Redeem (The Mage Mirrors, The Fallen Queen, and The Forgotten Child) (A Fated Fantasy Quest Adventure Book 10)

by Humphrey Quinn

  Unaware of what was going on outside, in the real world. His path forward, focused and determined—see what his sister was hiding from him.

  And—ha! There it was at last—her secret. Well, a secret. Still not the right one—this was a secret she was hiding from everyone, not just him. He barged right in with no concern that he should not. The images charged into Colin's mind like he was pulling them out of her head faster than she could even think them.

  His sister—the Stone—her father—using her body as a conduit for his new creation. His new Stone. The process though, would alter her, destroy her, leave her nothing but a shell of a person no longer in existence.

  ##

  Sebastien and Ivan watched it all unfolding in the dream-like setting playing out all around the room. They had barely caught their breath from watching the misery that was Colby's life, when it had all changed—the scenes a strange, non-sensical mix of old memories from Meghan and Colin's youth. Until—Sebastien pitched, his heart reeling. What was he seeing? What new horror was this?

  From the shudder, Meghan released, this nightmare was set in reality.

  He and Ivan shared a perceptive glance—knowing Meghan, she had hidden it because she didn't want to worry anyone, and decided to handle it on her own.

  The front door swung open with a bang. Jasper, Aloyna, Kanda and Arnon rushed inside only to freeze at the mystical sight they beheld—the waking dream living itself out. Blips of thoughts and memories coming to life around them.

  Sebastien and Ivan breathed out in relief and ran over. They and Nona explained the best they could what they thought was happening, and that now, Colby had broken his part in the connection, and Colin was locked into a battle trying to get into Meghan's thoughts—their only saving grace being that Nona could see that much.

  Jasper was all too aware what was hidden in Meghan's thoughts. The only problem was, when he attempted to reach into the young Projector's mind, Colin shoved him right back out. He stumbled back a few uneven steps and frowned at the forceful denial of his attempt.

  "Colin, please stop." It was Meghan pleading.

  Sebastien and Ivan returned to her side, helpless to assist her. She was sitting in her chair with her hands holding the sides of her head, unable to break the connection because Colin was too powerful. He was digging in deeper than he'd ever done before. And he was not listening to her pleas to stop. She wasn't even sure he was hearing her. The magic was taking over—his desire to find out the truth overpowering any logic.

  ##

  And there it was—he'd found what she was hiding.

  Fear hovered around the memory—but fear of him, not the memory.

  His sister was afraid of him. Afraid of his reaction to the memory.

  God, he was so damned tired of everyone being afraid of him.

  So damned tired of caring that people were afraid of him.

  So damned tired of having to care.

  Of being afraid of himself. Having to be aware, and in the moment, and controlled, and—he was in the middle of it—the memory. Foraging through her mind like an unwanted observer.

  While outside, in the room, all he dug out of her mind played out for all to see.

  ##

  Meghan gasped. "I can't push him out, he's too strong."

  Jasper tried again to use his own magic to reach Colin, but to no avail. He couldn’t even get close. Like somehow, the magic had—learned—changed—taken what he'd done before to stop him, and adjusted it so he could not use that maneuver again. Like the magic was taking on a life of its own. Evolving. Jasper had never seen anything like it.

  Meghan gasped, in horror. In her efforts to keep Colin from seeing the vision about his parents, and hiding her own secret about her father's plans for her, she'd completely forgotten about her vision—the one in which she and Ivan team up for kill Colin and Catrina day!

  It replayed for them all to see now.

  Colin pushed to his feet, features hardening.

  What the heck was this? The future? He was older, Catrina too. It had to be the future. He pushed in further, watching it unravel. And it hit him what this was: a vision. His sister had a vision about him, and had hidden it from him all this time.

  Dread.

  So much dread.

  Was this his future? Was it determined, already?

  His life ruined, bad enough—but in this future, he dragged Catrina into the nightmare with him, and she paid for it with her life.

  Colin was sinking into himself. Losing himself.

  He wanted to get angry. But it was more that he hated the way he was. That he'd never have a normal life. That he would always be a danger to those he cared about.

  He and Colby, they were not so different, not really. Colby had his first sixteen years stripped away from him. Colin would lose the rest of his. It was unfair. There was no, opting out. Saying, no thanks. I'll just take what everyone else gets to have, thanks!

  He was buried so deep in the vision he had no idea his dread and anger were taking on a life of their own; the magic, giving into his will. And that anger poured at his sister.

  Meghan screamed, falling out of her chair onto the floor. She managed to motion for the others to keep their distance. It would be the smallest of wins if he only hurt her, and no one else.

  And like a door slammed shut, the pain stopped.

  The anger merging into an ominous tension.

  Colin in the thick of it… his parents. Meghan was hiding the story of his parents from him. She knew so much more than she'd let on. He watched their life unfold all around him. Like he was standing inside his sister's head watching the vision she'd had.

  His parents.

  Colin Edward Gillivray.

  Juliska Blackwell.

  Before his father had died and become the ghost.

  Before his mother had become a fallen Queen.

  He saw them happy, and in love.

  His mother, taken, by the Grosvenor. After, finding out she was pregnant—with him.

  They loved him. They really and truly had loved him.

  So much, that it hurt to watch it. To feel it. To believe it.

  Because these were not the people he'd come to know. These two people were strangers to him. These two people were—happy.

  Colin lost himself to this vision. He wanted to stay inside of it. With them, and their joy. But it hadn't lasted. The love, the happiness, his normal future—was stripped away by one deceitful act after another.

  Until his father had taken his own life to protect—him.

  And his mother was left a hollow shell of the woman she'd once been—a mere living and breathing vessel seeking revenge on those she believed responsible for her pain—after losing him.

  Destroyed.

  By one man.

  One man who'd ruined so many lives—Jurekai Fazendiin.

  Everything Colin had lost because of this man, stabbed into his heart, a thousand sharp needles all at once. What the Grosvenor had done to his mother, is why he was like this. He'd been subjected to crazy amounts of magic while in the womb. It was the Grosvenor's fault. He was entirely to blame. The Grosvenor was responsible for the dreaded future where he fell into a magical madness, and had to be put down by his own sister!

  Meghan attempted to reach him. To tell him she'd never let it happen. It was just one possible outcome, that she had no intention on that vision coming true.

  It fell on deaf ears.

  His outrage festered outward, an intense pressure forming around them all.

  Jurekai Fazendiin was to blame for almost every horrible thing in all their lives.

  Yes, many people had made many choices which led to many terrible outcomes—but it was ALL to stop this one man. Who used, and abused, his own son. Cursed, his own mother. Killed his own father. Planned to destroy his own daughter. Never mind all the other horrible things he'd done, and planned to do!

  It was time the Grosvenor experienced the agony he'd caused so many others.<
br />
  He should have killed him when he'd killed the others. A sick gratification wound its way through Colin's mind. This was his second chance to do it right—and make him suffer, first. And Colin was going to enjoy every, single, minute of it.

  Jasper tried one last time to break this magical state Colin was stuck in, but he was not powerful enough. They'd all feared this for a long time. No one was certain exactly what Colin Jacoby was capable of. He was a Projector, in that his magic had no limits, no boundaries. But it was also more than this—the magic was sucking him into a place where only Colin's deepest, most subconscious desires, mattered. Nothing else. There was nothing they could do to stop this unless they found some way to reach that part of him.

  Colin sprung upward in a flash of movement.

  The pressure in the room expanded, a force of magic either rushing for them, or about to erupt in front of them. Colin's thoughts a one-minded storm—Jurekai Fazendiin needed to suffer. And when he'd decided the Grosvenor suffered enough, he needed to die.

  Colin's magic sought out the Grosvenor—cautiously—no reason to reveal his intentions. It was easy to find him, he was on the island.

  The room plunged into a still silence. The silvery dream haze disappeared, replaced by crackles of electric like streams of magic. Everyone in the room found themselves unable to move, or speak, or defend themselves in any manner.

  Colin reached up and touched his ear—the book, his second soul, unraveled itself and fell to the floor. He didn't need it. He was going to finish this, and kill the Grosvenor before anyone else got hurt, or had their lives ruined by him.

  The pressure in the room increased even more—the gasps of breath and moans did nothing to stop Colin. With an ear-splitting crack, a powerful charge exploded out of him, and BOOM. He vanished.

  CHAPTER 23

  Everyone sank to the floor, gasping. Catching their breath. Confused, with no idea what exactly had just happened other than, Hell had broken loose in the form of Colin Jacoby. Their worst nightmare sprung to life.

  There was no time to discuss what had occurred.

  Or worry about the state Colby was in.

  Or what Meghan's father had planned for her.

  There was no time for debate on what actions to take.

  "He's going for my father," Meghan breathed out as Sebastien helped her up off the floor. "We have to stop him. Before it's too late."

  "Are we sure it's not too late?" Aloyna posed in grim reality of the situation.

  "Jasper, why couldn't you stop him?" It was the first time Meghan saw the man falter and stumble across his words.

  "He is—beyond my reach," he sounded stunned by the revelation. "He is—more powerful than I am." Aloyna exhaled dejectedly, because that was saying something right there.

  "What can we do?" Ivan paced anxiously. "There must be something."

  "I'm going after him." Meghan made to do exactly that, but froze when she caught Jasper's grim features.

  "Colin is more powerful than anyone I've ever encountered, Meghan. I'm not sure what it's going to take to stop him, or—if he can be brought back. The Colin Jacoby we all know, may no longer exist."

  "He's come back before," Sebastien argued on her behalf.

  They hadn't seen his mind. Meghan faltered, her vision of killing him the only thing bubbling its way up. She'd been so stupid to have forgotten that vision. But she had so many things on her mind it had slipped through the cracks.

  "He's not just going to try to kill my father," Meghan began uneasily. "He's going to—destroy him. He wants him to—suffer—for all he's done." She didn't have the heart to add, and he's far too eager and excited about causing that suffering. Even if it was her father, a man who deserved it.

  And even if they miraculously saved her brother tonight, he was going to remember that vision of hers. It might as well be her betraying him all over again. This time, a fatal betrayal.

  "Colin's magic is unstable," explained Jasper. "More so than it should be. It's almost like—" he paused. "It's almost like it's a separate entity growing inside of him. He is a Projector. But unlike any ever born before. And that magical entity has gotten strong enough to surface, fully. If you cannot figure out a way to bring Colin back, he will be lost for good."

  Ivan leaned over and yanked up Colin's second soul. "I suppose the entity, did this?"

  "Yes. It saw it as a block on its power." Meghan shuddered. How was she going to fix this? She wanted her father removed from power just as much as anyone else, even Colin, but not at his expense. "His heart—it's—in the right place. Even if by unhappy accident. Because his focus is on my father—he means to end him—but—by any means necessary. He will destroy himself in the process. Colin will become the new evil. He will make my father look like—" she didn’t have the heart to finish. "I have to find a way to save him. I have to try."

  Ivan rubbed a shaky hand over his face and up through his hair. "This is absurd! We've got to go save the man we all want dead?"

  "There's no other way. Not tonight." Aloyna didn't like it any better than anyone else. "My son will be stripped of his crown, but it will not be tonight. Meghan is right. We'd be replacing one evil with another."

  "An evil that lacks any empathy. Or basis in reality," Jasper expressed.

  Nona pounded over to Meghan. "Can you trace where your brother went?"

  "Yes. I can. He's not blocking me at all right now. He doesn't think he has to." Meaning: he was fully aware that he was more powerful than anyone else and had no reason to worry, or think otherwise.

  Meghan snapped out a fire, determined to go. Ivan stopped her.

  "Um—what about Catrina?"

  "It's not safe. Colin—the real Colin—would never forgive me if I brought her into this and something happened to her. I can't let him down like that, not again." It was enough, he'd seen the vision of her killing him—bringing Catrina into the nightmare was a bad idea all around.

  "What if it's the only way?" Ivan returned.

  "No. I'll figure something out. He's going to the island, which means that's where my father must be." And the terrible part was, it would have been the perfect moment to sneak onto the estate and try to destroy the Stone. But none of that would matter if Colin was lost tonight.

  "You're going to need help," said Jasper decidedly.

  "No army," Aloyna stated right after.

  Meghan nodded in agreement. "Yeah, no army. Not yet. We can't let my father know we have one. Not if we can avoid it. If we can stop my brother, we're still going to need that army."

  Sebastien and Ivan grabbed onto Nona, and Meghan didn't even try to argue to stop them.

  Jasper stepped forward. "No army. But I'll be along with backup, soon. Good luck."

  "And coats!" Kanda suddenly blurted out. "It's winter outside of these lands."

  That sideswiped them, but she was right. They'd freeze in minutes, especially on the island close to the shore. The winds off the ocean were downright biting.

  Ivan raced out the door—his belongings were with Maria. And it was only right he saw her before departing. He'd been ready to leave that moment, but he should at least say goodbye and warn her of his departure. Just in case. You never knew when things might go wrong.

  Jasper, Aloyna, Kanda and Arnon raced out after quick nods, and good lucks passed around. Sebastien shoved his feet into warmer shoes and tossed Meghan a long black coat. She zipped it up and got her own feet into boots she could move easily in. She straightened her body to meet Sebastien's.

  He was giving her a forced smile.

  "You look good."

  She rolled her eyes and released a tense breath. Which is what he was trying to do, give her a moment to catch her breath. Instead, she pushed upward and kissed him. She made to pull away when his arms slipped around her waist and pulled her in tighter.

  He pulled his head back a couple of inches.

  "I love you, you know."

  She exhaled, with a giddy bewildered look on h
er face.

  "I do know. I love you, too. And you're my best friend, so how lucky am I?"

  For a moment, Sebastien wished hard that he didn't have to let her go. She was going to save her brother, and he'd remain by her side no matter what. But it didn't mean they'd succeed, just because they'd try—and—his lips sank into hers.

  He didn't care they were in a hurry.

  This might be it. Last kiss. Who knew?

  And Meghan felt every ounce of that misery with every brush of his lips across hers.

  Until an annoyed clearing of a throat interrupted them.

  They twisted to see Ivan wagging his eyes in amusement.

  "You're seriously going to tell me you didn't just do the same thing with Maria?" grumbled Sebastien. Ivan chuckled, and grinned—but the same worry lined the backside of it. They all hoped it wasn't the last time.

  Meghan dropped her arms.

  Sebastien did, though a little less willingly.

  "Okay. Let’s go save Colin." Meghan snapped out a fire and Nona flew them away to meet their doom.

  CHAPTER 24

  Kanda and Arnon raced through the Tunkapog village, raising the alarm. They were not sure if the war was about to begin, or the world, about to end, or exactly what was going to happen. But people needed to be up and alert and prepared, and it was the middle of the night.

  Nashua sprinted out of the meeting hall with a group behind him. They hurriedly explained what had happened, all the while, displeased outrage building in Nashua's eyes, and his sister was more than aware of why—they'd hidden Colin on their lands without telling him. A potentially dangerous young man wandering around, freely.

  "We will have words about this later," he aimed at his sister.

  "And you think it would have mattered if he'd been here, or somewhere else?" she threw back at him hotly. "At least here, under our watch, we have some warning. Some idea about what the heck is going on."

  Hard to argue that point. But Nashua didn't have to be happy about it.

  "You're not necessarily wrong, Sister. But you withheld his presence here and endangered others without my knowledge, or consent." A pointed reminder of who was in charge.