Heart of Farellah: Book 3

by Brindi Quinn

  “Do not speak something so foul, Daem!” Now Nyte’s sword was also unsheathed.

  “Relax. It was a joke.”

  Mikkan walked before Rend and put his hands on her head. “If you wish me to do this for you, you must release me from the pact. However, it will not go without price.”

  “What is the price?” she asked.

  The figment’s mouth moved, but his words could be heard by no one but Rend.

  “I will accept,” she said without waver.

  “Wait, Rend!” I said. “What is it?! Don’t go bargaining away anything precious!”

  “It matters not!” she hissed. “It has been done!”

  “The barrier of the dragon’s realm is there.” Mikkan pointed a metallic finger to the ground of where the terrain of rocky soil changed into that of wet earth. “Beyond there, you shall be safe. I fare you well, guards of the pact holder. I cannot interfere with the plan of the Creator, but I shall observe you.”

  “How touching,” said Ardette sarcastically. “Now get on with it, would you? The air is thick.”

  Not only was the air thick; it was heavy, and in the space beyond Mikkan’s glow, it was nearly impossible to see through. But that wasn’t the most terrifying part of it all. The moans were beginning to reach our ears.

  “Grottsy?! Do you hear that?!”

  Grotts bent low to cover Kantú’s twitching ears.

  “Let’s git a move on, gang!” he shouted.

  “Kin of the pact holder, you must come to retrieve her when she falls.”

  “When she falls?!” said Nyte. “What do you mean by-?!”

  “It is nothing, Cousin! Do as he says! Can you not see that time is short?! The rest of you fools, HURRY!”

  I obeyed her order only because Grotts, who was also pulling Kantú along, gave me a hearty nudge from behind. Scardo helped Darch to his feet and served as the writhing man’s crutch. Ardette went to his brother and started to hoist.

  “Wait!” shouted Rend. “I must unbind him first!”

  “Why now?” started Ardette, but then he understood whatever she meant. “Oh. Never mind. I see. Very honorable of you.” There wasn’t a hint of sarcasm to his voice, either, and it was alarming. Just what had she promised Mikkan?!

  Ardette stood over his brother. “Sowpa, if you don’t behave yourself, I’ll leave you out here to be swallowed by that swine’s purity. What say you? If you’ll agree to behave, blink twice. . . . Hm. That was only one blink, but it’ll have to do. All right, Rend.”

  Ardette brought his saber to his brother’s throat while Rend muttered her incantation to unbind him.

  Upon release, Sowpa spit at Ardette’s feet. “Go to hell.” But if he’d wanted to act out any more than that, he couldn’t. Most of his muscles were still sleeping from the spell. Ardette grabbed hold of his collar and roughly dragged him along. Sowpa made insults at us – mostly me, really – the entire way. Once across and into the place of the Splitting, Grotts landed a heavy blow in the foul-mouthed Daem’s face, and he fell to the ground. Once again, he was motionless, but this time, it had been without magic.

  We waited just beyond the border, weapons ready in case any Feirgh should happen to cut their way to us. Grotts held Kantú. Scardo ran to find Trib. I stood in silent anticipation next to Ardette.

  “There will be a moment of darkness when I break the bond and return to Célesteen, but I will make haste to bring you light,” Mikkan told us over his shoulder. “Once that darkness happens, the kin of the pact holder shall take Rend and flee to you. The Feirgh will charge them, but my light will prevail.” He tipped his head to Nyte. “You need only flee with Elven haste. Can you?”

  Nyte nodded.

  A moment of darkness? A moment within the mist?

  I would sing to offer at least a little protection.

  “Mikkan,” I called. “Before you return . . . Is there any sign of Illuma? My sister . . . can you sense her or anything?”

  Mikkan shook his head. “She is not among them. Lusafael has put her into a place of safety. It is most likely that he fears that you will attempt her demise. She is weak without Elven power in her veins. Although she cannot be killed but by his hand, she may be capped or detained in some other way.”

  “Oh,” I said.

  Why was I so disappointed? It would’ve been worse with her there, right? Because it would’ve meant that I’d have to fight her. Still . . . How was it that I still missed her? How was it that I still wanted to see her – even that mist-filled, insane version of her?

  Illuma.

  “Come, cherry,” whispered Ardette. He opened his arms to me. “I promise I won’t be vulgar.”

  I accepted his arms around my shoulders because I was too anxious not to. They felt good. Comforting. The moon was full behind us, but I couldn’t see it anymore through the sad fog.

  “Your song won’t be necessary, either,” he said into my ear. “It’ll be but a moment. All of your strength must be saved for ad’ai, and there are too many of them for it to make a difference anyway.”

  He slipped his hands up over my eyes.

  “No! I need to see him! I need to make sure-”

  “It’ll only make it worse for you. Your boy will be fine. He’s fast, isn’t he? He’s unnervingly fast.”

  Reluctantly, I let his fingers slide. The thick air of mist was also thick with apprehension. At least Ardette’s hands were cool and calming.

  “When will you show me?” I asked.

  “I told you. Tonight.”

  “It doesn’t seem like that’s going to happen.”

  “Tomorrow night, then.”

  I was going to say something back, but just then, the glow from Mikkan went out, and the hungry moans and hisses that had been held at bay came belting out in a full-forced symphony. The Feirgh were rushing Nyte and Rend, and they would soon be upon us too.

  I’m scared!

  “Don’t worry, my pit. I’m here. Even when this is all over, I’ll still be here.”

  The hisses and moans were louder, the air thicker, the sadness drowning. There was no angel’s light to save us. I pictured Nyte, with Rend in arm, sprinting toward us. I imagined the Feirgh lashing at him with their wisping limbs. The thought of it wrenched my stomach. Ardette pulled me tighter against him. I held on to the bottom of his shirt.

  “It’s almost over,” he said.

  With everything in me, I hoped it was the truth.

  It was.

  In one blinding instant, the entire space was filled with brilliant yellow light that I could see even through Ardette’s fingers; yellow light that poured from the sky and blew away any traces of mist and sadness; yellow light that illuminated the mass of Feirgh and sent them writhing and popping; and yellow light that streamed forth, revealing the one who had captured me and my heart: Nyte.

  The Feirgh hadn’t gotten him. He was standing directly before us, holding Rend . . . and he was unharmed.

  Ardette released me so that I could run to him. I didn’t look back, for selfish fear of seeing any pain in my friend’s eyes. Again, I’d used him. Again, I’d been selfish.

  Nyte set his unconscious cousin down, and I flung myself around him.

  “Why do you appear so relieved?” He laughed. “Did you not think I was fast enough? Did you not have faith in me?”

  “Shut up,” I told him. And then I kissed him. In the middle of the yellow angel’s light, I kissed him softly.

  The air was filled with the satisfying sound of popping Feirgh for several minutes. I didn’t release my hold on Nyte. Once more, we’d survived somehow. Against an army of twisted souls, we’d made it . . . but it hadn’t been without sacrifice. I still didn’t know then what that sacrifice had been.

  Mikkan bore his glow to us long after the last of the pops sounded. Until the day’s light took over, we were basked in that glow that was like my lightorb, but so much stronger. So much more purifying and intense. We bathed in it, and when it was gone, the feeling of puri
ty lingered in the air, making the murky mangrove feel much more pristine than it actually was.

  We set up camp for what would be the last time before ad’ai and let dawn’s light welcome us to bed.

  Chapter 19: The Surrender

  This was my last day before Ad’ai. This was my last day, period. I’d decided that, until I was shown Ardette’s solution, the only option was me. I’d do it. I’d become the sacrifice.

  I was a failure as a savior, but I wouldn’t let Nyte die, and the worst part was that I wasn’t making the decision for anyone but myself and I knew it. I’d become a martyr and put an end to all of this, but only for now. History would repeat itself because of me. It was terrible, and I didn’t want to put someone else through the same thing, but I couldn’t let Nyte die for me. I loved him too much. If only one of us could survive, it had to be him.

  I wouldn’t tell him that, though. He already thought he could feel the pact. I’d let him continue to believe that it was going to play out that way, and when whatever unseen force it was that was coming for him came, I’d deliver my last Song of Healing to bring him back again.

  “Aura?” Kantú was braiding my hair.

  “Hm?”

  We were sitting together on the soft ground of the marsh’s fringe.

  “I know you’ll make the right choice. You know the Songs of Old better than I know how to. . .” – she thought for a moment – “climb trees!”

  I rolled my eyes. Her figure wasn’t ideal for weak branches, and any attempts at recreational climbing usually ended with her clawing wildly at the trunk of the tree while she slid to the ground.

  The image made me laugh.

  “What?” she said.

  “Nothing.”

  Sticking out her tongue at me, she poked a finger into the wet dirt.

  “Gross!” she said, flinging it away.

  “Then don’t touch it,” I said. Batty squirrel. “Anyways, are you feeling any better?” I asked, trying to be nice, but her sniffle let me know that she’d have been better off if I’d have kept my mouth shut. “Or . . . uh . . . sorry.”

  “Oh,” she said, voice small. “It’s okay.”

  But it wasn’t. I knew that. She was still mourning the loss of the Spirit of In-between. Of course she was. Her heart was bigger than mine. Were she in my position, she’d definitely have chosen to end this for good. She’d have chosen to kill Nyte.

  “Will it get better?” she asked. “I mean, will I feel better? I know he was already dead, but he still existed, and I was his vessel. I was special to him and shared my life-force every time he used my body . . . . Maybe that’s why I feel so sad. Because I know that from now on, it’ll only be me in here.”

  Never had I heard possession spoken of so fondly.

  “I don’t know, Kantú, if it’ll get better or not, but I think it might. I think that with the more time that goes by, the scars of our memories become buried beneath new memories. Maybe that’s why time heals things.”

  “Hm. Maybe you’re right.” She allowed a moment of quiet before continuing, “Hey, you remember that chimbree I found?”

  “In the Orolian Tunnel? Yeah, I do. You still have it?”

  “Uh-huh.” She nodded.

  “Why, what’s up?”

  “It’s just that there’s something weird about it now. I don’t think I ever told you, but I think it might be important for some reason.”

  “Okay. And?”

  “After we escaped from Druelca, it stopped making noise.”

  “What? Really? Like it broke, or-”

  “Nope. It’s still in one piece! But no matter how hard I shake it, nothing ever comes out. See?”

  She pulled the wand adorned with bells from her pocket and began shaking it wildly. It made no sound whatsoever.

  “Huh. Ask Darch about it. Have you ever showed it to him?”

  She shook her head.

  “Havoc!” A cold voice cut through the air, intruding our conversation, but I wasn’t annoyed; I was relieved.

  “Rend?!” I said. “You’re awake! Gosh, how do you feel?!” I tilted my head to examine her for any change in being. Even though she looked normal and everything, I was wary. I lowered my voice. “Tell me, what did you sacrifice? It wasn’t anything too important was it?” But that was a pointless question. For something to be a sacrifice, it had to be something important, didn’t it?

  “Cease you idle talk and come with me at once!”

  Kantú’s tail started swinging out of annoyance. “You don’t need to be so rude, you big meanie!”

  “Hold your tongue, or I shall bin-” But Rend’s halted her threat mid-word. Jaw shaking with rage, she lowered her eyes to the ground. “Come, Havoc.”

  It concerned me. I took my half-braided hair from Kantú’s fingers and stood.

  “I’ll be right back a little bit later, okay?”

  “Psh! Don’t let her order you around like that! She thinks she’s sooooo fancy, but she’s really just a cranky old-”

  “Kantú! Be nice. And anyways, ‘fancy’?” It was highly debatable whether Rend saw herself as ‘fancy’. “Just wait for me here, okay?”

  She let out one of her longest pouting groans yet. It didn’t matter, though. I still followed Rend through camp and away from Kantú and the others.

  “Where’s Nyte?” I asked when I didn’t see him at the tents.

  “He is taking respite.”

  “Taking resp- . . . Whoa, wait. You mean like . . . A NAP?!”

  “Yes,” said Rend, “he is currently engaged in a ‘nap’. He grew tired after climbing a tree to retrieve some kingfruit.”

  “Seriously?! That tired him?” But that had been his sacrifice, hadn’t it?

  His sacrifice.

  He’d already sacrificed enough. His childhood. His will. And now his stamina. No more. I’d let him sacrifice no more. My resolve only strengthened.

  Rend and I reached a place where the squishy ground was even squishier. My bare feet sank into it a ways, and it reminded me of our time at the Sea of Mud. How little I’d known then. At that time, it had just been about finding my sister. It had been about saving her from an evil queen. Things were better then. When the tale of Lusafael was just a legend. When my biggest impending obstacle was retrieving the prophecy at the Inscription of Ulan. And when there was only room for one in my heart. A time before Ardette and complicated emotions. A time when my love for Nyte wasn’t muddled by an ancient Elven treasure. How had it all come to be like this?

  “Havoc.” Rend was searching me with those cold eyes. “Listen to me carefully. Heed what I say. You intend to die for my cousin. Is this not correct?”

  I couldn’t let her know. I’d have to muster up some of Ardette’s nonchalance.

  “Rend,” – I shrugged – “that’s impossible. Nyte’s already felt the Thulian pact, right?”

  “Do not speak falsely!”

  She knew. There was no use denying it.

  I sighed and shrugged again, this time out of surrender. “What do you want me to say, Rend? I know it’s wrong, but I love him more than anything. I love him more than my life.”

  “You are a fool! If you are intent on dying, I shall offer you a preposition. Use him to end the curse. It is his duty! Do not make him suffer the shame of failing. If you are still determined to die when the act is through, I shall kill you myself. You may die with him!”

  “With him?”

  I wanted to die by his side. That was true, but I wanted to die by his side after we’d lived a lifetime together. There were so many things we had yet to do! My heart caught in my throat when I again realized that today really was our last day together. One way or another, this was all we had left.

  In that case, what am I doing? I shouldn’t be standing around talking to Rend. I should be with him!

  “Havoc! Do not outrun your duty!”

  But I was already fleeing. “Sorry, Rend! Tell Kantú not to wait for me!”

  I hurried back to
the tents to find him. Grotts and Scardo were outside, fabricating new arrows for Scardo’s bow.

  “Hello, Aura,” said Grotts. He was winding a piece of sinew around one of the stone heads.

  “Hey. Where’s Nyte? Which tent is he in?”

  “He’s not in one of ‘em as far as I know.”

  “He’s isn’t? Then where is he?”

  “Pardon me, Miss Heart, but I believe he’s that way.” Scardo pointed to the area beyond the eastern side of the campsite.

  “Okay. Thanks. I’ll go look there.” I stopped to squint at what they were doing. “You guys had time to make those heads?” It didn’t seem possible.

  “No,” said Scardo. “We purchased them on our way here.”

  “Oh.”

  “Miss Heart, please don’t go wandering off on your own. Allow me to accompany you.”

  “Eh,” – Grotts swatted at nothing – “she’ll be fine, won’t ya, Aura? Besides, Ardette and Darch are over that way too. Just yell if ya need us, alrigh’?”

  I nodded. Thanks, Grotts.

  “But!” Scardo unwillingly watched me go.

  “Trust me,” said Grotts quietly but still loud enough for me to barely catch. “She doesn’t want you or me or anyone else around. She just wants ‘im.”

  I proceeded to the place where Scardo had pointed, but instead of finding Nyte, I stepped through a bush and rammed into someone.

  “Yo-ho!” said Trib.

  “Why the fuck do you keep saying that?!” snarled a spite-filled, hateful voice.

  “Oops, sorry, Trib.”

  “No problemo!” she yelled.

  She was standing over a rope-bound Sowpa. Darch and Ardette were there too. It seemed they’d all been in the middle of discussing something, but I hadn’t heard any of it on my way over, so that meant their voices had been hushed. And THAT meant they’d been discussing something in secret.

  Great. Just great.

  “What’s going on?” I asked. I directed it to Darch since he was the person most likely to give something away.

  Ardette knew why I’d chosen the Magir, and he stepped sideways in front of him, blocking him from my view. “Why, my pit, whatever are you doing all alone?”