“Reks, is that really you?”
“Yes, Alida.”
“I dreamed of your coming. Are your companions here as well? The prince, the guard, the dryad and the shifter?”
“They are here as well.”
“Good. We have much to discuss, the six of us. But introduce me first.”
Turning his back on the mage, Reks took a deep breath. “May I present Miss Alida Kiritan, my sister.”
Chapter 23
REKS
Silence greeted Reks' revelation.
“You might have mentioned that earlier.” Vaughn said wryly. “We would have taken your word that she was not the one who was taking children.”
Reks shrugged and turned back to his sister, his silver eyes drinking in the sight of her. “Would you have really believed me? Or would you then have questioned my loyalty to the cause? Seeing as how I am only a lowly thief,” he said wryly, with a pointed look at Rian. The prince couldn’t help the flush that crept over his cheeks.
“What would have happened does not matter,” said Alida. “You are here now. And I must say that it is good that you are. Had you bypassed seeing me you would not have heard the entirety of the story.”
“The entirety of the story?” Sylvan asked.
“Yes. I can tell you who is behind these kidnappings, though I cannot tell you why with any certainty. I have my suspicions.”
“How do you know when the other mages we’ve been to see have only been able to give us speculations?” Serra asked. At the sound of her voice Reks felt a shiver of the memory of waking up and finding her gone. The idea of losing her, when he’d lost so much in his life was almost too much to bear.
“Alida is a dream seer.” Reks answered. “In her state of conscious sleep she can look into almost anything she wishes to. Even into the future.”
Serra trembled next to him. He knew that the idea of someone being able to creep into your mind and into the future could be disconcerting to some, but Reks couldn’t bring himself to care. This was his little sister. He didn’t care what she was, he loved her.
“Can you tell us what we need to know?” Vaughn asked, straight to the point as always. Reks tried not to glare at him. He’d waited years to be reunited with his sister, and Vaughn was speeding his time with her.
Alida seemed to understand the urgency. “Of course.” Five chairs appeared out of nowhere. “Please sit.” Reks helped Serra to her chair then took the one next to her as the others arranged themselves. As they watched two figures appeared on the blue light before Alida, becoming more and more solid looking until Reks thought that if he reached out he would be able to touch them.
The figures were two beautiful women, both with red hair that flowed to the ground in shiny waves and, from what Reks could see, vibrant green eyes. They stood, holding hands on a high green hill, laughing.
“Five hundred years ago there were two sisters, born of their mother within moments of each other. Twins. They lived happily in the country, never seeking any fame or fortune beyond helping those in need. The two sisters were discovered to be very powerful mages. Their mother had taught them well, and they only used their powers for the betterment of others and never for themselves. Until one day a man came by the sisters’ farm.” At this the scene in front of them changed to show a house and barn with a small pasture and even smaller garden next to it. As they watched a handsome man rode up to the house sunlight glinting off his brown hair. As Alida spoke the figures moved and the scenes changed, acting out the story.
“He was wounded from a battle with a dragon, and sought assistance from the two powerful mages he had heard lived in the region. The elder of the two sisters, Valeria, took in the soldier and sat by his side day and night, nursing him back to health. Dragon wounds are very dangerous and can take months to heal, even with the most powerful of magics. And the knight stayed with them for months.
“Over that time, he grew to care deeply about Valeria and she about him. They spent much of their time together. The younger sister grew jealous of the time her sister was spending with the soldier and not with her. And jealous that the soldier had fallen in love with her sister. For the younger sister had grown to love the soldier in her own way.
“The soldier gave Valeria a ring as a token of his love for her and Valeria never took it off, when she washed clothes, when she bathed, when she attended to the sick and dying. The ring was never removed from her finger. In fact, she had cast a binding spell on her finger and the ring, so that one could not be separated from the other. The soldier left them after six months and promised to return after a year’s time with enough money to marry Valeria. During that time their mother grew ill, and no matter what the sisters did, death came for her a mere month before the soldier was to return.
“The younger sister knowing that when the soldier returned Valeria would leave her alone in the little village, could not bear the thought. Late one night she got up from the bed a snuck to her sister’s room. She cast a spell on her sister. A sleeping spell that would last for thousands of years. Valeria would sleep forever in youth, never to be awakened by anything or anyone, especially the soldier. Under the cover of night, the younger sister moved Valeria to a nearby cave and placed protection spells around her, although she was jealous of her sister she did not want her to become food for the animals that would surely house in the cave over winter.
“Finally, the younger sister tried to remove the ring from her sister’s finger. It would not budge no matter what spell she used on it. In an act of desperation, she cut the finger from her sister’s hand, and the ring came loose. The younger twin returned to her house to await the arrival of the soldier. She had a story all worked out. When he first saw her, the soldier thought she was Valeria. But she sadly informed him that both her mother and her sister had taken ill over the winter and had perished despite her best efforts. She showed him two graves laid side-by-side and letters that she had written to him, claiming she had tried to send them to him, but no one knew of his whereabouts.
“Lastly, she showed him the ring, which he knew would never have come off Valeria’s finger had there still been a heartbeat in her body. The soldier was overcome with grief and was persuaded to stay at the farm by the younger sister. Overtime he began to have a fondness for the twin of his dead lover and at times he could almost imagine that they were the same person. They were married a mere three months later, the soldier never knowing that his true love lay but a mile from where he rest his head.
“But life with the younger sister was not what he had thought it would be, she was demanding of his time and often lazy. She would accuse him of still pining for her sister. He grew weary of life with her and one night left. He disappeared and no matter what she did, she could not find him.
“The Mage began to change, to view the world with a colder heart then she ever had before. All her mother’s teachings seemed to melt before the heat of her rage. She grew to hate the world, to believe that were she in command of it, it would be better. She called forth her own indestructible army, the death muxins, and began her ascent into power.
“It was easy, no one knew how to defeat her soldiers and no one stood up to her. Until she made the mistake of attacking the small village where she had grown up so happy with her mother and her sister. You see the protection spell she had placed on her sister had somehow grown to encompass the entirety of the village and the surrounding area. Enraged that such a thing could have happened, Valaine, for that was the name of the younger sister, threw her most powerful spells at it, but each one bounced off, to create destruction outside the protective wall.
“Valaine grew tired, her muscles ached, but she gathered her strength for one last assault. This time the spell bounced off the wall and went right back to where Valaine was waiting, her army of death muxins at her back. Her movements slowed by her exhaustion, the spell hit Valaine, but it did not kill her. She fled and hid. The only trace of her to this day is that every seventy-five years
she sends out her death muxins to gather up children.”
Alida had finished her story and so silence fell over the room.
Reks could not quite believe what he had heard. Valaine? Valaine? That was their enemy, a mage more than five hundred years old? How had she lived so long? Where was she? One would think that over five hundred years she had recouped enough of her power and energy to try to take over the world again, why hadn’t she? How in the world were they going to defeat someone who had lived for over five hundred years? That was the main thought that swirled around Reks head. How in the world were they going to defeat someone who had lived for over five hundred years?
Rian spoke first. “Valaine? As in Valaine and the Death Muxins? Seriously? I thought she was just a character in stories meant to frighten children into being good.”
“I assure you, she is quite real and alive, and somewhere in the south, though I can’t get an exact location.”
“Okay,” said Sylvan. “Say that we do find her, how do we stop her?”
“Valaine’s jealousy is what started her on her path, it will be her jealousy that ends it.”
Well, that’s cryptic, thought Reks, and then felt a wave of guilt wash over him.
Sounds from the stairway outside the door reached them, boots on the stairs. Guards were coming for them. Vaughn got to his feet and strode around the room, looking for another way out.
“You have to go out the window.” Alida said.
“Are you crazy?” Rian asked, running to the window and looking down. “That’s a very long drop.”
“You must trust me. And you must go now. Reks, you go first.”
Reks shook his head. He alone had not moved from his chair. “I will not leave you here again.”
“Reks you must go. Now!” Alida’s voice was no longer ethereal. It had turned hard and commanding. Reks got to his feet.
“No!” he shouted back over the pounding on the door.
Reks watched transfixed as Alida opened her eyes, eyes that were the same silver as his own. “You must go.” Her voice was softer now. “I will be fine. And we will see each other again. I promise you.” Alida turned her head with great difficulty and pierced Serra with her gaze. “Help him, Serra.”
Serra’s fingers closed around his and he started at her touch. He’d been so focused on Alida, that he had almost forgotten she was there. She pulled on him gently, her blue-green eyes sorrowful. “Reks, we’ll come back for her. I promise, we’ll come back for her.”
Chapter 24
SERRA
At first, she thought Reks would refuse again, but then his jaw hardened and he nodded once, jerkily. Without saying anything else he strode to the window and leapt gingerly onto the window sill. He seemed to be looking for something found it and then he disappeared, dropping from the window as though he did it all the time.
Heart pounding Serra climbed up to the sill next, helped by Rian and Vaughn. She cradled her arm against her side and looked down, fighting back a wave of nausea. Below her Reks hovered seemingly on air, though it shimmered with dark blue flecks, like the ones that held Alida aloft in the tower.
He held up his hand to her. “Come on. You made me leave my sister. The least you can do is jump from a window.” Gritting her teeth, Serra let go of the sill and fell forward, her eyes shut tight. She expected to plummet like a stone, but she found herself floating gently. Soon, Reks' hand closed around her uninjured arm and pulled her until she hovered next to him. He let go of her arm, to help the next of their companions down, but Serra searched around until she could stand behind him and clutch at his shoulder. She wasn’t going to risk plummeting to the ground because she wasn’t touching Reks. “You can open your eyes,” he said, as Sylvan joined them.
Serra shook her head. Although she trusted that she wasn’t going to fall, she didn’t think she could handle standing on air with nothing solid underneath them. When all of them had become level with Reks and Serra, they began their descent to the ground.
Serra peeked open one eye and saw the wide landing platform they had first arrived at after being captured. She let out a sigh of relief as they neared it, but then gasped as, about ten feet from the solid rock they began to move parallel to the ground, until they hung over the side of the mountain. Serra squeezed her eyes shut again, but not before she saw the tiny outline of the barn where they had stabled their horses.
After what seemed like ages, Serra felt the crunch of snow under her boots. She opened her eyes and followed her companions into the barn, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw that all of their animals were still there, including their little pack mule.
Shadowdancer let out a whinny of welcome when she saw Serra, who quickly moved to quiet her, though she was glad to see the little black mare as well.
They saddled up as fast as possible, then lead their mounts one by one out to the snow. Hampered by her broken arm, Serra was the last to leave. The sight that greeted her when she exited the building made her blood run cold.
A half circle of sylph soldiers surrounded them, among them Henrick, his blue eyes glinting with malice. Next to him stood a sylph nearly a head shorter than Henrick, with black hair turning grey at his temples. Round wire-rimmed glasses perched on his beak of a nose, making him resemble a book keeper more than anything else.
“Going somewhere, Reks?” The older man asked. His voice was mild, even-tempered, almost as though he were bored with the situation. The older man tutted his tongue. “And so soon, too. Before we had our little chat.” Still, Reks remained silent. “You had better be careful, Reks, or one might begin to think you are not happy to see me.”
“You killed my father! Murdered him! Why would I ever be happy to see you?” The words exploded from Reks' mouth as though he couldn’t contain them.
The General stepped forward until he was mere inches from Reks, who would not back down. The sylph had to tilt his head back slightly to look Reks in the eye, though his diminutive stature did not in any way negate his presence.
“You are right. I gave the order for you father, the traitor, to be executed.” Reks flinched at hearing his father referred to as a traitor, and Serra thought that he would hit the General for sure, but he remained still as a statue. The General continued. “Just as I am going to give the order to have you and all of your little friends executed.” He stepped back and surveyed the companions. “Let’s see who should we start with? The dryad? How about the young man who claims to be a prince? Or the faithful guard? No, no. I think we will start with the young lady who you seem so very attached to.”
Serra’s stomach lurched as two of the soldiers came forward, grabbed her by the arms and pulled her roughly into the center of the half circle. Her broken arm screamed in pain and Serra felt the bones shift and fracture, breaking through her skin, making her dizzy with pain. She dropped to her knees when they let go, but did not pass out, though her mind screamed for release. Blood, warm and sticky, oozed from the wound to drip from her fingers and stain the white snow.
“Hold them.” The General commanded.
Serra blinked as the other sylphs rushed forward to restrain her friends, trying to clear some of the fogginess from her brain. The one clear thought she continued to have was why? Why did she always get singled out? Why had the death muxins seemed to want to take her? Why did the General have to pick her first? Why? Why? Why?
“Help her stand,” came the General’s quiet voice, much too close for Serra’s comfort. The rough hands of her captors gripped her shoulders, until she dangled from their grip like a marionette on strings. She still couldn’t raise her head, the pain in her arm was overwhelming. She felt a finger under her chin, forcing her head up. The General had taken off his glasses and now regarded Serra with eyes as black as his heart was sure to be.
“Pretty, for a human,” he said in an offhand sort of way. “A pity we have to kill you.” He let her head drop, though Serra tried to keep it up, and looked to his right. “Bring him over here. Yes, j
ust there should do quite nicely.”
Serra looked to where the General was giving orders and saw Reks, his face white, kneeling in the snow.
“Now, you two,” the General was saying. “Bring her and set her just opposite of him. Yes, right there. I want him to see the life leave her body. He missed that with his father, wouldn’t want to deprive him of that again.”
Serra raised her head and met Reks silver gaze with her own blue-green one. He seemed to be having trouble breathing and air escaped from his lips in small white puffs. He averted his gaze, focusing on the ground between them.
“Now, that won’t do,” the General said, strolling around behind Reks to pull his head up. “Look at her. Look at her or I’ll make her suffer while she dies. I can do it, you know. I can make death last for hours, until she’ll be begging me to end it, to slit her throat so the pain will stop.”
Serra was hardly listening to what he was saying. Instead, she was trying to recall just how she had transported herself and her companions away from danger. If ever she had needed to be able to do it, it was now.
Reks met her gaze again. He glanced toward where Rian, Vaughn and Sylvan watched, only they weren’t watching. Sylvan was muttering under her breath, while Vaughn and Rian were quietly pulling weapons from their hiding places. The Sylphs that guarded them paid them no heed, their eyes focused on the spectacle in front of them, some eager to see her die, others looking slightly sick but unable to look away.
Then Reks looked toward the surrounding area. Serra followed his gaze. In the shadows something lingered, stalking patiently back and forth. The Sylphs intent on what the General was doing, didn’t seem to notice the pack of arvels that waited just out of the light.
She felt someone come up behind her and twisted to see who it was that the General had chosen to kill her. She should have known it was Henrick. He pulled out a long knife that glinted menacingly as he twirled it in his fingers.
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