by Jaci Miller
Rafe tensed as Gabriella’s iridescent eyes turned his way.
“At this moment, you are her only hope.”
“Are you sure about this?” Sebastian’s concern etched his face as he looked at his friend.
Rafe nodded. “Adaridge is the only one who can reach her using the power of the All Souls and I the only one who can reach him.”
Moving to the edge of the pool he removed his shirt, lowered himself to the grass, and sat cross-legged, closing his eyes.
Sebastian and Gabby moved back giving him space to concentrate.
The Pool of Sight was a sacred place and if there was anywhere within the grove where Adaridge could cross through to this side it would be here. Hopefully, he had given Rafe the knowledge to make that happen.
Rafe slowed his breathing. His back muscles twitched, and his jaw clenched as his eyes moved back and forth rapidly under his closed lids, searching. His lips began to move as a whisper drifted from them. It was quiet at first barely more than a whisper but as he continued the words became firmer and more forceful.
“What is he saying?” Gabriella said quietly listening to the chant.
Sebastian recognized bits and pieces. “I believe it is a summoning. A way of connecting to imprints who exist behind the veil. Rafe does not have the ability to cross over into another plane, so he’s trying to summon a Druid who can.”
“Let us hope it is Adaridge who answers.”
Rafe’s chanting intensified as the surface of the pool began to ripple. Subtle at first, a slight vibration shimmering across the surface. The more Rafe whispered the more intensely the water vibrated until waves pushed out toward the edges.
Something at the pool’s center broke through the surface. Moments later, Adaridge, in perfect form, rose from the water’s depths. His robes were dry as he waded along the surface and stepped to the grass. He extended a hand toward Rafe and helped the warrior to his feet.
“It has been a long time,” he said.
“You look good.”
“The All Souls has kept my life essence stable. It is an odd thing being back in this form after all this time. It feels heavy.”
He pulled at his long, thick beard. “And uncomfortable.”
Rafe laughed. “The brevity of actual existence.”
Nodding, Adaridge turned toward Gabriella and Sebastian. “I am glad to see you both well.”
The elder warrior clasped the Druid’s hand. “It is good to see you too, old friend. You have been missed.”
The Druid moved toward Gabriella, stumbling slightly.
Rafe steadied him. “Are you OK?”
He pulled his shoulders back and nodded. “My time in these worlds is long past and my essence no longer belongs here. I am unable to stay in this physical form for long, so we must hurry for soon the All Souls will call me back.”
He once again moved toward where she stood. Taking her hands in his he looked deep into her iridescent eyes. “I am sorry your burden has been the most daunting and caused you pain. It was not the intent of the Guardian to have you fall, but under the circumstances, it was the only way. It was I who was to be the one to exist in the new world as a mortal. Alas, I was unable to hold on to my existence long enough to transfer my life essence into the new world. The unexpected arrival of the ancient dark sapped my magic far too soon, and therefore my burden became yours and for that, I am truly sorry.”
“But if my true destiny was not to fall and join the other bloodlines then what was it? I carry the blood of the celestial. I am one of the six Arcanists am I not?”
“Yes, but your task was to remain on Etheriem. To wait in stasis like Rafe until the prophecy began to unwind. Dane would find you as she did Rafe. Your paths would have crossed as they were meant to. Your time to descend was when the prophecy came to pass, not before. You were never meant to lead a mortal life.”
Gabriella stared at the Druid unable to utter a response. Pushed from her beloved home so abruptly, the Guardian had sacrificed himself, and then he sacrificed her without explanation. She thought back to her last day on Etheriem and how her brother refused to look at her.
He must have known.
Straightening to her full height her iridescent eyes bore into the Druid’s. Her pride refused to acknowledge his pity. “If that was the destiny the Guardian chose for me then it was the one, I was meant to have.”
She reached into her pocket and pulled out the amulet. “And this is the path you are now meant to walk. You are the one who can reach Dane. She must be given this.” Pressing the amulet into Adaridge’s palm she continued, “It is the only way to pull her from the darkness this incubus has cocooned her in.”
“So, there is still a chance to correct her path,” he said closing his fingers around the amulet.
The celestial dipped her head. “Maybe.”
Reaching into his robe he produced a small vial. The contents flickered with a purple light and a gauzy substance swirled languidly inside the glass. He handed it to Gabriella. “Then you will need this. She must ingest it.”
“What is that?” Rafe asked.
“It is the essence of the All Souls. I am only able to pass through into the natural world using a physical form from this point of origin,” he said indicating the Pool of Sight. “For me to help, Dane must come to me. The essence of the All Souls must be consumed so her conscious can pass into another plane. Her dreams will guide her.”
“But you already reached out to her before. Why can you not again?”
Adaridge shook his head. “That was different. I projected my mind, not a physical presence. I manipulated time and space in order to contact her. But even then, I was unable to converse with her the way I am with you now.”
He lifted the amulet Gabriella had given him.
“In order for me to carry a physical object to her, we must exist on the same plane. The contents in that vial will bring her to me. The essence of the All Souls will always find its way home.”
Rafe frowned as he addressed the celestial. “Why can we not just deliver the amulet to her ourselves.”
“Celeste worried the incubus would feel its energy long before we could get it on her person. We must take no chances.” She put the vial in her coat pocket and looked at Adaridge. “It will be done.”
“How will you know when you can reach her,” Rafe asked.
The Druid’s tanned face wrinkled at the corner of his eyes as he chuckled. “I will know,” he said as he walked back into the Pool of Sight.
The water bubbled around him as he began to descend beneath its depths.
“Thank you, Adaridge,” Rafe said his voice strained.
Gabriella felt a slight twinge in her heart as the Druid responded.
“I will do what I can for her, but you must understand the darkness is hers alone to conquer. If the ancestor of the Callathian bloodline is to return to her rightful destiny, she must choose which path to take on her own.”
As he disappeared beneath the surface of the water his voice echoed through the grove.
“Darkness will not win if she is able to find the light within.”
Chapter 23
Late afternoon sun scorched the sky as the group exited the Druid Sanctuary. Its rays touched the horizon as it sank, crossing paths with the triple moon that rose beside it.
“You must hurry,” Sebastian said. “The sun is fading. If you do not destroy the well and close the gateway before the moon rises to its peak the Keltie will be free, and we will have lost our chance. They may not return to their plane once they discover we have captured Marlee.”
“We will see it done,” Killenn said.
Sebastian glanced to the sky as it roiled and rumbled over the Oberon Fen. “Good luck my friends. We will head to Niramyst and wait for your return.”
Inside the Fen a gloomy atmosp
here prevailed. Pewter clouds blocked the light of the afternoon sun. No sparkling leaves or babbling brooks waited for them, only death and decay. The air, thick with a caustic stench, dripped with heavy sorrow. These lands, forever scarred, would never see the bright light of any day nor flourish the way the rest of Athir did under the renewed magic.
Both Killenn and Rafe had been young men when the war between the races broke out, but each remembered the fertile grow lands the way they used to be. The fae took pride in their crops and orchards. Although these lands would never return to their former opulence, the warriors could ensure the rest of Athir did not succumb to the vicious darkness the return of the Keltie would bring.
Rotten vines snagged at their clothes as they weaved their way through the vineyards dilapidated wooden slats. Unfazed, they pushed on. Soon the moon would reach its peak and the Keltie fae would emerge, anxious to find their new fae queen.
Killenn dumped the bag at the base of the well the moment they arrived. His eyes trailed to the top where the breach in the raging sky still throbbed.
The well had flourished under the magic seeping from the other plane. Tendrils of fairy vine twisted up the stone. The emerald green of their stalks contrasted with the dark gray of the well. Tiny pink florets burst outward from their sheaths exuding a heady perfume.
Rafe stood next to Killenn and pulled a paper from his pocket. “You should mix the elixir. Alchemists come from your people.”
Killenn shook his head. “But you have the knowledge of the Druids and it’s a Druid elixir.”
Rafe’s eyes tracked to the top of the tower. “I will mix. You can scale the well and set the elixir to light. There will be mere moments to ascend and you are quicker.”
“Agreed. I am quicker,” Killenn said raising an eyebrow at Rafe.
“For this task,” he clarified.
“Of course.”
Rafe took the ingredients from the duffel sac. He set the alchemy burner down and lit it, adjusting the knob until the fiery blue flame turned dark red.
“Maybe we should have brought Stevie,” he said as he read the instructions.
“You can do this, but please hurry. The sky above the Fen is darkening, which means the sun of Athir has almost disappeared. We are running out of time.”
Nodding, he set the glass carafe on the burner and began adding ingredients, muttering measurements to himself.
The concoction bubbled and the hue turned from putrid green to lilac, and then jet black. A hiss sounded as it boiled, and smoke and sparks erupted from the surface.
Rafe jumped back as the liquid frothed and foamed.
After a few minutes the elixir settled, and the color vanished until a clear fluid was left in the glass carafe.
“Is it done?” Killenn leaned in tentatively.
“Let us hope.” Rafe pushed a cork stopper into the carafe and handed it and a piece of parchment to him.
“You must throw this into the gateway as you recite the last line of the incantation for the third time. No sooner. No later. Your timing must be precise.”
“Precise got it.” He placed both items in a small satchel and began to scale the well, finding footings and handholds hidden among the flourishing foliage. When he reached the top, he looked down plotting his descent so not to waste time later. When the elixir ignited, he did not want to be anywhere near the top of the tower for the force would throw him off.
The fairy vines growing at the top were much longer and thicker than the ones climbing the tower at its base. Their proximity to the ancient magic pulsing from the gateway must be increasing their growth rate. Rain still fell from the opening, but it had diminished and was now more of a mist that covered the vines and the surface of the well in a slick golden sheen.
Killenn stepped over the maze of vines until he stood directly under the gateway. It was lower than it was before, and he reached up toward it. The opening throbbed as his energy moved closer. A sudden ripple coursed through the bright surface and a muffled screech sounded on the other side. Before he could react a deathly white hand with long bony fingers and razor-sharp talons breached the gateway and grabbed his wrist knocking the elixir from his grip.
The Keltie wrenched him upward until just his boot toes touched the tower. He struggled against his captor but dangling as he was, he could not reach the clawed hand that held him.
The ancient fae pushed further through the opening its face a blank mask of white. Soon both its shoulders were visible. It pulled back its thin lips revealing a row of pointed teeth dripping with gel-like saliva. A forked tongue protruded from its mouth. The quivering tips extended toward him.
Killenn struggled against the Keltie’s grip. Blood ran down his forearm where the talons pierced his skin. He groped for the sheath strapped to his thigh. Grabbing the hilt of the hunting knife he yanked it from the casing and swung it upward. The sharp blade sliced cleanly into the Keltie’s arm and it unleashed an ungodly howl. He fell back to the top of the tower in a crumpled heap.
A chorus of whispers surged above him as the Keltie continued to howl in pain. The gateway quaked as more ripples formed and other fae began to push through its surface.
Ghastly white limbs and faces emerged above him.
He searched for the small satchel containing the elixir and found it lodged between two thick fairy vines. Unwrapping the parchment, he began to recite the incantation.
Lavasei ma veritete avadei
Broco desella faetelle
Words flowed from his lips and the elixir started to glow. Above him the trio of Keltie fae screamed, their bodies partially emerged from the gateway thrashed angrily. He repeated the spell a second time and the vial spun wildly in his hand. As he invoked the incantation for the third time, he tossed the ampoule into the air watching as it flew straight into the gateway.
Killenn scrambled to get to his feet.
The Kelties stuck halfway out of the gateway reached for him. A talon slashed his forehead as he tried to avoid the outstretched limbs. The force knocked him sideways, and he tripped. He struggled to stay upright but toppled to the ground as his feet ensnared in fairy vines.
Blood poured into his eyes and blurred his vision.
He wiped at it frantically.
I must get off this tower.
He sliced at the vines with his knife until he had freed his feet. Rising on unsteady legs he glanced at the gateway. It began to shake as a strange glow erupted behind it sending shards of light flashing across its surface. The opening shuddered and the Kelties were sucked violently back in.
Killenn ran to the edge of the tower and grabbed the end of a long, thick vine. Hoping it was attached to something at the other end, he jumped. Halfway down the side of the tower, the vine caught. The abrupt force swung him aggressively into the side of the tower. Above him, the elixir exploded deep within the Keltie plane. The force of the blast reverberated outward sending him spinning out of control. He clung to the vine as he swung. Unable to control his momentum he slammed into the side of the well again. The unyielding stone connected with his ribs, and he cried out as a sharp pain rifled through his abdomen. He struggled to stay conscious as he continued to spin wildly at the end of the vine.
The sky above rippled with lightning as the gateway expanded. A white spark scorched through the sky and the opening yawned above him. As it reached its apex the funnel of air began to draw everything back toward it sucking him helplessly upward as it contracted, imploding in on itself.
He flailed desperately searching for a handhold as he was dragged toward the collapsing gateway. If he was pulled through before it closed it would collapse around him, and he would cease to exist, so he clung to the end of the fairy vine determined to not let go.
It was his only hope; a tether to this world.
Glaring light flashed around him as the sky shuddered and fractured. The roar
of the wind was a deafening noise. He closed his eyes waiting for the inevitable, waiting for death.
“Killenn!” He heard his name in the rushing wind as the vortex roared around him and felt a strong hand wrap around his forearm. He opened his eyes to see Rafe’s face staring up at him.
“I’ve got you,” he said pulling Killenn toward him and into the uppermost water bowl where he had anchored himself. They huddled together in the heavy metal basin waiting for the sky to quiet.
Moments later the wind calmed, and the brilliance of the gateway diminished until the dark sky of the Oberon Fen swallowed it entirely.
Wincing, Killenn stood. Blood seeped down the side of his face from the gash on his forehead and the pain in his ribs flared when he took a breath.
“How do you feel?”
“I will be fine.”
“You don’t look fine. I thought you were fast.”
Killenn chuckled then gasped as a sharp pain exploded in his side.
“Can you make it to the bottom?”
He nodded.
Carefully they descended stopping a few times so he could catch his breath.
“How did you manage to get to the top of the tower so quickly?” he asked when they had reached the bottom.
Rafe grinned and clasped Killenn on the shoulder. “I can be fast when I want to be.”
Killenn returned the gesture thankful that Rafe had saved him from certain death. “I will be forever in your debt, my friend.”
He looked at the surging sky of the Oberon Fen. Lightning flashed, scissoring through the darkness followed by the guttural growl of thunder.
“That may not be as long as you think if we are unable to stop what is coming,” Rafe said.
“Let us get back to Niramyst. The others are waiting and there is still much to be done.”
“We need to tend to your injuries.”
“Don’t fuss, I will be fine until we reach the elvish city.”
Taking one last look at the well glistening with beauty under the churning sky he followed Rafe.
