Heir of Illaria: Book One of the Illaria Series

by Dyan Chick

  A rush of wind hit me from the side, nearly knocking me down. I turned my arrow in the direction of the wind and peered into the darkness. Time seemed to have stopped moving as we waited. Out of the corner of my eye, another burst of light illuminated the darkness. Pivoting toward the light I caught sight of what must be a portal. My breath caught and my jaw dropped open. It looked like there was a tear in the sky and cloaked figures tumbled out in a cloud of dark smoke. The smoke filled the space around us, making it difficult to see. My hands began to tremble. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. I let out a breath and tried to compose myself. Lifting my chin high, I focused on stilling my trembling hands. I needed to be steady to get a good shot.

  The smoke began to clear and I searched for the figures. At first I didn’t see them, then all at once they were on us. The battle didn’t wait. It went from quiet to a roar in a heartbeat.

  Flames whirled at me. I ducked, feeling heat pass over my head. People moved all around me. Bodies slammed together. Screams filled the air. I scanned the scene, looking for a clear shot at one of the enemy sorcerers. My eyes locked on a man I had never seen before. He was launching fireballs into the fight. I drew my bow, aiming for his chest.

  “As long as your arrow gets near him, I can help guide it in,” Britta called out over the sound of the battle. She raised her hands in the air and stretched them toward the fire sorcerer.

  Aiming at a moving target was something I hadn’t practiced before and I was worried I would miss. Britta’s words gave me confidence. With a deep breath in, I followed the man with my arrow. When I felt like I could get close, I released. The arrow flew through the air, moving slightly off the path I had sent it as Britta guided it. With her help, it struck with more force than I expected. It hit the man square in his chest. He fell backward, grasping at the arrow.

  I pulled another arrow out of my quiver and looked for a target. Two bodies were nearby on the ground but I didn’t have it in me to see who they belonged to. I caught sight of Saffron fighting with a short, white-haired sorcerer. James was pulling his sword out of somebody. A cry rang out from behind me.

  I turned to see Britta collapse on the ground. No! A sorcerer in a dark hooded robe stood over her body. I couldn’t make out the face in the shadow of the hood. He started to walk toward me. Fear gripped my chest but I pushed past it. Pulling out the dagger that was sheathed on my leg, I launched it at him. He caught the blade between his palms and didn’t break his step. Who is he? His steps were slow and without urgency. My stomach twisted. I loaded an arrow in my bow and launched a quick shot at his chest. He glided away from my arrow and it flew past him.

  I glanced around for help. He was getting closer. I took a deep breath and tried to clear my mind as much as I could with the battle raging around me. Magic was my only hope. I centered my hands level with my waist, and raised them to my chest. Instead of focusing on the entire storm, I thought only of lightning. My hair stood on end as electricity began to form around me. Pushing my hands to the sky, I dropped them to my side. I stared at the hood’s shadow where his face should be and commanded the lightning to strike. I pulled in my anger, fear, and frustration. Everything I had and everything I was went into that summoning. Thunder sounded from above me. Smiling, I narrowed my eyes at the hooded figure.

  A purple streak of lightning crashed into the ground, blinding me and sending me flying backward through the air. For a moment, all I could see was white light. Then my vision began to come back to me in spots. I scrambled to my feet shaking as I stood. All that remained of my attacker was a smoking crater. How did I do that? I killed a man with lightning. On purpose. This wasn’t the first time I had killed somebody, but this time, I had set out to kill him with magic. Had anybody else seen me do that? What would they think of me? You wanted to be here. You wanted to help. This was the right thing, wasn’t it?

  Puffs of smoke began to appear around me. I coughed and waved my hand in front of my face to clear the air. It was dark again, the fire that had been lighting the fight was gone. Somebody sent up a fireball that glowed above us. There were less of us standing than we had started with. Britta, and two other sorcerers from our side were laying on the ground. One of the attacking sorcerers was laying on the ground coughing and wailing in pain. James and another man picked him up under his arms and dragged him away. A sorcerer I didn’t know ignited his hands and walked toward the fallen. I turned around, not wanting to see their bodies go up in flames.

  24

  As the adrenaline of the battle wore off, the fatigue of using so much magic rushed in. I knelt on the ground, taking a moment to regain my strength. People were flooding in from the camp toward the smoking battlefield. I recognized Master Flanders among them.

  A weight lifted from me as I saw Ashton running toward the clearing. I stood and we met in an embrace. Thank the gods. He was covered in soot and smelled like a campfire. Whatever he had experienced on his end must have been pretty bad.

  Ashton took my hand and pulled me away from the battle ground. “Everybody who is still here is meeting at the main tent. We have to get the directions to our emergency meeting location.”

  I stumbled as I walked.

  He put his arm around me and helped steady me. “Are you cold?” Ashton pulled me closer to him.

  “No.” I sighed. I couldn’t explain how I felt. I could have died. For some reason, that wasn’t upsetting me the way it should have. Maybe I was getting too used to to the idea. I thought for a moment and realized the part that upset me the most was that I hadn’t been able to save Britta.

  “Britta,” I said, “I didn’t even know her, but I feel like it was my job to protect her.”

  Ashton looked at me with an intensity I hadn’t seen before. “You almost died and your focus is on how you couldn’t protect everybody.” He shook his head. “I’ve never met anybody like you before. You care about other people more than your power. So different than your brother.”

  We were different. Piecing together what Max was really like was taking time but I was starting to get a clearer picture. I had a feeling he would sacrifice a hundred Brittas to gain the throne. Was he going to be any better than the king we had already? I felt sick to my stomach thinking of the number of people who had already died on my behalf. There had to be a way that I could help make this kingdom a better place. I stopped walking. “This has to stop.”

  “Are you hurt?” Ashton asked.

  I shook my head. “No, not me. The killing. The death. All of these people died because of me. It has to stop. Maybe I should just turn myself over to the king and get it over with.”

  Ashton gripped me my by my shoulders. “Are you insane? What good would that do? We need you.”

  My eyes narrowed. Was he speaking to me as a member of the White Ravens or as the girl he was in love with? I wasn’t sure where I fit into anything. “The Ravens don’t need me. They want to marry me off but I think I’d be better off dead than married to some prince I don’t love.”

  “I’m not going to let that happen, and neither are you. You are too smart and too powerful to waste away as a figurehead somewhere. You need to help rule this kingdom.” His tone was serious.

  “Max is going to rule this kingdom.”

  “You should be there with him. When we meet up with him, we need to show him what you can do. There’s no way he won’t want you by his side. We can’t take you away from Illaria.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulder again and urged me forward.

  Maybe telling Max was the right thing to do. Word of the battle would probably spread quickly. Soon enough everybody would know that I made lightning. I leaned into Ashton. I had never been so tired in my whole life. Creating magic was the most exhausting and exhilarating thing I had ever experienced. Every step caused my body to scream out in pain, but at the same time there was a sense of power I had never felt before.

  Few people remained behind after the evacuation of the camp. Those that did were the members of the Trial Cou
ncil and higher level sorcerers who held positions within the guild. Saffron and I were the only non-sorcerers in the group. I noticed several tattoos barely visible under torn and dirty sleeves. They reminded me that I would have to deal with Max soon and I wasn’t sure what to expect. I can’t trust him. It pained me to finally believe that truth. There was something inside telling me that I had to be very wary around my brother.

  We all stood in a circle around Master Flanders so we could hear what was to come next. “We can’t stay here. We are instituting Plan F to meet up at our secured location. Further instructions will be made there. Wilona, Saffron, you two are with me. Everybody else find a partner who can teleport. Did I miss anybody?” He looked around the room then he opened his hands to reveal bright green coins with the letter “F” printed on them. He handed one to each pair of Sorcerers. “I’ll see you all there.”

  Clouds of smoke began to form around me as sorcerers vanished to wherever we were all going. Ashton kissed me on the forehead. “See you soon.” I smiled at him then he vanished in a cloud of smoke.

  “Saffron, Wilona.” Master Flanders reached his hands out to us. “Take a hand and don’t let go.”

  I gripped his hand so hard I worried I was hurting him but the butterflies in my stomach wouldn’t let me lessen my grip.

  “Just hang on,” he instructed, “it will be over quickly.”

  The smoke started to rise at my feet and then everything went black. Panic shot through me and my heart rate quickened. I couldn’t see anything. I squeezed Master Flanders’ hand tighter and he squeezed back. I focused on my breathing. Just as panic was starting to consume me, light returned. We were on solid ground surrounded by tall grass, next to a lake.

  The first thing I did was look around for Ashton. I didn’t see him or any of the other Sorcerers anywhere. Oh no. Something wasn’t right.

  Saffron removed her sword from her sheath and raised the point under Master Flanders’ chin. “Where is everybody?” She pressed the point right against his skin. “Is this a trap?”

  Master Flanders raised his hands in surrender. “Give me a minute to explain, please.”

  She narrowed her eyes and didn’t lower the sword.

  “Have I ever given you reason not to trust me?” he asked her.

  She hesitated, then lowered the sword. “Explain, quickly.”

  He dropped his hands. “Something is coming, it’s bigger than the battle for the throne. I am afraid Max isn’t the best man for the job.”

  “Those are treasonous words, Master,” Saffron warned.

  He raised his hands again. “You know I have always and will always serve Illaria. I’m not saying Max can’t be part of the solution. I’m telling you that Wilona is the one who should be on the throne.”

  “What?” I stepped back, hands in front of me, eyes wide. Where is this coming from? “I don’t want to rule.”

  Saffron glared at me as if I had somehow planned this.

  “I have nothing to do with this.” My mind was racing, trying to figure out what was going on. “I don’t want the throne. You know that.”

  Master Flanders placed his hand on Saffron’s shoulders. “This is not Wilona’s doing. It was ordained long before her birth. She is the only one who can prevent the Darkness that is coming to Illaria. You don’t have to do anything right now other than keeping her here. Do not let her leave Illaria. I believe she is the key to our salvation.”

  A chill ran through me. My grandmother had read me stories about the Darkness. I never thought they were real. The stories told of thirst, starvation, a cursed land. A time when the barrier between the living and the dead was so thin, that some creatures could pass through. For most people, this would bring fear and terror. For a necromancer, it was a source for more power and more monsters to control. The king would be unstoppable.

  “What could possibly be worse than the darkness we are already facing from the king?” Saffron asked.

  “Before the Battle of the Dead, I was at the High Temple researching the cycles. The Darkness has not been in this land for a thousand years, but it’s coming.” He took a deep breath before continuing. “Yesterday I received word that the Ibearian River dried up overnight. The only other time that has happened was the year before the Darkness came.”

  “How do you know all of this? I’ve never heard of the Darkness,” Saffron said.

  “I have,” my voice barely audible. I didn’t think anything could scare me more than the king himself, but I was wrong. “My grandmother used to tell me the stories about it. During the Darkness, neighbors fought against neighbors, fathers against sons. It was a vicious time when everybody was afraid of everything. Even the dragons left. Illaria was almost wiped out by it until a sorceress trapped it in the sea.”

  Saffron pressed her eyebrows in. She didn’t look like she believed me. “That sounds like a children’s story.”

  “It was so long ago it doesn’t seem real anymore,” Master Flanders said, “but I assure you, it’s true. I was studying it at the Royal Library before the duke burned it to the ground.”

  “Why her, then? Why not Max?” Saffron asked.

  “There was a prophecy about a Sorcerer ruler who could stop the darkness. One of royal blood with power that hadn’t been seen in generations. I thought Max was strong enough as a fire user, but now that I know Wilona’s power, I think it has to be her.”

  “Max has made it very clear that he wants to get rid of me as quickly as possible. He won’t let me stay here,” I said.

  Saffron frowned. “None of this makes sense. Why didn’t you tell me this before?”

  He shrugged. “I didn’t know Wilona had the powers of the ancients in her blood. That changes everything.”

  Saffron stared at me. “You identified with water?”

  I nodded slowly. Not sure of what any of this meant.

  She sighed. “Okay. I’ll try. We’ll explain it to Max. He’ll want to know all of this.”

  Master Flanders nodded. “Thank you.” He held out his hands again. “Let’s go meet up with everybody else. I’m sure we’ve given them enough of a scare by now.”

  I gripped his hand and closed my eyes.

  I opened my eyes when I felt solid ground under my feet. We were standing inside a large wooden structure that smelled faintly of animals. I think it was a barn at one point. We weren’t alone this time. The other sorcerers were standing around waiting for us. I searched for Ashton, my heart skipping a beat when I saw that he was here safely. He strode over to me and stood next to me, brushing his fingertips against mine. Familiar and comforting warmth flooded my body. I moved closer to him so our shoulders were touching. All I wanted to was be alone with him again. To feel his arms around me, his mouth on mine. I glanced up at him. The tops of his ears were pink. I wondered if he was thinking the same thing.

  Master Flanders started speaking and the people in the room quieted to listen. “I’m afraid there are several items we must address. But first, a moment of silence for those friends who are no longer with us.” He lowered his head.

  The back of my throat burned as I recalled Britta’s last moments. I lowered my head and reached my hand to clasp Ashton’s. He gave it a squeeze. What would I do without him?

  “You have all been through so much in the last fifteen years,” Master Flanders began. “And I’m afraid to say that it isn’t going to end any time soon. The destruction of the king is even more pressing than it was before. The Ibearian River dried up last night.”

  The older sorcerers in the room gasped. Ashton stiffened.

  “Those of us who have been in the Guild for a long time know of The Darkness. We’ve been watching for the signs. If it follows the path it did last time, we have less than a year before it arrives. We cannot have King Osbert on the throne when the Darkness returns. It would mean the destruction of all of Illeria.”

  There were muffled conversations rolling through the room. A thin man with red hair stepped forward. “You know I�
�ve always tried to stay out of politics, never joined up with those Ravens. But I can’t sit by and let Osbert channel the Darkness when it arrives. I’m with you, Flanders.”

  “Me, too,” the pointy faced judge from the trials said. Then two more sorcerers stepped up to offer their support. “Gallia has a history of neutrality,” one of them said. “But we all know that Osbert won’t stop with Illaria. He’ll move into our countries, too. We’re with Illaria.”

  Some of the most powerful sorcerers in the world were stepping up to help us reclaim our home. Tears welled up in my eyes. After all of the terrible things I had seen lately, all of the killing, I was overwhelmed by the good in this room. These people who were willing to risk their own lives to save the lives of others. This was what it was supposed to be about. Helping people and putting an end to the atrocities committed by this evil king. It wasn’t about power or the throne. Those things were secondary to the lives of the innocents who were being used in this deadly game. I never felt like that was the priority with the Ravens. But these sorcerers seemed to have the right idea. My powers were still new but I felt like I belonged with this group. Maybe being a sorceress was who I was supposed to be.

  “Master Flanders?” A thin woman with hair so black it was almost purple stepped out of the crowd and approached the Master. “May I have a moment before you continue? I know it isn’t really the time, but sometimes we need something good to come from something so dark.”

  He bowed his head and stepped aside for the woman.

  “Most of you know me, but as we have some non-sorcerer guests,” she nodded at Saffron. “I am Madame Lyndsey and I am the Head of the Apprentice program for the Guild. While Master Flanders is in charge of the Trials themselves, I make the final decision on who will earn the title of Master.

  Tonight I watched three apprentices volunteer to fight against Sorcerers with decades more training than them. They did so with fortitude and grace beyond their years. Please step forward, apprentices.”