The East Gate (Dawnbringer, Book 2)

by Elon Vidal

  She winced as she felt a prick on the center of her palm as well, and a drop of her blood began filling the symbols, much like it had done with Damon. Yet now, the glow from her hands intensified and the white light spread to cover the entire stone.

  “Dawn, step away from the grave,” Elijah said, backing away himself.

  Dawn tried to tug her hands away, but she was stuck. “I can’t.”

  There was a clicking sound and then the stone moved outward, effortlessly opening now that Dawn realized she too could move and pull back. Once the stone was fully out of position, Dawn was able to move her hand away from it.

  “What just happened?” Maggie said, floating to stand next to Dawn.

  They all looked inside the grave, which was empty except for a small vial enveloped in a faint glow. Dawn was about to reach for it when Elijah spoke up.

  “Dawn, wait! Are you sure about this? We don’t even know what that is.”

  “Well, we’ve come this far,” she said, then looked at Damon who nodded in support. “If I explode or whatever, tell my mom that I’m sorry, okay?”

  Elijah glared at her and Dawn had to bite her lip to stop from smiling. “That is not funny, Dawn.”

  “Sorry,” she chuckled. “If I could open the grave, it means I’m meant to take this, I think. It’ll be fine.”

  Dawn had no idea if what she was saying was true, but something inside her made her believe she was meant for this. Like, ever since she’d used the light to fight off the wraiths, a new instinct had awakened inside her. She had to hope that it wouldn’t lead her stray. If the light wasn’t going haywire and warning her of danger, that had to mean that she was safe, right? She took a deep breath then reached for the vial, exhaling again when nothing happened after she touched it.

  “See,” she said with a smile as she held up the vial for them to see. “We are all still alive.”

  “For now,” Elijah muttered, then frowned when he took a closer look at the vial. “Is that blood?”

  Dawn brought the vial closer to her face and examined it. The liquid inside did look like blood, and the million-dollar question was whose blood it was. And what was she supposed to do with it now.

  “Anything that involves blood never ends well,” Maggie said in a sing-song voice as she floated around Dawn.

  “Gee, thanks Maggie,” Dawn said with an eye roll, then put the vial around her neck using the string attached to it. “I think we should go now.”

  Damon came to her side and put her arm around his shoulders before putting an arm around her waist. She could say she had expected it, but it felt natural, no biggie. They had all gone through a series of life changing trials and there was a camaraderie among them. Well, at least that’s how she took it anyway.

  “You good?” he asked, and Dawn nodded.

  Another expression that she didn’t quite understand was on Elijah’s face when he looked at Damon helping Dawn. Then Elijah turned away and walked out. It was strange not knowing what was going through his head when they were always so in tune with each other, and she couldn’t help but think that she was to blame for all of it.

  “Why don’t I get to be carried like some damsel in distress,” Maggie sighed as she floated by Dawn’s other side.

  “Are you in distress?” Dawn asked, making Maggie pout. Damon seemed to think she was speaking to him, even though Dawn was facing the other way, and probably realized where his hand was at the moment, because he lifted it off, as if he didn’t know what to do with himself. Dawn noticed but didn’t pay him much attention. He came across in her mind more like a big brother, or an increasingly trusted colleague. “Isn’t there a handsome ghost around here for you to bother?”

  “They can’t leave, they are all bound here.”

  “That’s terrible.”

  “Not really, they were all sleeping until you showed up and tried to turn the place upside down,” Maggie said with a wink.

  “We’re terrible,” Dawn amended, making Maggie chuckle.

  “I like seeing this side of you though.”

  “What side?”

  “You, having magic.”

  “Which I cannot control,” Dawn pointed out then winced when pain shot through her side. “I have no idea what I am doing.”

  “You will learn. Do you think I was always this amazing at being a spirit?”

  Dawn smiled. “You weren’t?”

  Maggie flicked her hair and floated in front of her, moving backwards as they headed towards the entrance. “Of course not. I had to learn how to move from place to place and most of the time if I was successful, it was just by accident. But once you figure out how you did the first thing, it will be easy to remember how to do it again the next time. Which they call learning.”

  Dawn hoped so, she really did. As it was, they were just going through this whole thing on luck and determination. But she knew that whatever was to come would require proper skill in using her magic, or else Fisher was going to kill her for real next time.

  “It’s so weird seeing you talk to yourself like that, even though I know there is someone there it’s just strange,” Damon said.

  “Trust me, you wouldn’t want to hear half the things Maggie says,” Dawn chuckled, then winced in pain again.

  They got out and Dawn took a deep breath of the fresh air outside, glad to still be alive to do that. After this she really needed a vacation.

  “Wait,” Elijah said, stopping all of them in their tracks. “Shh, I heard something,” he finished in a whisper.

  "Congratulations on still being alive," a voice said as a form emerged from the shadows.

  They all stopped and looked at Ezekiel in shock.

  SIXTEEN

  "How did you-" Dawn started, quickly hushing when Ezekiel raised a hand.

  "Find you?" he finished for her with a raised brow. "That was a nice trick you pulled to evade the guards that were there for your own protection!"

  Dawn winced, partially from the pain in her side and more from the force in Ezekiel's voice.

  "And you," he said, pointing at his grandson. "What were you thinking following these two without any magic?"

  "I can still fight," Elijah said weakly, not really doing himself any favor.

  Ezekiel scoffed, "Fight what? Fight magic you do not understand with a sword. Have all of you lost your minds?"

  "No, but we have lost all strength to fight with you," Damon said with a sigh.

  If Dawn was in her usual frame of mind and state of health of course, she would have shouted a 'go Damon!' As it was, she could only manage a small smile of pride for her young irony protégé. Seems like he was catching on.

  "You were late to the party, and Dawn is hurt. So, can we move the lecture to a more comfortable location?"

  Ezekiel looked like smoke would start coming out of his ears any second now, and that was something Dawn would pay good money to see. She could even tolerate this pain for a few more minutes just to see him lose it.

  "He's right, we should get Dawn some help," Elijah added.

  "Fine. Let me take you home," Ezekiel said, already beginning a spell to open up a portal. "How did you get here anyway without magic?"

  "The joys of Uber," Dawn said.

  The look of confusion on Ezekiel's face was worth it though, and they all ignored his question as they walked through the open portal. They appeared in an unfamiliar living room, and Dawn's heart only settled when her eyes landed on a picture of Elijah as a teenager.

  "I thought you were taking us home," Elijah said to his grandfather as he appeared last.

  "I did. Mine."

  Damon helped Dawn to a sofa full of white cushions. Of course, Ezekiel's home wouldn't be kid friendly, she thought, but what it lacked in color it would surely make up for in a dungeon. Ezekiel looked like a dungeon kind of guy. And there he could keep a pet dragon with all his enemies in a cell next to it.

  "Let me see," he said gruffly, gesturing to Dawn's wound.

  Dawn let go
and let Ezekiel take a look, hissing when he pressed against it too harshly.

  "Usually when a wound is bleeding it means there is a lot of pain involved," she said with clenched teeth.

  Ezekiel turned to his grandson. "I told your parents that she would be a terrible influence. But did they listen to me? No."

  "To be fair my parents were also told that he would be a good influence," Dawn responded with a smirk, then cried out again when Ezekiel pressed against her wound. "Aaah! That hurts!"

  Light emanated from Ezekiel's hands before a warmth spread across her stomach, bringing a bit of relief. He continued using his magic to treat the wound until nothing remained but a faint ache. When he was done, he left to wash his hands in the kitchen, then returned with a steaming mug.

  "Here, drink this," he instructed.

  Dawn sat up, happy not to feel much pain as she did an instant earlier. Phew, that was a change. In her mind she could still feel aching and hesitated to move, but she noticed a weight suddenly lifted out of her entire body. She touched her ribs and pressed in. Now that trick would come in handy if she could do it herself.

  She took the mug and blew over the surface of the hot and sweet-smelling liquid before taking a sip.

  "Argh, what is this?" She said, her face wrinkled in disgust. "It tastes like dirty socks."

  "Acquainted yourself with many dirty socks, have you?" Ezekiel asked, and Dawn was surprised to see the amused look on his face.

  "What is it?" She asked again, not willing to take another sip until she knew exactly what was in the cup.

  "Herbal tea, it will help your wound heal faster.”

  "Don't you have magic for that?" Dawn frowned as she tried to take another sip.

  "I have magic that can freeze your tongue for an hour, would you like to try that?"

  Dawn tried to hide a smile at Ezekiel's excellent execution of a comeback and took another sip.

  "You should try to drink it in one go," Elijah suggested.

  "It's hot," she pointed out. The mug’s temperature instantly lowered, and she looked up at Ezekiel with a frown.

  How helpful that he could make the tea cooler but not more palatable. Dawn closed her eyes and did as Elijah suggested, coughing when she was done. The aftertaste made her gag a bit, and she resisted the urge to spit.

  "That is disgusting," she complained, handing over the mug to Elijah who had offered to take it.

  The herbal tea had a numbing effect, and within seconds she couldn't feel any pain at all. Ezekiel gave her a knowing look and she had to mumble a 'thank you.'

  "Now, time to talk," he said. With a wave of his hand, he forced the guys to instantly sit with his magic.

  Damon hit the back of the opposite couch with a startled cry, while Elijah groaned on impact with his own seat.

  "What did you three do?" Ezekiel asked.

  "I can explain," Elijah began, but Ezekiel raised a hand to stop him.

  "Not you, I want to hear it from her.” He gave Dawn a pointed look. “And tell me how it is exactly that you managed to walk away with your heads on your shoulders when I could smell wraiths all over that crypt?"

  Dawn took a deep breath and wondered where to start. There wasn't anywhere better than the beginning, really.

  "We went to the djinn library to try and find out what Fisher is up to and how to get Elijah's magic back. We figured if it was possible to take it, it is possible to return it."

  "And did you find a way?"

  "Not quite. The first step was trying to find out why he took Elijah and not any other warlock, then we realized that Elijah has something not any other random warlock has. And that is Enlightened blood."

  Ezekiel's expression remained like stone, so Dawn continued.

  "There are a few spells that would require specific bloodlines to complete, and even fewer that require location magic. And add all the things that Fisher has been up to so far now that we know he was behind it, and you get a very specific spell."

  "He is trying to open a Gate," Ezekiel said in shocked voice.

  Dawn looked at him in surprise. "You know?"

  But of course, he knew, he was one of the Enlightened after all. Perhaps they just took a bit of time to get warmed up. Ezekiel took a seat and ran a hand through his hair. Dawn had never seen him lose his composure like that, and it worried her a little.

  "The Council has been busy trying to raise shields across the plane, I guess it was just a distraction to keep us off his scent. I should have seen it sooner!" He paced, then stopped and narrowed his eyes at Dawn. "If he is trying to open a Gate, he must be rushing to complete the trials."

  Dawn nodded and Ezekiel looked at her for a long second.

  "And you foolishly started them too, didn't you?"

  Dawn wanted desperately to give an answer that wouldn’t lead to Ezekiel losing it, but they were way past that now. She nodded and he sighed.

  "But it wasn't my fault," Dawn quickly added. Ezekiel gave her a look that said that he didn't believe her one bit. "The first trial was the light to his darkness, and I got that without knowing what it was."

  "You should have come to me before you went off to find Fisher," Ezekiel said, almost sadly. "You have no idea what kind of magic you are dealing with here."

  "Sorry, but the Council hasn't exactly been welcoming to us," Dawn scoffed.

  "Because there is order to be maintained," Ezekiel answered with a serious expression. "And the three of you have been doing exactly the opposite of that. Plus, not many people know about the magic that can open a Gate."

  "Fisher does apparently, you too," Dawn pointed out.

  Ezekiel shook his head, "It's like sealed magic, except this is sealed knowledge. People know about it, but not the actual details to go through with it. And I'm surprised the three of you managed to do it."

  "So now what is the Council going to do to us?" Dawn asked, then waited to hear the worst.

  "Nothing," Ezekiel replied, surprising Dawn. "There is nothing the Council can do now. I am not taking you before them."

  Nothing the Council could do. After everything that had happened so far, it wasn’t really a surprise to Dawn. But it was disappointing. They knew what Fisher was after, and there was nothing they could do about it. For Ezekiel not to take her, Damon, and Elijah to the council, though… that was an unusual change.

  “What do you mean they can’t do anything?” asked Elijah.

  “The trials are a form of binding magic; it is a part of the trial to see if you can see it through. I’m afraid once you begin them, you have no choice but to finish them.”

  Of course, there was fine print to all of this, Dawn thought. Then steeled herself for the rest of it. Damon beat her to it though as he asked the question that was on all their minds.

  “What happens if you don’t finish the trials?” he asked.

  “You die.”

  “Great,” Dawn sighed, just what she needed to hear right now.

  “What?” Elijah exclaimed, standing up and beginning to pace. “What if she fails-”

  “We now have to make sure that she does not fail,” Ezekiel answered calmly.

  “You can’t guarantee that.”

  “You’ve managed to keep yourselves alive so far, without proper direction. I have no doubt she will succeed under my instruction.”

  “How can you train her when you don’t even understand her magic?” Elijah said. “This might be a good time to mention that little thing about your magic."

  Dawn glared at Elijah. She’d left that bit about her destroying the wraiths out of her explanation for a reason.

  "What magic?" Ezekiel asked.

  Dawn sighed but knew that Elijah was right. Ezekiel seemed like he was trying to help, maybe now was the time to go all in.

  "The seal didn't work on me. And before you say that is impossible," she held up her hand with an eye roll, "it happened."

  "Hmm," was the only response from Ezekiel.

  "Damon too," Dawn added. "Some
how my magic, or whatever it is, shielded him from your magic seal."

  She finished with a grin and Ezekiel shook his head. "You think this is all a game, don't you?"

  "Either laugh or cry, right? Not really much of a choice there."

  "Hold out your hand," he said to her, and she did so.

  He chanted a spell as he traced the lines on her palm. Dawn couldn’t understand the words, her hand and arm did feel a slight tug that followed his movements. When he finished she felt a jolt across her arm. Damon hissed and shook his hand, making everyone turn to look at him.