Ever My Merlin (Book 3, My Merlin Series) (9 page)

“I don’t want to leave Excalibur with him, either, but we don’t have a choice. Excalibur won’t slow him down for long. He’s too powerful. He was surprised this time, but we can’t win against him right now. If we don’t go, we won’t get out at all.”

“He’s right, Ryan. We have to go while we can.” Grey stepped into view through the thick layer of mist. He held Blake. Gia followed behind him. Her hand stretched out to emit a small bubble of yellow light. It pushed back the mist a few feet from us. Two wizards carried Hari’s body. I glanced back into the grey nothingness that had overtaken the rooftop. It was a very bad idea to leave Excalibur with Vane.

An eerie acapella aria filled the rooftop as the mist started lifting. I saw the mermaids surround Vane. Their mouths were open as they emitted the haunting melody. Vane’s body rose in the air. The shroud of mist began to lift along with him.

“They’re fighting back against the fog,” Matt said. “We leave now!”

We hurried to the broken access door, past remnants of wood still attached to weakened hinges. Climbing through the slats, which hung open like drunken sots, resigned to defeat, we got out.

***

Was this my life now?
I wondered a few hours later as I stood in a secluded clearing just beyond the outskirts of the city. Once you left the main drag, the area turned rural rather quickly. The darkened sky thundered beneath charged clouds and streaks of lightning flashed through small gaps. The first storm of the monsoon season threatened to drench us. Not that it mattered. We were already drowning in our own grief.

The ones whose families would want to say goodbye in their own way, were left on the roof. Placed upon a heap piled high with bent and broken wood, Hari was one of the six in the pyre in front of me. Sangeetha stood stoically beside the pyre, wearing a white sari. She watched her husband fade into ash. They’d only been married for six months.

Raj, Hari’s brother and apparently second-in-command, carried the torch, setting the six funeral pyres ablaze. His eyes were red with unshed tears. We stepped back as he said his final goodbye to the dead wizards, his friends, and his brother.

Six.
It was not a good number, and I had to wonder at life’s design, which extracted souls so capriciously. My mother. Alexa.
Blake.

Blake wasn’t included in the pyre. Matt contacted the First Member of the Wizard Council and Blake’s body was to be rushed home to England by special arrangement. It helped to have connections in the British government.

Tears fell from my eyes for all of them. I didn’t have the energy to brush the drops away. So many had died today, ultimate sacrifices for those they left behind. I pictured Blake’s kind eyes and the way he used to fiddle with his geeky, black glasses whenever he was nervous. How he’d always been there for me. He embodied everything it meant to be a knight.

My hands tightened on the strap of the fabric bag I was holding.

I would not forget this day.

Fierce wind blew dust in my face. I glanced at Matt’s silent profile next to me. He stared, stone-faced, at the glorious blaze lapping at the sky. Light danced across his high cheekbones, shadowing them, in a remarkably similar way to his brother. Despite Vane being slightly older, they could have almost passed for twins. Except for the eyes. Matt’s usually brooded. Today, they just looked bleak.

He didn’t return my look. Instead, he stared at the blazing conflagration. I turned back to the funeral. A wizard, dressed in the wrap-around, white sarongs that priests wore in India, stepped forward, muttering a long phrase. He threw a handful of white rice into the fire as part of a last rites ceremony. Nearly a hundred wizards stood in the clearing, a somber crowd all clad in white funeral dress. I took a deep breath, inhaling heat and smoke. It scorched my nostrils and burned the hairs a bit. Its sharp scent went straight to my brain, leaving me a little dizzy; and although it made me feel somewhat more alive, it did nothing to alleviate the cold, hard weight pressing down on my chest.

I turned and began to walk away. My restless legs refused to hold still anymore. Grey, who was standing just behind me, caught my sleeve. He gave me a questioning look. His skin pallor looked like ash, and and Gia held him onto him to keep upright. The gash on her head was healed, but she still wasn’t okay. She didn’t look at me. Or anyone. Instead, she stared off at a point in space, silent tears streaking her cheeks as she looked for something that was now long gone.

I couldn’t breathe. I swayed in place. Grey’s grip tightened. I let myself draw from his support and straightened. Slipping out of his hold, I kept going. I crossed the edge of the clearing and went down the dirt path to a white concrete house, nestled deep within the woods. The sky darkened over the rectangular house. Two stories high, it had a huge, covered veranda in the front. The SUVs we’d been driving hugged the side of the house. I also noticed a Jeep and several sedans. The place was some kind of safe house for the wizards.

I went up a short flight of steps and hurried past empty rocking chairs that invited you to enjoy the balminess of a sultry evening. I spotted a doorway that led straight into the main part of the house. I stumbled across a tree stump as large as an easy chair and sat down. Inside, open-air seating around a square courtyard revealed more blue sky. Gauzy, white curtains framed the open wall of the seating area. As functional as they were decorative, they would be closed as soon as night fell, to ward off mosquitoes.

Like many traditional houses in India, it was built around a central, square courtyard. At its core, a thick mango tree showed small green fruit starting to emerge from dense branches. I crossed the seating area and went to the next section of the house, where two long, wooden tables took up most of the kitchen. Instead of chairs, benches had been put in place for seating. One table displayed framed pictures of groups of people with garlands around them. I sat down on a bench at the other table and took off the shoulder bag. I stared across the gulf at the smiling faces in the pictures. Most of those wizards were now gone.

I touched my neck. I no longer wore the amulet. Matt insisted that I take it off and I conceded. I reached for the fabric bag and unbuttoned it, drawing out a wadded handkerchief. Matt had wrapped the
Dragon’s Eye
carefully after we’d left the rooftop. I set the wad on the table. I peeled off the cloth, being careful not to touch the chain or the gemstone. A simple touch would link me back to Vane.

I was surprised I could take off the necklace. Thankfully, Matt had removed the spell that locked it on me while we were in Athens. He never put it back. Biting the inside of my cheek, I debated what I was about to do. I took a breath. I had no idea where I was. It was as safe as it was going to get. I picked up the necklace and put it on. My body sighed with satisfaction as soon as the gemstone touched my skin. Something about it sent a visceral sigh through me.

Immediately, the gemstone heated. I gasped the intensity of the burn and clutched my forehead. Images flashed through my mind.

I was standing on a narrow ledge, surrounded by green hills and brown rock. Beside me, a waterfall cascaded from a rock outcropping overhead. The waterfall continued past the ledge and down into a small pool about fifty feet below. From my vantage point, the pool didn’t look deep enough for diving. Matt walked into the waterfall. With his palms, he felt along the damp earth of the hill. All of a sudden, a blast of water shot out from the rock, like a horizontal geyser. It tossed him into the air and straight across the ledge. I dove after him, but it was too late. Matt went over the side of the ledge.

Panting, my eyes snapped open. Vane was seeing a vision.

“
Yes, DuLac, figure that out all by yourself?
” Vane’s voice pounded in my head. He sounded out-of-breath and tired. “
I told you it would work.
”

“
Blake is gone, Vane.”

“Yes.”

“He was your friend!”

“
Emerson always wanted to be the hero, DuLac. We no longer have the luxury of heroes.
” The words were merciless, but I sensed a trace of regret in his tone. His next words confirmed it. “
It was not planned, Ryan.”

In the kitchen, I took a relieved breath at the small hint of the real Vane, hoping it meant he fought against the monster. I pushed for more. “
How can you be working with Oliver?
”

“
I agree that was ill-conceived on my part.
”

Ill-conceived. What a massive understatement. But it was also a concession. It wasn’t enough. I couldn’t let him dismiss Blake as if he meant nothing. “
Vane—
”

Vane interrupted, “
Emerson—Blake, that is. He…
”

Vane stopped as if he couldn’t actually verbalize his thoughts. Yet I could sense the chaos of emotions swirling inside him. In the kitchen, my fingers tightened on the amulet and I dared to have hope.

Vane read the thought. His voice hardened,
“Emerson was one of the first, Ryan, and he won’t be the last, unless you stop resisting me.”

A harsh bark of laughter escaped me.
“So this was my fault?”

“No.”
There was a pause. “
This is but merely a taste of what’s coming. We need to figure out what that is.
”

“Is that how you justify attacking us?”

Vane made an impatient noise. “
I’m not justifying. I’m explaining
.”

I pictured the green eyes of the monster. So far, I’d adamantly held onto the belief that I could defeat it. After today, my faith was shaken. “
So, this is how it’s going to be?”

“
We don’t have to be on different sides.”

“You can’t have it both ways, Vane. I won’t let you do this again.”

“You won’t be able to stop me.”

I closed my eyes.
“I will find a way.”

He sighed.
“Then you’ll destroy this world. My brother was very clever to use Excalibur against me, but only the sword-bearer may wield it properly. You’ll have to do better, if you want to defeat me.
”

I didn’t want to defeat him. I wanted the real Vane back.

“He is gone.”

“
Thanks for the tip,
” I muttered.

He paused. “
Why do you still care?
”

The idiotic question didn’t deserve an answer. Not that I would give him one. He’d just use it against me. I only hoped the fleeting glimpse I’d seen of the real Vane meant something good. I rubbed my forehead. “
I’m taking off the amulet, Vane.
”

 “
Want to tell me where you are?
”

Matt had one of the wizards put me to sleep so I wouldn’t know—a safeguard against Vane.

He groused, “
He is too clever. And making things overly difficult.
”

“
What was that vision?”

“How should I know? It’s the first one I’ve ever had.”

“Great idea, then, for you to steal them,
” I retorted.

“Forget the vision. It doesn’t tell us anything right now,”
Vane shot back. “
I need you to drink the Gorgon’s blood.
”

The Medusa snake. Now I understood why he was still talking to me. “
Why are you so bent on this?
”

“
Time is running out. We still have no idea what is going to happen, Ryan. What good is having the power of a god if you don’t know its purpose?
”

I said aloud, “Another thing you might have considered beforehand. I’m sensing a pattern.”

“What pattern?” Matt came into the house.

My hand went straight to my neck. With a guilty grimace, I took off the amulet. The gemstone went cold and I knew Vane was gone.

Matt marched up to me, a scowl marring his otherwise supremely aesthetic face. “You’re talking to
him
.”

I answered evenly, “Yes.”

Matt pointed back in the direction of the funeral. “You still want to save him? Even after all he’s done! After Blake! Can you really tell me you’re happy about how all of this turned out?”

I blinked back tears. Blake’s tousled black hair and earnest eyes swam in front of me. “Of course I’m not happy!”

Matt gave a low laugh. “He’s taken everything.”

I couldn’t disagree. Still I tried to explain. “I saw what Lelex left inside you. It was spreading like a virus. He saved you.”

Matt thundered, “He
saved
me so that he could take my power. The visions were our one advantage. Now we’ve lost them altogether.”

I ground my teeth. “What was I supposed to have done? Vane didn’t give me a choice.”

“If I had my powers, maybe I could have changed what happened on the rooftop,” he barked. “Maybe we wouldn’t have lost Excalibur. Maybe we wouldn’t have lost…” Matt raked an unsteady hand through his hair. “So many.”

My eyes closed. I forced them open. “I didn’t see another way.”

Matt looked at me impassively. “You should have found one.”

“Really? How?” I took a long breath. “Look, you’re upset. I get it. I’m upset, too. I didn’t want this.” My voice dropped, and I said hoarsely, “It’s killing me, what I had to do, but I’m not going to take it back. I made the right choice to save as many as I could.”

“The right choice today, without a thought of the cost—”

I stood up, shaking. “I am well aware of the cost!”