Toward the end of the meeting, a visiting member of the Order from Varner City stepped to the podium, holding a wooden staff about five feet long. Nadia couldn't believe her eyes. Hadn't Ander told her they couldn't obtain staffs like these?
"We've recently received this staff and others like it from Mountainside through a smuggler." The man held the staff high. "We're bringing them to the Order throughout the region. Cyrus Middleton created this staff, giving us access to magic. A chance to fight."
Low murmurs sounded, and Nadia leaned forward with interest. Would the Order find a way to do something meaningful?
But why had this man shown up now, when she needed magic the most? She didn't believe in coincidences. Somebody had to be planning this. But who?
"Unfortunately," the man said, "very few people can channel magic through the staff. We'll each have to hold the staff to see. To most people, it'll feel like an ordinary staff. To those few who can use it, it'll feel . . . different."
He stepped away from the podium and handed the staff to the closest person. One by one, people took it in their hands. Nadia could sense the building disappointment with each uneventful exchange. She squirmed in her seat, waiting for her turn. When she took the staff, she expected to feel its power. After all, she'd always had her visions and intuitions.
But she felt nothing. Her heart sank, and she passed the staff to Kara.
Nothing happened for Kara either, but when Ander took the staff, he looked down at it with wide eyes. "I-I think I feel something. It's amazing."
Everyone clapped, but their enthusiasm soon died. Only Ander could use the staff.
The man from Varner City returned the staff to Ander. "That staff belongs to you. Use it well." He stepped away from the podium. "And with that, I'll take my leave. I have more meetings to attend."
Ander and Aric held a whispered conversation as Aric examined the staff with a gleeful smile. Nadia felt the urge to smile as well. Aric was quite the scholar. Something like this had to be fascinating for him.
The visitor left the house, and the meeting concluded shortly thereafter. Once people began filing out, Nadia pulled Ander, Aric, and Kara aside. Varek and Len remained nearby.
"I have something I need to share with you," she said. "And with Carlos too."
They called him over.
Nadia took a deep breath, displaying the book she'd found. "I think this book, along with my mother's notes, holds the key to killing Warrick."
They all looked at her with raised eyebrows. After another breath, she explained everything she knew about White Fire and Woodsville.
"So that's where we have to go," she said. "If we can find that scroll, we can kill Warrick."
Kara frowned. "I still say you're guessing here."
Nadia glared at Kara. She was supposed to take Nadia's side.
"I'd have to agree there," Ander said. "You're chasing an impossible dream, Nadia. Going to a place like Woodsville for anything less than a certain bet is not a good idea."
Nadia leaned against a wooden desk, trying not to snap at them. Why did everyone have to tell her she was being foolish? Didn't they understand that they weren't accomplishing anything with the Order?
"This is a chance to change things," Nadia said, keeping her tone level and patient. "Sometimes you have to take chances. I understand perfectly well that this idea is insane. But what's the point of resisting Warrick if we're never going to change anything? We might as well give up."
She looked at the others' faces, praying they'd understand. Kara continued frowning. Ander's expression was blank. Carlos shook his head.
Aric, however, stroked his reddish beard. "Actually, she has a point. I'm not saying we should go into Woodsville on so little evidence, but we shouldn't eliminate the possibility either. After all, why would Warrick go to such efforts to hide a mere scroll? Logic says that scroll must be dangerous to him, perhaps something that could kill him."
Nadia exhaled with relief. "Thank you."
"However, as I said, we can't act on so little. I'm sorry, Nadia."
Nadia understood his reasons, but she couldn't give up without trying.
"You don't understand," she said. "This is a perfect opportunity. What are the chances that we'd acquire these staffs now? We can't ignore providence like this."
"It is but one staff," Ander said. "I doubt I can stand against the creatures of Woodsville alone."
Nadia held back tears. "I guess I'll have to go there by myself then."
It was an empty threat, and it sounded childish even to her ears. But if it came down to it, maybe she'd have to follow through.
Still, she worried that going to Woodsville was the wrong thing to do. Perhaps someone wanted her to go there and had supplied the Order with this staff to make it happen. She had no idea if such a person had good intentions, but she couldn't sit there and do nothing.
She had to avenge her mother.
Chapter 5: Into the Ruins
Markus shuddered as he looked into the vast, tree-filled valley ahead of him. A strange darkness hung like a curtain over the ruins of Woodsville.
Rik grinned. "Let's investigate."
"You've gotta be kidding me. I didn't think you were that insane."
"Come on, Markus. We'll never have the chance again."
"Rik, what we're doing is dangerous enough—"
"But don't you want to know if the stories are true?" Rik pointed at the ruins. "Personally, I think they're a bunch of crap. Let's take a look."
"There's some kind of dark cloud hanging over the city. Can't you see it?"
"No. Looks just like anywhere else."
Markus squinted at the dark city, wondering if he was imagining things, but there was no doubt. The city looked as though it were cast in eternal shade. Through gaps in the thick foliage, Markus saw rectangular stone buildings, cracked and worn with age.
Something moved in the shadows.
"You done being scared?" Rik asked. As much as Markus liked Rik, he hated it when his friend took on that mocking tone. It always goaded Markus to action.
"I'm not scared," he said, though he was. "I just think it's a bad idea." He pointed at the city. "You sure you don't notice how dark it looks?"
"You're just imagining things."
"I wasn't imagining things last night," Markus said, fighting back his anger. "I felt something you couldn't. Maybe now I'm seeing something you can't."
"Yeah, maybe. But I still want to check out the city. If it gets too dangerous, we can always turn back, right?" Rik started down the long hill leading to the edge of the ruins. "You coming or not?"
Markus hesitated, but the thought of leaving Rik to enter this place alone terrified him. Life without Rik sounded bleak and empty.
They descended the steep hill, dislodging small rocks as they grew closer to the unnatural darkness.
"We're close enough." Markus strained to keep his voice calm. "Can't you feel the evil in the air? It's everywhere. Let's turn back."
"I don't feel a thing. You're just scared."
As Markus followed Rik, glaring at the back of his head, the sky darkened—that strange darkness only Markus could see. They reached the first cracked and crumbling stone building at the city's edge. Trees and vines had grown all around the stone, blocking the windows and door.
"Don't think we're gonna get in that one," Rik said.
"I don't want to go into any of these buildings," Markus muttered. Rik didn't seem to hear, or maybe he was ignoring Markus.
They pushed through low-hanging branches and vines, walking in eerie silence. No birds chirping. No insects buzzing. No animals scurrying through the underbrush.
"Seems too quiet," Markus said. "Doesn't that bother you?"
"Maybe a little bit." Rik continued until they found a house where the entrance wasn't blocked. He ducked through the door, and Markus followed, trying to calm his quick breathing and pounding heart. As soon as they entered the house, the air became frigid.
"I-I don't like it in here," Markus said. "It's cold again."
"I don't feel a thing."
Markus paused near the house's entrance, watching Rik investigate. Apart from stone counters and old vases and urns scattered about the house, the place showed little evidence that people had once lived there. Not surprising, since the Great War had taken place nine hundred years ago, four hundred years before Warrick's rise to power.
"Come over here," Rik said. "Think I found something."
What now? Markus thought, glaring as he walked over to Rik, who was pointing through the tangle of vines growing along the wall. There was a large opening there, a door of some kind. The closer Markus came to it, the more the cold intensified, and the more his legs trembled.
He stopped a few feet from Rik. "I really don't like this."
"I wanna know where it goes." Rik took out his axe and hacked at the vines, loosening them, then tearing them away. Beyond the opening, cracked stone steps led downward into blackness. Markus came nearer to get a better look, but when he reached Rik's side, his legs collapsed. The air felt so cold his bones ached. Evil came from that opening.
"You all right?" Rik asked.
Markus's chest felt tight. "Don't go down there! Please, don't."
Rik gazed into the dark opening, then back at Markus. "All right, if it bothers you so much, we'll go check out some other part of the city."
Thank God, Markus thought as Rik helped him to his feet. They navigated the rocky ruins of the house, reaching the front door. When they stepped outside, the air felt cold, but not as cold as by those stairs.
"Can we leave now?" Markus asked. "Please."
"I want to see what else there is. After all, it's the middle of the day. Ghosts are supposed to like the dark, right?"
"Yeah, maybe," Markus said. "Maybe that's why I felt so bad near those stairs."
Rik scratched his head. "I guess you really are feeling something."
As they picked their way through dense vegetation, the cold dissipated and Markus relaxed. The city's buildings stood a few feet apart from one another. Most had collapsed over time. Houses? Shops? It was impossible to tell.
The strange darkness lingered over the city, making the sun a dim shadow of itself.
"You sure it doesn't seem dark at all?" Markus asked.
"No, it's a bright afternoon."
Markus shook his head as they traveled toward the center of the city. He'd never heard of anything like this darkness that only one person could see. Was it tied to magic in some way? Markus had always thought only Warrick possessed magic, but maybe that wasn't true.
Markus tried to ignore the deepening cold, but his instincts told him to run. "I don't like the way this area feels. We should turn back."
"Just a little farther. If it gets really bad, we'll turn around. I promise."
And what if it's too late? Markus thought as the vegetation became thicker, vines and gnarled trees growing over everything, looking as though they might strangle Markus.
Eventually, the path cleared, revealing a pyramid-shaped temple at least twenty stories tall. The source of the city's evil? Rik hastened his pace. "Let's investigate."
"I really don't like that temple," Markus said, but he followed, glaring at the back of Rik's head again. Why couldn't Rik overcome his desire for adventure and see some sense?
Twigs crunched beneath their feet as they came within a city block of the temple, walking beneath a sky as dark as night. Markus could see his breath, and the hair on his arms stood on end. He stopped, but Rik continued approaching the temple, across an area suspiciously clear of tangled vegetation, where the dirt path had turned to the rocky remnants of a street.
Markus stepped closer, and it felt as though an icy hand had gripped his heart. Out of the corners of his eyes, he thought he saw movement. Were the shadows playing tricks on him?
His legs felt weak, but he willed them not to collapse as he followed Rik, hanging a few feet back. The only thing more terrifying than what lay ahead was the thought of leaving Rik to suffer it alone. Friends had to stick together, even if one of them was an idiot.
The closer Markus walked, the more frigid the air became, as though someone had doused him in icy water.
Rik reached the large, unblocked door to the temple.
"Don't go in there!" Markus shouted in a high-pitched voice.
Suddenly pale, Rik looked at the door, then back at Markus. Something was coming closer, a smothering presence. Cold and heavy, it twisted Markus's insides into knots.
"Let's go now!" he shouted, trying to keep his legs steady.
"Just a little longer. Then we can go."
"No, we're going now. You promised."
"All right, I did promise." Rik gazed at the pyramid, then walked calmly to Markus's side. Where was the urgency? Something was chasing them—a real and deadly threat.
Markus took off at a run. "We've gotta move faster!"
"No need to rush."
Markus kept his pace, and Rik worked to keep up. When they reached an area of thicker vegetation, Markus looked back, and wished he hadn't. A shadowy creature the size of a person was gliding toward them.
It had no arms and no legs, and it was the deepest black Markus had ever seen.
Where a face should have been, it had only deep red eyes. It hovered closer like a black curtain, moving with alarming speed.
Rik had frozen. "Oh my God! What the hell is that?"
"I told you we shouldn't have come here."
They ran as quickly as the uneven terrain and dense vegetation would allow. Behind them, the wraith slid through obstacles as though nothing were there.
Markus ducked tree branches, leapt over large roots, pushed through thick vines. Branches scratched at his face. With every step, he felt like he might fall and twist an ankle. His heart pounded in his ears, and his breath came out in sharp gasps. It felt like they'd been running for hours.
Behind them, the wraith grew closer. The sky was so dark they could barely navigate the overgrown path.
Rik was panting. "You know that darkness you told me about? Well, I can see it now. I'm sorry I—"
"It doesn't matter."
Dark shapes materialized off to the side. The city was coming to life.
Only a few crumbling buildings were left, then the hill at the edge of the city, but Markus had no idea where Emperor Warrick's magical barrier began, or if it functioned anymore.
More than once, he stumbled over tree roots, and Rik helped him to his feet.
At last, they reached the edge of the city, but the wraith loomed two buildings way, gaining on them. They climbed the hill, bent over at times, using their hands to guide them. Twigs and rocks shifted at their touch.
The air had turned colder than ever. Even Rik's breath was visible, and his face looked paler than Markus had ever seen it.
At the top of the hill, the cold vanished, and the curtain of darkness lifted. Exhausted, Markus and Rik collapsed beside the supplies they'd left there.
Time to put their trust in Warrick's barrier.
Markus didn't want to watch as the wraith glided through the air, a shimmering black curtain. About five trees away, it stopped, staring at them with gleaming red eyes.
"The barrier works," Markus said, short on breath.
"Thank God."
Or perhaps Warrick, Markus added silently. He had no reason to love the emperor, but it appeared he was protecting them from this place.
Despite his exhaustion, Markus got to his feet. "Let's get outta here. I don't want to stare at that thing any longer than we have to."
* * * * *
Darien Warrick leaned back in his chair, exhaling with relief. He'd been paying special attention to the Webs of Fate, knowing that Markus and Rik would face danger. He hadn't realized beforehand how close they would come to death. Too close.
He needed them alive, Markus especially.
A knock sounded on the door.
"Come in," Dar
ien said.
His steward, a young man with curly brown hair and a matching beard, strode into the room. Darien didn't like to be disturbed while he was reading the Webs, but he did have an empire to run, so he brushed aside his anger. No need to terrify his steward.
Darien kept his voice calm. "What is it?"
"High Lord Taylor is here to speak with you. He's concerned about security. The Prison City is growing unruly, and some of the prisoners are trying to break through the wall again. He thinks the wall needs some reinforcement."
"Tell him I'll accompany him to Taylorville in a few minutes."
His steward bowed. "Yes, Your Majesty."
As the young man strode out of the room, Darien closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. Trying to manipulate the future was hard enough. Trying to do so while running an empire was nearly impossible. But he didn't want the people to think he didn't care.
Because he did care. He cared more than they could ever realize.
And how did they thank him? Constant resistance. Distrust. Hatred. He detested the fact that he had to create an entire city as a prison for some of his subjects, but these people were threats to the peace he'd maintained, a peace the rest of the world didn't know.
If only his people understood what he was protecting them from.
Chapter 6: A Daring Plan
Berig sat at the edge of his bed in Liam's inn, going over Gram's plan. As an Imperial Guard, Gram could access the teleportation chamber in Bradenton's Imperial Guard garrison. Tonight, he'd help Berig into that chamber, and Berig would teleport to Riverside, far on the other side of the Empire. Since the monster attacked Bradenton every night, Gram was the only Imperial Guard patrolling the garrison.
Berig stowed his meager belongings in a small leather sack, then walked to the door of his room and looked back at the home he'd never see again. He hadn't been happy in Bradenton, but it was familiar, comforting in a way.
He'd never again see Gram, or Liam, or Captain Young. He'd never walk the cobblestone streets, never steal fresh bread from the market. Could he start all over?
World in Chains- The Complete Series Page 5
