Someday I'll Be Redeemed

by Kelly Blanchard

By the tone of her voice, Theran knew she was serious, so he heaved a sigh, stepped over a log and sat down. “You have word from Cuskelom.”

  She nodded. “Heldon teleported in briefly, but he couldn’t wait for you. There's been a call to war.”

  Theran clenched his fists and shook his head. “No surprise there.”

  Vixen tilted her head as she regarded the eldest Cuskelom brother. As long as she had known the royal brothers of Cuskelom, Vixen had never understood how Theran was born first. His stubbornness and stupidity were better suited for the younger brothers, so Honroth had stepped up and assumed the role of the eldest brother without complaint.

  Now though, Vixen was stuck with Theran until Honroth relieved her of the task he had given her when Theran first set out to find Lorrek. No matter how much Vixen had wanted to argue and protest this assignment, she remembered the look Honroth gave her. “You're the only one I trust, Vixen,” he had told her. “You know what's out there in all the lands. You're the only one who can keep him from getting lost.” She didn't have the courage to turn him down.

  Dismissing all this from the present moment, she looked back at the dying embers of the fire. “Did you talk with King Caleth?” Her question made Theran grumble under his breath, and Vixen smiled. “I'm betting he didn't give you the answer you wanted.”

  “He forced me to have the noon meal with my mother before he would even see me.” Theran groaned as he ran a hand down his face.

  Vixen frowned. “You say that like it's a bad thing.” She moved closer to the fire and poked at it with a stick to rekindle the flame.

  Theran let out an exasperated sigh as he threw his hands in the air. “She spent the whole time asking how Cuskelom was and trying to persuade me to return home, but she doesn't understand.”

  “Doesn't understand what?” Aradin's voice cut through the darkness as the brothers stepped into the clearing, and Vixen looked up as they approached—pleased to see several dead rabbits slung over their shoulders.

  “Theran going back home,” she supplied for them.

  Dustal frowned as he put down the dead animals. “Are you considering that?”

  Theran shook his head. “No. It's just that people want me to stop searching for my brother because they think it's a waste of time.”

  “I don't think it's a waste of time.” Dustal offered his opinion as he pulled a dagger out of his boot to skin the rabbit.

  Vixen nodded. “I agree with Dustal. It's not a waste of time. Your travels are keeping two very dangerous thieves preoccupied.” Aradin and Dustal glared at her, but she merely smirked at them then turned her attention back to the prince. “But did Caleth offer any guidance whatsoever?”

  “Yes, as a matter of fact he did.” Everyone looked at Theran hopefully, but he continued glaring at the fire. “He offered me a quest in exchange for information.”

  Aradin perked up. “A quest? What quest?”

  Theran leveled him with a hard look. “I didn't ask because I'm not taking it.”

  “But why not? We've been chasing Lorrek's trail for ages without a single turnout—”

  “Then be gone and on your way!” Theran gestured to the woods. “I'm staying focused.”

  While they argued, Vixen noticed a flicker of light in the woods. She narrowed her eyes and pressed a hand to her bladed vest as she rose to her feet. No one noticed her departure, but she crept along—pulling out a throwing blade, ready to strike whomever stalked them.

  She gave the spot where she had seen the light a wide berth. With careful steps she edged closer, paused in the shadow of a tree, then peered around.

  Nothing.

  “Do you honestly think that blade will harm me? People simply can’t comprehend the truth.” Lorrek's voice at her ear caused her to gasp and whip around, and the blade in her hand passed harmlessly through him. Lorrek pressed his lips into a thin line then shook his head. “You know, that is the second time someone has tried that recently.”

  Vixen opened her mouth in disbelief that Lorrek—the very man they had spent the last ten years searching for—now stood in front of her. She frowned and poked him with her blade again. “Are you really here?”

  “In the spirit.” He smiled then moved to whack away her blade, only for his hand to pass through it. Holding up his hand, he inspected it then shook his head. “My body is elsewhere, but I needed your expertise.”

  “You need to talk to Theran.”

  Lorrek dismissed this with a wave of his hand. “I don't have time. Listen—”

  “But your brother is standing not twenty meters away, and he's been looking for you all this time!” She motioned back to the camp.

  Lorrek gave her a stern look. “What is this place?” At a wave of his hand, an image of the cottage in the woods appeared in the air.

  Vixen furrowed her brows as she stepped toward it. “I don't understand.”

  He sighed. “Countess Verddra was captured and is currently being held there. I found her gagged and bound, and I directed King Wordan to her. However, I know of your knowledge of the forests in all the kingdoms, so what is this place? Something felt amiss.”

  Repulsion tugged at the corner of Vixen's lips, crinkling her nose, and she folded her arms. Stepping back from the image, she jutted her chin at Lorrek. “Why would King Wordan be concerned for her? She's a sorceress after all.”

  A smile found Lorrek's pale face. “At last, someone else sees the irony. Nonetheless, apparently the king of Nirrorm is set to marry her.” He lifted a hand to stop Vixen from laughing out loud and signaled back at the camp then pressed his finger against his lips before continuing. “I've been pressed to aid King Wordan on his endeavor, and I did so, but as I said, something is amiss. What do you know?”

  Taking one last look at the image, Vixen gathered a breath. “It belonged to a man named Tonmoso. He was renowned among thieves and assassins.”

  “Was?” Lorrek arched a brow, and Vixen shrugged then smiled.

  “There's a reason why I'm considered the best.”

  Lorrek understood, so he nodded. “Who is staying at the cabin now?”

  Vixen shook her head. “That's the thing—no one should be. They say it's cursed.”

  Lorrek lifted his brows. “Cursed?”

  “Strange things have happened to everyone who has stayed there. Some people have lost their memories. Others have ended up dead. Friends and brothers have turned on each other and gone mad. They say it's his spirit haunting the place—”

  “But it sounds like magic,” Lorrek finished for her, and she nodded. Frowning, Lorrek folded his arms and dismissed the image of the cabin from the air. “If all of that has happened, then why has nothing happened to the person holding Countess Verddra?”

  “How do you know someone's holding her?” At her question Lorrek turned to face her, and she saw the confusion on his face. “How did you find her?”

  “Through magic. I saw her gagged and bound to a chair.”

  “She probably expected you to—”

  “She does not know I live.”

  “Then maybe she expected someone with magical abilities to locate her, so she knew what she had to do to keep up appearances. What did you do after you found her?”

  “Directed King Wordan there...” He trailed off as he made eye contact with Vixen. Both of them came to the same conclusion at the same time. “I need to go.” He vanished before Vixen could open her mouth.

  “Vixen?” Theran's voice yanked her attention away from the spot where Lorrek had just stood, and she saw him whacking away at the low tree branches as he approached her. When he reached her, he glanced around but found nothing unusual, so he nodded at her. “The boys keep rattling on. I'm half tempted to leave them in these woods alone.”

  “Or I could just finish them off painlessly.” She held up her blade with a smile then sheathed it.

  Theran laughed at her antics but shook his head. “Nay, I fear they may be useful still, but we can use you back at the camp. Your
calming presence is much appreciated.”

  As they walked back, Vixen cast one last look over her shoulder where Lorrek had been. So Theran was right all this time; his brother was still alive, but she felt it wrong to say anything yet. Lorrek had been here, but at the same time he wasn't, and Theran would want solid evidence. Now though, at least she knew which direction to point him in.

  Dismissing all her concerns for the time being, she focused on the camp where Dustal had finished roasting the rabbit and invited her to have some.

  Back in Nirrorm, Lorrek’s spirit yanked back into his body so forcefully that he toppled forward from his kneeling position but caught himself. He immediately sensed two presences in his room—Princess Mordora and Guardian Jadkon. Without looking to see Mordora's concerned expression or the grim look on Jadkon's face, Lorrek pushed himself to his feet. “We need to go.” He grabbed their hands and magicked them into the woods.

  All around them blackened trees smoked. The snow that had blanketed the ground was now melted and muddy—littered with the charred remains of soldiers, the remnants of a battlefield. Lorrek looked around for anything familiar and saw the cabin still nestled in the shadows of the woods. It sat dark and silent—windows darkened like eyes that had witnessed something terrible. A sickening feeling in his stomach became stronger with each breath he took.

  Shocked by the terrible sight and awful stench, Mordora covered her nose and mouth then looked at Lorrek. “What is this place? What has happened?”

  Lorrek’s hands clenched into fists. He didn't want to answer, and thankfully he didn't have to. Jadkon recognized the crest on a knight's shield as he combed through the wasteland. “This was your father's company.”

  “My father's company?” Mordora looked between both men then realized. “Papa!” She hurried from body to body, tripping and stumbling as she pushed over the dead to see their faces in case one of them was her father.

  Jadkon watched her then fixed his eyes upon Lorrek. “What happened here?”

  “Countess Verddra—it was an ambush.” And I led him right into it, he didn't dare add, but he sensed the guardian was aware of his guilt.

  “Papa!” Mordora's screech caused Jadkon to unsheathe his sword and Lorrek to conjure a blue fiery orb. The two dashed in the direction of her voice. When they came over a small hill, they found Mordora on her knees cradling the body of her father. “Papa? Papa, please open your eyes.” She framed his face with her hands and wiped away the grime from his cheeks with her thumb. “Please, Papa.”

  With a sigh, Jadkon sheathed his sword and went to her while Lorrek extinguished the fiery orb by closing his fist. The guardian dropped to his knees beside the princess, who held the body close. He felt for a pulse at the neck, then at the wrist, but bowed his head. “I'm sorry, Your Highness, but he is gone.”

  “How could this happen?” Mordora shot Lorrek a glare hot with tears. He stood atop the hill, seemingly unmoved by all the death, and she hated him. “Why didn't you go with him? You could have stopped this!”

  I could have prevented this had I not tried to help him—had I not led him here, he agreed but lowered his gaze and said nothing.

  “Princess, we must remain calm.” Jadkon reached out and touched her arm. “If it was Countess Verddra's goal to overthrow your father, it is likely she is already heading for Nirrorm as we speak.”

  Mordora stiffened at this realization.

  Lorrek closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He reached into the magic realm and found an easy trail from this place back to Nirrorm. Verddra traveled fast, but what disturbed him the most was the army that now occupied the palace. Lorrek knew any magic user could teleport a few individuals at once from one location to another, but magicking an entire army was too great for even Verddra. They must have been lying in wait for her signal. How did I not see them? The army must have been closing in on the castle cloaked by Verddra’s magic even before Lorrek had returned from talking with Vixen. He hadn’t even thought about surveying his surroundings with magic when he came back from that discussion. If he had, he likely would have sensed something indicating an immediate invasion, yet he had been preoccupied.

  Opening his eyes but still seeing the remnants of bursts of magic, Lorrek determined that Verddra alone had taken out this league of men, and all the rumors of the cabin Vixen had mentioned to him were only the sorceress' doings. She had been planning this for some time.

  “Lorrek! We must return to Nirrorm now!” Mordora's voice sliced through his deep contemplation, and he snapped out of his thoughts.

  “It's too late.” He looked at her. “She's already taken the castle.”

  “Moren.” Mordora's whisper stilled her soul, and then she shot him a frantic look. “Lorrek, my brother—we need to get him!”

  He calmed her with a gesture. “I will retrieve him. You must go to Cuskelom—”

  “But Moren could be in danger!” Mordora rose to her feet and made her hands into fists at her sides, but Lorrek met her glare with a fierce look of his own.

  “Aye, he is in danger, but his natural instinct is to hide. He'll be invisible, and I'm going to find him.”

  “But can't magic sense magic?”

  Lorrek nodded. “Yes, if they're looking for it. That's why I must go.” He looked at Jadkon. “Take her to my brothers. They will offer her safe haven, and using the World Orbs, they can come back here and gather the bodies for a proper burial.” He nodded at King Wordan's body, and then he turned to magick back to Nirrorm, not knowing what he would face.

  “Wait, Lorrek!” Mordora brushed past Jadkon to the sorcerer prince. She climbed up the hill to him and seized his hands with her now dirtied ones. “Please, find Moren. Keep him safe.”

  “I will.” He didn't make eye contact with her.

  “Lorrek.”

  With a sigh, he turned and looked at her.

  She searched his eyes. “I don't know where you've been these last ten years. I don't know what you've gone through. I don't know what you did all those years ago, but please—if you're the man I once knew, please find my brother and bring him back to me. He's all I have left.”

  He didn't know what to say, so he glanced away—back at the death surrounding them, the slaughter that was his fault. If only he hadn't gone ahead and found this place and directed them here, all of this could have been avoided. Sometimes he prided himself in his superb abilities, but then at times like this, he found his gifts ruined others’ lives, and in such times he found he had nothing to say.

  As he looked upon the death, he fixed his eyes on King Wordan’s body and knew it deserved a proper burial, yet he wasn’t sure when they would get around to that. He willed a preservation spell over the body, which would keep animals or decay from devouring it in the meanwhile.

  Then he glanced at Mordora. She still had no idea what he had done, and for now, she would remain clueless. He nodded to her though, hearing her plea. “I will find your brother, Princess, and you will see him again. You will regain Nirrorm once more. For now, go to my brothers. They will help you—prepare you for the battle. Just remember, say nothing of me.” He vanished.

  Jadkon began walking. “We need to get moving in case anyone still lingers who wishes to do us harm.” He didn't wait for her to make up her mind but headed for edge of the woods.

  “Jadkon, wait...” Mordora hastened after him. She caught a glimpse of the house in the shadows and felt a shiver run down her spine, but she ignored it as she fell into step with the guardian. “How do you know this is the right way to Cuskelom?” The last thing she wanted to talk about was the massacre of her father's company or have complete silence.

  Jadkon didn't look at her or halt his stride. “I don't.” He kept walking. “Once we get out of these woods, I'll be able to identify which direction we're heading.” He fell silent, and Mordora found she had nothing more to add.

  She wanted to speak, to fill the void in her soul that she couldn't comprehend. She had lost something back there. On
e moment she was Princess of Nirrorm, the only daughter of King Wordan, and the next moment she was a refugee fleeing to another kingdom, not knowing if she could really trust the man beside her.

  She cast one last look back at the woods and wished for a moment that Lorrek could reappear and make everything right again.

  But she knew he couldn't.

  Lorrek remained invisible when he reappeared in a corridor in Nirrorm's palace. His gaze fell upon the body of a dead maid, who had been on her way to deliver fresh towels to the guest chambers. Now the beige towels lay disheveled on the stone floor, just beyond her reach.

  Taking a deep breath, Lorrek moved around the body and made his way through the corridors, finding more slain servants and members of the court here and there. Some had put up a fight and barricaded doors and hallways, but none were a match against Verddra's vendetta with magic or her army.

  Passing through an outer hall, Lorrek paused to look into the city, now lit with the glow of fire under the night sky—stars blotted out by the orange smoke. Screams and cries tore through the darkness, and Lorrek closed his eyes as he exhaled.

  The army was still here—taking what it would and destroying what it could. Verddra, he guessed, was in the throne room gloating, but he had no reason to seek her out just yet. His focus remained on finding Moren.

  Opening his eyes, he now saw all through the sight of magic. He easily saw Verddra's trail—a twisting crimson path through the air with bursts here and there where she used a surge of magical energy. His gaze fixed upon a faint green stardust-like trail through the passages. It was almost too faint for him to see, but each magical dust particle sparkled when the light reflected off it, just like diamonds.

  Lorrek glanced behind him and saw his own blue trail. He whispered a word, and an unfelt wind blew the trail away. Then he looked back at the faint green path and followed it.

  Moren had the instinct to cloak himself when frightened and stayed close to the walls. A few bright bursts in the trail indicated when he had tried to use his magic to protect others, but based on the fact that bodies littered the floor, Lorrek knew he hadn't been successful.