“Realm Keepers,” intoned Greystone. “Gather around Lady Sarah. Deathwatch, stand by your charges.”
We clustered around each other in the middle of the courtyard. Cara’s face was grim, but I couldn’t tell if she was troubled or if it was just her normal level of grimness.
I looked at Greystone one last time, and he gave me a nod.
Then we sank into the earth.
Everyone but Sarah, Cara and me cried out as we descended, out of sheer shock more than anything else. The earth snapped tightly shut above us, encasing us in darkness.
“What the heck was that?” cried Calvin, frightened.
“Blade, Raven,” said Sarah. “A little light, please?”
I held up a hand and wrapped it with blue lightning. The glow of it illuminated stone walls all around us. A few feet away, a sudden orange glow joined mine as Blade brought forth a ball of fire.
“Okay,” Miles said shakily. “So, this is great. Are we done sightseeing?”
“We’re not sightseeing,” Sarah said. “We’re going to Elladorn, where the armies of the Free Kingdoms are waiting for us.”
“The what of the what now?” asked Blade, almost losing his flame torch.
Sarah nodded at me. “That’s where Raven went. The armies that had gathered in Stanchion weren’t able to reach Morrowdust any more, because the barrier was between us and them. So Raven flew on Ella’s back to Stanchion and told them to get their butts over to Elladorn pronto. They’re all there now.”
“And they’re quite ticked off and really looking forward to taking it out on some Shadow butts,” I put in. Calvin snickered.
Barius looked at me with a pleased smile. “You kept this from me.”
I shrugged, my mouth twisting in a smile. “I like to surprise you every once in a while, old man.”
He chuckled.
“Okay,” said Sarah. “I’ll lead us through the ground. Once we’re in Elladorn, we open the barrier for the army and unleash it on the Shadows.”
“And then we’ll chase them all the way back to the holes they crawled out of!” Calvin said excitedly.
Sarah pushed the earth aside to clear our path. She carved the tunnel quicker than our horses could walk, so we kicked them into a trot, then a canter. Soon we were galloping along the wide, earthen tunnel as it opened before us and closed up again behind us.
Traveling that way, it wasn’t long before we pulled up short, mere feet away from crashing headlong into the barrier. The horses nickered at the sudden halt, nudging each other gently.
“Raven, would you mind?” Sarah asked.
I reached out and cast a wide field of lightning, then drew it into an arc. Within the loop, the barrier snapped out of existence. I let everyone else through first, then stepped through myself. The barrier closed behind us with a crack.
Then we were galloping again, flying along underground and destined for Elladorn. Beyond the barrier, we only had to go half as far as we’d gone to reach it. It was no time at all before Sarah slowed us, then brought us to a halt.
“We’re here,” she said.
“How can you tell?” Miles asked curiously.
“I can feel the town’s walls above us,” Sarah explained. “Trust me, we’re in the right place.”
Sarah caused the land to slope up beneath our feet. The incline took us further and further up. Soon I could hear the sounds of murmuring voices and footsteps above us.
Then the earth tore open in front of us, and we climbed the last slope up into the open sky, lit orange by sunset.
“Oh, holy crud,” Calvin breathed.
Spread out upon the fields before us were all of the armies of Athorn, and many other kingdoms besides. There was regiment after regiment of swordsmen, spearmen and archers. There was light cavalry, just men with horses and spears. There was heavy cavalry, great behemoths of warriors with massive swords and horses that were as heavily armored as their riders. They bore the colors and liveries of a dozen different kingdoms. I saw the brown hawk of Morrowdust on a white background, a yellow rabbit on green, a red shield on yellow, and too many more to take in all at once.
It was a massive army. Far greater than Terrence’s had looked, camped upon the plain before the barrier gate.
And they had a bone to pick with Chaos.
Four older men in steely armor with gold trim approached us from the tents that were pitched nearby. Behind them were a small platoon of pages, squires and assistants. The four men walked with the utter confidence of men who are used to having their orders obeyed.
They strode straight up to me. Quentin, the shortest of them, stepped forward first. He seized my hand and shook it hard. I didn’t wince as I had the first time we met.
“Lady Raven,” he said, inclining his head. “I’m guessing it’s time, then?”
“Raven, this is…” Miles said behind me in awe. “Nuts.”
“Yep,” I said. “That’s about what I was saying when I first saw them.”
I turned back to Quentin. “Sir Quentin,” I said with a nod. “Please, let me introduce you to Lady Sarah, the Keeper of Earth. She’s…” I smiled. “She’s my boss.”
Sarah stared daggers at me. “I am not your boss.”
“She’s my boss,” I insisted, bowing low to her.
Sarah gave an exasperated growl, then addressed Quentin. “You would be High General Thaddeus Quentin, then?” she asked.
“I am, my Lady, though I prefer Tad,” he said with a deep bow. “And we’re ready to sweep down upon those devils and drive them from my city.”
“Well, it’s time, High General. Muster your men.”
“Yes, sir, my Lady,” he said, a hard smile on his face. “How would you like to incorporate your forces with our men, my Lady?”
“Our forces?” asked Calvin, looking around.
Quentin pointed at us. “The six of you. You’re worth an army in yourselves. I don’t want my soldiers getting in the way when you unleash your powers.”
Sarah shook her head. “We’re not coming with them.”
I shot her a look. “We’re not going to help free the city first?” I asked.
Sarah shook her head. “No time. We need to be gone yesterday.” She nodded to Quentin. “The battle is yours, Sir Quentin. Good luck.”
“I thank you, my Lady.” Quentin led the other generals away.
“Okay, now can you tell me where we’re going?” Calvin asked.
“Almost,” said Sarah, sounding more tired than I’d ever heard her. “We’re almost done.”
The armies mustered, a process that seemed to take nearly forever. Then the six of us stepped forward. We put forth Earth, Air and Lightning. We put forth Water, Fire and Mind. And a gateway sprang into being through the barrier. The armies of humanity passed through the gates. When the very last cavalry squadron had gone through, the front of the column was halfway back to Morrowdust.
Sarah turned to me. Her clothes were filthy and mussed. Her hair was a mess. She was miles different from the bright, peppy volleyball captain she’d been before we came to Midrealm. The one she’d been back when we were best friends.
The last time we were best friends.
She put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed tight.
“Let’s go,” she said.
I led her into the gates of Elladorn.
SARAH
I WAS TIRED, EXHAUSTED, BUT we had no time for a break. The best I could do was to allow the earth to comfort each footfall of mine as Raven led us unerringly through the streets of Elladorn. Within minutes we came into a square where a white marble statue of a woman stood. Raven took us to the other side, where she knocked gently on the door of a run-down looking building.
“Tie up your horses,” said Raven. She threw her own reins around a post outside the building and waited for the door.
It opened within seconds. A breathless, matronly woman goggled out at us, then threw the door wide.
“Lady Raven!” she cried.
&
nbsp; “Hi, Petunia,” said Raven with a smile, letting herself be drawn into a hug.
“Her name’s Petunia?” muttered Blade.
“Blade, shut up,” I whispered.
“I’ve got everything ready for you, my Lady,” Petunia said, dragging Raven hurriedly into the house. “Packs for the horses with plenty of supplies. Extra clothes, too, and as many pair of socks as I could cram in. There’s naught as important to traveling as pairs of clean socks often and regular.”
“Thank you so much, Petunia,” Raven said gratefully. “And the coins we gave you were enough?”
“Ah, no,” Petunia said delicately. She reached into her cupboard and pulled out a coin purse that sat fat and thick. She tossed it into Raven’s hands. “The tradesmen in the town heard what I was doing. They wouldn’t take a copper. The ones I’d already bought from brought me their money back. I know what you told me, Lady Raven, but they wouldn’t take a blessed thing. So you’ll have to travel with some extra spending coin, too.”
Raven sighed. “Okay. Thank them for me, then, Petunia, will you?”
“I already did, and I shall again, and that’ll be more than payment enough for the lot of them,” Petunia said with a gracious nod, as though she’d agreed to do Raven a huge favor.
“Raven!”
A small boy burst into the room, running over with a laugh and throwing himself into Raven’s arms. She scooped him up easily and bounced him on her hip like a baby, smiling widely back into his eyes.
I was shocked. For a moment I felt like I was watching a vision of an older Raven, a mother with a kid of her own. It came so naturally to her, though I’d never seen her with kids before. I liked it.
“Hi, Martin,” Raven said. “Do you want to meet my friends?”
“Oh, goodness’ sakes,” Petunia said, blushing. “I’m sure you Lords and Ladies have better things to be doing than to meet my rascal of a son.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Raven said. “It’ll only take a minute.”
So Raven brought him around to each of us, giving him our names. Miles shook his hand. Blade gave him a fist bump, and Calvin followed suit. Tess leaned forward and gave him a little peck on the cheek, smiling. Martin spluttered and rubbed furiously at his cheek.
I shook his hand solemnly. “Hello, Martin,” I said. “It’s very nice to meet you.”
He held his head high, regal as a king. “You, too.”
Raven smiled and spun away, putting him down gently. “All right, Martin,” she said gently. “I’ve got to go now.”
“You’ll come back to visit again, won’t you?” he asked. “Now that the war’s over?”
Raven looked up at me, arching an eyebrow. “I don’t exactly know, Martin.”
“The war’s not over yet, Martin,” I said gently. “And we’re going to be traveling for a while. But we’ll be back as soon as we can.”
Martin nodded solemnly. “But you’ll stay safe, right?”
Raven hugged him tight. “As safe as I can. I promise.”
Blade snorted. I shushed him.
Raven stood and went to Martin’s mother. “Thanks again, Petunia. For everything.” She hugged the woman tight.
Petunia blustered, pushing her away. “Oh, come now. I hardly did anything. You lot are the ones been fighting for all of us for the last many days. Don’t think we haven’t heard a story or two about it.” She turned to me, pointing a stern finger. “You make sure to take care of our Lady Raven, understand? She’s quite special to us here, though I know Elladorn may fall well outside all your grand designs.”
“I know she is,” I said with a smile and a nod. “Don’t worry about us. We’ll be fine.”
Unless Raven is the one who has to die. The unwelcome thought came before I could stop it, but I shook it off.
Knowing meant we could stop it. Didn’t it?
We quickly changed out of our Realm Keeper uniforms and into the common clothes Petunia had provided. We didn’t want to attract any extra attention where we were going. We brought our packs out and loaded them on the horses, then mounted up and rode away through the streets at a fast trot.
We left Elladorn through the gate opposite the one leading to Morrowdust. Once we were in the open country, I spurred my horse to a gallop. The others kept easy pace beside me. A few minutes of riding brought us up to the barrier, standing guard over Elladorn as it had since the day Raven expanded it around the little town. Raven let loose with Lightning and Blade set forth Fire, and a door opened before us. We rode our horses through it.
We rode hard for nearly an hour until we began to near our destination. Then I slowed the group down to a trot, and we approached slowly through the night.
“Wait,” said Calvin hesitantly. “Are we going where I think we’re going?”
“Where’s that?” Blade asked curiously.
Calvin looked at me. I should have figured. He was always studying maps in the library back at the Runehold. He would have been the one to spot it.
I supposed it was the right time to tell them. “We’re going to the summoning circle,” I told them, registering the shock on their faces.
“What?” said Miles in shock. “Why? Didn’t Chaos destroy it?”
Raven shook her head. “I scouted it already. It’s surrounded, but it’s still there.”
“They can’t destroy the circle,” I said, telling them what Greystone had told me. “It’s protected by magic too ancient and powerful for them to penetrate, even though it’s well beyond the barrier. They just surrounded it so no new Realm Keepers could arrive. If anyone showed up and tried to leave the circle, they’d have been killed.”
“But if it’s surrounded, how are we supposed to get in?” asked Miles.
My grim smile was hidden by the darkness of night. “We’re not the same kids we were when we first came to Midrealm.”
We came over a final rise and saw a familiar circular stone wall. I hadn’t seen it since the day I became a Realm Keeper, but that day was so firmly ingrained in my memory that I recognized it immediately. And just as immediately, I saw the Shadows that surrounded it. There were a bunch of them, but not as many as I’d feared. Terrence had poured all his might into the siege of Morrowdust, and only a skeleton guard remained here. More than enough to kill anyone trying to escape from the circle. The Shadows stood silent and resolute, unmoving as statues.
That was about to change.
After almost two weeks of fighting behind a stone wall, unable to venture forth, unable to maneuver, the fight was almost a joy.
Blade and Raven opened up for us, blasting the Shadows’ ranks with fire and lightning. The blasts were greeted by shouts and screams.
The Shadows surged forward as soon as they they spotted us in the darkness. Calvin held them back with hurricanes and tornadoes, and Tess used plates of force to direct them where we wanted them to go. I opened up the ground beneath them again and again, sending them pitching into shallow graves that I immediately filled in. Miles detonated ball after ball of ice in their ranks, shredding them like a blender.
The Runegard formed before us, their swords drawn, but in the end they didn’t even have to use them. Not a single shadow survived, and not one came close to reaching us.
“Okay, now what?” asked Calvin.
“We need to open the door.”
The heavy wooden door stood there, unmarred. I could only imagine how hard Terrence must have tried to open it, but there wasn’t so much as a scratch.
I put a hand on the door handle, and to my surprise it opened soundlessly. The door swung out and open, revealing only darkness within.
I turned to the Runegard. “Okay, this is where I get a little shaky on the details. But I’m pretty sure you guys are supposed to stay out here. Greystone said only the Realm Keepers and the Watchers are allowed to enter the circle. He didn’t say either way on the Deathwatch, but I’m pretty sure it’s not safe for you.”
Cara nodded. “Guard the door,” she told the other
s. They turned with drawn swords to form a line as the door swung shut behind us.
There were the pillars, looking just as they always had, with the multicolored stones atop them.
“We’re here for the stones,” I said. “Let’s grab them and go.”
“Why are we taking the stones?” Raven asked, alarmed. “Aren’t they safer here?”
“Undoubtedly,” I nodded. “But they don’t need to be safe. They need to be used.”
“For what?”
“Just grab them, and then I promise, I’ll tell you everything. What we’re doing here, and where we’re going next.”
“We’re not going back to Morrowdust?” asked Miles, eyebrows rising.
“Just get the stones.”
“Fine,” said Calvin with a shrug. He grabbed the red stone on top of the fire pillar. There was a sharp sizzle and he leapt back, crying out in pain.
“It burned me!” he cried.
I frowned. Greystone hadn’t said anything about that. Maybe he hadn’t known. “I guess it’s one stone for each of us,” I said. “Okay, make sure you don’t touch anybody else’s stone.”
I went to the grey-brown stone on top of the pillar with the symbol for Earth. It felt cool and light under my palm. I tucked it gently into the pocket of my pants. It didn’t warm to my body heat as it sat there, instead remaining cool to the touch.
“Okay,” said Blade, pocketing the red stone. “So now what? Spill.”
I took a deep breath and let it out in a rush. “Okay. We’re going to rebuild the alliance with the dragons.”
There was a moment of silence before Calvin burst out laughing. “Nice try, Sarah. Was that just to get me? No one’s seen a dragon for hundreds of years.”
“That’s because no one knows where they are, and the dragons don’t want them to,” I explained. “But Greystone does.”
I went through it all. I told them a shortened version of Malus’ story, since we were on a time crunch. And I told them about Wyrmspire and where it was based on Greystone’s best guess.
“Wait, we’re not sure?” Miles asked dubiously.
“Not exactly,” I admitted. “But from what Greystone said, once we get in the general vicinity, we’ll know exactly where it is. Apparently it’s pretty unmistakable.”
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