“It might never be over for me, Ivan. The prophecy might not be real, but I’m still stuck in the middle of it. I’m still immortal. I can’t even grasp my brain around that idea, but I’m sure as heck trying to figure out exactly what that means for me.”
“You mean for after?”
“Yes. If we win, and let’s just say for kicks I’m suddenly free to live my life, what does that mean, exactly? I’m kind of a little jealous of you and Maria.”
“Why?”
“I am even allowed to fall in love?”
“You already have fallen in love,” Ivan returned under his breath, speaking of Sebastien.
“But can I? Am I allowed to? I mean, Sebastien’s not immortal. Can I have a family? Will my kids be immortal, like me?”
Ivan plunked his back against the wall, seeing her point. “I don’t know what to say to that. I think we need to focus on surviving the war. Those of us who are not immortal, at least.”
“Very funny.”
Ivan reached out and grabbed her ankle. “I can’t even imagine everything that’s going in that fiery red head of yours. Just know, for as long as I’m alive, I’m with you.”
And that was as comforting a thought as she was going to get today. She nodded methodically, swallowing a lump in her throat. “So many questions, and not enough time to deal with them.”
“Until this is over, and then you have forever,” he tried to tease.
“Right. But that’s pretty much the problem, and I don’t think forever, can fix it. But you’re right, as usual. Nothing I can do about it today.”
“Besides, immortal or not, you don’t need to rush into anything with Sebastien.”
“Wow, playing the big brother card, are we?”
“Totally. You are only sixteen.”
“And you’re almost twenty-one and just got your first girlfriend,” she huffed in reply.
“Yes, but, I’m still your older brother. So, you know, gotta do my job. No guy is good enough for you. Ever. Except I like Sebastien. I can’t find any reason he’s not good enough for you.”
She rolled her eyes.
“So you want to sneak away and go see our mother?” Ivan got them back on track.
“Yes. And soon, but,” she grimaced, now the one doing the stalling, and Ivan was getting better at reading her as well.
“There’s more you want to tell me?” he assumed.
She nodded. “I had a pretty insane vision.”
“That sounds ominous.”
“I now know more about Juliska Blackwell than I ever wanted to. But apparently needed to.”
“Juliska? Seriously? Wow. That could be useful.”
“You have no idea.” She filled him in on the sordid past of the Gypsy Queen and when done, let all that information stew around Ivan’s head for a time. Juliska had a son, that son was Colin, and she’d been tricked into thinking it was Eddy, Amelia Cobb, Arnon, Kanda and her brother, the Svoda, and a handful of others, responsible for his death. When really, it was all Fazendiin. With the assistance of mothball lady, Tanzea Chase. And Colin was not actually dead.
Lies. Betrayals. Trickery. Had ruined a once kind-hearted woman who’d found love when she never thought it possible. Hearing the entire story about Juliska’s younger days, the journey that changed her life when Fazendiin took her, and the treachery used to doom her to a life of revenge…
“Wow. A thousand times over. Wow.” Ivan’s mind was completely blown. “And Corny, Cornell. I remembered him from when I was a young boy, and my father was still alive. To see what really happened to him is so horrible.”
“So many despicable things,” agreed Meghan. “And the reality, even though there were people who played various parts, there’s only one man responsible for everything.”
“Your father.”
“Yeah. Dear old Dad.”
“You’re not him, Meghan. You never will be.” Ivan felt a need to remind her of this.
“No. I can’t even see what would have to happen in my life to go down that road. I don’t even see him as my father. We may have the same blood in our veins, but, he’s not my dad. He’s not the man who loved me, and raised me.”
“No, he’s the man who brought you into this world to serve whatever purpose he needed.” The brutal reality. But they needed to keep this vision clear in their minds. Especially Meghan.
“And regardless of what was done to Juliska, she needs to be stopped too. It sucks, the how and why it all happened, but in the end, she chose to retaliate. She chose to become the evil she never wanted to be. And she’s done some unforgiveable things. She is why your father is dead, Ivan.”
“As well as so many others. Still, I can’t help but sort of feel bad about it. Like, is there some way she can be saved, you know?”
“Yeah, I was kind of thinking the same after I first had the vision,” admitted Meghan. “In the end though, I don’t think that’s possible. It’s too late.”
“Speaking of too late, and unforgivable things, and clearing the air and all that,” Ivan began uncomfortably. “Part of me dreads telling you this because I know you’re struggling with all the secrets kept from you. Some, by me.”
“At this point, I’m just sort of numb, so you know, get it out, get it over with, so I can be mad at you and then we can get out of here.”
“Well, I suppose in the scheme of things it’s not that big. I just want to come clean about everything and this detail dawned on me when you were telling me about the Juliska vision. I hadn’t thought about it in a long time. But back when we were in Grimble, I recognized Eddy. I was just old enough to remember his face, and him being Juliska’s fiancé. But he asked me not to tell. Said it was vital for me not to. So I didn’t tell you. Or anyone. Not that it would have changed much at the time, I guess. And I absolutely had no idea Eddy and Juliska ever had a child, or that it was Colin. But, I just wanted you to know.”
“Well, thanks. It’s weird, but I’m starting to get used to finding out just how much people held back from me. Heck, even Nona, my loyal Catawitch found out who Bird was, before I did, and did not tell me it was Sebastien.”
“Now that, actually, surprises me.”
“Nona claims it was best that way. She understood why Sebastien was hiding out. And he was helping me, and she claimed if discovered too soon, he would no longer be able to do that, and her first concern…”
“Protecting you,” understood Ivan. “Well, sorry,” he apologized, for his own part in all of it. “There will be no more secrets from me. I can promise you that, Meghan.”
“Ivan, if I shut down everyone who lied to me, I’d be alone. Like, super alone.”
“All I can promise is, never again, Meghan. At least not on my part.”
“I know, and that’s all I can hope for from anyone at this point. And I’m trying very hard not to be bitter about it. Some minutes and seconds are easier than others.”
“So, I suppose all of this inevitably takes us back to our mother, and Aloyna?”
“Yup. And even though I do need to see them, my father has been so many steps ahead, I have to wonder if I’m still playing his game. You know?”
“An unfortunate possibility, however, I genuinely believe you caught him off guard when you freed his mother. So maybe not all hope is lost.”
“Not much of an endorsement, but I suppose it doesn’t matter. I can’t stay locked up in here for the rest of my life.” Meghan got to her feet and dusted herself off. “Do you need some time to get ready?”
“No. Already said my goodbyes. To Maria only, though. I suspected we would not be sticking around for too long. What about Sebastien?”
“I want him to come too. If he wants to. I’m not sure what will happen, but it will be nice to have a little backup. And Nona can take us there in a snap.” Although she was nervous about seeing Sebastien. He’d obliged her requests for being left alone. Somehow though, she guessed he was never very far away.
“Oh, um, not that w
e need even more to think about,” Meghan stopped him before they made it outside. “But remember my vision, the one in which I kill my brother?”
“With my help,” remembered Ivan glumly. “Yeah, that one is pretty much branded into my brain.”
“I had it again,” Meghan explained.
“Really?”
“Yeah. It was different this time. Kind of like when I was having the ones of Jae, and each time they were essentially the same, but sometimes something new happened. Or slight changes took place.”
“So what changed?”
“It wasn’t so much that the vision itself changed, but the delivery of how I saw it.”
“I’m not following, sorry.”
“I’m not sure how else to describe it. It was like my vision self, was trying to tell me something. Or more like, show me something. There was this moment, the moment I use the dagger to kill Colin. The dagger glimmered in my hand, like I was supposed to really focus on that dagger.”
“And?”
“It was the bone dagger. Or a bone dagger.”
“You mean one like Colby used to kill Jasper Thorndike. One that can take a Projector’s power?”
“Yeah. But I wasn’t taking my brother’s power, I was killing him.”
“How? He’s immortal, right?”
“His father wasn’t completely sure about that.”
“Right, the Juliska vision.”
“And I never told this to anyone, but when Colby snatched me a while back, and we went on our little trip through memory lane together, he killed me. Then brought me back.”
“What?” he coughed out.
“I know. I don’t know how. And maybe he didn’t really. He might have just knocked me out, or something.”
“Still. I wonder if it’s something to do with the three of you. This connection you have to the Stone perhaps?”
“Like, are we immune to each other? Deadly to each other? Unlike anyone else is to us. I’ve been wondering the same thing. Maybe that’s what I was supposed to understand from my vision. It’s just a guess though. Another riddle, wrapped inside another riddle. And maybe Colby did kill me, but I would have just popped back to life a bit later, or something.”
“Let’s hope we never have to test these theories.”
“That’s my plan. I still have no intention of killing Colin.”
They left the treehouse, Nona joining them just outside. Meghan shivered, letting her inner fire heat her up a little. Winter was washing over the woods of northern Maine and in a bitterly cold fashion.
Finding Sebastien was easy. He was in bird form, perched on a nearby limb, keeping watch over Meghan’s treehouse. Sort of sweet, she thought. And what she’d expected.
He transformed, grabbed a coat he had stashed nearby, and sidled up alongside her. She’d have to catch him up about the whole prophecy not being real, and explain the Juliska vision, but she’d do it once they were with Isabella and Aloyna.
“Where we headed?” Sebastien asked, duty unwavering.
Meghan eyed him with a, how did you know?
“You look like you’re leaving,” he explained. “And I didn’t think you’d want to hang around here. And since you’re out of the house…”
“We are leaving,” confirmed Ivan.
“Going to pay mommy and my dearest grandmama a little visit,” Meghan retorted dramatically.
The corner of Sebastien’s mouth turned up in a smile he tried to dampen. He had so much he wanted to tell her, but still, it was not the right time. He hoped there would be time, sooner than later.
They snuck out of the encampment, easily, and Meghan snapped her fingers to start a fire. They each grabbed hold of Nona’s back and dove into the fire, and vanished.
CHAPTER 3
Colby stared at his hands.
Bloodied.
Soiled with death. Dirtied, with the life he’d taken.
His father had groomed him to be a king. Had offered him a life of unlimited power and untested potential. Had already given him immense power when he’d stabbed him with the bone dagger, and made him a Projector. And his father had required a choice, and so Colby had made one. And with each death stroke, a numbing clarity crept over him. With each final breath, some new realization sinking in.
His father had lied to him, so many times.
His father wanted him to betray the sister he’d only recently discovered he’d shared a womb with. His twin, born with the purpose of being a pawn in his father’s schemes. Each of his children had a purpose, on Colby’s part to be a king, and Meghan’s, to help further that cause.
Colby stared at his red-stained hands.
What had he done?
What had he just decided to do?
What made him strike out that first life?
He was surrounded by decimated Mazuruk. He’d killed every last one except the few his father had purposely kept alive to replenish the herd. Colby cut each one open and dug out the Stone inside. Each movement becoming routine, almost a flat march to the end. Except it was not the end. It would never be the end.
And now, there they all were, a pyramid of precious Stones that would solidify his future. And standing next to it, his father, Jurekai Fazendiin; a man ready to give Colby everything.
And it was only in that moment, watching his father stare at the Stones with a gratified greed in his eyes, that Colby realized it would never be enough. Nothing would ever be enough. His father might hand him the world, but it would never be enough. It would not stop there. He’d never be satisfied. He’d always want more. Need more. Crave more.
Like how his father was already looking to the future, and rebuilding the herd, which served only one purpose: more Stones, which equaled more power.
For some reason, the bloody truth dripped down Colby’s arms, pooling on the ground in a puddle of red clarity. Each streak breaking through some invisible wall, like when he’d shattered the glass and freed his grandmother. Bringing with it the certain perception that even he would never be enough. Even if all his father ever dreamed of came to fruition, it would never be enough. His father was not a man who would ever, in a million lifetimes, be satisfied.
But was that a sin?
Was that, in itself, wrong?
Did that alone, make his father evil?
He’d always respected his father’s drive, and his father had instilled the same need in his own veins. So what did that make him? Other than a son who would never be able to please his father, no matter what, ever.
It still made him a king.
No… not just a king. It freed him. This truth, freed him.
This knowledge would keep him from a life of trying to make something happen that would never happen. His future was full of limitless possibilities, so why waste his energy on this one thing that would never happen? Perhaps his father had it right. Why be satisfied when the world is yours for the taking, and re-making.
Plus, the act was done. The choice made. Colby’s future stacked in a pile of stones and dead carcasses.
Fazendiin said nothing to his son. He could not read minds. However, he was positive he could guess the things going on in Colby’s mind. He was winding his way beyond the doubt, and anger, and resentment, and drawing the conclusion he’d made the right choice. The only choice. The winning, choice.
Colby felt no kingly power inside himself. Only a calming sort of numbness that pulsed with this clarity that he was at the bottom of a mountain he’d never reach the top of. At least not if his father was alive. And Colby didn’t know how to feel about that, so the numbness spread.
He remained silent. His Catawitch, Elisha, coming out of nowhere, weaving around his feet. Worried. She didn’t like this nothing creeping through her Master’s veins.
What did it mean?
This numbness? This, nothing? Was it a feeling, or a sudden and complete lack of them?
Was it disbelief in what he’d chosen?
Was it guilt? Or fear? Excitement to see wh
at the future held?
Something snapped in his mind. A chord plinking hard, reverberating in his head. No, wait, it was his sister. Her thoughts were strong, focused. On their mother and grandmother. He’d been tuning her out.
Meghan- he might as well throw her into a prison cell to live out the rest of her immortal life. That’s all that awaited her if his father got his way and used her to further his plans. Which mainly revolved around Colby getting anything and everything, at the expense of her freedom.
His eye twitched, the muscles behind it convulsing. There was the fleeting pass of a memory. Or was it a real memory? He didn’t see how. Infants had no memory retention. And yet he’d swear on his life it was real. They had not grown up together as brother and sister, but they’d shared a womb. A mother. They shared the same blood. The same immortality. The same father.
How could a father love one child, and not another?
How could a father give the world, to one child, at the expense of another?
His father had picked him at birth. Meghan had been discarded. Until she was needed to fulfill whatever thing his father needed.
Colby was not supposed to care about this.
He observed his father, witnessed the fire in his eyes. Mixed with a hint of doubt over Colby’s reaction to all this. And yet it did not matter. It did not matter how Colby reacted because it would make no difference in the end. He straightened himself, his father taking this as a sign he was ready to continue.
“I’ll take care of the Stones. Go get cleaned up. I have another task for you, Son.”
“Yes, Father.” Colby’s response hollowed out of him. He’d expected this request. This would be his life from now on. Now that you’ve accomplished that, go do this. And he would because… because why? The reasons for doing so, or not, refused to duke it out in his brain, like they should.
“I need you to visit our little war zone,” his father was explaining. “You will inform Juliska Blackwell I need to see her. And you will remain behind in her absence as I am also summoning KarNavan, and I don’t want the Stripers to get any delusions about being in charge while they are away.”
Sacrifice (The Wayward King, The Projector's Mother, and A Prophecy Reborn) (A Fated Fantasy Quest Adventure Book 9) Page 4