by Avril Sabine
“Are you okay?”
She wasn’t sure. This wasn’t what she’d expected when she’d returned. But she would be. She’d come back for all of them. Come back to protect those she loved and keep them safe. Come back to be with them because without all of them she wasn’t herself. “Yeah. Let’s do this.” She held out her hand, waiting for him to take it so they could travel through the Void.
Chapter Nine
By Thursday afternoon Amber still hadn’t been able to bring herself to talk to her mother, but she was three recruits off reaching fifty. Her mother would bring her one person closer to her goal. If she agreed to become a mage. Amber dropped onto the edge of her bed, lying back, arms outstretched as she closed her eyes. “I didn’t realise how many crazy people are in the world.”
Kade sat on the bed beside her. “I would have thought you’d have already known that. It’s on your news all the time.”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t exactly seem real.” She opened her eyes to stare up at him. “Like it all happens in a different world.” Her phone rang and she groaned. “I really don’t feel like talking to anyone.” She glanced at the screen and groaned again. “Especially not Cooper.”
“Ignore him. Call him back later.”
She was tempted to, but guessed he’d probably keep ringing if she didn’t answer. “Yeah?”
“I need you to visit me.”
“Now? I’ve just got home, Cooper.”
“You promised you’d visit me whenever I asked you to. I want you to keep the promise you made me.”
She opened her mouth to argue. She’d never made him that promise. The only one he’d tried to get her to make was one to keep him safe. And she’d never actually made it.
“Please, Amber. Don’t break your promise to me.”
There was something in his voice that made her worry for him. Surely he was safe. “Cooper, are you absolutely certain I need to visit right now? Are you sure it can’t wait until tomorrow.”
“I need you to keep your promise.”
She nearly swore, but was worried someone else might be listening. Who would be there with Cooper? Tahmid was dead and no one else should know where he was. “Okay, give me ten to get ready. I mean, it’s not an emergency now, is it?”
There was a pause before Cooper answered. “Everything is the same as it always is. I just need to talk to you. Only you. In private. So don’t bring anyone else. Okay?”
“Sure, Cooper. I’ll get Kade to drop me in my room and then come back in an hour to pick me up.” Amber rose from the bed, holding the phone with her shoulder as she pulled on her wrist sheaths.
“Can you make that three hours? I’ve got a lot to talk to you about.”
“Three.”
“Yes. Exactly.”
Was that a message? Were there three people with him or was that how long they’d told him to tell her? “Is Elliot there? Or just you who needs to talk to me.”
“Elliot’s here too. We both need to talk to you.”
“Alright. I won’t be too long.”
“Ten minutes, right?”
“Yeah, see you then.” She hung up, looking towards Kade who was now armed. She guessed he must have been listening to both sides of the conversation. “We have to save Cooper and Elliot.”
“I’ll organise Rian and Daray, you call Ronan. I don’t know the paths to the inside of your place. Only outside. He’ll probably be able to get you inside quicker.”
Amber nodded, dialling his number as she strapped on her sword.
“You better not be ringing to tell me you need more time.”
“Cooper and Elliot are in danger.”
“Wait a minute.” Ronan hung up.
Amber glared at the phone.
“Daray and Rian will be here in a minute,” Kade said.
“Ronan just hung up on me.”
Before Kade could speak, Ronan stepped out of the Void. “There’s three of them. Wayne, Stanley and another man. In the lounge room. Cooper and Elliot are sitting beside each other on the couch. The men have guns. It was a lot better when Knights used swords.”
“We have to get them,” Amber said.
Daray stepped out of the Void with Rian.
Ronan pointed to Daray. “You will get Cooper.” Then he pointed at Kade. “You get Elliot. Return them here and bring Rian back with you. I’ll take Amber.”
“They’re expecting me to arrive in my room and for Kade to drop me off and leave straight away,” Amber said.
“What is going on?” Rian asked.
“Wayne, Stanley and another man are holding Cooper and Elliot at gunpoint,” Amber said.
“Wait until Amber opens the bedroom door before you grab the mages,” Ronan said.
Kade and Daray nodded.
Amber reached for Kade’s hand, momentarily linking her fingers through his. “Be careful.”
“You too.” His fingers tightened on hers before he let go, disappearing into the Void. Daray vanished too.
Ronan held out his hand. “Ready, kitten?”
She nodded.
“Try not to kill all of them.”
“I hadn’t planned to kill any of them.”
Ronan laughed. “That’s what you say now. Just remember not to kill all of them. I need to discuss some things with them.”
She took his hand. As if she wanted to kill anyone else. “Fine.” When they came out into her old bedroom, Amber let go of him, striding towards the door. Everything was quiet. A glance around her bedroom showed nothing out of the ordinary. Even Ronan was gone, hopefully in the Void, watching her. She hesitated, her hand on the knob as she searched the room on the other side of the door. Five people. All of them familiar except one. And even he was kind of familiar. He’d been with Wayne and Stanley when she’d tracked them Monday.
When she swung the door open, all five men looked towards her. Amber had time to glimpse the bruises and blood on Cooper and Elliot before Kade and Daray stepped out of the Void and took them into it. Anger exploded in her and she knew why Ronan had warned her not to kill them.
“Drop your weapons and I won’t hurt you.” She couldn’t promise the same for anyone else.
The other man laughed, pointing his gun at her. Amber jumped to the side as he fired. Kade, coming out of the Void with Rian, tackled the man. Daray attacked Stanley while Ronan stepped out of the Void in front of Wayne, grabbing his gun and tossing it across the room.
It was almost a disappointment. Her hands were curled into fists, anger filling her at the image of Cooper and Elliot that remained in her mind, and she hadn’t managed to do anything more than give them a warning. “What made you think you could take on the dragons and win?”
“This is why they should die. If we let them keep breeding we’d be overrun and slaughtered,” Wayne said.
“Most of you aren’t worth the time it’d take to slaughter you,” Ronan said.
“Why did you want me here?” Amber asked.
“We need a Gold,” Wayne said. “We knew at least one would come after you.”
“Shut up,” the other man said.
“Daray, take them to my place and chain them up,” Ronan said.
“He’s my warrior, not yours,” Amber said.
Ronan smiled. “And are you not mine?”
Her jaw clenched as she held back the words to argue that comment. “And are you not mine?”
Ronan chuckled. “It seems we have a bit of a dilemma then, kitten.”
“Tell him he can house them and we will interrogate them,” Rian told Amber.
“That’s okay. You house them, we’ll interrogate them,” Amber said.
Ronan shot a look towards his son. “Stop interfering.” He turned back to Amber. “Do you have somewhere secure?”
She nodded. “The dungeons.”
Stanley struggled, trying to escape Daray. “You’re not putting me in a dungeon.”
Amber stepped close to him, eyes narrowing as she met his. “Does that w
orry you, Stanley? It should. Let me see if I can remember how it goes. Chained to a wall with no food or water until you talk. Isn’t that right?”
“I should have killed you,” Stanley spat.
“Yeah, you should have.” Amber stepped away from Stanley before she faced Ronan again. “Well?”
Ronan nodded. “Have it your way. For now.” His gaze slid past her to Rian. “You will be responsible for them. Make sure they’re secure.”
“Daray, take the Knights to the dungeons and lock them in separate cells,” Rian said.
Daray nodded, disappearing with Stanley.
“You won’t get away with this,” Wayne warned. “You will pay for everything you’ve done.”
“Shut up,” the other man said.
“You shut up,” Wayne snarled. “It wasn’t you who lost a sister.”
Before the man could reply, Daray returned, taking him into the Void.
“I don’t see how you think you can make us pay,” Amber said. “I’m not about to let you out of the dungeon.”
“You think that’ll stop them coming for me? They know where we are. They’ll know who’s to blame when we don’t return. All you had to do was give us a Gold and none of this would have happened. You don’t understand what we’re protecting you from.”
Amber waved Daray back when he stepped out of the Void and reached for Wayne. “Hell Hounds. But they’re coming. No matter what you do, you won’t be able to stop them.”
“How did you find out? No one would have talked.”
“You know nothing,” Ronan said. “All you Knights haven’t got a clue.”
“We are more than Knights. We’re the inner circle. No other Knight is higher than us. The entire fate of the world rests on our shoulders.”
“And you think killing dragons is going to protect the world? Then why is the binding still failing?” Amber asked.
“How do you know?” Wayne demanded.
Amber smiled, mimicking Ronan’s predatory one. “We probably know more than you. The binding was never going to last forever.”
“No, it’s the Golds. They aren’t pure enough.”
“The last one you took was one of the purest Golds in existence,” Ronan said.
“You don’t know nothing,” Wayne snarled.
“Really?” Ronan’s predatory smile formed as he took a step closer to Wayne. “Ariana.”
Wayne drew back as if struck. “No.”
“You’re going to lie to me?” Ronan demanded.
Wayne shook his head. “It can’t be true. You don’t know what they’re like. It’s nearly impossible to kill them. One got through during the last binding and he slaughtered eleven Knights before he was killed. Four of the ones who died were more than Knights. Stronger. Even they weren’t enough.”
“Just because you don’t like something doesn’t make it a lie,” Ronan said.
Eleven Knights? Four of them Knight Mages? Amber began to wonder if she’d found enough humans to turn into mages. Maybe she needed to find more.
“She can’t have been pure,” Wayne said.
“She was from a long line of Golds. Everyone in her family is Gold. You can’t get more pure a line than that. If her enemies hadn’t handed her over to you no renegade would have provided so strong a line,” Ronan said.
“The hounds are coming.” Amber repeated Vikki’s last words. “Even your sister knew.”
Wayne struggled to escape. “I’m going to kill you for her.”
“Better than you have tried and failed,” Amber said. She couldn’t afford to die. She had too many to live for.
“Take him away,” Ronan said.
Daray took Wayne before Amber could protest. She turned on Ronan with a glare. “I wasn’t finished.”
“We’ll get more out of him after he’s been chained up for a while and realises he can’t escape,” Ronan said. “Go home.”
“Not until Daray comes back for Rian.”
“Go home. I’ve got better things to do then wait around here all day.” Ronan grabbed hold of Rian and disappeared.
Amber crossed the short distance between her and Kade, reaching for him as she spoke. “Temolae Keep.” The moment they came out of the Void, she searched for Rian. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. I will arrange extra guards for the dungeons.”
“Amber?”
She met Kade’s worried gaze and realised she still held onto him. She smiled. “I’m okay. I was just checking on Rian.” She sighed. “I guess we should check Cooper and Elliot.”
“I’ll take you to them.” Kade took her through the Void, bringing her out in one of the guest rooms where Cooper and Elliot argued together.
Chapter Ten
Elliot spun to face them, raising his hands. He dropped them before he could form a fireball. “They shot the Gold in front of us. They said we’d be next if you didn’t come for us.”
She hadn’t even thought about that. Why hadn’t she asked about the Gold that had been guarding them? Guilt hit her and she forced it away. She had to focus. “Where is he?”
“They dumped him in Cooper’s room.” Elliot rubbed at some of the dried blood on his face. “I was standing right next to him when they shot him.”
Amber reached for Elliot, who was closest to her, planning to heal him.
Elliot jerked away. “Don’t go messing with my head. I don’t want to end up like Miles.”
“I didn’t do anything to Miles.”
“The dragons did. He told me they used to put their hands on him and mess with his head.”
“He didn’t tell me anything like that,” Cooper said.
“I knew him. Before they took us, I knew him,” Elliot said.
“When did he tell you this?” Amber asked.
“It was before you caught him. That’s part of why I went with you. I knew it was only a matter of time before they started messing with my head too. I didn’t know he’d lost his mind. Not until Cooper told me. I don’t want to end up like that.”
Amber stared at him for a moment. She’d never even considered that she might be able to heal Miles. Hadn’t thought that something might be physically damaged inside his head. “I was only going to heal what Wayne did to you. I’m not a dragon. I’m a mage.”
“She’d never hurt us,” Cooper said.
Elliot shrugged. “Maybe not, but I’m not about to risk it.”
“I can’t make you let me heal you.” She smiled when Elliot snorted in disbelief. “Okay, maybe I could make you, but I won’t force you.” She turned to Cooper. “Can I heal you?”
“Yeah. I trust you.” Cooper stepped forward.
Placing her hands on him, she searched for the dragon blood in him, healing him before she let her hands fall back to her sides. She looked from one to the other. “Do you want me to turn you into proper mages? Ones that can become birds.”
“I don’t know,” Cooper said.
“Would we be expected to fight?” Elliot asked.
“No, but you’d hopefully be able to protect yourselves a bit better.”
“I’ll think about it,” Elliot said.
“You only have until Saturday. That’s when the next mages are to be made.”
“I will,” Cooper said. “I’ll become a proper mage and I’ll,” he swallowed visibly. “I’ll fight at your side.”
“You don’t have to,” Amber said.
“You came.”
Amber nodded. “You were in danger.”
“I felt so useless. I know I can’t fight. And I probably won’t be able to fight very well even by becoming a proper mage, but I’m sick of being weak. I thought I could hide. But we can’t, can we?”
Amber shook her head. “Not if we want to be safe.”
“Fighting won’t make you safe,” Elliot said.
“Protecting yourself will make you safer than if you run,” Kade said.
“I’m sick of being scared all the time.” Cooper glanced at Elliot before he returned his gaze
to Amber. “Every minute of every day.”
“You’ll always be scared,” Elliot said.
“And you’re not?” Amber stepped closer to Elliot. “I smelt it on you. When I reached out to heal you, I smelt fear. So leave Cooper alone.”
Elliot stared at her. “Why?”
“I don’t get what you’re asking.”
Elliot gestured towards Cooper. “Why protect him? He’s nothing to you.”
She tried to figure out how to answer him. Why did everyone have to keep asking her questions? “He’s my friend.” She felt Cooper move close to her shoulder.
“And I’m not?”
Her eyes were drawn to the bruises and broken skin visible on him. “You aren’t interested in being my friend. You won’t even let me heal you. Friends trust each other.”
Elliot laughed, a sharp, bitter sound. “Like I’m about to trust anyone. I can’t even trust what I’ve believed all my life. None of this should be real.”
She knew how he felt. Had struggled to accept the reality of it herself and still often wondered at her own sanity. “But it is. With worse to come.”
Elliot held her gaze a moment before he squared his shoulders. “Heal me.”
Amber nodded, reaching for him, resting the palm of her right hand against his cheek. It didn’t take long to find the dragon blood in him and she watched as the marks faded from him, only the dried blood left behind. “You don’t have to stay here if you don’t want to.” She drew her hand away.
“Where else would I go?”
“Anywhere. I’d find somewhere for you.”
“You said worse is coming. Is there anywhere that will be safe from it?”
She shook her head.
“Then why tell me I can leave? Why let me go somewhere that isn’t safe?”
“Because nowhere will be safe. Even here won’t be safe.”
“Dragon lands will be fairly safe from the Hell Hounds. They’ve always struggled to enter our lands, but that won’t make our lands safe. Survival of the fittest has never been about safety,” Kade said to Elliot.
“I’ll stay. I just can’t promise I’ll fight. Or is that what you’re expecting me to do if I stay?” Elliot asked.
