The Fairhaven Chronicles Boxed Set: The Revelations of Oriceran

by S. M. Boyce

  The general stood barely ten feet from the platform, a scowl on his face as his extended hand filled again with white light.

  “Anytime, Audrey,” Victoria said, tapping her friend on the shoulder.

  “Me? You're the hero here.”

  “Let's fight fire with fire. Shoot another white magic thingy.”

  “I don’t have any ‘white magic thingies’ left! I need a minute.”

  “What—goddamn it!" Victoria summoned her shield and made it as large as she could, resting it against the altar for support as its massive weight pulled on her shoulder yet again. Barely a second later a blast of energy hit her shield. She clenched her teeth and did her best to hold the fort.

  “Just a little bit longer,” Diesel said, voice straining.

  “Any day would be great!" Victoria shouted.

  “Come on!" Audrey shouted.

  Someone grabbed Victoria's shoulder and dragged her backward. The shield disappeared as her focus wavered, and the last thing she saw in the cavern was the general's scowling face.

  CHAPTER 26

  Victoria hit the hard ground with a thunk and something in her arm snapped. Agony shot down her back as she cradled it and backed away out of instinct.

  She had no idea what was happening.

  Heart thudding in her chest, she took in her surroundings. They were in some kind of cavern, though it wasn't as large as the one with the altar and was thankfully devoid of any soldiers or bloodthirsty kings. Water dripped slowly from a few stalactites on the ceiling. She could hear only her ragged breathing in the otherwise-still cave, and the sensation made her feel as though she had disrupted a tomb.

  “Shit,” Diesel said.

  Victoria peered over her shoulder to find a portal in one of the walls, its edges glimmering gold and pulsating. When she looked through the portal the altar obstructed most of her view of the stumbling Atlantean soldiers. A few regained their balance more quickly than the others and rushed toward her.

  Styx bolted through the portal, a panicked expression on his face as he shot straight for Victoria’s hair. Once safely in it, he trembled.

  “Shh, you’re okay,” Victoria whispered. His shaking stilled, but he didn’t leave the hair-fortress.

  “Close the portal!" Audrey shouted.

  Diesel grabbed his staff off the ground and pulled Victoria to her feet. “I can't! I screwed up. It will close on its own in a few seconds. We should run.”

  Victoria groaned and reached for Audrey, pulling her friend to her feet before they raced down the nearest tunnel. “Where are we, Diesel?”

  “Fairhaven, deep in the tunnels below. It'll take us hours to get up there. Any Atlantean stupid enough to follow us will get lost down here and hopefully eaten by something.”

  “Hopefully we don't get eaten by something!" Exhausted, Victoria struggled for breath as they ran. The Rhazdon Artifact in her arm thankfully healed her shoulder, and a surge of relief followed the cessation of pain. She could breathe more easily now.

  A burst of white light sailed past Victoria's head. The general was standing in the tunnel, seething. His shoulders heaved, and more white energy burned in his hand. Four soldiers stood beside him, their hands lifted and filled with white light as well. Thankfully, though, the portal had begun to close. It was only wide enough for perhaps a hand to get through, and it finally sealed.

  Cato was a powerful man who could probably kill them all, and Diesel had been foolish enough to give him a backstage pass into her city. The fight would continue, but now it was in her backyard. “Diesel!”

  “I had limited time, darling!” the wizard said, exasperated. “Portals are incredibly complex!”

  She frowned, more annoyed with herself than Diesel. General Cato couldn't have won against Victoria in Atlantis if she had been strong enough to wield her Rhazdon Artifact properly. She gritted her teeth and skidded to a halt. “We can't let this guy into Fairhaven!”

  Audrey skidded to a halt beside her, as did Diesel. He gestured down the tunnel. “The creatures down here will eat him. If you’re really worried, you and I can go for reinforcements, at least. Prepare for him up top.”

  Another blast of light sailed by Victoria, but she ducked it easily. “And risk innocent lives? No, Diesel. We end this here.”

  He hesitated, but ultimately sighed in defeat. “Anything you ask of me, my dear snickerdoodle.”

  Victoria rolled her eyes at the new pet name. That was new and not altogether welcome, but at least he wasn't fighting her on this. “I'll go after the general. Diesel, you take out the soldiers. Styx, you stay out of harm’s way.”

  Styx bolted out of Victoria’s hair and hovered in front of her face, pouting.

  “I’ll be okay,” she said with a smile.

  He booped her on the nose and flew toward the ceiling, out of attack range.

  Victoria watched her little buddy fly to safety and sucked in a deep breath to steady her racing heart. “Audrey, you rest behind cover until you're ready. I’m going to need your help as soon as you can give it.”

  Audrey nodded and ducked behind a boulder as the general released a blast of light. It radiated from him like a tsunami, so Victoria summoned her shield. She had to kneel to make one big enough to protect both her and Diesel. The attack battered her shield, shooting pins and needles through her arm, but she held her ground.

  As the blast faded, Diesel snuck a kiss onto her cheek and rolled out into the cavern. She shook her head, fighting back a scathing remark so that she could focus. She had a corrupt general to kill.

  As bursts of green light from Diesel’s staff sailed toward the soldiers she attacked the general, releasing the shield and summoning her sword as she swiped for his neck. He ducked out of the way, but only barely. He lifted his hand to attack her and she summoned her shield again, falling to her knees as the bolt hit. Even though she took a few seconds to let the Rhazdon Artifact heal her, he had hurt her worse than before. For the first time it didn’t feel as though she was healing fast enough.

  They danced like this for what seemed like forever, Victoria getting more and more exhausted with every shift between the shield and the sword. She wished she could hold them both at once.

  Hell, she had to try.

  Throwing Fyrn's warnings to the wind, she summoned one to each hand. The shield was small, barely enough to protect her torso and head, but it did the trick. Her sword looked duller than usual, barely glinting any light at all, but it had appeared on cue.

  A first. She wanted to giggle with joy.

  General Cato yelled and lobbed another blast of energy toward her, so alas—she couldn't relish her success any longer. She ducked, and every fiber of her being screamed at her to drop both weapons.

  It wouldn’t take much. All she had to do was get in close enough to deal a deadly blow.

  Hang in there, Victoria, she thought to herself.

  Blood covering his face and neck from their battle, the general charged her. He looked exhausted, running on fumes and ready to keel over, so Victoria took advantage of the moment. He cocked a fist and aimed for her jaw, but she ducked and fell to one knee. With all her might, she yelled a battle cry and thrust her sword at the general, catching him in his gut.

  But the blade was too dull to cut him open.

  Although she had succeeded in bringing both to her hands, her weapons were weaker. They dissolved in a wave of exhaustion, and she fell to her knees with nothing to protect her. The general kicked her in the chest and she sailed backward along the cavern floor.

  She groaned in agony, her body screaming at her to lie still even when she knew she couldn't afford to. Adrenaline pumped through her veins, but it wasn't even enough to help her stand up, much less summon the dark magic in her blood.

  The bloody general limped toward her, summoning more of the white energy into his hand. The blindingly white electricity fizzed and popped more violently than before. Victoria backed away, trying to stand, but her feet gave out underneath
her.

  This couldn’t be happening. Victoria couldn't lose, not to some asshole from a kingdom she didn't care about. She had to kill Luak. She wanted to see Fairhaven again. She needed to avenge her parents.

  She couldn't die. Not yet. Not here. Not by his hand.

  ***

  Audrey still didn't have much of her energy back, but she bristled when the general kicked Victoria to the ground. He lifted his hand, aiming for Victoria's head, and Audrey knew what would happen next. He would unleash a massive bolt, one from which not even Victoria could recover.

  Audrey had to stop this.

  She held the beautiful crystal in her hand, willing it to give her everything it had, and she aimed the full force of the blow between his eyes. She aimed her fingers like a gun and lowered her thumb to imitate firing a shot. The white light sailed from the pointer finger, sharp and focused, and it hit right on the mark. General Cato flew backward at least twenty feet, sliding along the ground until his head smacked against a boulder.

  Not far away, Diesel shot a blast of green energy clear through the chest of the last soldier who had made it through the portal. The soldier fell to his knees and slumped onto the ground, a hole sizzling between his shoulder blades.

  Audrey ran to Victoria, but Victoria waved her away. “Finish him.”

  The general groaned, rolling onto his side, but Audrey wasn't going to let him get up again. She ran to him and towered over him, lifting the tiara and setting it on her head. “How do you like your princess now?”

  With that Audrey fired again, and the bolt of white light hit him square in the middle of the forehead.

  Agonizing and unbelievable pain rippled through Audrey from her forehead to her toes. She screamed, unable to control herself, and collapsed to the ground.

  Her world went dark. Her only sensation was the steady ringing in her ears, as though she had stepped on a landmine and gone deaf. She struggled to feel her body—to feel anything—but she couldn't.

  In the darkness, a gentle blue light appeared like blood pooling on a fingertip after a pin pricks it. The little blip of light slowly morphed into a moving figure, like a tadpole swimming back and forth. Audrey squinted, trying to make sense of what was happening, and the light morphed into a giant koi that swam through the air around her. The blue fish brushed her skin, its soft scales leaving a trail of glittering light behind.

  I am a water spirit, the fish said without moving its lips. That soft voice echoed in her mind, as gentle as ripples in a pond.

  “I’m Audrey,” she said. At least, she tried to. She couldn’t feel her mouth or hear her words.

  I know, sweet thing. You are safe. I am the spirit of your Atlantean Artifact, and I believe we will be great friends.

  “But Atlanteans are evil,” Audrey managed to say.

  The fish chuckled, the sound like water dripping into a pond. Life is not so simple, dear one, as to be simply divided into good and evil. I will never hurt you, but you will learn this for yourself. I hope you will come to trust me, as we’ll be together for quite some time. Now, wake.

  “Audrey!” someone screamed. Someone familiar.

  Victoria.

  CHAPTER 27

  Victoria lifted Audrey by her shoulders, resisting the impulse to shake her friend awake. She lay still as death on the ground, as though something had knocked her unconscious.

  “Audrey!” Victoria screamed. “Don’t you dare fucking die!”

  As if on cue, Audrey gasped and opened her eyes. They darted around, unable to focus on one thing for very long as she got her bearings. She reached out and grabbed Victoria’s arm, the panicked grip painfully tight.

  “Oh, thank God,” Victoria said, pulling Audrey into a hug.

  “What happened?” Audrey asked, blinking rapidly as she finally focused on her friend’s face.

  “You fused with the Atlantean Artifact,” Diesel said. He leaned against his staff, studying her forehead.

  Audrey reached for her forehead, and sure enough, she was met with cold metal. The tiara’s metal had melted into her skin, and as her finger ran along the edge it became difficult to tell where it began and her skin ended. “Oh, shit! No, no, no, no! This is bad. Are they going to control me? What am I going to do?”

  Diesel shook his head. “Calm down. You’re fine. I don't think the Atlantean Artifact will allow them to control you, Audrey. From what I understand the king was referring to controlling you through other means, possibly food and brainwashing. I think the Atlantean Artifact was merely supposed to make you look like them. After all, that's what it does, isn't it? It allows you to change form?”

  Audrey frowned. “How did you know that?”

  Victoria nodded toward the wizard. “Mister Many Languages here was deciphering the notes in one of their vaults that had all the Atlantean Artifacts. I assume this one was missing?”

  Diesel nodded. “The description mentioned that it was a tiara and its power involved shapeshifting. You can become anything you want, from ogre to Atlantean. I assume they wanted you to use it to look like them and fit in.”

  Audrey grinned. “No thanks.”

  Victoria tapped her chin and examined the Atlantean general’s corpse, not altogether comfortable with how little she cared about looking at a dead body. Fairhaven had certainly changed her. “Diesel, what was the general’s Atlantean Artifact? He was incredibly strong.”

  Audrey’s eyes widened. “Do you think…”

  Victoria cautiously nodded, trying not to get her hopes up. If he had an Atlantean Artifact that could make him stronger, maybe she could take it.

  Diesel sighed in disappointment. “I’m sorry, my love, but he didn’t have one.”

  “What?” Victoria set her hands on her hips, not believing what Diesel had said. “But he’s the general of the Atlantean army. Or, well, he was until we killed him.”

  Diesel shrugged. “I don’t understand either. I went through every note on every pillow in that vault. His name wasn’t listed. If he has an Atlantean Artifact, it’s not one that was written down. Since even the king’s and queen’s were written on the parchments, I doubt General Cato had one. It seemed as though he and the royal family were at odds, so perhaps the king didn’t trust the general with one even as he was promoted through the ranks. Maybe he was testing Cato in some way before giving him one. We may never know.”

  “I certainly don’t want to go back to find out,” Audrey muttered.

  Victoria slumped her shoulders in defeat, trying not to be disappointed. Technically, they had gotten what they went into Atlantis to find: instruction for Audrey. Judging by her performance in their small battle, Audrey had finally begun to control her Atlantean magic. In the end, that mattered most.

  Victoria pulled her friend into a hug. “I’m glad to have you back.”

  “But how did I fuse with the artifact? I had to give up something valuable, and I didn’t care about that jackass at all.” Audrey pointed toward the general’s body and the smoke sizzling from his between his eyes.

  “I believe it was more what he represented,” Diesel said.

  Victoria nodded. “Audrey, you sacrificed a kingdom. Fame. Adoration. You sacrificed everything an Atlantean craves in life. And most importantly, you sacrificed a family. The king may have had shady motives, but he wanted to give you the throne.”

  Audrey smiled. “But you are my family.”

  Victoria beamed. She couldn't help it. She pulled Audrey into another hug, and this time Diesel joined them. Victoria laughed, pushing the wizard away, but he was relentless. She finally allowed it, relishing the peace and quiet.

  They had done it. Not only had they rescued Audrey, but they had saved Fairhaven from a threat no one had known existed.

  “Let's go home,” Victoria said.

  ***

  As they trudged through the tunnels beneath Fairhaven, Victoria was careful to stay beside Audrey. She wanted to be there in case her friend experienced any aftereffects from fusing with the
Atlantean Artifact.

  Victoria nudged Audrey in the shoulder. “Back in Atlantis, you mentioned you felt like my sidekick. Do you remember that?”

  Audrey stumbled and ran her hand through her hair. “Yeah, vaguely. Sorry. Our conversation is mostly a blur, but I do recall that line.”

  Victoria shook her head. “Don’t apologize, I understand. I'm sorry you felt that way, but now that you’re a host as well, you'll know firsthand what it's like. You'll see for yourself that being a host isn’t all it's cracked up to be.”