She stared beyond the light of the torches to the forest. The remnants of a smile faded on her lips and her brows furrowed.
“What’s wrong?” Nolan asked.
“There was one other thing I wanted to ask you.” She frowned before continuing. “The stone. The one you got from Alec? Can I see it?”
He stared at her. Why would she want it? He reached into his bag, and his hand instinctively closed around it. Once again, an overwhelming peace came over him. As he placed it into Megan’s outstretched hand, a tremor of apprehension came over him. It took all of his willpower to let go.
Megan studied it, running her fingertips across its smooth surface. “It might be a healing stone.”
“How so?”
“Well, it restored your strength.” She tilted her head. “As a Healer, I can mend wounds, but restoring strength is beyond me.”
Nolan shrugged. “It didn’t restore me.”
“Yes, it did.”
“No. It did more than that. I feel lighter. More alive. I haven’t felt that way for … Well, I’ve never felt this way before.”
She turned the stone over in her hand. “And it doesn’t go away? You’re still rested and strong?”
“I’m still rested, yes.” Nolan smiled. “Hard to gain back strength you didn’t have to begin with.”
She nudged him and laughed. “You know what I mean.”
“I can walk around and not be a limp rag, yes.” A tremor of impatience went through him as he stared at the stone. “Can I have it back now?”
She placed it into his palm, but her hand lingered. He met her eyes, and a tremble of excitement went up his arms.
A pulse of Empathy touched Nolan’s emotions, probably Flann checking up on him. Nolan yanked his hand away.
“Well now, everyone.” Emery stood and stretched. “We’d better rest as much as we can. Hakan, how much farther do we have?”
“A good four days, I think.”
Emery sighed. “Well then. We best get a good night’s sleep. We’ll leave at first light.”
The wind shifted and Daren gagged. “For Brim’s sake! I think something died.”
“No, lad,” Hakan said. “It’s much worse.”
Daren’s face paled. “You mean …”
Hakan nodded.
Both Megan and Nolan took a step back behind the protective torches. Nolan stared into the darkness. It took on a whole new sinister feel.
“They aren’t coming any closer,” Hakan said. “Been hovering for an hour or so.”
“And you didn’t say anything?” Kardos said. It was the first time he’d spoken since his argument with Alec that morning.
“I just said something, didn’t I?” Hakan raised a bushy eyebrow. “Besides, what good did it do? Made you all worried for nothing.”
Alec’s face turned red. “Those creatures are hovering at our backs, and you call it nothing?”
“They’re not coming to get us,” Hakan said. “So why should I make everyone in a huff? We might as well enjoy our evening instead of burning holes in our guts with worry.”
“Have you ever seen a Dor’Jan?” Alec asked. “Have you ever seen what they can do?”
Hakan nodded. “Aye, I have. I knew a fellow in our clan who stayed out late hunting. We searched for him the next day. Found him—or what was left of him—fifty steps or so from camp. Isn’t something I’ll forget.”
“No. I mean, have you seen what they can do?”
“See them take a man? Crows, lad! Of course not.”
“I’ve seen them,” Alec said.
Everyone stared at Alec.
Flann snorted. “That’s impossible. No living man has seen a Dor’Jan.”
Alec tossed a log into the fire. Sprays of sparks flew up, swirling into the night sky. “I have.”
“You need to discern reality from your dreams,” Flann said.
“Enough!” Emery said. “Right now our main concern is rest so we can get home safely. Hakan. Daren. Take turns keeping watch for the Dor’Jan.”
Hakan nodded, and Daren turned a bit pale.
“The rest of you get to sleep,” Emery said. “There’ll be no more arguing. If we’re in any real danger, they’ll alert us.” He glared at Alec and Flann, his eyes flaring purple to reinforce his words.
Flann jerked his pack from the ground and went as far as he could go in the small confines of camp. Alec did the same, except he went to the opposite side.
Alec sat on a rock, his back to the group as he stared into the forest. He had spoken to Nolan about the Dor’Jan before they left the trials. Alec was adamant then, too. Nolan closed the short distance and sat next to him on some moist weeds. He waited for Alec to speak first.
Alec sighed, as if irritated. “What?”
Nolan shrugged. “You want to talk?”
“I have nothing to say.” Alec stabbed the ground with his sword, his face set in a scowl. “No one believes me. Even Flann and Emery think I’m lying. I thought maybe, just maybe, someone with Empathy could see I’m telling the truth.”
“I doubt they think you’re lying.”
Alec’s sword hand paused. “So they think I’m crazy?”
“Maybe.”
Alec’s head jerked toward Nolan. At least he was looking at him now.
“Even if they did, it’s what you believe that matters,” Nolan said.
“Do you think I’m crazy? The last time we talked about the Dor’Jan, you thought I was drunk.”
Nolan didn’t answer. Alec was right.
“Drunk or insane, what’s the difference?” Alec said. “You don’t believe me either.”
“Well, I didn’t before.” Nolan pulled out the stone and held it toward Alec. “But that was before this.”
The others stopped talking. With such a small campsite, conversations weren’t very private.
“Maybe you already had the stone when you were attacked by the Dor’Jan?” Nolan suggested. “Maybe it saved you?”
Hakan stood, his bushy face animated; obviously, he’d been eavesdropping. “Blimey! Maybe it’s a magic stone!”
“A what?” Alec said.
“A magic stone!” He rubbed his large hands together, as if about to eat a meal. “From the legends. They say the light inside the stones can scare the dark creatures away. Aye, it makes sense. If you had a stone, you could’ve survived the Dor’Jan.”
Flann stalked from his side of camp. “Ridiculous! There are no magic stones.”
“But the legends—”
“Legends from your mountains. Not here. Not now,” Flann said. “They are stories people tell children.”
Hakan’s jovial face fell. “And what’s to say the stories aren’t real?”
Alec stood, glaring. “A warrior saved me, not some worthless stone.”
Silence followed. All stared.
“You say a warrior saved you?” Emery asked.
“It was the stone!” Hakan said.
Emery shushed Hakan and turned back to Alec. “Tell me about this warrior, Alec.”
“Why? So you can explain to me that I’m wrong?”
“Of course not. I’m not trying to discredit you.”
Alec laughed sarcastically. “Like Flann a few minutes ago?”
“That was Flann, not me. I’ve also seen the Dor’Jan, though not in the same circumstances as you.”
Megan gasped and silence followed once more. This time, all attention fell on Emery.
“You’ve seen them?” Flann asked.
“I have.” Emery sighed, his mood darkening. “And no, I won’t share with you when and how.” He turned to Alec. “Tell me about your warrior, Alec.”
“He isn’t my warrior.”
“Still … What did you see?”
He looked from Emery to Nolan, a nervous expression on his face. “I saw a warrior, larger than any man I have ever seen.”
Emery motioned toward Hakan. “How tall in comparison to our friend?”
“Taller,�
�� Alec said. “Much taller. And he glowed like the sun.”
Emery’s eyebrows shot up.
“See!” Alec said. “I knew you wouldn’t believe me.”
“Who said I don’t believe you?” Emery pulled at his beard in thought. “It sounds a lot like the tales my steward, Jared, likes to share. I believe him, so why shouldn’t I believe you?” His eyes glowed violet. “And besides, there’s truth in your words.”
Alec stared at him skeptically. “The warrior came from nowhere. He fought with a gigantic sword that glowed as if it was still stuck in the coals of the forge. When he sliced the Dor’Jan, the creatures burst into flames. He threw me over his shoulder and ran away.”
“He was unconscious when I found him,” Nolan added. “And he was pale and weak when he woke up. But he did regain his strength quickly.”
“Like you did?” Emery asked.
Nolan nodded. “Yes, like me. But he didn’t have the stone at that time.”
“How can you be so certain?” Emery asked.
“His bag wasn’t with him.”
“I had my bag,” Alec said. “Wait! No, I didn’t.” His brows wrinkled. “That’s odd.”
“What?” Emery asked.
“I’d left it in the forest where the Dor’Jan attacked me. But after I talked with Nolan, I found it lying under the torch on the way to the lodge.”
A memory came to Nolan. It was when Daren and Alec had left his tent. Alec had picked up the bag outside. The very next time Nolan saw him on the boat, his obsession started.
“So you left it unattended?” Emery asked.
Alec opened his mouth and then closed it. “Yes, I suppose I did.”
“This warrior of light could have given you the stone.”
“But, what is he?” Alec asked. “I was burned, and he healed the blisters on my hands. He also ran as swift as my Speed. And by the way he carried me, I’d say he has Strength too. No one wields more than one Shay power.”
Emery’s brows furrowed. “There is one. Only one.”
Chapter Nineteen
THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS, they followed Hakan deep into the woods. Nolan couldn’t fathom how he knew which way to go; all the trees looked the same.
Nolan had traveled in the forest before—from his hometown of Galva to Alton, and from Alton to the tournament and back. Even then, he’d only been on the organized paths. Permanent camps lined the well-worn roads through the land, adorned with unlit torch lamps that people could use to keep themselves safe at night.
Instead, they paved their own way, tramping over soil that had possibly never been touched by human steps. Fuzzy green moss coated the gnarled roots protruding from the ground. Vines climbed thick trunks, stretching to sunbeams splashing through the leafy canopy. Wild creatures, ones Nolan had never even read about in his books, skittered from the brush and ignored the interlopers. And the flowers. Beautiful wildflowers grew in multicolored clumps, with sweet fragrances that made Nolan’s nose clamp and sneeze.
Conversations flowed easily from the group until Hakan’s humor faded into silence. His relaxed posture became rigid, muscles protruding from his thick neck. His brows met to become one, intimidating scowl.
Emery kept glancing over at the mountain man, concern plastered on his face.
“Does he have a fever?” Megan whispered to Emery, finally breaking the silence.
“I’ve got no nightforsaken fever,” Hakan said, overhearing her from quite a good distance away.
“Well, considering we’re lost,” Emery said. “I believe you aren’t well at all.”
Hakan stopped abruptly. “I know exactly where we are!”
“Do you?”
A strange expression pinched Hakan’s face. “I’ll get us there. Don’t you worry.”
“What if we are lost?” Alec asked.
Hakan whirled on his heels. “I’ll find our way! There’s a clearing just ahead. I’ll figure it out when we get there.”
And just as he’d said, a clearing broke through the wilderness. Beyond the branches, the remnants of a stone wall appeared, broken apart by the encroaching forest. Piles of rubble and half-destroyed walls stretched out to the distant trees. Somehow, Hakan had led them to the ruins of a vast city. He staggered a few steps and sat hard on a large pile of stones.
“What is this place?” Alec asked.
Emery rested his hands on his hips and heaved a deep sigh. “I have no idea.”
Megan approached some rubble that might have been a house or shop at one time. Small yellow flowers bordered its edge. She picked a cluster of the blooms and inhaled their fragrance. “What happened here?”
“A battle?” Nolan fingered a small section of broken wall. “Catapults, maybe?”
“Cata-what?” Rylan asked.
“Catapults,” Nolan said. “Machines used to throw large rocks.”
“Like a big sling?”
Nolan chuckled. “Not quite. They are big wooden structures made to hold and fling boulders. Don’t think you can make a sling quite that big.”
Rylan’s grin widened. Nolan could tell this wouldn’t be the last of their conversation.
“How’d a war get here in the middle of nowhere?” Alec asked.
Nolan shrugged.
“Did you study something that might resemble this, Nolan?” Emery asked. “In your history books?”
Nolan ran a hand over his chin, scanning the wreckage. It was probably bigger than Alton. “I don’t remember any large cities falling. Not sure why this one wasn’t mentioned.”
They spread apart, picking through the rubble. Trees overgrew the crumbling stones, obstructing a large portion of the city from view. Much like the land at the tournament, the sunlight was stronger. Warm rays scattered here and there across the debris.
Emery picked up a chipped plate and looked at the sun’s position. “We’d best keep moving.” He flung the artifact to the side. It smashed to bits on the ground. “How close are we to home, Hakan?”
Hakan hadn’t moved since arriving. He sat on a pile of rubble, his large hands pressed to either side of his temples. “I hear some life an hour or two to the east. Pretty sure it’s the village. Right direction. Must’ve gotten turned around a bit and ended up here.”
“That close?” Emery said. “How could’ve we not known about this place?”
“Don’t know.” Hakan groaned as he bounced his knee.
“Surely when you’ve gone hunting—”
Hakan growled, rose to his feet, and stalked several paces away.
Kardos pulled an enormous sword from some thistles. Unlike the other bits of weapons they’d found, this one was undamaged and shone like new.
Alec inhaled audibly, and his face went white.
“By Brim, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Kardos said.
Alec swallowed. “I have.”
“Don’t be daft, boy,” Kardos said. “I’ve never made anything this big.”
He shook his head slowly. “It belongs to him.”
“Speak clearly, boy. Make some sense.”
Alec’s eyes flickered golden-yellow as his temper flared. “It belongs to the light warrior!”
Everyone stared at Alec. Nolan hadn’t seen him this pale since the day he’d found him unconscious on the ground at the trials.
Kardos snorted. “You’re going on about that warrior again?”
“Don’t believe me if you want, Father, but there’s proof right there.”
“Doesn’t prove a thing. Except someone has way too much time on his hands. Look at it! It’s not practical.” He made an attempt to swing it. “What’d you suppose it’s made of?”
“If you don’t know,” Alec said, a bitter edge to his voice, “I’m sure none of us do.”
“It doesn’t belong here, not in this rubble.” Kardos ran his finger over the edge of the blade. “Magnificent work. Recently forged, I’d guess. Not a scratch on it.”
Everyone stared at the weapon, unable to speak. If the swor
d was hidden in the rubble, what did it mean? Not that Nolan knew a lot about weapons, but the thing was huge. He shuddered. He’d hate to see a man—or worse yet, something not human— big enough to actually swing it.
Emery rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, if what you say is true, Alec, someone—or something—has passed here of late. And whatever it was, it’s come too close to our village.”
“Then we’d best leave straight away,” Hakan said. Without waiting for anyone else, he trudged into the forest.
“I agree,” Emery said. “Though, I’d like to return and examine it more closely. An entire city doesn’t get lost without reason.” He motioned to where Hakan disappeared. “We’d better move.”
Kardos heaved the large sword over a shoulder.
“You’re taking that?” Alec asked.
Kardos snorted in reply, stepping around Alec; Alec dodged a near miss with the shining blade.
“Come, boy,” Kardos growled. “Standing here won’t get us anywhere.”
Nolan lingered, not quite ready to leave. He scanned the fallen city one last time. So much to learn. What happened? How did it fall? Then, reluctantly, he followed, questions flashing through his mind.
***
They continued through the forest, and thankfully, Hakan’s mood lightened. Nolan also noticed Daren wiping his forehead with his sleeve and scowling as he stomped along.
“What’s wrong with him?” Nolan asked Taryn.
“He’s been like that for a while, since before we found the city. He’s been ignoring Rylan and me like he’s mad at us.” She pressed her mouth tightly in annoyance. “Maybe he caught whatever Hakan has.”
“For Brim’s sake, Taryn,” Daren said. “I can hear you.” He cast a foul glare her way and jogged ahead to walk next to Hakan.
“I see what you mean,” Alec noted. “Maybe that stone is messing with their minds.” He eyed the bag at Nolan’s waist.
“It’s not the stone.” Nolan yanked on the strap of his bag, adjusting it from Alec’s reach.
“He has a point, Nolan,” Taryn said. “It made you lose your senses in Alton.”
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