Horizon

by Christie Rich

  He’d just spoken about eternity. I already knew it would be a very long time. “I’m talking about when the world is no longer needed. Would they be able to progress again?”

  “It is possible, but there would need to be a consequence for those who do not obey.”

  I thought furiously for a solution. “We have the dark realms. With some help, I think we can remove the corruption from the fae, but I want everyone to have a choice. If in the end they disobey, they would be in the same position they are now. Will you allow them to choose?”

  “Of course,” he said as though that was a given. I supposed it really was. He gave me a once over with those piercing eyes. “So this is the path you choose?”

  I nodded. My throat was too thick to say a word.

  “So be it,” he said. “If they do not succeed, you will become one of them.”

  “How many need to succeed?”

  “That is for the creator to decide.” With that he moved away from me.

  “Wait!” I said before he could leave me to it. “There’s one other thing.”

  “Yes?” he asked.

  “I want children in the realms.”

  “Impossible,” he said, stiffening. “Children are part of progression. They have not earned that reward.”

  “Would you deny me children?” I asked. “I will live among them.”

  His stare lasered into my soul. “What would you do with those children?”

  I didn’t hesitate in my reply. “Teach them to protect the Earth.”

  “The same laws would apply to them,” he said. “Should you fail, they would be held from progression. Immortality comes at a high price.”

  “It’s worth it,” I said, thinking about all the people I’d grown to care for. I believed in them. We could do it. We could change things together. Was this what Faine had thought when she made her choices?

  “And the Order?” he asked, interrupting my contemplation.

  “We’ll deal with them.”

  “They cannot be harmed by your kind. They are still part human. You will have to find them all.”

  I nodded. “We will restructure. I’d like to integrate them into Faeresia. It will take time for us to locate all of them. We’ll have to have a way to locate them…some kind of power.”

  “This is how you would make your children?”

  “Yes,” I said.

  He snapped a nod at me. Then he reached out and touched my temple again. “You will have opposition. It is a universal law.”

  Within a single moment I saw every possibility my choice could create. Success and failure loomed around me. It wasn’t something I could control. The only thing I could dictate was what I did. Everyone else was responsible for their actions. I saw the rise and fall of rebellions. I saw peace unlike anything I could have imagined.

  I also saw evil standing next to me the entire way.

  When I opened my eyes Valen stood in front of me. Hatred filled his eyes. “You will not succeed in this effort. The fae are not teachable. They must be controlled.”

  “You’re wrong,” I said, almost feeling sorry for him.

  His body stiffened. “I will beat you,” he said, instilling venom in his voice. “You will not take my kingdom from me!”

  Seriously? His kingdom. “All you’ve had was an illusion.” I took in his glamour. How many people had suffered because of this one man? Then his face changed, shifting through the thousands of faces he’d worn over the years.

  If left unchallenged his tactics would not change. He would not change.

  “Illusion is the secret to control,” he whispered. “It is not too late. We can join forces. We can compromise.”

  I wasn’t sure how this particular fae learned to lie, but I suspected it had something to do with the human body he possessed in the beginning. Who knew, there may have been more throughout time. It was why I couldn’t see him for who he really was. I had what could be his true name, but until he was removed from his glamour, I wouldn’t be able to inflict any real harm to him.

  I turned to the angel. “This man has broken the law. He should be punished.”

  The angel stared at Valen. “He has bargained with the keeper of evil. It is out of my hands until the end of days.”

  “Who is that; when is that?” I asked.

  “You needn’t concern yourself with him or how long this world will exist.”

  “But you just said—” He lifted a hand, cutting off my question. When I felt the air return to my lungs I continued, “We have to be able to deal with him somehow.”

  “Since you have not chosen to wield creation to its full potential, he will have the same chance at success you do.”

  “Wielding creation would rewrite this world and all who live here.”

  “Yes it would,” he said simply.

  As tempting as it was I couldn’t do that. There was no guarantee if I did it the fae would still be needed. I could be condemning them to eternity with no home. I wanted to take care of Valen, but I had to find another way. His face shifted again, and I saw another man I recognized. That man’s name was Yaron.

  A memory clawed its way into my mind. Riding the back of a pegasus with a young lord named Valen.

  The man in front of me squirmed, and I realized I was on to something here. Valen had been Callum. He’d been so many other men, too.

  Was this how he kept the fae from seeing him as the threat he really was? He’d probably changed faces so many times, no one truly recognized him?

  My thoughts connected one by one. He changed faces. He used glamour. He…I had him. His glamour was impenetrable because he used more than one body at once. That’s how he acquired so much power. He was able to hold it because of the abilities of the people he’d consumed.

  They no longer existed as a single entity. He’d integrated them inside of him using his power over space. How awful. Somewhere inside him was a decent underlord that hadn’t deserved to be plucked from his life. And this man was soiling that boy’s name.

  But how did he get the fae to see him as the right person? How did he keep so many people convinced of his status and power when he shifted his body into someone else? I let my mind wander until I had my answer.

  Compulsion.

  It had to be. But how could he compel so many people at once?

  My thoughts continued to race until I thought my head would explode. There was no easy solution to the problem this man was.

  “Can I banish him?” I asked, hoping we could sort it out later.

  The angel shook his head. “He is your opposition. You must overcome him to move forward. To banish him, you will need to conquer him in battle.”

  “And if I lose?”

  “You and your followers will have to find a different place to exist without affecting humans.”

  “Can we integrate the realms again?” I asked. “If I succeed and if the fae agree to your terms?”

  “It is possible.”

  “How do I do it?”

  “You must decide that.”

  I sighed. “Okay.”

  Valen would be difficult to beat, but I could do it if I could catch him in the right moment. Once I was done with him, he’d hopefully slink back to the hole he crawled out of in the first place. If he didn’t I would send him there.

  Who knew how many fae supported him though. They’d have to be dealt with too.

  I was going to need a lot of help.

  I glanced at the frozen tableau below us. Valen’s body was less than a foot away from mine. I looked at him again, and all I could see was evil staring back at me. He’d taken so much from everyone. There was only one solution I could think of that didn’t include recreating the world. If it didn’t work, he would have me too.

  “I’m ready,” I told the angel.

  In a flash I was back in my body. Time caught up to me and Valen’s compulsion hit me full force. His power was immense, layers upon layers of stolen power, including mine.

 
He reached for me, and I moved for him at the same instant. I brought my hand out in front of me. He glanced down and smiled, surely seeing my gesture as a sign of weakness.

  Just before I touched him I allowed a smile to curve my mouth then I conjured a fae blade right into his heart.

  Chapter Fifteen

  A slight gasp escaped Valen, and his blue eyes widened as his power rushed into me. Jett had given me the idea. He’d joked about me participating in the tournament of lords. Valen had bested every single fae warrior in that tournament except four, but he’d cheated. He always cheated. He lived for power, and now I was stealing it from him. Wasn’t comeuppance great?

  He didn’t even register pain as he looked at me, disbelief layered in his eyes, blood oozing down his chest. His power blasted into me. My body shook from the impact of the constant stream of elements. He had them all, had stolen them all.

  Ainessa’s words haunted me. I don’t trust one of them to be able to withstand the power. She’d been speaking about the lords, and she wasn’t kidding. Intense pressure grew inside me. Maybe I couldn’t hold this much power, but I was marked for creation. That was ultimate power. I could deal. I had to.

  Or did I?

  This power belonged to the fae. They needed it to fulfill their duties. I couldn’t possibly distinguish who belonged to the individual power that rushed at me, but maybe I could give part of this to someone else?

  I thought about the lords I’d trusted and those I hadn’t. They were all good men. They all deserved to be leaders. Even with Valen’s compulsion they had managed to help me. I wanted them near me. I wanted their guidance. I wanted the connection I shared with them to continue.

  The truth was we needed a different system. The idea of the council was good, but the execution needed some work. Details would have to wait because I couldn’t take another second of this.

  I opened a mental link with each one of the lords I’d been bound to, waking them from suspended time. This whole thing could have happened in seconds, but it seemed like forever.

  I felt each of them gasp and snap their heads toward me. The five marched forward and created a circle around me and Valen. Power flowed from me to them quite easily. I smiled, nearly laughing.

  Valen’s eyes shifted to Luke, and I could feel him trying to merge with us through whom he thought was the weakest link.

  Luke had taken the brunt of Valen’s compulsion because he was in the way of Valen’s ascension to power. This man was not going to use anyone else if I had anything to say about it.

  I shifted more power to Luke, giving him some of the other elements just for safety. It might have been dangerous for him, but I figured he should be able to take it because Valen had, and he was from the same house.

  Luke straightened as if bracing himself. I gave him a nod, and he smiled at me in such an open way it brought tears to my eyes. To be trustworthy a person needed to be trusted.

  The connection I shared with each lord expanded. These men were a part of me, as were the people of Faeresia. I loved so many of them like they were my family already.

  Out of the corner of my eye I caught a glance of Cassie standing just to the side of Finn. How could I have forgotten them? I funneled power their way immediately and she gasped, looking around, dazed.

  Valen had brought all the people he could use against me here with him, but I was the one who would use them to overcome him. I allowed myself to scan the crowd. When I glanced at Nicco, he shook his head, so I moved onto Creed, and Lysanne, even Fexlie. I gasped at how many people this one man controlled.

  Then I saw Travis.

  My brother.

  I didn’t even know him anymore, but I searched for a connection. He swayed then closed his eyes tight as if he didn’t want me to enter his mind. I screamed at him and his dark eyes snapped open.

  He moved forward through the crowd, pushing inanimate people out of his way. The look on his face was that of a man come out of a coma.

  “Rayla?” he said, scanning the area then returning his gaze on me. His chest rose and fell sharply and his expression looked wild. “What the hell is happening here?”

  I’d explain later. Right now I needed him. I unleashed a sea of power his way.

  He doubled over when it hit him, but just as quickly stood. My thoughts merged with my friends and family. Their feelings overlaid mine. Some were joyful others fearful, but all of them were in awe.

  Valen shifted, drawing my attention to him. His desperation filled the air and soon people came toward us from the crowd while Ainessa and Tabitha moved toward him. My only hope was that all or both of them had control enough to fight him off.

  He drew from them the exact amount of power I took. I shook my head at him and mouthed one word: Coward.

  With a tightened jaw, he straightened to his full height. Any fool could see where he was going with this. There were just so many people not strong enough to fight his compulsion. We’d have to take care of that, but right now I was more concerned about ending this conflict.

  The war would continue far beyond this moment, but I couldn’t let him harm anyone now. Ainessa had been right. My caring for my family and friends could be considered a weakness, but I wouldn’t let that change who I was.

  I yanked the knife out of Valen’s chest, and he stumbled before he straightened again. When he unleashed a growl at me, I lifted my brows in derision.

  “Do you yield to me, Valen?” I asked, not really sure what was done in situations like this. With the sound of my voice, people began to murmur, surely wondering what was happening.

  He laughed. “Yield to a woman, an Elemental?” His resolve left a cold rend in my belly. “Never!” he hissed.

  I conjured the blade again then armed the people around me. Tabitha gave me a nod of approval and Ainessa just stared. They stood mere feet away from Valen. I silently pleaded for them to move away from him.

  “What magic is this?” he asked, scanning the area, his voice shrinking.

  I cocked my head at him. “Not so nice when you don’t have the upper hand, huh?”

  “What has happened here,” said Jett as if finally coming around. “Did you challenge Chairman Valen?”

  “Sort of,” I said.

  “That is not an answer, Rayla.”

  I laughed. No it wasn’t. “He tried to subdue me, and I prevailed. Pretty basic stuff, I think.”

  Jett cleared his throat and stared at Valen. The hole in his chest still oozed blood, but looked like it was rapidly healing. “She has bested you brother. You must yield.”

  Valen unleashed a scowl at Jett that should have turned him to stone. “You dare call me brother? You have never been brother to me.”

  Jett shrugged then donned a curious expression. He looked more closely at the man in front of him. After a moment his eyes widened as if he recognized Valen for the first time. “Thank you for reminding me,” his said, his voice thick with hatred. Then he pulled back his fist and punched the chairman straight in the nose. Valen staggered backward into the crowd as if they could protect him from the lord of earth.

  Heath laughed, and Zach blinked in bewilderment. Taylor stared, still stunned. One by one they seemed to come to the surface of reality.

  Murmurs continued to grow in the crowd, spreading back until all I could hear was a thunderous buzz.

  “This is not Chairman Valen,” said Taylor.

  “Who is this man?” asked Finn.

  “He is an underlord in my realm,” said Jett. “He has never amounted to much. How has he overcome so many people?”

  Valen’s face shifted to a scowl. Seemed he’d lost his power of compulsion, at least where the lords were concerned, and now they could see through his latest glamour.

  Heath walked closer, studying the man. “He looks familiar, in an odd way.”

  “He is,” I said, causing a hush to fall. Since I had everyone’s attention, I continued, “This man has deceived you for millennia.”

  Heath scoffed. �
��No man can maintain power forever.”

  “Well, that’s just it. This is not just one man.”

  “I have eyes,” he said.

  I rolled mine at him. “Then use them. You call this man Valen, but when I first came to Lombarda, the chairman’s name was Yaron. When I returned to court everyone called the man Valen. He seemed different, but the same. I could never quite pinpoint it, but since certain events have happened, I’ve realized it is the same man in a different body. I met the real Valen when you all rescued me from the Order.”

  Jett stepped forward and Valen slunk back behind a royal guard. “The underlord?”

  Taylor sighed. “Are you still going on about Hy-Brasil?”

  I chuckled then looked at the castle behind me. “Where do you think you are right now, Taylor?”

  After taking a closer look he opened his mouth as if to speak then closed it. I traveled his line of sight to the roiling ocean in the distance.

  He turned green. “How did we…”

  “Explaining how this happened would take a year or more. Let’s just say Valen has been compelling all of you for quite some time now. I believe he’s used Ainessa’s mind games to do it.”

  I searched the area for the princess to ask her if I was right, but she was absent from the crowd. Not a very good sign. What had he done with her?

  Actually, where had Valen gotten off to? My stomach plummeted to my toes. If he got away this battle would have been for nothing. When I finally located him, he was a good twenty feet away from us. He continued to slink through the crowd until he bumped into Finn, who stood over him a good couple of inches. Valen whipped around and grabbed Finn’s arm.

  Finn shoved him back and the people around us gave a wearied chuckle. Valen straightened, still the imposing figure, at least in his mind.

  His cold eyes alighted through the gathering. “Who among you wishes this girl to lead our people? We have come so far, we have almost gained our ultimate goal. I have led you through it all. You may not agree with my methods, but they have worked!”

  He lifted his hand in the air. Ainessa’s ring now sat on his finger. On any other person, I wouldn’t have been worried, but I had no idea how much power I’d actually stolen from him. There were plenty of people still looking on him with utter awe, as if he was the king of the world he’d impersonated. A low gasp rang through the air when the ring came to life. I too was under its spell for a moment, but I made myself look away from the blue light.