The Rising King

by Shea Berkley

  “I’m not…” I can’t finish, and it pisses me off because I should be able to admit what I’m not since I’ve been living a lie as to what I am. “Kera believed I could fix Teag. From the beginning she had faith in me, but I’m not who they think I am. I’m nobody special.”

  Grandpa’s gaze lands heavily on me. “You’re somebody special to me. You’re special to all these people. Honest to God, son. You’re the only sane person left in this crazy place. You’re it. It really is up to you to save them all. You’ve been given power, now it’s time you figured out exactly how to use it.”

  “He killed her,” I admit, replaying her death over and over again. “I don’t even know how he did it. One moment she was alive, the next she was dead.” I turn haunted eyes on him. “How can I fight that? And when he was done, and I almost had him, he disappeared. Not, he ran away faster than me. He disappeared.”

  “What?” Leo’s attention centers on me. “Like abracadabra disappeared?”

  “Like, poof! Gone.”

  Leo closes his eyes. “Lucinda.”

  I don’t want to hear it. “No, dude. Don’t even…”

  “It was her. She’s the only one who can help people disappear like that.” He laughs, but it’s filled with pain. “It makes sense. I’ve been reading about attraction. Our thoughts, if allowed to grow undisturbed, will attract another by manifesting in some kind of outward, visible form.”

  “English?” Grandpa says.

  “Lucinda loves chaos. Because she lives and breathes it, she recognized the turmoil that’s in Baun. Basic law of attraction.”

  Sometimes, I want to punch Leo in the face. “I’m confused. Why should I care about this?”

  Leo stands, his agitation clearly visible. “I thought she loved me, but she loved me because it benefited Baun. She’s been in his back pocket this whole time. Probably telling him our every move.” He smacks his forehead with his palm. “I’m an idiot!”

  I blink and when I open my eyes, Lucinda is standing next to Leo. The look on her face is indignant. “Baun has nothing to do with us.” She grabs Leo the way a cat does a ball of string and says, “But he owes me, and it’s time to collect.”

  The next instant, they’re gone. Like poof! Gone.

  Testing the Limits

  Phoenix Hall had more hidden passageways than an ancient European catacomb. It didn’t surprise Kera that Bodog knew every one of them. Even after all he’d done for the firsts, they didn’t trust him, and the little man definitely didn’t trust them. Using the passageways kept him out of sight and out of mind, but his way was taking far longer than it should.

  All Kera wanted was to find Baun and admit what she’d done. He would be angry. He would blame her for not thinking things through, but he would understand. He always had before.

  Here and there along the walls of the hidden passageways were little spy holes. It made Kera uncomfortable knowing anyone, even Baun, could have eavesdropped on a moment she had thought was private.

  As they drew near to Baun’s chambers, Bodog’s steps slowed to a stop. Faldon urged him forward, but the little man refused to budge. Kera glanced over her shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

  “Bodog is not welcome.”

  It was no secret Baun had no love for Bodog. The former king had even imprisoned the little man years ago. She could understand his reticence, but he needn’t fear. “You are with me, Bodog. No one will harm you.”

  The little man clamped his hand to her arm and shook his head. “What you know cannot be trusted.”

  Faldon’s face appeared in the wood. “Unhand her, Bodog.”

  The little man shook his head and held on. Bodog usually did whatever Faldon asked, but for some reason, he had chosen now to make his stand.

  “Baun has done everything we asked of him. He gave up his power and has been proven trustworthy.” Kera warmed his pale fingers with her hand and gazed calmly into his worried eyes. “I know you are frightened, but Teag is dying. I can save us, or at least I have to try.”

  Bodog’s fingers tightened for a moment, and then he released her. She cupped his cheek. “It will be all right.”

  Baun’s chambers were on the other side of the wall. She pulled off the bow and arrows slung across her back and shuffled closer to the peephole. Peering into the room, she saw Baun sitting at his desk, alone. He slammed a flat, circular object on the desk and growled in frustration.

  Kera pulled away. “He’s alone. Are you coming with me?”

  Bodog refused. She couldn’t blame him. Baun had a nasty reputation to overcome. The Dark Souls were gathering and everyone had lost confidence in him. “Watch and see for yourself how he’s changed. I’ll be back soon.”

  Faldon’s face appeared in the stick. It seemed drier than usual, his voice rougher. Even the green sprig didn’t appear as green. “Be wary. Once he touches you, he will know you no longer have his magic. Tell him you gave it to someone else. It’s imperative you do not reveal the Keeper of Life.”

  “I won’t lie to him.”

  They heard shouts coming from Baun’s chambers. Kera returned to the peephole and saw Lucinda and Leo standing in the middle of the room.

  “I have done everything you asked,” Lucinda said in crisp, clear tones. “I want what you promised me.”

  The boom of Baun’s palm hitting his desk startled Kera. “I did not promise you I would give him immortality. Never would I promise something so offensive.”

  His show of anger didn’t faze the Lutine. “Do not try to weasel out of it.”

  “How can I weasel out of something I have no power to grant? The Salter’s magic isn’t working.”

  Lucinda’s gaze dropped to the coin on Baun’s desk. “Is that it?”

  He picked it up and shoved it in his pocket. “Our borders are failing. The surrounding kingdoms have eyes for Teag. You guaranteed a deal with Navar and the Rodarians.”

  “Are not the firsts clamoring for your protection?”

  “Yes, but”—he pointed to the map—“where is my border defense?”

  “Give them a taste of the human realm and you will have it.”

  “Only after I secure what is mine. That is the deal.”

  Leo stared in horror at his girlfriend. “Cin, what did you do?”

  She ignored him and hissed at Baun, “I cannot control every outcome. You have magic.” Lucinda let go of Leo and leaned over the desk, her body sparking with energy. “If that is the Salter’s magic you hold, it will work.”

  He pulled the coin out of his pocket and angrily tossed it toward her. “It won’t. I have tried.”

  She reared back from it as if it would bite her. Baun laughed and swept it into his hand. “Still nervous it will kill you?”

  “You have power. I’ve felt it growing in you. It may not be as powerful as you want, but it can give me what I desire.”

  Baun nonchalantly spun the coin on the desk. “I hate being the bearer of bad news, but what you desire is getting away.”

  Spinning around, Lucinda saw Leo heading for the door. She popped in front of him, grabbed his arm, and popped them back in front of Baun.

  Baun shook his head and tsked his tongue. “It does not appear as if he wants what you do.”

  “He will.”

  “Cin…” Leo said, a look of pity in his eyes.

  Baun stood, cutting Leo off, and rounded his desk to stand by Lucinda. “I find it interesting, and slightly disturbing you can’t give him up as easily as he seems able to give you up. Take a good look, my sweet. He is only a human.”

  “He’s mine,” she snarled, a warning for Baun to tread carefully.

  He threw up his hands and backed away, but not without a parting shot. “Your little pet will only leave you. They always leave.”

  “Just because yours did does not mean mine will.”

  Leo frowned, and stammered, “I-I’m not a pet.”

  “Give him the choice,” Baun challenged. “Find out now if he wants to stay with you.
”

  “I have no need for such an exercise. Leo loves me.”

  A dark, bitter laugh shook Baun’s shoulders. He crossed his arms over his chest and pinned Leo with a hard glare. “Do you?”

  Leo looked from Baun to Lucinda. Kera could just imagine his brain trying to pinpoint exactly how much trouble he was in. He had to know he was on thin ice. His gaze landed on Lucinda and stayed there. “Yes. I love you, but I’m not sure I should.”

  “The paradox of love,” Baun scoffed and dropped into his chair.

  Leo ignored Baun and cupped both sides of Lucinda’s face. “There is no paradox. Love is or it isn’t.”

  The look Lucinda gave Leo nearly took Kera’s breath away. “Love is,” the Lutine breathed just before she kissed him.

  Their show of affection had Baun scowling from his seat. He switched from the round, flat coin to twirling a thin letter opener on his desktop. “Must you?”

  Lingering over Leo’s lips, Lucinda whispered, “You becoming immortal…we can be together, forever.”

  Sweet, compassionate, uncomplicated Leo slipped his fingers through her thick white hair. “You’ve known it from the beginning. Forever isn’t mine to give.”

  Baun vaults out of his chair. “See? From his own lips. He’s a runner.” He went to Lucinda and said close to her ear, “This is tiresome. Cut your losses, my sweet. He isn’t worth the heartache. Mine declared her love as well and look what happened.”

  Her body tensed as she stared at Leo. “Do you want me?”

  The hurt in her eyes visibly upset him. “More than anything, but that doesn’t change my reality. I don’t know how to explain it so you can understand. I don’t want forever. My mind can’t even comprehend that. I just want now. With you, and only you.”

  Baun circled the pair. “You want him to live forever; he has no taste for immortality. How to fix such a conundrum…”

  The way Baun said it sent a chill down Kera’s spine.

  Beside her, Bodog made a strangling noise and cowered in the shadows. Kera shot a glance his way and motioned him to be quiet. His hands covered his ears and he bumped into the far wall just as Lucinda screamed. Bodog had known something horrible was about to happen. Kera pressed her eye to the spy hole again and saw Leo on his knees, his shirt covered in blood where the letter opener protruded from his chest.

  “There,” Baun said with a sigh. “Now he doesn’t have to live forever. He only has now.”

  The gasp that had been stuck in Kera’s throat stumbled out. She pushed against the wall, rocking back on her heels, not wanting to see any more.

  Bodog whimpered and backed farther into the shadows. Kera glanced his way, speechless. They needed to leave. Baun had never changed. He had deceived them all. But before she took a step, Baun’s power pulled her through the wall and into the room. Her weapons flew from her hands and scattered across the room as she skidded across the polished marble floor, coming to rest near Baun’s ornate desk.

  The next moment, Lucinda and Leo were gone, leaving behind a bright-red stain on the floor.

  A growl ripped from Baun as he stalked over to Kera. “Spying?”

  “You killed Leo.” She couldn’t reconcile the man she had come to know with the one standing over her. “Why?”

  “You heard her. She wanted him to be immortal. I couldn’t let that happen.”

  “Can you do that?”

  He flipped the coin in his hand. “I can do far more than grant a frivolous request.” He held the old copper coin between his thumb and pointer. “People have died, gained kingdoms, and lost kingdoms because of the Salter’s magic. Pity its power does not match its legend.”

  “What about the Dark Souls? We need that magic to fight them.”

  “Fight them?” Baun pocketed the coin. “Why would I do that when they’ve been so helpful in pushing all the magic in the kingdom to me? Soon I’ll have all the power. And when I do, no one will ever be able to imprison me again. I will be the king my people deserve. And they will love me. So no, I will not fight them. They’re doing exactly what I want…and right now I want what’s mine.” He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her close.

  As soon as he touched her, his face darkened. His brows lowered ominously and his voice rattled low in his chest. “What have you done?”

  She’d never seen him look so angry. Her eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

  “I should be able to feel my magic in you, but nothing is there. You’re human again.” His fingers dug into her arm. “Where is it?”

  Her hand instinctively went to her necklace. She tried to break free, but he twisted her arm behind her back. Taking the stone in his hand, it glowed. “You made a Keeper of Life?”

  Though his voice sounded reverent, his eyes glittered with greed. She nodded, more than a little afraid of him. “The magic is harmful, Baun. The darkness started to overtake me, like it did you.”

  “My father made you do this, didn’t he?”

  He wasn’t listening. “No. It was my idea.”

  He yanked the necklace off, breaking the chain against her neck. She winced and as he held it up, she rubbed her stinging skin. “It only works for me.”

  She made a grab for the necklace, but he jerked it away. The expression on his face turned unreadable. “All good theories need to be tested.”

  He let her go, and clutching the stone, he tried to extract his magic. She instantly doubled over in pain. The chambers rattled. The whole building swayed. She begged him to stop. He turned his back on her and doubled his efforts, but the magic stubbornly stuck to the necklace. Baun slammed the amber necklace on his desk. His eyes fell on Kera and he grabbed her arm. “It appears to be attached to you.”

  “I told you only I can use it.”

  Out of the corner of her eye, Kera saw Bodog peering around the edges of the torn-up wall. He stepped through, his hands trembling as he held out the stick before him.

  When the face of Baun’s father appeared in the wood, Baun let go of Kera and stepped back, his face a mirror of amusement. “You brought my father for protection? He’s trapped in a puny tree limb. It’s a fitting end for him, though a false one.”

  “Is that a threat?” Faldon’s voice grated through the wooden lips. “At least I am determined to end with more honor than I died. Can you say the same?”

  A harsh laugh erupted from Baun. “Such a sad little goal. I am fully alive, and I plan on staying that way for years to come.”

  Faldon’s rasp grew thick. “You never did look beyond the moment, no matter how hard I tried to teach you. Leave the girl alone.”

  Baun’s long finger pointed at Faldon. “You are my father. I am king.”

  “A former king.”

  “Which I will rectify as soon as I regain my power,” he said as if he were instructing a slow-witted person.

  “The power you want, you can never have.”

  “I don’t believe you. There is always a way.”

  “I may look like just a silly stick to you, but I am still bound by all the rules of our kind.”

  The hungry light that shone from Baun’s eyes turned wicked. “You were always one for the rules.”

  “Which you care nothing about.”

  He looked at Kera, then back to his father. “Don’t the rules say, when she dies, her magic is freed?”

  “No, Baun. You’ve delivered enough death for one day.”

  “Why put off for tomorrow what can be done today?” He turned to Kera, his hand glowing. His outward sadness was as false as the compassion in his voice. “We are all called upon to make sacrifices in life.”

  Bodog sprinted forward and stretched out the stick in front of Kera. When the magic struck the wood, Bodog went flying one way and Faldon flew the other. The little man’s veins protruded black along his pale skin. Baun turned his power onto Kera, who was running for cover, and sent a jolt through her, knocking her down behind the desk. The air filled with the scent of burned wood, hair, and skin. Kera’s breath c
ame in staggered gasps, each hurting worse than the one before. Her body felt like it was burning from the inside out, and death, with all its sharp pain, slowly crawled up her legs.

  She’d been caught off guard. Trusted someone she should never have trusted. All the power in the world couldn’t have saved her from that kind of deceit.

  One of Baun’s men came into the room and said someone was spotted spying near the wall. Baun told him he’d be right there.

  Before he left, he squatted by Kera and brushed her hair out of her eyes. “You’re still alive? I wager not for long.” He held up the amber necklace and let it fall onto her stomach. “It knows you’re dying and gave me what I wanted. You can have the trinket back now. It’s worthless.”

  “And this,” he said, holding the coin, “is useless to me. Whatever cannot be used should be thrown away, don’t you agree?” He pinched it, folding it in half. Then pinched it again, and again until it was no bigger than a speck of dust. He placed the speck in the center of his palm and blew it off. It caught the light for a second before it disappeared, too small to see where it landed. He slapped his hands on his knees and stood.

  After he walked around the desk, Kera heard the sound of a stick being snapped in two and thrown in the fireplace, and soon after that, the door slamming in his wake.

  The smallest movement hurt. Even blinking her eyes hurt. She could barely breathe. Death was a friend she’d met far too often, though she’d always managed to leave its company with her soul intact…but not today. She was half dead and fading fast. The power Baun wanted was his at last. Yet she didn’t give his success much thought. She selfishly wanted to see Dylan, feel his breath on her cheek, his lips on hers one last time. It was a request that would take a miracle.

  But didn’t she deserve just one miracle before she died?

  Trusting

  Dark Souls swarm the sky, turning midday into an oppressive sight. From where Reece and I hide, we see Granel, sitting on a blood red horse surrounded by hell hounds as he leads his ghoulish army toward the Ruined City. Across the field in the opposite direction is the Rodarian army. Did Baun even control them?