by S. M. Boyce
With a grin, Audrey grabbed the cards and shuffled. As she did, occasional puffs of smoke came from the deck. She shook her head. “Something tells me this is the one deck of cards in the world that won’t work for Go Fish.”
“That’s what makes it fun.”
Audrey dealt them a handful of cards each and set the deck between them. Victoria kicked up her feet and examined her hand, eyes scanning the myriad confusing symbols. None matched exactly, but several were close enough that she wondered if they should count. The last one, tucked behind the others, glowed pink. “Have any glowing pink circles?”
“I…uh…no?”
Victoria stared Audrey over the tops of her cards, challenging her friend. “You sure about that?”
“They’re all circles! Do they glow at different times? Do they change colors? I don’t know these things!”
Victoria laughed and threw the cards on the table. “Checkmate! I win!”
“That doesn’t even—”
“It’s Fairhaven. Nothing has to make sense.”
Audrey chuckled and tossed her cards on the table too. “Eh, whatever. We got to hang out a bit, and that’s what matters.”
“Maybe we should make friends with someone who knows how to play this game.”
“I bet Bertha would come over. She might be stuck here soon anyway. She wants to keep her shop open as long as possible, before…” Audrey fidgeted in her chair. Neither had to finish the sentence.
Bertha wanted to keep her shop open to feed those in town who were hungry and couldn’t leave, and she would do so until Luak came to kill her. Then, and only then, would she sneak away from the store she loved.
The fun of their stupid little game evaporated as harsh reality sank in.
They were prisoners here, under constant threat from a deranged madman who wanted to murder Victoria for her Rhazdon Artifact and slit Audrey’s throat for fun. They knew few who could be trusted. One step outside meant Luak would find them, one way or another.
“I hate keeping to the tunnels,” Audrey said softly.
Victoria nodded. “Me, too, but it won’t be for much longer. Luak is mine. I’m so close, Audrey. I can taste it.”
“Do you think it’s true? Is the king dead?”
Victoria tapped a finger on the table, chewing her lip as she thought. “I do. There’s no reason for Luak to keep him alive. No one here likes or respects him, and he’s not exactly charismatic or powerful. No one feels like he keeps them safe. I mean, think about it as objectively as you can. What benefit would Luak get by keeping the king alive?”
“The sick pleasure of torturing him?”
Victoria grimaced and sank farther into her seat. “I hadn’t thought about that.”
“Probably a good thing. Don’t let your mind go there unless you have to.”
Victoria sighed. “I know it sounds awful, but maybe it’s not the worst thing if he’s gone. Maybe it’s time for a democracy here. If he’s dead, maybe we can make something better once we get rid of Luak.”
Audrey smiled, and it warmed Victoria’s heart. They had been through so much, not just in Fairhaven but throughout their lives. At every step, Audrey had been there. She was dependable and reliable, and she would always have Victoria’s back.
But even better than that, Audrey seemed truly happy. Despite having discovered she wasn’t fully human and having nearly been brainwashed by a corrupt monarchy, Audrey looked…well, at home. Peaceful.
Happy.
Victoria lifted her fist in a gesture they hadn’t shared in a while. “To the end?”
“To the end, V,” Audrey said, bumping her fist against Victoria’s.
Through blood, scars, and shattered bones, she and Audrey would be together to the end, no matter what came their way. And that, at least, gave Victoria a sense of comfort amidst all the crazy.
CHAPTER 4
Bright and early the next morning, Victoria stood in Fyrn’s messy office. Styx had decided to stay at the house and gorge himself on the oranges Bertha had brought over, and Victoria couldn’t blame him. The pixie deserved a break.
As Victoria exited from the tunnels beneath Fyrn’s house through the secret bookcase, she stepped around a pile of books set on the floor. One of the tomes lay open to a page covered with a thick layer of dust, and the room was littered with similar piles of red and gold books. The stale air reminded her of a crypt, and as she passed the desk she disturbed one of the dozens of loose papers lying on the surface.
It must have been some form of organized chaos, but she was leaning more toward just chaos.
A golden ray of light broke through the window behind her, illuminating the door. Out of self-preservation she knocked before emerging, lest she be blown to bits by a surprised wizard who hadn’t yet had his coffee. As soon as her knuckles rapped the wood the door swung outward into the hallway, and a plume of dust mushroomed into the sunshine.
In the dark hall, a silhouette slipped around a corner with the familiar tap, tap, tap on the hardwood, the form moving toward the living room.
Victoria coughed. “Fyrn, you need to dust your house at least once a decade.”
“Come in, already,” he muttered from another room.
Careful to step around even more books littered all over the floor and leaning against the walls, Victoria eventually found her way to the couch and plopped down. Another plume of dust shot into the air, and she favored her mentor with a mild glare. “At least hire a maid.”
“Waste of money. Besides, I don’t like entertaining company. A mess means they leave faster.” He waved away the thought with a flick of his wrist and sank into the armchair across from her. His cane stood upright beside his chair as though held by an invisible hand.
She rested her head on one fist, waiting. He likely didn’t want to talk about his lack of a social life, but she couldn’t for the life of her think of what he did want to discuss with her.
Fyrn made himself comfortable while he searched for words, often pausing to stroke his beard or lean back against the overstuffed armchair’s cushions. For several moments, neither spoke.
Victoria tapped her finger against the side of her jaw, a little baffled by the silence. With every second that passed she became a bit more worried. Perhaps he wanted to stop training. Perhaps he wanted her to leave Fairhaven.
Whatever he wanted to explore with her, it seemed as though he couldn’t quite bring himself to start the conversation. And, since Fyrn was used to yelling obscenities at her and hitting her with things, that was a very bad sign.
He finally looked straight at her and searched her face for several minutes before he broke the silence. “Victoria, what is your purpose?”
“To kill Luak.”
He sighed. “Beyond that.”
“Right now that’s all I can think about.”
His jaw tensed, and she had the feeling she had given the wrong answer. It was, however, the truth.
At least… Well, it had been before she thought more about it.
She hesitated, mind wandering through the months since she had come home to an elf in her living room and watched her father summon a magic sword. The agony of watching her father die. The panic when Luak had tried to kill her, too. The crackle of flames as her family home burned with her still in it. The way she had desperately tried to get upstairs to rescue her mother, only to be dragged out against her will.
A hot tear burned in her eye, and she blinked it away.
The burning hatred for her parents’ killer had never subsided, but she couldn’t in all honesty say killing him was her only goal in life. Not when she lived here, in this impossibly beautiful city of elves and ogres. Since she had begun to learn about magic, this place had wormed its way into her heart. In fact, it had won it, and become her home.
“And protect Fairhaven,” she added.
Fyrn sat almost imperceptibly straighter, and she could tell her answer piqued his interest. “I’m glad to hear that, Victoria. Revenge wil
l eat you alive, because if—not when—you achieve it, there’s nothing left for you in the ashes. After the war, after the fight, after the bloodshed, the anger will still be there unless you have something else to fuel you.”
Her shoulders slumped and she sank a bit in her chair as she mulled his words. He had a point. A frustrating, obnoxious point.
“So what is your purpose, Victoria Brie?”
This time she waited and listened to her intuition before speaking. As the answer formed in her head, she knew in her heart this was her real purpose. Her “why.” The one thing that would drive her to train until she bled and then push a bit harder. “My purpose is to do what’s right and bring justice to those who need it. To protect Fairhaven from whatever threatens it. And, eventually, to get my revenge on Luak,” she added, anger flaring at the mere mention of the bastard’s name.
Fyrn nodded. “You will have your day, Victoria. Much sooner than you think.”
This caught her attention. She perked up, eager to hear what he had discovered. If she would soon go after Luak, it meant that he had discovered some method of making her physically strong enough to wield both a sword and a shield from her Rhazdon Artifact. With that ability, she would finally master the dark magic swirling in her blood.
The thought alone sent shivers of hope and anticipation down her spine.
The wizard pressed his thin fingers together. “To defeat Luak, you will have to sacrifice everything. Your time, your magic—maybe even your life. Are you prepared to do that? Are you willing to die for what you believe in?”
Victoria hesitated once more, simply to allow her brain to catch up with her mouth. But after she had simmered on the thought, she knew the answer without a doubt. “I am.”
“You are what? Be clear. Say it!”
“I’m willing to die to protect Fairhaven. I’m willing to die to kill Luak.”
Fyrn’s shoulders heaved as he sucked in an uncharacteristically shaky breath. “I ask you in all seriousness, Victoria. I have a plan, and though I will do everything in my power to protect you, you may very well die.”
“I’m ready.”
He nodded to himself, seemingly content—if not altogether happy—with her answer. “You will receive another Rhazdon Artifact.”
“But you said—”
“I know what I said, but there is no other option. Trust me, I’ve exhausted every possible avenue to make you physically stronger. This is the only choice, and my fairies have located the one you must fuse with.”
Victoria leaned back in her chair, processing what he had said. “But you said another might corrupt me. It might make me bloodthirsty and manipulative.”
Fyrn rubbed his temples, shoulders hunched. “It is a risk, one which originally made me refuse to even consider it. But our options have diminished. Either you augment your Rhazdon Artifact by adding another to your body, or Luak will defeat you. He’ll kill you, Victoria, even with your advanced understanding of your dagger. If you face him now, or even in the future, without being able to push past the physical limitations of your human body, you will fail.”
“So it’s die and lose Fairhaven to a vindictive murderer, or risk becoming one myself?”
“We don’t know that the second will corrupt you, but we do know Luak’s Rhazdon Artifacts have corrupted him. Fusing you with a second Rhazdon Artifact is the lesser of two evils.”
Victoria stared at the floor, lost in thoughts of blood and pain. Fusing with a second Rhazdon Artifact would be agony, but well worth it if it meant she could do what she had come here to do.
Her mind raced back to her childhood home as it went up in flames with her father’s body lying the middle of it all. Her throat clenched, but a realization hit her square in the chest. “For me to fuse with another Rhazdon Artifact, someone has to die.”
“You’re right,” the old wizard said.
“Who? Luak?”
“We need you to be trained and ready to fight Luak with the gifts this Rhazdon Artifact will bestow upon you. So, no. You will have to kill someone or something else.”
Victoria stiffened in her chair, the reality of the situation weighing on her like bricks in a backpack. She hesitated, wondering if she could go through with this. “It can’t be an innocent.”
“It won’t be.”
“Someone horrible. Someone who deserves it.”
“Are you willing to decide who deserves death?”
She caught her mentor’s eyes and let the silence fill the air as she debated how to answer his question. “I don’t know.”
“You need to find out.”
“I will.” She nodded, crossing her legs as she stared at the floor, lost in thought again. It was turning out to be a far heavier conversation than she had anticipated, and she wasn’t quite sure how to process everything quite yet.
“Victoria?” Fyrn stared at her intently, apparently trying to impress the weight of what he was about to say upon her.
“Yes?”
“We might not stop with two Rhazdon Artifacts.”
Her eyebrows shot up her forehead. “What?”
Fyrn nodded, a grim expression on his face. “We might need three, Victoria. Or more. Each could corrupt you, of course, but you’re in worse danger than you realize with each new one you acquire. Some of the ghosts attached to them actively try to kill their hosts. Some make their host’s life a living hell, either by saying terrible things or merely by how horrifying they look.”
“Jesus,” she muttered.
The wizard continued, “All this over time could make you as cruel and heartless as Luak if you’re not careful, and maybe even if you are. Are you prepared to suffer the consequences that may come with acquiring more power?”
“I’ll never be like him.”
“The Rhazdon Artifacts are immensely powerful. You don’t know what will happen, and you must be prepared. Now answer me.”
Her jaw tensed, but she nodded. “To do what’s right and protect Fairhaven, I accept whatever consequences might arise.”
“And how will you keep from losing yourself?”
At that, at least, she could smile. “I have you to yell at me.”
“Victoria, be serious.”
“I am. I have you, Audrey, and even Diesel. I have my Berserk team, the Plits. I have Bertha. The people I love will keep me in line, even if I begin to lose myself. Luak doesn’t have that. If he did at one time, they abandoned him when he needed them most. None of you will abandon me.”
Fyrn relaxed a bit in his chair, and a thin smile crept across his face. “I’m proud of you, Victoria.”
It took everything in her power not to beam with joy. A compliment from Fyrn was like winning the lottery while riding a unicorn. “Thank you.”
“Rest today. Prepare. Take care of yourself. Time is not on our side. We don’t have long to get everything we need, but you need some personal space to think through everything we have discussed. We will leave after I’ve made the necessary preparations. This will not be an easy trip, Victoria, and you will have to earn this second Rhazdon Artifact. Are you ready for a grueling journey?”
She nodded and stood, hands balling into fists. “Whatever it takes, you know I’ll do it.”
The old wizard smiled. “I know.”
CHAPTER 5
Fyrn watched from the second-floor hallway window as the city slowly came alive. Victoria had long since snuck through the tunnels to her home, but he stared out at Fairhaven as if it could somehow save him from what needed to be done. He had decided against training today, since she needed to process everything he had told her.
Victoria—through whatever twist of fate had brought magic into her life—was a Rhazdon host, and was attracting more and more power. It wouldn’t stop, at least not any time soon. She would acquire more influence, learn impossible new skills, and put herself in harm’s way each time she found a new Rhazdon Artifact.
As the morning light broke over his beloved city, Melzzie flitted int
o his peripheral vision and sat on the crystal atop his staff. Her tiny legs dangled over its edge, and she wrung her hands. “Do you think she’s going to be okay?”
He laughed. “I’d be a rich man if I had been paid every time I heard those words over the years. I don’t make rash decisions, Melzzie. Never have. She can do this.”
“But are you right? Can she really handle another Rhazdon Artifact? Look what it did to Luak, and so many others before him.”
To that, Fyrn had no answer. He simply watched the quiet Fairhaven morning as a few shopkeepers began to open their doors in the distant streets. If he was right, she would resist the evil in whatever Rhazdon Artifact she fused with regardless of its power. If he was right, she would retain the pure heart that had brought her this far.