by Plum Pascal
“What would you do if you could have it all, Baron?” he asks. “If you could hold the power of the gods in your hands and do with it what you please, what would you choose to do?”
His questions give me pause. “I believe I would restore the humans. They were once part of these Realms and deserved to be here as much as us and the fae. Why shouldn’t they be restored? Humans were a perfect neutral of light and dark, corruption and compassion. I believe losing them was what threw the balance.”
“And what if I told you you’re wrong?” he whispers. “That the events of today have already happened before and the result is always the same. A world crumbles and chaos reigns so that a new king of darkness may rise above it all... a force beyond our comprehension.”
“Variant, I may not particularly like you, but I still know you well enough to understand that you’re not yourself right now.” I watch myself move closer, as if to reach out to the other man. “What dark force will rise? What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about you, Baron. You will kill the others and take the power for yourself, destroy the balance and rise as a dark force that will bleed these lands dry of all life. Morrigan has seen it; she knows what evil lies in your heart.”
I back away, putting some distance between us. “Those are serious accusations to apply to someone who has not yet made a mistake of such magnitude. The verdict of guilt should only be placed on those who commit the crime, Variant. Why would I destroy the balance when I’ve done nothing but uphold the oath?”
“But you won’t uphold the oath. It’s foreseen, as our rise to the thrones was foreseen…”
I continue to move across the floor, feeling the prickle of cold against my face, hands raised as if to ward off a rabid animal. “Whatever you’re thinking, Variant, it’s false. I’m your ally. I would never do anything to harm you or the others.”
“You say that now, but the only way to be certain is if you’re no longer a threat.”
“Variant, listen to yourself! You’re not thinking clearly!” My back hits the wall and a blade of pure ice appears in Variant’s hand. I leap out of the way as it slashes toward me. Morrigan stands at the center of the room and I run toward her. “Morrigan, tell him your vision was false!”
She doesn’t speak.
Variant chases after me. “Don’t fight this, Baron. The others were in the vision, as well. They will bring the extinction of the elves and the fae races. Only demons and orcs and creatures of shadow will remain in the aftermath of your rule.”
When I come to a stop, Morrigan’s gone... an apparition. As I turn to face Variant once more, the blade of ice plunges into my heart. I gasp for breath and grip his arm to keep the blade from penetrating any further. The doors open and I sense the presence of Cambion and Dragan just as the dagger twists in Variant’s hand.
My vision goes dark and I feel myself fall to the floor with a sickening thud. The last thing I hear is the roar of my allies mingling with the taunting laughter in my mind that belongs to the Midnight Queen.
She did this... she was the one who poisoned Variant against us…
White light flashes and I fall from the past, catapulting back to the present. My chest heaves and I feel as though I’ve been kicked by a horse and left for dead. I sit up slowly, feeling the bones in my body begin to mend themselves as I look around the clearing. Everything is gone. Bodies litter the ground, some burned to a crisp while others remain unharmed. The cottage is no more, the forest a barren wasteland of ash and debris.
What have we done?
I hiss through my teeth as a searing pain lances my body. When I stare down the length of my torso, I see a chunk of shrapnel lodged in my side. My fingers wrap around the shard and I clench my jaw hard, yanking it out one inch at a time. Blood pours from the wound, causing my hand to slip a little. My grip tightens and I give one more pull with all of my strength. The shrapnel slides free and I toss it to the side, coughing roughly as the taste of copper floods my mouth. I roll onto my belly and press my palm flat against the soil, trying to feel the pulse of The Veil. It’s faint, but still there.
My legs buckle as I slowly climb to my feet and scan the area in search of my companions. I see Pyre first. He lies in the only patch of grass remaining. I go to him, and he winces as I grip his shoulder and help him to his feet. He appears unharmed, but drained of his magic. Another trip to the Echoing Spire will be in order. The blast took everything he had. Sightless eyes stare back at me.
“The creatures are gone. They flew away after the blaze.” He grows quiet for a few seconds. “It’s hard to sense life forces within The Veil after so much death... this... this was not a victory.”
“No,” I agree. “It wasn’t. This part of The Veil will need time to heal, and so will we.”
“Cambion?”
“Gone, and so are Theren and Aima. I saw them run through the forest when the dragon appeared.” Pressing a hand to my side, I grit my teeth. “This shit shouldn’t have happened. If Cambion had just talked to us, we could have told him what we already knew about his brother. Running off into the trees every night didn’t help anything.”
“With Aima there, they may stand a chance of surviving.” Pyre reaches over and touches the wound on my side, batting my hand away. He prods around the cut with a frown. “You’ll heal, so long as you feed properly. Where are the others?”
“I haven’t found them yet. I was too busy feeling like shit and hauling your fat ass off the ground. By the way, if I find you laying in a bed of grass one more time, I’m officially calling you Princess Pyre,” I snort, earning myself a death glare from my sour friend. He must have the world's worst headache after wielding that sort of magic.
“Help me find them.”
I move through the scattered limbs and decimated trees.
A swatch of pale hair stands out among the blood and gore. I run to it, pushing aside armor and clumps of something I don’t wish to characterize. Eilish groans and blinks open those stunning eyes. I lift her from the chaos, relieved beyond belief that she’s still alive. She pushes me back a little and points to a gash on her leg. It’s not fatal, but one inch lower and she would have bled out within seconds. Eilish trembles in my arms as she looks around the aftermath of the explosion.
“I... I did this, Baron,” she sobs. “I killed all of them.”
I brush the hair from her face and try to ease her shaking. She leans against me as I help her stand. Eilish looks to Pyre and they share a strange moment, some sort of silent conversation of which I’m not privy. “We need to find the others and come up with a plan for whatever happens next.”
My eyes once again roam over the land and stop at the remnants of the cottage. So much knowledge and so many answers destroyed due to Cambion and Theren. No matter what the others say or think, I blame Cambion even though I know leading his brother to The Veil wasn’t what he intended.
It’s enough to know that he stole from Pyre and willingly endangered our mission due to his selfishness and arrogance. I recognize that I once possessed the same qualities, but at least I’m making an effort to do what’s right by those around me. For the suffering and betrayal that I endured, I could have become what Morrigan’s false prophecy predicted, but I didn’t. Part of that I owe to Pyre, but the rest I did on my own. I am my own being, as Cambion is his own being. It was his decisions that led to this day and his decisions that destroyed this part of the realm.
A loud growl catches my attention and I hand Eilish over to Pyre. Gripping my blade, I creep low to the ground.
Kolvar.
The satyr’s big, burly body is panting as he shoves out from under a pile of bodies. He cracks his neck and rolls his shoulders.
“Fuckin’ hell, that was a wild ride,” he grumbles. “Saw some of the Unseelie soldiers tuck tail and head east when Pyre started with that magic of his. Should we hunt ‘em down?”
Pyre shakes his head. “Some of them won’t make it far, and those who survive the t
reacherous lands of The Veil deserve to live another day. Things will settle over time, but we need to find the others and leave here before the spirits of this battlefield begin to rise.”
“Pyre,” I say quietly. “Where are Noni and the others?”
THIRTY-TWO
Dragan
The Veil
The explosion rocks the ground beneath my feet. I turn to the direction of the cottage and see a flash of white that ripples across The Veil. My instincts kick in and I throw myself on top of Noni while Flumph hovers beside me. A wave of energy nearly pushes us into the lake. Nymphs swim away from the water’s edge and take refuge beneath the surface. When The Veil settles after a few passing heartbeats, I stand with Noni in my arms. She twitches and grimaces with tightly shut eyes, whimpering in pain.
I must find Pyre.
Flumph stares in shock at what’s left after the blast.
When what was once green burns asunder and blackens to smoke and blood, an age of lawless destruction shall birth new life and a reunion of enemies.
I pored over the book of prophecies for hours to decipher that one passage just this morning. To think it would actually come to pass so swiftly makes me feel as if the forces that control our fates are mocking us. Flumph lands on my shoulder.
The wound caused by Lithenli burns as I walk along the path that leads to the explosion site. My stomach flips as nausea courses through me. The pungent stench of death clings to the air.
“This ain’t good, Shadow King,” Flumph says. “Theren done fucked everythin’ up real bad.”
“Not just Theren.”
“Yup, I knows it was the asshole elf we been travelin’ with. Fucker owe me a new crossbow,” the sprite complains. His face crumples into a contorted frown while he continues griping under his breath.
We weave our way through the destruction left in the wake of the swell of power that flattened nearly everything in sight. My mind wanders to Eilish and I find myself hoping she’s still alive.
If she isn’t… I can’t even continue the thought. I don’t know what I’d do without her. Not to mention our mission wouldn’t last one second if she was slain.
My heart clenches painfully, but I shake the feeling off, unwilling to analyze it. Eventually, we come on Pyre, Eilish, Baron, and Kolvar.
“Eilish,” I say as soon as I see her.
She’s covered in dirt and blood but she’s stunningly beautiful. She runs to me and throws her arms around me as I hold her in response, being careful not to disrupt Noni. When Eilish pulls away from me, she glances down at the brownie in my hands and her smile drops.
“Noni?” she whispers.
Pyre catches sight of Noni and immediately takes her from my hands, I notice his own are shaking and his skin looks ashen.
“What happened?” he asks bitingly.
“Morrigan.” My answer sparks confusion, fear, and something else I can’t recognize in my allies. “She hit me with a brutal spell and escaped. Noni defended me and was injured in the process. I took her and Flumph from the house to get away from the soldiers. We made it to the lake and laid low until the explosion.”
Pyre floods the last of his power into Noni to heal her. She opens her large eyes and smiles at everyone.
“Oh, good! Noni was scared for her friends!” She throws herself at Pyre, and he holds his little companion close. Noni abruptly pulls away. “Master! You not well! We need to go to the big scary place so you can get your power.”
“Noni’s right,” Eilish says. “We can’t stay here. Pyre needs to get to the Echoing Spire and we need to find a place to take refuge until all of this settles.”
Kolvar clears his throat to get our attention. “After we close the portals and get this fella all fixed up,” he starts and points to Pyre, “We can head to the mortal realm to search for my clan. It’ll give us more fighters and it’ll be safe enough to rest our bones for a while.”
“Your clan is in the mortal realm?” Eilish asks.
“Yeah,” the satyr answers. “We take refuge in the deserts where others fear to linger. It’s where we chieftains set our camps to train newcomers and build our ranks. Galmer is our king. If we appeal to his better nature, he may be inspired to give us a hand in our quests.”
I unbuckle the leather straps that secure my armor and pull one of the plates free. Eilish limps over and places her hand on the wound, healing it with the bright light of her power.
“What the fuck happened?” I ask. She ducks her head, refusing to meet my gaze. “Eilish, I know how your power feels, and that explosion came from you.”
“Yes,” she says and nods.
“How?”
She looks up at me then and her eyes are wide and afraid. “Pyre tried to clear the battlefield, but the swell of his power triggered mine. It’s happened before. Once, when we were in the Ashland,” she admits. “It wasn’t on purpose. I couldn’t help it, Dragan. And now, so much blood is on my hands.”
Baron scoffs and shakes his head. “It’s on all of us, but mostly it’s on Cambion. He put us all at risk and didn’t think to make it right before he ran like—”
“Please!” Pyre shouts. “We need to get to the spire. Standing here pointing the finger of blame won’t change what’s already happened. We still have bigger problems to worry about.”
Pyre lumbers towards the Obsidian Mountains in the distance. I shake my head and follow, giving Eilish a small smile to let her know I’m not upset with her. She curls her hand around mine and I help support her weight so she doesn’t injure her leg further. I don’t mind holding her against me. Actually, I relish it.
Baron pushes his way ahead and shoves his shoulder beneath Pyre’s to help him.
“I’m fine,” Pyre argues.
“Don’t be so stubborn, you pain in the ass,” Baron grumbles. The vampire has changed so much since our group passed through The Veil the first time. “When the blast hit, I recovered my last memory. It was just black, empty space in my mind before, but now I know what happened the day Variant killed me. And fuck, it’s worse than I thought.”
“What happened?” I ask. “I only remember walking in to see you fall to the floor with the dagger of ice in your chest. Cambion and I were too late.”
He turns to face me and his eyes are hard. “Variant was completely convinced that we would turn on one another, that I would kill you and rise as the dark force in Morrigan’s prophecy. She told him that he had to kill me in order to stop that prophecy from happening. But all killing me did was put him under her spell and trigger a series of events that led to the prophecy coming true, anyway—only in her favor. She turned him against us and made him think we would bring the elves and fae to extinction,” Baron explains. “Morrigan said we would leave nothing but demons and orcs to roam the Realms.”
“So it was Morrigan who took your memories?” I ask.
“Yes,” the vampire answers. “The blade Variant killed me with was enchanted to erase my memory.”
“I see,” I answer as that horrible day comes back to haunt me.
“If you and Cambion would have shown up just a few seconds earlier, you would have seen Morrigan there... Morrigan and Silvanus,” Baron continues.
“Silvanus?” Eilish’s startled voice gives me pause. “What was he doing there?”
“Watching.”
“Why didn’t he interfere?” I ask. Baron shrugs. Perched on Kolvar’s horns, Flumph settles in for the long walk ahead of us. My mind reels, running through all the information I read before the cottage was destroyed by Eilish’s magic. Something strikes me then. “Cambion was Morrigan’s prodigy, right? She mentored him in the arcane arts?”
Eilish chews her lip and nods.
“So, in theory, he would be able to perform the same spells that she can, if she taught them to him.” I lower my gaze to the ground as I think. Would Cambion erase Eilish’s memories the same way Morrigan erased Baron’s? But, Eilish hasn’t had her memories from the moment I found her in that sh
ithole tavern of Anona’s. Since I’ve known her, she hasn’t had her memories. So, it couldn’t follow that Cambion took them from her...
Unless Cambion knew her before I ever found her…
I suppose we’ll never know until Eilish recovers the last of her deepest, darkest memories.
Kolvar begins to sing as we walk toward the Echoing Spire. The dark, haunting melody of his lament swirls around us and eventually we reach the part of The Veil Forest that wasn’t destroyed. Those twisting, gnarled trees are a refreshing sight after walking through the barren wasteland left in the aftermath of the battle.
Baron launches into a rant about the dragon and Pyre reveals that he rode the great beast in an ancient war that nearly consumed The Veil. Our collective jaws drop and Pyre chuckles lightly. He points to a cluster of stones up ahead.
“We can make camp there. It’s not wise to travel through the Ashland after nightfall,” Pyre advises.
I gather kindling while the others remove their armor to assess their bodies for injury. Noni follows me to summon water from the soil in a way that amazes me. She rubs her hands together and then pokes a hole in the ground with one finger. A jolt of static flows from her body, and when she removes her finger, water squirts out of the ground as clear and fresh as if it came from a well.
She giggles and looks up at me. “Noni glad you are safe, Mr. Dragan. She is happy that you saved her, too, and thanks you very much for looking after little faeries like her.”
“I wasn’t always kind to fae creatures like you, Noni. You’ve changed my views on them.”
“Then Noni still happy. Master teach her that everybody can change if they want to. Noni see that Mr. Vampire and the angel are changing, too, so you not alone, Mr. Dragan.”
The little brownie pats my leg and hurries back to the camp. I smile to myself and continue collecting firewood. When I return, my companions settle around in a circle as I light the fire. Eilish shivers and cuddles close to Kolvar, who radiates heat like a furnace. The big satyr doesn’t seem to mind having such a beautiful woman pressed against his side.
