by Shea Berkley
The vein in my neck throbs with adrenaline. I look around. “Everyone okay?”
Signe plucks a venomous quill from the hem of her skirt and tosses it away. Reggie is busy checking and loading his guns. Reece has his hand on Halim’s shoulder and they’re both staring at something on the ground. I approach and see only a pile of dirt. “What’s wrong?”
“Your little person is dead.” Halim nudges a pile of dirt and a pair of quills with his foot. “I hope mine is okay.”
Is he actually upset about the golem I made of him? “They aren’t alive, Halim. They’re just made up of dirt and water.”
“Technically,” Reggie says, “so are we.”
It’s something Leo would say. For a split second, I wish he were here, alive and…
I take a deep breath. Just alive.
I can’t think about all I’ve lost. I have to concentrate on finding a way to control my dad. Amid the thumps of the hell hounds pounding their bodies against the wall, we huddle in the junkyard created at the foot of the Fall Gate. I send Reece, Halim, and Reggie to watch for any coming threats and turn to Signe. “Where exactly is Kera?”
The last thing we need is to chase Kera all around this place. I have to convince her we’re better together than apart. Once I have her back, I’m hoping I can keep Baun from getting his hands on his old powers. Without being able to access the powers Kera is holding for him, he’ll be easier to defeat.
Signe holds up the ring. It radiates a blue glow and she tosses up three handfuls of dirt from the now-disintegrated golem until a 3-D image of Phoenix Hall appears along with a pulsing shape of Kera. It lingers for a second, then fades, and the whole illusion disintegrates.
“Where’d she go?”
Signe blinks. “I have no idea.” She tries again, but this time nothing happens. The ring doesn’t glow. The dirt doesn’t take shape. Horror fills Signe’s eyes. “Oh no.”
“What?”
“It’s not working.”
“What do you mean it’s not working?”
She holds up the ring. “Nothing is happening.”
“It just worked five seconds ago.” I know it’s not her fault, but I’m getting frustrated. “How can nothing be happening?”
“I think…” She doesn’t finish. Tension tightens the corners of her eyes.
“What?” I don’t have time for guessing games.
She swallows, as though whatever she’s thinking is hard to accept. “I-I think she’s dead.”
“Don’t say that.” She can’t be dead. I refuse to even think it. She’s come too close to death too many times for me to accept that this time it’s finally happened. “Do it again.”
“Dylan…”
The look she gives me says it all. She thinks I’m crazy to still care for someone who tried to kill me, but I know better. “It wasn’t Kera who tried to kill me. You’re her best friend. You know her.”
“I thought I did, but she’s changed.”
“Exactly. The dark magic took over. It possessed her. It had her doing things she never would’ve done.” I stare at the useless ring. “She can’t be dead.”
Signe lays a hand on my arm. “It’s the only explanation.”
I don’t want to accept the sadness that’s rolling off of her. I hate the pity in her eyes. A violent urge to shove her away wells up inside me. I control my anger, something I never thought I’d be able to do. From all that’s happened to me, I’ve learned I can’t let go. I have to think. I have to weigh my actions. Direct my thoughts. Control is the key to me being the guy I want to be, and not like my dad who only thinks of himself.
Even though we’re hidden in a far corner of the Ruined City, we don’t have time for me to think the unthinkable. We have to move. I raise my hand to motion everyone to me, but then something grabs hold of Halim’s legs and sweeps them out from under him. He crashes to the ground and is dragged toward the wall. The boy claws at the cobblestones and sinks his fingertips into a groove. Reece lashes out at the shadows and pulls Halim free. Almost immediately, Reggie’s arm is sucked into the wall. He tugs back. Slowly, a dark, shadowy hand appears on his sleeve. Reggie points his revolver at the point where the wall and arm connect and fires point blank. A howl of pain echoes in the air and the hand lets go. Reggie staggers away and bumps into Reece, who’s shepherding Halim forward. Body parts made up of tendons and bone fall out of the shadows and onto the ground in front of him.
Reggie’s gaze locks onto the macabre form. “What the hell is that?”
“A Nightmare Man. Stay back. It won’t stay dead for long.”
Within the shadows I see the shapes of men, some crouching, some darting from shadow to shadow, all their attention centered on us. “This place is crawling with them. Stay out of the shadows.”
The older man looks up at the dark clouds rolling in. “In about ten minutes, that’s going to be almost impossible.” He’s right. The shadows are growing deeper as the sunlight fades fast.
Bringing my friends along was a bad idea. I don’t know why I agreed. It doesn’t matter they had insisted. How often can they risk their lives and come away okay?
As we all huddle together in a small shaft of light that’s slowly dimming and shifting with the coming clouds, I do something I should have done before we left. I cast a protection spell over each of them. “It’s not much. Actually, I don’t know how long it will last, but it should keep you from getting stabbed in the back.”
Halim looks at his arms. “What’s it look like? Am I glowing?” He drops his arms in disappointment. “Nothing. That’s great. How about doing something about the weather? A bit more sunlight would make me feel better.” Leave it to a twelve-year-old to point out the obvious.
My powers surge and the clouds part, but only for a second, and then they rush back in. That’s never happened before. I try two more times and the clouds grow closer and thicker after I push them away.
The shaft of light tightens and the Nightmare Men gather around us just waiting for the shadows to engulf us.
Reece tugs Signe behind him, and she presses close to his back as he looks my way. “Not to put any more pressure on you, but we’re kind of up shit creek. I thought you were better at the whole controlling weather thing?”
“I am. Someone else is pushing them closer.” And I’m pretty sure I know who. “We need to leave. Now.”
I create a ball of living light and tell everyone to stay close. The mini sun hovers over our group, where it flares and burns. The Nightmare Men shout and growl and jump back as the shadows recede. We have more room to move, but it’s only a temporary fix.
Halim stares at the red-hot orb and lifts his finger to poke it. “That’s amazing.”
Reece smacks the boy’s hand away. “When something looks hotter than hell, it usually is.”
I wave everyone forward. But then two things happen at the same time. The hell hounds break through the wall, and a swish of darkness streaks through our group, ripping off a chunk of Signe’s skirt as she jumps out of the way. Halim turns and bounds through the hounds, slicing and stabbing as he goes, while Reggie uses one of his rifles and eliminates the ones Halim doesn’t get. The Dark Soul turns and darts back toward us. When he gets close, Reece snakes his incordium blade through the inky blackness, cutting it into a puddle of smelly, oily poison. I send the bits and pieces into an old discarded pot Reece has found, and he slams the lid shut. A quick swipe of my finger and the lid is welded on. Reece takes hold of the handle and like a shot-putter, he spins and lets the pot fly. It hits the ground and clatters to a stop at the feet of Baun, who’s standing at the juncture of two streets. The look on his face is chilling.
Pride swells within me. Three humans just devastated a collection of Baun’s worst. True, the Nightmare Man and the Dark Soul can only be temporarily damaged, but if we cut down enough of them, we’ll have a chance at winning this fight. Our group comes together. Everyone has a job. Even Signe. She pulls out her slingshot and those tiny metal
balls and twists one to activate it before placing it in the sling.
We’re as ready as we’ll ever be. I stare at my delusional father standing confidently in front of the look-alike Rodarian army with their same height, same faces, and same creepy red eyes. Something shines on the middle finger of Baun’s left hand. It’s the ring that controls the Nightmare Men. I knew I should have kept it or at least locked it away. I find it telling that even he doesn’t trust them enough to let them loose in the light of day. He’s using them, and I can’t imagine they’re happy about it.
On the other side of Baun, Granel stands amid a cloud of inky darkness. Tension arcs off the Dark Souls. With Navar at the lead, they are more than ready to rip into us.
Baun sneers and shakes his head. We’re not even a problem in his eyes. More of a nuisance. “Kill everyone but my wayward son. Bring him to the arena,” I hear him say. When he turns to leave, I spy Hadrain, Kera’s dad, standing right behind him. My mouth drops. I know it does, and I hear Signe gasp. “Is that Kera’s father?”
“I thought he was on our side,” Reece asks. “What’s he doing with Baun?”
Granel stops Baun before he leaves and says something as he points to the mini sun I’ve created. Baun’s hand lights up, and the sun explodes over our heads, showering tiny balls of fire down on us. The hem of Signe’s dress catches fire, and Reece stomps it out.
A howl of victory rises from the Nightmare Men. The Dark Souls gather into a tight knot of blackness and surge forward.
“Ah, hell,” Reece mutters.
Signe fires one of the tiny metal balls at a group of Nightmare Men. The ball disappears within the tendons and bones of the nearest one and when it explodes, the man is torn apart.
My dad is walking away, and one thing is very clear. “We need that ring.”
“I can get it.” Signe tucks the slingshot in her belt and then vanishes without me even agreeing to the plan. I gave her Thaul’s invisible ability in case everything went really badly. Granted, it’s getting pretty bad, but I expected her to find Kera and leave. I should’ve known she wouldn’t.
“Signe!” Reece yells, reaching out to grab at empty air. When she doesn’t answer, he turns to me, a threatening look in his eyes. “Why didn’t you stop her? If anything happens to her…”
What can I say? I know how he feels. Kera is the poster child for running off and getting into trouble. “Honestly, she’s the only one who has a chance of getting that ring.”
As Signe moves off, the Dark Souls and Nightmare Men converge on us. I tell everyone to hold on. “This is going to get really ugly, really fast.”
Miracles Come at a Price
One miracle. “Just one,” Kera says on a sliver of suspended breath. It hurt to breathe. To think. To even wish. But she would beg for one more chance to make a difference, until her last breath.
Something clicked. Kera forced her eyes toward the sound. In the far corner, something was moving. Whatever it was grew bigger each second. It sprang fully open, jumping a foot off the floor and then down, bouncing, then swiveling in a circle until it grew still. It was the Salter’s magic. Suddenly, it popped on its rim and rolled to Kera, edging onto her hand. It twisted around her finger into an intricate, delicate ring. She pulled her hand close and let out her breath. Surely she could have one more chance. But she didn’t. Her lungs stayed flat. Her heart slowed. She felt the pull of her spirit as it left her body. She couldn’t die. Not yet. She needed to live, not for herself, but for Dylan. To prove she cared. She had always cared.
Her spirit hovered over her lifeless body. It looked frail and broken. Her clothes were scorched and her hair was a mess. Across the room, Bodog slowly scooted on his belly toward the fireplace, where the splintered stick that held Faldon’s spirit had been tossed. Yet Kera’s spirit remained, not rising or falling, just hovering aimlessly in a silent void.
“Bodog.” His name echoed hauntingly. He had always been able to see the spirits of those who had died and the truth behind people’s actions. She needed his guidance. She couldn’t just linger here. Forever.
He turned at her voice. “Not now.” There was a command to his words that didn’t sound anything like him.
If she couldn’t speak to him now, when? She had too many questions. She must have looked confused because he pointed to her body. “When your time begins. Go back.”
Only then did she see the ring glowing on her finger. The brilliance of that warmth swept under her skin, moving along her arm and through her body until its magic reignited life back into it. The magic invaded her spirit and pulled it down, trapping it in a shell of skin and bones that was her body once again.
Her eyes popped open and she sat up. The necklace Baun had placed on her ribs tumbled to the floor. She was alive. The glow from the ring slowly faded, and all the pain she’d endured was gone. She felt unstoppable.
She raised the ring to her lips and kissed it. “Thank you.”
It warmed her hand, infusing her body with hope. She snatched up the necklace before she stood and put it on. When she came around the desk, she saw Bodog stretched out in front of the fireplace and rushed over to him.
When she got closer, she saw his hand was touching the broken, charred stick. He wasn’t moving.
Not Bodog. He had jumped in front of her when Baun had tried to strike her dead, taking the brunt of the magic, but his sacrifice had been in vain. He’d tried so hard to do what was right even when he was scared. All she could see was his sad, frightened face. Hear him begging Dylan to fix Teag and make it a place where Bodog could live in peace.
She eased him onto his back, saw his eyes open, and she grasped his free hand. He blinked for a moment and licked his lips. The odd little man with the floppy ears, googly eyes, and too-big hands and feet attempted to speak, but nothing came out. Time stilled. The veil between the dead and the living split, and for a moment she saw a crowd of spirits huddled around him. One of them was Faldon. He smiled at her, and she felt a cool touch to her cheek. She closed her eyes and sighed, feeling the strength of his life flow through her. When she looked again, they all faded away. Bodog’s hand grew heavy, until his body lay lifeless.
She bent and kissed the top of his head. “You tried to save me, and you did. Thank you.”
There was no time to mourn. Baun had to be stopped. Kera rose and grabbed her bow and arrows. She took a dagger from a collection of weapons Baun kept in his chambers and strapped it on. Looking out the window, she saw a roiling mass of blackness by the city’s far wall. Dark Souls had gathered, and where they were, she had no doubt that’s where Baun would be. His spirit had been broken long ago. She saw that now. But she couldn’t allow him to choose a path that would see every good and wonderful thing about Teag destroyed.
She darted through the hole in the wall and ran through the secret passageways. Once outside, she encountered hundreds upon hundreds of people, scared and at odds with what they should do. “Leave the city,” she yelled at them all. “Protect yourselves.”
They only stood like dumb sheep waiting to be led as they looked into the sky. Kera looked up and squinted. It appeared to be a flock of birds darting in and out of a bank of high clouds. And they were headed straight for the crowd.
A sinking feeling hit her stomach.
“Dragons,” someone yelled. “Take cover.”
Instantly, the crowd moved, shoving one another out of the way. Kera stood her ground, drawing the dragons’ attention to her. If she was to die, at least she could give her people time to escape. She took her bow and notched an arrow. She tracked the dragons as chaos erupted around her. Seven massive beasts filled the sky. One dipped its wings and dived straight for the ground, straight toward her. An aggressive, bone-shaking roar filled the air.
Aiming the arrow, she let it fly. A flash of fire disintegrated it. None of the firsts came to help her. What had Baun done to them to transform them all into cowards? A few poked their heads out of hiding, presumably to watch her die. Nothin
g could tame the teeth and fire of the dragon. A distant whistle of wind over the leathery wings filled the air as the dragon came closer. The sound was more terrifying than anything Kera had heard before.
The streets were nearly empty now. Determined to draw it away from her traumatized people, she turned and ran into a cross street, the sound of wings beating the air above her filling her ears. She jagged around one corner, then jigged around another, leading the dragon toward a section that had recently been destroyed. When she turned another corner the dragon landed right in front of her with a thud that knocked her off her feet. She rolled to her belly and scrambled back the way she’d come.
The dragon sucked in a deep breath and spat a row of fire, cutting off Kera’s escape. Dying twice in one day didn’t seem particularly fair, but life wasn’t exactly playing fair lately.
Accept or Die
I gear up to send a blast of energy at the Dark Souls when a Nightmare Man slams into me and knocks me off my feet. His sword is coming down in a deadly arc when a fireball slams into his chest and blows him ten feet into the air and away from me. I guess he didn’t get the memo I was supposed to be spared. Nice to know Baun isn’t as all-powerful as he’d like me to believe.
All around us, shots of fire rain down from the sky like the end of the world is coming. I look up and heading straight for us is a flock of dragons. They dip and spit fire into the core of our enemy. Granel shifts his command and the Dark Souls shoot skyward. The dragons spin and roar and rip into the inky blackness, their scales a solid protection Granel hadn’t anticipated by the look on his face.
