They all stared at Greer.
“You can’t read?” Alec asked.
“Why should we?”
“You know, to send messages or … well, for everything.”
Greer glared with his light-filled eyes. Alec cringed. Crows, he’s frightening.
“This text was not created for Guardians, but for man,” Greer said sternly.
“Nolan translated the text in the lost temple,” Emery said. “He could read it.”
Kael gawked. “He could?”
“Yes, surprisingly well.”
“He had some books,” Alec said. “I picked up a few of his favorites when I passed Alton last time.” Alec’s soul wilted. It was supposed to be a surprise. He just never had a chance to give them to him.
“You went inside Alton Manor?” Emery asked, scowling.
Alec shrugged. “They didn’t even know I was there.”
“Where are the books now?” Emery asked.
“On their way to Galva. I stashed them into one of Nolan’s crates.”
“Galva?” Kael asked.
“Nolan had everyone leave after the Rol’dan attacked.”
“Why send them to Galva?”
“He has an uncle who might get passage for them—” Alec stopped. “Your aunt and uncle.”
“I can get the books.” Kael fidgeted, like he didn’t know what to do with his hands. “I know where my uncle lives.”
“And everyone in our group would try to kill you when you show your face,” Emery added.
Kael nodded, though the scowl didn’t leave. “I suppose you’re right.”
“I’ll go,” Alec said. He needed something to do anyway, otherwise he’d scream.
“That settles it,” Emery said. “Alec, you get the books. The rest of us will salvage what’s left of the army.”
“You know, even if we translate it,” Alec said, “It doesn’t mean we’ll actually figure out what it means.”
Emery sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Yes, I know. But it’s all we have.” He looked at Greer. “And you’re certain this message is important?”
Greer nodded. “Yes.”
“It would’ve been easier with Nolan here.” Emery’s words lingered with pained silence.
“I’m pretty certain,” said a low voice, “the text says, ‘Wake up, sleeping one. Rise from death. Take up Brim’s light and let it shine.’”
Everyone turned slowly. A Guardian glanced over Alec’s shoulder, concentrating on the text. Alec didn’t recognize him. The new Guardian was a lot shorter than the others. And he didn’t wear the typical golden armor of the other warriors. He was naked, apart from a purple cloth tied around his waist. His broad chest and wide shoulders emanated power and strength, and his brown hair waved with highlights of gold that shimmered even in the faint light. He joined their circle, making no sound as his bare feet hit the stone floor.
The strange, new Guardian stared at the text. He rubbed his chin in concentration, furrowing his brow. “Yes, that’s what is says. I have the ‘rise from death’ portion figured out, but I’m still not sure about the second half.”
He met Alec’s wide-eyed gaze. Where a Guardian’s white lights should be, eyes as blue as a summer sky pierced into him. “What do you think, Alec?”
Alec couldn’t speak. Who was he? Was he a man? He looked like a Guardian more than a man. The Guardian waited for an answer, with a bit of mirth behind his stare. Alec sucked in a breath. It was an expression he knew very well.
Alec pulled his gaze toward where Nolan’s body had lain. He wasn’t there. Only a few blood-soaked shreds of cloth remained. Slowly, he turned back to the new Guardian and sucked in a shallow breath. “Nolan?”
Nolan held out his arms, examining the defined muscles. He opened and closed his fists, like an infant first discovering their hands. “I didn’t expect this at all.”
“Though it would appear the stones knew of this event before you were even born,” Greer said casually.
“I guess so.” Nolan ran a hand slowly over his face.
Emery and Kael still hadn’t spoken. Their mouths hung open.
How could Nolan be alive? Is he alive? Crows! What is he? He isn’t really Nolan, is he? He’s more Guardian than human now. Questions piled in Alec’s mind so quickly he couldn’t keep up. He pressed his eyes closed as his head throbbed. When he opened them again, this new version of Nolan was still there.
Nolan adjusted the purple cloth, which Alec now knew to be the king’s cloak. “Thanks to whoever left this. My clothes tore off me. I’m sure my appearance shocked you enough without showing … the entire transformation.”
Greer was the only one to laugh.
“What in the nightforsaken Darkness are you?” Kael spat finally.
Nolan smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “It’s good to see you alive, brother.”
“Am I your brother?” Kael said. “I’m not so certain, considering I don’t even know what you are.”
Nolan touched his face. “I suppose I am a bit changed.”
“Changed? You look like one of them!” Kael pointed at Greer.
The size difference between them was obvious. Greer still towered over Nolan, yet compared to the rest of them, Nolan had most definitely grown in mass and size.
“You look like a Guardian,” Emery said, finally regaining his composure. “Though not exactly.”
“He is not a Guardian,” Greer said. “I can still sense his human presence and his human strength. The Shay is alive in him, though I cannot deny the light of my Guardian warriors in him as well. If I would have to answer, I would say he is both Guardian and man.”
Nolan nodded slowly and raised his face skyward. A deep furrow formed in his wide brow. “Greer? Has it gotten worse? The darkness is so thick now.”
“What darkness?” Emery asked. “The king is imprisoned and the Dor’Jan are nearly extinct.”
“The king and the Dor’Jan are the least of our problems,” Greer said. “I know you all can’t see them, but there is a darkness—the Nass—which hovers over us. The dark clouds are more than what they seem.” He turned to Nolan. “A little worse, Master Nolan. However, you just see things more clearly now.”
Nolan jerked his face from the clouds and scanned the others. “My eyes. What color are my eyes?”
“They’re blue,” Alec said. “They look the same as before.”
Nolan’s wide shoulders relaxed slightly, and he released a quiet breath. “Blue. At least I still have that.”
“Is this Nass another of Alcandor’s abominations?” Emery asked.
“The Nass are born from the people,” Greer said. “Each of you, I’m afraid, has added to it. The Nass cover the light of Brim, lessening your powers.”
Emery blinked. “So we are responsible?”
Greer nodded.
“Can we reverse it?” Emery asked. “What can we do?”
Nolan reached to the beam of light and stiffened when the colors reflected onto his palm. His square jaw clenched as the message rippled and faded with the clouds. He filled his lungs slowly and released it in a rush. “It’s me. The light must shine from me.”
***
Nolan stood frozen in the light as the ancient text reflected on his face. Maska and Hakan, both hearing Nolan now lived, came to see for themselves. Each one, in their turn, had no words to express their shock—except for Hakan, who muttered a faint, “What in the light of Brim?”
Greer and Alec remained in the throne room with Nolan, though there wasn’t much to see. Alec sat on the ground, watching Nolan, while his injuries throbbed even more intensely. His face burned the most, as if a forge-heated sword raked across his skin. In a moment of weakness, Alec thought about asking Greer to heal him. He gritted his teeth and resisted; he needed that scar to remember.
Alec glanced through the open ceiling. The sky was dark, yes. But clouds always covered the sky. Though, he had to admit, it appeared darker here in Faylinn, as if a storm
approached. Alec squinted, trying to see these strange Nass creatures. Nothing but a crow flew by.
Then Greer joined him. The Guardian stared upward. “They have grown stronger.”
“So you can see these … uh, things?”
Greer nodded but said nothing.
Alec shifted his position but regretted it as pain shot through his thigh. “What exactly are they, anyway?”
“They are creatures born of the darkest parts of man. As they increase, man’s connection to Brim weakens, his Shay falters, and his discontent grows.”
“So we need to get rid of them to feel better?” Alec asked. “Everyone’s a bit off from time to time.”
Greer frowned. “It is more than that, Master Alec. If left unrestrained, the Nass could take complete control.”
Alec shook his head. How could a few ill feelings destroy them? If that were the case, the Nass would’ve controlled me long ago. Father is the master of foul moods and bad temper.
Alec found the whole concept confusing. Everything had changed. Even his best friend had become something strange and foreign. Alec stood with a wince and limped closer to Nolan.
Nolan’s face held the same expressions and mannerisms. Why didn’t I recognize him? Alec leaned in to see if Nolan still breathed.
“How much longer can he stay like this?” Alec asked.
“I am not certain,” Greer said. “Brim’s strength grows in him. Perhaps we will see his light this day.”
“His light? You mean Brim’s light?”
“Yes.”
“And how’s it supposed to shine from him?”
Greer crossed his hands over his chest. “I’m not certain, Master Alec. But I believe it will be something so magnificent, its story will be passed through the ages.”
Alec leaned closer. What’s taking him so long? Nolan’s eyes popped open and Alec flinched in surprise. Nolan’s familiar eyes had changed. His blue irises sparked with hints of white light.
“Nolan? Are you okay?”
Nolan gave a slight nod, but his body trembled.
Alec touched his arm but yanked back. Nolan’s skin burned.
“Greer! We need to get him out of here!”
“No,” Nolan said. “Have to f-finish.”
Finish? Alec looked into Nolan’s eyes again; they glowed brighter than just a few minutes before. Nolan stared back, his teeth chattering.
“Master Alec,” Greer said. “We should wait for Master Nolan outside.”
“I’m staying,” Alec snapped.
“It’s okay,” Nolan said. “G-go outside.” He attempted a smile. “I’ll b-be there s-soon.”
Alec hesitated then pulled away. Nolan closed his eyes in deeper focus.
“Come,” Greer said. “We should go.”
Greer led Alec outside and toward the fortification’s main entrance. Instead of going to the battlefield, Greer turned and climbed the stairs.
“Shouldn’t we wait for Nolan?” Alec asked.
Greer ignored him and kept walking up the stairs.
Alec struggled to keep up; his leg throbbed, and he wasn’t in the mood to use Speed. By the time they’d reached the top, he was ready to stop. Alec leaned against the thick, stone wall and peered over the edge. On one side of the wall, the entrance to the castle loomed. On the other, Alec could see the trampled grass and corpse-strewn battlefield.
Soldiers stacked mounds of bodies, more than Alec could imagine in his nightmares. Though most were the freed Dor’Jan, it still made his stomach turn.
Time passed as the morbid cleanup continued. Alec was about to suggest they see what had happened to Nolan when the sky dimmed. The sun’s position marked midday. It looked as if they’d get some rain. The sunlight darkened yet again. This time, all the Rol’dan’s faces turned upward. They’d noticed too.
“Greer?”
“Yes, Master Alec.”
“What’s happening?”
“It appears that Master Nolan has started.”
The clouds began to separate. Instead of the typical dark mass, shapes started to form. They moved gradually at first, and then they increased in speed, darting all around.
The sunlight dimmed again, like a sudden storm. A woman pointed skyward at the horror. One of the clouds whipped around several others as if propelled by some invisible force. It darted in a circle, and Alec ducked as it whisked past.
“What in Darkness is this, Greer?”
The Guardian smiled. “Exactly.”
The dark clouds soared over the crowd. People screamed, and dark forms pulled from them and joined the previous manifestations. The strange creatures whipped in and out of the people and disappeared into the black mass above.
Alec’s heart thundered. He gasped and threw himself to the wall’s edge. A faceless, black mist whirled near Alec’s head and flew into the morphing, twisting sky.
The Rol’dan pushed against each other, and the creatures poured from the crowd, adding to the truth: the darkness, created by man.
A light appeared from the castle, cutting through the dark mists. Nolan walked stiffly through the oversized wooden doors, dressed only in the purple cloth around his waist. His muscled skin glowed, and white light rose above him like steam. Alec blinked; Nolan shone so brightly, it was hard to look at him. The Rol’dan, now silent, watched Nolan’s slow progress across the courtyard and out the gates to the field below.
Alec dove to the other side of the wall, gripping it hard, while he watched Nolan appear on the field.
A few soldiers who had been working there left their task and sprinted toward the gates of Faylinn to join their fellow soldiers.
Nolan stood alone: behind him, a backdrop full of corpses, above him, a whole host of black mists. The creatures circled overhead, increasing their urgency, flinging down on Nolan, and, just as quickly, flinging away. They seemed worried, as much as a faceless vapor could be.
Greer’s massive presence appeared behind Alec’s back. “Master Alec. Whatever happens, hold on as tightly as you can.” He then encompassed Alec with his body, placing one hand on either side of him, gripping the edge of the wall with his massive hands and bracing his feet as if he were about to push a very solid stone.
Nolan raised his arms as if reaching for the heavens. Then his arms fell outstretched to the side, palms up, his face to the sky.
“Hang on!” Greer commanded.
Alec grabbed the wall just as Nolan’s light exploded, like a star dropping to earth. The force hit them like a hammer blow.
Screams filtered through the force of the wind, though Alec could no longer see. The light blinded him even with his eyes closed. He gripped the wall, and another wave, even more violent than the last, hammered, yanking Alec’s hands free.
He slammed into Greer, the blustering wind pushing him against the Guardian’s chest. Greer protected them both from being thrown from the wall.
The third blast hit, and Alec held on to Greer, hoping the Guardian was strong enough to hold them both. Then just as suddenly, the wind stopped. Alec dropped to his knees, as did Greer. He opened his eyes and could see nothing at all.
“It is done,” Greer said.
Slowly, images began to surface in Alec’s vision—blotched shapes still white with light. Alec groped and found Greer’s large arm. “Greer, I can’t see.”
The Guardian touched Alec’s face and healing energy pulsed into his eyes. His vision opened to a sun brighter than he’d ever seen and a sky as blue as the sea. Alec gawked. It was stunning.
Alec staggered to his feet. The word “chaos” wouldn’t be enough to describe the scene: Healers ran frantically, healing eyesight and broken bones, stones were missing from places in the castle, and worse yet, the neatly stacked corpses were now blown in grotesque piles against the foot of the wall. Even the forest appeared to have taken damage; trees were bent or half pulled from their roots. Never had Alec seen something this devastating. Yet even with such a disaster, Alec felt free.
He l
aughed. “Greer, I can’t believe it.”
The Guardian didn’t answer. Instead, his eyes fixed on the field.
Smiling, Alec followed his gaze, and the happiness left him instantly. The figure of a man lay crumpled, a charred ring of earth surrounding him.
Alec’s throat clenched. Please Brim, he prayed, please, don’t make me lose him twice in one day. He summoned his Shay and ran as fast as Speed could carry him.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
FAMILIAR WHITE MISTS filled Nolan’s vision, stretching out farther than he remembered. He turned, searching. No grass this time. No sunset. No sky. And no light-filled Greer. Just a sea of white splayed out before him.
He held up his hands; they were small, with normal fingers. His eyes traveled down his naked body, and he was thin. Unchanged. The “old” Nolan. He released a long breath, relief flooding through him. It had all been a dream.
In the distance, a light broke the mists, and pain shot through Nolan’s skull. He blinked until his eyes adjusted, and then he staggered toward it, his feet swishing through the swirling clouds. As he got closer, the light took shape, forming into a man.
He froze. This man had no face, and the power emanating from him took Nolan’s breath away.
Nolan dropped to his hands and knees, choking in gasps.
“Don’t be afraid, my child,” Brim said. “You have done well.”
A memory of exploding light surfaced in his mind, the vision of lying in blackened grass. I must be … dead.
Brim chuckled. “No. You are still alive and well.”
Slowly, Nolan looked up. A feeling of peace passed over him. The faceless figure solidified, transforming into a man in the middle of his years—dark hair, dark eyes. He reminded Nolan of Emery.
“Does this make you feel more comfortable?” Brim asked.
Nolan nodded feebly, though his heart still thundered. It did help, a little.
Brim sat, and the mist parted from him, grass taking its place. “I will keep our time brief; your loved ones are waiting for you to awaken. Let me start by saying: I am proud of you. Alcandor has been causing trouble for quite some time. I appreciate you putting him back in his place.”
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