“I trust the Seer. She’s helping me learn.”
Dela exhaled a sigh. She couldn’t argue with that. “Okay, but time is passing, and each day the human army will be moving farther across the Southern Pass.” She looked to Warsgra. “It’ll be the Norcs they meet first at the Southern Trough. What do you think the outcome is likely to be?”
Warsgra frowned, drawing his bushy eyebrows down, and he rubbed his hand over his beard. Distracted, she remembered how the rough bristles had felt against her skin when he’d kissed her. “They’ll fight, no doubt about it.”
“Are they likely to be prepared?”
“Aye, if the human army is spotted moving through the Southern Pass.”
“Is that likely?”
“We Norcs treat the Southern Pass much like the rest of the mountain range. It’s our home. There’s no reason there won’t be riders in that area who will spot the army coming. We’re used to the terrain and will move faster, so they may get back to the Southern Trough, and then send a couple of scouts out to the other clans to warn them. Because we’re used to the terrain, that will also give us an advantage when it comes to battle.”
“So both sides will fight hard?”
He nodded. “Aye. There will be much bloodshed, I’m sure.”
Dela pressed her lips together and glanced away. She didn’t want for there to be deaths on either side. Though the human army must look like the bad guys from the Norcs’ point of view—they were, after all, the ones invading the Norcs’ homeland—Dela knew the young men fighting would have been fed nothing but lies to get them to leave their families. Some of these men would be little more than sixteen years old, and they would know nothing of war or the reasons behind it. They were marching while King Crowmere sat protected in his castle, waiting for news. The man didn’t have the guts it took to make it through the Southern Pass, she was certain.
A flare of anger spurted inside her. What did the king think he’d achieve by doing this? He had no use for the homelands of the other races. Was it his way of demonstrating his power? Or was he finally sick of receiving gold and diamonds and coal in small amounts, and figured this gave him an excuse to take it all for himself?
“Okay, we’ll give you more time, Vehel,” she relented. “But we can’t wait forever.”
THEY SPENT THE NEXT day doing much of the same. They ate the delicious food, slept on comfortable mattresses, and swam in the pool. Vehel disappeared with the Seer to work on his magic, while the rest of them waited.
There hadn’t been a repeat performance with Warsgra, though she sensed him watching her most of the time, and when they caught each other’s eye, there was a private smile between them. She felt connected to each of them in the same way, however. She’d got hot and heavy with Orergon before he’d pushed her away, and there was a special place in her heart for Vehel, too.
At night, they curled up together like a bundle of cats, with her in the middle. She often woke with her hand on one man’s hip, and her head rested on another’s arm. This was simply how they were together, and despite them being leaders of their own people, they didn’t show any kind of jealousy or supposed ownership over her.
And the best part was none of them seemed to mind.
A TREMBLING WOKE DELA. At first she thought it was one of her dreams, but then she realized this was for real. She sat up and tried to process what was happening. The rock floor and cave walls vibrated, shaking her from side to side.
“Hey!” she called out to the others. Warsgra lay on one side of her, Vehel on the other. Orergon was the farthest away, sleeping beside Vehel. “Wake up! You need to wake up.”
At the sound of her voice, the others stirred. Warsgra sat up, frowning, and pushed a hand through his hair.
“What’s happening?” she asked, looking around in confusion.
The ground continued to shake, and a low-lying hum filtered to her ears.
Warsgra got to his feet unsteadily. “I don’t know, but we should move.”
She stared around, her eyes wide in horror. “It feels as though the cave is going to shake apart.”
Vehel was awake now, too. “Grab your things,” he told them. “If this place does collapse, it’ll bury everything with it.”
Dela looked around and spotted where her boots lay, her dagger shoved into the opening of one of them. She reached out and grabbed them, yanking her boots onto her feet and shoving the dagger into its place at her waistband. The others did the same, pulling on their boots and picking up their weapons. She wasn’t sure what they’d need them for, but after the last few weeks, one thing they’d all learned was that they always needed to be prepared for the unexpected.
Orergon stepped forward, grabbing her hand and pulling her to her feet. “Let’s get out of here.”
Vehel and Warsgra followed as they moved out into the main cavern. If they’d hoped to leave the trembling behind in the small cave where they’d slept, they were out of luck. The vibrations of the ground followed them out into the main cavern as well. Dela’s footing was unsteady, and she squeezed her fingers tighter around Orergon’s hand. Outside, the birds and insects had taken flight, wings fluttering in the air, also panicked at whatever was happening. The leaves of the trees and palms trembled and shook as though they were possessed, and the surface of the pool rose and fell with rippled waves that hit the bank and flooded the ground.
“We need to get out of here,” Vehel said.
They turned as a unit toward the rocky stairs that led them to the upper level, but pulled up short.
The Seer stood in their way. She appeared unaffected by the way the ground shook and rolled beneath them. Her balance was perfect, as though she stood on another plain. Perhaps she did.
“What’s happening?” Dela gasped as she staggered to one side at another shudder, Warsgra barely catching her before she fell.
The Seer regarded them all with her blind eyes, no hint of a smile on her young face. “It’s time.”
Chapter Twenty-one
Vehel
A SPARK OF UNEASE JOLTED Vehel’s senses. “Time for what?”
“For you to leave,” the Seer said. “Your time here is done.”
Orergon’s dark eyes flared with anger. “We’re trying to get out of here, before the cave roof comes down on our heads, but you’re standing in the way.”
“That’s not what I mean. It’s time for you to leave the north.”
Vehel shook his head. “Leave the north? It covers hundreds of square miles. How are we supposed to just leave?”
The Seer turned her attention to Vehel. “Now is the time for you to do what you’ve learned.”
Alarm rose up inside him and lashed its tail. “My magic?”
“Of course. Isn’t that what all this has been about?”
Around them, the trembling continued. The stone staircase they’d been heading toward began to crumble, and pieces of rock rolled down the cavern walls and dropped from the roof. They cringed and ducked away, instinctively moving closer to Dela to protect her with their bodies.
“The stairs!” Dela cried. “They’re our only way out.”
The Seer remained frustratingly calm. “No, they’re not. Focus, Vehel. You can take everyone to Anthoinia.”
He widened his eyes suddenly understanding what she meant. “Now?”
“Yes. The time has come.”
He looked around at his comrade’s frightened faces. Even Warsgra, who was rarely flustered, appeared paler than normal, his jaw tight, his wide nostrils flared. Vehel knew this time would come, but he hadn’t been expecting to be under such pressure when it did.
Around them, the place that had been their home for the past few days began to fall apart. The waterfall grew dry and flat then turned into nothing more than a painting—a two-dimensional image—and fell from the cavern wall in pieces of crumpled paper. The water of the pool turned to glass before shattering into a million pieces and then vanishing. A black mold spread quickly through the lush
green leaves and ferns until it eventually engulfed their color and they all turned to ash.
The group spun around, not knowing where to look next, clutching at each other in fear and disbelief. The cavern was exposed for nothing more than it really was—a place of cold, jagged rock and darkness. It had been an illusion all along.
“Quickly, Vehel,” the Seer urged, staring at him with those strange eyes. “Believe in yourself.”
He didn’t have any choice. Cracks were appearing in the exposed cavern walls, and the trembling continued. A fissure ran across the rock floor, and the shaking grew worse. This whole place felt as though it was going to shake apart.
He remembered what the Seer had taught him. He focused on how he’d felt in the Southern Pass, when the Long White Cloud had almost been upon them, and he was certain death was imminent. He took the ball of light and energy inside him and pushed it outward, but without releasing it. Though he’d never been to Anthoinia, he did his best to picture the place in his mind, what he’d learned of it through books and paintings, and even through the stories Dela had told him. He needed the ball of light to engulf them all, and take them to the place in his head.
Worried Dela or one of the others might have stepped away from him, he risked opening his eyes. They were all still close, but he caught sight of the Seer and gasped, almost losing his concentration. She no longer looked like a young girl. Her face had crumpled and sagged, like a piece of fruit that had dried out in the sun. Behind her thin lips, her teeth were tombstones. Her long, wavy blonde hair was all but gone, revealing a naked scalp covered only in a fine fuzz and a few longer, straggly strands.
More chunks of the cavern wall fell apart, larger boulders breaking away, followed by smaller rock falls. This whole place was falling to pieces and they were standing right in the middle of it. If he didn’t do what he needed, they were all going to die. Was that why the Seer had done this? Was this her plan all along? Teach him what he needed and then force him into a situation where he either believed in his own ability, or they all faced their deaths?
A massive crack sounded from behind them—loud enough to make Vehel think the world was coming to an end—and the entire back wall of the cavern fell away. Dela screamed, staggering away from the massive drop. Where the rocky cavern face had been, there was now sky and ocean. They’d found themselves standing on the edge of a massive cliff. The cavern was completely gone now, and ocean waves crashed onto the craggy cliff face far below them, sending white foamy spray onto the rock.
The trembling hadn’t subsided.
“Hurry, Vehel!” Dela cried.
“I’m trying!”
The Seer’s voice, no longer young and sweet, but ancient and dry, like sandpaper on wood came to him. “Believe in yourself, Vehel.”
He wanted to, so desperately, but fear had him in its clutches. The drop was only a matter of feet away, and they clung to each other as the shaking continued.
Dela looked at him, her eyes wide with desperation. “Please, Vehel.”
He sucked in a breath and tried to ignore the chaos around him. In his head and heart, he was in two different places. He was in the streets of Anthoinia, with the others at his side, and he was also in the Southern Pass, with the Long White Cloud descending upon them.
He reached deep inside himself, to where the ball of power resided. He needed to use its energy to transport himself and his friends, and as he focused, the energy grew larger, swarming through his body, down his arms and to the tips of his fingers. The power felt big—huge in fact—as though releasing it would suck the very soul out of him, but he remembered everything the Seer had taught him. This wasn’t something to be afraid of. This was something he controlled, not the other way around. He needed it to do his bidding. He was stronger than the magic.
With a gasp, his eyes sprang open.
The ball of light engulfed each of them, but the Seer stood on the outside of it. What would happen to her now?
“You need to come with us!” he shouted out to her.
She took a step back. “No, this is my home. You need to go now, before it’s too late.”
But nothing was happening. He was missing something. Back in the Southern Pass, it had been Warsgra bringing his axe down on the ball that had sent them to the north.
“Your axe, Warsgra,” Vehel yelled. “You need to use your axe—like before.”
Warsgra glanced at him in confusion, but then understood what Vehel meant. He’d been holding Dela, but he needed to release her to pull his axe from its place on his back and swing it hard enough.
“Do it!” Dela yelled, shaking him free.
The Norc drew his axe from his back.
This was it, the moment they’d either be sent to Anthoinia, or Vehel would have gotten this all wrong, and they’d end up somewhere else entirely.
“Do it, now!” the Seer cried.
Warsgra lifted his axe.
Two things happened at almost exactly the same time, so none of them was able to stop events from unfolding. As Warsgra’s axe came down in a huge arc, a tremor larger than any of them had felt before, as though the island itself was trying to stop them from leaving, shook up through their feet.
Dela staggered away, out of the ball of light. She was right on the edge of the cliff, the waves crashing against the rock far below.
But Warsgra was powerless to prevent the natural fall of the axe, already set in motion, and, as the axe hit Vehel’s magic, and the blue ball of light exploded, a second tremor shook them to their core.
And Dela fell.
Chapter Twenty-two
Dela
THE FEELING OF FALLING was just like flying.
She gasped for breath as the air whooshed past her, her fear momentarily blocked out by a rush of exhilaration. She was falling backward, so the cave was above her, and a massive explosion of blue light blasted outward. Even as she fell, she managed to lift her hand to cover her eyes from its power. Not that it mattered. She’d have no use for her eyes or anything else shortly. Even in the few seconds she had, she knew she was falling to her death, and she hoped Vehel, Warsgra, and Orergon would find themselves somewhere safe.
Then there was movement next to her, a strange whoosh in the sky, and she hit something, but it wasn’t hard rock or crashing waves. Soft, and smooth—warm, too—like the softest leather she’d ever touched. And she was moving again, not downward this time, but parallel to the sea. It all happened so fast, she didn’t even have time to process it.
What’s happening?
More concerned for the others than her own safety, she craned her neck, trying to spot where they’d all been standing. There it was—the cave that had fallen to pieces to become only a hollow in the cliff face. The others were no longer there. The Seer had gone, too.
She was still moving, and she put her hands out on either side to make sure she had her balance before she looked around. Her stomach lurched as she realized what had happened. The dragon had caught her as she’d fallen, and now she was nestled in the spot where the dragon’s wing met his body. Her breath caught. He’d saved her, and now they glided across the skies.
His wings beat downward to push them higher into the sky, and Dela leaned against his scaly body to prevent herself from falling. Each scale was bigger than her hand, and was an emerald green in color, but blues and purples appeared when they caught the light. Massive spines ran down from its face, right the way down his back, and she was able to use one of the spines to lift herself higher. She wouldn’t want for him to stop suddenly, so she found herself impaled on one of those spines, but they were just the right size for her to wrap her hands around and hold onto, nestled into the side of his body so she felt more secure.
Had the dragon somehow sensed she’d been in danger? Had he already known what would happen, or had he been watching her this whole time?
“Thank you,” she called over the rushing of the wind that passed by with their movement. “Thank you for saving me.”
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br /> The dragon turned his head and slowly blinked his golden yellow eyes, eyes that were so similar in color to her own. When they’d been at Drusga, his eyes had more of a red tint to them, but now they were filled with honey and sunshine. They must have the ability to change color depending on his mood. He’d been angry with her at Drusga, but now he was calm. She couldn’t be certain, but she was sure she saw his mouth pull up in the corners in a smile.
“I need to go to Anthoinia,” she shouted out to him. “Is that possible?”
Of course, the dragon couldn’t answer, but he beat his wings, lifting them higher into the sky, so the ground below was only a patchwork of greens and blues. This felt so familiar to her. It was strange, knowing this was for real, but at the same time feeling as though they’d done this a hundred times before. Were they heading south? She tried to spot the direction of the sun to try to work it out, but was unsure. But then she realized they’d started at the northern most point of Xantearos. If there was ground beneath them rather than ocean, it meant they were heading south.
She prayed the others were all right. Had Vehel’s magic worked and delivered them to Anthoinia? Or had they found themselves somewhere else entirely? Her heart ached. What if the worst had happened, and she never saw them again? If Vehel’s magic hadn’t worked properly, they might be anywhere in Xantearos. Would they know how to find each other again? What if instead of Anthoinia, the magic had delivered them to the middle of the ocean? She remembered how they’d all passed out the first time and had awoken to find themselves in the north. If they were unconscious and were delivered to the sea, they might all drown before they’d even had the chance to wake.
Her thoughts were running away with themselves, and she bit down on her anxiety and held on tighter to the dragon’s spine as they flew. The Seer had been teaching Vehel. She’d wanted him to have more faith in himself, and perhaps Dela needed to listen to that advice, too. She needed to have faith that Vehel had managed to get them to Anthoinia, or at least somewhere nearby, and that they knew she would head there, too. Had they seen the dragon moments before they’d vanished, she suddenly wondered, or would they not even look for her because they assumed she was dead?
Chronicles of the Four: The Complete Series Page 36
