The Ancients: Book 3 in the Cedarstone Chronicles

by Sean Stone

  Nick nodded. There was no doubt in his mind. He was mere moments away from becoming truly divine. Kayla lifted the bowl and passed it to him.

  "Drink," she commanded.

  He raised the bowl to his lips and tipped a small amount in. The taste was sweet and luxurious and he immediately tipped in more. As it crawled down his throat it left behind a cool feeling, as though he had drunk ice cold water. The feeling spread as the substance journeyed to his stomach and it spread out over his entire body, from his head to his toes. When the bowl was empty he laid it down on the floor and looked at Kayla expectantly. "Is that it? Is it done?" he asked.

  "Half," she replied and picked up the dagger. "This is the final stage, and I'm sorry Nickolas, but it is the most painful. This is the part where you die." She looked at him apologetically.

  "The phoenix burns and from the ashes is born again," Nick said. He'd read that somewhere — he couldn't remember where — but it seemed fitting at that moment. "I'm ready."

  "This will be the most agonising experience of your life," Kayla said and without warning, she stabbed him right in the heart. Nick screamed and grabbed her arms instinctively. Some primal instinct had seized control of his limbs and he fought against her to remove the dagger from his chest, but his strength was nothing compared to hers. The dagger burned like fire and it radiated from his heart quickly, replacing all of the coolness from the ambrosia. Every millimetre of his body felt as though it was being ravaged by fire, from his skeleton to his skin. He was sure that he would burst into flames at any moment. Even his eyes burned with a passion so strong he almost tore them from his head. He began shaking violently, uncontrollably.

  "Please, stop it," he begged, but Kayla shook her head.

  "I'm sorry, my child, if I don't complete the ritual you will die forever," she explained. Her eyes brimmed with tears.

  "I'm burning," Nick gasped. His limbs were growing weak. Unable to hold on, his arms fell away from Kayla's. He saw that the rubies on the dagger had lit up and were providing enough light to fill the entire chamber. His heartbeat slowed to a crawl, and his vision started to dim, but the burning only increased in velocity. At any minute he would surely combust. He was sweating so profusely that his clothes clung to him.

  "And from the ashes, you will be reborn," Kayla whispered in his ear. Nick gasped as his heart stopped beating and everything around him disappeared.

  When Nick woke he was in his old room. The one he had lived in for the first several years of his residence in the temple. He had not been in the room since Olivia had moved in. Nothing had changed in the room, it was just as he'd left it.

  "Welcome back," Kayla said. He looked to his right and saw her sitting in the chair, smiling at him fondly. "How do you feel?"

  The pain was gone now as if it had never been. The whole scenario seemed like a dream that was quickly slipping away now that he was awake. "I feel no different than usual," he said, disappointedly. He had expected to feel exhilarated and alive, but he felt the same as he always had.

  "That is how it should be," said Kayla.

  "What happened? I felt like I was on fire?"

  "You died and was born again, and now you'll live forever." She lifted an item from her lap and placed it on the bed next to Nick. It was the ambrotos dagger in its sheath. "This belongs to you now."

  "Don't you need it? To give immortality?" Nick asked. He looked at the dagger but did not take it. He remembered it as the object that had caused him such pain, though in time he was sure he would come to see it as the object that had granted him eternal life.

  "I have made many immortals in my time. None of them turned out quite how I envisioned. With you it was different, I made sure you became the man you are supposed to be before I gave you this gift. You are my pure immortal Nickolas, I will not need to make another ever again," she said, and Nick felt an odd tingling inside. "This is the one thing that can take your gift away. You should be the bearer of your own fate. The dagger belongs to you now."

  Nick hid the dagger in a trunk in the bottom of his armoire, where nobody would ever look. He locked the trunk with several locks, wanting to make sure that nobody ever laid hands on the one item that could kill him.

  When Olivia returned home that evening he told her everything, but rather than being happy for him as he expected she remained silent and stared at him with a hurt expression.

  "What is wrong?" he asked, not understanding how she could have construed his story as bad news.

  "You really need to ask?" she said quietly.

  "Yes, I do not understand."

  "You made this decision without me," she said, still speaking calmly, but he could hear the anger bubbling beneath.

  "Kayla offered it to me, how could I say no?" he asked incredulously. As far as he could tell Olivia was being naive not to see this for what it was: a blessing.

  "You do not understand." A tear rolled down her cheek. "You will live forever, Nick. You will live forever and I will die after a normal mortal life. And we will never be reunited in the afterlife because you will never join me there." And then Nick realised how naive he had been not to see the situation for what it really was.

  "I didn't think," he said, shaking his hand.

  "No you didn't," she spat, suddenly turning viciously.

  "Liv, please, calm down. I can fix this," he assured her.

  "How? How will you do that? When I die an old woman will you use the dagger to end your own life with mine?" she shouted. "I don't think so."

  "I can make you immortal using my blood and the dagger," he suggested.

  "I will be only half immortal. Still dead and unable to be here in Elysium," she pointed out.

  "I will speak to Kayla. I will ask her to make you immortal too," Nick said, though he was not sure if Kayla would agree. She had said that she would never make another immortal again. But surely she would make an exception Nick. She couldn't expect him to live forever without Olivia.

  "I just can't believe you've done this without a thought for me," Olivia said, tears running freely from her eyes. She swung around and marched from the room.

  Nick went straight to Kayla and found her in her room. She was packing a small satchel with items and had a coat laid out on her bed. It was never cold in Elysium. Where was she going?

  "Kayla, I need to ask something of you," he said, he was on the verge of crying.

  "What is it?" she asked without stopping her packing.

  "It is a big thing, but it is important to me." He took a deep breath and spat it out. "I want you to make Olivia immortal too."

  Kayla stopped long enough to look at him with a shocked stare before resuming her packing. "You don't want to live forever without her," she said plainly. She understood.

  "I can't live forever without her."

  "Making immortals is not something to be done lightly. I can see how you feel about this, and I know that if I do not do it then you will either end up hating me or you will end your own existence when she leaves this realm for the next. It was something I should have considered before making you immortal. It was short-sighted of me really."

  "Where are you going?" he asked. In all the time he had been in the temple Kayla had never gone far from the temple, certainly not far enough to warrant taking a bag and coat. She was obviously planning on leaving the island.

  "There are rumours. Rumours that Osiris has been seen in the North-East," she said, and he could hear the anxiety in her voice. She was scared.

  "But I thought Set killed him?"

  "He chopped him into fourteen pieces and scattered him across the earth. If those pieces were reunited he could be revived. Set did some truly monstrous things but he would not commit fratricide," Kayla explained. "If Osiris has returned then I must try to bring him back here where he can cause no damage to the world. It is not the world he knew before and in his confusion he might act badly."

  "You can't leave," Nick said childishly. He had never been without Kayla and he needed
her now more than ever.

  "I have to, Nickolas, but do not worry, I have heard you and I will do as you ask. When I return Olivia will be made immortal just like you. I would not have you without your love for eternity." She smiled and stroked his cheek like she used to when he was a boy. "Arden and the druids will remain here if you need to contact me see him. If the druids leave then it is because I have called them to aid me and…" She took a deep shaky breath. "If I do not return then I leave Elysium in your hands." She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him. After a moment he hugged his mother back, holding her tighter than he ever had, not wanting her to go. He couldn't explain it, but he felt that her leaving was a very bad thing and that somehow everything was going to change. She reached up and kissed him on the forehead. "Goodbye my son," she said and then she grabbed her bag and disappeared into thin air leaving a few wisps of smoke behind her.

  Present Day

  The disciples sat around Nick in the sitting room, awaiting his news. All of them were there, even Jamal. Nick looked at each of their faces. Some looked eager, others merely annoyed. He knew that keeping them in the house was taking its toll on them, but it was necessary. Now was not the time for risk taking.

  "Lydia Aramaya visited this afternoon. Osiris is almost at full power. In five days, on the night of the new moon, he will be ready. He will finally leave his hiding place and move against Set," Nick said. "He will not make it to Set. He will die long before, and I shall claim his power. Once I have done so, I will finish Kayla off once and for all. And then we can finally get what we all want."

  "How can we be sure this Aramaya girl isn't working with Osiris against us?" Elias asked.

  "It would serve no purpose," Nick replied. "She wants to be free of Osiris as she is now free of her father. Thanks to us. She has no reason to betray us."

  "So where will we meet Osiris for battle?" said Julian.

  "We won't. I will." The disciples began arguing all at once, but Nick held up a hand for silence. "I am much harder to kill than any of you."

  "Except for me," Casper said.

  "Except for you. But the rest of you must be kept away from the ancients. I can't risk you dying."

  "And what about you? Osiris can kill you can't he?" Elias said.

  "If he can muster enough power he might be able to kill me without my dagger. I can't say for certain," Nick replied. He wasn't aware that anything could kill him without the dagger, but it was as of yet unproven.

  "Then you should take Casper with you," Jamal said with concern.

  "Casper needs to be with you. It will take all of you to help me kill Osiris," Nick showed them all the sword of Ra. "This sword has enough power to kill an ancient if it is combined with our own. I need you all to channel the power into you. I will then channel all of the power from you, add it to my own and use it to kill Osiris."

  "This sounds like a very long shot," Lucian said, clearly not convinced.

  "It's the only shot we've got. Trust me, it will work."

  "And where will Set be whilst this is going on?" Kristen asked. Of all his disciples she had always despised Set the most. Nick was never sure why and he'd never asked. He respected his disciple's privacy.

  "Out of the way. But don't worry. He'll get his comeuppance. As soon as he's of no further use."

  "Good."

  "Now, once Osiris is dead we'll regroup and move on Kayla together. She'll be trickier than Osiris, on account of her added abilities. So I'll need your help in person with her. I should be able to use the power I take from Osiris to keep you all alive. She'll be mainly focused on me during the fight anyway." He hoped that was true, but it was little more than guesswork.

  "What about her druids?" Jamal asked.

  "We'll target them before we challenge her. We have to make sure that when she faces us, she does so alone."

  "So she dies second. Then what?" asked Elias.

  "Then we go to a little place called Elysium." There were murmurs of approval around the room. Elysium was one of the last items on their checklist. Nick looked around the room, making sure that everybody was with him. Looking for any signs of deceit. He had no reason to distrust anybody in the room, but being close to the completion of his goal had brought about new paranoia. He had been betrayed before and it had led to the greatest loss he had ever suffered. He could not risk being betrayed again.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  1413

  Nick went back to his chambers to tell Olivia that Kayla had agreed to make her immortal as soon as she returned to Elysium, but when he arrived Olivia had still not returned. He sat down for a minute pondering where she might have gone and then it came to him. Whenever she was stressed or needed to think she went to their spot by the waterfall. He too went there to clear his mind on occasion. It was a secluded spot, out of reach and offered complete tranquillity; plus it had some very fond memories attached to it, it was after all the place of their first date and where they had given each other their virginity a couple of years later. He pulled himself out of the chair and made his way to the waterfall at once. Surely her anger towards him would dissipate as soon as he told her the good news? They were going to spend eternity together. Never growing old, never getting sick, and never dying.

  As he neared their spot he heard noises and knew that she was there. He could barely contain his excitement at the news he was bringing. Then he heard the noises a little clearer. She was moaning, not in pain, but pleasure. He stopped still and listened intently. There was a second person — a man, Nick heard his moans too. He swallowed hard and crept forward. A twig snapped loudly as his foot crushed it, but the couple was so caught up in the throes of passion that they didn't even notice. He reached a large shrub and knelt behind it. Being as quiet as he could he parted some of the leaves and peered through. As he suspected there was a couple on the other side, just next to the waterfall. Nothing about the scene before him was particularly romantic. Neither of the two was undressed; the man had his breeches around his ankles, and the woman's dress was hitched up to her waist. They were two animals giving in to a moment of lust. Nick's eyes moved up to their faces, first the man. He breathed in sharply when he recognised the dark hair and the perfect face; it was Dominic. Old feelings of hate bubbled inside him. It didn't matter who Dominic was fucking, the fact that he was doing it in Nick and Olivia's spot was enough. Nick looked down at the girl and saw her light brown hair and dazzling blue eyes. His heart disintegrated. It was Olivia. Nick lost control of his legs and he collapsed on the grass, falling into a huddle. He made no attempt to get back up. He lay defeated listening to the pants and moans of his love betraying him with his enemy. How could she do this? And after just one argument? She hadn't even given him a chance to rectify things. And he had rectified things. His entire world had vanished with one foul act. He had told Kayla that he could not live without Olivia, but clearly, the feeling was less than mutual.

  With one final loud moan Dominic was spent and Nick heard him fall onto the ground on the other side of the bushes.

  "Wow," he said, still panting. "That was certainly worth the wait," he added, confirming that it was the first time. At least they hadn't been sneaking around behind Nick's back — until now of course.

  "I'm glad you thought so," Olivia said. Her voice was like a dagger in Nick's heart, as if before he still held a minuscule of hope that it wasn't her, that his eyes had deceived him, but now his ears confirmed the truth.

  "You've rejected me for so long. Why the change of heart now?" Dominic asked. Nick wanted to be anywhere else right now, he didn't want to listen to them, but at the same time he did. He wanted to hear the answer too.

  "I simply couldn't resist you any longer," Olivia said.

  "What about Nickolas?" Dominic said his name with loathing.

  Olivia sighed. "I don't care for Nickolas, not really. He's a means to an end." At those words, Nick's whole body started to tremble uncontrollably. He grabbed hold of his wrist in a futile effort to cal
m himself. Bile rose in his throat and he swallowed it back down.

  "To what end?" Dominic said, and Nick barely heard him his voice was so low.

  "I knew from the start that he was my best chance at immortality. He can get it for me. For us." Nick didn't think it was possible, but somehow his heart shattered again. He heard them both laughing and he quickly got up and tore back through the trees back toward the temple. Once he'd travelled a fair distance he let the suppressed feelings out and screamed at the top of lungs, trying to drive the sickness, the anger and the shame from within him. His scream echoed around him and the birds in the trees took flight, but he felt no better. By the time he reached the temple his face was wet with tears and his eyes were red and puffy. And yet he had nowhere to turn. His love had betrayed him and his mother had left the island. He was tempted to find Arden and demand that he call Kayla back, but he knew that she would think him silly. Just a little boy running to his mother. Instead, he went put to his room and crawled under the covers where for the moment he could feel safe from the horrors outside.

  Nick could have stayed under the blankets forever, hiding from his problems, never having to face them. Maybe he didn't have to face them. Maybe Olivia would come back and pretend that she had not betrayed him in the woods. If he never gave her immortality but kept the promise of it always over her head then she could never leave him. But she would see through his scheme, she was too smart. Immortality. It was the thing that had ruined everything. He crawled out of bed and rooted through his armoire until he came to the ambrotos dagger at the bottom. He sat crossed-legged on the floor, the dagger in his lap. The dagger had ruined everything. If the dagger hadn't made him immortal then he and Olivia would never have argued and she wouldn't be out in the arms of Dominic right now. But then were it not for immortality then Olivia would never have been drawn to him in the first place. Nothing about Nick had lured her in, it had always been the dagger.

  The door creaked open and Nick whipped his head round. Olivia entered slowly, her face was down and she looked apologetic. Nick rose slowly, like a tiger sighting its prey, his arm beginning to tremor once again at the memory of what he'd witnessed.