The Song of Eloh Saga (58 page)

“I’m more comfortable handling a sword. Besides, I’d rather keep watch over you. I just got you back. I don’t want to lose you again.”

“Glad that’s settled,” Ace said, sarcastically. “I’ll round up my men and have each of them choose one of your gifted people to guard.” He grabbed Krissin’s hands in his and squeezed. “We’ve got this covered. You don’t need to worry.”

Her eyes widened. “I’m not worried.”

“Keep telling yourself that.” Ace leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, in a very uncharacteristic and soft gesture. “I’ll be back soon.”

Ace raced out of the room and Krissin looked back at us. “I don’t know what he’s talking about. I’m not worried. We’ll beat them.”

I nudged Mark and pointed toward the door with my head. He walked out without a word.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” I wanted to reach out to Krissin, but I knew that would send her guard up faster.

She pushed the door closed. When the latch clicked, her shoulders slumped and she ran her hands through her long blond hair.

“No, I’m not okay,” she admitted. “This is our last chance, Reychel. It all comes down to this. What if we fail? I’ve been fighting for this for years. My entire life has been geared toward ending this war.”

“I know how you feel. I’ve only known about the prophecy for just under a year and look how it’s affected my life. Nothing is the same. Not that I’d want it to be. I can’t stand the thought of remaining a slave the rest of my life. Every moment, every painful, frightening moment has brought me right here. The only thing left for me to do is walk through this and see where I end up.”

But I understood Krissin’s fear. None of us knew for sure where we were headed. We could only jump in feet first and hope we had the strength to swim back up before running out of air.

Chapter Twenty-Three

We stood together in the courtyard surrounded by hundreds of gifted people, each with a warrior from the Sons of Silence standing guard next to them. We’d sent each of the warriors through a portal, emerging only a few steps away, to help them get over the initial sickness of going through a portal. Before stepping through, they were joking and slapping each other on the back. After emerging on the other side, most of them were on the ground throwing up or writhing around, holding their stomachs.

Ace walked through as if he did it every day. I had a sneaking suspicion Krissin had taken him through portals before.

Krissin gave her speech to rally everyone. I stood off to the side, hidden in a dark cloak with the hood up, so similar to the one I’d worn the day I escaped my branding. I glanced up at the blue sky. A lone cloud drifted across the sky and before I could take a breath, the vision attacked me.

I eyed him as he slept soundly, my hand gripping the hilt of the dagger. I held it up and sunlight glinted off the blade. I had only one chance and I needed the kill to be swift.

I hovered over him, looking for the throbbing vein in his neck. One chance to plunge it into him. One chance to succeed.

His eyes popped open, but they didn’t widen in surprise.

“Reychel, put it down.”

His voice was too gentle. I wouldn’t fall for it again.

“Reychel, please. It’s the madness. You need to snap out of it. We’ll get Johna to bring more of the elixir. It helps. Do you remember?”

His hand caressed my cheek. I nuzzled into it, but he took that moment to try to snatch the dagger. I gripped it harder, and then plunged it into his neck.

Mark’s voice faltered. With a bubbly, bloody gasp he said, “Tell Chase I love him. Tell our son I loved you with all my heart.”

My head snapped backward and my eyelids blinked. The cloud raced away, my heart with it. I couldn’t keep having these visions. Was the distorted vision an effect of the madness in my gift or was it a portent for the future?

Mark mentioned a son right before he died. If we were going to have a child, I’d not only be a danger to myself and Mark, but also to him. I had to find a way to protect everyone. Maybe I should have let Alia kill me. I didn’t know any other way to stop the inevitable.

“Are you okay?” Mark squeezed my shoulder.

I turned and smiled at him, hoping he’d be convinced. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little nervous about what lies ahead.” If only I was just worried about the upcoming battle.

He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close. I sank into him, glad to be in his arms and fearful of how much I needed it. If we stayed together, I would kill one, or both, of us. I couldn’t even wrap my mind around the concept of a son. Our son. This Chase. It only made the whole thing more frightening.

“We’ll win and then we’ll get the boring life we want,” Mark said. “You and me. No more drama. No political intrigue. No Krissin telling you what to do. Just us.”

I wanted it to be true so badly. But if the visions persisted, and if they started to come true or impinge on real life, I’d have to make a decision. I’d leave Mark before I ever had the chance to hurt him. As for a baby, well, there would be no babies until I knew the madness had been eradicated.

“I think it’s time for us to get into position.” I pulled away from Mark’s embrace. A puzzled look crossed his face, but I refused to address it. I had to concentrate on the battle ahead. None of the visions would matter if I failed to stop Alia today.

Krissin wrapped up her speech and called everyone to the ready. The hands of the gifted all lifted in unison, prepared to open hundreds of portals on Krissin’s command. Nemison stood atop a dais, next to Krissin, his head rolled back and mouth slack. He was going to attempt to lead those who’d never been to Kandek’s castle to their proper destination. If it didn’t work, those of us who did make it would be at a severe disadvantage.

Ace stood behind Krissin, his hand on the hilt of his sword and murder in his eyes. I looked over my shoulder at Mark. He stood ready as well, but the look in his eyes was one of concern. I wished he’d just let it go. I needed him to be fully focused on the battle, not on protecting me.

I forced a smile and he mirrored it. Obviously neither of us had our hearts in this battle. Our relationship, our very future, was under fire and I was the only one who knew.

“I’ve been having some disconcerting visions,” I whispered to him. “They have nothing to do with the battle. We can deal with them later.”

His eyes softened as he nodded. Then they hardened up, echoing the look in Ace’s eyes. I should have known earlier that a little honesty would change his focus. At least now we were ready.

My eyes on Krissin, I waited for the signal. She raised her arm to match ours. Her eyes narrowed to slits as she gazed upon her army, a mix of gifted and soldiers. I knew it wasn’t the army she had dreamed of, but it would get the job done. At least I hoped it would.

“NOW!”

We all flicked our fingers in unison. The portals snapped wide, shimmering in the sun. I jumped through, feeling Mark right behind me. I cleared the portal and turned around. He ran through behind me and he snapped it shut with a flick of his fingers.

“Hey, it’s my turn to use my gift,” I whispered.

“Sorry,” he said, with a shrug. “The last time we were together, you couldn’t even do that. Just a habit. Where do we head first?”

I grabbed his hand and pulled him into a tight embrace, my lips crushing his. I’d ported us into the pantry of the kitchen I had worked in. None of us knew exactly where Alia would be, so we all chose spots in the castle we knew. It was easier to spread out. I’d spent most of my childhood in here drying dishes. The darkness permeated the room. I’d forgotten how bleak it was in here. Funny how I’d never noticed when I was a child. To me, darkness was normal.

It was close to the midday meal. My hope had been that Alia was eating, or getting ready to.

Mark stopped our kiss and smiled. “Isn’t there something else we should be doing?”

“Oh yeah,” I said.

The clattering of dishes being washed echoed in the small room. The door opened and Mark flattened us both against the wall. A small girl pushed a cart through the doorway, humming to herself. Her bald head shone in the dark room, reflecting the light pouring in the windows from the washing room.

She glanced to her right and saw us, her little eyes glowing wide. I held up a finger to my mouth and winked at her. She winked back, then backed out of the room. Mark looked at me and I shrugged my shoulders.

“Help! There’s people in the dishes pantry!” Her scream raced through the door and set our feet on fire. Mark ran through the doorway first, his sword at the ready. I ran out behind him, fearing he’d knock the little girl down. She’d only done what she thought was necessary. Poor thing. I hated that innocents had to be caught up in our war.

My eyes searched the room and found the girl huddled under the table with a woman. I smiled and held out my hand to Luci, the woman I’d worked with in the kitchen most of my life.

“Luci,” I said as she took my hand and shimmied out from under the table.

“For Eloh’s sake, Reychel. It’s about time you stand up and fulfill your prophecy. I’ve been waiting for you to get here and save us.”

She threw her ample arms around my shoulders and pulled me in for a hug. She’d never been kind to me as a child, treating me more like a nuisance than beloved friend. But now she held me as if I was the dearest person in her life. Funny how the past year had changed all of us. I didn’t begrudge her the hug at all.

“Do you know where Alia is?” I asked. “We’re here to end all of this, but we need to capture her quickly.”

Before Luci could answer, Mark ran over to the window. He pointed excitedly, a stupid grin on his face. “It’s working!”

I grabbed both Luci’s and the little girl’s hands. I dragged them over to the window and looked out. A shimmering force field covered the entire castle. No one could get in or get out now. Nemison’s planned worked. Now we just need to isolate the gifted army.

“Reychel, Alia should be on her way down for her midday meal, or even in there eating. I haven’t been sent any dirty dishes yet, so I know she hasn’t finished.”

A bell tolled an alarm, followed quickly by clanging throughout the castle.

“They know we’re here,” I said. “I guess Alia won’t be coming down for her meal, after all. We have to search the castle and find her.”

The little girl’s eyes welled up with tears and she grasped my hand tighter. I bent down and placed my free hand on her cheek.

“I will save all of you,” I said. “I promise. Now I need you to take care of Luci. Can you do that for me?”

She nodded, her lips quivering as she attempted to show me her bravery.

“What’s your name?”

“Lexi,” she whispered.

“Lexi.” I wiggled my fingers out of her iron grip and placed her hand in Luci’s. “Please help Luci hide with you in the pantry. Don’t come out until I come back for you, okay?”

She nodded and I kissed the top of her bald head.

“We’ll be back soon,” I whispered to Luci. “I meant it, too. Don’t come out until we come back for you. I don’t want either of you to get hurt.”

“I promise, Reychel. And thank you so much for coming to save us!”

“Come on, Mark. I have an idea of where they might be heading. There are only a few secure places in this castle. Luckily I know every inch of it.”

I flicked my fingers, opening another portal. I took a step toward it, but Mark grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

“Let me go first. Steel, then your gift. Okay?”

I nodded and held my arm out. He winked at me, then ran through the portal. I followed right behind.

Chapter Twenty-Four

I stumbled into the dungeon, right in front of the emperor’s cell, and closed the portal. If we got to him before Alia did, she lost all of her leverage over the Malborn living in Serenia. I took the risk that she’d come for him before she came for me. Not because he was her father, but because she thought I was devoid of my gift and essentially helpless.

While Mark knocked out the guard I’d taken out earlier, I peeked through the grates and let out a sigh of relief. He was still there.

“What do you want now?” His dark eyes glared at me, somehow managing to make me instantly nervous. I steeled myself.

“I’m here to save you.”

“Funny.” He stood up and ambled over to the door. “As if I need your help with anything. All the rumors told me you were some gentle girl who didn’t believe in manipulating people and yet you used your gift to force me to talk this morning. Not only did you violate me, but you also are in possession of a gift everyone claims you don’t have access to. Care to explain?”

“No. Not now. Maybe later.” I placed my hand over the lock and willed it to unlock with my gift. It clicked and fell to the floor. The door swung open and he charged at me. Mark jumped in between us and held his sword to the emperor’s throat. A small trickle of blood dribbled to the floor.

“Don’t think for one second that I won’t kill you, Emperor Larnack.” Mark snarled in his face. Larnack spit at Mark, and it rolled slowly down his cheek. Neither moved a muscle.

I raised my hand and touched Larnack on the cheek, his scowl relaxed.

“You need to calm down. We’re not going to hurt you,” I said. “Just trust us for one moment. We’re fighting against a common enemy.”

“If you think that I’m turning on my wife and daughters, then you don’t understand anything about family. She may be a total wench, but she’s my wench.”

“She left you to rot in a cell and she was planning on executing you in front the entire Malborn populace.”

His wild eyes swung over to mine. “I taught her too well. I never thought she’d really hurt me.”

“How else do you think she was going to take over everything?” Mark asked. “Don’t let your pants think for you. Use your mind, man. Think like a warlord.”

Larnack dropped his hands to his side. Defeat permeated his body. Mark lowered his sword, but his flexed muscles told me he kept vigilant.