Tynan’s jaw tightened. “I do not want to make another error.”
“And I want to get it over with,” Aris snapped. “We don’t know what they will find on Earth. Kezari and I may be needed at any time.”
“I’ll help,” Iren said.
“No,” Aris and Tynan said simultaneously.
Iren’s eyes narrowed, and he sat up straighter in his chair as his arms dropped to his sides. “I’m not four anymore, Onaial. I can do this.”
Aris studied his son’s face. Yes, he wasn’t four, but eleven was far from manhood. That said, energy transference was one of the earliest skills taught since the ability to manipulate energy was vital to all other skills. But could Iren handle raw life magic? Selia could only transfer it, but his son might have inherited—
“I can feel it,” Iren blurted. “I couldn’t sense much when I was younger, but over the last couple of years, I’ve started connecting to living things. Onaiala is worried about finding someone to teach me about it, but it hasn’t caused any problems yet.”
Aris’s heart thumped with alarm. “Please tell me you haven’t tried to use that energy.”
“No,” Iren answered. But he ducked his head, avoiding Aris’s gaze.
“What did you do, Iren?”
His son squirmed in his seat. “There was this flower. I…tried to make it grow faster.”
Worry curled through Aris. He’d tried something similar as a child, hoping to encourage the growth of a tree his mother had planted. Within days, the poor sapling had been dead, and he’d felt the loss he’d caused so deeply that he hadn’t touched life magic for a solid year. His mother had found a teacher for him after that.
“Creation and destruction stand a hairsbreadth apart,” Aris said softly. “A flower may be just a beautiful plant to most, but it is different for us. And that’s the risk of our talent. You can let yourself merge so deeply with the life around you that it’s difficult to function. You can’t even walk without feeling the pain of the grass crushed beneath your feet, and no death is easy at that level. I hope you learned that lesson well.”
Iren nodded, sadness beyond his years filling his eyes. “I haven’t touched it since.”
“I will teach you,” Aris said.
Hope lightened Iren’s expression, twisting into Aris’s gut. Suddenly, he couldn’t sit still under his son’s regard. He leaped to his feet and pushed past Tynan to stare out the window. Why had he promised such a thing without stopping to consider the ramifications? The healer’s work on his mind had been impressive, but there was no guarantee it would be permanent. Aris had barely been awake for half a mark, and he was making promises to his son that would take centuries to fulfill.
But few were skilled in life magic, which went beyond earth-healing and into the heartbeat of nature itself. Aris could force plants to grow or die. He could find the unique energy signature of any living creature, and if he were so inclined, he could alter the physiology of smaller animals. But the hardest to deal with was the power to kill. With enough power, he could kill even one of his own kind.
He’d extinguished more than one spark of life, a weight he would forever carry.
“I do hope you won’t choose to focus on it to the exlusion of your other talents,” Aris said as he stared at a group of people setting up a small table in the garden below. “Life magic can be heady. All-consuming if you let it be. I spent centuries traveling the wild places to appease it. My path is not one you should take.”
Iren’s footsteps sounded against the stone. “Why not? I mean, except for the last few years.”
“It is a difficult thing to handle, Iren.”
Like the time he’d had to kill one of the few merk they’d managed to find during their research trip. The great beast had stood three times his height, and it had pinned Ter against a tree with claws longer than his forearm. None of which had eased the pain of draining its life with his own mind.
“Maybe,” Iren said. “But right now, I want to help you while you’re being healed.”
Aris turned to face his son. “No.”
“This is important to me.” Iren’s hands curled into fists, but his downturned lips trembled as he glared. “You don’t trust me.”
Tynan stepped forward, one hand lifted. “Be calm, young Iren. Your father is correct.”
Aris shot the healer an annoyed glance. “I am, but it has nothing to do with trust. If you have my abilities, then too much exposure to my power could trigger yours. Awaken them further before you are ready. It’s too risky.”
“I thought you said you wouldn’t lose control while unconscious,” Iren said, lifting a brow.
Aris smiled. “Then I won’t need help.”
Lial’s voice echoed across the room. “No, he won’t. I am more than capable of cutting off pain receptors, and if Tynan monitors his mental pathways, there will be no risk. I respect your desire to help, Iren, but your aid is unnecessary.”
“Yeah, sure.” If Iren had been a few years younger, he no doubt would have stomped his foot the way he had as a toddler. Instead, he crossed his arms and scowled. “I’ll just get out of your way.”
“Iren—”
“Forget it,” his son said sharply before darting toward the stairs.
Aris moved to follow, but Lial halted him with a hand to his chest. “Let him go. He’s a good lad, and he’ll see the sense in our words once he calms down. He only needs a bit of time.”
For once, the anxiety in Aris’s stomach had nothing to do with his torture. Would alone time help Iren think through the problem, or would dwelling on it make his anger worse? Aris raked his fingers against his scalp. He would have to trust the healer’s assessment, for Lial likely knew Iren better than he did. That a stranger might have more understanding of his son…well, it was galling.
“You have plenty of time to rebuild your relationship,” Tynan said, perhaps guessing Aris’s thoughts from his expression.
“A fine start I just made.”
“Parents must deny as much as indulge, as well you know.” Lial pointed toward the bed. “Now go lie down. As the senior healer, I’ve decided to go ahead with the procedure, and I would like to get it over with.”
Aris choked back the arguments running through his mind. They could debate parenting styles for the rest of the afternoon, but it wouldn’t fix his poorly healed bones. “Fine. Then once you’re finished, I’m going to find Iren.”
The healer was probably right—Iren needed space. He’d certainly required time away from his own parents at that age, especially after an argument. But as Aris stretched out on the bed, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d made a terrible mistake.
The cave’s entrance was smaller than Selia had expected. Her friends had confronted Kien here, of all places? From the moment their unwitting driver had deposited them at a small roadside area and driven away, she’d been struck by the absolute peace surrounding them. Through the darkness, they’d climbed the side of the small mountain to the sounds of droning insects and chattering wildlife. Selia had scanned for turbulent energy, but she’d sensed nothing but the occasional gentle ripple. In the light of the mage globe hovering overhead, the narrow cave opening appeared almost welcoming.
But beside Selia, Inona stood as still as a stalagmite, except for her hands rubbing anxiously across her upper arms. Meli eased closer and gave the scout’s shoulder a squeeze. “Do you want to stay outside?”
Inona’s fingers slid to her throat before her hand dropped to her side. “Of course I want to. But I won’t.”
Delbin nodded, a slight smile on his lips. “Good for you, love. If anyone can conquer this, it’s you.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
Inona lifted her head high and marched toward the opening. Although Kai outranked her, he shifted aside and let her take the lead. He fell to the back of their group as Delbin and then Meli followed Inona. Selia gathered as much energy as she could, sending the mage light ahead as she took her place
behind Meli. Blast it all, but it was tough to pull in power here. Like running honey through a finely knit sieve, possible but slow.
They wound their way through a thin tunnel that opened abruptly on a broad cavern. Fragments of stalactites lay scattered across the uneven stone floor, and a few scorch marks and one dark stain shadowed the rock in the center. The hairs on Selia’s arms lifted at the remnants of the malevolent energy lingering in the space. So much for peaceful.
Inona’s steps hitched and then ground to a stop. Delbin lifted his arm slightly, gesturing for the rest of them to wait, as his love stared at the dark blotch on the floor. Though her chest heaved, Inona stumbled forward until she reached the spot. Then she knelt down and brushed her fingers against the stain. Power trembled on the air, and the mark disappeared.
The scout’s blood would remain here no longer.
After a few moments, Inona stood and cast an inscrutable look over her shoulder. “I don’t sense any sort of rift here.”
“Nor do I,” Selia said after a quick scan. “Your friends were certain it’s the same cave?”
Delbin’s shoulder lifted. “Seemed to be sure.”
“It is here.”
At the harsh sound of Kai’s voice, Selia turned to stare. His expression had gone slack, but his eyes burned with an emotion she couldn’t quite name. Not anger, pain, or fear but some unpleasant mixture of all three. Then he shook his head and scrubbed his hands across his face. When he met her gaze, he looked like himself once more.
“Sorry.” Kai’s lips twisted wryly. “No matter how much Naomh tried to teach me, I never could connect to the Earth. I feel the trauma in this dimension’s energy itself, but I can’t get a hold on it. The schism is near. But I don’t know where.”
Meli lifted a small pouch from her pocket and gave it a slight shake. “That’s what my runes and I are here for, remember?”
Selia glanced around the cavern. There were a few shadowed places against one wall, and the rows of stalagmites could conceal more passageways. Any number of chambers could branch off from this room. Without Meli’s aid, it would take forever to find the way. Including her had been an excellent idea.
Smiling, Selia nodded at the younger woman. “We’re ready when you are.”
Something tickled Perim’s nose as she forced her eyes open. Tall green stems fluttered in front of her face, one of them brushing her nostrils until she almost sneezed. She batted the grass away and pushed herself upright. Where was she? The last thing she clearly recalled was plunging from the water into a world of gray. She’d stumbled through endless mist, reaching for to the strands Baza had directed her to find.
How had she ended up here? She rested on an incline in the middle of a forest, but the trees were smaller than the ones she’d seen on the island. She pinched one of the blades of grass. It caught roughly against her fingers, so unlike the smooth glide of the grass at home. She’d explored most of the island, and this area was nothing like that horrible place.
Perim reached out a mental hand to replenish her energy, but instead of a deep pool of power, she found a nearly dry well. She pulled harder at the tiny trickle of energy and groaned in frustration at the lack of response. But as her mind cleared, realization set in. She might have reached Earth.
Well, she wouldn’t find out if she was correct by sitting here. Perim stood and took a tentative step through the trees. If she’d reached her destination, then Aris had to be near—or would be soon. Baza had claimed that Kezari and thus Aris would be searching for a source of poisoned energy, so that was what she would look for.
She had a soulbonded to kill.
Chapter 19
Selia studied Meli as she stood in the center of the cavern with her eyes closed, her cupped hands aglow with the light from her runes. When Selia looked with her other senses, she could see energy flowing up through Meli’s feet and into the stones, using very little of her own magic.
Among the Ljósálfar in Alfheim, Meli had been an outcast because she had little natural capacity for energy and could not perform many spells. Foolish mages. Meli might not be able to hold a great deal of power, but she was a diviner, able to channel energy through objects like the runes. Not that the younger woman knew the extent of her ability. If Prince Corath constructed a sword with the proper enchantments, Meli could be deadly. Or with the right kind of staff… Selia had been doing a bit of research on the topic but hadn’t had a chance to bring it up yet. Perhaps soon Meli would be comfortable enough around mages to consider becoming a student.
The light in Meli’s hands faded to almost nothing, pulling Selia from her thoughts. Meli slipped the runes back into their pouch and tucked the pouch into her pocket. Her eyes opened, and although her gaze was distant, she was able to focus on the group waiting expectantly.
“We need to slip between a pair of stalagmites in the back left corner,” Meli said softly. “But the way won’t be easy. Some of the tunnels we must follow require climbing.”
“You can still see the path?” Delbin asked.
Meli’s lips curved upward as she nodded. “I’ve been practicing. Much better than wandering around like a sleep-walker, wouldn’t you say?”
Behind Selia’s shoulder, Kai chuckled. “Much better.”
“Let’s go,” Meli said, waving toward the back of the cavern.
Selia hitched her bag more securely on her shoulder and followed Delbin, Inona, and Meli into a narrow passage tucked between two stalagmites, just as the other woman had seen. The path was clear for a time, but after they reached another, smaller cavern, they had to huddle close to avoid the cave formations. As far as Selia could tell, the trail ended here.
Meli pointed to a narrow shelf of rock barely visible behind a grouping of stalactites clustered on the ceiling. “We need to climb up the side of that lumpy column and behind the stalactites. A short distance along that shelf, we’ll find another tunnel. We have to crawl through that before we get to another room.”
Though Selia grimaced, she didn’t complain. Not even when she scraped her forearm on a sharp stone as she wiggled along the narrow stone shelf. Instead, she used a precious tendril of energy to seal the wound and kept going. The sooner they reached the rift, the better.
Why did it have to be in a cave? Hopefully, they’d be able to take care of the problem today because this would be pure misery for Aris. Great gods, what if he had a meltdown in the middle of the return mission? Mind-healing was typically accompanied by weeks of therapeutic treatment, and even then, it wasn’t perfect. Much could be done to return muscle and bone to their original state, but minds were too malleable.
The coming mission was at risk of failure from the beginning.
As they gathered in the next, even smaller, cavern, Meli pointed out a thin gap angled in the floor. Down. They had to slither down the passage one at a time. Selia muttered a curse as she watched Delbin try to fit into the gap, grumbling a few choice words of his own as he squeezed through. What were they going to do when it was Aris who had to try that?
Once it was her turn, Selia fought back a shiver and squared her shoulders before lowering herself in. As she eased down, balancing on one foot while searching for a hold with the other, the tunnel walls seemed to close around her. It was difficult to breathe, and she didn’t even have trouble with enclosed spaces.
When she finally dropped onto the floor of the next chamber, she shifted out of the way for Kai and bent down to catch her breath. Then she straightened to study the area while they waited. The long, uneven tunnel curved like one of the corridors in Lyr’s home, but the rock itself had a smoothness that suggested the cave had been formed by water, not trees. Their small mage light glinted against the tiny drips of moisture forming along one side of the ceiling in a thin line.
Kai landed beside Selia with a soft oomph. “We’re close,” he said. “Something is building. Both the energy and this sense of…wrongness. But I still can’t pinpoint the exact location.”
“It’s
just past the curve up ahead,” Meli said absently.
Delbin tossed a glance over his shoulder. “You think Kien climbed all the way through these passages to set this up?”
“Maybe,” Selia said, trying to examine the energy flowing around them. “I get a hint of the darkness I felt up above, but not enough to know for sure.”
Inona and Meli rounded the corner first, and at a sharp exclamation from the latter, Delbin sped up, Selia and Kai quickly following. At first, Selia thought Meli had cried out because of the jagged line of energy suspended in the center of the large circular cavern like red lightning frozen mid-strike. But then the figure leaning against a column of rock straightened to his full height, the arrogant tilt of his head tumbling his flaming hair across his forehead.
Selia blinked, so taken aback she couldn’t even summon alarm.
Pol?
He’d been one of the people who’d traveled with Meli from Alfheim, but he’d returned there weeks ago. What was he doing here, smiling for all the world like they’d met in the gardens for tea?
“And to think you almost rejected those runes,” Pol drawled.
As Inona slipped a knife from…somewhere, Selia wrapped her hand around an energy crystal in her pocket. Pol grinned, his thumbs tucked casually into a couple of loops on his Earth-style pants. Despite the appearance of the knife, his casual demeanor hadn’t changed.
“Lo…I mean…” Meli lifted both hands in the air and then let them drop. “What are you doing here?”
“You know him?” Inona demanded.
Kai stepped up beside Selia. “Wait, Inona. Pol is a friend to House Dianore, or so I was told.”
Pol inclined his head. “As it pleases us.”
Selia had a feeling that she didn’t want to know who he included in the “us.”
“You left so abruptly,” Meli said, “and haven’t spoken to me since. Are you here to cause trouble, or do I still have your support?”
Abyss Page 19
