Her warning hit me with the force of a tsunami. All magic would cease to exist. Every plant, every animal, every species, would die. My birth father would die. My stepfather, sky king of Faythander, would die.
I would die.
The sickness had already taken root inside me as my magic faded. Surviving without my magic would be impossible—it would be like asking me to survive without oxygen. Someone walked toward us, and I looked up to find Mochazon limping to our side.
He stopped, his face shocked as he focused on Uli, but before he could speak, Geth walked forward. His white-knuckled fists clenched a thick cudgel with hooked, metal barbs, and hatred radiated off him like a living thing. I’d never seen so much hate in one person before. He fixated on us, but then his gaze snagged on the blossom.
I backed toward the plant, my heart beating wildly in my chest. My magic was gone. I had nothing but my own body to shield the flower.
The blossom’s power warmed me, giving me strength. As I looked into Geth’s eyes, I no longer felt fear. He’d already destroyed the tree. There was no way I would allow him to destroy the bloom.
I balled my fists, willing my magic to flow, but found I had nothing. Mochazon stood resolutely beside me.
“Move away from the flower,” Geth said.
“I will not,” I answered.
“Then I will not give you a choice.”
Geth moved so fast his body became a blur. In one motion, he grabbed my shirt collar and flung me aside. I landed several feet away. In horror, I watched as Geth swung his cudgel for the flower.
Mochazon moved in front of Geth, using his body as a shield between the goblin man and the flower. The tip of Mochazon’s wing touched the flower’s cocoon of protective magic, and as it did, the world around us ignited with a blinding light.
I closed my eyes against the light. The rush of wind filled my ears, a sound that threatened to deafen me, as strands of hair battered my face
When the wind and the light faded, Mochazon and the flower were gone.
Geth’s cudgel embedded with a loud thunk into one of the charred logs. With a scream of frustration, he pulled the weapon free, then rounded on me. “Where did he go?”
I backed away, my elbows scraping against stray splinters of wood.
“Where!” he demanded.
He moved toward me as he held the weapon, and a brief flash of a memory surfaced. This time, I knew he intended the damage to be much worse than a fractured rib.
I backed away as Geth raised his cudgel, but as he did, Kull appeared through the smoke.
Geth paused for half a second as Kull approached, giving the Wult enough time to slam his sword into Geth’s outstretched arm.
The blade severed Geth’s arm in half, and the bloody hand landed with a solid thud next to me.
I backed away from the still-quivering appendage.
Pain contorted Geth’s face as he fell to his knees, cradling what was left of his arm.
Kull’s sword shimmered with the Caxon leader’s blood, his eyes ignited with righteous anger as he circled the injured man.
I didn’t envy Geth.
“You won’t defeat me,” Geth said, his voice breathless as he held his stump to his chest. “I have destroyed the tree. Magic will cease to exist in Faythander, and when it does, I will rule.”
“You will never get the chance. I will kill you, Geth. I will find the path to Náströnd so that I may toss your decomposing body onto the pile of corpses that line the shores of river of the dead. You will suffer a thousand deaths, and then your soul will suffer for the rest of eternity for the crimes you have committed.”
Geth laughed. “Crass words from a man whose sister shares my bed. Heidel has given me great pleasure. I have enjoyed her immensely. She comes to me willingly, Kull. She craves my embrace.”
Kull swung his sword. His battle cry spoke of pain and power as the blade whispered through the air.
Geth stood tall. I saw a single word escape from his mouth—a spell—just as Kull’s sword connected with his flesh. The Caxon leader’s image blurred as a black mist engulfed him and he disappeared, the sword passing through him as if he were a ghost.
The remaining mist swirled around us. I recoiled as it touched me, its cold taint slithering over my skin. The fog retreated away from me and then engulfed the Caxon, swallowing their bodies until each had disappeared.
Kull cursed and dropped his sword.
I tried to wrap my mind around Geth’s power. With the tree destroyed, how had he managed a spell? And where had he gone?
Pushing those thoughts away, I crawled toward Uli who lay gasping on the ground. Her fingers froze my skin as I held her hands between mine. “Uli,” I whispered.
She groaned. Her gaze didn’t meet mine, as if her mind had wandered to some far-off place.
“Uli,” I repeated, my voice more insistent.
Finally, she focused. “Find… the flower.”
“Where is it?” I asked.
Her eyes became unfocused once again as she stared overhead. She didn’t answer.
Kull knelt beside us and glanced from Uli to me. “Is she dying?”
I blinked back tears. “Yes. She can’t live without the magic.”
Wasn’t there something I could do? A healing spell? No—the magic inside me had disappeared. I tried desperately to call it but found nothing but a cold emptiness where my magic had once been.
Kull placed his hands on mine. “Can you heal her?”
I shook my head. “The tree’s magic has been destroyed, and my magic seems to have disappeared with it.”
Uli’s fingers loosened in my grip, so I squeezed her hand tighter. Surely I could do something to save her…
My Earth magic. Was it still there?
Searching deep inside, I found my Earth magic glowing with a faint amber light, hugging the edges of the empty space where my Faythander magic had once resided. I knew the power was far too weak to be of any use. Still, I tried calling it forward, but the magic was too fragile. It fell apart as I touched it.
Uli closed her eyes.
I shook her shoulders. She couldn’t die. This wasn’t happening. This couldn’t be happening. “Uli, please! Stay with me!”
“I will always be with you,” she said, her eyes still closed. Her light faded. She drew her last breath and tried speaking, but her voice was so quiet I barely heard her. Leaning closer, chills prickled my skin as she uttered her last words.
“I will never leave you, Deathbringer.”
CHAPTER FIVE
My mind tried to grasp the truth but failed. Uli couldn’t be dead. Only a moment ago she had been fine. Any minute now, I was sure she would sit up and start speaking gibberish like she always did. It was too sudden, too final, and the pain of it tried to overwhelm me.
Kull knelt beside me. His warm arms encircled my shoulders as tears dampened my eyes.
“We must leave.” His calm voice came as if from far away. “Geth still has my sister. Our quest is not over, for now we must also find Mochazon and the flower. And I can think of only one person who can help us. We will travel to the dragon lands and find the sky king—only he will have the answers we seek.”
He was right. We had to leave this place, but how?
I realized I was still holding Uli’s hands in mine. Her flesh had already started to cool, so I pried my fingers away and gently arranged her hands atop her chest. She wouldn’t get a burial, and quietly placing her hands atop her heart with a prayer that her soul would find peace in the life to come was the best I could do to remember her noble sacrifice.
Kull turned to me. “She gave her life in battle for a gallant purpose. There is no greater death.”
Unable to speak, I only nodded. Standing, I stepped away from her, wishing more than anything that I could have saved her. But her death was not on my hands—that guilt belonged to someone else.
“Geth,” I said, my voice coming out quieter than I’d intended. “We have to find hi
m.”
Kull stood and outstretched his hand.
I hesitated before taking it, instead glancing at Uli’s body. I knew that our quest had to continue. But how could I leave her body behind?
A tremor rumbled through the ground, accompanied by the sound of deep, rolling thunder.
“She will not be forgotten,” Kull said, as if speaking to my thoughts. “This place will be a proper sight for her burial. Of all the places in Faythander, this is where she belongs.”
“But… how can I just leave her here?”
Wake up, Uli. Wake up! Somehow, I expected her to just stand up. Death didn’t make any sense to me. I hated it. I hated its finality and the way it made me feel—that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, as if life would never be the same again.
The rumbling grew louder, and a crack split the ground. Small pebbles rained down around us. The tremors seemed to come from the center of the planet, as if the loss of magic were ripping the world apart.
I finally took Kull’s hand. Staring at Uli’s body, I realized this would be the last time I saw her. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I pushed them back.
Be strong. For her.
A seam in the floor opened up, and then the crack traveled up the walls, across the ceiling, and split the cavern apart. Sunlight streamed inside as the world crumbled around us. How could sunlight penetrate this far underground? Now that the tree was gone, it seemed as if the whole planet was in an upheaval, as if Faythander were trying to expel the tree from its core.
The Wult warriors rallied behind us, and together, we climbed a narrow path leading to the ground above, pushing forward as rocks and debris crashed around us. A large boulder smashed dangerously close to our group. Warriors yelled behind us, their cries intermingling with the booming of the chamber’s collapse. Quickly climbing over piles of broken rocks, we made our way to the split in the wall, our booted feet crunching over stray pebbles as we climbed out. Trading rocks for grass, we ran for cover away from the collapsing cavern. Deep underground, the last of the chamber gave way, and dark soil sprayed into the air as the falling earth destroyed everything in its path.
We sprinted with the sound of thunder in our ears until the air was squeezed from our lungs and our last reserves of adrenaline were gone. Finally, the ground stopped its intense shaking, and as we reached a grove of trees, the last tremors died away. My heart thudded in my chest as I tried to catch my breath and come to terms with our situation.
The ancient Everblossom was gone, and Uli was dead. There was no way to bring her back. I felt guilty for leaving her body behind, but those were irrational thoughts. There was no way I could have saved her, and if I’d carried her body with us, I would have been crushed to death. But still, she’d deserved better.
The warriors stood under the trees. Like me, they labored to catch their breath, and their eyes were unfocused and fearful, as if trying to come to terms with our newfound situation. Not far from us was an immense, gaping hole that looked as if it sank all the way to the center of Faythander.
In the distance loomed the enormous Ever Root, a dark mass of curving petrified roots that rose into the air and seemed to touch the clouds as it blocked out the retreating sun. Tiny baubles of light sparkled from the tree. I suspected the pixies would soon find out what had happened to their pure-magic tree.
I rubbed my eyes, feeling the weariness beginning to catch up with me. After finally catching my breath, I turned away from the pixies’ tree and my fallen friend. There was nothing I could do. No way to bring her back. Even those with the strongest magical powers didn’t have the ability to raise the dead. Despite my heavy heart, I had to keep going.
For Uli.
I focused on the elven rails snaking through the grasslands, a bright ribbon of energy that dipped and curved with the natural lay of the terrain. My destination lay to the west, and the rails would be the quickest way to get there—assuming they still worked with the magic missing. If not, it would take us days—weeks, perhaps—to journey across Faythander.
I needed answers, and I knew only one soul who would have them—Fan’twar, my stepfather, the sky king of Faythander.
A gentle breeze tossed strands of my auburn hair across my face, so I tucked the strands behind my ears as I stared at the light-rails. The other warriors stood with me, and together, we trudged toward the rails in silence. They knew as well as I did that there was only one place to go for answers. But with the loss of magic, I hoped we would make it in time.
I also prayed that Fan’twar hadn’t suffered the same fate as Uli.
Yet, a glimmer of hope remained as long as the pure-magic flower existed. Magic wasn’t dead as long as the flower had life—but where was it? And how long would it last before it withered? And even if we did manage to find it, what then? Uli had spoken of the stars of white sand. I’d never heard of such a place. Hopefully, my stepfather could point us in the right direction.
I felt relieved to hear a whooshing coming from up ahead as a light carriage bobbed far in the distance along the rail. I attributed the working carriages to Kull’s dumb luck. The golden sphere glowed in the waning evening sun as it moved closer to the Wult warriors and me.
The light coaches operated with a combination of magic and scientific technology, though I’d never understood the specifics. Now, with the loss of magic, I was surprised our carriage was able to operate at all. I imagined the elves must have used less magic and more science when creating their coaches.
Kull and his men discussed their next move. Brodnik would return to Danegeld with the warriors, where they would rally the Wults and then hunt down Geth. Kull and Rolf would accompany me to the sky king’s caves, where they would aid me in seeking out my stepfather’s assistance.
Their words barely registered with me as my thoughts were still in the caves with Uli. Couldn’t I have done something to save her?
Kull stood beside me, his blond hair turned golden in the evening’s light. “We will take this carriage and make haste to the dragon lands,” he said, gesturing toward the oncoming light carriage. “I fear the blight that has started in the caves will only grow until it envelops our entire world. I cannot imagine the consequences.”
His words brought me out of my trance. “Nor can I,” I answered.
The last rays of sunlight disappeared from the horizon, and a cold chill crept over the land. The once-green grass now looked a ghostly gray, as if the disappearance of sunlight had taken away not only its color, but also its spirit.
The light carriage stopped not far from where we stood, its oval windows giving off an eerie orange hue that lit the grasslands surrounding us. A chill wind gusted as Kull, Rolf, and I started toward the carriage.
Each step I took was a painful reminder of the friend I left behind. I couldn’t help but think of Uli’s body, crushed by thousands of tons of rock lying at the bottom of that chasm. I vowed her death would not be in vain. I would find the flower, and I would save Faythander. Or I would die trying.
We made it to the carriage, and I stepped inside first. The interior, filled with overstuffed cushions that lined the curved walls, immediately warmed me. I sat near the window as Kull and Rolf climbed inside. Once the two men got situated, the doors whooshed closed and sealed with a quiet click. With a gentle movement, the car sped forward.
Kull rested next to me, his eyes closed and his head leaning against the wall. Rolf peered out the window, although there wasn’t much to see in the darkness. A few lights glimmered here and there, flocks of pixies, a stray farmhouse, or an occasional Wult outpost scattered through the countryside.
It would take us all night to reach the sky king’s mountain. I found myself staring out the dark windows with Rolf as I couldn’t seem to sit still, my mind overburdened with worry and regret.
“Are you anxious to see your stepfather?” Rolf asked.
Had he noticed my fidgeting? “No,” I said, and then stopped. “Possibly. I fear what the magic has done to him. He
is one of Faythander’s most magical creatures.”
“Will he survive with the magic gone?”
“I don’t know. Truthfully, I don’t know what will happen to our world. But the magic isn’t dead yet. As long as the flower survives, my stepfather should, too.”
“And what of Geth?” Rolf asked. “What motivated him to do such a thing? Goblins aren’t known for being so bold.”
“You’re right. Even when Mr. Green summoned the Dreamthief, he did it quietly. Most races didn’t even know what was happening. Theht would have returned to the world, and no one would have known how it’d happened. Goblins usually have more desire to be left alone than to fight for power. You raise a good question, Rolf.”
What were Geth’s real intentions? Did he truly mean to take over Faythander, or did he have other motivations? If he didn’t want to rule Faythander, then what did he want? At this point, it was impossible to know any answers, although I feared the loss of magic might have only been a diversion. I worried Geth had darker purposes—ones I needed to discover if I wanted to stop him and save Faythander.
Rolf turned away from me to stare outside once again. After some time, I noticed that he’d closed his eyes. His gentle breathing let me know he’d fallen asleep. The rhythmic whoosh of the carriage lulled me, and I finally gave up on rehashing my worries. I welcomed the rest as I drifted to sleep.
CHAPTER SIX
The sound of the opening carriage doors woke me. Staring outside—at the familiar granite cliffs rising above the forest of gently swaying trees—I saw that we’d made it to the dragon lands. Kull and Rolf had already woken, and I followed them out of the carriage.
The cold took me by surprise. Autumn in Faythander had its occasional cool spells, but never had I felt the air so frigid. Frost crunched beneath our feet as we made our way toward the dragons’ forest. I kept my cloak tight around my shoulders as we traded open ground for wooded area.
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