The Chronicles of Lorrek Box Set

by Kelly Blanchard

  Now that he was sitting on the bed, the weight of her words and the memories they brought back sank onto his shoulders, and Lorrek bowed his head. He hadn’t allowed himself to think about any of it—not when it had happened, not while he tried to find his way back, and not as he tried to solve all the problems that had unraveled in his absence. Now he found it crushing down upon him, and he tried to cling to what little self-control and dignity he had left. He ground his teeth as he made a fist. “Now is not the time to dwell on the past.”

  Vixen merely raised her brows. “Then when?” She moved and sat down on the edge of the bed beside him. “There will always be a problem for you to fix or something that requires your magic to mend it. Do you want to know why? Because you will seek it out since you do not want to be alone with your thoughts.”

  Lorrek shook his head. “I never seek it out! They always come to me.” Frustrated, he shoved himself to his feet and moved toward the window, folding his arms as he stared into the nightlife of Jechorm—at the hover vehicles zooming by and the lights of the buildings lighting up the night atmosphere. This place never rested, and it left him unsettled.

  Allowing him to have some space, Vixen remained seated but stared at him as he stood with his back toward her. “You never say no.”

  The only way Vixen could tell her words had troubled Lorrek was the way his fingers clenched his bicep as he had his arms folded, and finally he sighed. “I do not have the luxury to say no.” He shook his head then half-turned back to Vixen. “With this power...” he opened his hand, easily conjuring a fiery orb and stared at its mesmerizing flames. “I must use my power for good.”

  Rising to her feet, Vixen approached him, carefully closed his hand, extinguishing the flame, and she looked up at him, locking eyes with him. “Just because you have the ability does not mean you have the responsibility to make all things right. You are not the only sorcerer in this world, and you are not alone. Mordora is going to heal Skelton, and together Skelton, Mordora, Radella, and Anelm along with the thymords will hunt down Rykeldan and force him to yield. The four of them have magic as well—two of them are extremely powerful. They can handle this. You are not needed. You can rest.

  Rest, Lorrek almost scoffed at her words, but before he could speak, Vixen stepped away from him with a contemplating manner about her. He knew better than to voice any of his thoughts until she had concluded her own line of thought.

  “The real issue is simple actually.” She turned back to him with a smirk. “You...” she stepped up to him, closer than ever, and Lorrek tensed, but she whispered in his ear, “You don’t know how to simply relax. I could show you if you let me. You’ve never really understood what you mean to me, and I’d like to show you.” Her words surprised even her, but there was no taking them back now. Besides, she knew there was truth in them even though she had never really considered it.

  Lorrek grabbed her by her arms and gently but firmly pushed her away. He locked eyes with her. “You are the wife of Loroth, and though he and I share the same face, I am not he. Do not mistake me for him.” With that, he moved past her toward the door.

  While he passed her, Vixen clenched her fists and narrowed her eyes. He was incredibly stubborn! Her fingers neared her bladed vest, but she stilled herself. No, she wasn’t going to stab him. Or maybe she should. They were in a hospital after all. He would have immediate treatment.

  “Are you coming?” Lorrek called back to her.

  She forced herself to release a deep breath before turning and marching up to him. “Not like you ever give anyone a choice.” She made sure she had eye contact with him when she said this, but she reached out her hand, knowing physical touch was required in order to magick.

  Lorrek furrowed his brows when she said this. Nevertheless, at least she was no longer pestering him about the past. Instead, he took hold of her hand, and the two of them vanished.

  23

  Lorrek and Vixen reappeared in the cave of Talhon, startling Aradin and Dustal, who immediately aimed their arrows at them. Further inside the cave, Jaegar stayed near Skelton but conjured a fiery orb in his hand as Radella knelt beside him.

  Upon recognizing Lorrek and Vixen, the thief brothers lowered their weapons and glared at the sorcerer. “Might want to give us a warning. We might shoot you next time.”

  “That would be dreadful indeed,” Lorrek replied with a dry voice as he stepped past them to go to Radella and the pure magic user.

  Dustal noticed Vixen’s scowl, and he jutted his chin toward her. “What’s wrong?”

  She shifted her gaze from Lorrek to Dustal. “I need something to stab.” She walked away.

  The brothers shared a look, but neither of them moved to go after her.

  Inside the cave, Lorrek approached Radella and Jaegar who knelt beside Skelton. “How is he?”

  “Fading,” she answered before finally opening her eyes, and he could see the exhaustion deep within her soul. She had drained much of her power while trying to stabilize Skelton.

  “Have you found Mordora?” Jaegar asked, also tired.

  Lorrek shook his head and focused his attention on Skelton. “Mordora and Theran have not arrived yet?”

  “Nay.” Jaegar shook his head then raked his hair back.

  Upon hearing this, Lorrek narrowed his eyes. He couldn’t recall much of what had happened in the woods. He vaguely recalled Vixen tending to his broken arm, and he remembered strange encounters in the magic realm, but he had no solid memory until he woke in Jechorm where Vixen had informed him of what had happened.

  Nevertheless, the length of his stay in Jechorm should have been long enough for Theran to bring Mordora here. Lorrek cast his gaze to the mouth of the cave. “Where are they?”

  Radella watched him, but her attention also shifted to the entrance when Dustal, Aradin, and Vixen walked in with Theran, Mordora, and Kinnard.

  Vixen placed a firm hand on Mordora’s shoulder and steered her toward Skelton. “You will heal him.” She pushed her toward Lorrek and Radella, causing her to stumble forward. Vixen, however, stepped back with her arms crossed and scowled.

  Staring at the ashen face of Skelton, there was a sinking feeling in Mordora’s stomach, and she shifted her gaze to Lorrek’s face. “I...I don’t know how!”

  Lorrek sighed and bowed his head. Of course she didn’t know how to reverse the spell. Compared to many other sorcerers, Mordora was quite young. She’d only had access to her full magic potential for two years. Although she had some tutorage under King Roskelem, and who knew what she had learned while possessed by Rykeldan, Lorrek knew what he had to do.

  He nodded for Jaegar to take his place once more as he rose to his feet and offered Mordora his hand. “Do you trust me?”

  Mordora stared at him for a long time, ignoring the out-stretched hand. “No.”

  A small smile tugged at Lorrek’s lips. Some things never changed. “If you take my hand, I will be able to show you the way, and together we can help Skelton.”

  Though she wanted nothing to do with Lorrek, Mordora realized she had little choice in the matter. She locked eyes with Lorrek. “You like to give the illusion that I have a choice,” she recited his own words from a few years ago back to him. When he smiled at her and conceded with a bow of his head, Mordora drew in a deep breath then seized his hand. “Let’s get this over with.”

  “Agreed.” His fingers closed around hers. “Now, close your eyes.” Once she obeyed, he did the same, and the two sank into the magic realm.

  Within the magic realm, both of them opened their eyes and could see those around them, but none were moving or blinking. They remained frozen in that moment of time. Radella glowed with a golden aura while Skelton’s green aura was a dull and fading. The others around them had a gray aura—usual for non-magic users.

  Mordora shook off a shiver and stared at Lorrek, whose blue aura glowed brightly. “What will you have me do?”

  “Come.” He drew her closer to Skelton. “Look clos
ely. You will see your imprint of magic upon him. It tangles him up like a net. Only you can unravel it. If I touch it, it will tighten around him, further choking him.”

  She could see threads of glowing purple encompassing Skelton, and she recognized that as her own magic. Crouching beside him, she stared at Skelton’s face. She whispered to him, “I’m so sorry.” Then she took hold of a strand of her magic from around him and pulled. He gasped as it tightened around him, and Mordora inhaled sharply, releasing the thread. She shot Lorrek a glare. “It’s not working! It’s making it worse.”

  He stared at her patiently as he stood back with arms crossed. “You need to cut the threads.”

  “But how?” To this, Lorrek gave no answer but merely cocked his head to the side, and Mordora knew this was something she would have to figure out on her own. She took a steady breath and looked around. What did she have to help her? This was the magic realm, so anything was possible.

  Closing her eyes and taking a cleansing breath, she willed a blade to appear in her hand. Once she opened her eyes, she saw she was now holding a knife, which glowed with the purple light of her magic signature. She smiled brightly at Lorrek. “I conjured this!”

  He nodded but shifted his gaze back to Skelton. “Now, cut the strands.” He watched as she went to work, cutting one thread after another. She spoke with Skelton as she worked, but Lorrek didn’t listen to her words. Instead, he reflected on how excited she had been to conjure the knife in her hand. Had she truly never conjured anything? She had turned so many people into stone without a thought. She had wielded such great power. Had she no memory of it? Had she been in control at all?

  However, Lorrek was brought out of his thoughts when Skelton gasped a deep breath and snapped open his eyes. When he saw Mordora crouched before him, he gasped in fear, but Lorrek promptly moved her aside and touched Skelton’s shoulder. “Sleep deeply.” Once Skelton succumbed to the command, Lorrek glanced over his shoulder to Mordora. “You have done well. You’ve released him of your hold, and I will heal him now. Emerge from the magic realm.” And then he looked back at Skelton to focus upon channeling his healing magic into him.

  Mordora watched for a moment, but then the colors of the auras around each individual faded as the colors of the real world returned. She realized she had emerged from the magic realm, and neither she nor Lorrek had moved.

  “Well?” Vixen voiced the question on everyone’s mind.

  Mordora looked back at her and furrowed her brows but then realized when Skelton woke, he only woke within the magic realm—not here. She nodded. “I think we did it.”

  Radella checked on Skelton and nodded as well. “Yes. His pulse is stronger now. I suspect he will wake soon.”

  Jaegar finally withdrew, wondering what would happen now that they had both Mordora and had healed Skelton.

  “Why hasn’t Lorrek emerged yet?” Vixen pointed out as Lorrek remained still in a trance.

  Mordora had no answer for this. She had expected him to follow her out of the magic realm, yet Radella tapped into it and answered Vixen, “He’s speaking with someone.”

  Within the magic realm, Lorrek looked up when Erita appeared before him. He frowned and rose to his feet. Every time she appeared unto him, he worried for Heldon. He acknowledged her with a slow nod. “Erita.”

  She looked relieved to see him. “Lorrek, Heldon has gone and done something foolish, and I couldn’t stop him.”

  This caused Lorrek to stand up even straighter as a thousand wild ideas of what Heldon could have done raced through his mind. “What did he do?”

  “Therth came with Princess Gremina. They requested Heldon accompany them to visit King Caleth and ask for the release of King Roskelem.”

  When Lorrek heard this, he scoffed and shook his head. “Heldon would never agree to such a thing.”

  “You’re right,” Erita confirmed. “However, he did agree to go along with them, mainly because he wants to see what will be done. He does not agree with this request, but he thought someone should accompany them. He had me stay in case the thymords returned. I could seal off the chamber from them.”

  Lorrek nodded when he heard this. It made sense, but still, he raked his hand through his black hair as he sighed. “Where is Heldon now?”

  Erita watched as Lorrek began to pace. “On his way to Athorim. Perhaps you can talk sense into him?” She raised her brows, hopeful.

  “Perhaps.” Lorrek dropped his hand then sighed as he contemplated all the different ramifications this course of action could have. However, one thing he knew for sure, and he smirked at Erita. “This will be a very interesting meeting indeed.”

  She frowned because he seemed thrilled at the idea of this meeting, and that was not what she had expected from him, so she folded her arms. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, Princess Gremina wants her father released, and she thinks going through my brother will make that happen. She is sadly mistaken. Thank you for informing me of this development, Erita. Continue to safeguard Cuskelom. I will go after Heldon.”

  Relief flooded Erita’s face, and she bowed her head to her brother-in-law. “Thank you.” Then she vanished, leaving Lorrek alone with his thoughts.

  Now he had two issues to resolve—one was to find Rykeldan and contain him before he could unleash anything catastrophic upon this world, and the other was to go to Athorim to confront Gremina before they could lose Roskelem.

  With a sigh, he emerged from the magic realm and set his gaze on those in front of him. “We are not finished yet.”

  Theran recognized the tone of Lorrek’s voice, and he folded his arms. “What do you mean?”

  Lorrek looked at his eldest brother but could only see his reflection in the visor of his helmet. “Apparently Princess Gremina has a bid to get her father released, and she had dragged Heldon into it.” As soon as he said this, Lorrek observed as Theran quickly uncrossed his arms and his entire body shifted to a guarded stance, yet Lorrek lifted his hand to appease his wrath. “However, we have two other problems—Rykeldan and the thymords.”

  “Thankfully those two should be in the same area,” Kinnard pointed out. “The thymords went after Rykeldan with Princess Anelm.”

  “With Princess Anelm...” Lorrek mused silently. This situation posed another problem, yet he kept this thought to himself. For now, he conjured a plan and set his gaze on those around him. “We need to split up. We have a lot of ground to cover. Aradin, Dustal, I want you to accompany Skelton and Mordora to Serhon—to the Field of Statues.”

  “What wait?” Dustal asked. “Why us?” Then he gave Mordora a disdainful look. “And why do we have to go with her? How do we know she won’t turn us into stone?”

  Lorrek took a step toward him and kept his voice low. “How do you know I won’t do the same if you don’t obey me?”

  Dustal swallowed and stepped back, lifting his hands. “All is well!” He gave a weak chuckle.

  Perturbed by his brother’s spinelessness, Aradin placed a hand on Dustal’s shoulder and pulled him back, so he was now behind him. Aradin fastened his eyes on Lorrek. “What do you want us to do?”

  “Go to the Field of Statues and wait for me there.” Lorrek shifted his gaze to Mordora. “You will not use your magic at all until I have given you permission. Do you understand?” When she nodded, Lorrek looked at Skelton to find him still unconscious. He would wake soon but will need to take it slow. Lorrek reached into the magic realm and imprinted on his mind what needed to be done once he woke, and then he turned to the others. “Vixen, Theran, go to Athorim to counteract Heldon and Gremina. Radella, you and I will go after Rykeldan and the thymords. Our power combined with that of Anelm should be enough to stop them.”

  “What about me?” Kinnard spoke up. He was the only one Lorrek hadn’t given a command to.

  Lorrek looked at him. He had forgotten about him, and he was merely one more person who had to be involved. “Your Highness, you may return safely to your castles if you wish.
Princess Mordora is done terrorizing Talhon.” As he said this, Lorrek locked eyes with Mordora to ensure she understood the command behind his words.

  However, Kinnard shook his head and stood his ground. “I will not go to hide. This is my kingdom. I know this land better than anyone—”

  “I beg to differ...” Dustal spoke up but quickly realized no one was listening to him.

  Kinnard kept his gaze on Lorrek. “Let me help.”

  For a long moment, Lorrek stared at Kinnard in utter silence. He could sense the man’s sincere desire to help. So far he had only obeyed the commands given to him, and he had done well, so Lorrek nodded. “Very well. Go and find horses for them.” He motioned to Aradin, Dustal, Mordora, and Skelton. “And for them as well,” he gestured to Vixen and Theran before turning his attention back to Kinnard. “Once you have done so, you will accompany the group to Serhon.”

  “I could magick us to Serhon,” Mordora spoke up, yet Lorrek shook his head as he turned to face her.

  “Nay. You are not to use your magic until I have given you permission to. Skelton is not to use his either because he will be incredibly weak after his ordeal. For now, you will ride to Serhon, and there will be no arguments.”

  Theran cleared his throat. “I cannot ride a horse.”

  Lorrek shot him a sharp glare. “And why not?”

  “Would you like me to break the horse’s back?” Theran motioned to his armor, and not for the first time, Lorrek felt a surge of frustration toward the suit of armor that encased his brother.

  Lorrek marched up to him and glared at his own reflection in the visor of the helmet, but he tried to imagine where Theran’s eyes were. “I can remove you from that armor.”