by Tenaya Jayne
"Shut up! I know what I'm doing! I will save Regia."
Maxcarion shook his head and sat back down. He straightened his cloak, combed his fingers through his beard, and picked up the book on the table next to him.
"What are you doing?" Copernicus demanded.
Maxcarion held up one finger as he thumbed to the last page. His eyes raced over the last paragraph. He smiled and closed the book, clasping it to his chest. "I wanted to know how it ended before I die."
Copernicus smirked. "And was it a satisfying conclusion?"
"No. Not at all." Maxcarion laughed. "The author left off with a cliffhanger."
"Damn authors. Too bad, old friend."
"Yeah, too bad."
"I'm sending in some of my best killers. A test for them. Please don't go too easy on them."
Maxcarion rubbed his thumb and forefinger together, and a spark of light snapped on. "I'm ready. Hopefully you won't have to come in after I've finished them all and do the wet work yourself."
"Hopefully… Goodbye, Maxcarion."
"Goodbye, Copernicus."
Copernicus turned and walked out to his waiting men. "All right, go in and kill the old man. Survivors will gain special favor and rank."
The men filed in, leaving Shreve and Copernicus to wait and listen. In three seconds, the sounds of terror and pain came pouring from the open rock. They smirked at each other when one of the men screamed like a little girl. The noise died off almost as quickly as it had started. Four of the twelve who had gone in came out, bloodied and shaking.
Copernicus clapped Shreve on the shoulder. "Take care of them, will you? I'll be right back."
"Father?"
"Stay here," he ordered as he walked away.
Once he was sure his men couldn't see him, Copernicus pulled power from his ogre blood and slapped the air with the flat of his hand. A portal opened for him. He walked out through the other end and stood before the Heart. The flames of the manifestation danced in a dull gray hue. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. This was life, and he felt it through his whole body. Every part, every race, absorbed the power of the Heart in different ways.
"You want too much." Shi's angry voice intruded on him.
He opened his eyes and looked at her standing in front of him. Smiling, he reached out and ran his hand through her face. "I'd forgotten how beautiful you are, Shi."
"Well, you killed Maxcarion. Not sure if I'll miss him. He never liked me. Secretive."
"I know you've been all around inside me. Digging for dirt or whatever it is you do when you look in people's heads."
Shi crossed her transparent arms. "I don't see any hope for you. But then hope is not something I'm long on anyway."
He lifted a brow. "You're playing with me. I like it. You're not half bad at pretending you're not furious and terrified by me and my plans."
"I am confined to these woods. And thus very limited in my ability to raise the alarm. But I am determined to do what I can to stop you from hurting one I love."
"Who are you talking about?"
"Forest."
Copernicus licked his lips. "Ah… I wasn't aware you had an attachment to her. Little sister is full of surprises. The more I learn about her…well, she never ceases to amaze me. So, she's won the love of the renowned guardian. I'm jealous."
He turned and paced back and forth a few times. Then he took a step toward Shi and placed his rough, battle-worn palm gingerly against her ghostly cheek. She made no move to escape his touch; she just glared into his eyes.
"I love you, Shi. I love you so much."
"That's not love you feel, Copernicus."
He exhaled and nodded. "You're right, like always. I long to have a piece of you inside me. I tell my followers that I am everything Regia is, but that's not true. Not one drop of my blood is Dryad. I would swallow you whole, if I knew how."
"I want you to leave now."
"I'll be on my way soon enough. First, I want to know how you feel about the new information I've given you about the wizards."
"I don't trust what I see in your head. You're too divided, confused. You could be wrong."
"And if I'm not wrong? Will you stand with me to protect Regia?"
Shi floated back from him, scowling. "I'll never stand with a murderer like you."
He gave her his most charming smile. "I will find a way to make you submit to me, Shi. You can skulk around the Heart all you want." He turned and walked away from her. "The Heart, along with the rest of Regia, is mine."
****
Forest awoke to the sound of her phone vibrating. Syrus grunted as she rolled out from under his arm and sat up to read the message in the dark.
Forgive me, Forest. I can't sit still any longer. I'm going to join the insurgents to learn what I can and stop them if the chance arises. If you're honest, you understand. I appreciate the job you gave me and have, at times, enjoyed it and felt useful. But to tell you the truth, I have long felt a deep dissatisfaction with my life and its direction. My team is still there at your disposal. It's just me going rogue. I hope we meet again, even if I face criminal charges from you at that time.
Stay safe. Keep your guard up. Tell Syrus farewell for me.
Thank you again, for everything.
-Redge
Syrus sat up, wrapping his arm around her and placing a kiss on her bare shoulder. "What's going on?"
"Here, read this." She handed him the phone.
He sighed and handed it back when he'd finished. "He might not seem like it, but Redge is a complicated man."
Forest rubbed her hands over her face. "He's right. I understand. I didn't want to be the one who put him in that danger. He's done me a favor and put himself there." She chewed her bottom lip as Syrus rubbed her back. "I hope he can come through this."
"I'm sure he can."
"But with clean hands?"
"That will be tricky. He knows the risk he's taking. Redge never does anything without calculating first."
"He's become a good friend to me, Syrus."
"I know, baby. But no one is safe right now. I feel better knowing he's fighting for us from the inside."
Forest got up and walked to the window. She pushed the curtains aside. "There's not much left of the night. I can't sleep anymore now."
Syrus came up behind her and pulled her back against his chest. "What are you going to do today?"
"I have a few case files to go over, and I'll have to promote someone into Redge's place. New trials are coming next week. Kindel is really growing in his cross-examination abilities. I've got him watching Law and Order."
Syrus chuckled and shook his head. "You and your Earth stuff."
"Huh, don't act like you don't love it as much as I do."
"Oh, I love it, but not as much as you. Can you make some time to come to the mountain later? I want to show you something."
Forest was instantly excited. "It's my sword, isn't it? You've finished what you wanted to do with it?"
"Yes. I think it's about time you brought the hilt Shi gave you. We will have to test the sword's strength again, with the best blade we can find."
"I'll make the time! You can count on that."
****
Forest arrived at the Obsidian Mountain in the afternoon, her beautiful hilt clasped in her hot hands. She couldn't wait to see what Syrus had done. Couldn't wait to get her hands back on the hunk of glass. Syrus and Ithiel were waiting for her in his apartments, both of them looking intently at the black glass on the floor. Forest gasped when she saw it.
The vein through the middle that reminded Forest of a bolt of lightning was now illuminated electric red. Syrus' lightning. He'd infused his own power into the glass.
"Oh, my gosh, Syrus."
He smiled at her obvious pleasure. "Not bad, if I do say so myself. Now it will self-heal."
"Extraordinary." Her voice filled with awe.
But it was still just a rough lump of glass. It had to be cut into the shape o
f a blade.
"So what do we do now? How do we cut something that by nature can cut anything else?" she asked.
"Well, we've been puzzling over that," Ithiel said. "Just before you arrived, the answer became clear. It was so obvious it was embarrassing that we even had to wonder about it all."
They both smiled at her, waiting for her to catch on. She didn't.
"Who here in the mountain has a natural affinity for weapons?"
Forest felt like smacking her head with the flat of her hand. "Len! Of course! I should have thought of that from the moment I decided to make the sword. I need the help of an Ogre…duh."
"Shall I go ask him to join us?" Ithiel asked.
"No, wait," Forest said. "No disrespect to Len—I'm sure he's up to the task, but this sword is so personal to me, I'd like to call on a close friend for this. I'll be right back. Merhl is at the Onyx Castle. I'll just pop over there and bring him back."
Forest used her portal to jet to the Onyx Castle. She landed in the vacant throne room. The thrones had been removed since the last time she'd been there. She smiled. Zeren had wanted to do that for a while. She left the room and headed out down the hall. She expected to have to track Merhl down, but he came around the corner at the end of the hall and stopped dead when he saw her. She smiled and waved, but her jovial greeting was not returned. Merhl rushed to her, his face pale.
"What's wrong?" she demanded.
"You shouldn't be here!" he whispered urgently.
Her mind raced to worst-case scenario.
"Zeren is writing to you right this minute to warn you to stay away from here. It's not safe for you here. Too many people come through here every day. We just caught one of the insurgents before they could kill an entire room of people. I locked him up, but he started raving about you. They're after you, Forest. You're a target!"
Forest placed her hands bracingly on his massive shoulders. "I know they're after me, Merhl. They've been threatening me for a while now."
His eyes widened with shock and horror. His concern warmed her heart.
"If only I had known before now. I would have begun a plan to do what I can to protect you, my lady."
"Well, that's why I'm here, actually. I came to see if you could come with me to the Obsidian Mountain. I need your help with a new sword."
"Of course. Just get out of here. I'll tell Zeren I'm leaving, and I'll meet you there in a few minutes."
"Thanks, Merhl."
Merhl was as good as his word and arrived at the Obsidian Mountain minutes after Forest. Forest, Syrus, and Ithiel all watched in silence as Merhl surveyed the black glass. He stooped over it and ran his palms along the jagged surface. Forest winced, certain that his hands would be sliced to ribbons, but he suffered not one cut.
"Come here, Forest," Merhl instructed. "I am going to close my eyes. You will direct my hands, and together, we shall accomplish it."
Forest got down on her knees beside the glass with Merhl behind her. He reached his long arms around her. She placed her hands on top of his and couldn't help the rush of pity she felt. His hands, so gifted, so full of magic, were gnarled and elongated, twisted with pain. The power throbbed up from his hands into her palms. She took a deep breath and imagined the shape she wanted the sword to take.
"Visualize the blade as you direct my hands. Imagine we are sculpting it, as if the glass were sand."
She took another deep breath and placed just a tiny amount of pressure onto his hands. The rough glass beneath his palms compressed and smoothed out like wax beginning to melt. Forest moved Merhl's hands very slowly, erring on the side of caution, knowing even the slightest wrong move could ruin the entire blade. Nervous sweat began to drip down her head even though she exerted hardly any effort.
Her new sword emerged from the shapeless lump of glass, perfectly balanced and sharper than any diamond-cut razor. All four of them gazed on it reverently in silence. Forest handed Merhl the hilt, and he fit it into place in seconds. Warm yellow light glowed out between his fingers. The light ran down through the interior of the hilt, into the glass. It slid like thick liquid, illuminating around the vein of lightning and then down to the tip of the blade where it pooled, sparked, and then died out.
Merhl smiled, swung the sword in a large arc, and then handed it to Forest.
Her hand shook slightly as she took it. The hilt was still warm. It was larger than her last sword, broader, and longer, but it was the perfect weight.
"I've never seen a more beautiful weapon," Merhl said. "Thank you for including me in its creation."
"Thank you, for helping me."
He bowed to her and nodded to Syrus and Ithiel in turn. "I must get back now. If you need me again, please send word or someone else to fetch me." He gave her a severe stare. "Don't come back to the Onyx Castle again."
"What's this?" Syrus asked.
"Nothing," Forest said quickly.
Syrus narrowed his eyes at her then looked back at Merhl.
"We caught one of the insurgents today at the castle. Once we restrained him, he began raving about Forest and some plot to take her out. I don't feel the castle is a secure location for her right now, as so many people come through there. That's why I need to hurry back. We have to formulate new security measures, not just to protect Forest, but the public as well."
"Let us know if there is anything the masters can do to help," Ithiel said.
"Thank you, Master Ithiel. I will." Merhl gave them all another little bow. "Please excuse me." Then he left.
Syrus rounded on Forest.
"Don't look at me like that, Syrus. I didn't know about it until I got there to get Merhl. I don't put myself in danger on purpose."
He raised one eyebrow and sighed, shaking his head, but he swallowed whatever reprimand he had bubbling up his throat and turned to Ithiel. "I think it's time we formulated our own plan to fight Copernicus."
Panic surged through Forest. Along with all kinds of irrational arguments she wanted to throw at Syrus. She wanted him out of it. She wanted Syrus safe and tucked away in the mountain. But instead of flying into female hysterics and humiliating herself, she clamped her mouth shut. What she wanted was irrelevant. If the situation were reversed and Syrus was the target, not even the fire of hell would stop her from doing everything she could to protect him.
Ithiel nodded sagely. "It's only a matter of time, and we don't know how much, before he comes here and tries to take the mountain. You know he'll want it. I think we might be overconfident in our abilities to protect ourselves. The mountain has been under siege before, but never by something like this, something we don't really understand."
"We need to gather everyone, even the novices. Everyone must be in agreement."
Ithiel and Syrus looked at Forest pointedly. As much as this was her business, it really wasn’t. She had no right to sit in or have input in a meeting of the masters. And as much as she wanted to give them a piece of her mind about what they should or shouldn't do in this matter, again she kept her mouth shut. She carefully set her sword on the floor.
Syrus understood everything in her eyes. "Give us a minute, Ithiel. I'll be right down."
Ithiel bowed out of the room graciously.
Neither one of them moved toward the other. Their bond of heat, light, and spirit pulled together, invisible in the air between them. Their eyes bound. Their hands bound, and their souls bound.
"I love you." Her love for him pulled so tight it almost choked the air from her lungs.
"And I love you."
"Whatever you decided to do, please—"
"Don't ask me to promise you things I cannot, Forest."
She pleaded to him from her heart. He rubbed the heel of his hand over his chest as he received her message. He shook his head gravely.
"In my heart, there is only you and me, the world be damned... But in reality, the world is more than you and me. And both of us are leaders. We have to think of those we lead, those we protect. We must act worthy of ou
r positions."
"We could run away. Just you and me. Remove ourselves from the equation."
He smiled. "You don't mean that."
She sighed and shook her head. "Only in my dreams."
"Nothing has changed. You and I live separate lives. We work separate, if not similar work. But our souls are bound together, eternally. Don't think, for one second, I will ever do anything without that as the center of every thought and action I make." He reached out for her then and enveloped her in his arms.
"Decide slowly, Syrus. Without you, I am nothing."
He placed her hand over his heart. "Without you, I don't exist."
They kissed slowly.
"Go now, Forest. Take that badass blade with you and get it a scabbard."
Forest picked the sword up and brandished it at him. "I'll need to practice with it."
He gave her a hot look. "I guess I can suffer through sparring with you."
Chapter Nine
Netriet moved along the vendors, her vision sliding over the goods and trinkets for sale, not really seeing anything. She was doing all she could to lock down thoughts of yesterday. It frightened her more that the shadow had not mentioned it all morning. It remained silent, leaving her wondering why.
Music struck up behind her. She half turned but stopped dead when she heard people clapping and chanting Merick's name over and over. She was not going to look at him, not going to watch him perform. She hadn't yet controlled her unreasonable jealousy and anger over his secrecy. She kept her eyes down and moved over to the next row of vendors, where her vision would be obstructed by temporary tents if she gave into temptation and tried to look at him.
The sensation of being watched slithered up her spine again as it had the day before. Her muscles tensed as if she expected a strong wind to push her from behind, shivers sliding out onto her skin. She turned, her gaze captured and held. A jolt went through her stomach.
Oh, yes please. The shadow purred.
She could no longer hear the music in the square. All that was in her ears was the laborious pounding of her heart as though her pulse had slowed, or the passing of time had compressed in the moment.
Never had she seen anyone who seemed so wrong. Not beautiful like Merick, or Syrus, yet he was sexually compelling, devastatingly so. A small smile curved one side of his mouth, that some might say was built for sin, but Netriet saw deeper. He wasn't built for sin, he was made of it. A personification of danger, allure, power, and quite possibly…evil.
