The Equilibrium of Magic

by Michael W. Layne

  “I also still need you to go to the Earth Council and the Queen,” Merrick said, “to warn them about the potential danger to the city. There’s no telling what the Emperor might be planning.”

  Balach nodded his head.

  “I’ll talk to the Earth Council, like I promised before,” Balach said, “I’m sure I can get them to listen to your warning. I’m not as certain about the Queen.”

  “And you’ll take care of Mona while I’m gone?”

  Balach stepped up to Merrick and placed his hand on his shoulder.

  “Of course, brother,” Balach said. “She can stay at my home as a member of our family.”

  “Thank you all for everything you’ve already done and for everything you will do in the future. I couldn’t ask for a better group of friends.”

  Merrick held his hand up to say farewell, as did those who were heading back to Rune Corp. To Merrick’s surprise, Cara gave him a slightly awkward hug before parting and whispered in his ear.

  “Things always work out the way they should. Remember that, Merrick.”

  By the time the shock had worn off, the hug was over.

  Even though Merrick was still trying to decide what to do about Mona, he couldn’t help but also enjoy holding Cara in his arms just for those few brief seconds. It brought his thoughts back to the first time he met her at a bar—right before she had spiked his drink and took him back to Rune Corp to meet her father, Ohman.

  Balach waved as he headed in the direction of his home.

  Merrick signaled to him and asked him to wait for a moment.

  “Is there something wrong?” Jonathan said to Merrick, as they made their way over to Balach.

  “We need to go with Balach first so I can tell Mona I’m leaving,” he said. “And there’s one last thing I need to figure out before we go.”

  “What’s that?” Jonathan said.

  Merrick shuffled uncomfortably.

  “To get to Annoon, I have to summon Terrada, and to do that requires blood from one of her true believers.”

  Jonathan looked at Merrick with a questioning look on his face.

  “Before we can go to Annoon, someone has to die.”

  CHAPTER 67

  BRADLEY WAS UPSET that Merrick had decided not to take him along to find the source of the Rune Corp divinium. But he knew that if he pressed Merrick any further about joining him, Merrick might get suspicious.

  He would still be able to serve the Queen by returning to Rune Corp. She had anticipated this eventuality and used her magic on him so that he would be able to keep his memory in tact while entering and leaving the Rune Corp building, even if Cara tried to make it otherwise.

  The Queen had also given him a specially loaded piece of divinium that he could use to contact her from anywhere on the planet. He wasn’t going to have a chance to sneak away to see the Queen before they left, but he’d send a message to her as soon as he arrived back at Rune Corp.

  Even though he wouldn’t be joining Merrick, Bradley still had plenty to tell the Queen, especially about how the Keepers wanted Merrick to take the throne as the Ard Righ for the Earth Clan.

  He also had to tell her about Merrick’s plan, as crazy as it sounded. Looking for a lost forest that no one had ever been able to find seemed like chasing after the Loch Ness Monster to Bradley. Then again, if everything he had heard was correct, Merrick was one of the few Drayoom to ever visit and return from Annoon, so maybe he really was on to something.

  Either way, if Bradley kept his wits about him and persevered, he knew that he’d get through this and finally have the chance to prove to the Queen that he was worthy of living among the Drayoom as one of them.

  CHAPTER 68

  MERRICK ASKED JONATHAN to wait outside while he went inside with Balach.

  As Merrick entered the living area of Balach’s home, he saw Mona sitting, talking to Balach’s mother, Adriana.

  “I know you don’t want to talk to me right now, Mona,” he said. “And I understand that. I wanted to let you know that I’m going away for hopefully only a few days to look for the source of the divinium. Cara told me that the healer didn’t want you traveling right now, and Balach said it was all right if you stayed with them until I get back. I hope we can talk when I return. I just wanted to let you know that I’m coming back—that I’m not running away.”

  Mona looked up at him with moist eyes, but didn’t say anything.

  Merrick wanted to take her in his arms and tell her again how sorry he was.

  Another part of him wanted to run away as fast as possible so that he wouldn’t have to address the larger, invisible issues between them or make a decision of his own.

  He turned his back and put a hand on Balach’s shoulder before slowly walking toward the door.

  “Merrick?” Mona said.

  Merrick turned around.

  “Stay safe, please.”

  Seeing her there, vulnerable and strong at the same time, his heart ached. He and Mona had so much history. She had stuck with him through so many things. Before he was anyone special, she still loved him and believed in him. After he had come into his power, she had put her own life at risk to save him. In fact, when everything had come to a head last year, she had literally saved his life and offered him his shot at redemption—the very word that turned out to be his creation name.

  “I’ll be back for you,” he said, before turning away and joining Jonathan outside.

  “Are you OK, Merrick?” Jonathan said.

  Merrick nodded, trying to gather himself and clear his heart of the strong emotions he was feeling.

  “Are you sure you still want to do this?” Jonathan said.

  “We have to go,” Merrick said. “This is bigger than me and what I have going on in my personal life right now. I’m trying to think of the larger picture. I have a responsibility…to Cara and to the future of Rune Corp. And to Ohman’s life work.”

  Merrick started walking back to his house, lost in thought.

  “There’s got to be a way to call Terrada without needing the blood from one of her dead followers. Last time, one of the Queen’s Fianna was murdered by Eudroch, and I was able to use his blood to call her. But now...”

  Jonathan walked alongside Merrick but seemed a little uncomfortable and unsure of what to say.

  “Can you try calling Terrada and explaining to her that this is an emergency?”

  “I don’t think that would work,” Merrick said. “And I’m not sure that Terrada would consider me finding the divinium as an emergency anyway.”

  The two continued on in silence—Merrick still searching his mind for any possible solution to his dilemma. For a moment, he considered asking for the Queen’s help, but he didn’t want the Queen to know his plans. So far, Merrick had successfully avoided his mother, the Queen—and he was fine with it staying that way for as long as possible.

  The only reason he knew that he needed to see the Queen in person was to have her return the divinium pendant Merrick’s father had given him on his death bed. The pendant belonged to Merrick, and he would get it back from her one day.

  As they approached his house, Merrick took a moment to take in the wonder of his abode. Most of the houses in the Earth City, including Balach’s, were made of trees molded together to form walls and thick, overhead roof canopies. But Merrick’s home was made mostly of the stone from the inside of the mountain.

  Merrick looked at the walls he had shaped out of the mountain using only his words of magic. It had been the first time he had shown precision and mastery with his craft, and he was still proud of his accomplishment.

  There was something special about his house that made it feel like a home to him even though he had not stayed there often since it had been built.

  He and Jonathan sat outside his house on a stone bench that Merrick had also constructed using his magic.

  Merrick was still trying to figure out a way to call on Terrada, but still nothing came to mind. In frustration, he
slammed his fist against the top of the stone bench. When he did so, several needles from his young guardian yew tree fell to the ground.

  Merrick stared at the yew tree as it shed even more of its needle-like leaves. Concerned, he stood up and walked over to the tree.

  Frantically searching his vocabulary, Merrick looked for a word that could help the dying yew, but he had no idea what was happening to it.

  Just as Merrick was about to try using the name of Garanth, the one who had never suffered from a moment of sickness in his life, Merrick heard a single word echo in his mind. It was the word, no.

  In confusion, Merrick stepped back and looked at the tree as it stood, now barren of all its leaves.

  After all his training and all of Ohman’s and Fenton’s teachings—after all of his experiences from the last year. After all of that, he had still been so close-minded as to think that Terrada would only accept blood from a Drayoom.

  The tree before him—the young yew that had volunteered to be Merrick’s protector—was also a follower of Terrada. And like Merrick and the rest of the Drayoom living in the Earth City, the yew was a living creature that was capable of dying.

  As Merrick looked at the now-lifeless tree, he knew that the yew had sacrificed itself so that Merrick could use its lifeblood to call on Terrada.

  Merrick kneeled down next to the withered tree trunk, as Jonathan looked on, confused.

  “What just happened?” Jonathan said.

  “This noble tree just gave its life so that we could call on Terrada,” Merrick said, his eyes moist with tears at the selflessness of the yew. “This tree will be remembered always.”

  Merrick leaned forward and saw a large dollop of sap oozing from the bark. He picked up a dried twig and used it to scoop up a large glob of the heavy sap before standing up.

  “It’s time,” Merrick quietly said to Jonathan. “This will be just like it always is traveling through Terrada. I’m going to ask her to take us directly to Abred’s forest. It can’t hurt to try, but I’m assuming she’ll ignore my request and take us to Annoon instead, just like she did last time.

  “If that happens—and this is very important—we’ll arrive underwater in the ocean, not too far off the coast of Annoon. Take a deep breath as soon as you feel our journey through Terrada ending and hold it. Don’t panic when we find ourselves under water. Stay close to me. I’ve done this before, and I know how to get us to the surface quickly.”

  Jonathan nodded.

  “I’m ready whenever you are,” Jonathan said.

  With that, Merrick knelt on the ground and motioned for Jonathan to step closer. He took the twig with the tree’s sap coating one end of it and said a word that sounded like sand sliding down the side of a mountain. A small hole opened up in front of Merrick, and he gently placed the stick inside the hole so that the sap oozed down into the Earth.

  Merrick spoke the words the Master Keeper had once taught him to summon Terrada and to ask her help in traveling to Annoon. He knew that the dragons did not like each other allowing their Drayoom to travel to Annoon, but he hoped with all his heart that Terrada knew what was going on and that she would grant him and Jonathan access to the sacred island of the dragons.

  The ground began to shake, and before Merrick could ask Terrada if she would take him to Abred’s forest directly, he was being shot through the earth faster than ever before. He didn’t understand why, but it felt like, although the Earth Dragon was granting his request, she was not very happy about it.

  As Merrick sped beneath the surface of the Earth, he went through the normal sensations of becoming one with the roots, sand, bugs, and rocks that lived inside of Terrada, while also keeping his thoughts anchored so that he could maintain his sense of identity.

  Soon, he felt himself grow colder than usual during his journeys through Terrada, and he knew he was passing under the ocean floor. As he felt himself grow damper with each passing millisecond, Merrick readied himself.

  And then he and Jonathan were spit out under the water at the bottom of the ocean, just as it had been the first time Merrick visited Annoon.

  Despite being ready for the abrupt transition, Merrick’s lungs began to scream for air within seconds of being released into the frigid water. Merrick looked over and saw Jonathan, his eyes wide in fright, as he looked frantically upward toward the light far above.

  Merrick grabbed Jonathan by the arm and spoke the same words he had intoned the first time he had gone through this experience. Immediately, the ground below them formed a fissure, and a wide column of earth rose up beneath Merrick and Jonathan’s feet.

  Both men were raised gently up through the water and within a minute, broke the water’s surface. They both choked and coughed up seawater as they stood and looked at the world into which they had just arrived.

  When Merrick was last here, he hadn’t taken the time to really admire the beauty and strangeness of this land of the dragons.

  This time, the water was calm, the sun was shining, and Merrick looked around him, shocked by how much it felt like coming home.

  Merrick and Jonathan were surrounded by Lagu’s ocean, but in the far distance, Merrick could make out the island of Annoon. He couldn’t tell for sure, but the last time he was here, the island had seemed closer. Merrick wondered if the island moved like a meandering beast throughout this unchartered world or if his sense of perception was different this time.

  At least the day was clear, the weather was good, and he wouldn’t have to worry about missing his mark. Despite the brightness of the day, Merrick didn’t see any sign of the sun in the sky.

  He vaguely recalled from his last visit that Annoon had no sun in its sky, but he hadn’t really thought much of it at the time. Now, as he and Jonathan stood on the raised rock formations, surrounded by the sea, Merrick wondered if they were still on the surface of the planet Earth.

  Whether they were in another dimension or even inside the Earth itself, Merrick suddenly felt small and insignificant.

  Jonathan was looking around as well—his mouth open in awe as he stared ahead at the distant island.

  “That’s Annoon?” Jonathan said.

  “I think so, but it seems as if it’s changed somehow,” Merrick said, “like it’s in a different place—farther away. I never stopped to ask myself exactly where Annoon was located last time I was here. I assumed it was hidden in some remote location of the world, protected by magical wards. Now, I’m not sure what to think. There’s not even a sun in the sky.”

  “I remember reading about a legend,” Jonathan said, “that mentioned in passing a place that existed before the world was formed, before even the dragons were here. I think it was a short poem, actually. No real details. Just a few lines talking about what seemed like it could be a parallel dimension or maybe a before time, from whence all things sprang. That’s all I can remember, though.

  Merrick wiped perspiration from his brow.

  “That’s a mystery for another day, Jonathan. For now, I’m sure enough that that’s Annoon and that we need to keep moving.”

  “I’m not that good of a swimmer,” Jonathan said, squinting at the distant island near the horizon.

  “I thought you said you were good with boats,” Merrick said.

  “I am,” Jonathan said. “That’s why I never learned to swim.”

  Merrick grinned as he released his voice into the gentle breeze and intoned the Earth words of raising. Within seconds, pillars of stone pushed themselves up from the ocean’s depths and broke the water, forming a series of irregular shaped platforms that led all the way to the island and on which Merrick and Jonathan could walk.

  Merrick stepped forward and placed his foot on the first stone.

  “Just watch where you place your feet,” Merrick said.

  Jonathan grunted and followed behind Merrick, his eyes focused downward as he concentrated on each upcoming stone to make sure he didn’t misstep.

  As the two made their way to the island, Jonat
han spoke up with a slight tremble in his voice.

  “Why can’t we just walk this way, all the way to the forest?”

  “I thought about that,” Merrick said as they continued forward, “and it might actually work. But I’m not sure how far away the forest is. If the story was correct and it took Abred a few days to get there on a boat...well that’s a lot of walking, and I don’t want to be sleeping or even standing on one of these rocks in the middle of the ocean if Lagu all of a sudden decides to throw a fit.”

  Jonathan grunted in agreement as his foot slipped and he was forced to lower his center of gravity and use his arms for balance. As soon as he stabilized himself, he was quick to stand up and continue onward.

  “Secondly, if Abred reached the forest by sailing to it, for all I know in this weird mystical place, maybe the Forgotten Forest can only be reached by boat. For all I know we need to follow the winds of Araki to get us there. If we walk, maybe we won’t be able to find the forest at all.”

  Jonathan nodded again.

  “I guess in some strange way, that makes sense,” Jonathan said.

  Merrick laughed and started going a little faster. As their confidence increased, both men moved more quickly until they were hopping from stone to stone.

  “The faster we get there and find the source of the Rune Corp divinium, the sooner we can get back to the Earth City and to Mona.”

  “Are you worried about the Emperor finding the forest too?” Jonathan said. “Assuming we find it at all, it’s not like we can claim the place for Rune Corp or anything. Maybe we could post some guards there or something, but if the Emperor finds the location and really wants the divinium...”

  “You’re right,” Merrick said as Annoon’s shoreline crept into focus. “I’m not sure how to keep the Emperor from eventually finding the source of the Rune Corp divinium other than keeping its location a tight secret between you and me once we find it.”

  “Just like Ohman did?” Jonathan said.