“So, you think we will catch up to David tomorrow?” Travis’s deep voice startled me. I had been lost in my memories of the night before. My face burned as I waited for Kait’s answer.
His eyes had unfocused at Travis’s question. After a minute, he met my eyes. “We may catch him today. He’s not moving as fast as I expected.” There was a tone to his voice that said that wasn’t a good thing.
“Why do you sound like that’s not good?” I called him out on it.
“It worries me. What is he doing that’s taking him longer? I was hoping he was just on the run. Not moving as fast indicates he may be stopping. That means that anyone he meets is in danger.”
I stood up. “You never mentioned he may be a danger to others. We need to move faster! Let’s go!”
Kait’s chuckle was bleak. “Finish your coffee, Princess. Then clean your cup and put it away. Eir also needs to check Travis for any traces of the dark power. She cleansed me this morning before you woke up. Only then will we leave. Rushing out right now will change nothing and it won’t save anyone else.”
“You don’t know that! I don’t want him to hurt anybody.” Taking care of Travis was important, but everything else seemed irrelevant.
“Princess, this is the wilderness. We have to clean up after ourselves. Shadoewynne has not been ruined by uncaring humans and I will not let you start.”
“That’s not what I meant, Kait, and you know it. I know we have to clean up the campsite. I was proposing I could drink my coffee on the go.”
“No. The couple of minutes it will take you two to finish your coffee will allow me to remove all traces of us and our magic. We aren’t ready to go yet, anyway.”
Sullenly, I sat down next to Travis and sipped my coffee. “Fine. Have it your way, then.” Luckily for him, he decided it wasn’t worth an answer. Travis and I sat silently, leaning on each other a bit, as we drank our coffee. When I finished mine, I held out a hand for Travis’s cup, which he gave to me before walking over to Eir. I washed and dried the cup before stowing it back in the bag. When I turned, Eir had finished checking Travis.
I looked at Kait, who was sitting cross-legged on the leafy ground with his eyes closed, and said sarcastically, “Can we go now?”
He opened one eye, whispered, “In a minute.” And closed his eye again. I sighed.
Eir called out to me, “Evalia. I wish to speak to you.”
Hiding my irritation, I went over to her. “Yes, Eir?”
She smiled. “I know you are impatient to leave but there is immense value in what he is doing. If we are being followed, they will not be able tell we stopped here. He is also creating a false trail.”
My heart dropped. “Do you think we are being followed?”
“This is one of those cases where you are better off safe than sorry. I do not believe we are, but it never hurts to prepare for the worst. Kait is one of the best at what he does. We must trust him.”
I nodded as I watched him. Travis picked up his pack and brought me mine, which I set down by my feet. A few moments later, Kait opened his eyes and stood up. After picking up his pack, he turned to us. “Ready?” We all nodded. “Let’s go, then.”
We walked in silence for a while, before I finally said, “Do you think we are being followed, Kait?”
“Not really. But like Eir said, it’s better to prepare for the worst. Clearing our traces and setting up false trails is part of my normal procedure when I am on a mission, so that’s another reason I did it. I just checked the location of David’s tracker. He hasn’t moved yet today, so it’s possible we will catch up to him after lunch.”
I didn’t respond. My mind was throwing all the things that could go wrong at me, although it was a half-assed attempt this time. Maybe the practice last night had helped with the anxiety, just like Eir had said. Deciding to practice more, I pulled my power to my hands and held them up as I walked. An overwhelming sense of wrongness assaulted my senses. I stopped walking as I waved my glowing hands around. A tree to the left seemed to be the source of the feeling. Everyone had stopped and were all watching me as I slowly walked over to the tree and put my hands on the rough, flaking bark. Several pieces fell off when I touched it, exposing a dark red wood underneath. A sick feeling filled me, making me struggle not to throw up. Pushing that feeling away as best I could, I forced my power into the tree. The ailment seemed to be magical and centered on the tree's roots.
Eir joined me next to the tree. “What do you feel?”
“It’s almost like this tree has a curse put on it.”
She tapped a finger against her lips. “Expand your mind, child.”
Frowning, I attempted to feel more than just the tree, but nothing changed. After a few minutes, I sighed and said, “How do I do that?”
“Take your hand from the tree and feel like you did before. This time, do not focus on any particular spot. The curse is stronger here, but you should be able to feel it all around us.”
I pulled my hand from the tree, holding it up in front of me, then I put the other hand up. When I closed my eyes, it was as if I could see a dark purple haze laying close to the ground. I opened my eyes and raised an eyebrow at Eir. “Why is the whole area cursed?”
“No one knows. Many have tried to remove the curse but everyone has failed to cure it completely. Not that long ago, this was a very dangerous place to be. Each attempt to remove the curse has partially healed the inhabitants, so now the area is no longer as dangerous.” She paused and looked at me for a moment. “Evalia, would you like to attempt to remove the curse?”
My mind froze. Me, remove the curse? Before I could think on it too much, Kait spoke up. “I think it would be good training, Evalia.”
Startled, I stared at him for a minute. He spoke into my mind. “Not only is it good training, it’s an honor that she suggested it. She is one of the foremost authorities on curses and their removal. It shouldn’t be dangerous. I think you should try.”
I nodded, then replied to Eir. “It would honor me to have you teach me to remove curses.”
A small, secretive smile stole onto her face for a second before a serious look replaced it. “It is not dangerous, exactly, but there is a possibility the curse can rebound and attach to you. So, you must ensure your blocks are up, and be mindful of what is around you. Are you ready?” I swallowed hard, then nodded. She examined me for a second before beginning. “Close your eyes. Sense the curse. See it laying close to the ground?” She waited for me to nod again before she continued. “Your magic sees it as an abomination and will naturally want to remove it. You will need to force it to go slowly. Gather your magic in your hands.” She paused again for a moment. “This is the tricky part. You will kneel to put your hands on the ground, slowly releasing the magic into the ground. You should feel it wrap up the curse. When it has as much as you think you can handle, stand up, bringing your magic and the enveloped curse up. Once it leaves the ground, you will compress it with your magic. It will form a hard gem-like stone if you are successful. You must not let any escape. This is where most fail. Are you ready?”
I took a deep breath and mentally went over her instructions. Everything was clear, as long as I could pull it off. Bracing myself, I knelt and released the magic slowly. It hurt more than I expected. The magic wanted to rush out of me and I had to tighten my stomach muscles to steady myself as I fought it. Soon, a blue haze hung over the purple one. Then, when I didn’t think I had anymore magic left, it pounced on the purple haze. The blue covered the purple but the surface was roiling like dry ice in a witch's cauldron. I slowly stood up, bringing the haze up with me.
Once I stood up completely, I realized she didn’t exactly give instructions on how to compress it, but it seemed to fight me and I couldn’t ask now. A trickle of sweat rolled down my face as I thought. My magic is instinctual, so stop thinking and just do it!
My hands were out in front of me, so I brought them together like I was mashing something. The haze reacted to my mo
vements, compressing down. I repeated the gesture several times until it was a solid dark blue ball, then I rubbed my palms together like I was making a clay ball. The magic orb got smaller and smaller until it could fit in my pocket. Eir reached out and grabbed it. She examined it for a minute, dropped it into her pack, then closed her eyes. I brushed the rest of the magic off my hands while I waited.
Her dark green eyes opened and stared into mine. She smiled. “Now, Evalia, what do you feel?”
I pulled my power out then held out my hands. The taint that had covered the area seemed gone. Even the tree that had called to me before was free. I looked back at Eir, who was beaming. “Surely it’s not that easy? Many other people have tried, and I did it that fast? No way!”
“The curse is still there. You missed some and did not heal it completely. However, you healed it more than anyone else has. It is possible that the vestiges will dissipate on their own. We can check it on the way back and possibly finish the removal then.”
I shook my head. That was too easy.
Kait came over and put his hand on my lower back as we walked away. He softly said, “Just because it was easy for you, doesn’t mean it was truly easy. I never thought I would see a newbie do something like you just did. Eir is right. Relax, follow your instincts, you will have far fewer problems with your magic.”
I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. His face was serious and it appeared he was being sincere. I sighed. “Kait, you can’t believe that.”
“It’s almost a rite of passage for the young who have just come into their powers to come out here to attempt to lift the curse. Most get a lot of it and it grows back in time. I have never seen it as clean as you made it. I believe if you do it again when we come back through, you will lift it permanently.” He was rubbing my back in small circles as he talked. I sighed.
I secretly loved the praise but had no idea how to react, so instead I asked, “How far ahead is David?”
“He started moving again, but we are still gaining on him. I expect to catch him by nightfall, assuming we don’t stop early again.”
“Okay.” I paused for a moment, pondering how to ask what was on my mind. Eventually, I just blurted it out. “Kait, what were Travis and David like as kids? Travis has made some comments that make it sound like David was angry after his father left.”
Kait nodded. “He was. He loved his father dearly, and until his powers surfaced, there were no problems. The day he grew a tree in the middle of the house, his father disappeared without a word. I hunted him down and he told me he didn’t want a freak for a son. I wasn’t going to tell David he said that but we didn’t know he could read minds, so I didn’t have my blocks up when I got back to their house. He picked it up out of my thoughts. That was the first time he ran away. It took me almost three days to find him. He ran away almost once a week after that and we had him on suicide watch for a while. It was a dark time. He was going through a lot, with puberty and his powers; then his asshole father leaves without a word. I monitor him to make sure he doesn’t think about coming back. David didn’t deserve to go through it the first time, and he won’t go through it again, if I have any say about it.”
“Didn’t his father know that Janelle has powers?”
“He did. For some reason, it never occurred to him it would pass down to his son. Also, Janelle doesn’t use her powers often, so it’s easy to overlook them. Unlike a tree sprouting in the middle of the living room.”
I stopped, pulling him to a stop next to me. I leaned in close. “Kait, please tell me you made him regret leaving.”
A small smile tugged at the corner of his lip. “He couldn’t walk for a week after I visited. Even if he wants to see David, he doesn’t want to see me ever again.”
I nodded and started walking again. Knowing what he went through made David’s behavior make more sense. “When did he move in with Travis?”
“Shortly after his dad left. He started acting out in school and his powers were growing to the point where he couldn’t control them. It was getting harder and harder to hide them so he moved in with Travis and I began teaching both of them. Janelle can do her job remotely, so it wasn’t a problem for her to come with him.”
“How do cell phones and internet work between both dimensions?”
Kait snorted. “We built towers and there are gateways that are permanently open to allow the cell signal and internet wires to pass through, as well as electric wires in some spots. The castle has electric, as well as cable and internet. We may as well take yours rather than gunk up our world with the pollution creating these things cause. Most of Shadoewynne doesn’t know about Earth, or Earth technology. It’s only for the royals and the few Earth people who have migrated here.”
I shook my head as I thought about royal privileges. “How many people have migrated?”
“I can count on one hand the ones I know. Most met a Shadoewynne and fell in love and moved back here. Some Shadoewynne can live on Earth permanently but it is hard hiding a part of you all the time. They use their magic unconsciously, and not doing that is nearly impossible. Most come back to Shadoewynne after a few years. That’s one reason no one suspected your mom. She had been living on Earth her whole life. It seems they planted her whole family for their schemes.”
Oh. I hadn’t thought of my mom since the attack a couple of days before. “When is the execution?”
“It’s scheduled for two days from now. If we find David before then, do you want to go?”
I had been thinking about that off and on since I found out. I didn’t know if I wanted to go. As much as I tried to put distance between us in my mind, she was still my mom. It would break my heart when she died, even if she deserved it.
After I had been silent for several minutes, Kait said, “You don’t have to decide right now. We have a few days.”
“I know. I don’t want to go but I’m afraid I will regret it if I don’t say goodbye.”
He nodded. “I understand. We will be here for you no matter what you decide and we won’t judge you either, so you can stop worrying about that. It is solely your decision. I won’t even try to tell you what I think you should do.” He added the last bit with a smile.
I grinned at him. “That’s weird. Are you feeling okay?”
Laughing, he stopped and pulled me to face him. “More than okay, Princess. I am complete for the first time in my life. It made me realize that I need to relax with you all more. Be less bossy, less like the leader of the group, and enjoy our time together more. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a real family. You three are more important to me than anything else and I want to find myself, my true self, finally. All my life I have been nothing more than a soldier, a General that barks orders. If this is going to work between the four of us, I need to relax and the boys need to see me as a man instead of a father figure or a division leader. Not to mention, as much as I have fun pissing you off, our relationship won’t work if we are constantly fighting.” He sobered and kissed me gently. “I can’t promise to never order you around or never make decisions for us, but I will promise to make an effort not to and to include you in any decisions. I have been but Travis reminded me the other day that it’s something I have to work at all the time.”
I picked my jaw up off the leafy forest floor. “Wow. You never cease to amaze me.”
He smiled again as he smacked my butt. “Let’s get moving again, Princess. Your other knight awaits you.”
Chapter 6
David
I slowly rose from the darkness in my mind to find I was sitting in front of a fire, eating some kind of white meat. I glanced around but there was no one with me. The dark forest was unfamiliar; I had no idea where I was or how I had gotten here. The last thing I remembered was the attack at the gathering of Svikari, and I couldn’t even remember how that ended. The last memory I had was of a fight in a freezer.
I put my head in my hands, knocking the rest of the food from my lap. As I frantica
lly examined my memories, a sharp pain behind my eyes stopped me. Where is Evalia? I need to find her.
I stood up, but couldn’t move once I got to my feet. A deep voice in my head said, “We are not going anywhere, boy. Sit your ass down and I’ll explain everything to you. Travis, Kaitsja and Evalia are not what you think they are.”
I slowly sunk back to the log. Who is this voice and what is it talking about?
It chuckled in my head. “They have been plotting behind your back. Did you know Evalia has slept with everyone but you? She doesn’t want you anymore.”
NO! That can’t be true! Can it? I searched my memories. No, I know she slept with Travis and Kait. We just hadn’t had the opportunity yet. “Or was she avoiding you?”
“Shut up!” I hadn’t meant to scream that out loud but that was what happened. My hands clenched in my hair, pulling on it.
What the fuck was happening to me?
When I forced my hands away, my hair pulled with it. I balled my fists up and noticed my fingers were sticky from drying blood. Was it from the meat I was eating earlier? Queasily, I scrubbed my hands on my pants but it didn’t help much. I glanced at my pants again. The pinstripe down the side was barely visible, and the knees were ripped. My shirt was mostly grey now, with dark reddish brown splotches. It felt like it had been days since the fight. Surely I had changed my clothes?
I kicked some dirt over the fire and laid down on the ground. I didn’t seem to have any camping equipment with me. No tent, sleeping bag, or even a pack for food. I wondered where the meat had come from but the pain in my head stopped that thought dead. Curling into a ball to conserve warmth, I struggled to go to sleep.
“Now, you will listen! Travis, Evalia, and Kait have been trying to get rid of you. That’s why you had the solo assignment at the gathering and why Kait has been yelling at you. He wants you to leave.”
No! Kait is like a father to me; he wouldn’t do that. But my real father left, so why would Kait want me if my real father didn’t?
The Darkness of Shadoewynne: Book 3 of the Shadoewynne series Page 5
