by Brandon Mull
“We can help you,” Cole insisted. “It isn’t far. We’ll use wayports.”
Coughing heavily, Stafford shook his head. “I am still High King of the Outskirts. Do as I command. Leave me. See my wife and children to safety.”
Cole still felt conflicted leaving the old man behind, but then Harmony called from over by the wayport. “Come, Cole.” Honor and Destiny had already gone through.
Cole retreated to the wayport as Harmony passed through. He glanced back at Stafford, who waved him away. Cole entered and Violet followed. The wayport closed, leaving Stafford behind. But thankfully everyone else was safely rescued.
“The Red Road?” Honor asked. “Why are we at the Lost Palace?”
Cole understood the edge of hysteria in her voice. She had been held captive here for a long time. “Because we are fighting a torivor in the morning,” Cole said.
“Not Trillian,” Honor said.
“No, Ramarro,” Cole clarified. “And we need all the help we can get.”
Honor eyed the Lost Palace uncomfortably. “Do not trust any aid from Trillian.”
“He has reasons to help us,” Cole said. “I’ve glimpsed our future. Without help we fail.”
“How did you find us?” Harmony asked.
“Long story,” Cole replied. “We’ll explain later.”
“We will face Ramarro in the morning?” Honor asked. “You’re sure?”
“I’m sure,” Cole said. “I shouldn’t share too much. Some of our plans need to stay secret. Ramarro can read minds.”
“What should we do?” Harmony asked.
“I was hoping Tessa could give us a clue,” Cole said.
“Her power doesn’t work on demand,” Honor said. “We could go to Necronum and see.”
“Maybe if I share power with her here?” Cole asked.
“You can try,” Destiny said. “I want to help.”
Cole reached out for the nexus of her ability. Although he could sense her power, the center eluded him. He could not connect.
Turning his attention to Honor, he found her center of power swiftly. Harmony as well. The queen gave him a chiding stare as he connected to her nexus.
“I can connect without touching now,” Cole said, turning his attention back to Destiny. “Usually.”
“My power can be elusive,” Tessa said. “Owandell had a hard time with me when he stole it.”
Cole took her hand and found he could connect that way. Her power billowed and folded like smoke buffeted by wind from all directions. Even with direct physical contact he could not find the center. He infused the roiling mist of her power with energy.
Tessa gave a small whimper. Her arm trembled in his grasp. She stared at the sky, eyes unnaturally wide. “No,” she whispered.
Harmony braced her daughter. “Are you all right?”
Tessa was shaking her head. “A wave,” she said, her dispassionate voice incongruent with her quivering frame. “A great and terrible wave of darkness will swallow us. Eternal night. An end to hope.”
“Can we fight it?” Harmony asked.
“Where do you hide from a shadow bigger than the world?” Tessa asked. “Can we fight the night? Can we outrun darkness? The wave looms over all, growing as it consumes, engulfing everything.”
Tessa’s head snapped toward Cole, her eyes dizzily focusing on him. “Find Dandalus,” she whispered.
Then she went limp.
Cole stopped feeding Tessa power and helped Harmony lay her down on the road. She stirred slightly.
“That was enormous,” Honor said.
“The big visions really deplete her,” Harmony said. “That one must have been pressing on her, waiting for an opportunity to manifest.”
“Didn’t sound good,” Cole said.
“Can you find Dandalus?” Harmony asked.
Cole shrugged. “Maybe. I left him in the echolands. He was going to find a new place to hide. I’m not sure where to look. Even with weeks, or months, I might never find him.”
“Those were the only hopeful words she spoke,” Honor said. “If you’re going to ask Tessa, you listen and follow through.”
“What about Jenna?” Violet asked.
Cole gave a nod. “I have a friend at a temple in Necronum. I need to go there anyway to see if I can find Hunter and Dalton before the big fight. Maybe I can try to cross over to the echolands briefly. It would have to be quick.”
“Should we get moving?” Honor asked.
Violet studied Cole expectantly.
“We’ll take you three to the Iron Fort,” Cole said. “You can join up with Mira and Elegance. But we won’t come in yet. Violet and I have an appointment in Necronum.”
CHAPTER
30
REUNITED
Cole and Violet stepped quietly from the wayport into the silver sanctum. They were coming from the tent outside the Iron Fort, where they had left Harmony, Honor, and Destiny. Cole had convinced Violet that it would be better to open a wayport directly into the Temple of the Still Water than to try to talk their way past the guard. He was not sure how broadly word was out that he was wanted as a possible murderer of the king.
“What happens when breaking the fundamental laws of your order becomes routine?” Violet whispered.
“It all depends how it goes,” Cole whispered back. “You’ll probably end up somewhere between a medal of honor and the death penalty.”
“It’s quiet,” Violet said. “How are we going to find her?”
“I really don’t know,” Cole said. “We never went to her bedroom. And Jenna is free now. She could be in a totally different area.”
“Maybe we should talk louder,” Violet said with more volume.
“Get found?” Cole asked.
“Or we can roam and look for somebody still awake,” Violet said.
“What if they ask how we got in?” Cole asked, returning to a whisper.
“If we act like we belong, they might not ask,” Violet said. “If they do, stay vague—pretend we’ve been here awhile.”
“I’m so thirsty,” Cole said loudly, crossing to a carafe of water and filling a glass, making sure to clink them together. He set the carafe down noisily.
“That might be a little much,” Violet said more quietly.
“Best water around,” Cole said loud enough to make Violet cringe. “Nice and still.”
“I thought I heard someone,” a female voice remarked from across the room.
Cole turned to find an older woman entering the room. He recalled her from his previous visit, but her name slipped his mind.
“Good evening, Gilda,” Violet said warmly.
“Yes,” Gilda said. “I remember you two. Isn’t it rather late to be up and about?”
“We have an urgent matter for Jenna,” Cole said, “or we wouldn’t have come by so late.”
“We don’t know her room,” Violet added.
“She’s not officially under my watch anymore,” Gilda said. “She is now a free woman. But she still tarries in the same quarters. You feel sure she is expecting you?”
“We have news she has been waiting for,” Cole assured her.
“Let me fetch her,” Gilda said. “Make yourselves comfortable.”
Gilda walked away.
“The water is nice and still?” Violet whispered. “At the Temple of the Still Water?”
“Just making conversation,” Cole whispered back, pouring more water.
They waited in silence.
“I hope she wants to see us,” Cole finally said.
“Maybe she’s sleepy,” Violet replied.
“What if Gilda called the guards?” Cole whispered. “How fast can you open a wayport?”
“Fast enough,” Violet said.
Cole and Violet strolled around the sanctum as they waited, staying close together. At length they heard footsteps coming.
Jenna entered the room, along with Dalton and Hunter.
“Yes!” Cole cried, his voice too
loud in the silence. He rushed over to Dalton and gave him a hug, then hugged his big brother. Jenna embraced him as well.
Violet hung back.
“You guys waited for me!” Cole said. “Good job!”
“Just following instructions,” Hunter said. “Who is this?”
Cole found Violet staring at Hunter with undisguised interest. Making her attraction even more obvious, she blushed and tried to look elsewhere, but kept glancing back at him.
“This is Violet, the best Wayminder around,” Cole said. “She’s our ticket to anywhere we want to go. Violet, this is my best friend, Dalton, and my brother, Hunter.”
Beaming from the praise, Violet held out a hand to Hunter. “Nice to meet you. I didn’t know Cole’s brother would . . . look like you do.”
Cole had never seen Violet so delighted to meet someone.
“I went and got them after Gilda woke me,” Jenna said. “They were in the guest rooms.”
“I’m glad you’re all here,” Cole said.
“We were so worried about you,” Dalton said.
“It’s been crazy,” Cole said. “I can activate anybody’s power now. I don’t even have to touch you.”
“How about all five powers at once?” Hunter asked.
“You have all five shaping abilities?” Violet asked, as if it sounded much too good to be true.
“I’m proficient in all the disciplines,” Hunter said.
“Let’s see,” Cole said, focusing on Hunter and finding the center of his bright, multifaceted power. Cole connected and shared energy.
“I feel it,” Hunter said. He picked up a nearby glass and changed it into a sword. Then he set it down and transformed into a tiger. A wayport appeared. Then he returned to normal, and the wayport vanished.
“Incredible,” Hunter said. “Where were you for every fight I’ve ever had?”
“Cole is why I can take us anywhere,” Violet said. “Maybe you can too.”
“Probably, if he provides the power,” Hunter said.
“And I could reach the dead from outside Necronum,” Jenna said, looking as beautiful as ever, dark curls tumbling over her silver robe.
“Oh no,” Dalton said. “Granny Helki.”
Jenna swatted him. “Granny is darling. But I had someone else in mind. Cole, I had a special visitor not long after you left last time.”
“Who?” Cole asked.
“You didn’t tell us,” Hunter complained.
“I was supposed to wait to tell Cole directly,” Jenna said. “It’s sensitive information.”
Cole wondered who would have reached out from the echolands. “Harvan?”
“His name was Dandalus,” Jenna said.
Chills tingled down Cole’s back. “Really? He wasn’t in hiding?”
“He thought you might be surprised,” Jenna said. “He knows you’re going to fight Ramarro. He knows where you will be. He promised to be there too. But in order for that to happen, you have to bring me and empower me.”
“Sure,” Cole said. “Did he mention it might be the end of the world?”
“If it is, we might as well have good seats,” Jenna said.
Cole grinned. “That’s one of the bravest things I’ve ever heard. It’s going to be bad.”
“Dandalus made that clear,” Jenna said. “I already decided.”
“Destiny Pemberton told me to find Dandalus,” Cole said. “It must be important.”
“He already found me,” Jenna said.
“I would have come here with or without Destiny’s help,” Cole said. “Dandalus needed to reach me. He bet I would come to you. Can he fight?”
“He can’t fight as if he were part of the physical world,” Jenna said. “But I know he means to help.”
“It must be crucial,” Cole said. “Destiny is never wrong.”
“What do you know about Ramarro?” Hunter asked.
“He’ll break free tomorrow morning,” Cole said.
“This coming morning?” Dalton asked.
“It’s going to be terrible,” Cole said. “I sort of got a peek at the future. He is incredibly powerful. We have a chance. It might be a long shot.”
“We knew it would be bad,” Hunter said. “Is there no way to keep him locked up? Or to transfer him to another prison?”
“I’ve talked with some of the Grand Shapers of Creon,” Cole said, “including Kendo Rattan and Lorenzo Debray. I don’t think we can stop him from getting loose.”
Hunter rubbed his mouth. “I’m not sure this could be worse. You really think we have a chance?”
“Ramarro can read minds,” Cole said. “I shouldn’t say too much. But we do have a chance. And if we win . . . I found a way home.”
“Wayminders can go to our world,” Hunter said. “But nobody can stay permanently.”
Cole shook his head. “Kendo Rattan found a way. He did it himself. It’s called the Pilgrim Path. It lets you go to Earth permanently. But you lose all connection to the Outskirts. After long enough, Kendo began to think he had imagined his life here.”
Jenna, Dalton, and Hunter stared at him. Jenna gasped and turned, wiping at her eyes. Hunter looked slightly dazed. A giggle escaped Dalton.
“Really?” Hunter asked. “An actual way home?”
“I’ve seen it with my own eyes,” Cole said.
“Could we take off before Ramarro gets free?” Dalton asked. He glanced at Violet. “No offense.”
“I understand,” Violet said.
“If we can find Lorenzo, you, Hunter, and Jenna could maybe go home,” Cole said. “But I have to stay.”
“You have to?” Dalton asked.
“I’m the best chance against Ramarro,” Cole said. “I won’t leave here until we deal with him.”
“What if the best chance against Ramarro is still terrible odds?” Hunter said. “Don’t forget, home is Mom, Dad, our house, our neighborhood, our world, our future—everything we lost.”
“I know,” Cole said.
“This ship is sinking,” Hunter said. “You don’t have to go down with it. Defeating Ramarro is not realistic. If the ship will sink either way, we might as well get off. All of us who can.”
Cole nodded. “But what if we can stop it from sinking? What if only I can stop it?”
“There is no way to know,” Hunter said.
“The only way to know is by staying,” Cole said.
Hunter stood with his hands on his hips. “You get how dangerous it will be. Last time you met Ramarro he was in a weakened state. He is way beyond anything we’ve faced.”
“I know,” Cole said. He thought about how easily Ramarro had bested them in the theoretical future. “Believe me.” What if he failed just as quickly again? What if they couldn’t trick Ramarro into going to Earth and becoming powerless? What if Cole made a pointless sacrifice? What if he led his brother and Dalton and Jenna to meaningless deaths? Part of Cole desperately wanted to let Hunter take the lead. In some ways, it would be such a relief to run away. To go home. Maybe he would eventually forget the world he had surrendered, the friends he had abandoned. “I just can’t.”
“Are you sure?” Hunter pressed. “This isn’t a game. At best Ramarro will kill us. At worst he could torture us. Maybe forever.”
“I might be able to stop him,” Cole said. “Kendo Rattan thinks I have the best chance of saving the Outskirts. Dandalus seems to think I have a chance too. We have a plan that could work. It has to stay secret, but it could work, and I can’t leave if there’s a real chance. I can’t leave Mira. I can’t leave Jace, or the princesses, or the queen, or any of the others.”
“Bring them,” Hunter said. “Bring everybody we can. Mira. Jace. Violet. They can start over on Earth. Might be tough, but it beats getting destroyed by Ramarro. Or becoming his slave.”
“What about everybody else?” Cole asked. “This is a big place.”
“It’s not your job to save them,” Hunter said. “We don’t even belong here. We were kidnapped.
We’ve been used, Cole. I’ve been used. I wasn’t like you. I didn’t come with a group. I was nabbed alone. I thought I was stuck here. I thought there was no way home. So I did my best to get by. I followed the orders they gave me. I trained. I used my powers, became an Enforcer. I was brought here against my will. You were trying to stop a kidnapping. They just wanted us as slaves. Do we really owe them our lives? For a lost cause? Why not go home if we can?”
“Some bad people brought us here,” Cole said. “But you know there are good people here too. Just like anywhere. Good and bad. If there is a chance I can save the five kingdoms, I have to try.”
“Even when the odds are astronomically terrible?” Hunter asked. “If I thought we had a real chance, I might feel differently. I’ve seen my share of fights here. This one looks like a sure loss. Why risk it?”
“Because I can’t leave this world knowing I might have saved it,” Cole said. “I just can’t. I’m not scared of dying anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not in a hurry, but it doesn’t terrify me. We’re all going to die. What matters is how we die. And how we live. Leaving when I could have helped—that would kill me more than dying. It just would. Somebody has to fight the hard fights. There are times when somebody else can’t do it. Or won’t do it. So it’s you or nobody. I’ve had a chance to go home before. And I’m not going anywhere unless I stop Ramarro.”
Hunter stared at his brother. “Now that might be the bravest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“You guys can go,” Cole said. “You guys should go. I’m not sure having you there would make much difference.”
“Hey, I’m proficient in all five shaping disciplines,” Hunter said.
“And you know who we’re fighting,” Cole replied.
Hunter nodded. “I’m not leaving my little brother. No way. If you’re going down, I’ll be with you.”
“I won’t leave either,” Dalton said.
Jenna patted Cole on the shoulder. “We’ll all do our parts.”
“You might not get a chance to leave,” Violet said. “We’d need to find Lorenzo. We don’t know where he is.”
“I know where he’ll be in the morning,” Cole said.
“That’s not good enough,” Violet said. “He’s central to the plan. We have to find him. He needs to know his part.”
