“He seems perfectly fine to me. I can’t find anything wrong with him.”
“Are you sure?” Mom asked. “Here. Hold him, and you might think differently.”
She placed the baby in my arms. The emotion I’d felt only moments ago came back even more strongly. Kull stood behind me and watched as I held the baby, and I couldn’t help but realize how natural it felt, to have him close while I held the baby.
But that wasn’t the reason Mom had let me hold him. My goodness, what on earth was wrong with my head? How could I even contemplate motherhood when I could barely take care of my cat?
I took the baby’s tiny fingers in mine, but all I could think was that he seemed perfect. Not a single flaw at all.
“There’s nothing wrong with him.”
“Look at his magic,” Mom said.
I did as she said, extending my magical senses to detect the baby’s magical color. Since the baby was elven, I expected to see the usual blue. As the magic appeared, I stared, shocked, as his powers turned gray.
“Gray magic,” I gasped.
“Yes,” Mom said.
“But how is that possible? Goblins use—used—gray magic. This child is elven.”
Father stepped closer. “We’ve learned that nature has a way of balancing itself out. Wiping out the goblins should have put an end to all gray magic, yet since their extermination, babies to elven parents have been born with gray magic.”
I tried to wrap my mind around the situation. “I didn’t think that was possible.”
“Neither did anyone else. That is, until now. For magic to stay balanced in Faythander, some believe it must be made up of five different parts. It could not survive with only four. Gray magic has found a way to return.”
“It’s amazing. Do you think these children will have the ability to control liquid elements like the goblins?”
“Yes, some of the older babies have already begun to exhibit characteristics that lead us to believe so.”
My heart clenched with fear as I contemplated what the queen would do once she found out. “How many are there?”
“Seventeen that we’ve discovered in the city so far.”
“Are they all hiding here?”
A pained look crossed Father’s face. “No. Only a few are here. Some parents opted to leave the city altogether. Everyone knows how dangerous it is to be found with a child who possesses the same sort of magic the queen had thought to eradicate.”
Mom spoke up. “But these arrangements are only temporary. This room has been spellcasted with powerful magic in order to hide them, but we can’t keep these babies hidden forever.”
“No, they’ll need somewhere else once they start to grow, and we can’t house them all,” Father said.
“Then what will you do?” I asked.
Father shook his head. “We don’t know.”
“The queen will find out eventually,” Mom said, “and when she does, I don’t want to contemplate the consequences.”
Silence fell over the room, broken by the occasional cry of a baby. Kull spoke up from behind me.
“There is one thing we can do,” he said. “We must stop the queen from taking Theht’s power, for once she has it, hiding from her will become impossible. Nowhere will be safe, not even in a room protected by powerful spells.”
“He’s right,” Maveryck said. “We must not waste another moment. We must journey to the wild lands in order to find the lost castle. If we don’t, if she gains more power than she has now, spells will not stop her. Theht’s power is greater than any of us understand. She will not stop with the extinction of the goblins, but will eradicate all creatures who oppose her.”
Chills prickled my neck as Theht’s presence stirred at his words.
He’s right, it said.
“I agree,” Heidel said. “Wild lands or not, ghosts or specters or pools filled with blood, we cannot let that stop us.”
“Pools of blood?” I asked.
“Yes, that is what my people say exists there.”
“I’d not heard that one.”
“It’s a rumor, Sister,” Kull said.
“A rumor founded on facts, I’m afraid,” Maveryck said.
We all turned toward Maveryck.
“How would you know that?” I asked. “Have you been there?”
“A very long time ago. Yes, I’ve been there.”
“How would you know what’s inside the wild lands?” Heidel asked. “No one goes there and survives.”
“That is not completely true. I did it, and others have done it as well.”
“The bloodthorn traveled the wild lands,” Kull said, “but he had his immortality protecting him. We won’t have such a luxury.”
My mom spoke up. “I don’t see how you are to survive such a quest. Pozin, isn’t there another way?”
“Yes, and it’s through the queen’s catacombs, where she has warded the entrance with her most powerful spells, where she has posted half of her guards, and where she is waiting for them to enter. You may not have seen many guards roaming the city, and there is a reason. She has moved half her regiment to the catacombs.”
“Still, it sounds less dangerous than the wild lands,” Mom said.
“No,” Maveryck said. “I can get you through the wild lands. I cannot make the same promise for the queen’s catacombs. Plus, if we do enter through the wild lands, we shall have the element of surprise on our side.”
“Either way sounds pretty bleak to me,” I admitted, “but it has to be done.”
I glanced at the baby still cradled in Mom’s arms. Emotion welled within me, and a knot formed in my throat. For a child to be killed because of the color of its magic appalled me, yet I knew Euralysia. I knew her motivations. I’d witnessed her execute the entire goblin race.
It would not happen again. God help me, I would not let it happen again.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
We waited until the cover of night to leave the city. Fog shrouded the desolate streets. I felt as if I walked on an alien planet. It seemed fear lurked in every corner, that it drove the people to stay indoors and forced the once vibrant, musical city into oppression. I didn’t envy the people who lived here.
Maveryck led the way as Kull, Heidel, and I followed. We took the same passage to leave the city as we had to get in, but I didn’t think it mattered. There were no guards or people anywhere, making me wonder if we’d stumbled upon a graveyard rather than the elven capitol.
After crossing through the streets, Maveryck led us into the tunnels, and then out beyond the city wall. Dewy grass squished under my leather boots as I followed the others toward the light-rails. The single thread of light cut through the darkness like a beacon, and I breathed a sigh of relief as we finally climbed inside the carriage and away from the city.
“Lauressa is a different place,” I said as the carriage sped forward, its mechanical whir a soft purr in my ears and its magic making my senses tingle.
“It hasn’t been the same since the queen took control,” Maveryck answered.
“Faythander won’t be the same either if she manages to get control of it,” Kull said.
I stared through the window and watched as the carriage sped away from the city. Lights shone from the top of the castle, making my thoughts turn to Mom and Dad, who’d stayed behind. Worry nagged at me. I didn’t like leaving them behind in that city, where they could be discovered at a moment’s notice, but what other choice did I have? The only thing to be done was to stop the queen, and that thought gave me the strength to keep going forward.
Kull grabbed my hand and kissed my knuckles.
“What was that for?” I asked.
“You looked worried.”
“Shouldn’t I be?”
“No.”
“No? Our world is on the brink of destruction, and I shouldn’t be worried?”
“Right this moment, there’s nothing you can do about
it. So I say no, don’t be worried.”
I eyed him. He never seemed to worry about anything—well, except maybe one thing—but for the most part, he held it together. It was a talent I envied.
“Tell me, Maveryck,” Kull said, “what can we expect to find in the wild lands?”
Heidel had rested her head on Maveryck’s shoulder, but she sat up as he shifted.
Maveryck’s eyes darkened. “My memories of that place are not ones I care to recall.” He heaved a heavy sigh.
He’d said he had the ability to recall events with perfect clarity. I was reminded that it would most likely bring him pain to speak of such a memory, but it couldn’t be avoided. We had to know what was in the wild lands.
“My journey into the wild lands happened when I was much younger, just a boy really, while my elven parents were still alive,” he started. “My elder brother Navarre wanted to take me on an expedition. What I didn’t know was that he was leading me into a trap. Looking back, I am sure he was jealous of me. I was the youngest, adopted, and doted on by our parents. He was the eldest and expected to be the leader, and he hated it. Needless to say, he didn’t like me, and so he led me into the wild lands. Whether he wished to kill me or merely scare me, I cannot say for sure. But he left me there alone.
“Unlike what most people think, the wild lands aren’t merely a desolate waste. In fact, they’re the opposite. They’re a place of enormous magical energy, so potent that plants and creatures grow mutated. After time, the magic began to wreak havoc on the area’s ecosystems, decimating some, causing others to warp into different species altogether.
“But the most dangerous aspect of the wild lands is neither the plants nor the animals—it is the magic that gets into your head. It makes you see things, makes you lose your senses, and eventually, makes you lose your mind.
“I was only able to survive because my family returned for me. Navarre had let it slip what he’d done, and so my parents came and found me. If not for them, I don’t think I would have made it through.”
“Is there any way around it?” Heidel asked. “Some way to get past the magic?”
“Yes, I believe so. Since then, I have made it a point to never be in such a situation ever again. Although I have not returned, I have done a fair amount of research and learned that there are trails protected from the magic in that waste, and if one were to find one of the trails and stay on it, it would be possible to navigate through the wild lands and avoid the most potent magic. However, I’ll have to know where we’re going. Magistrate Pozin spoke of a lake, but how are we to know which one?”
I rummaged in my pack and found the journal. Recalling something I’d seen inside, I placed the leather-bound tome on my lap and opened it carefully. The paper creaked as I flipped to a map near the middle of the diary.
The picture had been drawn by hand, although its detail and clarity were remarkable. The map had no name, but around the outer edge of the landmass were the words OUTER RIM. And inside were the words ACASER FORMATION. Other points of interest had been given names as well, but I focused on the lines crisscrossing the map.
“Look at this,” I said to Maveryck and passed the book to him. “Do you think this could be a map of the wild lands?”
He studied the map several minutes before speaking, turning the pages, then back to the map, then turning it one way or another. “Yes,” he finally said. “I think this most likely could be a map of the wild lands. But it has changed since this map was drawn.”
“Do you think we can rely on it to get us through?” Kull asked.
“There is only one way to know for sure,” he answered, then handed the journal back to me.
I studied the picture, wishing we had more than only this to help us get through the waste.
A large lake had been drawn near the map’s center. Several other bodies of water had been drawn as well, but the lake caught my eye, perhaps because the image of a skull, similar to the one I’d seen in Silvestra’s castle, took up the lake’s center.
“What do you make of this?” I asked.
“Could it be Tremulac Lake?” Heidel asked.
“It seems the most likely place. However,” Maveryck said, “not all is as it seems in that place.”
“Then why would Dracon draw this symbol?” I asked. “Come to think of it, this symbol looks similar to the skull symbol I saw in Silvestra’s castle. It means black magic. Do you think black magic is at work in the wild lands?”
“No, not that I’m aware of,” Maveryck answered. “It’s possible that the skull means something else—death perhaps, or a warning.”
“A warning about what?” Heidel asked. “Is there something in that lake we should know about?”
“Hold on,” I said, staring at the map. A small, five-pointed star was drawn in one of the skull’s eye sockets. “There may be something here. What do you make of this?”
Maveryck took the book once again and studied the picture. He shook his head. “I don’t know. Perhaps it has no meaning at all.”
“I doubt it.” I took the book back from him as I contemplated the star’s meaning. The longer I looked at it, the more I thought the star was oddly shaped, with the ends ending not in points, but in curves, like an asterisk.
My breath caught in my throat. “Theht,” I whispered. “This is the symbol for Theht.” I looked up. “I think I’ve found our lost castle.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m fairly certain that we’ll find something here, whether it’s the castle or not, I think this should be the place we travel to.”
“But if it’s the symbol for Theht,” Maveryck said, “shouldn’t we avoid it?”
“Logically speaking, yes. Why Dracon decided to mark this lake with Theht’s symbol must have been for a good reason. But if we want to stop the summoning, then this is where we’ll have to go.”
Running headlong into dangerous, possibly life-ending situations was becoming a habit of mine. One day, I’d have to consider breaking it.
“Then it’s settled,” Kull said. “We’ll have to make it to that lake and hopefully find our missing castle. Maveryck, how long will it take to travel through that wasteland?”
“The lake sits at the center of the area, and if we are able to locate one of the trails, then we should be able to make it there in less than a day, assuming we are not attacked and killed by some sort of mutated beast.”
“I’ll handle the beasts,” Kull said smugly. “Monsters don’t worry me, it’s what’s at the center of the lake that’s troubling.”
“You won’t slay the beasts without help,” Heidel said. “Not without Bloodbane, anyway.”
“Which is why you are coming with me,” Kull said. He sighed as he glanced at the sword he’d placed on the floor of the carriage. “Bloodbane would come in handy right about now.”
“But Bloodbane is not here,” Heidel said, “which is why you must let me help you.”
Kull raised an eyebrow. “One would think you are glad my sword is gone.”
“Glad? No. I am merely making the best of an unfortunate situation.”
“Or taking advantage of it.”
“Those are your words, Brother.”
Kull and Heidel, at it again. Would they ever get tired of their back-and-forth bickering?
“What will you do with Euric?” Heidel asked.
Kull shrugged. “Nothing. He’s been imprisoned by the elves. I don’t see that there is anything I can do.”
“You can demand the elves release him so he may serve his penance in the Wult dungeons.”
“No need. As long as he is detained, he can do no further damage to me.”
“Yet,” Maveryck said, “the damage may have already been done.”
“Why do you say that?” I asked.
“I heard Euric’s speeches he made at the Wult inn near Dragon Spine Mountain. He was intent on rallying the people against the king. Some of His Majes
ty’s subjects may see Euric as a sort of martyr.”
“I disagree,” Kull said. “Once they learn that Euric stole the staff from the keep, they won’t see him as anything more than a traitor.”
“Forgive me, Your Majesty, but I believe you fail to understand the power of a cult mentality. There were some who claimed Euric to be Odin reborn. And he did nothing to stop that belief. They followed him blindly.”
“What are you saying?” Kull asked. “If that’s the case, what would you have me do? Execute anyone who professes to follow the man?”
“No, of course not. His following was too small and insignificant to make a difference. But you must keep an eye on his followers.”
“This started because you lost Bloodbane,” Heidel said. “It was your symbol of power. Now that it is gone, they have lost their faith in you.”
“Unfortunately, I see no way to remedy the situation. Short of traveling to the outer isles and forging another sword, I am not sure what to do to restore our people’s trust.”
Silence filled the carriage once again. I rested my hand atop Kull’s. He seemed like he needed something to lift his spirits. I couldn’t help but feel guilty that I was the one responsible for destroying Bloodbane. The heirloom sword had been the symbol of his power, and it seemed I had become the symbol of his failure.
He stared out the window, though there was nothing to see but blackness broken up now and again by the lights of an occasional town or village, or a random flock of maywelters or nobbinflies.
Soft yellow lanterns illuminated Kull’s profile. Although tiny wrinkles lined the edges of his eyes and scars marred his deep bronze skin, I couldn’t help but find him irresistibly attractive. If not for him, I would still be dead inside. He’d saved me more than once, physically and emotionally, and I hadn’t been the only person he’d helped. I knew he cared for his people and worried about them, so to see him being rejected by his own kind made my heart feel heavy. Perhaps stopping the elves from summoning Theht would prove his worth once and for all.
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