It was mid-storm. They hadn’t noticed it before, because Colin’s cloak had been protecting them from it.
“Can we ever get a break?” asked Sebastien with a sigh.
“This isn’t going to end well, is it?” added Jae.
Ivan just stared into the hail-filled sky.
Colin’s cloak had dissolved the moment he had entered the spell. The Projectors could now be traced, and they were no longer protected from whatever came hunting for them.
“What if this was Freyne’s plan all along?” Sebastien blurted out. “What if he knew this is what they would do and they’d be vulnerable?”
“And by asking Colby to tag along, we’ve just handed them two Projectors,” reminded Jae.
They turned to Ivan, who for the first time in his life, wished they could all just ask someone else. Perhaps he should have Nona and Elisha use their fire magic to take them somewhere else. Somewhere where they might be more secure? But where was that?
Without saying a word, he darted out into the hail, palm facing upward, shouting out any protection spell he could think of, attempting to form a tight barrier around the house.
Sebastien and Jae followed his lead.
“If we’re attacked, it won’t hold for long,” warned Ivan.
Nona and Elisha came bounding out to them, quickly catching on to what had happened. Their immediate fear for their Master’s lives.
The hail was subsiding, partly because the storm was passing, and partly because their protection spells were casting it off, away from the house.
“Sebastien,” called out Ivan. “Let us do the spells, we need you in the air.”
“Right,” agreed Sebastien. Before their eyes, he transformed, his bird form flying up into the air, keeping watch for anything approaching.
Elisha, the older Catawitch by a couple years, asked Nona, “Have you learned how to see into the future with your white eye?”
“I’ve tried it a few times, on my own. I saw just a tiny moment of the future once. Not enough to make any difference.”
They set aside their petty battle. Protecting their Masters was all that mattered now.
“Use it now,” Elisha ordered. “We’ll need to keep constant rounds. I’ve learned to see a few seconds into the future, but today, a moment may just save all our lives.”
CHAPTER 14
Meghan, Colin, and Colby stood in the middle of a busy street. A horse drawn cart rolled by, bouncing against cobblestone. They had landed in a memory, one that appeared to be set in a medieval looking outdoor market.
People walked up and down the street; the women wore long dresses, the bottoms dirty from trailing against the ground. Many walked with baskets in hand, filled with produce, bread or meat.
The men adorned themselves in tunics, with tall boots and swords hilted at their sides.
The buildings were crammed together and built from stone and wood. It was near nighttime in the memory. Lanterns dangled next to buildings, lighting the street below.
“We have come back a long, long way,” said Meghan, in awe.
“And no one can see us, right?” confirmed Colby.
“No. It’s a memory,” reminded Colin. He cast a reassuring glance at Meghan.
“No. No one can see us. We’re just walking through a memory. And if everything worked correctly, Aloyna should be right near us, somewhere.”
They searched for Aloyna.
“Does everyone feel okay?” asked Meghan. “My fingers are tingly.”
“I’m fine. Feels sort of like walking through a dream,” said Colin.
“I see her,” said Colby. Meghan didn’t know if he had even heard her question. He followed a woman wearing a shapely dress. “She’s heading for that... whoa!” he stopped, recognizing where he was.
“Is that...” Meghan stopped, dumbfounded.
“What?” prodded Colin.
“It’s my father’s estate,” said Colby.
It was just at the outskirts of the village. The main street led to a towering gate, which was currently open leading into the estate.
“C’mon, we don’t want to lose her,” said Meghan, following Aloyna.
She was striking in person, her skin smooth and slightly tanned. Her eyes kind, but sharp. And when she moved her body just right, you could catch a peek at the sword she wore at her waist, hidden by the long sleeves of her dress.
“This is really weird,” said Colby as they followed her.
Aloyna approached the gate, which was open, but guarded. The guards moved aside and let her through without question.
The three memory trippers slipped through the gate right after her.
Aloyna walked toward the main house, using the same pathways still used today.
“It is sort of eerie,” said Meghan. “It looks much the same.”
Colby glanced behind, expecting to see the lake far below the sloping hillside.
“Odd,” he mumbled. There was no sloping hillside or a lake to be seen. The location did not look right at all.
They watched Aloyna approach the front door of the home. Before she could open it, someone greeted her.
“Jasper Thorndike!” the three memory travelers said at once.
“What is she doing?” asked Colby. “Is she...” he stepped back, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.
Aloyna Fazendiin was kissing Jasper Thorndike.
Colin looked just as awed at what he was seeing, but wished desperately that he could actually speak with Jasper again. Of course, this was a much younger Jasper. He probably didn’t yet know the answers to the questions Colin needed answers to.
“So Jasper really was that old,” whispered Meghan. “It’s so hard to believe that someone could live that long.”
“Our father is this old too,” reminded Colby. “Where is he? He should be here! This is his property.”
“Obviously back then, it wasn’t,” returned Meghan.
“There has to be another explanation,” muttered Colby. “My grandmother would never be in a relationship with the likes of...”
“The man you killed,” prompted Colin.
Colby did not reply.
They followed Aloyna and Jasper into the estate.
“My dear Jasper,” Aloyna spoke. “I missed you.”
“And I you. I feared you might never return from this mission.”
She backed away and tossed him a knowing smile.
“I found out where it is.”
Jasper let out a satisfied sigh. “Let us join the others. The battle will commence as soon as possible. We have no time to waste.”
When she did not immediately follow, he stopped.
“Something else?”
“I found out what he plans to do with it.”
Jasper’s eyes widened in response.
“My son is going to make his clan immortal.”
“Immortal... oh...” Jasper was at a loss for words.
Colin’s eyes lit up. “I know when we are,” he nearly shouted. “This is when the Grosvenor were created. Aloyna is talking about her son, your father.”
“No!” disagreed Colby. “This isn’t right. This isn’t how it happened. My grandmother was part of the plan to give her clan immortality. She wasn’t working with the ones trying to stop it. I’ve been told this story and this is not how it happens!”
“We haven’t seen everything yet,” said Meghan, in an attempt to calm him. “She’s probably just pretending to be in love or something, to get inside the enemy camp. C’mon, they’re leaving, let’s follow.”
They followed them into the room that Colby’s father now used as their private discussion room. There was a round table filled with men and women, deep in conversation. Upon seeing Aloyna they went silent. She and Jasper explained all she had learned.
All went silent again after they had finished. Fazendiin was going to use the power of the Stone to make his clan immortal; this was far worse than they had expected.
“Time is
of the essence,” a woman stated.
“I agree,” replied Aloyna. “We must act now if we are to stop this from happening. It’s terrible enough this Stone was created, but to use it to create immortality. I will not allow this to happen.”
“No one person should hold so much power,” added Jasper.
“Especially one such as Jurekai Fazendiin,” someone said. “No offense intended, Aloyna.”
“I started this war against my son,” she reminded. “The day he killed his father for nothing more than a disagreement over the future of the Vetala clan, I knew he would never stop. He is hungry now. No amount of power will ever quench this hunger. The time to strike, is now!”
There were murmurs flitting around the room while everyone discussed their choices.
“And what if your son succeeds in this endeavor? What if the Vetala do gain immortality?” a woman posed. “What is our recourse then?”
“Then we use the Stone to suck it right back out of them,” Jasper said. “I can do it. My powers are strong enough to control the Stone and turn it against them.”
“Can you destroy the stone?” someone asked him.
Jasper let out a frustrated sigh. “That, I think, is even beyond my power. I do not know if we will ever find a way to destroy it. We’ll have to hide it once this is all over. Where no one can ever find it again.”
Colby suddenly turned and fled the room.
Meghan and Colin followed.
“Do not ask me if I’m okay!” Colby shouted, stepping outside of the estate. He saw Meghan open her mouth to speak and motioned for her to shut it.
Colby needed air. Whatever this was he was seeing, it had to be a trick. This was not how things had happened. This is not what his father had told him. The estate wasn’t even in the right location.
“Is there no air in memories?” he bellowed. His eyes blazed into Meghan’s. “Where did you get this memory from?”
“You know where. Our blood. You used your own blood. You watched me use mine.”
“I don’t believe you. This is a trick. Trying to get me to come to your side, aren’t you?”
“It’s no trick, Colby!” she retorted haughtily. “I don’t know why I thought bringing you here would somehow fulfill that stupid prophecy.”
“Prophecy? What the heck are you blabbing about now?”
Meghan and Colin glanced at each other in disbelief.
Was it possible that Colby did not know? The one immortal child that had been raised in the magical world, did not know about the prophecy.
Meghan took a cleansing breath. “Colby, you must have heard about the prophecy.”
He shook his head.
“You know, the three immortal children,” she hinted.
“How many more ways would you like me to say I don’t know what you’re talking about?”
Meghan wanted to punch him.
She didn’t dare think what Colin wanted to do to him.
“I guess I assumed our father would have told you about it. Seeing as you’re the only one of us three raised in the magical world.”
“Unless,” suggested Colin in a tone that mimicked ha-ha, “that’s something else your father didn’t want you to know about.”
“Maybe my father doesn’t know anything about it,” replied Colby darkly. Although, even he didn’t believe that for a moment.
If there was something important that had anything to do with the magical world, his father most certainly knew about it.
Meghan took another cleansing breath. “Colby,” she started. “I swear to you that what I’m about to say is absolute truth. I have no reason what so ever to make this up.”
Colby begrudgingly listened.
“Before the three of us were born, there was a prophecy made by a seer that said three children of an immortal bloodline were fated to bring balance to the magical world. It also said,” she paused, unsure she even wanted to tell Colby the next part, seeing as he was all too eager to wage battles. “It also said that only one of those immortal children would succeed and that the three would possibly wage battle against each other.”
She gave him a minute to let it sink in.
Colin had less patience.
Every moment he was stuck inside this memory was another moment he had not freed Catrina. “In case that thick head of yours didn’t put two and two together, Colby, we are those immortal children.”
Colby’s gaze turned icy.
“I’ve never heard of such a prophecy. If it was important my father would have told me. And he probably didn’t, because he knows as well as I do if it comes to a battle, I’ll win.” He stormed off toward the exit of the estate.
“Where are you going?” Meghan shouted after him.
“I’m leaving. I’m done here.”
“You can’t leave. We’re not finished yet!”
He raised his arm meaning to use magic to stop her, but nothing happened. Not only was he stuck inside the memory, but he had no magic. His glower only infuriated her even more.
“In here,” charged Meghan, stalking by him, “I’m in charge. And we’re not leaving until I say so.”
##
Ivan and Jae stood guard near the front of Kanda Macawi’s house. It was just after midnight. The storm had passed, leaving behind fast moving clouds. Whenever the moon seeped through, gray shadows popped everywhere, faking them out, leading them to believe they had seen something sinister moving.
They had lit a small fire inside Kanda’s fire pit. An ember popped and Nona jumped out at them.
“Catrina is fine,” she told them. “I explained what was happening and she agreed I should be here. I will check back with her in the morning.”
Ivan nodded.
Nona retook her post at the back of the house.
She joined Elisha, each sitting tall and still, listening. Watching. Using their white eye, hoping for any glimpse into the future.
Back by the fire, a bird flew down, transforming at great speed. When its feet hit the frozen dirt, it was Sebastien who walked across the driveway.
“Just did another flyover of the entire campground. Nothing here that doesn’t belong.”
Jae cast his gaze towards the house. “I really thought they’d be awake by now. It’s been hours.”
“They could be hours, days, we have no idea,” said Ivan, adding, “I don’t think our luck is going to hold.”
Sebastien replied by transforming back into bird form and bursting into the brisk night sky.
After another thirty minutes, Jae stepped back inside to check on the three memory travelers. No movement. No change. He went back outside and reported to Ivan.
“It’s so dark. We’re not going to see anything coming,” said Jae. He wiped a bead a sweat off his brow. Why was he sweating? It was freezing!
“You all right?” asked Ivan.
“Yeah. Fine.” His voice gave no reassurance.
“Just take deep breaths,” said Ivan. “I don’t know as it actually helps, but I’ve been told it does.”
“I think when I panic, it wants out,” Jae admitted with a long exhale.
“The Scratcher cannot come out Jae,” said Ivan. “Whatever happens here, you cannot let it out. You have to keep control.”
“Yeah, control. Because I got lots of that,” Jae replied sarcastically.
“Sorry,” said Ivan. “I’m not being much help.”
“No. Actually, I’m... feeling better. Maybe as sick as it is, joking about it helps me calm down.”
Ivan motioned for Jae to take a seat on the front step. He sat down next to him.
“Since we are on the subject, do you mind if I ask you something, Jae? And if you don’t want to talk about it, or think it’s a bad idea to talk about it, that’s fine too.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Why did Juliska recruit you? I found out after the fact that she had, from a spy on the inside. Garner Sadorus,” he clarified. “But I never was able to figure out why s
he did it.”
“Because of what happened to me, when I got left behind.”
“What happened?”
Jae let out a long sigh. “When I was out there on my own, well, out here on my own, this is the campground it all started in... I got a taste for something. Something I missed after I got back home. Something I started to crave badly. Juliska, she saw it in me before I did.”
“Power,” guessed Ivan.
“Yeah. I had never felt as strong as when I was alone, away from the group. And I got to do whatever I wanted, when I wanted. I wasn’t stupid about stuff, too much. But I didn’t have to answer to anyone except myself.”
“Juliska would be cunning enough to see that,” agreed Ivan.
“When she first approached me she never mentioned what she was going to do to me. She just asked me if I could feel that way again, would I want to?”
“And you said yes.”
“I said yes. After that, she started having me do these sessions with Tanzea Chase. I don’t know what exactly she was doing but it was some kind of magic. Very dark magic. It made me angry all the time. And then, when Tanzea deemed me ready, she brought me before Juliska.”
Jae stopped. He suddenly found it hard to talk.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
“No. It’s just that even then, at that moment, I knew I had messed up. That whatever was about to happen to me, I was going to regret it. But it was too late.”
“How did she do it? How did she change you?”
“A potion. A black, thick potion. Thicker than molasses. I think whatever Tanzea did to me, got my body ready to handle the potion. After I drank it,” he paused again. “After I drank it, these shadows started to form close by. After a second, I realized they were people. Other Svoda. Some I recognized, like Garner Sadorus and his wife, and Tanzea, but others I didn’t. I had no idea where they had come from. I heard them talking. They were from other groups.”
“Juliska had the means to travel between the doorways the entire time,” noted Ivan crossly. “She just kept them for her own personal use.”
“I found out that night. But I couldn’t say anything about it,” continued Jae. “Once I had drunk the potion, it was like certain parts of my mind were no longer mine. I still had all my memories. I could still control my thoughts. But there were certain things I could not physically formulate into words. Juliska’s failsafe I guess. The potion not only turned me into the monster, but kept me from revealing any of her secrets. I guess after she thought I died, or after everyone found out the truth, something changed. When I woke up as Amelia’s prisoner, I could suddenly talk about it.”
Control (The Blood Vision, The Immortality Stone, and The Woman in Glass) (A Fated Fantasy Quest Adventure Book 7) Page 15
