The Ferocious Force (Unstoppable Liv Beaufont Book 8)

by Sarah Noffke

  “Yes, mortals used to be able to see magic,” Liv said, trying to keep her voice calm, although the older woman was visibly shaking.

  “And they made many enemies because of their pursuit of justice.”

  “Yes. Did you see who murdered them?” Liv asked.

  Hawaiki gulped, her eyes still wide with shock. “Yes,” she said in a hushed voice.

  “Who was it?” Liv’s voice was shaking.

  “They were trying to shut off a signal on the top of the Matterhorn,” Hawaiki said carefully.

  “Yes, the one that keeps mortals from seeing magic.”

  “You already know they were killed climbing that mountain, don’t you?” Hawaiki asked.

  “Yes.” Liv nearly yelled. This exchange was happening too slowly. She needed answers right now. “It wasn’t an accident, was it?”

  Hawaiki shook her head. “They were tricked.”

  “How?” Liv asked.

  Carefully, Hawaiki took a step forward. “Your mother left a message in the sword. It would be best if you heard it from her.”

  Liv didn’t know what to do. Her eyes shifted back and forth uncertainly. “Do I touch Inexorabilis?”

  Hawaiki nodded. “Yes, and once you’re done, I must ask that you do something for me.”

  Liv blinked at the old woman. “What?”

  “I need you to wipe my memory,” she answered.

  “What? Really? Why?” Liv asked.

  The elf shook her head. “You’ll have to see what your mother left for you first.” She wrung her hands, indecision heavy in her eyes. “I wished I could help, but this is too big. I need to live a quiet life. I can’t remember what I now know.”

  “Okay.” Liv reached across the table, her fingers falling on Inexorabilis. The shock was almost startling this time, making Liv gasp from the sensation. Her eyes shut at once without her permission. Like when she entered the Door of Reflection, she was instantly in a dreamscape.

  She stood on the ridge of the Matterhorn, the wind sweeping through her hair. Liv searched the area, wondering why she was there. Her hand went straight for Bellator, but it wasn’t there. She felt naked without her sword. Defenseless. But why should she need a weapon? This was only a dream.

  Doing a full turn, Liv tried to understand why she was there. Where was the message her mother had left for her? She recognized the area where she stood. It looked similar to where she’d found Inexorabilis. Where her parents had died.

  “If you’re here, you’ve learned the tragic truth,” Guinevere Beaufont said, her voice at Liv’s back.

  She tensed. Pressed her eyes shut. This wasn’t real. She knew that. But nothing had ever felt more real in all her life.

  Bracing herself, Liv turned to face the image of her mother. She, like Liv, was solid. Her mother looked exactly as she remembered, with her long flowing blonde hair and her kind blue eyes. She regarded her daughter with a tender smile, her chin held high.

  “Mommy…” Liv didn’t recognize her own voice. She sounded like a child again.

  “My sweet Olivia,” her mother said, holding out her arms to her.

  Without hesitation, Liv raced forward, throwing her arms around her mother. And to her astonishment, Guinevere’s form felt solid. She squeezed her daughter to her. It was as if the last five years hadn’t happened. Liv had never left. She’d never missed her parents. She’d never felt the loneliness that had filled her after leaving the House of Seven. She had never locked her magic and given up her birthright.

  In this reality, there had been a happy ending for the Beaufont family.

  However, Liv knew that wasn’t what had really happened.

  She pulled back from her mother, astonishment on her face. “How are you here?”

  “Oh, look at how you’ve grown, my child. You’re more beautiful than I ever could have imagined.” Her eyes ran over Liv as she gave an appreciative smile. “You’re strong and healthy. I’m grateful for that. But are you happy, Olivia?”

  Liv wanted to launch straight into things, sharing everything with her mother. But she couldn’t get over the fact that she was there.

  “Mommy, how are you here? I don’t understand.”

  Guinevere smiled thoughtfully at her daughter. “I froze a portion of my spirit into Inexorabilis in case my children should ever find the sword and need answers.”

  “But how?” Liv asked, knowing that doing something of that nature was incredibly difficult. She’d never heard of anyone accomplishing such a thing.

  “I sacrificed whatever would have come next, after my death,” Guinevere explained. “I chose to live in a purgatory of sorts, at least for now—until one of my children found me.”

  “But does that mean you’ve stayed stuck here on Earth?”

  She nodded.

  “And Daddy?” Liv asked.

  “He moved on,” her mother explained.

  “But you left a part of your spirit in the sword? Why?” Liv asked.

  “Because I didn’t want to leave my children,” Guinevere explained, then shook her head. “Of course, I wouldn’t want to leave you. But I knew if something happened to me, I had to leave you with answers. It was important to me that this family of Beaufonts ended things once and for all.”

  “I don’t understand,” Liv said, none of this computing.

  Her mother nodded. “I knew if something took me from this world, it would also come after my children. I couldn’t leave you all defenseless.”

  “So before you died, you put this piece of your soul into the sword?” Liv asked, shocked at the amount of power her mother would have had to harness to do such a thing. She’d never heard of anyone else being able to do anything like that.

  “We don’t have much time. I’m sorry to rush, but I have to tell you things quickly.” Her mother pointed to the summit of the Matterhorn. “Olivia, you know what is up there, don’t you?”

  She nodded. “There’s a signal that prevents mortals from seeing magic.”

  Appreciatively, her mother nodded. “I suspected that our children would follow the clues we left behind. Ian and Reese have been investigating this, I suspect.”

  Liv froze. She didn’t know how to tell her mother the truth about her children, even the spirit of her mother. How could she relay to her that two of her children were dead? This wasn’t how she’d pictured this impossible reunion going.

  But Liv’s face must have given it away.

  “They were killed, weren’t they?” Guinevere asked.

  “I’m sorry,” Liv said in reply. The expression her mother gave her in reply weakened her knees. Never before had she seen heartbreak like this on anyone’s face.

  Guinevere wiped a single tear from the corner of her eye and stood up straighter. “I never meant to put my children in danger, but I also know that we, the Beaufonts, do not live a life without hazards. We have inherited an important legacy, and unfortunately, I knew my children would face these challenges.”

  “Legacy?” Liv asked. “You mean as Warriors and Councilors for the House?”

  Her mother shook her head. “That’s part of it, but it’s not why you are here.”

  “Why am I here?” Liv asked, feeling like the question was strange as it tumbled out of her mouth.

  “Olivia, you know about the Great War, right?”

  “Yes, against mortals and magicians,” she answered.

  “That’s right,” Guinevere said. “The Beaufonts were against the war. Your father’s family didn’t think the two sides should battle. However, there was so much tension between the two forces that the Beaufonts couldn’t stop it. What happened after the war constructed much of the world the way you experience it presently. I don’t know everything that happened because much of it was covered up.”

  “Like how the history was erased and retold?” Liv inquired.

  “Yes. I see you’ve been hard at work, finding the truth.” Guinevere stared at the summit for a long moment before continuing, “After the war, t
he Warrior and the Councilor for the Beaufont family created an incredibly powerful spell in secret. They made it so that no matter what, we as Beaufonts would always be able to find the truth.”

  “What?” Liv asked, already knowing the answer. “That mortals can see magic?” Then remembering what Papa Creola had said, she added, “That mortals are the source of magic?”

  Guinevere’s blue eyes lit up. “You are even more bright than when I left you, my dear.”

  Liv blushed. It felt strange to hear this from her mother, and yet, it was one of the many compliments she’d longed for over the last five years. Being smart without her mother to witness it hadn’t been enough. Being brave without her father to appreciate it had been insufficient. To stand there and have her mother’s spirit appreciate her…well, it went far to mend some of the broken pieces.

  “You see, my darling, a lot happened in the aftermath of the war,” Guinevere explained. “But your father’s ancestors, knowing things were about to change forever, created a spell so that a Beaufont would always search out the truth, and, one day, hopefully, uncover it.”

  “So we are compelled to discover the secrets about mortals?” Liv asked.

  Her mother nodded. “It’s our role in the House, or at least one of them.”

  Liv didn’t know what to do with this information. It slightly made her deflate as she realized she wasn’t special for deciphering the clues Reese and Ian left behind. She was only treading the path the spell had set her on.

  “For generations,” her mother continued, “Beaufonts have been trying to uncover the truth about mortals. However, something or rather someone has always stopped us.”

  “Do you know who?” Liv asked.

  “I do now,” Guinevere answered. “However, before my death, I did not. And those who came before your father and me, they didn’t know. There are those who are bent on keeping the secret, in keeping mortals away from the House, and therefore keeping magic hidden from mortals. And then there are those whose job it is to fix things, making the world the way it was before.”

  “The Beaufonts,” Liv said, realizing the legacy she’d inherited.

  “Yes, my child,” her mother stated. “Only a Beaufont can relay the secret regarding mortals. The spell set up long ago makes it so that if anyone else shares the truth, they’ll forget it almost at once unless it is specifically told to them by a Beaufont. However, if they are informed by a Beaufont, then not only will they not forget it, but they will feel the urge to fix things back to how they were.”

  “So you’re saying that if Bob Johnson or Jim Smith or whoever knows about the mortals’ secret history, they will soon forget it,” Liv said slowly, trying to wrap her mind around this complexity. “However, if they are informed by a Beaufont, then not only can they not forget it, but they will want to fix things?”

  The way her mother’s face transformed when she laughed nearly took Liv’s breath away. “Yes. I’ve missed your humor, Olivia.”

  Again, Liv blushed. “Then why wouldn’t our family just make a huge announcement so that mortals came back?”

  Guinevere nodded, a knowing look in her eyes. “Generations ago, one of your ancestors tried that. Everyone they told was killed. You see, knowing the truth doesn’t make us invincible. Quite the opposite. We are targets. Searching for the truth puts a bullseye on our backs, as I’m sure you've discovered.

  “Unfortunately, there are no history books about the Beaufonts or those in the House of Seven for you to study. If there were, you’d find that every single generation of Warrior and Councilor in our family has met an untimely death. This wasn’t a role your father and I took on lightly after hearing the truth. However, you know the hidden history, and would you back down from this mission?”

  “Absolutely not!” Liv said with unexpected passion. “We need mortals. They need us. If I don’t connect them back to magic, then—”

  “Then we will lose it forever,” her mother finished her sentence. “That was exactly why your father and I worked so hard to fulfill what his ancestors had tirelessly tried to uncover time and time again. But in the end, we obviously failed.”

  “No, Mommy,” Liv argued. “You left behind clues. The Warrior’s ring and Inexorabilis and more.”

  “Your father and I knew the risks we faced, and we knew it was worth it. We couldn’t raise our family and not fight for your future at the same time. And as you now realize, a Beaufont is compelled to uncover the truth. That’s how the spell operates. And since only those informed by a Beaufont will remember the secret, we only ever told one other person.”

  “Bermuda Laurens,” Liv said in a whisper, guessing.

  “Yes, and although she tried to help us, the dangers and risks became too much for her,” Guinevere explained. “Before our deaths, she quit pursuing the truth.”

  Liv smiled slightly. “Bermuda is back on the case now.”

  Guinevere returned the grin. “I’m not surprised. Even if one abandons the mission for a little while, it won’t last. The spell makes it so they are restless if they aren’t searching for and uncovering the truth about mortals. That’s how strong the spell your ancestors put on their family long ago was.”

  “But why?” Liv asked.

  “Without us, the secret regarding mortals would stay buried forever. History was erased and changed. Mortals can’t see magic. There is little reason to question things, based on how they were covered up. But there is one and only one family who will always remember the truth and seek to uncover it. That’s us, my darling. The Beaufonts are the only way that things will ever change, return to normal. Even the Mortal Seven don’t have the power to change things. They are stuck in the history as it was rewritten.”

  “But Bermuda met an elf who knew the truth because he’d been around since the beginning of time or something,” Liv recounted, thinking of the ancient elf Bermuda had questioned when trying to find out how history was erased.

  “There are a few who know the truth, like Papa Creola,” Guinevere explained. “But even fae who have been around since the Great War can’t remember how things were. Only those who have been cut off from society for so long that their memory is untampered with. And still, one elf can’t change things.”

  “Yes, but I’m only one person too,” Liv argued. “Clark and Sophia and I, we are just—”

  Guinevere reached out and grabbed her daughter’s hand. “You are all we have left, my child. If something happens to you three, the history will die with you. Mortals can’t save themselves from this. There are no other magical families under the same spell as you. Only the Beaufonts have the power to change things.”

  “I’ve been trying, Mommy,” Liv stated, gripping her mother’s hand tightly.

  “I know, and if you’re here, then you’ve done a remarkable job. I daresay you’ve made it farther than anyone else.”

  “Yes, but every Beaufont has died trying to uncover the truth. What chance do I have?” Liv asked, suddenly feeling defeated.

  “You have a rare chance that no before you has had.” Guinevere pointed to the rocks in the distance and Liv noticed Inexorabilis poking out of the rubble, exactly the way it had been when she recovered it. “Leaving behind information for the next generation has been difficult. Those who don’t want the secret out there, who are as adamant about protecting it as we are driven to uncover it, have never stopped destroying anything we left behind. They’ve killed to stop us from investigating. They’ve taken our property, so there was nothing for our children to learn from. However, you found Inexorabilis, and therefore, you have a unique advantage that no others have had.”

  “Because you sealed a part of yourself into the sword?” Liv asked.

  Her mother nodded. “That means I can tell you something that will give you an advantage few have ever had.”

  Liv tensed. Prepared herself. “Yes.”

  “My sweet Olivia, you must find a way to unregister your magic.”

  Of all the things Liv expected
her mother to say, this wasn’t it. “What? Why?”

  “Since this has been going on, the Royals from the House have had their magic registered,” Guinevere explained. “Your father and I were killed, much the same way as I suspect Ian and Reese were, and how I believe now that your ancestors were murdered.”

  “I don’t understand why unregistering my magic will change anything,” Liv stated. And not only that, she had no idea how to unregister her magic in the first place. She was a Warrior for the House of Seven. If they couldn’t follow her magic, it would be discovered immediately.

  “The day your father and I were murdered, we tried to fight, but we never stood a chance.”

  “Because your magic had been locked,” Liv guessed.

  Her mother nodded. “That’s right. As long as your magic is registered, you’ll be at a disadvantage when you stand against the one who has taken us down for generations.”

  Of course, Liv thought. If the Beaufonts were the family who was charged with uncovering the secrets, there had to be one who had the opposite mission.

  “Mommy, who murdered you?” Liv asked, already knowing the answer but needing to hear it.

  Her mother smiled serenely at her. “It was Adler Sinclair. He locked our magic and then used his power to push us to our deaths.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  At her core, Liv had known this.

  Adler Sinclair had killed her family.

  She’d known her parents had been murdered. Deep down, she’d suspected that it had been covered up by the House of Seven. And her innate dislike of Adler told her he was a bad guy. But she had to admit she hadn’t known he’d been the one to kill her parents, not really. It made sense, yes, but not until faced with the startling truth could she really digest this as a fact.

  “He killed you,” Liv said with a gasp. “With your magic locked, he stood up here and struck you down like some coward.”

  Guinevere nodded. “So now you see why you must have your magic unregistered. You, Clark, and Sophia.” Her mother’s expression shifted suddenly. “Oh, how are they? Is Clark pushing himself as hard as usual? And little Sophia? Is she growing up strong?”