Emergence (Book 2)

by K. L. Schwengel

  The magic of the Greensward sped toward Bolin an instant before the Dominion magic hit Nialyne. Her back arched, her face contorting in pain. Even as she crumpled to the ground, Bolin channeled the intense, pure energy she had sent his way, and thrust it back at the witch, magnified ten-fold. She shrieked, her limbs flailing uncontrollably as the magic engulfed her.

  Bolin sprinted forward as the witch continued to writhe, and slid on his knees to Nialyne's side.

  "Goddess's light, no." He choked on the words, his hands shaking as he searched for a pulse. "Alyne, please."

  Her eyes fluttered open, clear and focused. "Ciara needs you."

  She wrapped her fingers around his wrist and whispered something in Galysian. Bolin jerked back, but her grip tightened. "By the Goddess, no. Alyne, please, don't do this. Please."

  But she only smiled, ignoring his plea. When she spoke, her voice came on shallow gusts of breath. "Let her in, Bolin. You need each other. You will find healing in one another's arms."

  "Don't." The word tore from him on a sob.

  "There is no other way."

  "Goddess be damned if there's not. I won't let you do this." He tried again to break her hold on him even as his skin began to tingle under her touch, the power of the Greensward flowing from her. "You should have stayed behind, Alyne. Why didn't you listen to me? You would have been safe."

  "And you would have died."

  "Better me than you." His eyes widened, beseeching her. "I won't let you sacrifice yourself for me. It's not right."

  "It is a mother's right, and you have always been as a son to me. Take this as my gift." As the entirety of her magic flowed into him, the light in her eyes dimmed until at last it flickered and went out like the last desperate gasp of a candle.

  The world dissolved around Bolin as Nialyne's fingers slipped from his arm. Nothing existed in that moment. No heart beat beneath his hand on her breast. No breath moved across his cheek when he lowered his face to hers. Tears streamed unchecked down his cheeks as he gathered Nialyne into his lap, folding himself around her, his body shaking. He couldn't breathe; the effort to even try seemed beyond him.

  He threw back his head and roared at the Goddess, a guttural sound of anguish and rage tearing from the depths of his soul. This couldn't be happening. He wouldn't accept it. How could the Goddess show such blatant disregard?

  Someone laid a hand on his shoulder, and Bolin shrugged it off, collapsing himself around Nialyne. He prayed each breath that ripped from him would go to her, but she remained still in his embrace. Deep within Bolin, the gentle power of the Greensward pulsed with energy.

  For a moment it seemed time ceased to exist. When Bolin finally lifted his face to look down the length of the wall through blurred eyes, his grief hardened into something else. With immense care, he laid Nialyne down, folded her hands across her breast, and closed her eyes, placing a light kiss on each lid.

  "Safe journey, Alyne," he whispered. "The Halls are brighter for your presence, even as our world has dimmed."

  Bolin rose slowly to his feet. His lip curled as his eyes swept past the witch's twisted and misshapen remains and sought out Donovan. He started forward, but a hand on his arm stopped him. Bolin didn't turn.

  "You had better see to the mages," he said, his voice devoid of emotion. "If anyone stands in my way, I will kill them."

  "Including me?"

  He slid a dark gaze the Emperor's way. "Including you."

  "So this is how you would honor Nialyne's gift?"

  "No. This is how I will avenge her death."

  "I won't allow you to--"

  Bolin whirled, and slammed Dain back against the wall, his arm across the Emperor's throat. "You can't stop me."

  "Don't force me to try."

  "He's winning." Bolin screamed the words as the dam holding his emotions back shattered. "Is that what you want? What did he promise you, Dain? How much did it take to buy your subservience? Did he say you'd get to keep your precious crown when he's finished with the rest of us?"

  "Bolin." Ariadne's shout drew his gaze. She sat on the ground with Ciara's head cradled in her lap.

  "See to the mages," he repeated, and forcibly released Dain. "Donovan is mine."

  He approached Ariadne with slow, wooden steps. Terror threatened to immobilize him. He would not survive if he lost Ciara as well.

  "She's alive," Ariadne said.

  Bolin sucked in a shaking breath, and wiped a hand across his mouth. He knelt beside Ciara. Her eyes were closed, her breathing even, a deep bruise forming across her cheek the only visible injury. He cupped her face gently and called her name.

  Her eyes fluttered open, closed, opened again, wide and unfocused.

  "You need to call him to you," Bolin said. "Now."

  She shook her head and shrank back against Ariadne. "I can't. He's gone."

  Bolin grabbed her upper arms and pulled her to her feet, holding her there. "I'll guide you." He shook her when her gaze drifted. "Listen to me, Donovan will have him otherwise. I can't let that happen. If you don't call Andrakaos to you, I'll have to. Do you understand me?"

  Ariadne started to object but changed her mind when Bolin shot her a warning glare. Ciara's lashes drifted down.

  "I will take him from you," Bolin said.

  Her eyes shot open, and Bolin rocked back at the fury in them. Her body went rigid. "You said you would never do that."

  "I will do what I need to protect the empire."

  "No."

  "Then you need to get control of him."

  Bolin trembled as he turned Ciara around, holding her before him. He kept a firm hold on her arms, his mouth close to her ear. Somewhere high above them, Andrakaos soared through the sky beyond Nisair.

  "Call him, and bind him."

  "I can't."

  "You can." A hint of desperation colored his voice. "You have no choice."

  He began to whisper the ancient words to her, the ones she needed to call Andrakaos back to her. He cleared his mind of all else, and focused only on Ciara. She repeated the words, her voice wavering. Bolin used every scrap of magic he could grab, fortified with the power of the Greensward, to give her strength and ward her against anyone else. Her voice grew stronger, and Andrakaos dropped lower over Nisair. Bolin saw him out of the corner of his eye, a great shadow almost on level with them. He redoubled his efforts, shielding and guiding Ciara until he could feel the power coursing through her, growing as she tossed fear and doubt aside.

  "Now," he whispered.

  Ciara stepped away from him just as someone shouted a warning. Searing hot pain lanced across Bolin's back and twisted him around. He got a glimpse of Dain facing off against one of the mage's before he lost his grip on the world around him.

  ***

  Ciara whispered the words as Bolin gave them to her. His strength flowed around her, through his touch, through the power he drew to keep her safe. She could do this because she would never give in to Donovan and become what he wanted.

  Andrakaos tipped his massive head and watched her, curiosity warring with anger. Ciara called on her earth magic, and his lips rolled back from his teeth in a sneer until he realized she intended to remake the chain she had bound him with in Broadhead. But this time Ciara formed the delicate silver threads into strong links, each one a word of binding.

  She had come to the realization that she and Bolin had been wrong all this time. Ciara had been terrified of losing herself to Andrakaos, when it was he who feared losing himself to her. But neither of them had to lose. He could have his freedom, could soar the skies and feel the wind in his wings. They could do so together.

  You would have me bow to you?

  "No," Ciara answered. "I would have you stand beside me."

  And so you seek to chain me?

  "Until you earn my trust."

  He would not chain me.

  An image of Donovan flashed in her mind. Ciara laughed, a harsh, cold sound. "No. He would enslave you. He would bend you to h
is will and never let you dance with the wind."

  Then none shall have me.

  "Wrong."

  Ciara flipped her hand outward, and the chain spiraled through the air. Andrakaos roared as it settled around him. His huge wings fanned the air as he tried to escape. Ciara braced herself against his fury. Her arms spread to the sides, mimicking his position as his power flowed back to her down the links she had forged.

  Rage. Defiance. Longing.

  "Well done, daughter," Donovan said.

  Ciara turned, Andrakaos's roar thundering in her ears. His power coursed through her veins as it never had before. He had become her, and she him. They could no longer be parted. She smiled at Donovan, a mockery of his cold expression.

  "Hello, Father." The word spilled off her tongue like acid. Where the mere thought of it had made her cringe in the past, now it meant nothing. "I'm afraid you're too late."

  "Am I?" His gaze shifted to Andrakaos, mantling the tower once again, his great head dropped on level with them. "I must say, I am impressed at what you have accomplished. But do you truly think a chain of earth magic will hold him? Look at him. He is magnificent. That, Daughter, is your creation, do you realize?"

  Ciara furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?"

  Donovan stepped closer. He waved a gesture at Andrakaos. "This form, this manifestation of a great winged beast, that is something you bestowed upon the ancient power I have gifted you. It is your choice to see it as such. In doing so, you have transformed it into much more than I had ever imagined. But tell me, daughter, can you control it?"

  "Try me and find out."

  "Do you intend to destroy me?"

  Yes! The word leapt to the fore of her mind but never left her mouth. They shared a blood bond between them. The only one she still had. As much as she despised him, he was her father.

  "Ah."

  Ciara jumped. He stood directly in front of her. She hadn't even seen him move. Andrakaos rumbled, and the sound rose in her own throat as well.

  "So what is it you intend to do, if not destroy me? Do you think to imprison me? Banish me to some fetid swamp? Would you rather join me?"

  "Never." She croaked the word, forcing it out.

  "No? Is that truly your will? Or your beloved General's? He lusts for your power. You know that as the truth now. He has told you as much, has he not? Do not be deceived by him, Daughter." His fingers curled around her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes. "I will take your power if you do not willingly join with me. No one in this city can help you. Not the Goddess's bastard son, not the Lady of the Greensward, not the Emperor himself. You, Daughter, are very much alone."

  No, Andrakaos said, we are not.

  Ciara felt it first as a gentle hand on her shoulder. She turned to look but found no one there. Then the presence completely enfolded her. Donovan took a step back, his dark eyes clouding.

  The ancient one. Respect colored Andrakaos's tone, and an image of Thadeus flittered through Ciara's mind. He will show us what to do.

  "The old fool is too late," Donovan said.

  He raised his hand, and Ciara flinched but a sudden flash of pain crossed Donovan's face, and he staggered backwards, clutching at his head. Blood trickled from his nose, smeared his cheek as he drew a hand across his mouth to wipe it away. He snarled. Ciara realized she had begun to talk, her tongue and lips forming words in a foreign language. Her hands moved, guided through the link Thadeus had somehow forged with her. Andrakaos tilted his muzzle skyward, and began to croon. Around them a shimmer of magic grew outwards from Nisair. The city wards pushed forward, closing around them, entrapping Donovan where he stood.

  Fire flashed in his eyes. He twisted away from Ciara, looking down the wall as though searching for something. A cry of pain escaped him, and he doubled over.

  "This does not end here," he said, arms clutching his stomach. "It does not end."

  "I'm afraid it does," Ciara said.

  "You are a fool." He flung a gesture outward. "They will use you. Do you think the Emperor does not lust after this power the same as I? The same as the mage who aids you? They will hold themselves out as your friends but all the while conspire to ensnare you."

  "I'll take my chances."

  "Then I shall take mine."

  Donovan straightened as though jerked upright by some other force. A wicked grin crossed his face. Without another word he turned and ran for the lip of the wall. Ciara cried out in horror as Donovan thrust one foot against the crenel and leapt off. Andrakaos sprang from the tower as though he meant to snatch him out of the air, but Donovan's form wavered and disintegrated to nothing but dust caught by the wind and flung across the sky.

  It does not end.

  ***

  Ciara watched until every bit of Donovan disappeared from her view, transfixed by the sight.

  He is leaving us.

  "I'd say he already did," she said, her voice sounding odd in her ears.

  And then the meaning of Andrakaos's words caught up to her, and she whirled, her eyes seeking Bolin and finding him unmoving further down the wall. She gathered up her skirts and ran, sinking to her knees beside him. His breathing sounded labored, rattling as though it came through shattered ribs.

  You must bring him back. Andrakaos had settled once again on the tower roof, craning his head down to peer at her. We cannot be without him.

  Ciara closed her eyes against his mental anguish. She steadied her own breathing to calm herself, and slipped into the veil with barely a thought. She found Bolin instantly, as though he were waiting for her. He gave her a quick glance, his eyes glittering in the half-light.

  "Nialyne is dead," he said.

  The pain of his loss compounded Ciara's already raging emotions.

  "I'm sorry." She held out her hand to him. "Come with me."

  But Bolin stood rooted. "I've always wondered what good it is."

  Ciara tried to move closer and found she couldn't lift her feet. "What good what is?"

  His brow furrowed. Something in the distance had caught his attention.

  "Bolin, please." She reached down and tugged at her calf, hoping to dislodge her foot from whatever held it.

  He turned to look at her and she wished he hadn't. Bitterness had replaced the pain in his eyes, and it stole her breath and her resolve.

  "You should go," he said.

  "Not without you."

  He shook his head. "I'm tired, Ciara."

  "You can rest when we get back, for as long as you want. I promise."

  "You were right, you know? You and Nialyne both."

  "I don't care. Whatever it is, Bolin, I don't care. Please, just take my hand."

  "I'm sorry." He turned and started walking away, deeper into the greyness of the veil.

  Ciara's stomach lurched. A frustrated growl rose in her chest as she struggled to free herself from whatever held her mired, but it did no good, and Bolin started to recede.

  "You're a coward," she said in desperation, her voice flat, and that stopped him. "And a selfish one at that. You'd rather give up than face your feelings. Have you given any thought to the rest of us? Oh, I'm sure you tell yourself you have. You've got yourself convinced if you die it will be some grand, noble gesture. That somehow it will make things so much better for everyone else. Well you're wrong. It won't be better. Tell me again how honor and duty define your life. Then explain how either of those is served by running away."

  His shoulders stiffened. He didn't turn, but Ciara could feel his anger rising. The mists around them swirled with the turmoil of it. Emotions were powerful things. They could drown a man just as easily as give him strength and purpose when the mind could find none.

  "Go on," she said. "Run away. Let yourself die. I'll mourn. Eventually the loss will numb. Maybe Berk will wait for me to get over you. That's what you're hoping isn't it? That I'll find my solace in another man's arms, and you won't ever have to tell me how you truly feel? Because Goddess forbid you show you're just as human as the r
est of us."

  He stood directly in front of her before she could take her next breath. His eyes burned into hers, his mouth compressed into a tight line. "You're right, I am a coward. I hide behind duty and honor because they're all I've ever known. But you, you make me question both. Worse, you make me forget both. And that terrifies me. Do you know how far I'd go to keep you safe? I would have killed Dain for standing in my way. A man who is like a brother to me. Who I swore, by my life's blood, to protect above all others."

  "You wouldn't have done it."

  "You think not? Then you have more faith in me than I do in myself." He looked away, and Ciara could feel the effort it took for him to control the feelings bombarding him. "Do you honestly think I'd be happy to see you in the arms of another man?"

  Ciara hated to keep goading him but she saw no other way of bringing him back. If she had to use his anger to save him, she would. "Why wouldn't I? You've never told me otherwise, and now I'll have to live the rest of my life never knowing because you're going to give up."

  Without warning, he curled his fingers around the nape of her neck and pulled her into a hard kiss. Her lips curved into a smile against his, and before he could react Ciara wrapped her arms around him and pulled them both from the veil.

  Bolin sucked in a huge gasp of air, and then another, his back arching upward with the suddenness of being ripped from the ethereal. Ciara cradled him against her, smoothing damp hair off his forehead.

  If ever you had any love for me, Ciara implored the Goddess silently, you'll let him live.

  He wet his lips. "That...was reckless." His voice came out as little more than a pained whisper. He blinked up at her as though having trouble focusing on her face. "You could have killed us both."

  "I thought you wanted to die."

  "I did." His eyes closed, and Ciara's heart stopped in panic, but then they opened again, clearer. "I may have been a fool."

  Ciara smiled. "You'll get no argument from me."

  "You deserve much better."

  "I don't want better."

  He raised a hand, using his thumb to wipe unnoticed tears from her cheek. "I've never understood why."