The Embers of Light

by Tammy Farrell

  Seren sighed beneath him, the tips of her fingers dancing like spider’s legs up and down his back. “I came to see if you wanted to go down the mountain. But I guess you had other ideas,” she said and giggled.

  Malcolm swallowed hard, licked his lips, and lifted himself off of her. He wiped the sweat from his brow and rested his elbows on his knees. “Why are you staring at me?” he asked, not meeting her gaze.

  “You surprise me,” she said.

  Malcolm exhaled a hard breath through his nostrils and looked at her. He tried to find something to say, but had no words, only bitterness on his tongue.

  “Well,” Seren said, sitting up, “I’ve never had a man ravage me and look at me with disappointment before.” She pushed past him to stand and straighten her skirts.

  Malcolm shook his head in his hands. “No, it’s not you. I—” He broke off.

  Seren stared at him a moment with a furrowed brow and sat back beside him. “You thought you’d have your Light back by now,” she said, putting a hand on his back.

  Malcolm nodded. “I knew it wouldn’t be easy,” he said. “But I thought when we discovered Kain and Daria here that fate was finally in my favor. Now it seems that Kain might just be another obstacle to overcome.” He rubbed a hand over his head and slumped his shoulders. “I am tired, Seren.” He looked up at her with sincerity, the same kind of sincerity he’d given Mara the day he told her he loved her. “I am so very tired of this fight.”

  Seren pursed her lips and nodded in thought. “So you would just give up?”

  Malcolm shook his head. “It’s not about giving up. I am nothing if I’m not a Dia. I’m as threatening as a fly is to a boar.”

  “Be patient,” she said.

  “He offered me freedom,” Malcolm finally said after a short pause.

  “Who did?”

  “Corbin. He offered me my freedom if I let them go.”

  Seren reared back. “You’re not considering it, are you? Freedom as what, a mortal man? Are you willing to live that way?”

  “No,” Malcolm said with a huff. “But Kain would watch me die if it meant he would get the power he seeks.” He hung his head, ashamed of his own candor.

  For a moment he cast a sidelong glance at Seren, wondering if she was using her magic on him again. But he realized she wasn’t. This was his truth, his terrible, defeating truth.

  Seren reached out and turned his chin so he looked her straight in the eye. “And what about the power you seek?” she said. “You have to fight for yourself in this world, Malcolm. Mortal or Dia, it does not matter, we all live and die by the strength of our own wills. It seems to me that you’ve had immense power, and then no power. But look at you now. You still live to tell the tale, and you live to fight another day. You can’t give up now. I won’t let you.”

  Malcolm exhaled and nodded. Seren was right. He’d come too far to give up now. Kain might have an objective, but Malcolm had his own to see through.

  Just then, a jolting scream cut through the air.

  Malcolm’s eyes shot up as Seren turned her head and listened. Then she smirked. “Kain is playing with Mara’s mind again.” She cocked her head like a cat as another scream rang out. “She thinks Corbin is burning.”

  “Is he?” Malcolm asked, frustrated that he no longer had the ability to listen in for himself.

  “No,” Seren said. “But the images Kain places in her mind are so real she can’t tell the difference.”

  Malcolm nodded, listening to the periodic wails.

  Seren inched closer to him so her leg pressed against his. “Do you love me?” she asked unexpectedly.

  Another scream rang out.

  “What?” Malcolm asked, his attention drawn back to her. “No,” he said instinctively.

  Seren’s expression didn’t change.

  “Why are you asking me that?” Malcolm said. “Do you love me?”

  Seren paused for a moment, thinking as though they weren’t inundated with Mara’s screams. “No,” she finally said.

  Malcolm balked. “Then why did you ask?”

  Seren blinked and gave an almost sorrowful smile. “Because love is the only thing in this world that can bring down a mountain. Kain knows it. And that’s what he’ll use to bring Mara down as well.”

  Mara gasped for air as the smoke surrounded her, filling her lungs so that each breath pulled her throat tighter and tighter. She was watching them burn—Corbin, Drake, and Isa—just like her mother had.

  And just like before, she was powerless to stop it.

  “Mara!” She heard Corbin shout. She knew he was alive, trapped in the dungeon with her, but in her mind he was burning in an endless fire. She tried to push the images away, tried to visualize something else, but Kain’s power to control her mind was inescapable. She dropped her head and cried out, and when the flames had completely consumed her thoughts, the image vanished. Moaning with despair and relief to be free from the vision, she fell back onto the damp stone wall, telling herself over and over again that the images weren’t real.

  As her mind cleared, she heard Corbin and Drake’s shouts continue, and the bars of their enclosures rattling. She forced herself to look up, to show them that she was still with them, still strong enough to fight the visions. Kain stood in the doorway, his feet on the other side of the threshold so that his magic still worked on her mind.

  “Stop!” Corbin begged.

  Kain sneered with Ailwen’s lips. “She is unharmed. The mind is a curious thing, you know. It can send waves of pain through a body when there has been no injury. It can create images so real, one cannot differentiate between the truth and the lies.”

  Drake’s eyes shifted from Mara to Kain. “Would you destroy another Dia to gain her power? When will it end?”

  Kain entered the room, his face hardened in an angry scowl. “It will end when she gives me the coire and the Ruler’s stone. I am meant to be the eternal king. Not this little wretch of a girl, and not her whore of a mother!”

  Mara watched Corbin pant with rage, and her heart ached for him.

  Walking further into the room, Kain knelt down in front of Mara. “This can all end, my dear. All you have to do is give me what I want.”

  Mara turned her head up to look him dead in the eye. “No,” she growled.

  Kain might have thought his attacks would weaken her, forcing her to give in to him, but the hours of torment had only strengthened her resolve, reminding her that she was chosen to protect these powers.

  The intruder put a hand to his lips. “And what if I burned your beloved right in front of you? No tricks of the mind this time.”

  Mara knew that as long as she stayed strong, Kain wouldn’t kill Corbin or Drake, because once he did, she’d have nothing left to lose. She focused on him and narrowed her eyes. “Then I will go with him. I gave in to evil once before. I will never give in to it again.”

  Corbin called her name and she looked up. “Mara, this has to end.”

  Kain spoke over his shoulder at Corbin. “Is she worth dying for, champion?”

  Resting his head on the bars, Corbin sighed, his eyes never leaving her. “Yes,” he breathed. “A thousand times over.”

  His words clenched Mara’s heart, but she shook her head at him. “He will kill us anyway, Corbin. Don’t have fear for me.” She looked back at Kain. “I know what’s real and what’s not.”

  “Is that so?” Kain said. “Listen here, your majesty, I will let you all go. Don’t you think it would be better that way? You and Corbin can settle in a little cottage somewhere, raise a family.” He paused, eyeing her. “It’s what he wants, you know. Corbin wants to live like a mortal. It’s what he’s always wanted.”

  Corbin shook his head vehemently. “Don’t listen to him, Mara. It’s not true.”

  Kain continued, “He loathes this existence. It is one that was forced upon him, and he reminds himself of that every day. But you already know that, don’t you?”

  Mara shuddered and s
hook her head. Was Kain speaking Corbin’s truth or simply penetrating on her fears?

  There was a long span of silence as she and Kain stared at each other. She knew his attacks were wearing her down, but she wasn’t about to let him see that. Now was not the time. She let out a quiet breath when he got to his feet, finally giving up the standoff, and stepped through the doorway. She thought he would leave them, hoped she would get some time to gather her thoughts, but then she heard his voice in her mind, like an evil whisper that only she could hear.

  “You will bring down every man that loves you,” he said only to her. “Every man that pledges his life to you is also pledging his death. Give up this power and you will save them all, Mara. You will save them all.” He turned with a bitter flash in his eye and the door closed.

  Mara bit her bottom lip, trying to keep the tears at bay. She could feel Corbin and Drake’s eyes on her, but she couldn’t meet their stares.

  “You could have prevented this,” Corbin said to Drake. “Why didn’t you tell us about Kain?”

  Drake exhaled and shook his head regretfully. “It wasn’t that simple, son. By the time my memories returned, it was too late. That’s why I begged her not to make the others Dia. I knew it was dangerous. As my memories began to make sense to me, I remembered the ancients. I knew they would have the answers I couldn’t yet find.”

  Corbin squeezed his eyes shut with sorrow etched on his face.

  Mara turned away. “Kain said you wanted the same thing. What was he talking about?” she asked Drake.

  Drake paused and closed his eyes as if searching for the memory. “Kain was on the king’s counsel when I left Ireland,” he said. “Decades had passed before I returned, and when I did, our king, Fáelán, was dead and Kain was the new ruler of the few Dia left.” Drake cast his eyes down and swallowed hard. “I resumed my post as the king’s guard. This was before I knew what Kain truly was, before I knew he wanted the coire.

  “I’d once sworn to Fáelán that I would protect Ethnea. I didn’t know she was the Keeper when I made that promise. And I didn’t know Kain would kill her to get that power.” He let out an angry moan. “I didn’t want anything to do with that power, Mara, I swear it. And I wouldn’t betray your mother to get.” He paused and gripped the bars so that his knuckles went white. “I should have killed Kain when I had the chance. I should have warned her sooner. But Kain has a power over Dia. He knows how to trick our minds. I didn’t know what I was doing until it was almost too late. I could have killed her.”

  “But you didn’t?” Corbin asked.

  Drake nodded. “Ethnea knew Kain had discovered her. And luckily, we both managed to escape. We went our separate ways, vowing to live mortal lives in hiding.”

  Mara brushed the hair from her face. “And when she thought she was in danger, she gave you the coire to protect?”

  “Yes,” Drake said. “I had shown the strength to forsake it. She believed I could protect the power until it was time for her daughter to carry it. She took my memories to keep her secret safe.”

  Corbin let go of the bars and leaned on the wall. “But you were his guard. You did Kain’s bidding. And you never thought to tell us? This feels like a betrayal from my own father.”

  Mara looked from Corbin to Drake, two men of the same countenance and, she knew, the same heart.

  Drake shook his head. “It was not a betrayal, son. If the memories had come back to me in time, I would have told you. I swear it. I have failed you, but I would never betray you. I will die for Mara if I must. My loyalty is unwavering.”

  Mara nodded, seeing the depth of his sincerity. “I believe you.”

  Just then the door to the vault opened. Tristan walked in with a sack and leather pouch in his hands. He’d brought them food and water every night since their capture. Mara watched him closely. The young man spoke very little, but she saw that his keen eyes were thoughtful, even sympathetic at times.

  Tristan’s face was stoical as he handed Corbin the water pouch. Corbin shook his head and motioned for him to give it to Mara. With a nod, Tristan went to her, got down on his knees, and gently brushed the hair from her face. She looked up as he put the spout to her lips, tilting it slowly for her to drink. She wanted to appear weak to him, wanted to earn his trust through his compassion. When she’d finished, he lowered the pouch and reached in his sack, bringing out a loaf of bread and placing it in her hands. “Eat something,” he said. “It will make you feel better.”

  “Thank you,” Mara said quietly.

  “How can you let this go on?” Corbin asked Tristan.

  Tristan didn’t turn. “What do you expect me to do?”

  “You come in and out of here as you wish. You could free us any time you want,” Corbin said.

  Tristan stood and shook his head. “I am not everyone’s savior.”

  Corbin met Mara’s stare and softened his expression. “What do you think will happen to you and your sister if Kain gets the Ruler’s stone? Will he give you power? Build an army around you? Or will he keep you as his minion for the next millennium?”

  Tristan held his gaze on Mara, sympathy bleeding into his guarded eyes. “And what will you give me? Power? An army? Or will you banish my sister and I so that we must live out our days in hiding?”

  “I will not banish you,” she said, intentionally failing to mention his sister.

  He shrugged. “Aren’t we all slaves to one master or another?” His eyes softened for a moment. “I have pity for you. I do. But I have no power to help you.” He looked away, almost regretfully, and wouldn’t meet Mara’s gaze. “There’s nothing I can do,” he said again before leaving the room.

  The three captives remained silent for a long while. Mara kept her eyes down, trying to keep the feeling of defeat at bay, until Corbin called to her, begging her to look up at him. At first, she couldn’t, unable to see him trapped behind those iron bars, stripped of all his dignity. The failure in his eyes could have ripped her heart out if she gazed upon them too long. But he was not the failure. He’d tried to protect her, and it was only because of him that Isa and Helen were safe. It was her own failure that reflected in his darkened eyes. He was there because she’d been arrogant, realizing her mistakes far too late to remedy them.

  When she finally did find the courage to look up, every part of her turned to dust, wanting to feel him wrapped around her. If she could only get lost in his embrace, she would never emerge.

  “It’s time to give up this fight,” he said.

  Mara shook her head. “You know I can’t give him the stone, Corbin. I can’t.”

  “She’s right,” Drake said. “Those two powers are woven into her soul now. Giving them up would mean losing herself.”

  Corbin hung his head. “There has to be another way.”

  Mara looked up to Drake as though the same thought occurred to them at once. She sat up. “Tristan will help us,” she said. “He just doesn’t know it yet.”

  Malcolm walked along the mountain river, preferring the gentle babble of water to the spine-tingling sound of Mara’s screams. He couldn’t stand to listen to them. When he was trapped in Valenia, the thought of her torture would have given him pleasure. But now, each scream reminded him of the fear that had been brought to life inside of him in the earthen dungeon, giving him chills he couldn’t shake.

  He wanted to avoid Kain and Daria as well, fearful that they might suspect his plans for betrayal. The only problem was, he didn’t yet know what that betrayal might be.

  As he made his way down the path, he tried to sift through the glut of thoughts and emotions tearing through him. And when he came to where the path split, giving him the option of two different trails, it hit him—he only had one of two paths to choose from. He could become Kain’s underling, or he could go against everything he stood for, the Dia he’d once been, and give up his desire for revenge. Staring at the ground, he finally decided to take the path to left, knowing his next choice would not be so easily made. />
  Absorbed in his thoughts, Malcolm didn’t at first notice the raven screeching overhead. He looked up, but the bird flew too high for him to tell if it was Tristan. The raven let out a harsh shrill. Malcolm picked up his pace and followed it until he reached the bottom, and waded through the stream. In the distance he saw a little farm with a bright red door. The raven circled above it.

  Curiosity was begging Malcolm to move forward, but a sense of foreboding in his gut urged him to go back. He observed the little farmhouse. The pen door was open, the sheep gradually grazing their way outside of their keep. Smoke wafted from the roof, but the place looked deserted. Ignoring the shiver up the back of his neck, Malcolm walked towards it, and as he got closer, it became apparent that something was wrong with this place.

  The raven was perched on the roof of the barn, a low croaking rumble coming from its throat. It was when Malcolm walked up to the barn that he noticed the herding dog on the ground, its neck snapped. He turned to the raven again, but when he looked up, he saw it was Tristan in human form sitting on the roof, his face sullen. Tristan motioned with a slight nod of his head.

  Malcolm swallowed hard and made his way through the doors into the barn. Pockets of gray daylight coming through the slats of wood kissed the ground, and rigid horses with petrified eyes stood in shadow-filled stalls. Malcolm heard a cracking sound and a shuffling of hay coming from the shadows. As he moved closer, he heard a wet suckling noise, much like that of a foot being pulled from mud. Despite his quickened heart, he moved closer until he came upon the source of the sound, and his heart all but stopped beating in his chest and fell right to his stomach.

  He gaped at the sight of Seren, crouched down over a man’s body. Blood covered her hands and her dress as she dug through the man’s torso, pulling out his innards and laying them on top of his skin. In the corner, Malcolm saw the body of a woman, her head having been smashed in with a hammer.

  Malcolm’s hand shot to his mouth and his stomach lurched. “What in the name of the gods are you doing?” he rasped.