The Cardkeeper Chronicles: Books 1-5 (Complete Collection)

by A. C. Nicholls

  Link flew to my side, wings beating at blinding speed. The glum frown on his face was solemn and fearful, yet he had the look of a man who knew that he had to step up to the plate. “Keira, I think we need to go inside.”

  As much as I agreed with him, I would really rather have gone in as an immortal. It would take one of Dalton’s portals to get me through there anyway, and even if I did that, I would be ripped to shreds by the creepers in an instant.

  Still, we had to try.

  Dalton lifted his head once more. Whimpering softly under his breath, he raised a hand in front of him and pointed right at my chest. His fingers glowed with a blue light, as a stream of that bright cerulean snaked through the air and touched my chest.

  I recoiled slightly, curious and skeptical as to the power behind the magic, but as I felt a surreal amount of strength return to me – as I lapped up the brute force and durability flowing through my veins – I knew.

  I was becoming immortal.

  Ripe with pure energy, I lowered Dalton’s head and stood up straight. My hands shot out, creating a burning ring of red neon in the air, before a circular pocket fell out of the air, and the Vault came into view. The second I laid eyes on it, my heart skipped a beat.

  The tower, once tall and dark and glorious, had been reduced to a burning spire of hot brick. Bodies lay wounded on the dirt path that led to the Vault, each one red with blood and moaning in agony as their home burned to cinders behind them. Upon the very top, creepers crawled teasingly around the exterior of the building, hissing and spitting as they scaled their tower – their throne, their conquered territory.

  I swallowed hard, knowing exactly what I was up against. I was more than aware of the odds, and if I ran through that portal now, immortal but powerless – at least until I could get my hands on a magicard – it was likely I wouldn’t make it out alive.

  “Link,” I said, craning my neck to get a partial view of him. “Take care of Dalton.”

  “No way.” Link floated over to my side, his teeth gritted as his eyes blazed with blue fire. “This is mine to defend just as much as it is yours. If you’re going in, I’m going with you, and there’s not a goddamn thing you can do to stop me.”

  With no other choice, I nodded my acceptance, returned my fearful glare to the Vault, and stepped inside the portal. Link flew at my side, so at least I wasn’t entirely alone. But as I gawked up at the burning structure ahead of me, I began to doubt my abilities.

  If we were lucky, our deaths would be swift and painless.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  “All right, here’s the plan.”

  Link, distracted by the army of creepers that swarmed the dirt path to the Vault, flew over to me. He clutched onto my jacket like a fly on a wall, his arms shaking wildly while he tried to hide it from me. “I’m listening.”

  “If we’re going to stand a chance at saving this place, we’ll need a magicard. Whatever happens, we have to get to the card room. If one of those things comes near me, I want you to swoop in and do whatever you can to lure them away. You have the gift of flight – use it. Piss them off and then gain some distance.”

  “Right. Hit and fly. Got it.”

  “Good. As soon as I get to the card room, I’m going to head for the top floor. It’ll take some time to attune to the magicard, so hopefully that will keep me alive long enough to get my magic working.”

  Link nodded, spreading his wings and lifting off. “What magic will you be using?”

  “No idea. Any suggestions?”

  “Don’t ask me.”

  Feeling doubtful of our chances, I turned my attention to the path we were on, my eyes following the trail all the way to the Vault, which glistened and glimmered, flashing with a thin sheet of light like a hologram fighting to stay visible. The magic of the Vault was weak, nearing destruction. Those damn creepers had played me like a fiddle just to get in here, and now it fell on me to undo the damage.

  “The Vault is unstable,” Link said.

  “Yeah.” I chewed my bottom lip as I stared at the wall of the tower, the interior revealing itself a little more with each pulsating wave. The Vault was self-healing, which would benefit us greatly if we ever managed to eradicate the creepers, but if I was still inside when the magic collapsed… Well, let’s just say I didn’t want that to happen. “Are you ready?”

  Link flapped his wings, taking off from my short-sleeved shirt and swooping in a large arc around me – stretching and preparing for battle. “As ready as I’ll ever be. Just… please, Keira. Be very careful. No heroics.”

  “I’ll try.” I sucked in a large breath, and blew it out slowly. “Let’s do this.”

  Before I could talk myself out of it, I broke into a sprint toward the Vault. While the wind messed with my hair and the cold mountain breeze nibbled at my skin, I averted my gaze from the creepers and focused on my momentum. I reached unbelievable speeds as an immortal again, and by the time I was at the door, one of the many creepers spotted me. The black hollows of its eyes were fixed on me as it wailed into the air and descended the tower wall at breakneck speed. I clenched my fist and drew back my arm as I went for the door. The creeper leaped out at me. I threw it my best punch, clocking it on the side of its skull and feeling its fleshy cranium burst as my knuckles connected. The beast soared backward, screeching with pain as I stopped at the door and searched for Link.

  “Where are you, buddy?” I called. My shouting just attracted more creepers, but if I didn’t find my friend then I was as good as dead anyway, and there was no way I was leaving him out here with these things.

  “I’m here.” Link fell to my side, shoving open the large wooden door of the tower with ease. His strength continued to surprise me – stronger than any full-sized man but without the necessity to flaunt it. “Hurry.”

  Without another word, I dashed inside and scurried up the stone, circular steps. Behind me, more screeching and wailing echoed from a number of creepers. They were inside now, aware of my presence and hunting me down as a pack. I could hear their claws dig into the bricks as they crawled along the walls, but I did everything I could not to give in to panic. The card room was two floors up, and if I could only reach it…

  I breezed past embers, dodging falling debris as I ran. Link flew at my side, swinging around and catching tumbling bricks before they hit me, and then hurling them down the stairs to slow our pursuers. I had a feeling it wouldn’t do much to stop them, but I was grateful for his contribution. Besides, it saved me from a severe headache.

  Still alive, though probably not for long, I reached the card room’s floor and stopped to gather my bearings. I shot a quick look behind me only to see that the creepers were closing the gap, saliva dripping from their sharp teeth. I turned back to the thin corridor, relieved that I had finally made it, but when I saw what lay ahead of me, my hopes shattered into tiny shards of failure.

  Flames covered the door to the card room like a hot rash, embers licking up the walls and spreading as if on the wind. There was no way I was getting inside, and even if I could, I would be trapped inside a burning room.

  “Shit!”

  “Language,” Link said, landing on my shoulder. “Focus. What’s the new plan?”

  I spun around to assess the distance of the creepers. There were five that I could see, and probably many more around the corner of the staircase. They would easily reach me in seconds unless I took control of the situation. I had to call the shots, and although it was forbidden, the occasion called for drastic measures.

  “The Dark Room,” I said.

  Link’s mouth widened. “You can’t be serious.”

  “Do you want to die?”

  “No…”

  “Well, then.”

  From the ceiling, an angry creeper lunged at us, its razor-sharp fangs exposed and its claws piercing the air with a whistling sound. Before I could react, Link flew at it with rocket speed, bashing into its torso and sending it flying up to the end of the corridor like a
tennis ball. It knocked two of the advancing creepers over, but now six more came into view, only angrier.

  “Okay, consider me persuaded.” Link waved his hands in a shooing motion. “Go!”

  I spun on my heel, darting down the great lengths of the corridor, where stone arches held up the ceiling with only meters of distance between them. The glassless windows that lined the left-side wall showed only fire and fangs, some claws reaching in and scratching around blindly, while others showed only people screaming as they fell to their deaths. The doors to my right were all engulfed in flames, and behind me, the creepers were catching up.

  By some miracle, I made it to the entrance of the Dark Room and bashed into the door shoulder-first. Link stuck to my side, probably mirroring my own tortured thoughts; how the hell was I supposed to control whichever magicard I could get my hands on? The ones that were kept in here were far too dangerous for most Cardkeepers to wield, hence their separation from the other cards. I had only been in this room a handful of times, and only when trouble loomed on the horizon. Now was no different, and somehow, justifiable.

  One more circular staircase took me into the room. I hurried through the door and slammed it shut behind me, eyeing over the six glyphs on the walls. It escaped me which one was which – I only knew the Chaos card at the far end, but I had no desire to see that power again, still reeling from the last time I’d faced it and wielded it. With the little time I had left to stay alive, I reached out for the nearest glyph, touching it and watching it glow brightly, before a hole opened up in the wall and revealed a card.

  I snatched it up immediately, tapping into its magic. The strength of the mage’s soul inside the card overwhelmed me with its power. I could feel its stubbornness, its anger and contentment bubbling through me like hot poison. Link kept his distance, watching as I consumed the magic – and as the magic consumed my soul. Unlike standard magicards, I attuned to it instantly, though God only knew how long it would take before the soul transferred into mine, changing me forever. As guardian, it was a price I would have to pay.

  The creepers burst through the door, shattering the wood and flooding in like a swarm of angry bees. Link glided to my side, and as he landed on my shoulder, all I could think to do was aim my palm out in front of me, and unleash my newfound power.

  A shockwave pulsed out from my hand, knocking back the creepers and blowing apart the wall around them. A cloud of brick and dust exploded, ripping a hole in the side of the Vault. Cold mountain air blew in as the creepers were washed out on the shockwave, their organs crushed by the force of it. Even my arm flung back, shooting pain through my shoulder from the recoil of my incredible magic. I stood in awe, staring at my hand as if it was something otherworldly. It was otherworldly.

  “Holy crap,” Link screamed in my ear. “That was…”

  “Yeah.” I glanced up, looking at the open balcony I had created by blowing up the side of the Dark Room. If this building wasn’t self-healing, the Elders would be pretty pissed to know that I’d just destroyed their precious armory. At least I could blame it on the creepers.

  I ran to the open wall, leaning over and looking down the side of the Vault. The remaining creepers hissed and screeched, acknowledging their defeat but accepting it ungracefully. They leaped from the walls and landed on the dirt path, scurrying away together and disappearing into the night. Wherever they ended up, I hoped that they would take a message with them; the Vault didn’t belong to them. Not now. Not ever.

  “We should search the building for any stragglers,” Link said, landing on the ground and kicking small chunks of debris aside. “Make sure the building is empty and then tend to Dalton.”

  “In charge now, are you?”

  Link laughed unconvincingly. “Dear one, for as long as you have a dark magicard in your hand, you’re not in control of anything. Now, let’s hurry on and finish the job, and then you can put that thing back where it belongs.”

  As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. I was already feeling like putting the magicard away would be a terrible waste, but it only served to prove that keeping it any longer was dangerous. I knew the extraordinary power within these cards, and should my resistance against them waver, I would soon become something darker, something evil.

  I only hoped I wouldn’t need to use it.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  We found the Vault empty. No leader to speak of and no creepers lurking in the shadows. Now that the medallion was at a safe distance and the vault belonged to the Elders once again, the Vault began its healing ritual. Wave after wave of bright light spread up and down the side of the tower, restoring bricks where they had been smashed, repairing beams that had burned down during the attack. It was the beginning of a fresh start for the Vault, but no matter the strength of its magic, it could never bring back the lives of the fallen.

  There was a small but formal sending; a prayer said for those who had lost their lives in the siege. Their bodies were burned and their ashes scattered across the mountains. In time, plaques would be forged in their honor, but for now, there was the Vault’s future to concern ourselves with. Something told me that we weren’t safe quite yet.

  Dalton had spent hours in the healing pools. During the time he spent recovering from his injury, Link and I had gone from room to room, checking up on the progress of the rebuild. After putting the magicard where it belonged – not without dissatisfaction, I might add – we’d continued to the card room. Not only was it now accessible, but I was relieved to see that not a single magicard had been touched by the creepers. The Vault had done well in denying them such weapons. Good thing, too – with the power of the cards, the creepers would be unstoppable. We had barely survived as it was.

  Before long, Dalton came down to the Grand Hall. I climbed up off the floor and ran to him. I didn’t care that it was inappropriate; I hugged him tight, feeling no greater joy than seeing him restored to his former self. Laughing shyly, he hugged me back and then pulled away, holding my jacket out to me.

  “I thank you for letting me bleed on your garments,” he said.

  I took it from him gently and held it up to the light, studying the black leather for the blood stains. When I realized they were no longer there, I turned to Dalton with a questioning frown. “I know you didn’t go to a laundromat. Explain yourself.”

  Dalton cocked his head. “Laun…dromat?”

  “A place you go to wash your clothes.”

  “Oh.” He shook his head. “No, Lady Keira. I applied a cleansing spell.”

  I nodded. “Good job.”

  Link, who had spent the past hour or so checking up on the survivors of the attack, came running in from the main doors, which Dalton had left wide open to fan out the fumes. He looked adorable, running along the long stretch of marble until he finally gave up and took flight to finish his journey. When he reached us, he settled on my shoulder, his happy place. I didn’t mind – I liked knowing he was safe.

  “So,” I said to Dalton, flicking Link aside for a moment while I shrugged the jacket back on. I had barely fed my arm through before he returned to his sitting place. “Are we going to address the elephant in the room?”

  “I don’t know about elephants,” said Dalton, looking curiously over his shoulder, “but I think there are more important matters at hand. Namely, the defeat of the creepers and what it might mean for the pillar of R’hen.”

  It wasn’t surprising that the elephant phrase went over his head, but now his own words were of more interest to me. “What it might mean for R’hen? It shouldn’t mean anything, should it? They were beaten, and they took off with their tails between their legs. Not that they have tails.”

  Dalton’s eyes narrowed. An uncomfortable silence hung between us before he took a deep breath and spoke again. “Lady Keira, the creepers were not beaten. They simply retreated so as they could regroup. As we speak, their leader is likely reassessing his battle strategy.”

  Link gulped beside me. “There are m
ore?”

  “Plenty more,” Dalton continued. “For as long as the leader is alive and well, the creepers shall spawn endlessly. When their strength in numbers is reestablished, I would expect them to come back for a second attempt.”

  Great. I’d barely had time to enjoy a moment of peace before more bad news had flashed across the highlight reel. Only this time it wasn’t about me or the magicards; the creepers had to be stopped. But one thing continued to confuse me, spinning around in my head like a leaf in a storm. “The medallion is long gone, sir. How would they even get back here?”

  Dalton held out his hands, pointing out our damaged surroundings.

  “We’re still vulnerable,” Link contributed. “Dalton, how long would it take for the creepers to lick their wounds? Are we talking days? Weeks?”

  “Merely hours.”

  Awesome. Like it wasn’t bad enough that I’d nearly killed us all by using a dark magicard – which, so far, had gone unmentioned to Dalton – but now I would have to fight off an army without it? I didn’t like this. Not even a little.

  As Link and Dalton discussed battle strategies, I paced around the Grand Hall, deep in thought. Unlike the two of them, I liked to think outside of the box. Surely there was something we could do. It took all of ten minutes for me to stumble upon the most perfect of thoughts. Although dangerous, it was also advantageous.

  “We take the assault to them.”

  Dalton and Link silenced immediately, turning my way. I could feel their eyes on me as I stared into the burning pit of fire that stood at the center of the hall. I spun around, unsure of who to look at, who to persuade. But I thought that I was on to something, and I wanted to convince them that it could work.