The Ornathian tilted her head to the side. “And how did you know that? You should not hear him if he’s confined.”
“I may not hear him, but I can still sense his presence.” Arden raised her shields and stood up. “I can also hear him in my dreams.”
“And what does he say, Soulbearer?” Sazi asked.
She cast a sideways glance at Callix. “He said you two were keeping me from finding the relic.”
“And you believed him?” Callix scrambled to his feet, the unleashed spell still glowing in his hand.
“At least I know why he’s trying to manipulate me,” she shot back before turning to Sazi. “He wants me to find the relic.”
“Of course he does,” Callix said, coming closer, “because he knows he can use you to get his body back.”
“He didn’t mention anything about his body this time. He said he purposely showed me the location because he wants me to come to him.”
“And drive you insane in the process so he can take control of you.” Callix closed the space between them until their shields prevented him from coming any closer. “Or worse, use you to reopen the gates and destroy the world.”
Within her, Loku rebelled with a muffled howl that rang in her ears.
Arden reinforced her shields and released him.
“Tell that arrogant cocksucker to shut up, or I will do it for you,” Loku threatened.
“If you take control of me one more time, I’m going to be bound in mithral for the rest of my life.”
“Very well,” the chaos god said with a sigh. “Take all the fun away from me.”
“Now’s not the time for fun.” Arden backed away from the other two mages until they were both in her line of sight.
Sazi arched a brow. “You released him again, Soulbearer. Why?”
“I want to hear his side of the story.”
“That’s very wise of you, Arden.” An invisible arm wrapped around her waist in a possessive hold. “They accuse me of lying when I’m honestly trying to show you the way to save Dev. Why don’t we shed some more light on the situation?”
The dim glow from Cinder did little more than highlight the planes of their faces, but Arden heeded the chaos god’s command and cast a spell that chased away the shadows.
“Very good,” Loku said in an almost taunting tone. “Now what do you see?”
A narrow corridor appeared behind Sazi and triggered a flash of memory. She’d seen this before.
“What is he telling you now?” Callix asked, his spell doubling in power. “That we’re waiting for the right moment to ambush you and drag you to some remote dungeon?”
“Should I silence him for you, my dear?” A wave of malice surged within her gut, but she managed to suppress it.
“Not now.”
Arden pushed past Sazi and followed the tunnel, not caring if the others followed her. With every step, she grew more confident that she was on the right path, but she still couldn’t recall where it led. All she knew was that she had to keep going.
It wasn’t until she saw the veins of pink crystals sparkling in the walls that it hit her.
This was the cave from her dream.
Loku chuckled and said, “Yes, Arden. You know what to do next. I’ve already shown you the way.”
“Arden, wait!” Sazi called, but she ignored her and broke into a run.
In a few minutes, she’d be in Chaos.
***
A chill raced up Callix’s spine the moment Arden dashed out of sight. Something was very wrong about this place. A strange power throbbed through the ethos the moment he entered the tunnel. It tensed the muscles in his shoulders, his back, his gut. Every single nerve in his body stood on edge. He turned to Sazi and asked, “You sense it, too?”
Judging by the tight line of her mouth, she did. “I did last night, but I did not want to give away my fears. We have to stop her.”
“I agree, but do you have a spell that can penetrate her shields?”
The Ornathian didn’t answer and surged ahead of him.
By the time he caught up to them, they were in the middle of a large chamber. Soot lined the walls, and splintered bones littered the floor. Suddenly, Sazi’s warning about dragons seemed all too real.
But that wasn’t what added a high-pitched note of panic to her words. “Arden, don’t!”
The Soulbearer stared at black letters inscribed on the wall before her, her lips moving silently. The yellow-green halo in her eyes blazed with an eerie glow that radiated to the writing. The letters pulsed in sync with the throbbing magic, growing stronger and stronger until a bright light exploded through the room.
Callix raised his hand to shield his eyes, but the force of the spell blinded him and knocked him to the ground. Seconds passed as he blinked his surroundings back into view, and when things came into focus, his hands curled into fists.
A shimmering portal stood along the wall, and his worst fears came to life.
“You fool!”
Sazi stretched out her arms to stop him before he pummeled Arden, the strength in her muscular limbs rivaling those of the best-trained knights in the realm. “Do not provoke him.”
And by him, she meant Loku.
Callix swung at the air. The gate to Chaos was open. The one thing he wanted to prevent now mocked his failure.
Arden turned to them, the halo in her eyes retreating to a thin rim. “You can come with me, or you can stay behind, but I’m going in there whether you like it or not.”
“You will be at his mercy if you go there,” Sazi said, her voice disturbingly calm for someone standing in front of an open gate to Chaos.
“I know, but what choice do I have?” Arden pointed to the portal. “The only way to save Dev lies through there.”
“I understand, but have you asked why he’s allowing you access to his realm without bringing him what he wants?” Sazi lowered her arms and approached the Soulbearer with cautious steps. “He never does something unless it suits his needs. Keep that in mind before you step into his trap.”
“I will.” She held out her hand to Sazi. “You’ll be with me, though, right?”
The Ornathian shook her head. “I cannot go with you.”
The corners of Arden’s mouth turned down. “Why not?”
“My goddess forbids it.” She placed her hand on Arden’s head like a mother comforting a child. “But do not begrudge me, for I will remain here until you return and keep anything from escaping.”
Arden’s gaze then slid to Callix with no effort to conceal her resentment. “I’m not sure if I’d be better off without you.”
Her words left an unexpected sting to his pride. “I could say the same thing.”
“You would be better off with an ally.” Sazi lowered her hands to Arden’s shoulders and guided her toward him.
“He’s the last person I’d consider to be an ally.”
His hand fell to his sword, and his shields went up. “What do you want from me? A vow to protect you? To keep you safe from all harm until I draw my last breath?”
As soon as he uttered those words, his past came slamming back to him and drove the air from his lungs. They echoed the vow made by the Soulbearer’s Protector.
By Ivis, he was caught.
And he could almost see the chaos god laughing as the Soulbearer stared back at him.
Sazi released Arden and crossed the chamber to him. “Do you wish to remain here, Callix?”
She was giving him an out, an escape from the one thing he’d wanted to avoid from the moment he knew what he’d been chosen for. And yet, when he glanced over her shoulder at the open gate, a new resolve filled him. He may have wanted to avoid protecting the Soulbearer, but he could protect the empire from Loku.
“No, I’ll go with her, if she will allow it.”
Arden’s lips parted, and she took a step back, the hard lines of her shoulders falling in surprise.
“Then you must be on guard,” Sazi whispered, “because he
will not allow it unless he has some ulterior motive.”
A wave of magic rippled over him, followed by a spell that shot to the center of his chest. Hallucinations danced along the edge of his consciousness, and for a moment, he saw not Sazi standing before him, but the winged goddess, Lireal. Fire burned in her eyes as she wrapped her blood-red wings around him, clouding his world in crimson.
When his vision cleared, the goddess had been replaced by Sazi. “I have done what I can to protect you, Callix. Now it is up to you to protect her.” She stepped aside, giving him a clear view of Arden.
His voice was low and hoarse as he asked, “May I accompany you on your quest, Soulbearer?”
She bit her bottom lip, her gaze darting around the chamber before finally settling back on him. “Can I trust that you won’t sabotage my efforts?”
He weighed his answer carefully, not wanting to give Loku any leverage over him. “I promise to help you find the Blood of Lireal and bring it back to this realm.”
“Then come along.” She turned and disappeared through the portal without any trace of the fear that twisted his stomach into knots.
“Remember, you will have to play by his rules,” Sazi warned.
“There are no rules in Chaos.”
“Precisely.” She scratched Cinder behind his ears, and the wolf lay down at her feet instead of following Arden. “Keep her safe, but do not hesitate to drag her back if something looks wrong.”
He nodded, already preparing the spells he’d need to do so.
Then he stared at the portal as though it were a foe he needed to vanquish. Never in all his three hundred years had he imagined crossing into another realm. He reinforced his shields and stepped into Chaos.
Chapter 12
Chaos was like nothing Callix had ever imagined. He’d expected it to be something dark and terrifying, sinister and malicious, but all he could see were the stars streaking across the heavens. The sun and the moon battled for prominence in the sky while distant galaxies spiraled in every direction while changing colors. He watched in awe as one of the stars grew bloated, changing from a small white speck to a pulsating red mass before finally bursting in a shower of sparks.
Then the earth rolled underneath his feet and knocked him to the ground.
“Need a hand?” Arden asked with a smile.
He took her hand and got on his feet. “This is…”
“Amazing?” she finished for him with a shrug. “Yeah, but pretty tame for Chaos.”
“You’ve been here before?”
“Only in my dreams.” She looked up at the sky for a few more seconds with a wistful smile before growing serious again. “Come on. The Blood of Lireal is this way.”
“How can you tell?” The landscape was in constant motion, morphing from green forests to craggy mountains to toasted deserts within the span of a minute.
“That.” She pointed to a distant star on the horizon that seemed immune to the discord that ruled the rest of the realm. “Even Loku needs a marker.”
“And are you certain this isn’t some fool’s quest?”
The halo brightened in her eyes, and she tightened her jaw. “It had better not be.”
She adjusted her pack and marched forward.
***
“I didn’t expect him to come, my little Soulbearer.”
“Neither did I.” She looked behind her at the man following her deeper into Chaos.
Callix staggered forward a few steps at a time, his hand never leaving his sword as he navigated the ever-changing terrain and watched the exotic fauna of Chaos from a distance. His eyes were wide, although she couldn’t tell if it was from fear or wonder. Perhaps a mixture of both.
“A rather interesting turn of events, I should say.”
“We’ll see if he helps or hinders.”
“Oh, he’ll help. I’m almost certain of it.”
Before she could ask him what he meant, Loku retreated from her consciousness.
Callix jogged up to her. “When you’ve been here before, what happened?”
“It was a dream, Callix, nothing more.”
“Yes, but Loku brought you here for a reason, and the more I know about this place, the better I can protect you.”
The fog rolled in, obscuring the star from view. Her pulse quickened, and she focused on keeping one foot in front of the other in a straight line. “I’ve only been here twice in my dreams, and both times, he was there to guide me.”
“Loku?”
She nodded. “I’ve seen what he looked like before his body was destroyed.” But she doubted his skin had been as cold as it had been in his dreams, especially after how warm his invisible touch was when he wanted to remind her of his presence.
“And what should I expect from here?”
She hesitated to answer, knowing full well that Loku could change everything just to spite her. But if something should happen to her, then Callix should know where to find the relic and save Dev. “The Blood of Lireal is hidden in an apple orchard. We’ll have to pass through a canyon with cream-colored walls and a flat plain before we get there. And once we do, you’ll have to stroke the trunk of a tree in the center with silvery leaves to retrieve it.”
He looked at her as though she’d lost her mind.
She gave him a nervous laugh and ignored the burning in her cheeks. “I know it sounds ridiculous, but that’s what I remember.”
A bolt of green lightning forked through the fog, shaking the ground on impact and showering them with a storm of rocks. Within a second, Callix had pulled her close and surrounded them with a dome of magic.
“See? I can protect you,” he said, more to himself than her.
“Point made.” She shook him off and ventured deeper into Chaos. If she wanted to save Dev, she needed to reach the canyon before the day’s end.
That is, if there was a way to tell time here in Chaos.
“How far away is this apple orchard?”
“I have no idea.” And the thick fog that swirled around them didn’t help matters. “When Loku showed me where the Blood of Lireal was, he took me there by horse and carriage.”
“Any chance you can ask him to send it back to you?”
“I wish.” It unsettled her that Loku wasn’t by her side, or at least, in her mind. She’d thought that once he’d lured her here, he would’ve been more than eager to show off his realm to her as he had in the past. His absence set every nerve on edge, and Sazi’s warning about this being a trap echoed in her mind.
They traveled in silence for what seemed like hours. If the fog parted enough for her to catch a glimpse of the guiding star, Arden realigned her course. But otherwise, she was left alone with her thoughts.
She played with her necklace and focused on Dev. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t form the connection she craved from this plane.
“What does it say?” Callix asked to her right, gesturing to the pendant.
She jumped, completely unaware that he’d moved alongside her. “It says ‘I love Trouble.’ ”
“Sounds appropriate.” He stared off into the void with a furrowed brow. “You must really love him to venture into the heart of Chaos.”
“I do.” She gave her pendant one final squeeze and tucked it into her shirt. “But that doesn’t explain why you are here.”
“I have my own reasons,” he replied, his voice cracking with the same raw emotion that had surprised her the day before.
“Care to share them with me?”
His face hardened. “Let’s just say I owe Dev a favor.” But instead of elaborating, he surged ahead of her into the fog.
She chased after him before she lost sight of him. “Wait!”
He stopped so quickly that she ran into him just as the earth shifted, sending them both to the ground.
She caught him before he got back up. “Don’t stray from me.”
“Scared?” he asked, his one word mocking her.
She nodded. “And you should be,
too. He let you in here for a reason, and until we know why, we both have to look out for each other.”
His upper lip rose in a disdainful sneer. “I hardly need a half-mad Milorian to look out for me.”
“Then consider this—out of the two of us, I’m the only one who’s been here before.”
“And for all I know, you’re in league with the chaos god you obviously can’t control.” He shrugged her off and stood, moving deeper into the fog.
The hairs on her arm rose, and her pulse pounded in her ears. A silent warning blared through her mind. “Callix, come back.”
An angry bleat answered, followed by the thunder of hooves. A bolt of green lightning lit up the sky to reveal two silhouettes. One of Callix.
And one of the creature charging toward him.
“Stop it, Loku!” she shouted, but the sound of deep laughter surrounded them.
The lightning increased in ferocity, illuminating each second in a series of vignettes that seemed to slow time down.
Arden scrambled to her feet.
Callix turned and drew his sword.
The chaos creature lowered its head.
Arden cast a shield to encompass Callix.
She held her breath, offering a prayer to the Lady Moon it would reach him in time.
Only to watch helplessly as the creature plunged its horns into Callix.
Chapter 13
Callix barely had enough time to raise his sword before the creature gored him.
White hot pain seared through his middle, driving the air from his lungs and paralyzing every muscle in his body. He slumped forward. His sword fell from his hand as the creature shook his limp body. The taste of blood filled his mouth.
I knew I shouldn’t have come here.
Sinister laughter echoed around him, and he cursed the god of chaos.
He waited for death to claim him, for his soul to depart for the afterlife, but he remained conscious during every excruciating beat of his heart.
“Enough!” a woman shouted behind him, and a bolt of magic collided with the creature.
Callix flew through the air until he smashed against a stone wall that snapped his ribs. A hoarse cough rattled his being, and a gush of blood spilled from his lips. And yet, even through the haze of pain, he saw something that gave him hope.
A Soul For Atonement (The Soulbearer Series Book 4) Page 8