“Lucio!” Finn shouted, standing in the clearing before the lookout. “Stop this madness!”
Ezekial broke through the bushes and loosed another blazing sphere. It shot at Lucio and the man moved his watery shield to meet the attack. Ezekial grumbled something unintelligible and floated his hands in a wave-like motion, pulling them back from Lucio.
Ben crept from the bushes to a nearby rock large enough to hide behind. Whoever designed the keep apparently hadn’t thought of the boulders nearby as a great means for cover. Then again, they probably weren’t expecting danger from within their own borders. Raine moved as he moved, her steps silent as she watched the sages battle. He resisted the urge to pull her closer to him in an attempt to keep her safe. She was a warrior. He had to trust that she knew what she was doing.
On the far side of the clearing, Ben could just make out the forms of Geist and Ash as they crept from bush to bush. The sky seemed to be lightening slightly, taking the blackest edge off the shadows.
“Bleeding whales,” Lucio swore, adding in a few more colorful words. “What is this?”
Ben’s eyes widened. Ice coated the ground by Lucio’s feet, holding him in place. Finn didn’t look surprised at all, readying another fireball that rolled in his hands. The flames cast a white-orange glow over his face, highlighting his beard and hard eyes.
Maybe, if they kept Lucio distracted, someone could get behind the sage. He was flesh and blood. A sword would kill him just as it could any other man.
“Like that, do you?” Ezekial boomed. He held one hand out in a closed fist while he rotated his wrist, a spark lighting in his hand and growing into a fireball. “Manipulating heat is a specialty of mine, you know.” His smirk dropped, and he hurled the fire at Lucio.
Ben used the distraction to look out from the cover of his boulder and mentally pick one closer to where Lucio stood. A pincer attack could work. He would have to move to there though.
Lucio’s derisive laughter filled the clearing, and he flung his water shield out to meet the fire. Then he reached out with his hands. Glowing ethereal ropes of blue and purple shot forward, wrapping around Ezekial’s wrists and up his arms. Nothing remained of Ezekial’s body where the ropes touched him. He cried out, hunching over, blood and flesh dripping from his arms.
“Fireballs won’t stop me,” Lucio sang out. “Heat won’t stop me. The Void is so much more powerful.”
Lucio cracked the whip-like Void strands. Geist cursed and dove back into the bushes. Finn jumped into the tree line faster than Ben had ever seen him move. Ben skidded to hide behind his chosen rock, Raine almost smacking into him.
Lucio’s whip bit into Ezekial, removing part of his neck and his side in one fell swoop. The chunks of Ezekial just disappeared into nothingness. Raine swore softly, her fingers digging into Ben’s forearm.
“What now, Flint?” Lucio taunted. He raised one hand above his head and kept the other horizontal with the ground. A shimmering ball of purple and blue surrounded him. “You can’t touch me.”
Ash looked across at Ben and Raine and raised his eyebrows, nodding sideways at Lucio. Ben shook his head, but Ash popped up from the rock, his eyes narrowed. “He can’t, but I can.” He rushed forward, sword held out to Lucio’s chest.
Ben yelled at the same time as Finn’s head popped out from the brush, his arm extended.
Finn’s shout rang out: “Don’t, you fool!”
Ash ran into the bubble. His left boot hit it first, disappearing instantly. His momentum kept him moving even as he screamed and pitched forward. His right foot and ankle didn’t reach the bubble and fell to the ground inaudibly. His sword dropped by Lucio’s feet.
Nausea whirled in Ben’s stomach even as he forced himself to not think about what he’d just witnessed. He’d never seen a man just disappear like that. Not even in war. With a grenade, there was a flash, and shrapnel. This was just ...absence.
Finn shouted something inarticulate and shot an ethereal, silvery dart at the shield. It disappeared into the glowing blue without even a ripple. Finn’s posture drooped, and he looked over to where Ben and Raine hid, sorrow visible in his eyes.
Raine turned her face away from her grandfather, dipping her head with a shaky sigh. She pressed against the rock, her eyes closed as she sucked in a breath. “Stay here.”
“What?” Ben ducked next to her, alarm spreading through him at her tone. What was she thinking? She was a warrior, and warriors made sacrifices. He wasn’t about to let her do something that he could in her place. “What are you going to do?”
“Please.” She pressed her fingers into his arm, her eyes urgent. “Don’t go near his shield. Promise me.”
“I—”
Her eyes searched his, and a brief bittersweet smile touched her lips. “I was wrong about you, you know.” Then she whirled around, shot to her feet, and charged Lucio.
He saw her coming and laughed.
Ben popped up from the rock, a shout lodged in his throat. Her foot touched the shield. Landed on the other side. Her leg, her body, her entire self, passed through.
Shivers ran up Ben’s spine as he stared. How?
Raine’s blade swung at Lucio. He dodged, the ice at his feet cracking. But Raine was faster, and her sword sliced into his arm.
Lucio snarled as Raine spun within the sphere. He swooped his hand, as if pulling water from a stream, and the ground bubbled underfoot, tripping her. The moment her knees hit the mud, the earth rose up like tentacles, burying her in thick ribbons of dirt that covered her legs, torso, and arms. Lucio stood over her, his eyes gleaming with mania.
“Raine!”
Ben wasn’t sure if it was him or Finn that shouted her name, but Lucio locked eyes with Finn.
Lucio pulled a blade from his boot and held it over the base of Raine’s neck. “You’ve lost, Flint.” A deranged light illuminated Lucio’s eyes. “And to think, you actually found one, too. How sad.”
Ben’s vision blurred into shades of red, and he scrambled up the rock. Even if I die, my sword can pierce him. Metal passes through when flesh can’t. He couldn’t watch Raine die.
He couldn’t lose her.
He could just see her face over Lucio’s shoulder from this angle. She looked at him, and her eyes widened as she screamed.
He leapt, sword angled at Lucio’s head. Lucio turned.
The sword jostled in Ben’s grip, and his body tingled as he passed through the shield.
Ben saw black.
Chapter Sixty-Two
Christopher
Christopher took the steps two at a time, trying to synchronize his breathing to his rhythm. He didn’t know what to expect of Lucio’s ability to hold off the group down below. Lucio would be drastically outnumbered. And his lack of aging only meant he couldn’t die from the ravages of time. He could still bleed.
If Lucio held them off long enough for the bloodstone to make it to the keystone, it didn’t matter if he lived or died.
Christopher clutched the bloodstone in his left hand as he turned on a narrow landing, taking a moment to bend over and suck in air. He straightened and took off for the next set of stairs. Hopefully he’d be able to kill the whale-born scum himself. The stairs ended suddenly, and Christopher stood there, his legs wobbling at the abrupt stretch of flat ground. He walked across the small entry room, his muscles quivering. He tried the door. It didn’t budge, and he didn’t have a key. Christopher slipped the bloodstone back into his pocket and whipped out his lock pick set, keeping an ear turned toward the stairs.
Six picks later, the door swung open on squeaky hinges, revealing a circular room with the familiar sight of a glowing rock on a pedestal. The keystone of Madrilla Island.
He didn’t waste time celebrating coming this far. He approached the keystone, pulling the bloodstone out of his pocket as he neared it. The barrier undulated red as he got closer. Unafraid, he reached into the barrier, setting the bloodstone on the pedestal, next to the keystone. The entire barrier flare
d red, pulsating, as if it were a breathing entity that had been stabbed. It rippled, like a curtain by an open window during a windy day. The darkness of the bloodstone seemed to spread, infecting the deep purple of the keystone.
The keystone fractured, splitting completely in half, falling on the pedestal in two pieces.
And the purple-blue of the barrier started to dissipate, like fog on a warm day.
He staggered back, staring in awe as the murk of the barrier faded. It was done. He’d done it! The barrier was coming down. And he had been the one to do it.
Mission accomplished.
Chapter Sixty-Three
Weston
Weston knocked on Zak’s door, uncaring if he woke the Guardian or not. The door opened quicker than he expected, revealing Zak still fully dressed, belts, sword, and all. Zak cocked his head.
“Highness?”
“I need to talk to you,” Weston’s voice rasped in his throat. He swallowed convulsively. “And Jade.”
Zak blinked and brushed a strand of black hair from his eyes as he opened the door wider. Weston walked in, and a small sigh escaped him at the sight of Jade curled in a chair in the corner of the room, Zak’s leather coat wrapped around her, a mug in her hands.
She smiled softly at him, her eyes red-rimmed. “Hi there.”
Three days. How could he fix this situation?
Zak sat next to Jade and motioned to an empty chair at the table. He pulled his own mug closer, examining Weston over the rim. “There’s something new, isn’t there?”
Weston dropped into the seat and set his hands on the table, knitting his fingers together. He felt stiff, formal. He drew back, dropping his hands into his lap and closing his eyes. No matter what his posture was, the news would remain the same. “Andre’s dead.” His voice cracked. “My fa—” he cut himself off and gave a sharp shake of his head. “No. Everett had him executed.” He dared to open his eyes, bracing for the outrage that was sure to eviscerate him.
Silence reigned. Shocked pain shone in Jade’s eyes, and her mouth hung open, her bottom lip quivering. Zak hunched over the table, shoulders bowed, as if grief were a weight far too heavy to bear.
“How?” Jade whispered. Her hands shook, and she set her mug on the table and pulled Zak’s coat tighter around her.
Was she asking for how Andre died, or how he knew? Both?
Weston looked down at his hands, twisting his ring around his finger. He blew out a breath. “I-I went to meet my father. Confront him on everything.” He shrugged one shoulder and pursed his lips. “You told me that Victor was a traitor because of the Doldra keystone. I asked my father. Victor worked for him. That’s how my father knew.”
Jade lifted a trembling hand to cover her lips.
“There was a letter on his desk. Well, part of one, really. I could barely make anything out before my father found me.” He realized his cheeks were wet, and shame burned through him. “To show such weakness in front of others? You’re no ruler to-be.” Weston shook his father’s words of scorn away. It wasn’t weakness to mourn loss. Weston cleared his throat. “I asked him. He didn’t want Andre to reveal anything, so he had him silenced.”
Weston sucked in a ragged breath. He wouldn’t be ashamed of his tears, but he couldn’t let himself break down completely in front of them. He glanced up at the wordless duo. Jade’s tears were completely silent as she stared at the center of the table. Zak handed her a deep purple handkerchief that she grasped, but didn’t use. Zak’s eyes glistened, and a muscle in his jaw twitched as he gently pounded his fist against his thigh.
Weston knuckled his own eyes and pulled a blue cloth for his own nose. “I don’t want to be like him. At all.” He tapped the table with his index finger, drawing Jade’s gaze. “I’m not going to make you marry into my family,” he stated firmly. “But there’s more that you need to know.”
Jade’s lips trembled as she clutched Zak’s handkerchief to her chest. “What more?”
There would be no easy way to say this. And he didn’t know what their reaction would be. But he couldn’t stay voiceless and risk his father getting a cheap shot in at Zak. Andre had always told Weston that knowing all the details before making a decision was the wisest choice. And right now, Weston had information that would be crucial to the decisions they made in the next three days, let alone for the sake of Zak’s life.
“My father knows about,” Weston hesitated, disliking the words as he said them. He was willing to admit they were meant for each other, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. “How you two are so ...close.” Weston met Zak’s eyes. “He gave me an ultimatum. I have to win Jade within three days, or he’ll find a way to do to you what he did to Count Mendez.”
Something shattered. Jade sat there, eyes wide, her mug cracked at her feet. Her mouth moved, soundless. Even her lips looked pale. “I have to marry you within three days?” Her gaze shifted to Zak. “Or Everett kills him?”
Weston winced. “He didn’t exactly use the word, ‘marry.’ I have to claim you.”
A sound akin to a growl emitted from Zak, and Weston lifted his hands. “That’s why I’m warning you! I’m not going to do what he wants!”
Understanding dawned in Jade’s expression, and the sheer disgust in her face withered any hope Weston had of maybe winning her over.
“So what are you thinking we’ll do, if he’s out for me?” Zak asked, eyes narrowed, his hand settling close to a dagger on his belt.
Weston shrugged, palms up. “I have no idea. That’s why I’m telling you both.” He looked at Jade, praying she could see the apology he was trying to radiate. “I’m sorry if I get too close to you tomorrow, or anytime my father is around. I have to at least make it look like I’m trying to win you.”
Jade nodded, stiff, her gaze on Zak. “Do we lie?” she whispered. “Run away?”
For the second time that Weston could recall witnessing, Zak slouched in the chair, a hand over his eyes. “I don’t know.”
“This forces my hand, too.” Weston shook his head. “I have part of an alliance document written, but it’s not ready yet. I doubt I could have it satisfactory for both sides if I rush it within his time frame. I mean, the barrier is up; we have time in that regard. But with him and his ultimatum, I just don’t know.”
“We haven’t heard from our friends at all.” Jade curled in on herself. “What if they don’t make it in time? What if it were to go down? And war starts, and we’re not ready, and—”
“The barrier is still up.” Weston interrupted. “We have time before we need to worry about war down here.” Weston flattened his palm against the table and looked up at Jade and Zak. His entire body felt heavy, and drawing breath hurt. What he was about to say tasted sour in his mouth. “In the meantime, my father needs to be taken out of this equation, before anyone else gets hurt.”
Chapter Sixty-Four
Ben
Ben woke to screaming.
Something pounded against his chest. Repeatedly.
He blinked, trying to make sense of what he was seeing, let alone feeling.
Raine leaned over him, tears streaking her cheeks. “You can’t be dead!” she exclaimed as she smacked his chest. Her eyes squeezed shut. “Ben, don’t you dare die on me. I—”She hiccupped and bent over, her forehead pressed against his sternum, pushing his dog tags into his skin.
He groaned as his body came to, informing him that he was on his back, one leg twisted awkwardly under him, rocks digging into his spine. He patted Raine’s back. “Hey.” He coughed. “What happened?”
She flung herself back, and his hand flopped onto his stomach. Her eyes blew wide open. “You’re alive!”
Ben struggled to sit up, and he touched his cheek, suddenly aware of it throbbing. “Apparently?” He looked up at her, reading the fear, hope, anguish, and despair that shone in her eyes. “Where’s Lucio? What happened?”
“Dead. You got him.” Raine’s smile was tremulous, and a tear leaked from her eye before sh
e swiped it away with the back of her hand.
“You’re a Void Born, like her then, huh?” Geist squatted on the other side of Ben. He looked over Ben’s shoulder. “So what are you? Void Born? Elph? Am I the only normal human here?”
Ben craned his neck to see Finn searching Lucio’s body. Ben’s sword still pierced Lucio’s neck and shoulder. The lines in Finn’s brow deepened as he patted down Lucio’s pockets. “I’m not finding the bloodstone or the lodestone ring,” he said, his tone panicked. He cast a quick glance at Ben. “You did it. Thank you. But you hit your face against his head, so don’t move right away. You may be dizzy.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve heard that,” Ben muttered. He rubbed his eyes and pointed at the black shards he could just make out in the barely dawn light. “What’s that?”
Finn twisted to look, and his eyes bulged. His hand trembled as he reached out, caressing a curved edge of black stone. He picked up the fragment. “This was the lodestone ring that was stolen.”
Raine scooted on her knees to be closer to the shards, her cheeks pink as she started gathering the little pieces. “Maybe we can fix it somehow?”
“Doubtful, but we do want to keep those pieces out of the wrong hands.” Finn opened Lucio’s jacket, revealing a journal. Finn tugged it out and handed it to Geist. “If he doesn’t have it, then where is it?”
Ben’s stomach knotted. “Did no one else see the second person enter the tower?”
Raine gasped, her hands flying to her face, covering her mouth. “I forgot about him!”
Finn swore and ambled to his feet, staggering slightly. “If he has the bloodstone, then—”
“It’s too late.” Ben pointed, horror oozing from his core, infecting every nerve with a numb despair.
Crimson waves shot through the purple of the barrier. And after the red—nothing. Just blue sky.
Finn stumbled and fell to his knees. Raine clutched Ben’s hand.
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