by Dyan Chick
My friends stood around me, watching me with concern, but didn't say a word. Hands trembling, I lowered them from my ears as the sounds of screaming faded. This was my fault. The king was punishing the people who stood against him; the people who stood for me. He was sending me a message. My nostrils flared and I squeezed my hands into fists as anger surged through me. The king had to be stopped. "We have to go to Greenville."
"It's too dangerous," Celeste said. "It could be a trap."
"It probably is a trap," Sir Henry agreed.
"Are you sure it's been destroyed? My family's in Greenville." Calder looked at Sir Henry. His face was drained of color. "The whole city? I mean, how is that even possible?"
Sir Henry's expression softened. "I'm sorry, son."
I set my hand on his arm, not sure what to say. "I'm so sorry."
"Can someone take me there?" Calder looked around at the group of sorcerers. "I only need an hour maybe. One of you can teleport me, right? My parents, my little sister, I have to get them out of there. What if the sorcerers come back?"
This was the most I'd ever heard Calder speak of his family. I didn't even know he had a little sister. I turned to look at Celeste. "It would be a quick trip. We've all been there before."
Sir Henry turned to Calder. "What would you do if they were gone, son? Sometimes, it's better not to see these things."
"I've seen too much already. There's no way I'm going to leave them there." Calder turned from Sir Henry to me. "Etta, you know why I have to go."
I nodded. "Yes, I do."
"I can take him," Celeste said. "But I can only teleport two people out. If there are more, I'll need help."
"I'm not any help with that part, yet. I can barely even teleport myself. We're going to need help." I took hold of Calder's hand and started walking. "Come on, let's find the others. We'll get your family out of there."
A hand on my shoulder halted my progress. I turned to see Saffron. Dropping Calder's hand, I stopped moving. "Celeste, can you take Sir Henry to my quarters? Calder, can you find Ashton and Madame Lyndsey? I'll meet you all there."
Saffron and I stood alone and I tried to read the expression on her face. The smile that had come with the arrival of Sir Henry was gone. "You need to stay here this time. It could be a trap aimed at you."
My heart sunk. I wanted to help my friends but I knew it was dangerous. I'd seen how easily I could be convinced to do things I shouldn't when my friend's lives were threatened. What if it was a trap? Saffron didn't know about the Darkness. Nobody did. Master Flanders and I had pledged to keep it a secret. Who would follow a queen who was responsible for opening a bridge between realms? "Will you go with them?"
She narrowed her eyes. "You want me to go? I can't teleport anyone."
"If I can't go, you go for me. If Calder's family..." I couldn't get the rest of the words out. Calder had already suffered the loss of his wife at the hands of the king's guards. Most of the members of the Ravens knew what it was like to lose someone they cared about, but Calder and I seemed to have an understanding. Saffron knew loss, too. Like me, her family had been killed in the Battle of the Dead. "You can help him. He'll need someone to speak reason if things go wrong."
"I can do that." She knew the story of how I met Calder and the vendetta he had against the king. The last thing we needed was for him to go off on a vigilante quest by himself. In the short time he'd been with the Ravens, Calder had already proven his benefit to our group. He and Saffron worked together to train the new recruits. He was good at teaching and good at giving support to those who came to us broken from their own loss.
We didn't speak again as we walked toward my quarters. The destruction of Greenville weighed heavy on my heart. I didn't want to think about the number of people who were making the journey to the underworld today. Then I froze and grabbed hold of Saffron's arm. There could be thousands of dead in Greenville. "The dead. Do you think the king is building his army?"
Saffron's jaw tensed. "We have to hurry."
The two of us ran the rest of the way to my tent.
Master Flanders, Saffron, Madame Lyndsey, Sir Henry, Ashton, Calder, and Celeste stood around the table that filled most of the tent I used as my quarters. I looked around at the faces of the few people I trusted with my life. These were my friends, my support, they'd grown to feel like family. "First, thank you all for being here."
I gestured to Sir Henry. "We have a new arrival today, my dear friend, Sir Henry. I wish this meeting was simply to celebrate him, however, that is not to be."
The faces of my council told me they already knew why we were here. News traveled quickly in the Raven camp. I wondered if it had already gone beyond my council members. "As you have heard, Greenville was attacked by the king and his sorcerers. This happened because they supported me."
Nobody spoke. In the last few weeks, we'd been preparing strategies and ideas for what I would present when I met with Gallia. Things had seemed promising and optimism was rising in the camp. We had hope again. Today, all of that seemed forgotten as we sat around the table coming to terms with the attack on Greenville.
"This event has two immediate concerns. The first is personal." I nodded to Calder. "One of our own's family lives in Greenville and we have a responsibility to offer them help. The other concern is the dead. While I am heartbroken at any loss of life, the fact is that the king has done this in the past to build up his army. Granted, he usually chose small towns, but this attack could have been for more than to just teach me a lesson. He could be rebuilding his undead army."
"He shouldn't have the power to do that," Sir Henry said. "The numbers would be too great for him. Isn't that why he stuck to smaller villages?"
"If he took the dead, it means he found the stone," Master Flanders said.
My heart raced. There were five power stones created with dark magic the last time the Darkness had descended upon Illaria. King Osbert already had control over two of the stones, the Stone of Morare controlled his Reapers and the Black Onyx could temporarily remove a sorcerer's magic. We had the Dragon stone, which left two remaining. Any of these power stones would be dangerous in a normal sorcerer's hands. In the king's hands, they meant loss of life of epic proportions, one of the remaining stones more so than the other. I knew where Master Flanders was going with this, but I didn't want to admit it to myself. "Which stone?"
"The Skystone."
Sir Henry stood and slammed his fist on the table. He leaned across toward Master Flanders. "I knew your daughter was up to no good, sorcerer."
Master Flanders looked weary. "She has nothing to do with that stone."
"But she could tell him where it was, couldn't she?" Sir Henry said. "I knew it was a bad idea for you to send her there. You should have taken her place. What kind of father sends his daughter away?"
"Enough." Saffron stood, and glared at both men. "It doesn't matter what happened in the past. What matters is that if he has that stone, we need to know. It's not going to stop us from going after him, but we have to be prepared and find a way to match his strength."
Sir Henry sat down. "We're not going to match his strength. Especially if he's got the Oracle on his side."
"The Oracle helped Etta save me," Ashton said. "I don't think she's working with the king."
I bit down on the inside of my lip as all eyes traveled to me. I hadn't fully shared with Ashton what had happened that night. I never told him about the Oracle's link to the king or that Master Flanders and I suspected the whole thing may have been a set up. How would he feel if he found out he'd been a pawn in the king's game to allow the Darkness a permanent entrance? Or when he found out I was the unwilling cause? Would he even look at me the same way again?
The temperature of the room seemed to have risen and I pulled at the collar of my tunic, moving it off of my neck. I wished I could keep this to myself, I wanted to protect Ashton, but I couldn't protect everyone all the time. Glancing at Master Flanders, I wondered what I should sa
y. He nodded at me. This was the only thing I had kept from Ashton, but now it was time.
"The Oracle did help me save Ashton," I said. "But we do suspect that she's working with the king."
"You can never expect a woman to betray her first love," Sir Henry said.
"What are you talking about?" Ashton asked.
Sir Henry looked over at Master Flanders, seemingly waiting for an objection. None came. "Osbert and Delphina were childhood sweethearts. She had to take an oath of solitude to become the Oracle. She was supposed to give him up, but I don't think she made that decision on her own." He glanced at Master Flanders. "I don't think she wanted to be an Oracle."
"She was ready, Henry. I assure you, I never forced her. However, it seems I misjudged her affections for Osbert." Master Flanders stood. "That isn't a concern now. Delphina won't be able to see any visions involving the king or Etta. There is too much Darkness coming into Illaria for her to see through its mask."
"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Madame Lyndsey looked at me. "How is Etta masked by Darkness?"
"When she saved Ashton, she traveled to the underworld and back. It left its mark on her."
My cheeks grew hot and I looked down at the table. Hearing about what I had been through again made it even more clear how much I had hurt our kingdom. I hated that I had helped the king, even if it wasn't on purpose. I was ashamed of my role, but conflicted because it had let me save Ashton. While I would do it again if I had to make the choice over, I didn't want my friends to think poorly of me. I didn't want them to think that I'd let the Darkness change me and I was worried that they wouldn't see me the same way once they found out.
"She's working to control it and it isn't a factor in her ability to rule. In fact, it will be an asset once we conquer the king and can work to vanquish the Darkness. That being said, I need this information to stay in this room. Nobody else can know. They wouldn't understand."
The room was silent for a few moments and I continued to stare at the table.
"So, you're saying that the Oracle can't see what Etta's moves are because she's channeling Darkness?" Celeste said.
"Yes."
"And she's in control of it?" Celeste asked.
"Yes."
"Then I don't see the problem. Keeps the king's Oracle from knowing what we are going to do. It sounds like the best thing we could hope for."
I looked up at Celeste and smiled. What would I do without her eternal optimism? Risking a glance at Ashton, my smile faded. As soon as our eyes met, he looked away. I'd never kept anything from him before and guilt swam through me. I wanted to pull him aside an explain everything. I couldn't stand him being disappointed with me.
"What are we going to do about Greenville?" Saffron brought the meeting back to our original purpose. I turned away from Ashton.
"We have to send a team in to see what happened and to rescue anyone we can," I said.
"If this is a rescue mission, we need all the help we can get," Madame Lyndsey said.
"Agreed, but volunteer only. Sir Henry thinks this could be a trap so I want you all to consider that before you raise your hands," I said.
"I'm in," Saffron said. "Though, I can't teleport anyone."
"You can't keep me away," Celeste said. I noticed she was holding Calder's hand under the table. I wondered if they'd been sitting like that the whole meeting.
"I can teleport three at a time," Madame Lyndsey said.
"I can take two, maybe three," Ashton said.
"Thank you all," Calder said. "I appreciate what you're doing to help my family but what can we do about the rest of the city?"
"Send Etta," Sir Henry said.
"Etta needs to be here," Master Flanders said.
"She has to go," Sir Henry said. "This is a matter of diplomacy, old man. You need the support of the people. She needs to be seen as the opposite of the king. If she stays in safety while her people die, what is there to make her different from the man who did this to them?"
He had a point. I did want the people to see me as different than the king. And I wanted the opportunity to show them that they mattered to me. The city had been attacked because they stood to support me. I wanted to go.
"She's got a very important meeting next week with Gallia. If we don't get that army, we lose everything," Master Flanders said.
"If she doesn't go, you've already lost everything." Sir Henry glared at Master Flanders.
"That's enough." I hadn't realized that I would need to keep the two of them separated. They seemed to dislike each other more than I could have guessed. "Master Flanders, haven't you taught me well?"
Master Flanders looked away from Sir Henry to me. "You still have much to learn."
"I know," I said. "We teleport in, we talk to some people, we teleport out. We'd be gone for a few hours. You know I can do this."
Master Flanders sat back down in his chair. He looked defeated.
Sir Henry was still standing. "You know this has to be done. All the survivors need to see her. They'll see she's not afraid. She's not hiding. She's here to help her people. The king caused this destruction and the true queen came in to care for the people. It's gold. We can't buy the kind of loyalty that will create." He paused. "You want to see Illaria supporting our queen? Send her in and make a show of it. News will spread. We'll have half the kingdom on our side in a matter of weeks."
"He's right," Saffron said. "We need the support of the people before we send her to Gallia."
"The king's sorcerers could still be there," Master Flanders said.
"Nobody here knows Greenville better than me. We can avoid the main streets," Calder said.
"Master Flanders, come with us. We'll only be a few hours," I said. "If it's too bad, we can come right back here."
Sir Henry turned to me. "Your highness, you know it's your decision."
Over the last few months, I'd had to learn to trust my intuition and listen to those with more experience. Every path I sent us on had consequences. I knew I would never forgive myself if I didn't at least try to help the people of Greenville. "We're going. Saffron, can you get a cart of supplies ready? We'll send that ahead in with a group of volunteers. The rest of us will teleport there."
Saffron nodded at me, then turned to the rest of the group. "We have a safe house near Greenville. We can teleport there first. It's about two miles outside the city so we won't risk teleporting into an ambush."
I nodded. "That sounds perfect."
Sir Henry slid a full purse of coins across the table. "Take this with you. Help whoever you can."
I covered the bag with my hand. "Thank you." Turning my attention to the whole group, I took a deep breath. If everything went according to plan, we'd be back at the Raven camp by nightfall. "Get whatever supplies you need, we'll meet in the common area in twenty minutes."
People rose and pushed chairs in. Next to me, Ashton stood. I grabbed hold of his arm. "Wait."
He pushed his chair in, then turned to face me. We were the only ones left in the tent.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."
He took hold of my hands in his. "Etta, I don't want you risking your life for me anymore."
"I didn't have a choice," I said. "I couldn't let you die."
He pulled me in for a hug and moved his lips next to my ear. "You know I love you, but you have to stop doing things that put you at risk."
Backing away from the embrace, Ashton let out a sigh. "What are we going to do if something happens to you?"
"I can't do this on my own," I said. "If something happens to you, it's over for me, anyway."
"You're wrong," he said. "You are strong and you can do this on your own if you have to. You have lots of people who care about you and want to help you, but you have to let them in. You don't have to do everything by yourself."
"I do let people in," I said. At least I thought I did. I had my council I listened to them and valued every word they said.
"You are goi
ng to have to do better than a rag-tag group of people standing around a table in a tent. The people need you, and you need them."
I took a deep breath. He was right, the support of the people was one of the best things we could gain, but so far, it was costing more Illarians their lives at the hands of the king. How was I supposed to ask the people for support when I knew the risk they were taking to follow me?
The tent flap opened and Celeste popped her head in. "You two coming?"
Ashton squeezed my hand. "We better go."
4
Max
The Oracle crossed the room, silent on bare feet. Her long blonde hair hung loose down her back, joining the flowing movement of the white dress she wore. "I told you, I can't answer his questions anymore. Darkness courses through him. He's impossible to see in my visions."
Max walked into the middle of her tower. "I came on my own."
"You will soon follow in his footsteps if you aren't careful." She circled Max, looking him up and down.
Max glared at her. He'd been intimidated the first few times he'd come to see her, but her tricks didn't work on him anymore. He knew her power was limited. Her magic was helpful, but the sight no longer impressed him. "You know why I'm here."
"I do." She stopped moving, blue eyes locked on Max. "What makes you think I'll take your side over his."
"He knows." Max clasped his hands in front of him. He waited for the words to sink in.
The Oracle was silent for a moment. "He's going after my father?"
Max nodded. "The secret's out. He knows it was your father who protected Etta."
