The Amulet (Custodian Novel # 1)

by Alison Pensy

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  They moved towards the standing stones making as little noise as possible. Faedra could feel her ring heating up on her finger and looked down at it. The symbols were glowing in the darkness. Her heart was in her mouth, but they could not yet see anyone or anything. The monoliths grew taller and taller as they approached. Faedra couldn’t help but think how impressive the stones were when they were towering above her.

  Upon reaching the outer circle, they stopped. Faen was scanning all around them, both he and Jocelyn on high alert. He extricated his sword from its sheath and held it in both hands out in front of him. Jocelyn mumbled something that Faedra couldn’t understand, and an exquisitely engraved sword appeared in her hands from nowhere. She took the same stance as her brother. Faedra’s eyes widened with surprise at the way Jocelyn looked so at ease holding her sword.

  They moved with caution between the stones. Faedra was flanked either side by Faen and Jocelyn. They saw nothing, heard nothing, but Faedra knew something was there. Her ring was screaming at her now, and telling her just that. They made it to the center of the circle and looked around them. The moon was high in the sky and bathing the entire area in an unearthly silver glow, causing the monoliths to cast large dark shadows all around them.

  “I wondered how long it would take you,” a female voice, as smooth as silk echoed out of the darkness.

  All three turned in the direction of the voice and scanned the shadows. Faedra’s heart was beating so hard she thought it would punch itself right out of her chest. They could still see no one. A second later a scraping noise, like someone running nails along a chalkboard, resonated high in front of them, and they looked up. A woman was walking across one of the lintel stones, dragging a sword on the stone behind her that was sending sparks flying into the air. She was also holding a book, The book.

  The woman was tall and slender. Under the silvery light it looked like her hair was raven black and fell half way down her back in a tumble of luscious sleek waves. Her skin was pale and held the same luminescent quality that Faen’s and Jocelyn’s did. She wore a long opulent blue dress of pure silk that shimmered in the moonlight, and her spectacular wings of snow white were outstretched to either side of her. She was beautiful, regally beautiful.

  “Your Highness?” Faen questioned with a puzzled expression.

  “Very observant, Guardian.” her voice remained smooth as silk, but her expression wrinkled into a sneer.

  An awkward silence hovered around them as they all, one by one, digested the scene unfolding before their eyes.

  “Vivianna?” Faen questioned in disbelief. “You took the book? You tortured Elvelynn? But she was your friend.”

  Vivianna laughed, a cold heartless laugh. “I do not get my hands dirty on such mundane tasks, Guardian,” she sneered, “I have my… little helpers to do that for me.”

  Movement among the stones below Vivianna distracted Faedra, and a dozen pairs of glowing yellow eyes appeared in the shadows. She sucked in a breath, and Faen and Jocelyn moved in closer to her until they were almost touching.

  “But why?” Faen continued his line of questioning. “Why would you want to destroy our world and this one?”

  “I have my reasons,” she replied, her voice still silken, but she shot an icy glare towards Faedra.

  Faedra looked up into the dark night sky, for what, she didn’t know. Maybe some kind of sign that they would get through this, some kind of inspiration. Although, from where she was standing, the odds looked pretty well stacked against them. Her attention was caught by a streak of luminescent light that wavered ethereally across the sky above her. It was mesmerizing in its beauty and shimmered with all the colors of the rainbow. Then there was another and another until it looked like she was watching the Aurora Borealis. She nudged Faen.

  “What is it, Faedra?” he asked. His eyes still fixated on Vivianna.

  “Look,” she said, still looking at the sky above her.

  He turned his gaze to her and followed her line of sight. A blank expression superceded the one of concern that was previously there.

  “What is it?” she whispered when she noticed that his look was one of recognition. He had seen this before.

  He said nothing.

  “Faen?” she urged.

  “Valkyries,” he responded stoically.

  More movement on the opposite side of the circle to where the redcaps were hiding in the shadows made them turn and look. Faedra’s jaw dropped as she watched seven enormous winged horses maneuver with stealth through the stones and came to a stop just beyond the shadows. Each horse was black as midnight with shining, flame-red eyes that glowed ominously in the darkness. They were snorting fiercely as they furled their outstretched wings to nestle them along their flanks.

  Sitting astride each horse was a beautiful maiden. Each of them wearing a silken white dress but their torsos were protected by armor, and they each wore a helmet and were carrying a spear in an outstretched arm. Faedra could see now where the lights in the sky were coming from. Each plate of armor sparkled under the moonlight like the facets of a diamond caught under the halogen lights in a jewelry store.

  “Valkyries?” Faedra choked. “What are Valkyries doing here?”

  “I do not know,” Faen responded, regarding them with interest and not taking his eyes from them.

  “But don’t Valkyries come to watch over a battle?”

  “Yes.”

  “And then take the slain back to Valhalla to become warriors?”

  Faen took his eyes off the Valkyries for a second and regarded Faedra with the same interest. “You have done your homework,” he said with a raise of his eyebrow.

  She shrugged. “What can I say, mythology fascinates me, and it’s amazing what you can find on the Internet,” she gave him a weak smile, which he returned before reverting his gaze back to the armored maidens.

  “Oh, God,” Faedra whispered under her breath after being given a moment to think about it. Her body started to tremble, it was involuntary on her part, but, nevertheless, seemed to be out of her control. She wasn’t ready to die and fight for Odin for all eternity.

  Faen took hold of her hand and gave it a squeeze in an attempt to calm her. He could sense her getting frayed around the edges and they all needed to focus if they were going to make it through this.

  “We do not know why they are here, Faedra. Do not trouble yourself, just yet. Asgard and Valhalla are probably just as much affected as Azran and The World of Men. If Vivianna is trying to destroy all realms, she certainly has it within her grasp to do so. The book controls nature in every realm not just ours.”

  The winged horses stepped forward until they were lined up in front of them. The center horse then broke ranks and moved closer to the three that were huddled back to back in a protective triangle in the center of the circle. Restless murmuring came from where the redcaps were lurking in the shadows, but they did not move forward themselves.

  Vivianna stood on the lintel above them, watching with amusement as the scene played out below her. A vindictive smile curved her lips. This was more than she could have hoped for, that the Valkyries would take them to fight for eternity after she had slaughtered them. They would never have the chance to rest in peace, after all, and this thought made her intensely happy.

  The solo winged horse came to a stop just feet away from Faen, and Faedra assumed it must be carrying the leader of the group. She had not been able to take her eyes from the maiden who exuded grace and valor, but there was an underlying presence that was unmistakable. These maidens were not here to take sides, they were here to take the losers. Faedra’s heart sank once more. For a second she had allowed herself a glimmer of hope that they would help because their world may be suffering, too, but, without words, it was still as clear as crystal that the Valkyries would not be breaking any rules that night.

  The maiden and Faen exchanged pointed glances at each
other in silence for a moment.

  “Freja,” Faen broke the silence first.

  Freja inclined her head in acknowledgement. “Guardian,” she responded, and Faen did the same. They fell silent again but neither one broke eye contact with the other.

  “I think that we have had quite enough of the pleasantries,” Vivianna’s silken voice cut through the silence like a knife.

  The Valkyries looked up at her and Freja nodded her head in agreement. She looked to the maidens on one side of her and then the other, and their horses all simultaneously backed up until they were lined against the inner wall of the circle.

  “They’re not going to help us are they?” Faedra whispered to Faen.

  “They cannot be seen aiding us, no,” he replied.

  That at least gave Faedra a glimmer of hope. He hadn’t just said ‘no, end of story’.

  As soon as the Valkyries had retreated, Vivianna flew down and landed on the altar stone towards the center of the circle.

  “Let us have some fun, shall we?” she said as she lay the Book of Anohs down on the altar stone. “I will give you the chance to win back the book, Custodian,” she taunted, mumbling something under her breath. Another sword appeared in Vivianna’s other hand. She swiveled them around her body in a spectacular display of sword skills. Even Faedra had to admit she looked impressive, which certainly didn’t help with the knots that were tying themselves in her stomach.

  “Vivianna,” Faen reprimanded, “Faedra does not know the way of the sword. You dishonor our race by what you ask.”

  “Do you think I care of honor or dishonor after I found out about her!” Vivianna spat her words that were full of anger and contempt. She threw one of the swords hilt first for Faedra to catch.

  To Faedra’s surprise she caught the sword gracefully, and the feeling of holding it in her hands was an oddly familiar one. She couldn’t understand why; she had never held a sword before this moment.

  She looked up at Vivianna. “I don’t even know you. What could I have possibly done to offend you?” she asked, trying in vain to hide the quiver in her voice.

  Vivianna looked at her intently, carefully measuring Faedra’s expression. “You do not know, do you?” Vivianna narrowed her eyes, but her voice was smooth as silk again.

  “Know what?” Faedra questioned.

  “Oh, this makes things even better,” Vivianna laughed, a cold hard cackle that made Faedra shudder. “After I kill you and retrieve the amulet, I will send you to your grave forever ignorant of who you are.”

  “What is she talking about, Faen?” Faedra whispered.

  “I do not know.”

  “Silence!” Vivianna bellowed as she swooped down from the altar and was standing a few feet in front of Faedra. “Kill them, leave the samtero kruwos for me,” she commanded in the direction of the redcaps.

  Faedra saw Jocelyn and Faen exchange surprised glances at the foreign sounding words Vivianna had just spoken. But a second later, the redcaps had surrounded them and they were busy defending themselves.

  “Fight!” Vivianna instructed Faedra, and slammed hard with her sword. It clashed forcefully with Faedra’s, knocking her off balance and sending her crashing to the ground. Vivianna hovered above her, horizontal to the ground, holding her sword point to Faedra’s throat. “Don’t bore me, Custodian, get up,” she demanded as she landed back on the ground and stepped back, allowing Faedra to get to her feet.

  Faedra picked up the sword, her heart pounding. She didn’t know how to fight with a sword. She looked over to where Faen and Jocelyn were expertly wielding theirs. She could hear their swords clashing with the redcap’s axe-like weapons, and so far, could see two of the evil beings dead on the ground. She gulped, she wouldn’t last five seconds if she were expected to know how to use a sword to that proficiency.

  Vivianna came at her once more with a force that Faedra could see was going to knock her off her feet again. She braced herself and held her sword out in front of her tightly in both hands, trying hard not to close her eyes as Vivianna’s made contact with hers, sending sparks flying. The swords connected with such intensity Faedra could feel the vibration fly up her arms and into her head. Vivianna came at her low the next time, and Faedra angled her sword to meet the blow and defend her legs.

  The redcaps were fast; they were coming at Faen and Jocelyn from all angles. Jocelyn hovered above the ground to dodge the axe that was being wielded towards her. Another redcap grabbed her neck with his invisible hold and threw her violently against one of the stones. She lay stunned for a few seconds, but regained her senses just in time to move to the side, narrowly missing the spear part of the weapon as it came at her head but made contact with the stone instead. She got up and spun round to the back of the stone, and leaned against it for a few seconds to catch her breath before moving around to enter the battle again.

  Faen’s sword was flying in all directions, clashing fiercely with his enemies’ weapons. Four redcaps surrounded him, and before they had had a chance to respond, he had raised himself from the ground and flew over one of them, stabbing it without mercy in the back. It fell to the ground with a thud. Another then grabbed him with the same invisible force and held him up above the ground. Faen struggled in mid air, but the stranglehold the redcap had on him was so strong it forced Faen to drop his sword, which landed point down and was standing up in the earth below him. Jocelyn saw what was happening, and with lightening speed, crossed to the redcap holding her brother and slashed it through the chest. It slumped to the ground, and Faen caught himself just before he hit the ground and was able to land softly. Faen grabbed his sword and wielded it around as he spun towards yet another redcap, taking it out with a fatal blow to the head.

  With a move that Faedra didn’t even know her body knew existed, she spun around wielding her sword over her head, and brought it crashing to meet Vivianna’s. They hit so hard that sparks flew on contact.

  Vivianna had a satisfied glint to her eye. “That is more like it, Custodian. This will be so much more fun than when I killed your mother. I didn’t have any time to play with her, and I find poison such a boring way to kill.”

  Faedra stepped back, reeling from what she had just heard, and Vivianna caught her off guard again with a swing to her upper body, slicing through her shirt and into her arm.

  Faedra gritted her teeth as the pain shot up her arm. Managing to bite back the tears that stung behind her eyes. She looked down at her arm just as she caught sight of Vivianna’s blade coming at her again. Somehow she ducked under it and was now standing behind her. She could feel the blood pouring down her arm, but now that there was revenge flowing through it, it didn’t seem to hurt as much. Vivianna spun around so she was facing her opponent, ready to wield another blow at Faedra. Pure fury flowed through Faedra. She charged at Vivianna, wielding her sword around her head. It clashed so hard with her opponent’s that it was nearly knocked out of her hands.

  “Your sword skills are very rudimentary,” Vivianna said with an undeniable pleasure.

  “You don’t say,” Faedra retorted sarcastically, and slammed her sword hard into Vivianna’s, forcing the fairy to step back. “Well, considering this is the first time I’ve ever held one, I would hazard a guess that I’m going to be good enough to kick your fairy butt all the way back to Azran.”

  Vivianna laughed her cold humorless laugh.

  “Why did you kill my mother?” Faedra demanded between the wielding of swords and the clashing of blades. Their swords locked at the hand guard so their faces were mere inches from one another.

  “She stumbled upon my redcaps plotting the execution of my plan and was about to enter Azran to tell my father. I could not allow that to happen. I was so close to taking the amulet then, but Faen showed up,” she scowled, “so I have spent the past eleven of your years biding my time until you became of age.” Her silken voice did not fool Faedra, she knew the owner of it was deadl
y. Vivianna used the hand guard of her sword and pushed hard on Faedra’s, forcing Faedra to stumble backwards.

  “But why would you turn on your father and your own people, not to mention my people? Everyone is suffering, Vivianna,” Faedra questioned as she tried desperately to regain her balance and stay upright.

  Vivianna eyed Faedra with vicious intent, holding her sword out in front of her ready for another attack.

  “Revenge, Custodian, pure and simple.” She came at Faedra faster and more determined than ever. “Let us see what havoc I can wreak when I have control over weather, too.”

  Faedra was desperate to know what Vivianna wanted revenge for, but Vivianna’s determination caught her off guard again. Faedra went to make several defensive steps back, but was blocked by something hard in the small of her back. She looked around to see it was the altar stone. Vivianna was on her almost immediately, but Faedra had not managed to adjust her grip on her sword. With the next blow, it was sent flying from her hands. Vivianna raised her sword with malevolence and was about to wield a fatal blow, but Faedra was not ready to die just yet. She had questions that needed answering, and if that fact alone was giving her the determination needed to survive, that was just fine with her.

  She was lying half on, half off the altar stone. With a movement of pure adrenaline, she rolled her body over and Vivianna’s sword missed her by mere millimeters, clashing with such a force on the stone beside her, she could feel it vibrate. She slid off the other end of the stone and moved quickly around it, putting it between her and Vivianna, looking around her for her sword as she did. She couldn’t see it. Oh, God, where did it go?

  She looked up just in time to see Vivianna fly up on top of the stone and was now standing above her with her sword poised to swipe at Faedra’s head. It was a knee-jerk reaction; Faedra held her hands up and closed her eyes as two balls of blue light thrust themselves forcefully from her palms, knocking both her and Vivianna off their feet with the intensity, but not for long enough. Faedra hadn’t had the time to focus on her energy to make it powerful enough to do much damage.

  Vivianna was on her feet again in seconds and was flying towards Faedra who scrabbled backwards on the ground, using her legs and feet to push her backwards with all her might. She scanned the ground around her and could see her sword a few feet out of her reach. Her heart sank; she knew she would not be able to reach it in time.

  Her eyes widened as she saw the sword turn and skim along the ground hilt first until it reached her hand. She looked up just in time to see the Valkyrie nearest to her return her spear to her side and look away with an innocent expression on her face. Grabbing her sword, she held it above her head defensively just as Vivianna’s came crashing down with another blow to try and take her head off.

  Faedra’s phone rang. She could tell it was her father, she had a specific ring tone for him.

  “Oh, crap,” she groaned. Great timing Dad, she thought as she defended against an onslaught of blows from Vivianna. If she didn’t answer her phone he would just call Amy, and she really didn’t want her friend to have to lie for her, if at all possible. She shot another energy ball at Vivianna, knocking her backwards, and grabbed the phone from her pocket.

  “Hi, Dad,” she grunted breathlessly, “you kind of caught me at a bad time, can I call you back?”

  “Sure, darling, what on earth is all that commotion?”

  “Err, we’re playing Dungeons and Dragons on Amy’s video game – Urgh,” she groaned as she shot another energy ball and sent Vivianna reeling backwards again.

  “You sound pretty out of breath, hun.”

  “Well, it’s one of those remotes you have to use like the real thing. At the moment, I’m having an – argh – swordfight with an – urgh – evil fairy princess, it’s really interactive.”

  “Oh, okay, darling, well have fun. I hope you win.”

  “Me, too, Dad, me, too.” She rang off and moved her head to one side just in time to dodge another blow that came crashing to the ground. She looked at her phone that she was still clutching and threw it away as she grabbed for her sword . She held her sword with one hand and threw another energy ball with the other, forcing Vivianna back just long enough for Faedra to get to her feet. Then she saw the book, it was still sitting on the end of the altar stone where Vivianna had laid it before they had started their fight. She had to think of a way to get her hands on it, but right now she was being well and truly out-sworded by her opponent, and it was all she could do to keep herself from getting killed.

  Use the amulet, Faedra.

  “Mum?” Faedra called out, looking all around her. Vivianna stopped for just a second and gave her a questioning glance, then continued with her onslaught.

  The amulet, Faedra, use the amulet.

  She couldn’t quite believe she was having a Star Wars moment with her mother, but went with it. “How do I use the amulet, Mum?” she cried out into the darkness as she sent another energy ball into Vivianna’s chest to distract her for another few seconds.

  Think, Faedra, the book is near. Use your power to use the amulet.

  “That’s all I need right now, riddles,” she mumbled under her breath. How on earth could she get hold of the book when she was fighting for her life? Vivianna was not giving her any respite, where did this woman get her energy? Faedra looked around her in the split seconds she had between parries and shooting energy balls. The red eyes of the winged horses shone in the darkness. The Valkyries were sitting motionless, watching intently, but with no movement to imply that they would help again.

  Faen and Jocelyn were still wielding their swords valiantly. There were fewer redcaps now, which gave Faedra an idea. It was a long shot, but if Jocelyn could hold off the redcaps and Faen could distract Vivianna, maybe it would give her enough time to figure out how to use the book and the amulet.

  “Faen!” she shouted across the circle. Her sword clashed with Vivianna’s sending more sparks flying.

  “Yes!” he shouted back.

  Vivianna was upon her again. Faedra swung her sword just in time to meet with her opponent’s and averted the loss of a limb.

  “Do you think Jocelyn can handle those redcaps by herself for a minute?” Crash - she dodged another blow that struck the altar stone, sending more sparks flying.

  There was silence for a moment, except for the clashing of metal on metal.

  “I think so,” Jocelyn shouted back.

  “Faen, distract this evil fairy for a moment, would you?” Faedra asked and shot an icy glare at Vivianna who just smiled at her vindictively as she came at the Custodian again with her sword.

  “It would be my pleasure,” he spoke with deep satisfaction as he flew over and descended upon Vivianna with a clash of his sword, giving her no choice than to give up her onslaught on Faedra.

  Vivianna screamed something incoherent at Faedra, who could see the fury in her eyes.

  Faedra dropped her sword, dodged past the two of them who were fighting with a vengeance and grabbed the Book of Anohs from the altar. The stone in the amulet blazed to life as she ran with the book into the shadow of a monolithic stone.

  “How do I do this? Oh, God, what do I do?” she mumbled as she looked over to her two friends who were fighting for their lives. “Well, whatever you do, Faedra,” she told herself, “Do it quickly.” She opened the book, but found that of no help; it was written in a language she couldn’t understand. Then she had an idea. What if she imagined the weather she wanted; would that work? Could it be that easy? She took hold of the amulet, closed her eyes, and concentrated. A moment passed and she could feel cold splashes on her face. She opened her eyes and looked up. Dark clouds had appeared from nowhere and it was suddenly raining - hard. Within seconds, she was drenched through to the skin.

  “Ha,” she cried, “it worked.”

  “Not… helping…!” Faen grunted over his shoulder between parries with Vivianna.
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  Faedra closed her eyes again and the rain stopped as abruptly as it had started. “Sorry,” she called out to her now soggy cohorts who she could see slipping on the wet ground. “That was stupid, Faedra,” she cursed at herself.

  She glanced over to see how Jocelyn was doing and was horror struck as she watched a redcap sneak up and spear her from behind. Jocelyn gasped and slumped to the ground.

  “NO!” Faedra yelled as anger surged through her more blindingly than she’d ever felt it before. Thunder roiled ominously in the air around her; a low growl to begin with that turned rapidly into a noise so vicious the sky sounded like it was being ripped apart.

  She could feel her body surging with an energy so powerful it was overwhelming. Faedra held her hands up to the sky, asking for more, accepting every tiny particle the atmosphere could provide her. At that moment, a bolt of lightning struck her in the heart. But instead of it killing her, she absorbed it, molded it; her whole body crackled loudly. Then she realized it was her that was making the noise, not the thunder.

  She opened her eyes, which were now glowing with the bright blue-white radiance of the lightening she had absorbed, and threw her hands out in the direction of the redcaps, unleashing every particle of electrical energy she had molded inside of her. Six bolts of lightning flew from her palms hitting each redcap directly in the chest, killing them on contact. They slumped to the ground, also. Faedra fell back against the stone and attempted to steady herself. She could feel her legs weaken beneath her.

  Vivianna was momentarily distracted by Faedra’s show of power, enough that Faen had been able to knock the sword from her hand and was now holding his to her throat. He kicked Vivianna’s sword out of reach.

  With the last fragment of will that Faedra had left, she stumbled over to where Jocelyn lay unmoving on the wet ground. She sat down beside her and lifted Jocelyn’s head, cradling it in her arms.

  “Jocelyn, oh, no. Please, God, not Jocelyn.” Big fat tears rolled down Faedra’s cheeks as she carefully moved a clump of wet hair that was splayed across her friend’s lifeless face. She looked over to Faen in desperation, tears flowing down her face. He was still standing motionless, holding his sword to Vivianna’s throat.

  “Oh, Faen,” she cried, “I think she’s dead.”

  Faen’s eyes blazed with an anger Faedra had never seen before. He swung his sword high above his head and was just about to wield it with a fatal blow to Vivianna’s neck when Jocelyn coughed. He stopped mid-swing and looked over to where Faedra and Jocelyn were on the ground.

  Jocelyn breathed in, an urgent gasp as if coming up for air. She opened her eyes slowly and smiled up at Faedra.

  “You’re alive?” Faedra half laughed, half cried, she was so overjoyed.

  “They must have missed my heart,” Jocelyn whispered, her voice sounding gravelly.

  “She’s alive, Faen!” Faedra called.

  Vivianna took advantage of the distraction and flew over Faen’s head to stand behind him on the altar stone. Faen whirled around, but just as he did, she spat some more words that Faedra did not recognize, and something appeared in her hand. At first glance, it looked like a spindly tree branch, but it glittered with sparkling red stones. Vivianna glared at Faen and then over at Faedra; she muttered something else and slammed the staff hard on the stone.

  The red stones emitted what looked like whirling red laser lights that within seconds had encircled Vivianna.

  She gave Faen a malevolent smile. “Until we meet again, Guardian,” she said smoothly with an incline of her head.

  “No,” Faen cried, lunging out with his sword. But Vivianna was gone. His sword came crashing to the stone. Faen shouted something Faedra didn’t understand and from his tone of voice, wasn’t sure she wanted to, either. He sheathed his sword angrily and strode over to where the girls were sitting on the ground. His expression altered in an instant as soon as he reached them, replacing the one of anger with one of compassion.

  “Jocelyn,” he cupped her face, his eyes full of concern. “My dear sister, are you alright?”

  She smiled at him. “I am fine, Brother, it missed my heart.”

  Faen hung his head and heaved a sigh of relief. They looked at the bodies that were strewn all around them.

  “Where did Vivianna go?” Faedra asked. “And what was that thing she had?”

  “It was the ruby staff,” he replied. “It has the power to transport you in an instant to anywhere in any realm. I have only heard of it, I have never seen it before. It holds dark magic. I do not know how she came by it; I was told it had been destroyed.”

  They had been so focused on Jocelyn they hadn’t noticed that the Valkyries had advanced, and were now forming a semi circle around them. Freja moved forward from the line again.

  “Well done,” she said to all three, her features devoid of emotion. “Redcaps make excellent warriors.”

  All of the maidens held out their spears, lowering them so they were pointing at the bodies on the floor. Faedra watched as the redcaps shimmered and disappeared.

  “Our job here is done, Guardian,” Freja continued, “as is yours.”

  The horses all backed up in one fluid movement and then turned. They walked through the stones of the circle and disappeared.

  Faen scooped his injured sister up off the cold, wet ground. Faedra pushed herself up, which took more effort than she could have imagined, and stumbled over to the book. She leaned over and scooped it up, wrapping her arms around it and held it tight to her chest.

  “We need to get this back to Azran,” she croaked.

  “Jocelyn, there must be a portal nearby, can you sense one?” Faen asked.

  Jocelyn closed her eyes for a moment and concentrated.

  “Yes, Brother, there is one at the cathedral we passed, but I do not know where in Azran it will take us,” she replied.

  “We will have to take our chances,” he said as he looked at Faedra, and could see her complexion graying and her legs weaken. Jocelyn noticed, too.

  “Brother, take Faedra back to the car. I will wait here until you come back.”

  Faen looked with concern from his injured sister to his weakening charge.

  “Go. I will be fine,” Jocelyn reassured him.

  The Guardian laid his sister with care on the altar stone and turned to Faedra.

  “Come, young lady, we need to get you some sugar water,” he scooped Faedra up just as her legs gave way. She gave him a weak smile, she had no energy left to do anything else.

  He turned back to his sister. “I will be back in a moment.”