Bancroft sat down next to me and held out his hand. I gave him the bandage and sat back. He pulled apart the tear in my jeans to see the injury.
“It’s a sword slash, right?” he asked. I inhaled sharply and nodded as he pressed his fingers to my leg. “It’s not too deep. I can bandage you up so you can walk on it.” I nodded again, breathing out. He left to find the first-aid kit Aunt Isabel had left with us.
I saw Nick sitting back against a tree, talking with his sister, Khadija, and our friend, Natanian. I couldn’t imagine what it must have been like for Nick, leaving all that behind just as his power manifested. He hadn’t seen his sister in two years. Why did he leave in the first place? He had so much there … a family, a throne.
“I’m sorry.” Nick looked up as Bancroft walked past, carrying the bag of bandages. “It’s my fault Daniel came after us.”
“It’s not your fault.” Bancroft, returning, stopped beside me and knelt in the grass. “He’s hell-bent on taking you down. You did what you had to … leaving the Ealdra.”
“So…” I cleared my throat and winced as Bancroft began cleaning my injury. “When were you planning on telling us you’re royalty?”
He pushed himself to his feet. “I’m not anymore. I’m a traitor. Didn’t you hear them?”
“Well, I don’t know whether to believe you on that reversal of royalty,” Natanian said. “I distinctly heard them call you the traitor PRINCE.’”
Nick didn’t reply.
“That was your dad’s castle,” I pushed the subject. I glanced at Bancroft. A crawling feeling began to creep into my stomach. I squirmed a bit. “Did…” I swallowed, looking back at Nick. The apprehension twisted up into my throat. “Did we end up in that forest on purpose, Nick?”
Nick shook his head, “I didn’t want to go anywhere near it. But … we had to land. Just coincidence, I guess.”
“Then how did Daniel find us?”
“What are you saying?” Nick leaned forward, his eyes dark.
“The spy,” Bancroft answered, glancing up at me. He began to wrap fresh bandages around my leg. “There is no other way the Ealdra could have known about us. The only ones who knew where we were, were your Great-Aunt Isabel and those at Fort Calmier.”
“Jackson,” Nick murmured.
“I’m sorry,” I shook my head. “It’s just the pain talking.”
“How’s this?” Bancroft looked up at me.
“That’s great,” I nodded. He pulled the bandage tight. “Ouch,” I gasped, jerking away, “That’s less great.”
I gazed back at Nick. Something was not sitting quite right with me. And I hated it. Nick and I were best friends. I shouldn’t doubt him. But … the way the sorcerer and the Ealdra talked to him and acted around him… it was almost like they were afraid of him. And maybe it was all because of the strength of his power.
But I had a feeling there was something else … something more.
CHAPTER 26
I strode through the trees, pushing branches aside. Cold wind drifted around me. The sorcerer, bending down through the air. Fog swirling across the dungeon floor. I landed hard on a stone and gasped at the jolt of pain through my injured leg. I hopped over the stone and started down a short incline.
Natanian, held at the very edge of the battlements. The sound of iron bars slamming shut on me. Cold, so cold. I stopped at the bottom of the incline, where the ground dropped off into sharp cliffsides that plummeted a hundred feet to the river bed below. Diving on Perry, Nick’s life slipping through my fingers. The look in his eyes … a thousand years of rage. The crackle of his lightning masking the screams.
I sat down on the edge of the cliff and dangled my feet over the edge, breathing in deeply. The wind up here was cold, blustery. I took another deep breath, and the images flashing through my mind fell away.
The sorcerer had seemed to know who my great-grandfather was. He seemed to think there was a connection between the Golden Arrow and Grandpa Tyler. What was that connection? Why did everyone seem to know who he was?
He was the True Born Rangerian of the North Wind. But that couldn’t be all. Not with everything going on, not with the way that sorcerer reacted when he found my satchel. So what did he have to do with the Golden Arrow?
The Golden Arrow. That one thing that made us who we were, the one thing that had started it all. Maybe the Arrow had to do with the Hunters’ mission right now. Maybe Orin, me, and the other two Winds out there with them had something to do with it.
Aunt Isabel lunging against the bars, her hair tangled and streaked with blood. The pure terror in Natanian’s eyes, the rasping laugh of that thing.
I gripped the edge of the cliff hard, forcing the images out of my mind.
“Jackson.” The panther stepped off the incline and sat down next to me, bringing me back to the present.
I swallowed. “Hi, sir.” I inched away. This Daetho cat scared me.
“How is your injury?”
I glanced down at my leg, “It’s fine, sir.”
His whiskers twitched as he looked out over the cliffside, wind rippling his fur.
“Is that all?” I swallowed. “I don’t think someone like you, sir, would come after me just to ask how my leg was doing.” I laughed nervously. A shiver chased down my spine. “I’m sorry, si– I mean I’m…” I swallowed. “I… I also don’t actually know what you are,” I said, changing the subject. “I mean I know what you are—you’re an Azomien—I just… don’t know who…” I swallowed again, “who you are.” I looked away from him and cleared my throat, squinting into the sun.
His head swung around, those piercing yellow eyes staring straight through me.
“You do not have to keep calling me sir, Jackson.”
The panther lay down. “My name is Daetho. I am chief of the Azomien.”
“You’re—what, now?” For a moment, I was floored. “You’re chief of… Is it true? All the stories about the Azomien?”
A note of mirth crept into his voice. “Are all the stories ever true?”
“Well, I just…” I cleared my throat again. “Well, can you really … read my mind? Or leap a hundred feet in one jump?”
He laughed, a sound that reverberated deep in his throat. “The Azomien are not superheroes, Jackson. We are guardians.”
“Sorry.”
“Lake Cloudia is a safe house, built to stand against the Sorcerer.”
“Capital S,” I interrupted.
He glanced at me, “Yes. That Sorcerer. We watch over your world.”
“Oh.”
“That is why I am here. I am growing fond of you, Jackson.”
I didn’t know how to answer, so I said nothing.
“I would not have left Lake Cloudia,” he continued, “but news has been growing of a Rangerian much more powerful than has been seen for a thousand years. I thought it was Khadija, but then I saw you. Two Rangerians of such strength. But the whispers are still out there. I believe there is a third. I want to take you and Khadija to Lake Cloudia. Yours are not the only whispers on the wind.”
“What do you mean?”
“It is true, Jackson. He is real. The Sorcerer. Though he is not yet at his full strength, he is coming back to his power.”
A chill raced down my spine. I stammered, “W-where is Lake Cloudia?”
“That I cannot tell you. I can only show you, if you agree.”
“What am I agreeing to?”
“You will leave your court and you will come to Lake Cloudia. I will train you in your power myself.”
I hesitated. “I already have a Master.”
“If what your friends say is true, you have already had two Masters.”
I looked down at my feet. I still saw him in my nightmares. Kane lying against the platform.
“And what about my family? My parents, my aunt?”
“It will have to be put to the Council. We do not let just anyone into Lake Cloudia.”
“I don’t know.” I waved ba
ck in the direction of the campsite. “I still have all of them.”
“Think on it.” He stood up. “You are being hunted. They will catch up to you. Forces are rising, Jackson. How long are you willing to wait?”
CHAPTER 27
I stepped out of the trees, back into the small clearing where Bancroft had set up camp. Natanian appeared through the trees carrying an armful of firewood. I saw Khadija sitting still beside the fire, watching the sparks drift up into the night sky.
I sat down across from her. “I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced. Hi! I’m Jack. North Wind.”
“You’re North Wind?” Her mismatched eyes widened. “Hi,” she replied hesitantly. “My name is Khadija. I’m Rangerian of the East Wind.”
Natanian dropped his armful of firewood on the pile. “You’re East Wind?” he repeated.
“If you’re East… that means the Hunters only have half of us now.”
I glanced at Natanian as he sat down. My odds of escaping just went up. I might not have to go to Lake Cloudia after all.
“What Hunters?” Khadija asked.
“Hired by the Ealdra, I think,” I explained. “They’re after the four Wind Rangerians for our power. That must be why your court locked you up.”
She rose suddenly. “No, you’re wrong. That’s not why I was locked up.” She started pacing. Sparks flashed up from the campfire every time she passed it. “I can’t control it!” she cried in frustration. The fire flared, exploding in a shower of sparks.
I threw up my arms to block my face. The sparks extinguished against the sudden shield of cold wind.
Khadija was shouting now. “I’ve only had it for a few months. My vial is shattered, so I can’t even begin to control it. I burn things. That’s why they locked me up.” The fire burned hotter and hotter, the coals glowing white-hot. She stopped, and dropped her hands to her sides with a sigh.
I grabbed Natanian’s arm, and we both rolled away just as the coals exploded. The ring of fire shot overhead and hit the trees, which burst into flames. I watched the inferno consume the trees, sparks rising into the air to mingle with the evening stars. I gasped, grabbing my injured leg as pain shot through my thigh. The clash of battle was roaring in my ears, lightning slashing the air, dark shapes rushing through the trees toward me.
“Jack!” Natanian grabbed my shoulder.
I shook the images from my head. Nearby, the Ealdra boy—Colton—had his hand pressed to the ground, and a sheet of thick, white frost covered everything around us. My breath puffed in thin clouds before me. The small campfire crackled warmly in the center of the clearing, no longer a roaring monster. Colton shot to his feet and ran over, catching Khadija as she sank to the ground. I looked around at Natanian. He was staring at the frost, at the Rangerian who’d made it. He raised his own hand, and swirls of frost curled across his palm. Khadija sank to her knees, Colton’s arms tight around her.
“North is ice,” she whispered, looking away from her trembling hands up at me. “South is fire. West carries words, whispers, and messages on its wind. But East Wind twists it all. Any bit of energy around me roars up stronger than it ever could.”
The cold energy in my chest was buzzing, straining to get out. I took a step forward and breathed out, the energy settling back. Then Khadija’s hand touched the frost-covered ground, and energy shot from her fingers, turning the frost to shining ice. I stopped dead in my tracks, looking up at the world frozen around me.
Natanian raised his hand, shining spirals of ice twisting up his arm. Colton’s eyes grew wide, his lips parted in awe at Natanian’s True Born power. Then fear flashed across his face. The ice suddenly detonated into massive shards.
I dove again for the ground. The shards shot overhead, impaling the trees around us.
“Khadija!” Daetho bounded from the forest, Bancroft sprinting behind the panther. They stopped on the edge of the clearing.
“I’m fine,” Khadija whispered.
“Jackson…” Bancroft looked around, moving toward me. “Do you know where Nicolas is?”
“I don’t know,” I answered, steadying my breath, “Haven’t seen him for a while.”
Natanian shook his head.
Bancroft stepped forward, “I just got this.” He took another glance at Khadija, at Daetho sitting beside her in the middle of all the shining ice, and held out a small slip of paper. I took it hesitantly. It read:
RETURN TO FORT CALMIER IMMEDIATELY.
WE ARE UNDER ATTACK.
THE SORCERER IS HERE.
My stomach dropped. I looked up. “But the Ealdra already have control.”
“They have the throne. They do not have control,” Bancroft corrected. “The Sorcerer is finishing what the Ealdra started.”
“What’s going on?” Nick emerged from the tree line. I silently held out the paper. He took one look at it and said, “What’s the call?”
I closed my hand around my sword hilt. “I’m going,” I answered simply.
I looked at Natanian. A hungry light shone on his face as he stared up at the destruction around him. I grabbed my satchel off the ground and whistled for Perry.
Daetho raced over to me, “Jackson, if the Sorcerer is there—”
“He’s not going to care about my parents. Or Kara. I’m not leaving them there. And then there’s our oath, right?” I swung up on Perry, looking pointedly at Nick.
“Jack, they’re the ones who are hunting you,” Bancroft protested.
“To give my strength to Fort Calmier and the defenseless,” I recited.
“I’m with you.” Nick swung up on Bancroft’s Peryton and addressed his Master. “We abandoned them once. That is our home.”
Bancroft took in his words but didn’t move.
“You are injured, Jackson,” Daetho urged. “Natanian was just held as a hostage. How well are you going to be able to fight?” I looked around at Natanian, another cold chill racing through me as I watched the dark light behind his eyes. He turned to face us. And he nodded.
“We can do it. I know my power,” I assured Daetho.
“You aren’t going to abandon us,” Colton threatened.
“Then come with us.” Natanian urged, swinging up behind me.
Colton raised his eyebrows and gestured at his red and black Ealdra uniform. “Remind me who you’re fighting, again?”
“If you take me into battle I will burn the whole thing down,” Khadija whispered.
“I don’t believe that.” Nick shook his head. “And you aren’t in uniform. You’ve been locked up for … how long? The Áccyn didn’t know who you were, and you’ve deserted already. You left your old self behind.” He smiled mischievously. “Time to show them who you are.”
A smile spread across Khadija’s face—the same smile Nick wore. She mounted her Peryton, and Daetho bounded up behind her. Colton threw up his hands in defeat and climbed up on his Peryton. Nick held out his hand, “Master Bancroft?”
“To Fort Calmier.” Bancroft nodded and mounted behind him.
I leaned forward and patted Perry’s neck. “To Fort Calmier.” And we launched through the trees.
CHAPTER 28
We were spiraling down through the sky. The night was dark, only faint light shining from the stars above. Those stars faded as we descended through thick fog. There was always a thin haze around Fort Calmier, remnants of the magic used to hide it, but fog this thick… What could it mean?
We landed suddenly on stone. I couldn’t tell which part of Fort Calmier we were in. The air was dead silent. I slid off Perry, landing as quietly as I could on the stone with my bad leg. I slowly drew my sword. A cold wind whispered through the air, stirring up the fog. My footsteps sounded muffled, the noise deadened in the damp air. I moved forward, staring through the twisting fog. I could barely see ten feet in front of me. The dark, hazy outline of stone walls rose before us. The wind gusted as my heartbeat quickened.
“Jackson,” Bancroft whispered. I breathed out, calming
my wind.
“We got a distress call,” Natanian said in a low voice. “Are you sure we’re in the right place?”
For a moment, the fog parted, and I saw a familiar platform in front of rows of benches … or what used to be a platform. We were standing in the courtyard where my Manifestation ceremony had taken place. The raised stage had snapped in half and was covered in rubble.
I turned in a circle. A path had been torn through the benches, as if by a tornado. The boards had been ripped up, shattered, and hurled across the courtyard.
I swallowed. “Yes, we’re in the right place.”
“With me,” Bancroft gestured at us, and began moving silently through the fog as it closed up again.
“HELLO?” Natanian shouted.
I jumped at the sudden noise. Bancroft hushed him.
“Sorry.”
“Gees, you’re going to wake up the troll that lives under the castle,” I murmured.
“There’s a troll…?” Khadija began.
“Yes ma’am: ten feet tall and purple,” I whispered, trying to smooth over the fear with a joke. “On a slightly related note, is there any way these ruins are a sorcerer’s illusion?
“No illusion,” Daetho shook his head. “This fog is the remnant of very strong sorcery, but no, no illusions are at work now.”
“They did say a sorcerer was here,” Natanian whispered.
“No, not a sorcerer.” Bancroft shook his head. “They said it was the Sorcerer.”
“This fog could not have been caused by common sorcery,” Daetho agreed.
“Why did I come?” Colton muttered. “This was a bad idea.”
“You already deserted,” Nick encouraged him, moving forward.
“Oh. Thanks.” Colton scowled at him.
I climbed up on a pile of rubble. I saw something, on the very edge of my vision, moving in and out of view with the drifting fog.
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