To Whatever End (Echoes of Imara Book 1)

by Claire Frank

  Daro lay in the center of the room, bound with thick chains. His arms were stretched wide, his legs wrapped in the sturdy coils, all of it bolted to the floor. They had tried to restrain him with leather straps, but he’d broken through them as if they were nothing but thread. Even with the absorption collar and room filled with sunstones, his strength was formidable.

  Rogan approached and Cecily closed her Awareness, feeling the world come crashing in around her. She blinked and turned to him, her heart heavy.

  “How is he?” Rogan asked.

  “Quiet,” she said. “He just lies there, staring at the ceiling.”

  Rogan shook his head. “I’m sorry, Cecily. I wish there was more I could do.”

  “What happened at the compound?” she asked. Rogan had returned with his force the day before. She hadn’t had an opportunity to ask him for the details.

  “They knew we were coming, as we suspected,” he said. “It appears Pathius told the truth about Nihil abandoning it. At first they seemed to defend their position, but after a while they disappeared. Some of the men started cheering, thinking we’d won. That was when the building collapsed.”

  “It collapsed? The whole thing?”

  Rogan nodded. “It came apart and sunk into a hole. We’re lucky I hadn’t yet sent any men inside. No one could have survived that. When it was over, there was nothing left but a pile of smoking debris.”

  “Was there anyone left?”

  “Not that we found. It’s possible whoever was left there to defend it got away somehow, but I don’t know where. We searched the entire area and didn’t find even the hint of a trail. Merrick is convinced there was a tunnel underground, but the entrance was completely buried.”

  “It probably connects to the tunnel where we found Daro.” She turned to look at Rogan. “That one had an entrance to the palace. It clearly hadn’t been used in years, but you need to make sure it’s sealed off permanently.”

  Rogan nodded. “The Paragon already informed me. We’re working on a plan to flood the tunnels. If there’s anyone hiding down there, by tonight they’ll be flushed out.”

  Paragon Windsor walked over and nodded to Rogan and Cecily in turn. “Have you seen any progress since yesterday?” he asked.

  “No.” Cecily had been there day and night, even sleeping in the hallway outside Daro’s cell. The other companions camped out around the circular top floor of the library, taking turns sitting with her, all of them refusing to leave.

  “My Sensors report the same thing they saw with the other one we captured,” Windsor said. “He is burning with energy, but there’s something else inside of him, something they can’t explain. There is energy that clearly belongs to him, yet it is mixed with energy that appears to be from others.”

  “Other people?” Cecily asked.

  “It would seem so. We suspected based on our other captive that Nihil had developed some sort of energy transference. If he found a way to draw the energy from one Wielder into another, it might explain what we’re seeing.”

  “But Daro isn’t a Wielder,” she said. “He never had power of any kind.”

  “He appears to be one now,” Windsor said. “Or something resembling one.”

  “How is that even possible?” Cecily asked. “You can’t just turn someone with no abilities into a Wielder.”

  Rogan spoke up. “Perhaps it is something he inherited from his father.”

  “That is a possibility,” Windsor said. “We have little understanding of the powers the Imarans possess. Perhaps he had something within for Nihil to manipulate.”

  The thought was sickening. Her stomach tightened every time she thought of what they had done to him. “We have to get that implant out of him,” Cecily said.

  Windsor sighed. “I agree with you. We tried with our previous captive. I don’t know if we could take it out without killing him. And to be honest, I’m concerned about unchaining Daro, even to turn him over. The Serum Shapers had a difficult time sedating him enough to get him where he is now. If we try to remove that implant, I can’t predict what he’ll do.” He turned to look Cecily in the eyes. “I fear the man is broken beyond repair.”

  “I respect your concern, Paragon, but I won’t give up.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I’m going in again.”

  “Very well,” Windsor said and turned. His deep blue robes swished across the floor as he walked back to his study.

  Rogan laid a hand on her arm. “Be careful. I know you look at him and see Daro, but the man in there isn’t your husband. I hope Daro is still in there somewhere, but right now, he’s dangerous. I don’t like you going in there alone.”

  “I know,” she said as she met Rogan’s eyes. “But I have to keep trying.”

  Rogan unlocked the door and she stepped in, listening for the click of the lock behind her. The sunstones pulled at her power, leaving her feeling heavy and lethargic, like she’d had a big meal and too much wine. She sat down in the plain wooden chair and pulled it as close to Daro as she dared.

  He lay sprawled on a thick carpet on the floor, his black clothes smudged with dirt and dust. His hair spilled out around his head and his jaw was set, his teeth clenched. Seeing her husband in chains was horrifying, but it was his eyes that made her heart pound and her stomach flutter. The multicolored swirl was unnatural and difficult to look at. She remembered them shining brightly when she had faced him in Wesfell, and in the tunnel where they’d captured him. Now they were dull, the colors muted and weak.

  He stared at the ceiling and appeared to ignore her. The muscles in his jaw stood out and his breathing was even; his chest rose and fell in a slow rhythm. In a way it was an improvement over his first day in the cell. He had raged against his chains, snarling and shouting like a wild animal. She had called out his name, begged him to stop, sobbed as she watched him rail. If he had heard her voice then, he’d given no sign of recognition, nor did he now.

  His newfound calm grew unnerving. She sat and watched him for a while, looking him up and down, and wondered what was going to become of him.

  “This isn’t how I imagined things,” she said, her quiet voice cutting the silence. “We spent all that time trying to find you, but none of it has gone how I planned.” Her hands began to tremble and her voice shook. “I was supposed to come charging in, all our friends at my side, cutting a path to your prison. We were supposed to be unstoppable, the companions together again. Rogan with his sword drawn, ready to throw fire. Alastair, reluctant as he may be to fight these days, would be there to fight for you. Serv would stick the feet of his unsuspecting foes to the floor while his sword cut them to ribbons. Griff would rush in, his axe cutting down everyone in his path. Sumara would dart through and jolt her enemies to send them sprawling. Callum would cover the whole place in a miasma of terror, sending half of them running for their lives. Mira would hang back, an arrow for everyone who ran. Even Edson would stand with us, charging in with his blade drawn.”

  She took another breath. “You would see me coming, and hope would give you strength. You’d pick up the sword of a fallen enemy and join us as we slayed everyone who was left. They would pay for what they had done to you and we’d leave no man alive.” She sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes. “When it was over, we would stand with our friends in triumph. You would wrap me in your arms and whisper in my ear how much you loved me.” She shuddered and choked, hardly able to get the words out. “We would cry together and you’d refuse to let go of me for days.”

  Tears streamed down her cheeks. She let them fall. Daro stared at the ceiling, the tendons in his neck standing out. “But this,” she continued, her voice barely above a whisper. “This was not how it was supposed to happen. I was supposed to get you back. But I still don’t know where you are. And the worst part is, I have no idea where to look.” She wiped the dripping tears from her cheek. “I thought you were hard to find before. Now I don’t even know where to begin.”

  She paused, and her breat
h came in shaky gasps. She wiped her eyes again. “Daro, you have to help me. You have to give me something, some sign you’re still in there. Because right now, I don’t know who you are. You’re just a man who looks an awful lot like my husband.”

  The tears came again and despair churned in her belly. “You have to fight this. You have to fight to get out. I don’t know what they did to you. I don’t know what you’ve been through. But I know that I can’t fix this for you. I will try to reach you, until the end of my days if that is what it takes, but I’m out here, banging against a glass wall that won’t break.”

  She took another shuddering breath. “Please, Daro. You have to be in there somewhere. You have to keep fighting.”

  “I can’t.” His voice scraped from his throat, like a knife across burnt bread.

  Cecily gasped and her heart lurched. Leaning forward, she searched his face. “Yes, yes, you can. I know you’re in there. Just keep coming, keep trying. Please, Daro.” Her heart beat fast and her body thrilled with hope.

  Scooting forward off the front of her chair, she crouched down low. She lifted a trembling hand and reached for Daro. His hands were balled up in tight fists and she sent her fingers out, daring to brush his hand with hers.

  He threw himself against his chains and let out a guttural growl from his throat. His face turned toward her with a snarl. Cecily sprang back and caught herself with her arms behind her. His breathing was heavy and he pulled against his chains, lifting his head, as his body strained against his bonds. He laid his head back on the floor and took heaving breaths, his teeth clenched. His arms ripped up again and the chains clanked against the floor, before his eyes fixed on the ceiling and he lay still.

  Cecily’s mouth hung open as her heart pounded and she fought to keep the tears from flowing again. For that tiny moment, he had broken through. She knew that had been him; she just had to find a way to help him out of the prison that still caged him.

  She stood and Reached for him with her Wielding Energy, letting it surround him. She spread it out and it drifted over him so she could feel the shape of his body underneath. She closed her eyes and Pushed, applying just the slightest touch of Pressure, and enveloped him in a soft caress. The sound of her heart echoed in her ears and she held her touch, squeezing him as if he was in her arms.

  A little rivulet of energy traveled back along her Wield. Trailing up, it wove its way around her Reach, tentative like a new lover’s hand. It stole into her and gave her a brush of Pressure as it passed through. It happened so quickly, she was almost uncertain she had felt it.

  She opened her eyes. Daro lay still, his eyes still locked on the ceiling. It wasn’t much, but it was something. She sat in the chair and settled herself in. Leaning back, she crossed her feet at the ankles and laid her hands in her lap. He was in there somewhere, and she would stay with him for as long as it took to find his way out.

  ***

  Daro flinched as the silence of his refuge broke. The walls he had built were thick; they kept the voices outside where they couldn’t touch him. He knew there was chaos out there, a swirling vortex of terrifying power. Outside, he had no control. The pieces of his mind would rip apart, torn away like red and brown leaves in an autumn windstorm. He crouched down and clutched at the pieces of himself, trying to hold them together.

  A sensation drifted in and pressed at him, insistent but gentle. It wasn’t fear, or pain. It was familiar, a voice that promised relief. A serene tendril of energy curled around him and wrapped him in a subtle embrace. Something had gone missing, leaving a gaping wound inside. The tendril filled it and began to piece it back together. The walls of his refuge held steady, but a slow fissure split across the roof, like crack in the ice of a frozen lake.

  43. TO WHATEVER END

  A low rumble worked its way into Cecily’s consciousness and her eyes fluttered open. Daro lay on the floor, his eyes closed, the shackles spreading his arms wide. She sat up and stretched, her back sore from sitting on the hard chair. She must have fallen asleep. Boom. It was faint and distant. Maybe a storm?

  She stood and looked around the room. It didn’t sound like thunder. She glanced down at Daro and his eyes flew open. She startled and stepped away. He lay still, his eyes wide open and locked on the ceiling.

  She decided to find out what was going on outside. Callum answered her knock and let her out. As she stood in the open foyer, a refreshing rush of energy radiated through her. The sunstones were saturated with Daro’s seemingly endless well of energy, but they still pulled at her and left her feeling weak and tired. No wonder she had fallen asleep.

  “What’s going on? Is it a storm?” she asked.

  Callum shrugged. “Could be. It’s been raining all day.”

  “I feel like I’ve been shut away for days,” Cecily said as she rubbed her eyes. “Anything new out here?”

  “Rogan and Alastair have been in the Paragon’s study for a while. It sounds like they rounded up some of the riverboat Wielders to divert storm water and flood the tunnels we found. I haven’t heard if anyone got out.”

  “I don’t think we’ll be so lucky as to drown Nihil like a rat. But it is a satisfying thought.”

  Callum smiled, one side of his mouth curling up, and he raised his eyebrows. “It is, isn’t it? In any case, the Paragon and Rogan have this place locked down like a vault. They cleared the library completely and the students are in their dormitories. Rogan brought a contingent of his own guard, and the Lyceum Guard are on full alert.” He leaned in and lowered his voice. “I have some of my own men out there too. One can’t be too careful.”

  The foyer of the top floor wound around the circumference of the building, a chest-high wall circling the interior. Rooms and offices were spaced around the outside, their windows facing the Lyceum grounds. Alcoves were interspersed between the rooms, with cushioned benches and outward facing windows. The foyer was dotted with beautifully polished tables and ornately cushioned seating, a place the highest ranking Magisters used at their leisure. Cecily and her friends had taken over the top floor, sleeping on the benches and lounging in the chairs. Guards were posted near the stairwell and several more stood at the doors to the Paragon’s study.

  Sumara got up from her perch on an upholstered bench. “I’m not sure I like the sound of that,” she said and glanced up at the dome as another boom echoed through the building.

  Edson wandered over, followed closely by Griff and Serv. Edson jerked at the next crack of sound and grabbed the hilt of his sword. “What’s going on out there?”

  “Thunder?” Griff asked.

  A loud blast reverberated through the building. “That’s not thunder,” Serv said.

  Rogan and Alastair emerged from the Paragon’s office, Windsor close behind. A messenger burst through the door from the stairs and stopped to speak with the Paragon as Rogan and Alastair stood close.

  Merrick and Mira trotted over, circling around the inside of the round foyer. “We’re under attack,” Merrick said.

  “Someone is coming toward the library, and they’re cutting through the guards like they’re children,” Mira said.

  “Nihil,” Cecily breathed. She wondered how many of those aberrant Wielders he had.

  Rogan and Alastair hurried over. “Nihil is attacking,” Rogan said. “Reports from below indicate he has a small force of men, but the guards haven’t been able to hold them back.”

  “It doesn’t matter that his force is small,” Cecily said. “We know how powerful they are.” She flinched as a loud boom echoed through the dome and the building shuddered. “We need to call up the guards from the lower levels. Once Nihil gets in, the guards downstairs won’t be able to hold them back. We can make a stand here with a larger force.”

  Rogan nodded to Alastair, who ran to relay the order.

  “Should we barricade the door?” Griff asked, pointing to the furniture placed around the foyer.

  “No,” Cecily said. “Barricade or no, they’ll get through. Turn t
he furniture over to give us cover.” The building shook and another loud boom sounded from below. Guards poured in from the stairwell on the far side of the foyer. “Station the archers around the railing on this side. They can fire at the door once they come in. And be careful of fire. Nihil’s Wielders might try to light this place up like a torch.” She cringed inside at the thought of all those books on the floors below.

  “Merrick and Mira, take opposite sides,” she continued. “Stay back and make every shot count. Sumara, don’t hesitate to strike Nihil if you get a clear shot; give him everything you have. Otherwise, aim for the others and don’t expend everything at once. And find yourself a weapon.”

  Sumara smiled and patted her hip. “I’m not without protection.”

  “Griff,” she said as she looked up at the big man’s eyes. “Charge in after the archers get off a few rounds. But don’t forget, these aren’t thieves and mercenaries. They’ve almost killed us more than once, and we’ve only faced a few of them. Don’t get in over your head.”

  Griff smiled and lugged his axe onto his shoulder. “I look forward to removing some heads.”

  She turned to Serv and he pursed his lips in a small smile. “Just, be careful,” she said. “And look out for Edson.”

  Serv nodded and Edson rested his hand on the hilt of his sword.

  “If defending the library doesn’t get you entrance into the Lyceum, I don’t know what will,” she said to Edson. “Rogan, with all due respect, you have to keep yourself out of the line of fire.” She looked up at her king. “Halthas can’t afford to lose a king tonight. Stay behind your guards and don’t try to do anything heroic.”

  Rogan smiled with narrowed eyes. “Yes, sir.”

  Callum clasped his hands and turned his fingers inside out, cracking his knuckles. “I have some new tricks I’ve been dying to try out,” he said, his voice flippant. “Of course, if I have anything to say about it, I won’t be the one doing the dying.”