Not everyone was convinced though. And now that she had explained all that had happened, because of Jurekai Fazendiin, and what his plans were—to take over all magic—the debate had begun on how to make sure this battle was won.
In Meghan's mind, the objective was clear: Take Juliska Blackwell out of power. Take her father, Jurekai Fazendiin, out of power, and in the process, destroy the original Immortality Stone, and as well, destroy the Stones he was collecting for his even larger, more powerful Stone—the one he planned on using his own daughter as some sort of magical conduit, to create. A secret only she and Colby were aware of. She'd never told anyone close to her.
Meghan hoped, along the way, to find some way to save Colin so he'd have some chance at a normal future. And, find some way to free Jae. And Colby—she had hope. A lot of it. Most especially since he was the reason the Svoda were free and healing, today.
But she had to face the reality on both counts—Colin and Colby—that it might not work out. And in Colby's case, he might choose to return to his father, which meant she had to be prepared to fight him. Or risk failure, which wasn’t an option because her failure meant the rest of the world's failure.
No pressure…
But it was all laid out and in the open.
All the details the people needed to know to make informed choices.
And while everyone agreed with her base ideas of what had to happen, few agreed on how to get it done. And who would do what, when? There had never been a combined effort like this before, with sides who'd not always gotten along, coming together for the greater good.
The Tunkapog had always chosen to remain neutral in the matters of magical wars.
The Banished had wanted to return magic to the world—as it turns out, because their leader, Amelia Cobb, had been coaxed into doing it (without her knowledge).
The Svoda wanted to live on their island, hidden, and in peace.
And in some ways, thought Meghan, living in denial. The Banished, too, were in some ways the same. Neither group ready and willing to jump into a war. But so many of them were also battered and broken, and still healing. Not just physically, but mentally and spiritually, too.
The Tunkapog had taken a side. They had no other choice, as their world was in as much peril as any other. They may have hidden away, living in peace for all these years, but when it came to this, they had no choice but to fight. They'd trained for battle, but most had never fought in one.
And while it wasn't entirely clear that the Banished had given up on their ridiculous plan to return magic, they did agree that using the Immortality Stone to do it, was a terrible idea and out of the question. And they were struggling to accept it was Fazendiin, himself, who'd put the idea into Amelia Cobb's head to begin with. The dead leader had taken the idea and run with it, to unfortunate extreme levels. However, Meghan was sure most of the Banished who'd still been thinking to give it a shot someday, had given up when she'd explained this.
Because it was easy to see her father's plans—to bring back magic, and then harvest it all. And if he was allowed to do that—they might as well say goodbye to any sort of future.
And the Svoda from the island, they'd had it rough. A handful had died—no names she recognized. Some were near death when they were brought in. Some had recovered. Children had become adults, seemingly overnight—their instant harsh reality snapping them out of their sheltered childhoods. Forcing them to take up arms against a much more advanced and frightening foe. When the rumors spreading had been confirmed as true—that Mireya, along with her friend Joseph, and of all people, Daveena, were responsible for the Svoda who'd escaped before Juliska managed to steal the last of their magic (her plan to make an example out of them and kill them), well, everyone was pretty damned proud of them. Saddened, that it had even come to a situation like this. But impressed by their courage, nonetheless.
It was Maria's father who confirmed the story, as the three youngsters themselves, refused to admit to it. Credit didn't matter to them, they'd just wanted everyone safe. But it turned out that the guy they'd named, Scarface, was Maria's father. With the new scar across his face—from the first battle with Juliska after Jae had jumped over the cliff—and his many sessions with the Stones, and general mistreatment over the many long months of his imprisonment, he barely looked anything like his old self. He was there, in the eyes. But it took a second, sometimes third glance, to see it.
But what it came down to, was, if those three kids had the bravado to stand up and fight, the rest of them had no excuses. And they were ready, at least in heart, to fight this evil.
Although some continued to struggle to accept that they'd been duped by Juliska Blackwell. And some were not physically able to fight, even though they might want to.
A small few were in adamant denial and simply refused to believe things were so dire. It was hard to blame them. Who wanted to wake up to a reality in which you found out your life was a lie, and many people you cared about had suffered, tremendously, because of said lies. Some had even lost their lives because of this. Sometimes, reality took time to take hold. Longer in some than others. It didn't make them weaker. It was because they broke too easily. Loved too much, too hard. Trusted those they'd been taught to trust. And to some, living in a world with so much evil was simply too much to accept.
They'd come around.
But Meghan didn't have the patience to wait, and neither did some of the others.
Army, ready to fight, or not, her ability to destroy the Stone, or not, set aside, there were no specific plans in motion. They had the prep work done, but the battle lay spread out before them like a disconnected web that had yet to meet up.
Of equal frustration, Nashua, the leader of the Tunkapog and Kanda's brother, kept adding fuel to the debate fire, because his main concern was losing more lives. Which was everyone's concerns, Meghan's too, but somehow, his arguments kept revolving back to Meghan, Colin, and Colby, and even though it seemed her part in all of this was clear, what was theirs?
She wasn’t having any part of it.
"I don’t even know how you can question that I have to be an integral part of the battle. I’m the only one who can destroy the Immortality Stone."
"That's not the part I'm questioning," Nashua responded sharply. "You are not a trained fighter. Destroying the Stone does not mean you need to be at the front lines. Unless you think you’re ready to lead an army?"
"I've never once said, or implied, that I should lead the army. I know what I need to do. But there will be a battle, whether I fight in that battle, or not. I'll say it again, we should vote. Jasper Thorndike and Aloyna Fazendiin have been fighting my father longer than anyone here. They should lead us into battle," Meghan argued.
Some smart-aleck shouted out, "And if they've been fighting as long as you say, we should trust they can actually win, now?"
And Nashua didn't like not having any say in what happened to his own people. More like he wasn't used to being told what to do, Meghan thought. The man was stubborn. But what did she know? She wasn't speaking on behalf of a large group of people who might lose their lives, by fighting. In the end, she was only speaking for herself.
The conversation and debate spiraled downhill, again.
"And where is this mystery army?" someone else called out. "You say they exist, but we have yet to see them. Where are they? When will they show up? How do we know, for sure, they will fight?"
"Look, Jasper Thorndike isn't here, so we can't ask him. We've already been through this," Ivan argued on her behalf. Her grandmother, Aloyna, tossed a sympathetic eyeroll in her direction. She had no more information than Meghan did. She caught Ivan's smirk and returned it. Sebastien's frown lines creasing deeper. She lowered her head in a frustrating shake and decided to let them argue amongst themselves. She already knew her job. It was now a matter of planning a war, and that was not her job, it was theirs.
CHAPTER 6
Ivan stayed in the meeting, but cast her an
irritated wink as she unceremoniously got up and left the meeting hall—which was an oversized tent set up at the edge of the village. The normal meeting hall in the center of town was not big enough and was currently serving as a triage of sorts, for the sick and wounded.
Sebastien followed her, Nona too. And she was shocked when a few seconds later, it was Nashua’s stern cut of a voice that broke through to her.
"Meghan. Please, wait."
She spun, shocked, but also rather irritated with the man. How was it possible he and Kanda were siblings? They were nothing alike.
Wait! What was she saying… look at her and Colby, or Colin, for that matter!
Sebastien marched ahead with Nona to give them a moment of privacy. But not until she'd given them the okay to do so.
Meghan’s attempt not to look annoyed, failed. But what came out of Nashua’s mouth next rattled her annoyance.
"I do not mean to come away so rudely, or untrusting of you. I have many lives in my hands. As do you."
"You think I’m not taking that seriously?"
"No. That's not what I think."
"If I could just go, right now, and end all of this so no one else got hurt, or killed, I'd leave this minute. My father will attack. He will retaliate. He has his own army now, and he's always ten steps ahead of us. Whatever you all decide, I'm not going to wait around and take the chance that my father will discover the few things we have working to our advantage. Secrets we had to work so hard to create. And those secrets, those weapons, whatever you want to call them—they were not free. There's a cost for everything, and I have to make sure it was worth it."
Nashua released a stiff sigh.
"On that, we agree. We don't need the cost to go up even more. I understand your frustrations. I do. We all do. And do not think that we are ungrateful for what this has cost you. Cost, so many," he corrected. "That could not be farther from the truth. You have our most extreme gratitude."
Meghan slapped her mouth together, having been preparing her next argument.
"In truth, Meghan, your actions are—noble, and have humbled many opinions. Including my own."
"I’m—I'm doing the only thing I can do," she stammered. "There’s only one option for me. And that’s to stop my father and destroy the Stone."
"And on that much, we do agree. But you must understand that I cannot allow my people to charge into battle, unprepared. Wars are not won by rash decisions. And if you didn't notice in there, not everyone agrees on how to move forward."
She eyed him like, you're not helping!
"What I mean is, we must agree, to move forward together. Otherwise, we will fail. And many lives will be lost. That cost will be devastating. If we go into this war still fighting amongst ourselves, we have no hope of working together to overcome this common enemy. Or creating a peaceful, and secure future, for all magical clans."
Meghan shook her head.
"Then get it done." She stood her ground. "We do not have the luxury of time. From my viewpoint, this is not a rash decision. It’s been a long time in the making. And the longer I wait, the more chances my father has to figure out my secrets. If that happens, we lose any advantage we have. There is only one path for me and I'm going to do what I must. When I must. I'm not going to hesitate because no one else can make up their minds." She was thinking they all needed a swift kick in the butt to get them motivated. That they were not accepting the bigger picture—they needed to act! Now!
Nashua smiled. Possibly the first volunteered smile at her, ever. Which only annoyed her even more.
"I'm beginning to understand you just a little more, Meghan Jacoby. You have done the only thing you could do. And that, I wager, is the key right there. You could have opted out. Run away, taken the easy path. You did not. You accepted a fate forced upon you, and chose to follow the hard path. And you’re fighting for a world you did not grow up in, was thrust into, and quite honestly, is in complete chaos and has shown you little in the way of trust, or loyalty. Including on my part. And for that, I apologize. You do have our full support."
"Thank you. That does mean a lot to me. I don't take that lightly."
He nodded. "I only ask you to give us enough time to prepare, properly. I realize you see our lack of moving forward as discouraging, perhaps even—cowardly. But consider this as well, some of these people have never trained for war. Have never dreamed they’d be called upon to fight in one. Their belief in the world as they know it, is shaken. You're right—time is not a luxury we have. They'll get there. I promise you."
Meghan’s teeth raked across her bottom lip. She nodded. Nashua’s words a surprise. And shockingly so, a needed gesture in some ways. She wasn’t alone in this. Yes, it was her job to destroy the Stone, but like Robert Motley had advised, getting help from others was okay. This was a vast undertaking and she did not want anyone else to die. But the waiting—God! The waiting—it was going to kill her faster than being in a war.
Nashua held out his hand in a peace offering. She straightened herself and took hold of it. They shook. A sense of momentary peace between them.
"Thank you," Meghan told him as they let their hands break apart and he returned to the meeting. She huffed out a long breath as she moved forward and met up with Sebastien. He hadn’t been that far away and overheard everything. And the handsome, proud, smile he wore was all she needed to find a bit of serenity.
He grabbed her shoulders, gingerly. "You're not wrong in what you're saying, but Nashua wasn't totally wrong with some of his ideas either. Some of them do need time to let it all sink in."
"And in the meantime, we’re taking a chance that my father will discover my intentions and all I've done to thwart him. I don't have time for people to work through the stages of denial."
He wagged an eyebrow in amused response to her impatience. "Just… imagine it this way. You’ve had a bit more time to wrap your head around some of this stuff. Not all of it, but a lot of it. Most of the people inside that meeting hall, are only today learning about things they never imagined possible. Their worlds are collapsing around them. They’re stuck in flight mode. They haven’t quite made it to fight mode… yet."
She smirked, wishing she could defy his point, but he was making a good one. She thought she was doing the right thing by sharing all she’d learned with them all. She hoped it was the right move. If not, she’d still do what she had to, even if it was on her own.
Sebastien leaned in and kissed her forehead. "It’ll be fine. We have time." He didn’t believe any of that, but he’d keep saying it anyway.
"I don’t want to lose the one advantage we have, in my father not knowing the prophecy is fake. That we have a cure to combat the Stone’s power. That we have a damn army, thanks to Jasper!"
"And thanks to you," he reminded with a proud grin.
"Maybe that's all we need?"
"You mean, leave everyone else out of it?"
"Yeah. Like everyone keeps pointing out, they're not ready for war. Those who are can make their own choice."
"I suppose. In the end, there might not be any choice in the matter. And I'm sure Jasper's army is prepared to follow you this minute, if you wanted them to."
"I’m tempted. So very tempted. Let them all sit around and argue it out. I’ll just go get it done." It was something to consider at least. She was willing to give them another few days, but time had suddenly taken on a harsh new meaning—with every minute that passed, they were one minute closer to her father gaining the upper hand again.
"You are a woman of action, not talk." Sebastien clipped off a laugh.
"You’d better love that about me, because that is never going to change." She almost added, ever, but that was too close to forever, and a topic she did not wish to discuss—should plans go wrong and she wasn’t able to destroy the Stone. Meaning she’d live as an immortal, and Sebastien would get older and die. Everyone she loved would die, except for Colin and Colby.
As enticing a thought as it was to live an
immortal life, to see what the future held so many long years from now, she wanted what everyone else had. A chance at one, normal, human life—with the guy she was helplessly in love with.
"So, living forever with me doesn’t suit you?"
Meghan’s head jerked up to see Colin appear out of nowhere. Jasper at his side.
He must have heard that last thought, she hadn't been hiding it.
A smile crept across her face and she rushed over, relieved to see him. They hugged, had a couple reserved laughs, and broke apart.
At least she still had her mind block firmly in place on the things she did not want him to see. The things about his parents—she would tell him, but springing information on someone was a bad idea. Most especially when that someone was Colin. His parent's story wasn't one you just plunged into without warning.
Sebastien came over and patted Colin's shoulder. "Good to see you."
"You too."
Meghan’s eyes narrowed. "Where’s Catrina?"
Colin stalled for a second. "She, um, she’s with her family. I’ve actually been here since last night, with Jasper." He didn’t expand. But seeing the two Projector’s together gave Meghan a lot more hope than she probably should have allowed herself. And this explained why Jasper had disappeared. In her book, there were few better reasons—except, there was something they were not telling her. The wary, knowing looks, the silent, but telling, expressions. Something had happened and if Meghan had to guess, it wasn't a good something.
"Can you stick around?" she asked Colin. "There’s some things I’d like to talk about, if you can stay."
Redeem (The Mage Mirrors, The Fallen Queen, and The Forgotten Child) (A Fated Fantasy Quest Adventure Book 10) Page 5
