“It’s like they’re preparing to fight. That mountain, that fireball, were they just warning shots?” He stared at the tallest mountain, shielding his eyes from the white beam that had burned like staring at the sun. “I’d say that’s Magic, but the beam that chased me was dark not light.”
Victoria was now twisting her hair around her finger so fast, Angst was sure the entire strand would fall out. She tapped her toe at a frantic pace, making everything jiggle.
“Wait.” He held out a warning hand. “We should figure this out.”
“This is not Unsel!” Victoria roared.
“Tori,” he pleaded. “We’re here for a reason. The dreams always take us where we need to go.”
“No!” She shook her head maddeningly, pulling at her hair with both hands.
“Don’t do it!” he pleaded. “Don’t wake us up! We need to know!”
Victoria slapped herself, and the field began to fade into a foggy haze. A woman approached them through the fog. She was petite, with tanned skin and a mane of brown hair. She was beautiful, but to Angst’s surprise, she appeared the same age as him, or older.
“Aerella.” Angst reached out.
“Angst, I have to tell you something. You need to know—”
Victoria bit down on her own arm and the vision faded.
“I’ll find you, Angst.” Aerella’s husky voice trailed away. “This is not over.”
“Get out!” Victoria screamed, pushing him roughly.
“What?” He scrambled to his knees. “This is my tent!”
“Now!” she shouted, throwing a tantrum unlike any he’d ever seen.
Angst grabbed his clothes, tripping out of the tent into a bright, snowy morning. He leaned against Dulgirgraut, which stood upright on its tip, and the cold air coaxed goosebumps from his arms and legs as he fumbled to find his pants. When his eyes adjusted to the morning light, he blinked away bleary sleep to see Hector, Tarness, and Dallow sitting nearby.
“You getting kicked out of the princess’s tent is the first normal thing that’s happened on this trip!” Hector said.
2
“Bad dreams?” Tarness chuckled. He rolled his muscular right shoulder until there was an audible pop.
“Bad vision.” Angst hopped into his pants and tied the drawstring. He looked down at his belly and sighed. In spite of almost wasting away, he’d managed to retain a belly. It seemed...unfair, somehow.
“Was it another foci dream?” Dallow rubbed at the stubble on his chin thoughtfully.
“I’m more interested in why the princess was upset,” Hector snapped. “I’ve never thought it was appropriate for you to share a tent with her, but gave you the benefit of the doubt.”
Angst couldn’t believe what Hector was accusing him of. He would never take advantage of Tori; she was his best friend. Hector should’ve realized that by now, but the older man seemed so upset that Angst wanted to check for hackles. He glanced at Hector’s steady hand. No weapon. His thoughts rattled as much as his teeth, and he quickly slipped into his shirt and boots.
“Until now I assumed she was scared, and your twisted sense of chivalry justified your bad choices, but I knew something would happen,” Hector growled. “Tell me, did you finally cross the line, loverboy?”
Angst’s jaw set, and he hefted Dulgirgraut, placing it to hover behind his back as if resting the giant blade in a sheath. Hector put one foot back, getting into a defensive stance. Did he really mean to fight?
“I need some time to think,” Angst said dismissively. “I’ll tell you what happened when you start making sense.” He shoved past his old mentor.
“I’m not done,” Hector snapped, grabbing his shoulder and spinning him around.
Angst raised his fists instinctively, anger building from the accusations. Hector instantly held up both hands and took another step back.
“Easy, buddy.” Tarness stood from his fallen log. “Your eyes are glowing.”
“What do you expect?” Angst shouted.
“What did you do to get kicked out, Angst?” Hector was now holding two long, thin daggers. Everything about them looked dangerous. “Crossed the line one time too many? The night her mother was killed?” Hector waved a dagger at his face. “If you did, with or without your foci...”
They stared at each other with all the exhaustion and bitterness two old friends could muster. He knew Hector hated his relationship with Victoria, and he despised Hector for assuming they were more than friends, but this was something more. He broke eye contact and looked around. His friends, all of them, were hurting.
This adventure should’ve been done. It hadn’t wrapped up quickly in the happy ending of some hero story, and every nerve was stretched thin. Tarness was still recovering from his collapse on the battlefield. Dallow...it was like a hand gripping Angst’s heart to see the blindfold covering his oldest friend’s face where his eyes had been completely burned away by dragonfire.
In some ways, Hector must’ve taken it all harder than others. The old soldier was used to order and expected to be in charge. Their adventure had been a rock rolling down a hill, taking any available path. For Hector, this was madness, and Angst realized that Hector wasn’t just upset at him—his friend was lashing out at all of it.
Angst took a deep breath and sighed with all his might. He met Hector’s gaze again and let Dulgirgraut fall from his back. It landed in the sloppy snow with a noisy slap. Gently, Angst patted Hector on the shoulder until his friend relaxed then pulled the older man in for a hug. When he stepped away, the daggers were gone, but Hector wouldn’t look him in the eye.
Angst walked to the small fire and rubbed his arms. “Tori wanted me in the same tent to see if her dreams were true.”
“Her dreams?” Dallow cocked his head. “I thought these were supposed to be foci dreams.”
“So did I,” Angst admitted, “but all this time they’ve been her visions, not mine. We discovered that last night.”
“And?” Tarness waved his hand encouragingly. “What did you see?”
“I don’t remember.” Angst’s fist was clenched. “I hate this. I experience the dreams, but they fade away so fast!”
“That’s all you’ve got?” Hector rolled his eyes.
“No! There’s more, I just can’t... Look, Tori was upset about her mother. We were trying to dream about Unsel, to confirm if Isabelle and Tyrell were really dead.”
“I didn’t know,” Hector almost apologized.
“Of course you didn’t.” Angst smiled. “Tori pulled us out of the dream before we could see what it was about. And then she kicked me out of the tent.”
“You aren’t used to being thrown out of a woman’s bed?” Tarness asked.
“It felt like I was home again.” Angst winked.
“I’m not Heather.” Tori crawled from the tent. She was already dressed, and wrapped tightly in her red cloak.
“I wasn’t suggesting that,” Angst said defensively.
She didn’t reply, instead walking past Angst to warm herself by the fire. “We were in a vast field surrounded by massive versions of Earth, Fire, Water, and Air. There was also a beam of light that could’ve been Magic. We couldn’t decide. Anyway, they were lobbing mountains and suns at each other.”
“Warning shots?” Hector asked.
“Yes! That’s what it looked like to me,” Angst said as the cobwebs in his mind faded. “It’s hard to explain. Everything was so incredible, so large. It was like the first time you see mountains. They’re so big you think you’re almost there, but you’re actually far away.”
“What else?” Hector encouraged.
“Aerella appeared.”
“That’s never a good sign,” Tarness said.
“I disagree. It’s like she’s following me, trying to warn me,” Angst said. “She was old this time, my age, but still beautiful.”
“Imagine that.” Hector rolled his eyes.
“She was trying to warn us about something,” Angst co
ntinued. “That’s when Victoria woke us up.”
Angst looked to Dallow, trusting in his mnemonic ability to absorb and recall books for answers. His friend rubbed his temples as a bright white light shone through the blue kerchief the princess had given him to hide his scars. It was surreal, knowing his eyes were gone but seeing the light through their covering as though they still existed. The princess had said he would see again, but Angst couldn’t imagine how, and the guilt was like quicksand. Dallow’s eyes of light seemed to fix on Angst, looking at and through him.
Angst refused to look away but swallowed very hard. “Does any of this make sense, Dallow?” Angst asked quietly. “Do you see...I mean, have you found something we can use?”
Dallow smiled at the gaffe as though it were a bad joke. “While you guys are arguing about dreams, I’m trying to figure out how we can find Rose. You didn’t dream about her, did you?”
“No.” Angst shook his head.
Victoria stared at Dallow, her brow furrowed in concentration. She tore her eyes away and began patting Angst’s arm as though looking for something in a dark room. “Search your pockets for rocks,” she said. “Everyone.”
Angst raised his eyebrows but immediately reached into every pocket. After some digging, he produced a glass-like stone that made Victoria nod in excitement. It was a piece of the memndus—the giant dome in Gressmore Towers. Dallow had found the remains during an expedition and gifted them to everyone before they left for Melkier.
“Dallow knows a spell,” Tori explained. “He can use the rocks to find Rose!”
“Everyone give Dallow your stone.” Angst beckoned them to hurry.
“I do not understand, Your Majesty,” Dallow said as he held a hand out to take everyone’s memndus stones. “I don’t know any spell I can cast with these.”
“You just don’t remember yet,” Victoria said excitedly. “Tell him, Angst.”
“I don’t know the spell either,” Angst said.
“No,” Victoria said, stomping her foot in frustration, “don’t tell him the spell. Tell him where these stones really came from.”
“That’s not a good idea,” Angst said. “That could hurt him, all of them. Aerella warned me that those memories should stay locked away.”
“I don’t think we have a choice,” Victoria said.
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about, Angst,” Dallow said, gripping the stones tight in his hand. “But if it can help us find Rose, do it.”
Angst looked at Hector and Tarness, and both men nodded.
“Brace yourselves.” Angst took a deep breath and spoke carefully. “What I did changed time, and when I explain, you may feel a little ill.”
“This should be good.” Hector sat on a log.
“We didn’t actually visit Gressmore Ruins. When we got there, it was an ancient mage city filled with wielders. Two thousand years ago, Gressmore Towers was attacked by dragons. To save them, Anderfeld cast a great spell, willing Dulgirgraut to protect them ‘at all costs.’“
“That was the spell?” Dallow asked. “At all costs?”
“That’s what Anderfeld said,” Angst continued. “But it didn’t work the way he’d hoped. Somehow, Dulgirgraut protected them by pulling the entire city out of time. They were safe from the wyrm attack, but forced to relive the same day over and over again.”
There was a loud thud as Tarness landed face-first on the ground, unmoving. Hector and Dallow were pushing against their temples, struggling with the memories. Blood dripped freely from Hector’s nose. Victoria rushed to Tarness.
“Aerella told me this would hurt because you’ve got two sets of overlapping memories,” he explained. “You remember visiting a Gressmore Ruins that was destroyed by the dragon attack two thousand years ago. You also remember visiting Gressmore Towers, alive and thriving with people.”
Hector cried out and clutched his head.
“Angst, stop,” Victoria pleaded, wiping blood from Tarness’s ear.
Angst replied, “They’re strong enough. They can handle this.”
Dallow nodded. Hector grunted, gesturing for Angst to continue.
“There was a magical device, called a memndus.”
“Nngg. I,” Dallow whimpered, “I remember.”
“The memndus allowed us to see a living map of Ehrde,” Angst spoke quickly, hoping to soften the blow. “I used Chryslaenor to control what we saw and focused in for a better view of Unsel. Remember, I was able to see Heather and Victoria, to make sure they were safe.”
“Really?” Victoria asked in surprise.
Angst nodded. “The memndus was unfinished, and I accidentally destroyed it to see them,” he blurted.
“I think I...” Hector rolled off the log with a grunt.
“You killed him,” Dallow said, speaking faster as his memory returned. “Anderfeld. Aerella’s father...he was bonded with Dulgirgraut, and you thought he had killed Rose. They did it to break the curse.”
“Yes, Dallow,” Angst said in despair. “Rose’s death was an illusion, but it was enough to make me lose control, and I killed him.”
With all that had happened, he’d almost forgotten, and the memories rushed back painfully. He looked down at the ground in shame. Victoria put her hand on his arm, and his face went taut as he battled his guilt.
“They tricked me...he tricked me, so that I’d kill him.” Angst swallowed hard. “An innocent man, with nothing but good intent in his heart. It was the only way to end the curse. I did, and it was all gone.”
“I remember...the library. All those books,” Dallow said as he dropped to his knees. “I remember...I remember all of it.”
“As do I,” Hector said slowly.
Tarness grunted, and pounded the ground with a fist.
Angst didn’t know when the tears had started flowing or when Victoria took him in her arms, but it hurt so badly, he almost couldn’t absorb it. He’d never killed a man, and Anderfeld hadn’t deserved to die. Uncontrollable anger had washed over him like madness, and he’d wanted nothing more than to avenge Rose. He sobbed into Victoria’s shoulder.
“Angst, we should make sure they’re okay,” she suggested. “I don’t completely understand what happened, but it’s obviously affecting everyone.”
“They now have memories of two different realities, basically, and it’s painfully confusing. Aerella was there to help me through it,” Angst said, composing himself. “But if Dallow remembers everything he absorbed in the Gressmore library, maybe he can identify a spell to find Rose.”
“You really broke the memm-thing to make sure I was safe?”
“I had to,” he said. “I love you.”
She hugged him tight before letting go and making her way to Dallow. Angst knelt by Tarness, whose head was on the ground. He waved Angst off.
“I get it, I remember,” he said through gritted teeth, still lying face down in the snow. “I hate this crap!”
“Me too.” Angst patted Tarness on the back and scrambled to Hector. His mentor looked at him with bloodshot eyes that screamed the worst hangover in a century.
“I hate it too, but I get it,” he said. “Dallow?”
Dallow was sitting upright as if nothing had happened, his eyes shining brightly through the kerchief. Victoria looked over at Angst, her eyes wide with surprise. Angst shrugged. Maybe Dallow was just absorbing the memories like he did all information.
“I’ll hurt later.” Dallow grunted. “Rose needs us...now. Let me see if I can find something to help us.”
Like the eyes of a dreamer, the glowing remnants of Dallow’s eyes shot from side to side as he sifted through vast catalogs of information in his mind.
“Found it,” Dallow said excitedly. “I read most of the books at Gressmore Towers, but forgot them when time changed. Oh, hey, I know how to speak Acratic now too. It’s all coming back, and just...wow.”
“What is it?” Angst asked.
“So much lost, and I remember all of it,” Dallow said pr
oudly, holding out his hand.
The stones rose from his palm. They spun in a horizontal oval, faster and faster. “Angst, use the foci to create the map like you did with the memndus in Gressmore Towers.”
Angst fought to remember what it was like to control the memndus—it felt like so long ago. He set Dulgirgraut down in front of him, resting the tip on the ground. A burgundy glow surrounded the great blade until an image appeared. It was like viewing a map of Ehrde from high above in the face of an oblong mirror. Blue and white lights appeared on the map like distant stars.
“We have map,” Angst declared, grateful that Dulgirgraut chose to work this time.
“Do you see any markers?” Dallow asked. “Bright lights on the map?”
“There are four white markers,” Angst said. “I also see three blue ones.”
“One blue marker is right on top of us,” Tarness said, pointing at it.
“Exactly what I was hoping! Anderfeld told us the white ones are mage cities. The three blue ones are residual magic from the memndus rocks. The blue light north of our location should be Gressmore. I would guess there are more memndus shards buried there,” Dallow said hopefully. “The third one has to be Rose! Can you see her on the map?”
Angst sighed. “Yeah.”
“What?” Dallow asked.
“There’s one in the middle of the ocean,” Angst said. “Right next to a mage city.”
“In the middle of the ocean?” Dallow asked.
“Yup,” Angst said dourly, his shoulders slumping.
“Why is that a problem?” Hector asked.
“Don’t you remember what Earth said?” Tarness asked. “Water hates Angst even more than Magic does.”
Dallow released the stones and they fell to the ground. Angst collected the rocks and gripped them tight. It was never easy. He tossed one to Hector and another to Tarness as they stood. Without thinking, he threw the last one to Dallow. The stone struck Dallow in the temple, making him sit upright.
“Dallow, I am so sorry.” Angst rushed to his friend. “That was just...that was thoughtless.”
“Quick.” Dallow reached out. “Give it to me!”
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