The Wayfinder's Apprentice (Shadows of the Umbra Book 1)

by K Dezendorf

  Backtracking her way through the stone passages, she sensed maybe she was nearing the entrance. Then she heard a bloodcurdling scream. Vikhail?

  Rose faltered for only a moment before she followed the cries of pain. She heard a door open from down the hall and ducked into a door right next to her. She slipped just inside the room, keeping the door open a crack.

  Clapping a hand over her mouth to stop herself from gasping, she waited. Hadwin and Jerome rushed past her, talking loudly, sounding frantic and confused, heading towards the direction she came from.

  Her trembling hand fell from her mouth as she sucked in a breath, her lungs burning. Rose peeked out to see the two disappear around a corner and she snuck out of the room and farther down the hall towards the moaning. The door to the room was standing open. Rose peeked in and her insides went cold.

  She saw Vikhail chained up to a wall, one half of her body horribly burned and the smell of cooked meat stank the air, causing Rose to gag. Knowing she had very little time, Rose rushed to Vikhail, who looked barely conscious and in so much pain.

  “Leave me, Rose…” Her voice was weak and hoarse. “Save yourself.”

  “I am not leaving you here,” Rose whispered as she tried to figure out the manacles. The chains were iron, no way she was breaking them. If she had more practice with matter magic, then maybe, but this wasn’t the time to be experimenting.

  Glancing around the room, she found some unsavory tools, one being a long, pointed, metal rod. Rose grabbed up the poker and slipped it in the loop of the hooks where the chains attached to the wall. Using her own weight as leverage, she pulled.

  The first one was rather rusted and in bad shape, so it popped out after some effort. The second was fastened more securely and it took her a few tries and hard tugs, and by the time she got Vikhail free, Rose was sweating and her hands were stinging.

  Vikhail slumped to the floor with a small cry, and with some effort, used her life magic to heal herself enough to where she was at least able to stand. Rose got on her good side and helped to support her.

  “We need to go now, come on.”

  They were almost to the door when Hadwin burst into the room. His mouth fell open in surprise at seeing Rose there and Vikhail free, but before he could make a sound Vikhail hauled off and clocked him right in the jaw, knocking him to the floor in a daze. She nearly collapsed from the effort, but Rose caught and steadied her.

  Checking the hallway and waiting until it was clear, Rose and Vikhail began working their way towards the entrance. It was chaos, like an angry beehive, and there was shouting and running footsteps.

  Before they got spotted, Rose urged Vikhail to run. It was either that or be caught and die. They managed to make it outside, but Vikhail’s strength finally gave out as she collapsed onto the ground.

  “Leave me,” she told Rose once again, before going limp with unconsciousness.

  “Vikhail, no! Wake up!” Rose shook her, trying to wake her, but she was out cold.

  Rose got her hands under Vikhail’s armpits and tried dragging her but she was heavy, and Rose wasn’t terribly strong. She kept trying anyway. They were nearly there, they were almost back to the portal, but… what then?

  The horrible reality that she couldn't plane-shift came crashing down. She had no means of getting them out of there. They were somewhere in the Umbra, someplace possibly hundreds of miles away from help.

  People were beginning to pour out of the front doors, in moments they would be surrounded. If Rose had a chance to survive, she’d have to go now, escape, and leave Vikhail behind. But Rose couldn’t bring herself to do that. She didn’t know Vikhail very well, but this person had been willing to help while asking for very little in return. Rose couldn’t just leave her to die.

  At least a dozen figures surrounded them, including Jenkto and Jerome. She searched for Macklass but he was conspicuously absent. Surprisingly, no one did anything. Then, the air became heavier and heavier, and Rose knew the real storm was coming.

  The people parted and then quickly knelt on the ground as Markeos stepped slowly towards Rose who was doing her best to shield Vikhail from view. His aura was raging off of him, battle axe in one hand, whip in the other.

  “I was going to give you a quick death.” Markeos’ voice shook the air like thunder. “However, now you will suffer dearly. But first you will learn your place.”

  Rose couldn't move, couldn't even speak. There was a blur of motion and she felt pain explode in her chest as she was knocked backwards, almost on top of Vikhail. She lay on the ground, gasping for air, as Markeos’ boots slowly crunched their way across dirt and gravel towards her.

  His boot settled on her left arm, then very casually, as though squishing an ant, pressed down. There was a resounding snap and Rose screamed in pain as her arm broke under the weight of him.

  Tears flooded her eyes, blinding her and she sucked in several breaths, trying not to let the pain and terror overwhelm her. It’s no different than Chad. He’s just another bully. Don’t let him see you break.

  “Death will be a kindness,” Markeos said, the softness doing nothing to temper the weight of his words. “And I will deny that kindness until you’ve suffered to my satisfaction.”

  Markeos pulled back the whip, sparks of angry lightning rolling along the length of it. Rose closed her eyes, bracing herself as the whip came down on her. He moved so quickly that her eyes were barely closing as the whip descended. Before her eyes fully shut, she saw a flash of blue light off to his right.

  She heard a scream and her eyes snapped open. Edward was standing there, sword fully extended, gentle blue energy flowing off the blade. Nearby, a hand was laying on the ground still clutching the whip.

  Markeos let out a yell of fury as the ground rumbled. His followers shrank away from him. As he raised his axe in his remaining hand, Rose felt someone grab her from behind.

  Everything became bright for a moment and faded back again as the hands released her. She fell to her knees, cradling her broken arm. Slowly, she realized she was outside in Dimitri’s courtyard and when she looked up she saw Dimitri standing there with Billy. Behind her was Vindo and, to her surprise, a large tiger-looking man. Was he the one who dragged her out of there? His eyes were red and strangely familiar.

  Rose was so relieved she thought she might cry.

  "Lass, are you okay?" Billy asked gently.

  "Y-yeah... I think so," she answered in a croaky voice. He had a small blanket with him which he draped over her. She only then realized how much she was shaking. "Come on then, come with me. Quickly."

  Rose got up onto her shaky legs as Billy helped her along, leading her towards the main building. She heard and felt a loud boom from behind which nearly knocked her over. Then she heard the outcry of battle. The clang of metal smashing against each other, the rush of heat as an explosion went off behind her.

  Billy quickly continued to lead her until he pushed her through the door. "There you go, child. Stay inside!" He slammed the door shut.

  Rose could still hear the fighting going on. Her heart was going ten thousand miles a minute. Her mind was a jumble of thoughts, wondering if she should move. Could she even move? She tried to stand but her legs were too wobbly, and her arm throbbed painfully. The sounds of battle faded away into silence. Almost as quickly as it started, it stopped.

  She heard footsteps, too big to be Billy’s. As they moved closer to the door, her heart started racing again, her mind still going a million miles a minute. She wanted to run further inside but she couldn't seem to make her legs work. She took one step and crumbled, falling to her knees. Her whole body was quivering.

  This feeling, it was the same feeling. That man... he was just outside the door. The door opened and light flooded in showing only an opaque silhouette. The aura was strong, forcing her down again and she whimpered. This was it, they couldn’t stop him. In just a moment his axe would split her open.

  A hand touched her shoulder, causing he
r to jump.

  "My dear, are you all right?" Dimitri’s soft and gentle voice asked.

  As the silhouette covered the sun, and the light refocused, Rose got a better look and realized it really was Dimitri. He had a very strong aura around him, and some blood was running down one side of his face.

  "M'okay," Rose squeaked out.

  "Breathe," he told her. "Breathe, my dear. You are safe now."

  Rose tried to do as instructed, but her head was still spinning. "How did you... How did... How did he even know... where I..."

  "There are many things that have been happening. I will explain them in due time, but first you must relax. Granger!"

  The large, furry tiger-man came over. "Yeah?"

  "Please, escort her to the infirmary to be treated. Allow her to rest, she must rest. She has been through a very traumatic event."

  "Sure thing, boss."

  "Granger, please. Your form."

  The tiger-man exhaled and his body shrank down in size. The fur and stripes and whiskers disappeared, morphing to the form of Granger she was much more familiar with.

  "Come on, Rose. I’ve got you." He carefully picked her up, being mindful of her broken arm. Rose lay limply against him, not having the strength to fight it.

  He carried her to the infirmary, sitting her down on the nearest bed. "Just lie down and try to stay still. Someone will be in to fix your arm."

  "Oh, that?” Rose muttered, gritting her teeth against the acute and throbbing pain. “I barely noticed.”

  Granger gave a small chuckle. “If you can joke about that, I think you’ll be fine.”

  “I didn’t know you could change into a tiger,” she mumbled, trying to distract herself from the pain. Her vision was going in and out of focus and she felt really tired.

  “Yeah, surprise,” he said, though his voice lacked any enthusiasm.

  “It was beautiful…” Rose’s eyes drifted shut, and she was relieved from the pain when unconsciousness took her. The last thing she remembered was Edward’s sword, and how it sparked and glowed such a lovely, vibrant blue.

  Chapter 21

  It seemed like Rose was asleep for only a moment when she felt someone touching her shoulder. Her breath caught and she kept very still, afraid to move. Then she realized the hand wasn't grabbing or squeezing. It was light and gentle.

  Rose heard a familiar voice. "Rose, are you okay?"

  She lifted her head up to look at Vikhail, and Rose’s body sagged with relief. They were in the infirmary. "I'm so glad to see you," she whispered. "I'm so glad you're okay."

  Well... in a sense at least. Vikhail looked worse for wear. Large patches of her skin were burned, from the side of her face and going down her neck, and a large gash was on the other side of her face. She was covered in bandages and had a crutch leaning up against the bed.

  In spite of all of this, Vikhail asked, "Are you okay?"

  Rose shook her head. "Yeah, I'm fine." She sat up and noticed her arm was tightly bandaged, splinted, and set in a sling. "I'm so sorry," she apologized, her voice quivering. "I didn't mean for this... none of this was supposed to happen..."

  "Shh," Vikhail hushed her, her hand rubbing Rose’s shoulder. "It's okay, Rose. We're both okay. Everything is okay now. We're back. We're safe."

  Rose stared down at the blanket in her lap. "I thought… I really thought they were there to help.”

  “That’s why I told you to be careful,” she heard from the doorway. Rose looked to see Edward leaning against the doorframe. “You did more than most people I know would have done in the face of certain death. So don’t blame yourself for what happened. Learn from it.”

  His words were comforting, if only barely.

  “You always show up when I least expect it,” she said, her voice croaky. “Are you actually going to stay this time?”

  “I don’t know,” he said with his usual, unflinching honesty.

  “I’d like to pay you back for helping us,” Rose said.

  “I wouldn’t mind having one of your sandwiches again.” He pulled out a wrapped sandwich and tossed it onto her bed. “These are fine, but I like yours better.”

  Rose picked up the sandwich and glanced back up at him. “Sure, no problem.”

  “I look forward to it.” With that, he turned and walked out.

  Vikhail watched him leave. "I’ve heard of him from some of the others. He’s a lot more tolerable than the rumors have led me to believe. And I could have sworn someone mentioned he had brown hair.”

  Rose laughed as she picked up the sandwich. "Oh, trust me. He has his moments.” With Vikhail’s help, she unwrapped the sandwich and took a bite. She recognized it as one of Billy's egg salad sandwiches and the familiar flavor gave her a sense of peace.

  "That was a little crazy," Vikhail said with a sigh.

  "What happened to you when they took you away?" Rose asked between bites.

  "They took me through a portal back here to the Umbra." Her hand glowed. "I can cast my magic again."

  "I'm sorry. I didn't think to tell you that there’s no mana on Earth."

  "That place is frightening. You're truly brave to have lived there as long as you have." The glow faded from her hand. "But after they took me back to the Umbra, they took me to a small room and healed me only enough to question me about Dimitri and his people. I refused to speak. So they burned me using fire magic.”

  Listening to her story, Rose felt sick. Could Jerome, sweet, excitable Jerome, really be capable of doing something so monstrous?

  “I couldn't fight back, they had me chained." Vikhail rubbed her bandaged knee. "Then there was this incredible swell of pressure, and they panicked and left. That’s about when you found me.” She sighed and leaned back, wincing. "At least I don’t have to wear shoes anymore. Minor blessings and all that.” She wiggled her toes for emphasis.

  “What’s been going on? How long was I out?”

  “Addrick and Willow have been treating my wounds, and yours. You've been asleep for about two days."

  Rose was shocked by this news and realized she'd already finished her sandwich as Vikhail was talking.

  "They say you stared down death," Vikhail said.

  Rose snorted. "More like I nearly wet myself in the face of death. They took me to meet their boss. Someone named..." She had to swallow before the name would leave her lips. "Markeos."

  The color drained from Vikhail’s face and her eyes seemed to lose color, like she aged a hundred years. "You met Markeos?"

  Rose nodded. "Yeah."

  "What happened?"

  "Well, um... he asked me to join..."

  "He wanted you to join them?"

  "I mean, he didn't seem keen on the idea, but when Jenkto told him how I was with Dimitri and Edward, that seemed to change his mind. He asked me to swear an oath to him but... I said ‘no’."

  Vikhail’s jaw dropped wide open and her eyes bulged. "You said 'no' to a Paragon?"

  Rose stared at her. "So he really was... oh, wow. So that's what a Paragon is like." She shuddered remembering how awful it was to be in his presence. "I mean, it's not like I could say 'yes'. It felt... wrong. I couldn't do it... not after Edward, Billy, and Dimitri, and then you... it wouldn't have been right. I don't think I could've lived with myself."

  Normally Vikhail seemed so with it, but at the moment she looked like she'd seen a ghost. Then again, would that be out of the question here?

  The door opened and Addrick came inside, glancing between the pair of them. "Good to see you’re awake, Rose." He looked sternly at Vikhail. “You’re supposed to be resting.”

  “I am resting,” Vikhail groused. “I’ve been doing nothing but resting.”

  Addrick shook his head like a disapproving parent. “You’ll agitate your burns if you move around too much.”

  “Yes, mother.”

  Rose bit back a snort. Addrick took the comment in stride, going over to Rose first. “How is the arm?”

  “It hurts, but fine
otherwise.”

  “Mm, let me see.” He carefully took hold of her arm, and while Rose was intimidated by how large he was, his hands and fingers were incredibly gentle as he examined it. “It looks like it’s healing well. Everything looks in place. Just take care not to move it too much.” He pulled out a glass bottle from his pouch and shook out some small leaves into his palm before handing them to her. “These herbs should help. Just chew them until the pain starts to dull, but try not to swallow them. It’ll agitate your stomach.”

  Rose took them, nodding gratefully. She popped the leaves into her mouth and chewed. The flavor was a mix of sour and bitter and her face puckered as she resisted the urge to spit them out. Addrick gave her the bottle of herbs, letting her know it would be best to chew the leaves with every meal.

  He then turned to Vikhail. “We’ll need to change your bandages again soon. But first, Dimitri wished to meet with you both once you’ve awoken.” He paused, then said, “However, if you’re not feeling well, you can choose to decline-”

  “I’ll go,” Vikhail said quickly. “Anything to get out of this room for a bit.”

  “I’m good to go too,” Rose said. She could already feel the herbs at work, the pain in her arm dulling.

  Addrick grunted, once more looking disapproving, but also resigned. He offered Rose a clay basin to spit out the herbs, along with some water to rinse her mouth, which was also starting to feel numb. She swung her legs over the bedside and stood up. Vikhail grabbed her crutches and hobbled alongside her.

  “So, I guess life magic doesn’t fix everything, huh?” Rose asked.

  “Depends on the strength of the life mage,” Vikhail answered. “I don’t practice it very often, and while Willow is better than me, she mostly specializes in herbs. Addrick is an excellent doctor, but he doesn’t know life magic. Simply put, we don’t have a healer on hand to immediately treat extensive injuries like this. It takes more time.”

  Rose made sure to keep a nice, slow pace so as not to strain her, with Addrick keeping a close watch on them both. They went inside the castle and when they reached the stairs, Addrick very easily and gingerly picked Vikhail up.