Lives of Kings (28 page)

Kian walked by and squeezed my arm. “You may be right,” he said. “Don't worry, he'll come around.”

“He doesn't want to hear it,” I said quietly.

The hallway and stairs carried an echo.

“Because if you're right …” Kian said. He trailed off, thinking about the implications. “I don't know if you can win unless you can all win together.”

“We don't need to win,” I replied.

Kian looked at me, confusion in his blue eyes.

“We just need to keep everything from falling apart.”

Even while purchasing questionable meat grilled outdoors on a stick, we were still being stared at as if we had come from outer space. A group of children tried to run up to us as we ate, but women pulled them back before they could reach us.

I only had a few bites of dinner. I couldn't figure out what animal the meat came from, though I had a suspicion it was something I hadn't eaten before.

We continued wandering around, pretending to be interested in everything, until eventually the lights in the market were doused or turned off and people milled home.

Even in the darkness we could make our way around by the light of the moon. I felt like I could see every star in the sky.

By now we had passed the short, square brown building that was the museum about five times. Each time we tried to walk by from a different angle, looking to see if anyone guarded it. The chain lock on the front doors seemed pretty rudimentary, yet I couldn't relax. I kept turning around, feeling eyes on me even though we were in the middle of nowhere and the museum was not even in a residential area.

“Okay,” Seth finally said quietly. “Let's go.”

It was our sixth time walking by the low building that looked to be made out of the some kind of densely packed earth.

“Gwen, can you get the lock?” Seth whispered.

Despite my reluctance, I took hold of the main heavy lock and applied some pressure to it. It broke in my hand and the chain fell away.

Michael pulled the doors open and we snuck in.

My heart nearly jumped out of my chest when a light came on, but as we all froze, it turned out to be a nightlight that must have been activated by movement.

The hall was covered with what I assumed were tribal drawings by the people who had lived here. A timeline on the wall told the story of the ancient people who lived in the mountains and came down to farm in the valleys. I ran my fingers along their history as I walked.

The few sparse items in the museum were encased in glass and were mostly historical artifacts that archaeologists had dug up. Arrowheads, various skins, and baskets filled the displays.

In the middle of the room a glass case held a backlit item. On a small pedestal, the wooden box looked like it had been intended for jewellery. With its intricate carvings showing interlaced patterns, it appeared to be one of a kind.

“Is that it?” Seth asked.

Kian nodded.

I couldn't help but be reminded of a scene in every adventure movie where the title characters finally find their prize, only to discover it's booby-trapped. As we circled the case a few times, I could feel Seth apply some magic, looking for anything that might be protecting the box.

“I don't feel anything,” he said finally.

“How do you get this thing off?” Garrison asked.

Michael took the glass in both hands and lifted. It came off its stand without any resistance. I was holding my breath waiting for something cunning or powerful or dangerous. My heart was pounding with both fear and anticipation.

Seth reached for the box, taking it in both hands. He let out a long breath before slowly opening the lid. From where I stood, I couldn't see what was inside. Instead, I just saw Seth's face turn to dismay.

“What is it?” I asked, craning to see.

He flipped the box over. “Nothing,” he said, confused. “There's nothing in here.”

Suddenly it felt as if the room was coming down on top of my head. The weight and pressure pounded into my mind with the force of a battering ram. Unprepared, I collapsed under its weight.

I felt like I was under siege. My first reflex was to retreat — protect myself by stepping back to where my past lived, away from the body that fell the floor.

My vision blurred and narrowed as the room distorted before my eyes. My hearing dulled until I could only feel the vibrations on the floor.

One of the last things I saw before everything went dark was the wooden box, falling to the floor and breaking into pieces.

I
woke up with a terrible headache. Rolling onto my side, I thought I would throw up. Instead, I just quietly lay there and tried to slow my mind down.

What happened?

I lay on the same red stone floor I'd been standing on when I collapsed. Hands tried to help me up and I panicked, fighting them off.

“Gwen!” The voice was familiar. “Relax, it's me.”

Garrison stared back at me. A gash on the side of his head had left a streak of dried blood down his face. His eyes looked sad and made me instantly worried.

“What happened?” I asked, sitting up.

It felt like I was made of lead, or my muscles had turned to jelly. Either way, getting up took a considerable amount of effort.

“I don't know,” Garrison said. “I just woke up. Let's get Michael.”

Only when I turned to find Michael still passed out did I realize Seth and Kian were gone.

Despite the weakness pulling at my bones and tempting me to just lie back down and go to sleep, my heart began pounding again. The adrenaline helped to wear off whatever magic was trying to keep me placid. I shook it off like a cloak, jumping to my feet and rushing to Michael.

He lay on his back, and as we tried to shake him, he only groaned.

“Come on,” I urged. “Wake up, we have to go look for the others.”

He groaned again but opened his eyes this time. I could feel the magic on him and Garrison like a thick blanket. I couldn't think of any way to get it to wear off other than the obvious. Grabbing at nothing and tearing into it with my nails, I yanked on the magic and tried to rip it off of him. We had to move. Quickly.

There was a sound in the air like crackling static. Michael immediately snapped to attention, though he held his head and could only come onto all fours at first. I imagined we had all experienced the same pain, as if someone had run our minds through a blender until we couldn't recognize down from up or left from right.

I turned to tear the magic away from Garrison as Michael steadied himself.

“Gwen?” he said hoarsely.

“What?”

“I think I know why the earth … hm …”

I turned to find him crawling on the ground on all fours as if looking for something. He was concentrating very hard. Garrison tried to stand and fell. I had to catch him to hold him up. He held his head and winced.

“This hurts,” he said.

I tried to sympathize, but we just had to get going. Whatever had happened to us could happen again, and we still had to find Seth and Kian.

As I held Garrison, I looked around. We were all in the corner of the museum — a particularly empty area where it looked like we had been dragged and tossed into a bare nook.

Everything seemed untouched except the pedestal that had held the names box was still open, and glass from the cover had shattered on the floor. Michael had probably dropped it. The empty and useless box was broken, too.

Finally, when I was nearly hopping from foot to foot with impatience, Garrison announced he could try to walk and Michael had moved from pawing at the ground to just staring at it.

“Let's go,” Garrison said, limping toward the exit.

I was ready to follow him when something blew him back so hard that he hit the back wall and crumpled to the floor.

I rushed to him.

“I think we missed something,” Michael said.

He was pointing at the ground. A red line cordoned off the nook. It looked like blood. I hadn't even noticed it in my hurry.

“I think it's magic. To keep us in,” Michael added.

After making sure Garrison was still conscious, though barely, I walked up to the invisible line. Like the magic on us before, I could feel a small vibration in the air as if an extra layer hung between the rest of the museum and me.

Carefully, I extended a finger toward it. As soon as it crossed the line, my finger was shocked with what felt like electricity, but somehow more intense, like a pulse.

Trying not to panic, I turned back to Garrison. He looked like he had taken a beating and was not up to figuring out how to get rid of whatever was keeping us confined.

“Michael?” I asked hopefully. “You can't see how to move that invisible wall, can you?”

He shook his head, looking thoughtfully at the rest of the museum, though I knew he was considering the magic between it and us.

“I don't know how to even approach it,” he said finally, reaching out to touch the magic before pulling his hand back when he was stung.

I didn't have time to fly into any more of a panic. Footsteps echoed from the darkness of the other end of the room. They were approaching. I instinctively put myself in front of Garrison; he was still too hurt to stand.

I squinted into the shadows of the museum, dreading whom I would see. Despite my fears, the reality was worse.

The first person I saw come toward us was Kian. His hands were tied behind his back and he was being pushed. My stomach fell through the floor. It looked like he had been beaten. His lip was split, and here were cuts and bruises all over his face.

I felt the powerful urge to fly into action. To do something. But I couldn't. Garrison was hurt. Michael was clueless. And we were trapped like animals — completely cornered.

“Kian?” I asked.

There wasn't any room for pride. I had to know if he was okay. I stood as close to the red line as possible, craning my neck to see better. He didn't reply.

I could only stand and watch, trying not to shake with both anger and fear as the Godelan came forward with Moira at their side. She looked the same as when we had left her, but her expression matched the one from my memories — arrogant, annoyed, and scornful.

Despite holding her head at a haughty angle to imply confidence, Moira's arms were wrapped around her. I guessed there were two possible reasons for that: she wasn't fully comfortable with what the Godelan had already done, or she wasn't comfortable with what they were about to do. Meaning there was something worse coming.

Holding Kian at what looked like a painful angle and forcing him to walk was the man I had once known as Bald Magician. I now knew his name was Donald. He seemed to be enjoying the pain he was causing. He gritted his teeth as he struggled to move Kian, reminding me of some kind of wild predator. The man called Stone was next to him. The Third Magician, or Magician as Kian simply called him, was not present.

Forcing down the lump in my throat that had formed as soon as I saw Kian, I pushed my breaking heart to the back of my mind, calling up my past life. There had to be something in my memories or in my magic that would allow me to get out of this mess. But I couldn't think of anything beyond my situation. I couldn't focus. There was too much happening, and I still didn't know where Seth was.

They approached until they stood just feet from the barrier they had created. I felt hate in every ounce of my being, as if it were eating me alive. I wanted to scream. Cry. Kick. Anything that would help me get the pain of hating someone so much out of my body.

“Gwen,” Stone remarked, as if noticing I was there for the first time. “You know you have caused us nothing but trouble?”

I didn't trust my voice to hold, so I said nothing. Stone turned to Michael and looked him up and down. A thin smile touched his lips.

“You would be a wonderful addition to our little team,” he told him calmly. “Why don't you come and help us?”

Michael looked from him to me as if he couldn't believe the audacity of the request. He didn't know these men like I did. I remembered what they were capable of. What they had tried to do to me.

“Why are you doing this?” Michael asked. “What do you want?”

Kian met my eyes for the first time. If my heart was broken before, it shattered now. His eyes held no hope. Only sadness. We were truly trapped.

“We want to make things right,” Stone said, a hand to his heart as if to emphasize his earnestness. “The world is not how it should be, and as you may know, it all goes back to one little moment in time. A moment when your tribe decided to go against mine and surrender our kingdoms to the Romans.”

“We never forget,” Donald said from behind Kian. “A benefit of such a long life.”

“Together,” Stone said, “we could have created a greater civilization than any in history. We would have ruled the world, our tribes together in power. But here we are. Mere mortals. Well, almost.”

It hurt to swallow. I looked for a gap in their plan that could help us escape, but I couldn't find one. Moira could attack my mind, while Stone wanted my magic. He might try the ritual again on any of my friends, or on me. And Donald — my skin crawled at the thought. Kian had rescued me from him before, but just barely.

They had tied me up, stripped me, and forced me into the snow to become their slave. Only Kian had stood between us. Now I was stronger, yet I was still in the same position and couldn't even help him.

“We are here to offer you a deal,” Stone said finally. “You are strong. You can help us. We can make this world great. Together.”

“No,” Michael said.

I could see Stone fighting the effort not to glare at him. Instead he sighed as if at an impudent child.

“In exchange for your co-operation,” Stone continued, “we will not hurt any of your kind except the only person who can stand between us and a better world.”

“Kian?” Michael asked.

Stone shook his head. “As you can tell by his lack of magic, young Kian is not one of you. I mean your king. The High King.”

“What did you do to him?” I demanded, nearly rushing the barrier. It was hard not to run at them.

“If you are wondering if we took his magic,” Stone said to me, “we didn't. Despite the hardships and obstacles you've placed in our way, we are merciful. We are willing to kill him. No slavery. No magic.”

My legs felt like rubber. It was not merciful on their behalf — it was safe.

“No.”

I meant it as an affirmation but it came out barely a whisper.

Stone took a deep, dramatic breath. “This offer won't be available for long, and it really is in the best interest of your kind,” he said. “Six of you will be guaranteed safety in exchange for one life. You will be fine.”

“You're not gracious,” Garrison spat from behind me. “You just know you can't contain his magic. You're scared of him.”

“Consider it,” Stone said.

I had nothing more to say. We wouldn't leave Seth to die.

“No,” I said again.

“I was hoping you'd say that,” Donald said. I had to force myself to stand my ground. His gaze bored into me.

Suddenly he kicked Kian in the back of his legs, forcing him onto his knees as he winced.

Kian met my eyes again, and in that instant, I was ready to do anything they wanted. He saw the softening in my posture — my resolve weakening. He shook his head so slightly that only I noticed. He was telling me not to crumble under the pressure.

“Our friend here,” Stone extended an arm to Moira, “has let me know that you found a way to end the cycle. To die.”

I said nothing.

“But,” Stone continued, “she claims the ritual will not let us kill each other. Since you are here, ready to capture us, I assume you have found a way around this. Tell me.”

Instead of answering Stone, I turned to Moira. “Moira, they're going to kill you,” I told her quickly. I didn't know how long they'd let me talk. “Whatever they promised you, you're not going to get it. You're the only other person who can control them. They're going to kill you.”

She hugged herself closer and pursed her lips but said nothing. Stone and Donald witnessed this wearing identical grim smiles at the futility of my attempt. I was furious with her betrayal, but I was still hoping she was closer to us than to them.

“Tell me,” Stone repeated.

“We don't know,” I told him. “We just wanted the names. That's it.” It was a thin lie, but I couldn't imagine how they'd know the difference. Until Moira spoke.

“That's not true,” she announced. “I saw the plan to kill you in Seth's mind,” she told them.

The disappointment washing over me was intense. I felt absolutely betrayed. We had never gotten along, and the girl we had found only a few months ago was long gone, but this person was a complete stranger. I wanted to believe so much that there was some loyalty for us left, but I didn't see any of it on her face.

“If you're so sure,” I said through gritted teeth, “why don't you just pull the answer from his mind too?”

“He's being difficult,” she fired back. She actually smiled, which turned my stomach until I thought I would be sick. “But I can still do other things, like put memories in.” She tapped Kian on the side of the head with an index finger.

So that was how Kian's memory suddenly came back. Moira must have planted it in his mind so that we would come here. But why here? The names must be here.

They could only be planning to kill Seth and recover the names at the same time, never letting them fall into the wrong hands. Or they would steal our magic anyway and then use it to move the mountains or something equally as disastrous.

I vowed that if I was ever able to get away from this room, I would make sure Moira could never bother us again. Again, the hate pulsed so hard inside my skin that I thought I would explode.

Behind me I heard Garrison shuffle to his feet. He came to stand near Michael.

“I will ask you one more time,” Stone said. “Tell me how to perform the ritual. Tell me what I need. And you can go.”

“Never,” Garrison said.

“Good,” Donald said.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small knife. The light bounced off it, emphasizing the little silver blade's lethal sharpness. He brought it to Kian's neck and pressed. A spot of blood appeared and pooled at the base of his collarbone.