The Allseer Trilogy

by Kaitlyn Rouhier

  “It’s just Samira,” Kirheen said, tugging him back.

  “Did she multiply?” he asked, nodding to the other shadow.

  “An old friend of hers, Naree’na. She’s a member of the Blades,” she explained. “Samira seems to trust her though, but who knows where her loyalty really lies. Just keep your eye on her.”

  Mirin surveyed the approaching woman, her expression skeptical. “Noted.”

  “You all look to be mostly in one piece,” Samira said, her gaze sweeping over each of them. “Everyone okay?”

  Barog was seething. “Does it look like it, Samira? My ship is destroyed!”

  “You knew what you were taking her into,” Samira chided, even as she surveyed the wreckage and winced. “It’s…salvageable. If we’re not all dead soon, I’ll help you get it repaired.”

  Barog muttered under his breath. With the danger past, he started clearing away the debris, throwing chunks of wood, broken crates, and netting out of his way, accented by furious curses flung to the wind.

  “What happened with the soldiers?” Tomias asked, ducking as a piece of wood went flying past his head.

  “They didn’t want to cooperate. They won’t be bothering anyone else anytime soon.”

  Kirheen was fidgeting at his side, her power scraping at the edges of his mental barriers. He found her hand and gave it a tight squeeze. “We need to go,” she said. “I know you’ll just argue, but I’d really prefer it if you stayed out of this one.”

  He’d seen her words coming from a mile away, had known she’d ask him to stay behind. Elfrind was dangerous and there was a very real chance they’d fail. In his case, failure meant dying. Still, his own life meant so very little if Elfrind unleashed the Darkness on the world. “At least you know me well enough to know I’d disagree,” he said. “I’m not really any safer here than I am out there with you. We should have our new friend help the others secure a new ship and get them the hell out of here while we go after Elfrind.”

  “Not the worst plan ever,” Samira said.

  “It isn’t,” Naree’na agreed. “We won’t want them sitting here much longer. We slipped right under their noses but that won’t last long. They’ll be gathering their forces in the city and when they come, we’ll want to be long gone. You know what they’ll do to protect their city.”

  “Your city,” Samira reminded her.

  “Not anymore. Not after this,” Naree’na sighed.

  “And you can be trusted?” Mirin asked, not bothering to hide her suspicion. It had crossed Tomias’ mind as well. They’d be placing their friends lives in the hands of someone they barely knew.

  Naree’na barely flinched at her words, her silver eyes holding steady as she met Mirin’s gaze. “I know you all don’t know me, but Samira and I have a lot of history together. I’ve spent years regretting not being able to help her in the past. I refuse to repeat that mistake and spend the rest of my years wishing I could change things. I will stand with you all, even if it costs me my life. You have my word.”

  “We take promises like that pretty seriously around here,” Barog said. “You go back on those words and, power or not, I’ll run you through with a blade and make Trista poison you for good measure.”

  Samira smirked. “Now, now. Let’s all get along.”

  “We’ll get along swimmingly as long as we don’t get stabbed in the back. If Samira trusts you, then we do too. Just don’t make us regret it.”

  “I won’t,” Naree’na reassured them.

  “You think she’s trustworthy?” Tomias asked Kirheen, projecting his thoughts towards her.

  “I believe so. She’s turned against her own people. She’s as much a traitor as Samira for helping her. Hopefully that’s enough to keep her honest.”

  “I hope so.”

  Samira’s head snapped towards the mainland, and he followed her gaze towards dark sand rising and falling in waves towards the horizon. Something was happening out there. He could feel a power growing, calling across the distance. They were out of time.

  “Kirheen,” Samira said, her voice low. “We need to go.”

  “I know,” she replied. “I can feel it.”

  “I think we can all feel it,” Trista groaned, rubbing her hands over her arms. “It’s making my skin crawl.”

  Barog stepped closer to Trista, his hand coming to rest on her back. Tomias cocked an eyebrow. Now that was a new development. Maybe there was a reason the healer had decided to stay with them after all. The memory of his brother, his twin, came barreling into his mind as it always did, but the pain had dulled, a distant ache that throbbed deep within his heart and soul. He mourned for the future that should have been, for the life that Fenir should have shared with Trista, but he was happy for her regardless. If that wound was closing, even the tiniest bit, he could do nothing but encourage it. She deserved happiness.

  “Well, let’s not waste time,” Barog said. “You’ve all got a world to save.”

  Trista pulled herself away from Barog to come stand before Tomias and Kirheen. She did her best to hide her worry, but Tomias had known her long enough to see it in her stance, in the way she toyed with the end of her braid. He reached out and gently grabbed her arm. “Trista, we’ll be okay.”

  She swallowed hard. “You can’t know that. None of us can.”

  “No. We can’t, but I’m going to choose to believe that we’ll make it out of this. And if not, at least we’ll go down swinging. I’d like more than anyone to huddle in a corner and hide, but we’ve got an angry god fueled prince to contend with.”

  She nodded. “Just stay safe, both of you. We’ve been through too much for this to be the end.” She stepped forward, her arms wrapping around Tomias. He pulled her close, his lips finding her ear.

  “Chase after that happiness, Trista. Chase it and don’t let go. It’s what my brother would have wanted.”

  Trista pulled away from him, her green eyes filled with tears. “Thank you,” she whispered. She turned her eyes to Kirheen, and he didn’t miss the way she seemed to wilt under her gaze. There was no malice in Trista though, not as she stepped towards Kirheen and swept her into a hug. The two of them exchanged words too low for him to hear, but he could understand the meaning of it well enough.

  Trista returned to Barog’s side, her hand reaching down to find his, long fingers finding space between his ring laden ones. The gruff sailor raised his brows, his lips splitting into a grin that threatened to overtake his face. Tomias smirked.

  “Naree’na, I leave them in your care,” Samira said. “It’s time to put an end to this.”

  Tomias looked at his own group, suddenly feeling vastly underpowered in the presence of such capable woman. “I’m just coming along for moral support, right?”

  Mirin snorted. “With the barriers you conjured earlier, it’s about all you’re good for.”

  “Ouch,” Tomias winced. “Are you sure you don’t want to trade places, Barog?”

  “It might be preferable,” Mirin grumbled.

  Barog shook his head. “No, no. I think I’m good.”

  “Oh, this is going to be great!” Tomias said sarcastically.

  As they said their farewells, fear began to take root, slithering through heart and mind like an invasive weed. He could feel far off energy pulsating like a beacon, drawing them closer. This was their one and only chance to put a stop to Elfrind. And should they fail, his only hope was that he wouldn’t live long enough to see the consequences.

  CHAPTER 32

  Garild snapped awake, a tug at his sleeve pulling him sharply out of his dreams. His first thought upon waking was that of hunger. His stomach rumbled, begging for food he could not give it. He couldn’t remember a time he’d been so hungry. It was a never-ending ache, a small creature clawing at his insides. The only relief he could find was in the folds of sleep.

  “They’re back,” Isa said softly. Garild blinked away sleep, separating his cheek from the warmth of Isa’s shoulder. She sat next to h
im, hunched forward with her hands raised towards the barrier. Blue light washed over her, casting stark shadows that brought out her sunken eyes and cheeks.

  “I’m sorry, Isa. I hope I wasn’t asleep too long.”

  She shook her head. “It’s fine. You needed the rest.”

  Days had turned into a strange mixture of work and sleep in a cramped corner of the castle. They’d erected a barrier to keep the Darkness at bay while others scouted out into the city, gathering up those willing to fall under their protection. It was slow work, and each day that passed resulted in less people being found to protect.

  Garild looked over his shoulder. Dozens of families sat together on the rough stones, covered in ragged blankets, their only belongings what they’d been able to carry. The sound of weeping was a constant song he could not escape from. Lillana drifted between them, whispering words of encouragement, distributing what food and water they’d managed to collect. Those with powers worked night and day maintaining the barrier or scouting for survivors. It was impossible to tell how long it had been. Days merged into nights and back into days making time meaningless. There was only the barrier, and sleep, and he longed for the hours of silence, his thoughts drowned out by exhaustion.

  Across the room, a barrier filled with people drifted through a dense jungle of corruption. It had spread over the stones, clinging to everything it had come into contact with. It coiled around the barrier, slithering over the surface, trying to find a weakness, a way to break through to the people within. It was terrifying to watch, to know that all that stood between those poor people and death was a paper-thin barrier of blue light held by people they’d feared and were now forced to trust.

  “Who was out scouting this time?”

  “Tegan, Irena, Burk, and Daris. The others are resting.”

  “You need rest,” Garild said. “Let me take over.”

  “No. I can last a little longer. Let’s get them inside.”

  The two barriers met, and each side flooded the other with power. The corruption peeled away, pushed out by the sudden intensity. In that small window, the two barriers overlapped, and the scouts and survivors were able to flee into the larger of the two barriers.

  Garild watched as a weary mother stepped through to their side, two small children trailing after her, eyes wide and vacant. What had they seen out there? What horrors had they witnessed? Lillana greeted them, turned them towards an empty corner and helped them settle. They were quickly running out of space. Each day they were forced to battle the corruption for another inch and the toll of maintaining the growing barrier was becoming too much of a strain.

  Some of the citizens they’d rescued admitted to having powers and after some very rough lessons, they’d joined their ranks and were doing what they could to help with the upkeep. They wouldn’t be able to maintain it for much longer though. If Kirheen and Samira didn’t return soon, it was possible they’d all drop dead from exhaustion, powers or not.

  Only one other survivor had been found and the frightened man looked frantically towards the others. His fear was greeted with exhausted stares, a sad understanding of what he felt, and what they’d all been through.

  With those they’d rescued safe inside, his friends stepped through the barrier and helped seal the rift, dropping their own power once it was safe. They looked as exhausted as he felt. Tegan caught his eye and gave him a quick nod before shuffling over to Lillana. He carried a sack that Garild hoped contained food.

  “I wish we could speak with them,” Isa sighed.

  “With Tegan and the others?”

  “No. Kirheen and Samira. I just wish we knew something. Anything. How long is this going to go on?”

  “I know. Hopefully not much longer,” he said, not feeling confident in his own words. They’d heard nothing, gotten no sign that there was an end in sight. How long before someone slipped, before a section of the barrier crumbled and in spilled the corruption, erasing dozens of lives in seconds. Hope was a fading light and the more he clung to it, the quicker it seemed to disappear. How Lillana remained able to keep feeding the survivors hope day in and day out was beyond him.

  Those without powers had been so scared of her at first, knowing what she was, what she could do. It had taken a lot of effort on her part to gain their trust, and even more so to lift their spirits. She could not bring back their dead or keep them adequately fed and warm, but she could sustain them in other ways, and for now, that seemed to be enough.

  Someone tapped Garild on the shoulder and he looked up. Burk towered over him, his eyes solemn. Whatever good humor had lived in Burk had fled over the past few days. He sunk down next to Garild, extending half a loaf of crusty bread. “It’s something,” he shrugged. “Hope it helps.”

  Garild’s stomach growled, his mouth filling with saliva. He took the bread from Burk, muttering a thanks. He tore it in half, giving the bigger of the two pieces to Isa. The rest he savored. Even being stale, it tasted finer than anything he’d ever eaten. Hunger had a way of changing your perspective in such a dire situation. Satisfying as it was to eat, it barely cut through his hunger, merely muting the beast gnawing at him from within.

  Burk was already dozing off, his chin sinking towards his chest. They’d all gotten very good at sleeping where they could, however they could. Isa picked at her food, too drained to give it much effort.

  “Please let me take over,” Garild urged. She shrugged, her sigh the only admission of defeat he was going to get. He took over, feeding his energy into the barrier. He could feel the drain immediately, the way it seemed to sap his strength more than it ever had before. Isa curled herself on the ground at his side, her back pressed against his thigh. She was out in minutes, her breathing deepening as she gave in to exhaustion.

  He wanted so badly to close his eyes, to focus his attention on weaving the barrier as tightly as he could. There was too much danger in that, too easy to slip into the peaceful bliss of sleep. He forced his eyes to stay open, to watch the blue barrier shimmer and shift. Beyond, the Darkness shifted too, waiting for a moment of weakness.

  Please come back, he called across the sea and hoped somehow his friend might hear.

  CHAPTER 33

  Kirheen sucked in a breath, her lungs inflating with hot air. Shimmering waves of heat rose up around her, rising from the dark sands shifting beneath her burning feet. It felt as if the gods had seen fit to mold her into dough and stick her in the hottest oven they could find. Exposed skin burned, healed, and then burned again.

  She could hear the others struggling just behind her, hiding in the depths of oversized robes. Samira led the way, chin held high, the only one seemingly at peace with the heat of the desert. This had been her home for many years, the land of her birth. It was no surprise she was faring better than they were.

  If anything, the unbearable heat was a distraction, something to take her focus away from the power they marched towards. It was growing more noticeable, the mournful song pulling at heart and mind. Are we too late? If he’d found Keha’ro, if he’d managed to steal his powers, could they really stop him?

  Kirheen tried to tuck away the doubts, to hide her fear behind a wall of stoic pride, but she found it harder and harder to hide. This was the end of the road and there was no telling what they might find, what they’d be forced to face.

  Great statues rose in the distance, their bases half sunk in the sand. Ruins of ancient buildings dotted the horizon, bony remnants of a city long lost to the desert. Elfrind was in those ruins, she was sure of it. She balled her hands into fists at her side, stilling their trembling. Now is not the time for fear, she told herself, but the words fell on a deaf heart.

  As they neared the ruins, power rippled across the desert, growing in intensity. Skin came alive, thousands of tiny needles poking into her flesh. A soft rumble was followed by a much louder explosion, a plume of rock and sand billowing into the sky from a rock formation beyond the edges of the ruins. Something streaked across the skyline
, a cloud of darkness that came crashing down nearby, turning crumbling buildings to ash.

  Kirheen stopped walking, jaw dropping as Elfrind rose out of the darkness. He clutched his right arm, the bones at impossible angles beneath smoldering skin. Even from afar, she could see his skin flicker, the broken bones righting themselves. Corruption hovered in the air, a living cloak that swirled around his shoulders and down his arms.

  Where the explosion had taken place, movement caught Kirheen’s eye. A boy stumbled into view, scraping hands and knees on ancient stone as he fell. He struggled to get back to his feet only to fall again, his weakness evident in each labored movement. “Is that…?”

  Samira looked to where she pointed, and she gave a quick nod. “It must be. We need to keep Elfrind away.”

  “It looks like it might be a little late for that,” Tomias added. “He’s struggling to even stand.”

  “If he caused that explosion, hope isn’t lost yet,” Samira replied. “We end this. Now.”

  With a burst of power, Samira launched herself down the embankment, coming to land in the ruins. The sound caught Elfrind’s attention, and his head snapped towards Samira. His eyes narrowed, the shimmering tendrils surrounding him growing agitated.

  Kirheen took a step forward only to be stopped by a hand clamping tightly around her wrist. She peered over her shoulder and the look on Tomias’ face was enough to stop her in her tracks. Fear was joined by grief, by a realization that Tomias was very much breakable, that his life could be snuffed out in a moment if anything went wrong.

  “Don’t let this be the end,” he said softly, giving her wrist a squeeze.

  “It won’t be,” she replied, barely managing a whisper. She soaked in the warmth of his skin, her eyes trailed the lines of his face, trying to commit it to memory, to remember every small detail. If he fell, the world would be a much darker place. Whatever it took, she’d protect him, protect that small bit of brightness.

  She looked to Mirin and the woman returned her gaze, flinty eyes softening. Something flickered over her face, a phantom of grief and regret. “I stand with you,” she said, her voice unwavering. She gave Kirheen a nod before leaping down the embankment, trailing Samira into the ruins beyond.