The wall of darkness shattered. The golden light flickered and vanished. The figure who was inside staggered, falling to one knee.
I pushed myself to my feet, breathing hard. Gray mist twisted down my arms. Ice-cold wind whipped up the thick fog in a swirling tornado around me. I bent down and picked up Orin’s fallen sword, turning to face the figure before me.
It was a man. He slowly stood up. His dark brown hair fell around his face. He held out his arms, looking them up and down. Dull brown robes draped off his shoulders. His head came up, and his eyes fixed on mine. Gold light pulsed behind his eyes, then faded out to an eerie yellow-green.
The Ealdra queen removed her crown and knelt before him. “My King.” He turned to face her. I gripped Orin’s sword tight, and took a step forward. Pain stabbed my chest. I stopped with a gasp, pressing my hand over my heart. I was half-relieved to find I did in fact still possess a heart, the pulse beating against my palm. I straightened.
The Ealdra queen stood and held out her arm, “Come with me, my King.” He held up his hand, silencing her. He took a step toward me and tilted his head, looking at me with curiosity.
I raised Orin’s sword and took a step forward. “Leave,” I ordered. “Before I show you who I am.” Gray fog twisted down my blade. I felt a power rising in me as I had never felt, not in all my fear and pain.
He held out his hand. The queen rested her hand on his arm, and they vanished in a swirl of fog.
I heard a rustle behind me. As Orin pushed himself to his feet, I turned to face him, raising my sword. Ealdra soldiers ran past me, out of the ruins, out of Fort Calmier. It was done.
“What are you doing?” Orin screamed, his eyes flashing in rage. He clenched his fists, and fog twisted up his arms. I could feel the heat radiating from him, but something was wrong. It was like his power kept shorting out. The Golden King had sapped his strength. I took a step forward. The swirling tornado around me held strong.
Behind him, my friends staggered to their feet. Orin threw his hands forward with a scream of fury. I raised my arm, and our blasts of wind slammed into each other, bursting in a ringing boom. The tornado twisted faster around me, and my feet left the ground. I raised my arms, balancing myself as I levitated off the stone. Orin shot into the air, rising up to meet me. Then his power failed, and he dropped to the ground. He scrambled to his feet, drawing his long dagger. I raised my hand, and his knife flew from his grip.
Then Nick, now free, grabbed hold of Orin’s armor and shoved him to his knees. Natanian and Kara moved forward, pinning Orin down. I lowered my arms, drifting back to the ground. I landed on the stone and stumbled a step.
I lowered my sword, the wind dying down. I saw Colton sprint past me towards Khadija. Master Kane staggered forward and threw his arms around me, pulling me into a weak hug. He stepped back and clapped a hand on my shoulder. A boom of thunder crashed through the air.
I spun to look at Nick. He staggered back. Orin trembled with the force of the shock. Nick collapsed to his knees, sparks shooting out across his shoulders.
“Are you okay?” I asked him.
“I’m fine,” he snapped. He suddenly inhaled sharply and pressed his palm to his forehead. He forced himself to his feet, lowering his hand. He took a deep, shaking breath.
“We need to get away from here,” Daetho said. “Far away.” His eyes met mine. I nodded. “We need to get to Lake Cloudia.”
CHAPTER 33
Are you sure you can’t come with us?” I gazed longingly at my parents. Áccyn soldiers moved around us, setting up camp in the woods, miles away from Fort Calmier.
My dad gestured around us. “We need to help rebuild.” Most of the makeshift tents were up. Some campfires had been lit, over which the remaining Áccyn soldiers cooked food. Carts of weapons and supplies rolled past. Soldiers grabbed what they needed, returning to their tents beneath the trees of the forest. Fort Calmier was gone. But the people remained.
“Your place is with your friends,” my dad said. “The Azomien will protect you. This is not even the beginning of what the Sorcerer is capable of.”
I threw my arms around my dad, hugging him tight. My mom wrapped us both in an embrace.
“You are stronger than you know, Jack,” she whispered.
“Jackson.” Daetho paced up to me, his fur singed from battle. I waved goodbye to my parents and followed him through the trees to where my friends stood waiting beside their Perytons.
I swung up on Perry and took one last look back at my court, at the makeshift tents and the torches strung through the woods. Then I leaned forward and patted Perry’s neck, “Come on, boy. Let’s go.”
* * *
Awhile later, I slid off Perry, onto the gray pebbles that spread across the shoreline. I couldn’t tell how long we’d been traveling. We were on an island in the middle of a deep, blue lake. Twisting trees and vines rose before me, tangling together. The others swung off their Perytons behind me.
“This way.” Daetho followed a path cut through the jungle of trees. Smooth gray stones lined the way. I rubbed Perry’s back as we walked. He turned to look at me, a clump of tasty vines he’d found hanging from his mouth.
I laughed, “Good boy.”
“Stay here,” Daetho called. We drew to a stop, and he moved forward, disappearing through a tangle of hanging vines.
I shifted nervously, bracing my hand on Orin’s sword in my sheath. Orin himself stood silently behind me, his bindings held tight by Natanian. Bancroft moved up beside me.
“Have you been here before?” I whispered.
“No,” Bancroft answered. “Not many have. The Azomien are very secretive. They do not like visitors.”
Daetho emerged from the vines. “You may follow me.”
I swallowed, and stepped forward, pushing aside the vines. There, I saw a towering tree, rising so high into the air I could not see its crest, the smooth, dark bark twisting in patterns up into its leaves. The branches fanned out farther than I could see, hanging with thick vines. Small lights flickered up the trunk. Water curled through and around the roots in small streams, cascading down into a series of pools.
Thin rays of sunlight streamed through the branches above. A flock of small, blue birds soared around the lower branches and disappeared into the jungle. The wide, flat, gray stones of the pools were woven with veins of lichen and moss. At the foot of the tree, the roots separated to reveal a small opening.
I heard the others step through behind me. Panthers speckled with gold, just like Daetho, were sitting or standing on the rocks leading up to the opening in the tree.
“Welcome to Lake Cloudia.” Daetho turned to look back at Khadija and me. “Here you will be safe from the Sorcerer. The defenses put up were made just for his power.”
“Welcome, Great Guardian of the North,” another Azomien bowed his head.
“Thanks. Nice place.” I nodded, my stomach doing a flip. My grandpa must have come here before. This is where he must have gotten that name ... the name that was now mine.
CHAPTER 34
I sat on a large stone, dangling my feet in the pool beneath me. A cooling cream soothed the gash on my leg, and my bruised shoulder was bandaged tight. I could barely feel the pain now. Daetho was in council with several of the other Azomien, in the small room at the base of the tree. The rest of the cats were taking an evening nap.
The stone was cool beneath me, the sound of the trickling waterfalls refreshing. My satchel sat on the rock beside me. I riffled through the pictures in my hands.
Grandpa Tyler had been to Lake Cloudia too. Maybe they had brought him here to train. One day, Jack, he used to say, One day you, too, will become a guardian. One day, I know you will find your own band of merry men all!
I laughed to myself. I did find my own band of ‘merry men all!’ I had Nick, Natanian, Kara, Bancroft, Kane … descendants of Robin Hood, soldiers.
Natanian sat down next to me. “How’d it go with the cats?” I stared at him blankly
. He laughed. “I interrupted a thought, didn’t I? Well, what was it?”
“I was just thinking about my grandfather again.”
“Is that him?” Kara sat down on my other side and tugged the stack of photos from me. I leaned back on my elbow. She held one up, grinning.
“What?”
She squinted. “You look nothing alike.”
I grabbed for them. Kara laughed, handing the photos back to me and stretching out on the bank of the stream.
Nick sat down next to us. “What’s so funny?”
“Jack’s grandpa,” Natanian answered.
Nick grinned, “Oh yeah.”
I shoved the photos back into the satchel and shook my head.
“So, Nick,” I started, changing the subject, “I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”
He swung one leg up on the stone. “Shoot.”
“What’s the deal with you and Daniel?”
Natanian sat up. “Yeah, what is the deal? Why, out of all the Ealdra soldiers, does Daniel, in particular, want to kill you?”
“You met him again before last night, didn’t you?” Kara looked up.
Nick grimaced. “It’s … a long story.”
I shrugged. “What else do we have to do right now?”
“I’m free all afternoon.” Kara folded her arms behind her head, sending him a mischievous smirk.
Nick sighed. “Fine.” He paused. “For starters, Daniel and I grew up together in the Ealdra court. But I was the crown prince, and he was the son of a guard. As we grew older, he got jealous. I had special training.”
“Wait, what?” Kara sat up. “Crown prince?”
Natanian and I laughed.
“At your service.” Nick smiled.
“But...” She laid back down, still confused.
“A few times, I caught Daniel sneaking out of the castle to practice by himself,” Nick continued. “When our powers manifested, he grew angry because I had all the highest Masters. He had to work five times harder to even begin to learn control. He had already begun to hate me. But he was strong and growing stronger. In fact, he was well on his way to surpassing me, because he had such drive.” Nick dropped his head in admission.
He went on, “I heard the courtiers whispering about the possibility of him being second in line for the throne—as my successor. Until I had an heir, that position was up for—” Nick let out a faint grunt of pain and pressed his hand to his forehead.
Kara sat up.
I frowned. “What’s wrong?”
He shook his head, “Nothing. It’s just a headache.”
“So, what happened?” Natanian prompted.
Nick breathed out, and lowered his hand. “Daniel’s father was on duty the night I ran away. I couldn’t control my power very well, and … he got in the way. It wasn’t my fault. They shouldn’t have tried to stop me.” His hand clenched around the moss on his stone, his knuckles turning white. “Then we went back to the castle. And they sent Daniel. They shouldn’t have drawn so much attention. I told them not to send someone th—”
Nick stopped suddenly at the look on my face. I glanced at Natanian, a terrible crawling feeling sinking into my stomach.
“… someone that dangerous,” Nick finished slowly.
But the damage was done. My head was buzzing, spinning. No, no, no, a small voice was screaming into my head. There’s no other way the Ealdra could have known about us, Bancroft had said.
“What did you say?” I whispered, sitting up, staring into the water, my hands clenched tight on the edge of the rock, my heart pounding. I felt ice-cold. And I didn’t think it was my wind. I was hoping upon hope that I had heard wrong. Maybe the healing medicine the Azomien gave me was fogging my mind.
Nick gave a soft laugh. “I said, I told them not to send someone that dangerous.” The water below us rippled with a pulse of my wind.
Natanian stood up. Kara looked around, confused.
Information of our every move. Being sent back to the Ealdra … the attack on Fort Calmier … the Hunters in the forest … the army waiting in the ruins … Daniel.
“Nick.” I looked up. “Did we end up in that forest on purpose?”
Nick stared at me, the color beginning to fade from his cheeks. Lightning crackled up his arms, his hand pressing into the stone. Then he slammed his hand into the side of his head.
I stood up. No, no, no, no, the voice was screaming in the back of my head. My fingers closed around my sword hilt as Kara rose to her feet. My hands were shaking.
“You’re the Ealdra spy.” My voice was hoarse. “Nick…”
“You,” he looked up at me, grinning. There was something there behind his eyes, something I didn’t recognize. “You were the fourth Wind. You were the one thing we needed to finish.”
He stood up. “I wasn’t sure though. I wasn’t sure until it manifested. Then I realized you were much more than just another Wind Rangerian. Your power was the strongest anyone had ever seen.” He shook his head. “The Hunters couldn’t be trusted to take you in. Androuet? Seriously?” Nick barked a laugh. “Pathetic.”
The Hunters … the look of fear on Androuet’s face when he looked at Nick in Fort Calmier….
“Stop,” Nick ordered. I frowned. He wasn’t talking to us. He doubled over with a grunt.
I drew my sword. “You led the Ealdra and the Hunters to Fort Calmier. You’re the one—”
Suddenly the something behind his eyes vanished and Nick cried, “He’s got ahold of me. He’s the Sorcerer!” Then he spun around with a curse and slammed his hand into his head again.
Natanian, Kara, and I were frozen, staring at him. I couldn’t move. Blood rushed through my head. The Dark Archer’s warning, the way the Ealdra moved around him … avoiding him in fear. Cold wind rose around me. I braced myself, my throat dry. No.
Then Nick straightened up, rolled his neck, and started laughing, over and over. The strange light had returned behind his eyes. Thick, cold fog curled around his feet, beginning to stream off his shoulders.
Finally, he shrugged. “Well, there it is.”
“Where’s Nick?” I shouted.
He took a step forward. “Oh, Jack, Nick’s been gone for years.”
“How is that possible?” Kara demanded.
He tilted his head. “Didn’t you hear what Nick said?” He pointed to his head. “The Sorcerer, Jackson.”
“Daetho!” Natanian shouted for help.
Nick spun around and threw his arm out. Natanian and Kara threw up their hands. A jet of lightning slammed into the wall of ice and exploded, hurling them backward. Natanian slammed into the side of a tree and fell. Kara plunged into the pond, limp.
Nick threw up his hand, and an invisible force shoved my blade aside. What was I doing? I couldn’t kill him. Fog swirled thick around our feet, spilling over the stones in the pools below. I raised my sword, staring at my best friend.
“Oh, I tried so hard, Jack.” He moved forward. I scrambled back. My foot hit the edge of the stone, and I froze. “I gave the Hunters so many opportunities to catch up with you, and every one of them failed.”
I leveled my sword. He raised his hand, and the blade began to disintegrate into ashes, cracks racing down the metal toward my hands. I dropped it. It hit the stone with a resounding clang and dropped into the pool next to Kara in a hiss of steam.
The Azomien woke up and began to leap down from their perches on the trees.
“You’re hurt, aren’t you?” Nick’s eyes drifted over my bandages, and searing pain stabbed into my shoulder, my leg.
I screamed, falling forward. It felt as if a white-hot poker was being pressed into my injuries. I grabbed my shoulder.
Nick crouched down in front of me, “You don’t belong here, Jack.”
The pain began to ebb, then a fresh wave crashed over me. I cried out.
“Nicolas!” I heard Bancroft shout.
I collapsed. Bright spots burst in front of my eyes.
“Listen t
o me!” Nick demanded. He raised his hands. A shockwave shot out from him, sending the Azomien sliding to a stop. “Look at your defenses. So prepared for a grand attack you didn’t even realize an Ealdra boy could slide through.” He gestured at himself. “I created all this, I can bring it all crashing down!”
I felt his hand close around my arm. As he yanked me to my feet, I saw Natanian stir.
“What side are you on, Azomien? It is time to choose. A new power is rising, and it will sweep away all resistance.”
Daetho let out a roar and pounced. Nick let go. I collapsed. Daetho slammed into him, hurling him back into the stone. Nick grinned, and melted into fog.
Daetho stared down at the fog as it faded away. Then he stepped back and turned to face the other Azomien, his eyes wide. “Alert the Áccyn. Throw up all our defenses around the Golden Arrow. They are coming, and they will not be stopped.”
I felt the energy in my chest roar up.
I breathed out the pain, and rose to my feet.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Maggie is a Rocky Mountain-based author as well as an award-winning theatrical lighting designer. She has been writing stories since before she could pick up a pen, and specializes in crafting thrilling adventures with a twist around every corner.
When she's not writing, Maggie enjoys stargazing, daydreaming, and trying every sport known to humankind.
www.maggiekwest.com
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