The Chronicles of Lorrek Box Set

by Kelly Blanchard

  “Responsible?” Mordora uttered, confused as her gaze searched the face of the kelliph, and she shook her head, laughing quietly. “No, he couldn’t. He wasn’t there. He refused to accompany him. He trained Moren and me with magic instead.”

  Rykeldan chuckled. Mordora was so young. She did not fully comprehend the power of magic and its abilities. He fixed his gaze on her. “Prince Lorrek directed your father where to go, and your father walked straight into an ambush waiting for him.”

  “No, no, no!” Mordora reached up and clenched her head, digging her fingernails into her scalp “He couldn’t! He wasn’t there! How could you know?” She shot him a fiery glare. “You weren’t there!”

  He stepped forward swiftly and leaned in close to her ear. “Magic. The events of the past are recorded by magic, and those with magic can tap into the past to see what truly happened. Do you wish to know the truth?”

  Mordora kept his hands clutched over her head. She wanted to know, but she also did not. What if Rykeldan spoke the truth? What if Lorrek was responsible for her father’s death? What if he had been working with Countess Verddra all this time, and everything he did was merely a front?

  All these questions and more stirred in her mind, confusing her, and Mordora didn’t know what she wanted to know, so she shook her head again and again and again until finally she shoved away from Rykeldan. “Get out of my head!” She blasted magic at him, but the magic merely passed through Rykeldan and struck the wall behind him. She glared at him, hating him. “Go away!” She turned from him, hoping he would disappear, but knowing that as long as she wore this cursed bracelet, she was somehow bound to him. She clawed at it in a vain attempt to remove it, but she knew it was hopeless.

  After a moment she finally calmed down and lowered her hands to the railing to look across the forested land once more. She briefly looked over her shoulder to see if Rykeldan still lingered, but she only saw darkness. Good, he had left her alone, but that didn’t remedy the aching helplessness Mordora felt in her soul as she stared across the dark land.

  Had Rykeldan been speaking the truth about her father and Lorrek? She tilted her head to a side as she reflected on what she knew of Lorrek.

  She had grown up with Lorrek and his brothers. They were all troublesome except for Honroth. Theran and Heldon were loud and obnoxious, but, on a dare, Lorrek had cut Mordora’s hair with his magic, causing her hair to turn black. That had been the only time Lorrek had crossed her, and it had outraged her. She expelled all four brothers from the kingdom of Nirrorm. It remained that way for many years. The next time Mordora saw Lorrek, he had changed. They said he had raped Princess Atheta and killed her. Mordora found this hard to believe, but she never saw Atheta again, so she wasn’t sure what exactly had happened. All she knew was that Lorrek had changed—but at the same time, he hadn’t. He remained the silent, secretive, manipulating man she had known, but he had gained a sense of darkness she didn’t understand.

  Lorrek appeared one day outside the fortress of Nirrorm, weak but wary. It wasn’t long before he informed her that he knew her secret—and that of her brother Moren—how they possessed magic as well. He agreed not to expose them in return for being allowed to train them, and that was what he did...until her own guardian, Jadkon, found her and informed her that Lorrek was using magic in his chambers. Knowing that Lorrek had told everyone else in Nirrorm that his magic was bound, Mordora went to see what the prince of Cuskelom was doing.

  When she arrived with Jadkon on her heel, she found Lorrek kneeling on the floor, but he obviously wasn’t present in his body. His mind was elsewhere. She looked up at Jadkon for an explanation, but the guardian merely shrugged. At that moment, Lorrek returned to his body and almost toppled forward, but she caught him and looked at him, concerned. He grabbed her and Jadkon and told them, “We have to go!” then magicked them away.

  That was the last time she had been in her home in Nirrorm.

  Lorrek had magicked them straight to the site of the ambush where they found her deceased father. From there, Lorrek sent her to Cuskelom for her own protection, and he promised to go and retrieve Moren.

  She never saw home again after that. The only time she saw Moren again was when Skelton and Adonis took her to Athorim to negotiate with King Caleth. That was before the Battle of Cuskelom. Did he know she was still alive? Where was he now? How was he handling his magic?

  She had no answer for these questions. Mordora clenched her fist, trying to contain her frustration, but finally she shouted and threw open her hands, shooting a blast of magic over the land. The light of her magic skimmed over the tops of the trees and disappeared into the darkness of the horizon, and silence draped upon the land as if the night creatures were afraid of being heard.

  Mordora lowered her hands and bowed her head. That had helped a little, but still she felt empty.

  In the silence of that moment though, she realized everything kept coming back to Lorrek. He had been the one who took her from the palace to the ambush site. How did he know of the ambush? Instinct told her that he knew because of magic, but he was quick to leave the site. Did he even go back to the castle to find Moren?

  So many questions! She growled, wishing Rykeldan would appear again, so she could try blasting him again, but no, she needed to stay calm. All of this could be a ploy of Rykeldan’s. He was using her, but she couldn’t quite figure out what he wanted.

  Still though, she had to keep moving. She didn’t know why, but she knew if she stopped long enough, they would catch her, and they would imprison her—again, and she didn’t want that. Pushing away from the view on the balcony, Mordora turned on her heel and marched away. She had to keep moving.

  The flash of magic shot through the sky overhead, and Lorrek jerked awake, startled by the brilliant ripple of light in the night sky. He immediately identified it as Mordora’s magic, but it was tainted with something unfamiliar.

  He shifted to rise to his feet but put pressure on his broken arm. Pain shot through him, and he hissed. He’d forgotten about his arm, but he cradled it close and pushed himself to his feet as he stared at the sky above the treetops.

  Theran had been keeping watch at this time of night, and he had seen the flare of magic too as well as his brother’s reaction. Theran frowned. “What was that?”

  “Mordora.”

  Theran waited for a moment to see if Lorrek would say more, but when his little brother said nothing else but continued staring at the sky, Theran grunted and rose to his feet. “It came from five miles northeast of us.” When Lorrek gave him a perplexing look as if wondering how he could possibly know that, Theran tapped on the side of his helmet. “The computer traced the origin as soon as I saw it. You’re not the only one with special abilities now.” He couldn’t help but smile behind the visor of his helmet.

  Lorrek stared at Theran for a long moment.

  Then Lorrek looked back to the sky. “It originated five miles northeast, three degrees north, in the Castle of Stagatron, in the western wing of the castle, fourth floor, fifth chamber on the left, on the veranda to be precise.” He lowered his gaze back to Theran and allowed himself a smile. It wasn’t often Lorrek had the chance to prove magic’s superiority to technology, but it felt good.

  However, something tugged at Lorrek’s mind like the consistent knocking on his shields. That was what had awakened him. Someone was trying to get his attention, so he moved to step out of the camp to have a conversation with this individual.

  Theran saw him leaving and called after him. “If we’re going to the castle, we should all go together.”

  Lorrek paused then looked over his shoulder. “The castle is that way.” He pointed beyond Theran. “I am going this way.” He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. “There is something that requires my attention.”

  “But shouldn’t we investigate that light we saw?” Theran gestured in the direction of the castle, and Lorrek shook his head.

  “Aye, and we shall—soon. But first, I must
investigate something else.” He stepped out of the camp and deeper into the woods.

  Once he was certain he was alone, Lorrek waved his hand in the air, and a transparent image of Erita appeared. He narrowed his eyes when he saw her but greeted her with a nod. “Erita.”

  Erita let out a sigh of relief. “Lorrek!” But then she noticed the way he held his arm, and she frowned. “What happened to your arm?”

  “Theran,” came the short answer. Then Lorrek added, “And there is no other sorcerer here than me.”

  “I could magick to you—” Erita began to offer, but Lorrek dismissed her with a shake of his head then fixed his gaze on her.

  “Why have you reached out to me? How is Heldon?”

  “Your brother is well,” Erita reassured him. “Your mother reached out to us and informed us that she had a visit from you. She mentioned something of Rykeldan and the thymords.” Erita paused to observe Lorrek’s reaction to this, and she saw him nod, so she pressed on. “What do you know of the thymords?”

  “It’s a complicated history.” Lorrek didn’t feel like recounting their tie-in with the kelliphs, yet he noticed how Erita seemed particularly interested in the thymords. He narrowed his eyes as he hugged his broken arm close to himself. “What concern are they to you?”

  “Because they’re here—in Cuskelom.”

  “Pardon?” Lorrek raised his brows, and Erita smacked her lips as she tried to determine where exactly to begin.

  Erita’s transparent figure began to pace in the small clearing of the woods. “There are two thymords sent here by their council. Apparently they are here seeking to reclaim the World Orbs and handblades.” Then she turned back to Lorrek. “Not to worry. Heldon is handling this quite well, but I thought you should know they are here. Do not be surprised if they show up there.”

  “What are their names? Should they attempt to interfere with my quest, I wish to know exactly who they are.”

  “His name is Draben. Her name is Reven. They may be siblings or...formerly involved because...” Erita paused as she tried to determine the best way to describe the thymords’ interaction with each other. Finally, she looked at Lorrek and had to smile. “They bicker—a lot. Perhaps you can use that to your advantage.”

  “Perhaps so.” Lorrek inclined his head. “Thank you for informing me of this. Stay with my brother, Heldon.”

  She offered him a smile. “Of course. Take care of yourself, Lorrek.”

  He smiled. “Of course.” Erita began to fade from sight, but Lorrek stopped her, “And Erita?” When she looked at him, he nodded. “Mention ‘Rykeldan’ to the thymords—the bracelet of Rykeldan. I’m curious to see what their reaction may be. If I am right, they may forgo their claim of the World Orbs and leave Heldon and you at peace.”

  Erita nodded when she heard this. “We will try.” And she disappeared.

  Once she was gone, Lorrek let out a sigh. Well, this was an interesting turn of events.

  10

  Morning had come, and Heldon dealt with the routine issues of the court before dismissing them all in order to have a private audience with the thymords. While waiting for them to arrive, Heldon sat on his throne and drummed his fingers. Erita sat on his right. She was his pillar of calm, but he reflected on what she had told him when he had woken this morning.

  She had found Lorrek last night and informed him of their situation with the thymords. By the sound of it, Lorrek hadn’t been particularly surprised by the arrival of these people. Heldon’s little brother did make an odd request. However, Heldon waited for the right moment to fulfill it.

  The doors opened, and Heldon straightened as his eyes fell upon the two thymords, assessing them once more. The man, Draben, was short and of lean frame whereas the woman, Reven, stood almost at the same height as Heldon himself, and everything about her screamed of acute training. Heldon was prone to dismiss Draben as a viable threat, but the way he spoke in circles and talked his way around any situation made Heldon wary of him. Reven already had his respect though she was quieter of the two—except for when she was arguing with Draben. They were quite an odd team, and it seemed like they had already begun arguing with each other today.

  “...doesn’t really matter what I think, does it?” Draben was saying. “You’re just going to do what you want to do, and here I thought we were getting better at working together.”

  Reven looked flustered as she came to stand before Heldon, but she still answered Draben without looking at him, “I have no idea where you got that idea.” Then she focused on Heldon and bowed to him. “King Heldon, you have heard our requests and had time to consider them. Please, give us access to the World Orbs, and we will leave you in peace.”

  “And if we do not?” Heldon raised his brows.

  Erita looked at her husband curiously. This wasn’t the direction they had intended to take, but she knew Heldon had a plan, so she turned her gaze to look at the thymords once more.

  Draben tilted his head when he heard what the king had asked, and he shrugged, nonchalant. “We’ve been at this for several days now, and quite frankly I’m tired of this diversion. Let’s put it simply, Your Majesty—again. If you refuse, you’ll get to meet a whole bunch of us, and they won’t be so friendly.” He tried to flatter them with a smirk. “Actually, they’d probably just pop into the Porta Cosmica itself and take all the World Orbs without asking. It’s entirely up to you of course.”

  Heldon didn’t appreciate being threatened, but he decided to use the leverage Lorrek had given him. “What do you know of the bracelet of Rykeldan?” He eased back on his throne to observe their reaction.

  The thymords shared a look, and Reven looked more alarmed than Draben, who just seemed annoyed. Reven took control of the situation and shot Heldon a look. “What of it?”

  Heldon exchanged a look with Erita, who took the lead. “Do you know where it is?”

  “Some unspecific location guarded by the most elite of our men, whose sole purpose is to protect that bracelet and keep it out of hands of any civilians. Why’d you think we’d know where it is? That defeats the purpose of a ‘secret location’, you know.” Draben made air quotations in the air when he said ‘secret location’, but then he dropped his hands and shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. Just a myth among thymords. Gotta get the kids to behave somehow, you know.” He flashed them a grin, but Heldon chuckled as he shook his head.

  “I’m afraid you’re wrong. Whatever it is, a very reliable source informed us that it is no longer under the protection of its guardians.”

  Reven narrowed her eyes, still tense about this whole thing. “Where is it?”

  “We know not where exactly, but we are under the impression it is in the possession of a powerful sorceress—”

  “A sorceress? Bloody hell!” And Draben went on pacing in a circle and cursing in a language unknown to Heldon and Erita.

  Reven remained still and unaffected by her partner’s tirade. She fixed her eyes on Heldon. “Are you certain?”

  Heldon nodded, knowing how reliable Lorrek was with information. “Beyond certain.”

  Draben continued to rant as he paced, throwing his hands up with gestures. “See? This is exactly what the prophecy predicted. Of all the people who could get their hands on it, it had to be a woman and a sorceress at that! Why? Because women are so damn meddling!” He said this in Reven’s face, but she only rolled her eyes and shoved Draben aside, so she could focus on Heldon.

  “Did this source of yours tell you where this individual with the bracelet could be found?”

  At this, Heldon motioned to Erita, and she answered, “Talhon. It is in a land southeast of us—south of Jechorm...”

  Draben saw the look on Reven’ face, and he held up his hands. “No, no, no, we’re not going after some mythical bracelet! This could be a ruse to get us away from the World Orbs!” He gestured sharply at Heldon and Erita, but Reven merely gave him an unimpressed look.

  “Or it could be the truth, and the one thing t
hat our predecessors put under lock and key since the founding of the thymords could in fact be out there in the hands of a sorceress. We need to investigate.”

  “What about our original mission?” Draben motioned at the Cuskelians again. “What about the World Orbs?”

  Reven chuckled, looking back at Heldon. “I highly doubt they will successfully manage to relocate that many World Orbs in a short period of time. They will still be here when we return, but for now, Draben, we need to check this out.” She nodded at Heldon and Erita. “Thank you for informing us of this. We will investigate it immediately, but be warned, if this is trick, we will discover that, and we will be back—this time we will take what is rightfully ours without asking.” Then she grabbed Draben by his shoulder and steered him out of the throne room while he continued to protest.

  “Backup! We should call for backup at least!”

  “We don’t need backup unless the threat is proven to be real.”

  “I volunteer to stay here and keep an eye on those World Orbs.”

  “We are leaving now, Draben.” They teleported away by means of the handblade.

  Once they were gone, Heldon let out a huge sigh of relief and sank into his throne. He gave Erita a glance. “Are you certain this will work?”

  Erita nodded. “They must contend with Lorrek now, and he will keep them preoccupied.”

  Heldon sighed. He hoped Erita was right, but he felt bad for sending those two to Lorrek.

  11

  When the sun finally rose, its light found Theran, Zoyra, Vixen, and Lorrek moving through the forest of Talhon. Lorrek seemed to have a very clear idea where they needed to go, and this puzzled, Zoyra, but she asked no questions. She went along with it, fairly certain someone else might ask.

  However, as they came upon statue after statue in random places through the woods, Zoyra finally had to voice her concern. “Why are there so many statues?” She stopped in front of one which appeared to be a bandit of stone caught in mid-action. Zoyra furrowed her brows as she looked at it then turned back to the other, jabbing her thumb over her shoulder. “This is quite an odd place for a statue.”