“Good,” he replied to her, a little more vehemently than he was supposed to, his anger at Sintian and Bane leaking out. “I mean, I’m just happy that at least Emillia got back safe. Have you seen her by the way, or any of my friends? I can’t seem to find them.”
“No, sorry. I’ve been in training nonstop today. The Fortress is a big place though, I’m sure they’re just in the middle of their own classes,” said Nova.
“You’re probably right,” he said. “Thanks anyway.” He made to leave but Nova stepped in his path.
“So, fancy a sparring match?” She smiled mischievously, raising her sword. “We’re already both in our armour.”
“I’m not sure, Nova. I’m pretty good. I could probably take you with one hand behind my back.” He pretended to boast.
“Oh, please,” she rolled her eyes. “I’ve been training in the sword for years, you may be a natural, but I could still floor you.”
“Is that so?” Evan grinned back.
Nova backed up, clearing a space for them to begin their mock duel.
“I’ll go easy on you,” he assured her as he unsheathed Ruaden and edged forward.
“Why? I won’t go easy on you.” She laughed quietly, then struck out suddenly.
Evan parried the blow a second before it slammed into his shoulder.
“C’mon Evan,” she jeered as she struck again.
This time he evaded, veering to his right.
“Fight back, you wuss,” she growled.
Evan attempted a feint, aiming for her shoulder, then changing direction at the last second and shooting for her thigh.
Nova moved to parry the blow faster than he’d expected.
For several more minutes they both tried to be the first to land a hit on the other. Evan banished the notion of not going all out on her. It was apparent that Nova was an incredibly skilled swordswoman.
“Put your back in to it,” Nova laughed as she danced away from his strikes.
“Watch out, I almost got you then,” he chuckled, his sword slapping the ground an inch away from where her foot had been.
Abruptly, Nova went for an overhead strike and he only just ducked in time. His counter attack would have connected, if she hadn’t been so quick on her feet.
“You’re good Evan, I’ll give you that. But not good enough.”
Nova wielded her sword amazingly, delivering a move that knocked Evan’s blade out of his hand, then shot up, the sword point an inch away from his Adam’s apple.
“How does it feel, beaten by a girl?” She flashed him another cheeky grin.
Evan laughed back. “Okay, you got me. Rueda, you must be one of the best warriors here.”
“Well, I’m not as good as Tyrell and Adara, and Arantay kind of has an unfair advantage over most of us, being an elf and all.”
They were interrupted by shouts and Evan turned to see Emi, Zeke and Xavier running over to him.
“There you are,” Emi cried. “Thank Rueda, you’re okay.” She threw her arms round him.
“Yeah, and you weren’t the only one missing,” Zeke said darkly.
“What do you mean?”
“Everyone’s disappeared,” Xavier cried frantically. “It’s been two days now, since the morning you left for your mission.”
“We were gone for two days?” Evan asked in surprise. It had only felt like a day to him, but he knew time passed differently in each realm.
“Wait,” he said sharply as Xavier’s words came crashing down. “What do you mean everyone’s disappeared?”
“They were last seen heading toward the city. The Masters have been looking for them and have even sent out search parties into the city, but there’s just been no sign of them.”
“Who?” said Evan, not wanting his fears to be confirmed. A cold pit formed in his stomach.
“Jed, Joelle and Elijah,” Xavier cried. “They’ve all vanished.”
*
Jed lay on the infirmary bed, fighting to keep his eyes open.
He was beyond exhausted. Jed peered down at his new half-finger again. He’d only woken up five minutes ago, and yet he’d probably stared at his growing finger five hundred times already.
The infirmary doctors had injected him with a serum for regrowing body parts. There was no pain, but his new finger tingled. It hadn’t finished growing back completely yet, and the skin was bright red, but at least he would have the finger back.
The last thing he remembered was being on the roof of the Sangel house inside a painted world. But now he was back at Veneseron, even if it was the Infirmary, he was overjoyed to be in The Fortress again. Jed reckoned he’d be ecstatic if he woke up in one of the toilets, as long as it was in Veneseron.
Mistress Taretta stood at the end of the bed, and Elijah and Joelle slumped in chairs at his side. They’d just finished filling him in on everything that happened after he passed out.
Joelle had quickly drawn a door out of the world, using the paintbrush he’d snatched from Battlebeard. Elijah had then carried him through the door, and Joelle dragged Cera. It hadn’t taken long before they were found by one of the Venator search parties in the city. They’d crossed only two streets before running into a cluster of fellow Venators, led by Master Gettelung.
“Gods, what a mess.” Taretta shook her head in disbelief. From what Jed gathered, Joelle and Elijah had told the Mistress all that had happened.
“I’m torn,” Taretta said. “between being furious with the three of you for not notifying a Master the moment you suspected anything, and gratitude for what you’ve done.”
“There wasn’t a chance to tell a Master,” he said. “I mean, we couldn’t be sure Battlebeard was guilty of anything, until Elijah got himself sucked into the portrait. Where is the giant, anyway?”
“In the dungeons,” Elijah said, pointing down at the ground. “Gettelung apprehended him when he reached the mansion. Oh, and Getty used the paintbrush to get inside the house without having to go through the Drylilies or anything. Lucky for some, eh?”
Jed noticed one bed at the end of the ward, where the heavy white curtains had been drawn around, hiding the patient from view.
“Is that Cera?”
Joelle nodded. “I don’t know what will happen to her.”
“I feat her insanity, brought on by Kurrlan’s borrowed magic, is incurable,” said Taretta.
The doors at the end of the Infirmary abruptly burst open and a dozen Realmers burst in. Jed recognised several Venators from the Silcorn family and realised the families of the captured Venators must’ve been informed that the kidnapped had been found.
Jed pulled himself up on the bed with immense effort, only now noticing the unconscious people on the other beds around him.
People were panicking or shouting in anger, whilst Blake and Seth Silcorn hurried to Arianna’s bed in dismay.
“Our cousin, is she okay?” Seth choked.
Mistress Taretta took charge. “Yes, all of the kidnapped Venators are safe and healthy now.”
Seth and Blake wilted in relief and a Realmer Jed recognised as Cece’s brother calmed down somewhat.
“What in Rueda’s name happened to my daughter?” A woman at Cleo’s bed cried.
“They were in tubes and covered in a magical solution of some kind,” Elijah said. “Mr Sangel was conducting experiments on them. But they’re okay now. We just weren’t sure of how to get them out. After Gettelung found us in the city he and a group of High-Realmers went to retrieve them.”
“From where? Wait, did you say Mr Sangel?” Blake asked. “As in Cera’s father?”
“Why won’t she wake up?” Cece’s brother, Enzo, demanded.
“The solution they kept them in is one which puts them in a kind of stasis. It nourishes them perfectly, but also keeps them in a coma. Our Doctors have already administered the medicine to bring the girls’ out of their comas. Rest assured.”
“But why?” Seth exclaimed. “And where were they all taken?”
> “Inside an enchanted painting,” said Joelle. “That’s why no one could find them. Mr Sangel painted a world inside a portrait and kept the portrait in an abandoned shack.”
“Did he hurt them?” Blake asked.
“We believe,” said Taretta, “that Mr Sangel was attempting to siphon their sorcery and implant it into his daughter, who is without magic. Don’t worry, he was not successful. Other than taking vials of their blood, and trying to steal their magic, the captured Venators were unharmed.”
“Where is he?” Cece’s mother yelled. “We demand justice, Mr Sangel must pay for-“
“He is dead, Mrs Guire,” Taretta interrupted her. “The rest of your questions, and a full explanation will be given at dinner to all the Venators. Now, I’m sure the Doctors would like some quiet as they work. We will inform you when your relatives have awakened.”
There was grumblings and murmurs, but the large crowd of Venators slowly trickled back out of the infirmary.
“I must depart also,” Taretta said. “Elijah, Joelle, wait until the doctor’s clear you before you go. Jed, you’re likely be spending the night.”
All three of them nodded, and he was too tired to argue with her.
Jed smiled sleepily as Taretta left the room and he looked down at his hand, observing that his new finger had grown a couple more centimetres in the last few minutes. He guessed his medicine was making him drowsy, as he could barely keep his eyes open again.
“Evan, Brooke?” He muttered. “Are either of them back from their missions? Are they both okay?”
As if on cue, Evan entered through the infirmary doors at that very moment, looking around anxiously. He spotted Jed and his expression broke into a relieved grin.
“What the hell happened to you guys?” said Evan as he ran over. “I found out you were missing hours ago, I’ve been sick with worry ever since. I just overheard a group of Apprentices say the kidnapped Venators are in the Infirmary and ran here to check if you guys were involved.” He finished breathlessly. It looked like Evan had indeed ran a marathon through the Fortress.
“I hate to say I told you so,” Elijah said, “but I kinda’ did. Venators were being kidnapped, but we rescued them.”
“You did? Holy crap,” Evan exclaimed. “Who was it? What happened? Why are you in a hospital bed, Jed?”
“Slow down a bit, we can’t answer every question at once.” Joelle smiled.
“Hey,” Jed said. “We couldn’t let you and Brooke have all the fun on your missions now could we? I take it your mission went well. Seeing as you’re not in here like me.”
“Well, it didn’t exactly go perfectly,” said Evan, “but forget about me, what happened with the kidnappers? How did you find them?”
“We’ll tell you the whole story,” Elijah said. “Although we should probably gather the others too, so we don’t have to tell it like a hundred times. There is one thing you need to know now, however.”
“What, what is it?” Evan asked. Jed could hear the dread in his voice and hoped he would take the news well. He couldn’t imagine having a girlfriend who could betray him like Cera did. It’s not like she cheated on him, she literally handed him to a demon Dread Lord, putting all of Veneseron in danger in the process.
“Um, well,” Elijah hesitated. “It was…Cera. Her father mainly, but because of her.”
Evan visibly paled. “I-I thought she was gone, forever. Is she… dead?”
“No,” said Joelle. “Her father is though. We didn’t mean to kill anyone, but everything happened so quickly.”
Jed felt a pang as he looked over at Joelle. It only now occurred to him that she might blame herself for Mr Sangel’s death.
“If only I had my bow,” she said.
“What do you mean?” Jed asked.
“On missions, I always take my bow and quiver of enchanted arrows,” said Joelle.
“My sleeper arrows would’ve really come in handy. They’re spelled to knock people out when they hit. The victim then only awakes when you pull the arrow out.”
“Yeah.” Elijah grinned. “Sleeper arrows certainly would’ve helped.”
“And no one would’ve died,” Joelle added, staring hard at the floor.
Jed hated to see her so miserable. “It’s okay,” he told her. “You stopped Sangel from stabbing Elijah. He’d gone mad. You did the right thing.”
Joelle just nodded, her eyes glistening.
“Mad?” Evan asked quietly. “Cera-“
“Is not the Cera you knew,” he interrupted. “Honestly, if the girl who’d tied me up and came on to me didn’t look like your ex, I wouldn’t have recognised her.”
“She tied you up?” Joelle exclaimed.
At the same time Elijah gasped. “She came on to you?”
Evan was silent, his expression unreadable.
He can’t still have feelings for her, can he?
“Yeah,” Jed tried to distract him. “But our rendezvous ended in a head-butt, so it’s all good.”
“You head-butted her?” Elijah and Joelle cried in chorus.
“Only in order to escape the situation.” He defended himself. “And hey, I only mentioned he abutting, why did you immediately assume I’m the one doing the butting? She’s the cuckoo one. She-“ He cut off as he caught Evan’s expression. Damn it, there you go being insensitive again.
“But Cera’s fine,” he added. “She just got knocked out a couple of times.”
“But she’s in a bad way isn’t she?” Evan asked. “And there’s no cure for madness inflicted by a Dread Lord.”
“There could be a cure,” Elijah said hopefully. “They just haven’t found it yet.”
Evan looked around the infirmary in unease. “Is she here?”
Joelle nodded. “Her bed’s covered though. The doctors are examining her I think.”
“Maybe it’s best I don’t see her again,” Evan muttered miserably. More to himself than them, Jed thought.
Evan got to his feet. “I’m glad you’re all okay. I’ll go find the others and tell them you’re back. Emi, Zeke and Xavier have been just as worried as I was.”
“But you only just got here,” Jed said.
“No, it’s okay,” said Evan, his eyes darting to the curtained bed at the end of the room. “I’ll be back, later.”
And with that he left the room before Jed could reply.
*
Evan awoke early the next morning, feeling like he’d never slept at all. His body ached from the extensive magic use he’d put it through on his mission, but he knew it could be a lot worse.
As soon as he rose from his bed, images of Cera crawled back into his head. He hadn’t been able to pull Cera out of his mind since his friends’ revelation. He didn’t think he’d ever see or hear from her again.
After leaving the infirmary yesterday evening, he’d gone for a walk to clear his head. He’d wandered aimlessly, through all five of the castles, before finding the others.
He’d found distraction returning to the infirmary later with Emi, Xavier and Zeke. He and Emi swapped tales about their mission with Elijah and Joelle about the kidnappings. Jed almost leaped out of bed in his rage when he heard about Bane and Simian leaving Evan behind.
Afterward, he’d lain awake in bed thinking about Cera, whilst also trying to keep the dread of Demon Disciples at bay. Evan had decided not to tell any of his friends about Kalkavan, at least not yet. Enough had happened with the kidnappings.
He also worried about what Vanderain might unearth amongst the Realmer Republic.
Evan tried to quiet his mind as he left his room and made his way to Vanderain’s quarters.
On the way, nearly every Venator he passed was discussing the missing Realmers with their friends. It seemed that all Veneseron’s general population knew was that the kidnapped Venators had been found last night, but not who’d kidnapped them.
As Evan walked across one courtyard he heard Jimmy Revlin swear blind that the Venators had been kidnapped by a
golem bewitched by Master Magoris.
Vanderain must’ve have already departed for Del-O-Reth, as his chambers were empty when Evan arrived. He couldn’t fail to miss the smoking goblet in the centre of Vanderain’s end table, however.
He gulped the potion down, trying to ignore the intense burning sensation as it ran down his throat. Although it was far from a refreshing beverage, Evan felt reassured once he’d drank it. Surely another dose would keep his demon sorcery at bay this time. And that was a load off his mind.
Taking the potion didn’t alleviate his fear over Kalkavan, or his mixed feelings over Cera though. But as he left Vanderain’s quarters and headed to the Banquet chamber, he dwelt on the positive. He was delighted to be back at Veneseron and back with his friends, who had all returned to Veneseron safe and sound. Now all he needed was for Brooke to return too.
By the time he reached the Banquet hall and saw his friends, he was in a far brighter mood.
His friends were crowded around two stone benches pushed together, eating breakfast. Xavier and Zeke were multi-tasking, Xavier reading a book whilst eating his soufflé and Zeke reading a comic, whilst eating a burger.
As Evan approached them, he noticed Emi and Joelle were hunched over a gossip magazine and an article about the famous dark elf boyband.
Jed had gotten out of the infirmary earlier that morning, complete with a fully regrown finger. Evan took a seat next to his best friend, grinning as Jed eagerly spooned mouthfuls of selkie cereal. Evan poured himself a bowl from the box on the table. The cereal was dried flowers from the selkie realm, the blue, green and purple flakes tasted like a litany of fruits from several worlds.
“Evan, you just missed it,” Jed exclaimed jubilantly.
“Missed what?” he asked, noticing that nearly every Venator in the vast room was gazing at their two tables, whispering excitedly to one another.
“Mistress Taretta addressed everyone,” said Elijah. “Explaining that the three Venators had been kidnapped, but then saved by Jed, Joelle and myself.”
“And she gave us these,” Jed said, pointing to his chest.
The three of them all sported silver badges pinned to their tunics. The badge was in the shape of a dragon’s head and gleamed beautifully when the light touched it.
Moonlight War- Act II (The Realmers Book 3) Page 24