by L J Andrews
I dragged my blade along an exposed wrist. It worked. With a shriek of pain, the cloaked figure backed away, giving me time to rise to my feet. I was energized as I dropped the dagger. Weapons would only prolong the fight—I knew that much. Holding my hands open at my sides, I appealed to the forest to aid my fight. Before I’d stood against Bron, coupling energies would have taken a long time, but whether I was getting stronger or because this person had directly attacked Jade, I wasn’t sure; all I knew was the power came swiftly, and I attacked with the same speed.
The ground split beneath my touch. The trees rocked and the cloaked attacker stumbled in a heap. I dug my fingers deep into the earth, sending splaying roots from the soil. The figure rolled away, and I heard a subtle gasp escape as he rose to his feet. He raised his palm, his face still hidden from beneath the hood. As his hand trembled, I heard the bark of the trees splinter and crack in the night. I knew then. I knew what I facing.
My jaw tensed, preparing to stand against one with the same power. I knew it would be mage against mage. If this mage attacked a royal, it was clear we did not fight for the same side. As if we read each other’s thoughts, we faced each other with open palms, the energy swelling between us preparing for a vicious attack.
Then it stopped.
I jumped back when the fury of air nearly knocked me to the ground. Jade’s powerful claws ripped through the cloak, dragging the mage to the ground in a breathless heap. Sapphire had joined her, his gleaming teeth bright in the dark. I recognized Raffi’s enormous, fiery form slamming into the clearing shortly after. He stomped angrily along the earth, but surprisingly, slowly his wyvern form crumbled away until he was standing bare-chested in the trees with only dark, tattered pants along his legs. Jade eyed me. Though she said nothing, a billow of steam escaped her throat. Her claws lifted off the back of the attacker, and I heard the mage draw in a desperate breath of air once his lungs could fill again.
I rushed over to the mage, wrapped my hand around the collar of the cloak, and forced him to roll onto his side. Surprise wasn’t the word I would use. A furious woman stared at me from the brambles. Her eyes were like molten gold, and her arms and legs beneath the cloak were coated in fiery armor. The red color was so pure it seemed richer than blood. Brushing through my surprise, I wrapped my hand around her throat and squeezed…hard.
“What are you doing here?”
She glared at me and slapped my hand around her throat. Reluctantly, I released her. She coughed when the rush of air filtered down her airway once more. I found my dagger strewn along the twigs and quickly pressed it against her neck.
“Teagan, wait,” Raffi said, but I promptly ignored him and pressed the cutting edge against her flesh, drawing a trickle of blood.
“Who are you? What are you doing here?”
She glared at me, her gilded eyes sparking violently. “I was about…to ask you the same thing. Yet, I sense something powerful in you—are you working with the lindworms?”
“You attacked a royal; that makes you the only one I suspect would work for the lindworms.” I heard Sapphire melt back into his human form as the mage narrowed her eyes in my direction.
“I saved you from a lindworm beast!” she snarled. “When you fought me, I…believed you to be one of them.”
“Teagan, wait,” Sapphire said, his hand finding my shoulder.
“Lindworm? You attacked the queen of the jade bloodline!”
“Teagan,” Sapphire interjected before the mage could respond. “She’s hallucinating. She’s been poisoned and can’t see us as royals.” Holding tight to the mage, I glanced at Sapphire curiously. Jade stomped her feet and Sapphire glanced toward her. “It’s true, Jade,” he said, as though he could understand what she was saying.
“You’re lying,” the mage shrieked, her eyes desperately finding me in the dark. “Can’t you see they are slithering serpents?”
The mage reached for her dagger, the blood-red armor hardening even more. I placed my hand on her head, practicing an idea Mini had taught me before she’d died. I could silence energy in others, bring them to a rest. The mage was strong and resisted for a moment, but when I placed both palms over her head, soon her head flopped back, and her energy went quiet.
I slumped back, my palms burning as I gathered my breath from the exerting task. Slowly, with the threat gone, my armor melted back into the marks along my skin and the seal burned across my back. Jade remained in her wyvern form for a few tense moments before she beautifully molded back into her slender body. The glittering green gown hugged her curves in a way that made it difficult not to stare.
“What do you mean she’s been poisoned, Konrad?” Jade snapped. I accepted Raffi’s hand to help pull me from the ground. The exhaustion began creeping into my veins. Something I had yet to master was handling the effects of using so much energy and then allowing it to leave. Already I felt as though I could sleep for days.
Sapphire glanced between us before stooping low over the sleeping mage. “You need to come back to the house. Something has happened,” he said softly, scooping the mage in his arms. “There’s been an attack on a royal. This is the mage who defends her. It’s Ruby, Jade. She’s at the house, and I’m not sure she’s going to make it.”
Chapter 5
I wasn’t certain what to think when Sapphire had taken the rogue mage back to the house. My heart was still thumping wildly against my chest to the point my ribs ached. My fingers were stiff once we arrived at the house, for I hadn’t realized I’d clenched my fists the entire walk home. The mage was silent in Sapphire’s arms, her head bobbing against his chest. The armor over her limbs had faded, and through her sheer sleeves I saw the intricate crimson tattoos spanning the length of her arms.
Jade said nothing. There was a tension mounting in her soul. I felt her unease, and I wanted nothing more than to take it all away. Slowly, I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. She shuddered beneath my touch, and I retracted my hold.
“Jade, say something,” I whispered.
Her emerald eyes were large and brilliant when she reached for the handle on the door. “I have nothing to say,” she muttered. Something was eating her inside; I could practically see it when her shoulders curled in defeat. “Let’s just help Ruby right now.”
I wanted to ensure she was alright, but Jade was already gone behind the double doors of the house before I could say anything.
“She blames herself for any attacks,” Raffi grumbled stepping to my side. “As queen, Jade will always blame herself. It’s something she must learn as time goes on—that sometimes, even the most vigilant rulers cannot stop all the bad.”
I didn’t say anything to Raffi, but he didn’t offer me a chance to respond and followed behind Jade. Taking a deep breath, I stepped inside the house.
Sapphire wasn’t lying—not that I ever doubted him—but I hoped he had been. Sprawled along the long kitchen table was a young woman. Eisha stood at her head dabbing a pungent oil along her forehead, and even Frenrir followed instructions for care Dash was spitting out. Sapphire slowly rested the sleeping mage on the living room sofa before returning to the kitchen. The sleeping woman, who I took as Ruby, was beautiful, with smooth, chestnut skin and dark hair. Her lashes were so thick they shaded her cheeks as she seemed to sleep peacefully. On a closer look, I imagined she was forced asleep, because if I had the injuries she’d endured, I’d take death over sleep.
Ruby’s middle was padded with cloth stained in rich burgundy from all the blood. Her hands were stained red, and the small finger on one of her hands was wrapped, but by the amount of blood I was positive she’d lost the digit. A large gash, which Frenrir was dabbing with Eisha’s oil, spanned along her neck down to her protruding collar bone. By the way her chest rose and fell in gasping heaps, I knew she was in grave danger.
“Who did this?” Jade asked through her teeth when she bent over Ruby’s unmoving form.
Sapphire cleared his throat, and I caught the quick glance in my d
irection before he spoke. “The mage was tainted—by another mage. It was intentional that she might attack another royal. That’s all Ruby was able to tell us before Eisha had to place her in a sleep for her own safety.”
“So Bron did this?” I muttered.
Jade met my eye. She seemed angry and empathetic in one glance. It was Eisha who spoke though—her voice was direct yet kind in its essence. “We can assume Bron left Wyvern Willows and found Ruby, yes. The power over the mage was incredible and will take someone equally as powerful to reverse the poison polluting her mind.” It was painfully obvious Eisha wanted me to correct the damage from Bron, yet I had no idea where to begin.
“You are blaming yourself,” Jade whispered while placing her hands on the sides of Ruby’s face. Jade had a power all her own. I’d seen her perform amazing things with her touch. If anyone could help Ruby, it would be Jade. “Banishing Bron was the only thing you could do, Teagan. This is not your fault. It falls to me.”
Frenrir huffed, and I saw Eisha shush him quickly. Though I wanted to break his jaw, Jade was right. I did blame myself. Bron had attacked here, and I hadn’t killed him. I’d sent him away to bring pain to others. I should have known he’d go after other royals, though I had little understanding how he’d found Ruby so quickly after attacking us. “It’s not you who didn’t kill Bron when you had a chance.”
Frenrir wasn’t hiding his distaste for the mage; I could sense his arrogant bitterness like a humid swallow of air. What ached more was the palpable hint that there were others in the room who felt the same. Who? Was Eisha still blaming the mage for the pain caused here? Did Dash hold me responsible? Did Jade?
So many energies meshed together, I couldn’t discern where it all came from. Raffi clapped me on the shoulder after a long pause and eyed me with sympathy. “You should help the mage before she wakes up and tries to slaughter us all again.”
“I don’t—”
“It must be a mage who rids her of the mage power,” Eisha interjected before I could complain about my lack of experience. “Help her, Teagan. Or we will be forced to destroy her. I will not have her attacking Jade, Konrad, or Ruby again.”
“Did she harm Ruby?” I asked.
“Not all these wounds are old. Some are quite recent. We split the pair up when they arrived. The mage had just started attacking.”
My stomach toiled in sick waves. A mage attacked her own royal. I thought of the powers that had altered the mage’s mind, and for the first time since the bond had strengthened between Jade and me, I feared for her safety—even with me. Bron was powerful, twisted, and driven by his power lust. He could corrupt my mind, he could make me harm Jade—I would die first.
Jade didn’t look up, and the crushing burden of her hidden feelings weighed along my shoulders. I nodded toward Eisha and slowly backed out of the kitchen, leaving the wyverns to save their royal.
The mage was stirring, but her eyes were still closed. Hanging on the banister was a messenger bag with a canvas strap. I quickly broke the strap from the bag and carefully wrapped her wrists until I was satisfied she couldn’t reach for a weapon when she woke. She looked to be a couple years older than me, but after meeting Mini, I knew that didn’t mean anything. The mage could be two centuries old for all I knew. She seemed strong and athletic, and the crimson marks along her skin contrasted nicely with her pale features. Satisfied she wouldn’t move for a moment, I rushed up the staircase to my bedroom. Gently, I eased the two jade blades from beneath my bed. The power radiated from the steel the moment I touched them. Though I hoped I wouldn’t have to use the powerful weapons, it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared.
Clutching the blades in each hand, I took a seat near the mage whose breathing grew more even and peaceful. After a few moments, her eyes fluttered open and she jolted upright. Her eyes scanned the room until she found me seated across from her, the weapons stored within reach at my sides. The mage narrowed her eyes at me, and I sensed she was reading my energy.
“You are a mage,” she whispered. “Did you end the lindworms?”
Clearing my throat, I took my time in responding. I had to tread carefully—I didn’t want her to lose her wits again and begin attacking everyone. “I am a mage,” I answered, “for the jade bloodline, and there are no lindworms nearby.”
She eyed me quizzically. “The jade bloodline severed years ago, at the divide of races.”
“I don’t have time to explain,” I said, rolling up my sleeve. “You can see for yourself.”
She stared at my green armor, and I relaxed slightly when her tension eased. She actually smiled at me, still not realizing her wrists were bound. “Amazing. I never thought it possible to restore a bond with a broken bloodline. Wait,” she gasped, her eyes taking on a crazed, frantic expression. “Where is Ruby!”
There, she noticed her hands. Shaking her wrists desperately, she tried to break through my tether. I should have known as a mage, a strip of canvas couldn’t hold her for long. She cursed me, and slowly the fabric burned with small, bright embers along the edges.
“Stop,” I insisted. “I’ll remove it if you promise to listen and not…freak out.”
“What are you talking about? Where is Ruby? Why would you bind a fellow mage unless…”
“I’m not working with the lindworms,” I snapped. “So don’t even go there. You’ve been…poisoned, and it made you a little antagonistic. I did that for your safety.”
“Antagonistic? I don’t know what you mean. I need to find Ruby.”
“She’s safe,” I said, drawing the mage’s swift gaze back to me. “She’s sleeping. Whatever happened to you both, she was injured, but I’ve helped take care of her injuries.”
I thought it best not to tell her who was actually caring for Ruby, not if she was going to try and slaughter them.
“I must see her,” she said, trying to sit up.
“Just wait,” I said, touching her shoulder gently when she clutched her head and groaned. “I want to help you, but I need to ask a few questions.”
“What?”
“If another mage had…corrupted a mage to make them think something, how might you go about ridding the poison from the system?”
Her brow furrowed, and she looked at me as though I were a lunatic. “What a strange question. I don’t see its purpose. Now, let me pass. I should be near Ruby to help her heal from any wounds.”
“It has a purpose. Please, it’s important,” I insisted, keeping my hand firm on her shoulder.
She shoved my grip away. “I sense your strength, so I find it odd you would ask such a question when it’s clear you would know replacing any negative corruption would be accomplished by transferring positive mage energy. Now, release me.”
“Give me a little time,” I whispered.
How I wanted Mini to be here right now. Transferring energy, okay, I’d done that before. I usually just…touched something and pulsed my will into the energy streams. Tightening my grip on her shoulder, I sat next to her on the couch.
There was certainly a strangeness rushing through her blood. It was dark, painful…I could see the shadows in my mind the longer I kept my hold on her. The mage tried to shrug me away. I heard her shriek at me, but my mind focused on nothing but the darkness filling her power. I found my own desire to protect Jade, to help the elemental wyverns. I found my fear, my loathing toward Bron for what he’d done to Mini, and took it all in my mind, urging the mage to accept the truth.
She breathed heavily, her body slumping against my shoulder. Her eyes had closed, and for a moment I thought I’d done something terribly wrong. She lay still for a long while, breathing and writhing against me until all at once her eyes shot open.
“What did you do to me?” she asked. Already I felt more at ease around her, she had a radiant, warm energy emitting from her body. She was still leaning against me, her face tilted toward mine. Gently, I eased her upright but kept my hand on her arm for support. “How do you feel?”
“Lighter,” she breathed. “What did you do?”
“You were corrupted into thinking the royal wyverns were lindworms.”
“What! Where’s Ruby?”
“As I said, she’s getting her care. But I need to know what happened first.”
The mage shook her head, brushing sticky hair from her clammy forehead. With effort, she shifted her knees over the edge of the sofa and rested her face in her palms. “Several…several days ago I felt…I just knew something was going to happen to Ruby. We’d stayed in close contact since the divide,” she whispered. “We were careful never to be seen with one another, for we didn’t know how the wyvern council nor the Priesthood of the mage would react. Ruby is a historian, by all pretenses, in the Egyptian National Library; she has been for years. The energy of that country is astounding, it was incredibly protected. But then I had this…ache inside. I knew something was happening, so I rushed to her side. Just in time. Ruby was fighting him.”
“Who?” I gasped, feeling my chest pull tight in anticipation.
“The dark High Priest. I was so young when he betrayed us, my father—well, it doesn’t matter now. Ruby couldn’t shift, since the High Priestess locked the royals in human form. The dark High Priest, I remember he struck me—I’ve never felt such burning rush through my veins in my entire life. Somehow I was able to release Ruby. There were lindworms—I never thought I’d see those serpents again. Ruby was injured, but we were able to escape. I’m not sure what story will be concocted to explain the damage done to the library, but that is the least of our worries.”
