You think coming here will help you? Oh, my dear, you are playing right into his hands…
I shut my eyes and focused on the kiss I shared with Forrest, willed that emotion to fill me, and the voice faded away, but the silence wouldn’t last forever. There had to be a way to rip this darkness from my soul before I destroyed the only good thing left in my life now. The one person who kept the guilt and pain away with just a look.
Forrest touched down and lowered his shoulder again, so I could jump off his back. His body shuddered, and the dragon disappeared to be replaced by the man.
“I hope the ride wasn’t too bad for you.”
“No, not at all. It was refreshing, thank you for that, truly.”
He held out his hand, and I hesitated. “Do you trust me?”
“Yes,” I said, without any doubt and took his hand.
Together, we walked into the trees, and when we neared the tear, it glowed to life at my presence. Forrest seemed startled by it, having entered this realm without me by his side all the times before. But this was my home, and it would always welcome me back. I held my breath as we passed from Torolf into the stone maze and I looked around in despair.
“Mori?”
His hand tightened around mine, and I hastily wiped the tears burning in my eyes before they could fall.
“I’m sorry, it’s just… it’s harder than I thought it would be to come back.” How did I ever think I could do this on my own? I never would’ve made it this far without him.
“Take your time.”
The air was heavy, so unlike the peaceful autumn setting that this place used to have. Fall had always been my favorite season, and it was reflected here once upon a time. Now, the vines that once held so much vibrant color were dull and dead. They’d taken over the stone columns and the walls, grown over the path where soft grass was also brittle and dead. I walked slowly down the main path, knowing exactly where to go. I wove in and out of the stone columns, Forrest was a comfort behind me the entire way. I veered to the right, away from the main temple.
“Where are we going?”
“Somewhere I haven’t been to in a long time.”
My pace increased, and I waited to hear the trickling water of the gentle stream that ran through this part of my home. But there was no sound, nothing, but the dry, crackling wind rushing over dead leaves. When we reached the stone archway, I peered in, and stopped so fast I nearly fell over.
Forrest steadied me, and I sank into his strong chest for a moment before I managed to move forward again.
“This place, its ruined. Everything is ruined.” My heart sank as I stared at the dried-out bed of the stream and the pool it originated from. The grassy slope I spent many days sitting upon was nothing but dirt. I fell to my knees before it, digging my nails into the ground, no longer able to hold back the tears. “He’s taken everything from me.”
“We can make it right,” Forrest said, kneeling beside me. “We can.”
“How? He’s drained my realm of life! There’s no fixing this!”
I hated that monster. I wanted to destroy him, but what could I do to stop him now? The foolish notion that I could have ever killed him alone seemed like such an impossible task now. Even coming here no longer seemed like a good idea.
The laughter grew in my mind until I held my head firmly in my hands, willing it all to end. Baladon, he was too strong.
I lost my chance so many years ago of stopping him, of stopping all of this. I stayed on the ground for a long while, Forrest not saying a word, but his presence was enough.
“Before Baladon came,” I said quietly, “my realm hovered between sunset and sunrise.”
“I thought this was inside a cave?”
“One where the sky made up the ceiling. He cut me off from what gave me strength with this horrid fog of his, creating what you see now.” My anger flared as did the brightness within me. “The stars would reflect in this pool. As did the moon. It was the most beautiful sight when I could no longer be a part of the sky. This place, it was sacred. The waters once held healing properties. Now… what healing could possibly come from this place?”
Forrest seemed at a loss for what to say, not that I blamed him.
Eventually, I made it back to my feet, and I guided him into the maze once again until we reached the temple. But it was far different from when I’d left it last. Part of it was missing as if there was an explosion.
“What happened to it?”
“When we came to rescue Craig and Kate, there was a fight with the stone guardian and Baladon.”
The platform where my guardian had once stood was vacant, the same one who attacked them had once stood sentinel here as a protector of me and the orb. “When Baladon came, the guardian turned on us.”
“The one with the bone whips?”
“He never had those until the god of monsters and darkness twisted his purpose, turned him into a living nightmare. He was here to watch over me and this realm. To protect the orb, but Baladon darkened his mind, and my guards fell in minutes, against him and the god, and the monsters he brought with him.”
I walked tentatively up the steps and rested my hand on the platform. My eyes closed as that moment replayed over in my mind like it was happening all over again…
I was inside the temple, communing with the gods and goddesses in our family. We were preparing a gathering to address the horrifying truth that Baladon had broken free of his prison and could not be found. My guards, all demi-gods themselves, had moved into the main temple to protect the orb and me though I thought their worry unnecessary.
Baladon would never enter my realm.
And then the warning bells rang out, and the first panicked yells met my ears. I burst from the temple, starlight glowing brightly around me as I prepared for a fight.
“Mori! Please, return to the temple,” Voris, my head guard, ordered.
“No, what is happening?”
“Baladon,” he snapped. “He has come for you and the orb.”
“What? How did he get in?”
“We don’t know, but he’s here. Please, go back inside!”
The stone guardian on the platform just outside the main doors came to life as the bells rang. His head lifted, and he drew the two swords at his hips before stepping down off the platform. His head turned, and he bowed to me, his eyes glowing white.
“Baladon will not get what he came for,” I said sternly. “I will die before it happens.”
“Mori, please,” Voris begged, but I was not going to run and hide. Not from this monster. Voris sighed in the face of my resolve, but ordered the guard to protect me. “Swords! Keep the line!”
“We need to get word to the others, let them know,” I said.
“You should take the orb and leave.”
“I will not abandon my home. The orb belongs here, nowhere else. We will beat him back, Voris.”
The furious growl that erupted from the stone maze made my blood run cold.
I steeled my nerves and waited for Baladon to make his first appearance in centuries…
“Mori! Can you hear me?”
“Forrest?” I opened my eyes to see him staring down at me. “What happened?”
“I don’t know. You touched the platform and collapsed.”
He helped me sit upright, and I winced at the throbbing behind my eyes. “I was back to that day,” I told him. “He was attacking again… I tried to fight him off, we all did… but we failed.”
To ever think you could have stood against such might, and you still think you can beat him?
I wanted to disappear from the truth spoken inside my mind. How could we ever hope to defeat Baladon? He was too strong, and if he managed to get to the gods again, there would be no stopping him. The darkness within me would only grow and then what?
“He’s the god of darkness, Mori, you can’t blame yourself for what happened that day.”
“Yes, actually I can,” I argued. “Voris, my guard, he w
anted me to leave, take the orb and go, but I refused. It was my decision to stay. I was a fool.”
I pushed out of his arms and stormed into the temple, stepping through the ruins and then turned right into what had been the main temple. The horrible cage Baladon created out of shadow still stood in the center, and I felt the memories rushing back.
I staggered forward, and my hand hit the cage. Then I was falling…
Baladon paced around the cage, leering at me with his rows of fangs. “Mori, you should be proud of yourself, truly.”
I spat at him through the bars. “Bastard! They will stop you!”
“Will they? And how are they going to do that? Do you have any idea how long I’ve been out of my prison?”
I shook my head, hating how dull my starlight had already grown in his presence.
“Now then, you have the gateway to the other gods. I need you to give me that power.”
“No,” I snapped. “I will not give in to you. You might as well kill me.”
“Is that so?” His fingers tapped along the staff in his hand as he studied me closely. “Bring him!”
I grabbed hold of the bars as the doors to the temple opened.
Voris was yelling as he fought against the shadow minions created by Baladon.
“No! Let him go!”
“I will, have no fear my sweet, sweet Mori,” Baladon crooned. “If you help me, then I give you my word he will live.”
The minions shoved Voris to his knees, and Baladon placed the tip of his staff against Voris’ throat.
“Don’t give in,” Voris told me. “Whatever happens, you have to hold out!”
“Mori, give me the power to use the orb,” Baladon ordered. “Or he dies.”
I pulled at the bars, needing to break free. “I can’t!”
“Yes, you can, or you will watch him die an agonizing death. Give it to me!”
My head fell as furious tears burned in my eyes. “Voris…”
“Don’t, Mori,” he yelled. “Don’t!”
Baladon growled and slammed his staff against the bars. A scream broke free of my lips as he bellowed for me to tell him. But I couldn’t. The moment I let him have that power, he could reach the gods. He could get anywhere he wanted, and the world would fall.
“No,” I whispered, trying to stay strong. “No.”
Baladon’s eyes flared red as he ground his teeth. “So be it.”
He spun around and rammed the tip of his staff right into Voris’ chest. I screamed as Voris yelled in pain, his arms flailing as Baladon drained him of life. I kicked and beat the bars until my hands were bloody and when there was no strength left in me, I fell to the floor, unable to do anything, but watch as Baladon destroyed Voris. When he finally yanked his staff free, barely anything remained of a man I had been friends with for centuries. A man who swore to protect me with his life. Never had I thought he would have to pay that price.
“Now, Mori,” Baladon said, licking his lips hungrily as his staff glowed with the newly acquired life, “let’s try this again, shall we?”
He moved closer to the cage, and I braced myself for whatever pain he was about to deliver…
“Damn it, woman,” Forrest growled in my ear. “Stop touching things.”
“Again?” It took longer to open my eyes this time, and his brow was furrowed, those blue eyes filled with annoyance. “Don’t look at me like that.”
“Like what? Like you’re trying to purposely punish yourself by reliving what you went through?”
“You know nothing of what happened here!” I stalked away from him, running my hands through my hair as I circled the cage. “He kept me here for years! Years! Torturing my mind over and over again until there was nothing left! I watched him destroy my home!”
“As have I. You think you’re the only one who’s lost anything?” he argued. “I’ve burned too many dragons to count, all killed by this bastard and his monsters!”
“Yes, and it’s all my fault!” I raged. “If I hadn’t given in, if I’d held out… if I’d listened none of this would have happened! Don’t you understand that? I deserve to be tormented to the end of my days for what I’ve done. Not be happy! Not find peace!”
That’s it. fall into your despair. Give in to fear, Mori… join him…
“We’ve all made mistakes, but you can’t take the full blame for this war. That’s insanity!”
I shook my head as the voice whispered on and on and on, never ceasing. “Then perhaps Sabella isn’t the only crazy one around anymore.”
He growled at me, smoke trailing from his nose. “You are not crazy. You’re hurt and angry, and that I understand perfectly, but you have to face these emotions. You can’t just bottle them up and expect to be fine.”
“I don’t want to be fine,” I seethed, not used the amount of rage building inside me. “I want revenge, but I can’t have that! I’m not strong enough, I never will be.”
“Not alone, but you’re not alone anymore.”
“You don’t know me. You don’t know anything about me!”
His eyes darkened as he walked toward me. I had nowhere else to go and found myself backed into a corner.
“You’re right, I don’t know, but you and I are not that different. And whatever we both might be telling ourselves, we’re lying. You and I, there’s a connection here I’ve never felt before, and if you run away to try and fight this alone, to let yourself give into this darkness, I’ll follow you.”
My heart pounded wildly in my chest, and my breathing was sharp and almost hurt from the raw emotions within me. Rage and longing, sorrow… and another emotion I couldn’t pinpoint. But I wanted to be with Forrest. How could I justify being happy when I failed everyone? No matter what he said, it was my fault. I never should have let him come here. It was a mistake. I had to face Baladon on my own and accept whatever my fate was.
“You should leave,” I whispered, forcing the words out.
“No.”
“Forrest, please.”
“No, I am not leaving you here. We need you to defeat Baladon whether you think so or not. I am not leaving here without you.”
“What do you want me to do? I’m barely holding on. I can’t help except to make things worse!”
“You’re scared,” he countered.
“And you’re not?” I yelled, surprised to hear the words come out of my mouth. “I tried the path of the hero, and I lost! Just get out of here and leave me be.”
He shook his head and squared his shoulders. “Not happening.”
“Why are you doing this?” I demanded. “Why? You owe me nothing!”
“Because from the moment you appeared in my dreams, I’ve thought of nothing else,” he admitted softly. “And then I saw you in the book of the gods, knew you were in trouble, and I had to save you. You and I, there’s something there, but it’s more than that. Sabella, she believes you’re part of the key to saving us all.”
“What?” I shook my head hard. “No, no. That can’t be right. The gods would’ve told me.”
“Are you sure? You said it yourself, Thorne sent you back here for a reason, to find your path. Is it so hard to believe this is it?”
My head throbbed again, and I winced at the growing pain. Why would they believe I was part of the solution? I tried to tell him he was wrong, but the agony in my head increased, and I fell back against the wall. Something was wrong. Baladon’s presence in this temple tainted it, twisted what had once been my home into a dark, dead version of itself.
I tried to speak, to tell Forrest he needed to leave, but the words were lodged in my throat. I clutched at my head as my starlight flared even brighter, filling the room. I shouted, unable to hold it in any longer as I felt those dark tendrils left behind by Baladon crept toward me, melding with the bits attached to my very soul. It consumed me, and I realized too late the voice pushed me here, wanted me to come here.
All so it could take control.
My light pulsed in time to my f
rantic heartbeat.
Forrest was talking, but the words didn’t reach me. I tried to push back, but then my starlight took on an eerie green glow, and I felt my mind being shoved to the side as another, darker version of myself erupted.
“Mori?”
I wanted to scream at him, warn him, but the essence that had taken me over was too strong, and a cackle escaped my lips instead. “Mori’s gone,” the voice spoke, rough and harsh against my own ears.
Forrest flinched backward, his hands curling at his sides as smoke slipped from his nose. “Who are you? What did you do with Mori?”
“Don’t listen to her!” I tried to yell, but my words bounced back at me painfully from inside my head. “Forrest!” I slammed my fists against the dark cage surrounding me, but it held strong. I had done this. Had let my anger and fear get the better of me and even without Baladon being here, he was able to use it against me. I would be trapped in in a cage once more, unable to save this good man who only wanted to fight for his people. And instead of Baladon doing the killing, his death would come at my own hand. I seethed and ranted, but if the essence was affected by it, it didn’t show it.
“Let’s just say, she is no longer necessary.”
“Then who are you?” he asked, slowly taking a step backward, but the possessed me followed.
“I am her rage,” the voice replied darkly. “Her fear, her guilt. I am everything Mori ever dreaded to show. She should have listened to you. This might not have happened, but Mori’s not very good at listening, now is she.”
I bashed my fists against the cage again. “Bitch!”
Forrest’s eyes darkened as he took another step, shooting a quick glance to the cage to his left.
“If you think you’re going to trap me in there, you’re wrong. I am of Baladon. That cage will not hold me.”
“You are going to bring her back to me,” he stated. “Or I swear I will make you hurt.”
Stars (Dragon Reign Book 8) Page 10