by JA Andrews
“But this Reservoir Stone still swirls with the flame of a sacrifice. It will be so much easier to add energy to this one than to Kordan’s dead emerald.” Gustav flashed a wickedly gleeful smile toward Alaric.
“It will be messy and leaky, but enough energy should get to Lord Mallon to wake him up. When he’s awake, he can find other sacrifices himself.”
“Hm,” Douglon grunted, “I wonder where he’ll find one of those.”
Gustav’s brow creased. “He won’t sacrifice me. I’m the only servant loyal enough to help him return.”
“I’m sure he’ll be very grateful,” Alaric said, glaring at Gustav with more fury than he had ever felt.
“Oh, you’ve made it so easy! It’s already holding a sacrifice!”
“It’s not a sacrifice!”
Gustav looked at the Keeper in surprise. “You don’t even know what you have, do you? You don’t know the power this holds.”
The old man’s fingers were wrapped around the ruby like a parasite.
Gustav’s smile spread. “A Reservoir Stone is a vessel, a vessel to hold the power of a life which has been sacrificed until it is poured into someone else. They are Mallon’s specialty. He has used dozens of them. Absorbing the power of other strong men, including any Shade Seekers who weren’t useful to him, made him almost invincible. He strengthened himself by the sacrifice of others.”
Alaric’s stomach clenched. “She is not a sacrifice.”
Gustav’s eyes widened, then he burst out laughing. “You sacrificed someone you know? You proved in Queenstown that you weren’t much of a Keeper, but that is even darker than I expected. Thank you, by the way, for bringing my medallion to Queenstown. I had thought it lost. My task is much easier with those instructions.”
Alaric strained against the magic, his breath coming in gasps.
“Why did you do it?” Gustav asked curiously, looking at the ruby.
The words rose unbidden. “I had no choice. I needed time. I needed time to save her.”
“Save her?” Gustav’s brow creased. “You didn’t save her. You sacrificed her. Shade Seekers don’t pull the life out of someone to save them. They pull it out to sacrifice them. Then they use the energy for themselves.” Gustav raised his gaze back up to Alaric’s face. Sudden understanding filled his face, turning to a look that almost held compassion. “You didn’t mean to sacrifice her, did you?”
“She will not be a sacrifice!“
Gustav looked at Alaric hesitantly, then he began to speak almost kindly. “She already is. Whatever she was before this—whoever she was—she isn’t here any longer. At least not all of her.”
Alaric stopped struggling. He looked from Gustav to the ruby. The old man couldn’t know that. He didn’t know what he was talking about.
“Too much of her has been lost,” Gustav explained. “Too much energy is lost when the vessel is created. The Reservoir holds the life energy of a person, but not enough of it to make a whole person again. The sacrifice exceeds the reward. I thought even the Keepers knew that much.”
Gustav looked at the Reservoir Stone closely, then closed his eyes. Alaric felt him cast out toward the energy in the ruby. A wave of fury rose at the thought of Gustav’s mind brushing against her.
Gustav looked up at Alaric puzzled. “There’s not much life here at all. Whatever you planned on doing, this does not hold enough life to do it.”
Alaric glared at the old man’s wrinkled hand grasping the red stone.
“It’s certainly not enough for what I need.” Gustav shrugged. “But I can add more. Every little bit helps, I suppose.” He tossed Alaric’s leather pouch on the ground and dropped the ruby into his pocket. With one final look at each of them, Gustav stepped out of the circle of rocks and disappeared.
The ruby. Gustav had his ruby. He had Evangeline.
Alaric’s gut felt like ice.
His wife was going to be sacrificed to Mallon.
Fury built up in him. He strained against the spell holding him in place. It was as though he had been turned to stone.
Douglon was swearing and grunting behind him.
Gustav was getting farther away and Alaric couldn’t move.
His rage boiled over into a roar as he reached out gathering energy as quickly as he could, only to have it drained out into the ground once again. Alaric ground his teeth and gathered more, faster. He drew from the ground, from the trees, from the embers of last night’s fire. He reached into the boulders and pulled the slow, dark solid vitalle of the rock itself.
The energy from the boulders held. Before it could drain out, Alaric focused his energy on the ground around him.
“Lacero!”
The energy stabbed down into the ground, slicing Gustav’s spell, tearing out of Alaric’s palm like a knife. He fell to his knees.
Gustav’s spell to drain his energy must have been focused at his feet, because Alaric felt a rush of vitalle flow into him. He turned to the others. Quickly, not noticing the pain, he cut through the spells, setting the others free.
Douglon ran through the opening where Gustav had stood, lunging for their weapons. A shriek rang out above them, and an enormous vulture swooped down out of the treetops in front of them, diving for Douglon. The dwarf raised his arm to defend against the attack. Talons ripped across it.
From the woods behind the boulders, Nox lunged for the vulture, his jaw closing on one of the bird’s legs. The vulture gave a scream, but Nox yanked the bird out of the air and the two tumbled into the trees. The forest beyond the rocks swayed with the crashes of their fight.
Douglon scrambled back into the circle of boulders, holding his arm to his chest. He swore loudly, glaring at the beasts poised at the tops of the boulders.
The group backed up to the center of the clearing, standing with their backs together. Alaric glanced around the clearing. Their weapons were still outside the ring of boulders. The only weapons within reach were long, thick sticks by their feet. Those wouldn’t hurt anything.
Atop the boulders, four monsters shifted, watching them with glittering eyes, content to stay there for now. There had to be a way to get them to leave, to break Gustav’s control over them. He reached down slowly, picking up the four closest sticks.
“Those aren’t very good weapons, Keeper,” Douglon growled.
Alaric held them together and reached up to touch their ends.
“Incende.”
The sticks burst into flame. He handed them out to the others before shaking out his hand. Then Alaric cast out his mind toward the badger, its mind full of stealth and power. It knew the people below it were of little consequence.
Alaric felt the tether on its mind, the thin leash of control of what was left of the Shade Seeker’s control. With a quick burst of energy, Alaric snapped the tether.
The badger twitched, then lifted its head and sniffed the air. Alaric took a step toward it, raising the fire closer. The badger shied back, then dropped off the back of the boulder.
The other animals crept forward. The snake slithered toward them and dropped to the ground, coiling itself into a loose pile. Milly held her torch out toward it, pushing it back against the rock as it hissed.
“Keep the bear back,” Alaric called to Douglon and Brandson.
The two of them stepped toward the boulder with the bear, holding their torches out ahead of them. The bear swung its head back and forth, watching them but shying back from the fire. Alaric held his own torch up toward the lynx. Before the cat could spring, Alaric broke the Shade Seeker’s hold on its mind. He shoved the torch toward it until the cat turned and jumped down the other side of the boulder.
He turned to the other two creatures, doing the same thing until they disappeared into the woods as well.
Alaric’s hands were burning. He picked up the leather pouch Gustav had dropped and followed Douglon to the gap between the rocks where Gustav had left. Warily, Douglon stepped out. Nothing moved in the woods. The others followed him out, gath
ering their horses and weapons.
There was a loud rustling in the trees, and Alaric spun toward the sound. Nox’s head pushed out from the undergrowth. He shook his head, shaking a vulture feather off onto the ground. I followed the elf’s scent to the keep. She is there.
“Let’s go,” Douglon said.
Nox led the way up the valley through the forest. Alaric moved up next to Douglon to check his arm. The cuts were deep and the dwarf grimaced in pain.
“Where’s the stupid elf when you need her to heal something?” Douglon asked.
Chapter Forty-Eight
Alaric pulled out some of the cloth strips he had leftover from when he’d bandaged Brandson. He looked ahead, searching for any sign of the keep. The way things were going, no one in the group was going to make it there unharmed.
Several times, Alaric caught the sound of creatures skirting the forest near them, but it seemed that Nox’s presence deterred them. Whether they were intimidated by the fire lizard or whether they thought Nox was escorting them to the keep, he didn’t know.
The keep is just ahead of us.
Almost immediately, the path turned sharply and they found themselves at a large tower at the corner of the keep, crumbled off above the first floor. Nox stood quietly by the door while Alaric opened it.
Good luck, Keeper, Nox said, hanging back.
“Will you come with us?” Alaric asked.
The lizard shook his head. I don’t think I can help beyond this. I want to leave the valley before he calls us all to the sacrifice. I have spent too many years being the Shade Seekers’ slave.
“You weren’t their slave this morning,” Alaric said.
For that, I thank you all. I am free, but I have forgotten who I am, and I’m not sure I want to remember. I do not think I was good even before the Shade Seekers enslaved me. And by now, I have done too many dark things for them to forget. I just want to leave before the Shade Seeker has the chance to enslave me again.
Alaric nodded. “Thank you for your help.”
“Yes,” Douglon said, motioning to his arm. “Thank you.”
“A friend of mine told me that we’re not defined by the darkest parts of our past,” Alaric said, remembering Ewan’s words. “We can leave them behind as easily as we leave our best moments. We’re not confined to be what we have been.”
Some things are too much to come back from, he answered. That’s a very pretty idea. I’m not sure it works that way, but it’s a pretty idea. Good luck to you all. And Keeper, I’m glad you are here. Your presence here brings hope.
“Don’t get too excited,” Alaric said. “I’m a terrible Keeper.”
Well, we’re not confined to being what we have been, you know. The lizard’s laughter echoed in Alaric’s mind. Good luck to you.
Nox turned and disappeared into the trees, and Alaric entered the tower. It consisted of a large circular room with several old chairs. Stairs reached up toward the broken roof. Across the tower, another door opened into the keep. The tower was so large that they brought the horses in and closed the door behind them.
Brandson sagged down against a wall and slid slowly to the floor. Milly rushed over to him and lifted his pants again. Dark streaks of red radiated up his leg.
Douglon fell heavily into a chair of his own, his arm held protectively to his chest.
Alaric looked at the two of them. “You can stay here with the animals,” he began.
“Shut up.” Douglon shoved himself back up and walked over to Brandson, offering his good arm. Brandson took it and tried to stand.
Alaric sighed at their stubbornness.
“We’re not staying behind,” Brandson said.
Alaric nodded. “Then let’s go find Gustav. And Ayda.”
With no way of knowing where they were headed, Alaric randomly picked the corridor to their left. The walls around them were crumbling, and water ran in little rivulets along the floor of the damp hall. They crept stealthily down hall after hall, but the keep remained silent.
After several more turns, a large archway appeared ahead of them. Alaric paused a little back from it and cast out into the large room beyond it. The room was empty. They walked into the silent room and looked around. It was a great hall. It was deserted and, like the rest of the keep, in the process of crumbling to dust.
Alaric looked around, comparing it to the Stronghold, which would probably last for centuries. He couldn’t imagine this keep lasting more than a few rainy seasons.
Sunlight fell on the floor from open doors at the end of the hall.
As they approached, they could see a large courtyard.
Outside, someone was grunting and swearing.
They crept forward until they reached the door. Alaric peered out.
The center of the enormous courtyard had been hastily cleared of leaves and twigs so that the area around a white altar was clear. At this distance, the sides of the altar looked lumpy, but Alaric couldn’t quite make out why. There was a circle of runes on the ground, drawn in black winding around the altar. The noises were coming from the other side of it. Gustav had to be over there, although Alaric couldn’t see him.
On top of the altar, set far to one corner, were Gustav’s medallion and the Wellstone, which was glowing and humming gently. Sparks sputtered between the two. Alaric studied the Wellstone. It didn’t seem bright enough yet for Gustav to have filled it. The flashes of light were normal. Gustav must be planning to fill it once the spell was begun. Alaric blew out a quick breath in relief. The cure was still there.
A loud grunt came from the other side of the altar. Gustav’s head came over the top as he strained to lift something. The top of another head came briefly into view before Gustav swore and the head fell out of view with a thunk.
Gustav stood, breathing heavily, and gave the body a kick. A foot flipped into sight around the end of the altar. Gustav stomped off past the altar, leaving the body where it had fallen against the altar.
“Is that…Mallon?” Brandson asked quietly.
Alaric bit his lip to keep from laughing.
“He is a little bit of an idiot,” Douglon whispered.
“Those markings on the ground are runes,” Alaric told them. “They form a circle around him. Gustav will use them to store the energy of the spell while he creates it. He’ll be relying heavily on them. If we erase a couple, he might not be able to complete the spell.”
The others nodded.
“Once he begins the spell, the circle of runes will glow blue. From that point on, they’ll have a life of their own. We won’t be able to damage them any longer, nor will we be able to take away any of the things he’s using. It will all be tied together. So we need to stop him before he begins.” Alaric peered as far around the door as he could without stepping out. “Anyone see Ayda?”
Douglon’s brow contracted. “I think she’s past the altar.”
“How do you know that?”
Douglon cringed. “What did she do to me? I can feel her.” He shook his head. “Sort of.”
“I haven’t heard any noise from her,” Milly said.
“Wouldn’t blame him if he gagged her,” Douglon said.
“There’s no way Gustav got a gag on Ayda,” Brandson whispered.
Gustav returned to Mallon’s body. He unrolled a bundle of fabric spilling out a flash of green and something bright red. Kordan’s emerald and Alaric’s ruby.
The fury Alaric had been feeling since Gustav took the ruby rose again.
Gustav bent down, out of sight behind the altar. When he stood back up, the stones were gone.
Alaric imagined the ruby sitting on Mallon’s chest, swirling slowly. He took a deep breath, forcing the emotions back and watching Gustav closely.
“Let’s go,” Alaric said.
Gustav dusted off his robes and looked around critically at his runes. He stepped over Mallon to look closely at the medallion on the altar. Gustav took a deep breath, shook out his arms dramatically, raised his voice, a
nd began to chant.
Alaric stepped out into the courtyard.
In that moment, he saw two things.
The first, with the circle of runes stretched out awkwardly to include her, was Ayda.
Sort of.
Anchored firmly in the rocky ground of the courtyard stood a tree with pale green leaves and glimmering silver bark.
The second was the dull bluish glow of the runes as Gustav began the spell.
Chapter Forty-Nine
Alaric’s stomach dropped as the circle of runes glowed blue.
The runes stretched around the Ayda-tree, standing still and bright in the courtyard. How had Gustav managed to get her to change?
Alaric strode out toward the wizard.
Gustav’s head snapped up. His mouth froze open in the middle of a word. Shutting his mouth and swallowing hard, he looked down, finished saying the word, then carefully set his foot next to one of the runes on the ground to mark his place. Finally, he looked back up at Alaric, glaring.
“Good morning,” Alaric said. He walked along the circle of runes, studying them. They were redundant to the point of being ridiculous. “I see you’ve decided to be overly cautious. Most of these runes are unnecessary, but”—the smile he flashed at Gustav felt vicious—“every little bit helps, I always say.”
Douglon stomped out into the courtyard, his face set like stone, and Gustav’s gaze flicked to the dwarf. Douglon looked at Ayda. “Stupid elf. No wonder I can feel her.” Douglon cocked his head to the side. “She is really angry.”
Gustav darted a nervous glance at Ayda.
Douglon made a little strangled noise, and Alaric looked at him quickly. The dwarf’s face was twisted in revulsion, and he was looking at the altar. Alaric followed his gaze, realizing that the sides of the altar looked lumpy because they were composed entirely of bones. Skulls of different shapes and sizes leered out in all directions across the courtyard.
“That is unnecessarily creepy,” the dwarf muttered.
Milly came up beside him, letting Brandson lean on her shoulder. Brandson stared hard at the wizard. Gustav met his gaze for only a moment before dropping his eyes back down to the string of runes.
