Maylin's Gate (Book 3) (47 page)

A dragon's distant roar bristled the hair at the nape of his neck. The sulfurous stench of burning constricted his throat.

In his arms, Rika lay motionless. Cuts and bruises littered Rika's arms, chest, and legs.

Another roar. His skin crawled. He pulled Rika in tight and turned his gaze toward the buildings around him.

The citadel burned a dozen yards away and the arena beyond.

Freehold. But how? He'd lived through this moment once before. The moment when he discovered the raw current of magic running through his body apart from Elan's.

"Choose," the presence said from inside his own thoughts.

Puffs of steam billowed from his lips and he pulled Rika in tighter. Cold air stung his cheeks.

Another roar came near the arena followed by an explosion.

"Choose what?" His heart hammered and he dipped his face into Rika's hair inhaling her scent. Elan knew how he missed her and she felt real to his touch. This moment they'd both lived through. He'd asked for Patron Tyrell's guidance. His old mentor had answered awakening his power. Power he'd used to heal Rika.

"Rika." He dragged his fingertips across her face. Icy cold greeted his touch. Rika wouldn't live but a few minutes longer.

Rika didn't answer, and he knew she wouldn't. Couldn't. He turned his gaze skyward. "What choice do I have? I can't let her die. I can't let them all die."

He rocked Rika in his arms. If he had never embraced his true magic, would the winter events have turned out differently?

He fought against his instincts and rocked Rika in his arms. "I can't let her die. I can't choose."

"Choose," the presence said again.

He craned his gaze skyward toward the smoke-filled sky. "Please God. I can't choose."

If he didn't embrace his soul magic, would they all die? He squeezed his eyes closed and held Rika tight.

"Ronan, you cannot alter the past," a second presence said.

Tears formed in his eyes. "Master Tyrell?"

"The spirit speaking to you is a liar," Master Tyrell's voice said. "It seeks death alone and you cannot trust it. There is always a path forward.

"Then help me," he said.

A fresh power flowed through his body. A power he recognized. The one he'd used to save Freehold and the world from Trace's dragon herd.

His vision blurred and the world flashed.

A woman's strong grip clutched his arm. Golden curls spilled over the woman's shoulders.

His heart hammered. "Mother?"

Queen Arianne's blue eyes held his and his mother's lips turned up forming a weak smile.

His face flushed while a hideous truth slammed home. He would relive the moment of his mother's death or change the world's fate forever.

"Choose," the presence said in his mind.

"Oh mother." With a trembling hand he touched his mother's living flesh and tears welled in his eyes.

"You're such a handsome boy." Arianne's feather touch brushed his chin. Pain touched the queen's eyes. "Did I ever tell you that you're the spitting image of your father?" The queen's voice trembled.

How could he let her die? He wouldn't. He would save her this time and set right the wrong that had thrown the world into turmoil. He returned her smile. "I know. He's a good man mother and I know you made your decision with love."

"You mustn't interfere." Master Tyrell's voice bubbled in his thoughts. "You’ll set forth a chain of events that could lead to the world's destruction.

The golden glow of a shard blade lent color to his mother's ashen complexion. "I'll wait here with you until help arrives. I'll not leave you alone," Sergeant Brunte said.

He had seconds before Merric Pride murdered his mother. His thoughts turned to Rika. If he stopped his mother's murder, would he forget Rika? How could he live without Rika?

What if he died saving his mother? Where would that leave the world? If the barrier fell and he wasn't alive to stop what came after, could the world survive without him?

He took his mother's hands and squeezed. "I love you mother and father loves you too. Danielle is well. I've met her. She looks just like you."

Tears welled in the queen's eyes. "How could you know that?"

"I'm sorry mother." His chest tightened and tears streaked his cheeks.

The air behind Sergeant Brunte shimmered. Merric Pride appeared.

He offered the battle knight no warning, squeezed his eyes shut, and the world flashed again.

Sunlight broke above a grove of pine trees.

The sinking sensation of flight set his stomach swirling. A sharp tingle twined along his spine and he whirled trying to get his bearings.

He sat atop a war-bird whose wings beat with savage ferocity.

In front of him, Danielle leaned forward and spoke into the guardian's ear.

His heart lurched. North Camp. He sat atop Rika's back. He recalled the details surrounding the day they escaped North Camp. The day Master Tyrell died.

He craned his neck sideways and his heart hammered.

Patron Tyrell and Kelwin Finn sat atop Keely's back. Fifty feet below, guards swarmed North Camp. Salvos of arrows whistled through the air.

"Choose," the presence said.

Tears came to his eyes. His head throbbed in time with the pounding of his heart. He could save Master Tyrell.

Adrenaline washed through his body. Could he channel magic? He reached for Elan's magic and found it willing and able to serve him. He commanded the magic, sending a wave surging through his body. He tapped into his energy in ways he hadn't understood the first time they fled North Camp. He could alter history. Had the presence chosen this moment because a living Patron Tyrell would alter the course of his own life?

Through blurry tear-rimmed eyes he gazed at Patron Tyrell.

"You have no right to alter history," Tyrell's voice spoke in his mind. The man seated atop Keely's back stared into the eyes of a shield knight in the camp below.

"I can save you Master Tyrell," he spoke through the mental bridge. "We can change the world together."

"At what cost?" Tyrell's presence said. "You cannot trust the soul taker. He's a liar and a cheat."

"Lies," the presence said. "I'm giving the boy a chance to alter his destiny."

"You do nothing without a price tag attached," Tyrell's presence said. "Ronan, you cannot alter time and the destinies of other people. You are not God."

He shook his head and tears streamed down his cheeks. He opened his mouth to scream a warning for Master Tyrell and words would not come.

Tyrell slipped the pack containing the shards over Kelwin Finn's staff. Master Tyrell stole a last glance in his direction.

His gaze met Tyrell's and knowledge passed between them. Knowledge of the sacrifice to come. "No," he said finding his lost voice.

Tyrell gave a final glance and leaped from Keely's back.

He strained sideways and reached for his master. He reached for the only father he'd ever known. A man he missed with his whole heart. He reached for the shield magic that had not yet taken root inside him and found something foreign.

The sound of screaming, primal and unguarded cut through the air. His screaming, but from another man's body.

He pulled on the thread where the shield magic would later form and it yanked loose. A thin ribbon of blue light formed between he and Master Tyrell. He sent a flare of energy forward. An alien flow of energy.

The ribbon vanished. Patron Tyrell's boots slammed into the knight's shield. Tyrell's shard blade surged with energy. In a blur of motion, Tyrell sliced through the shield knight's neck.

Rika and Keely pushed high above North Camp while soldiers swarmed over Patron Tyrell.

A sickening lump formed in his stomach and he screamed unable to tear his gaze from Patron Tyrell.

The world swirled again.

Darkness surrounded him. Pain flared through his legs and back. The musty stench of the temple brought him back to the present.

"You've chosen," the presence said.

He reached for Elan's magic and it slipped away like a thread of dust. "I've chosen nothing," he said. "I remain the same as before."

"But, you have," the presence said. "You've chosen to leave your path unaltered."

"But, Patron Tyrell. I..."

"You did nothing to save Tyrell. You let him die," the presence said. "You have spurned my offer and now I will have my payment."

"Payment?" He said. "I never agreed to your terms."

"Oh but you did," the presence said. "You agreed to pay any price. Your soul will be the crown jewel of my collection."

Pain like a million stinging wasps flared over every inch of his body. Deep inside, a ripping sound set his ears ringing. He unleashed a blood curdling howl and reached for Elan's magic. It slipped away and the pain intensified.

An emptiness unlike anything he'd experienced took root at his core. He moaned reaching again for Elan's elusive magic. Emptiness met his attempt, but not like before. The void came from the utter absence of Elan's magic. The ripping sensation continued and soul-crushing pain flared somewhere inside him.

Like the dragons and old Zeke, the Ruins of Mistros held no answers for him. He had nowhere left to turn and prayed for a quick ending. The hope that had propelled his journey southward withered and died. The man the world knew as Ronan Latimer ceased to exist. "I'm sorry. Tell Rika I'm sorry," he said in a hard ragged breath.

Silence met his plea. He reared his head back and screamed.

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

A Fresh Perspective

“Tara, are you okay,” Jo said.

Tara closed her eyes and tried to steady her breathing. Cold marble pressed against her cheek. The moldy scent of ancient decay filled her nostrils. Her heart raced. If she opened her eyes, she thought she might throw up.

“Whatever it is can’t be that bad,” Jo said in a voice filled with compassion.

How could she explain? Not bad? She’d lived out a century’s long lie based on a misunderstanding? How had she been so arrogant? So filled with bitter righteousness. People had died because of her empty rage. “You don’t understand,” she said, voice muffled by the floor.

Jo knelt beside her. “Here, let me help you.”

She took Jo’s hand and managed to stand. The world spun.

Jo wrapped a sturdy arm around her waist. “Tell me what has you so upset.”

“It’s the note,” she said. “It’s from Elan.”

“Can I see it?” Jo said.

She nodded and handed over the note.

“It’s gibberish,” Jo said. “What does it mean?”

“It says, Darius doesn’t speak for me. I never asked you to leave Meranthia. I believe I know how to reverse the curse. Come find me. E.”

For a long moment, Jo didn’t speak.

“I've run my life on a lie,” she said. “Elan died because of me.” Her voice cracked and her legs turned to mush.

Jo’s grip tightened around her waist. “Lean on me.”

Jo guided her a short way across the dust-covered floor. “Sit.”

She sat. Cold stone press against her bottom. With both hands she gripped the edge of a stone bench and took a deep steadying breath.

Jo squeezed in beside her. “I’m sorry, but I’m confused. I thought you said Elan told you to leave Meranthia and never return.”

“I thought he did too,” she said. “A man named Darius came to me the day after I saved Elan from an uprising. Darius led Elan's security forces. I used dark magic to save Elan that day.”

Jo squeezed her shoulder easing some of her pent up tension.

“Darius carried a message from Elan. He said that Elan wanted me out of Meranthia and away from anyone I might hurt. He went on to say that Elan was so disgusted by my actions that the sight of me sickened him, and I was to leave or face execution.”

“You took him at his word?” Jo said.

She leaned over and pressed her face into her hands. “I had no reason not to believe him. Darius had always treated me with kindness. I would've trusted him with my life.”

"Don't you see?” Jo said. "Darius felt threatened. You did what he couldn't do."

“I protected Elan,” she said finishing Jo’s thought. How had she been so blind?

“He thought you’d run him out of a job,” Jo said.

Humanity hadn’t let her down. Darius had played on her emotions and she had betrayed humankind. A heavy ache tugged on her chest and she sobbed into her hands.

“You can make it right,” Jo said. “I’ll help you.”

“The moment before the Shattering,” she said between sobs. “Elan and I stood face to face.”

Jo’s hand froze on her shoulder.

“He gave me a look I’ll never forget,” she said wiping tears from her cheeks. “I thought it was contempt, but now I don’t think so.”

Jo remained silent.