiet and easy going.

  “Ready,” announced Colin finally, securing the bag over his shoulder.

  Jae stopped pacing and stared. The look on Jae’s face was not one of confidence. Colin gulped, nearly canceling his excursion on the spot.

  “Maybe …Maybe I should come with you!” said Jae. “I don’t know if it’s a good idea for you to go alone.”

  Colin, on one hand, would have loved to have company. On the other hand, with Jae’s strange behavior as of late, perhaps going alone would be best. Colin did not have to make the choice.

  “No. The original plan is better. You should go alone. It’ll be easier for you to sneak through the valley.”

  “Okay then,” said Colin. “I’d better go.”

  Colin followed Jae out the door. As expected, it was deserted. All Svoda were celebrating the Feast, deep inside the canyon. The Viancourt had announced just the night before that the opening day festivities would take place inside, in order to maintain the nature of the festival, as well as the safety of those in attendance.

  Colin and Jae walked side by side to the edge of the valley and stopped. Jae nodded to Colin, who did not verbally reply, but rather grunted, attempting poorly to control the rocket of nerves taking off in his chest.

  As Colin took his first step in the forbidden valley, a voice startled them from behind.

  “And just where do you think you’re going?”

  There was no need to guess. It was Darcy Scraggs.

  Of all the people to have to follow me…

  Darcy’s two bullies were paced a few feet behind her: the eloquent speaking Dulcy Hadrian, followed by a towering Daveena Troast.

  “I warned you I’d be watching,” Darcy sneered triumphantly.

  “You are so in trouble,” chimed Dulcy. “Darcy knew her extra-century complexion would find you up to something.”

  Both Colin and Jae burst out laughing.

  Even Daveena could not hold back a thick snort.

  “Thanks, Dulcy. That is just what I needed, a good laugh!” Colin exclaimed.

  “Extra-century complexion… good one,” agreed Jae.

  Darcy growled, ignoring her counterpart’s babbling.

  Colin contained his laughter. Joke or no joke, this situation did not bode well.

  “How did you ever graduate to intermediate level, Dulcy?” Jae questioned.

  Again, without thinking, dumb Dulcy made her admittance.

  “There’s a little thing called cheating,” she revealed proudly.

  “Cheating is impossible,” argued Jae.

  Darcy threw her hand over Dulcy’s mouth, cupping it, before implicating herself any further.

  “You found a way to cheat?” muttered Daveena’s hardening face.

  The other two had clearly not shared this information with her. Colin hoped the distraction would be enough to sneak away. However, three steps in Darcy roared for him to stop.

  “We’ll fix this later, Daveena,” she promised, in an overly apologetic tone. “And as for you two,” she turned to Colin and Jae, “I’ll be turning you in now.”

  “How am I going to get out of this one?” asked Colin under his breath.

  As if in tune with his thoughts, his book, Magicante began to shake. He dropped the bag as the top popped open and out spun the leaf tornado, the same one that had helped him to locate Meghan back in Cobbscott, when she had first become ill. The leaves shimmered in the morning beams of sunlight, expanding in size as it furiously twisted toward the now distracted trio.

  Daveena dove into a small crevice, avoiding the blow.

  “Stop!” demanded Darcy, thinking this tornado would somehow stop its advance on her command. When it did not, she sacrificed Dulcy to the whirling chaos, and scurried away.

  The tornado lifted off the ground, leaving Dulcy scrambling in the dirt.

  It formed a cone shaped leg, which it then proceeded to use as a foot, kicking Darcy’s backside. She went sprawling into the red dirt, yelling a non-stop stream of profanities as she fell.

  The tornado caught the tongue-tied Dulcy trying to slip away and pushed her onto the ground next to her swearing counterpart. Both frantically crawled away, but not before Darcy got in one last hideous glare.

  Colin did not care. She was a nuisance that he did not have time to deal with.

  Daveena snorted in laughter as she watched her counterparts flee in humiliating defeat.

  The leaf tornado returned to the book, which promptly slammed shut, leaving behind a trail of swirling, dusty air.

  Daveena slid from her hiding place, eyeing Colin. Would he have to fight her now? He felt certain she was much too large for him to win. She stepped closer, her face showing signs of uncertainty. To both Colin’s and Jae’s bewilderment, her mouth twisted with the slightest hint of a smile, and she turned and sauntered away.

  “Okay, was not expecting that!” Jae mustered out.

  “Which part?” Colin said hotly. “That they were spying? That Daveena didn’t pound on us? Or that Magicante once again saved the day?”

  “All of the above, actually,” answered Jae.

  “Our lucky day I guess,” said Colin, more calmly. “I’m sure peace won’t last on the Daveena front. Darcy is sure to win her back, somehow.”

  “Very true,” replied Jae. “And on that note, you’d better get going, Colin.”

  “Yeah, you’re right,” he agreed.

  He looked at the great expanse before him.

  “Wish me luck,” he mumbled, taking his first steps into the valley of Eidolon.

  ##

  ##

  A dust covered, oblong shaped mirror stood aside eight others, forming a circle inside a darkened room. A weathered and gaunt face materialized into one of them, followed by another and then another, until all but one held similar ghostly silhouettes.

  “Why have you summoned us Freyne Rothrock?” a penetrating female voice demanded.

  “Patience, Narona,” replied an ashen faced man, from a nearby mirror. His voice lowered sardonically. “I have learned a terrible truth about our fearless leader, Fazendiin.”

  “He’s not our leader,” another spoke firmly. “Simply the original of us.”

  “Oh get on with it then, Rothrock. What is it you have discovered?” another spat out impatiently. “It won’t be long before he is aware of the summons, too.”

  “Very well. I summoned you here today because we have all been betrayed!”

  “This is not news, Freyne,” replied a bored voice. “We already know about the Projector. If this is all you called us here for…” the voice trailed off and th
e man’s face began to dissolve from the mirror.

  “This has nothing to do with the Projector,” declared Freyne. “Fazendiin has broken the oath! He has fathered a child!”

  Horrified chokes emanated from the mirrors, turning into malicious snarls as the gaunt faces sounded their fury over this revelation. The mirror of Narona Fentress cracked under the pressure of her enraged face.

  “We all swore to it!” she bellowed.

  “How dare he?” another voice barked in displeasure.

  “How do you know this?” the man with the bored voice asked. His face reappeared, feigning interest.

  “How is not relevant!” Freyne retorted. “A Projector is nothing compared to this treachery! Power will no longer be equal amongst us if this Grosvenor’s offspring is allowed to live!” his grating voice echoed.

  “Our offspring would be immortal, they cannot be killed,” Narona reminded. “Which is why we each took the oath. How did he break it?”

  “He is coming,” a voice warned before Freyne could answer.

  The displeased grunts quieted as the ninth mirror fogged over and a face materialized in the glass. Jaurekai Fazendiin: the first born of the immortal Grosvenor.

  “I thought I felt a summons, though weakly,” he said, peering at the others suspiciously. His gaze stopped on the mirror belonging to Freyne Rothrock.

  “Yes. We grow tired waiting to make a decision about the Projector,” Freyne replied haughtily. “Something needs to be done! And now!”

  The others agreed ardently.

  “The Projector is of no concern,” said Fazendiin with amused insistence. “As we speak, the Projector is being tracked. There is no need for us to come out of hiding, when others can do the job for us.”

  No one objected.

  “Once the Projector is dead,” continued Fazendiin, “we simply need to collect the last remaining copy of Magicante. With this book safely in our hands, there will be nothing left that can stop us!”

  The eight listeners roared in agreement, at the same time eyeing each other in distrust. If what Freyne had told them was true, the meager trust they had kept in each other all these long years was now at an end.

  “Soon, my friends,” Fazendiin added, “we will control all magic, and will no longer hide but rule side by side, as equals.” Fazendiin stared directly into the eyes of Freyne Rothrock as he spoke, as if daring him to counter his claim.

  Fazendiin’s face dissolved into mist, leaving behind an empty mirror. The remaining Grosvenor followed, each mirror returning to its empty state.

  Freyne Rothrock’s face was the last to dissolve. As it did so, he echoed a warning:

  “And once we come out of hiding, the real war will begin…”

  ##

  ##

  Colin Jacoby came to an abrupt stop.

  He hoped he was out of sight from any wandering eyes of Svoda that might happen to be peering into the valley.

  He needed to figure out where he was. He dug into his backpack and took out Corny’s map, and even though it was clearly a map of the E Valley, Colin could not figure out where he was. He turned it this way and that, trying to find something that made sense.

  Caught off guard, Colin shouted as something yanked the map from his hands, and he watched it soar into the air. He grabbed for it, but it was just out of reach.

  “I haven’t even gotten started yet!” he yelled in frustration. This trip is not starting well…

  A face he did not expect to see again peered over the map’s edge.

  “You! So you did follow us from Grimble,” Colin exclaimed, immediately feeling relieved.

  It was the bird-human, flapping its wings and holding the map in its beak.

  “Can I have it back please?” he asked nicely.

  The bird chirped and lowered the map in front of Colin’s face, so that light could filter through it. Colin was enthralled as the map changed before his eyes. The path he was currently standing on glimmered, continuing before him.The bird-human flew backwards, encouraging him forward. With each step, the map changed. Colin stopped when a rock formation blocked his path. On the map the glimmering path ended and words appeared that stated, turn right.

  Colin obliged, along with the bird-human. The path glimmered again, showing Colin he was heading in the right direction, but also indicated a warning: do not touch any plants found along this particular path. Doing so would cost you greatly!

  “Wow,” said Colin. “I think I get it now. I was reading it completely wrong.”

  The bird dropped the map back into Colin’s hands. He studied it for moment longer, realizing that his current path went on for some distance, so he tucked the map inside his shirt.

  “Thanks,” Colin told the bird. “We are going to have to figure out some way to repay you.”

  The bird perched onto a nearby rock, nodding its beak and squawking in reply.

  Colin followed the path and was delighted when the bird-human followed him. Perhaps he would not be alone after all. When his current path suddenly veered off into two directions, he consulted the map again. He held it in front of him and the light filtered through, pointing out which way to go. He continued in this manner until late afternoon, when upon looking at the map again, a warning message appeared.

  “You must get to a safe spot before dark!”

  Colin’s heart sped up. The closest safe spot shimmered red on the map. It was not far, but he would need to hurry to make it in time. The bird-human chirped aggressively, encouraging Colin to move faster.

  Finding his way through the Goblin like formations would have been impossible without the aid of Corny’s map. He took one last look through the failing daylight. His safe spot was close. He lowered the map and with his actual eyes, saw the entrance to a cave. He took off running as fast as he could, with the sun light fading behind his heels.

  Colin leapt into the cave alongside the low flying bird-human, just as the final rays of light disappeared fully. After catching his breath, he could not help but peek into the darkening outside.

  A mixture of bizarre and eerie noises resonated outside the cave. As it leaked inside, bouncing off smoothed walls, it gave the impression that something alive was in the cave, with them. Colin’s heart pounded as he listened to the grinding, groaning and crashing of rocks that rippled its way into the cave.

  A monstrous silhouette slithered by, leaving a foreboding shadow in its path. Colin was not sure his heart could beat any harder.

  Nevertheless, he had to look. He needed to know what was out there. He crept as close to the exit of the cave as possible, staying hidden in the shadows.

  Colin’s heart stopped and he forgot to breathe. His jaw fell open, but he could not speak. His eyes fluttered as his body fell limp to the ground.

  ##

  ##

  Meghan dragged behind the fast-paced Ivan. Not on purpose. She tried her hardest to catch up, but her pack weighed her down. For the first few hours, they did not speak. However, Meghan could feel Ivan’s brazen satisfaction whenever she stumbled.

  They took short breaks, only long enough for Ivan to consult his map. He insisted they eat while walking. As the first evening approached, Ivan directed Meghan toward a cave.

  “This is where we will camp for the night. As soon as we get settled I need you to try and see.”

  These were words Meghan had prepared for, but still dreaded hearing.

  “You know I’ll do my best, Ivan,” she replied.

  “Actually, I know you will,” he said, with almost an air of approval. “I’m going to study the map and make us some dinner. We’ll get some sleep and rise early tomorrow.”

  Meghan had no strength to argue and just nodded as she stumbled yet again. So badly this time, that Ivan had to grab her before she fell completely. Meghan huffed as Ivan let go.

  They arrived at the cave and Meghan gratefully sank to the ground escaping from her pack. The light faded, throwing the cave into near darkness. While Ivan prepared some c
heese and meat pies for dinner, Meghan decided to peek outside the cave.

  She heard strange sounds, like shuffling, grinding and crashing rocks.

  Meghan’s jaw dropped to the ground. She was speechless. Her thoughts instantly strayed to Colin. “Sure am glad he’s not out here with me,” she muttered softly. “He would pass out for sure if he saw this!” Meghan jumped as Ivan scooted beside her. His eyes gaped, clearly caught off guard by the scene manifesting before them.

  Outside of their cave, the darker it became, the more the valley sprung to life. The rock formations that resembled Goblins during the day became real living Goblins after dark. The Goblin’s bodies appeared cumbersome, as they shifted and slithered across the ground, crashing into each other, as if they had no care that something was in the way.

  Before long, the valley in front of their cave was barren. Where were they all going? Would they all be back before morning?

  Though fascinated, Ivan made a sign for them to move further inside the cave.

  “Was one of those things Eidolon?” asked Meghan in a whisper.

  “I don’t think so,” replied Ivan. “From what the Banon has told me, he is larger and bolder than any of his minions.”

  “Those things are his minions?”

  “Yes. Eidolon is the Goblin King.”

  “I had absolutely no idea that Goblins were real, never mind the fact that they would have a king,” said Meghan, adding, “So you knew those things were out there?”

  “Yes. The Banon explained it to me, but I have to admit, seeing them and knowing about them, are two completely different things. I have never seen a Goblin before,” he said with newfound reverence.

  “And Eidolon, the Goblin King, is bigger,” Meghan confirmed.

  “From what I hear, yes. No worries though, it’s not a part of our task to make contact with any Goblins. Besides, once the daylight returns, they will go to sleep. They don’t like the daylight.”