Legends

by Kit Bladegrave

  “I don’t know, but she’ll tell us when she wakes.” I almost said if she awakes, but shoved that idea away. She would wake up just as she did every other time.

  Kadin announced the horses were ready and I picked up Kate in my arms.

  Forrest had handed me back my bracelet, and he slipped hers on, too before we left the palace behind, and made for the courtyard where three great black beasts waited to carry us away.

  One was packed with supplies, and Forrest held Kate until I hooked the sheath to the side of the horse and mounted. Gently, we got Kate up in front of me, so I could hold her up as we rode off. He clasped hands with his father one final time then mounted beside me, taking the reins of the other horse.

  “I’ll follow your lead,” I told Forrest.

  He gave his horse a nudging kick forward.

  We rode out of the gates and through the town outside the palace, before the road turned from cobblestones to dirt, and the homes fell away. He took another path deeper into the trees, and I started to relax, just being out of sight of the palace and so many prying eyes.

  “There’s a private grove not too far away,” he informed me, slowing his steed so we could ride side by side. “I camped there as a child many times.”

  “Why not continue on to our next destination?”

  “Because that’s not going to be so easy. We need a plan, but I didn’t think it wise to remain at the palace. Not if Kate is this unstable. I’d prefer her not to bring the place down on our heads.”

  “Where are you taking us on this next leg of our journey?” I asked curiously, but he remained tight-lipped on the subject. “Fine, keep your secrets, but tell me one thing?”

  “Are you going to berate me again for taking too long to bust you out?”

  “No, I’ll hold that over your head for a much later date,” I promised. Kate shifted against my chest, and I steadied her again before asking, “Why are you not glaring at me right now?”

  “Should I be?”

  My brow raised as I glanced from Kate, then back to him. “I would expect you to be, yes.”

  I grinned, and I was caught off guard by how relaxed he seemed to be of late, compared to the hard-ass prince I met at the beginning of this mess.

  He shrugged and watched Kate. I saw how much he cared for her in his eyes, but there was something else there, too, an acceptance almost.

  “In the past when we were you know, Broden and Malcolm, I felt that he, or you, were her main protector. Here in the present, it seems you’ve subconsciously taken over that role again. Who am I to stand in your way of keeping her safe?”

  I thought back to those few moments when I was Broden, and a strong need to protect this woman at all costs flooded me. I hadn’t even realized I’d been doing it, but he was right. She was my charge, no matter what happened, until the end.

  “And you? What’s your roll all this?”

  “Not her main protector,” he replied quietly. “I’m not sure yet, but I have a feeling you’re the muscle, and I’m the mental aspect of this triangle.”

  “You saying you’re smarter than I am?” I challenged with a grin.

  “No, but think about it. We both know magic, but Kate’s a Darrah. She’s the one who wields the most power. You’re the half-demon and half or not, you are certainly stronger physically and able to adapt faster than I am. That leaves me to be the mental guidance. The one to stop her from eating people and regretting it later.”

  In all of this, he had been the voice of reason, or annoyance, but still, he was the one who made me take a second to think about what we were doing before we just did it.

  I nodded slowly in agreement. “Three different people thrown together for one purpose.”

  “Yes, to not let the world die. Easy enough, right?”

  “You’re even making jokes now. See, I think I was good for you after all.”

  He rolled his eyes, but grinned. “I wouldn’t go that far.”

  We rode on for another hour or so, talking quietly about things that didn’t matter, giving ourselves a few moments without the weight or our current mission hovering over our heads.

  When my legs were starting to ache, and my back got stiff, he veered his horse to the left off the trail. “The grove is over here. We can get camp set up and take a rest until Kate wakes up.”

  He got down first, then helped take Kate from me. I told myself this was normal, her taking this long to wake up, but honestly, I had no idea what she was going through right now.

  I needed to see those green eyes, hear her annoyance at our being arrogant bastards again. But as Forrest settled her on a blanket and propped her head up with another one, her eyes remained tightly shut.

  “She’ll be fine,” Forrest assured me with a pat on the back. “Let’s get a fire going.”

  Keeping busy would be better than standing over her, waiting anxiously for a sign she was all right. I unloaded the supplies, made sure the horses had water in a bucket while they grazed, and helped set up camp.

  My mind drifted back to my father and watching him being led away by the dragons. I doubted Kadin would have any luck getting answers from him, and I sensed Raghnall knew more than he let on, but I wasn’t about to go track him down again and beat the answers out of him.

  My hand trembled suddenly, and I grabbed it with the other. I’d nearly killed him. The sword had been at his throat before I even realized what I’d done. I could’ve killed him so easily, ended so much pain and strife for my people and got my revenge, but I forced myself to stop at the last second. I wasn’t a murderer.

  I was not my father. Forrest was right.

  I was a protector of the Vindicar; I was sure blood would stain my hands soon enough.

  10

  Kate

  I rolled onto my side and frowned when I noticed the softness of a blanket beneath me. A clean blanket.

  Quiet voices spoke nearby, two I recognized in seconds.

  Were we still in the dungeon? No, a fire was crackling close by. It warmed my face and my hands in the chilly night air. We were outside. Crickets chirped, and the air smelled fresh. I stretched my arms and slowly opened my eyes, not sure why I was so hesitant to see where I was this time.

  “Morning, love,” Craig said with a relieved smile. “Or night, I guess.”

  I sat up all the way, to find him and Forrest sitting around a fire with a pot hanging over it and a delicious smell coming from it. “What happened?” I asked, running my hands through my tangled mess of hair and frowning.

  “You look fine, stop fretting about your damned hair,” Forrest murmured, stirring whatever was in the pot. “Well, if frazzled and ungodly messy is the new look.”

  I stared at him blankly. “Did you… did he just make a joke?”

  “New development,” Craig told me. “It appears our uptight prince is coming around after all.”

  “That’s a relief,” I said with a wink when Forrest sighed dramatically. I brushed my fingers through my hair, cursing at all the knots and finally gave up, using a rubber band to just get it out of the way for now. “How did we get out?”

  Craig and Forrest exchanged their patented worried look before the latter said, “You really don’t remember? Damn, those spells really do a doozy on your memory.”

  “Was it bad?” Craig’s brow shot up, and I gulped. “I didn’t eat anything… or anyone did I?”

  When neither answered, my stomach rolled, and I thought I was going to be sick, but then they burst out laughing.

  I chucked the blanket at Craig and found a pebble to throw at Forest.

  “That is not funny!”

  “It’s kinda funny,” Craig mused, removing the blanket from his head.

  “You were close, though,” Forrest added. “We stopped you, don’t worry.”

  As Forrest finished cooking what was going to be our dinner, Craig told me what happened after I was dragged out of the cell, or at least from his perspective. When he got to the part about finding m
e holding Raghnall and Kadin captive and ready to burn the place to the ground, a vague image popped into my head of when I’d lost control and let them have it.

  “I was going to kill them all,” I whispered, horrified at the sudden bloodlust I’d felt. “I just wanted to see them dead for what they did to my family.”

  “That wasn’t you,” Forrest assured me. “The dragon’s emotions are amplified. After being bound for a few days, and after seeing everything you did in the cells, I’m not surprised you dragon was out for blood.”

  I nodded, but picked absently at the grass.

  “Kate, you’re not a cold-blooded killer,” Craig said this time, and lifted my chin so I was face to face with him. “You’re going through something none of us understand. Give yourself a break.”

  “For almost killing everyone?”

  “For having the conscious mind enough to not kill anyone.”

  “If you two hadn’t shown up though, I would’ve… and then they’d be dead and you two, you’d hate me.”

  Craig grunted. “Don’t think I’d hate you for ridding me of Raghnall, love. The rest of the demons might, but not me.” His eyes darkened for a moment, and his smile fell.

  “Craig?”

  “Nothing, it’s nothing,” he murmured and sat back, staring intently into the fire.

  I looked to Forrest for an answer, but he either didn’t feel the need to tell me, or didn’t know what was going through Craig’s head at the moment.

  “Craig said before you were dragged off, you saw something,” Forrest said.

  I scratched my head, trying to remember back… and then it hit me at once. “Shit!”

  “What?” They both jumped, then glared at me when I cringed. “Can you not do that after the last few days we’ve had?” Craig grumbled.

  “Sorry, it’s just… I know who’s behind the plague.”

  “Really? You couldn’t have started with that?” he complained.

  I waved him off.

  “It doesn’t always come back to me so easily.” I closed my eyes, focusing on that conversation I’d been privy to again. “We were all there, but we were younger, much younger and the wars hadn’t started yet.”

  “Before the blade was forged you think? Raghnall said it was made two thousand years ago—”

  “Because of a prophecy, right?”

  Craig nodded slowly. “About a hero rising up to stop the darkness, but there was no mention of a Vindicar.”

  “Because she wasn’t the Vindicar yet. There was no shield either, at least I don’t think.” I scrunched my eyes shut tighter, recalling as many details as I could, and a sudden sadness weighed down on me, but I couldn’t remember. “Celandine, she was speaking about a king and how he was changed, how he was bringing this darkness they knew about, but… damn it, I can’t remember what else she said.”

  It was bad, that was all I could sense, but for some reason, the rest of that memory was gone.

  “Probably from everything that happened afterward. It’ll come back to you.”

  “What we should also talk about is what Forrest found in the archives.” Craig suggested. “She’s awake so spill, what did you find?”

  “You found something?” I asked, excited. “Do we know where the rest of the shield is?”

  He reached into the knapsack by his side and pulled out a rolled-up piece of parchment. “I found this in a hidden room in the library,” he said as he carefully handled it. “It was locked away in a box and is the only clue left behind about what happened back then.”

  I accepted it and stared at the broken wax seal.

  “I’m sorry, I should’ve waited for you to do it,” he said quickly, and I glanced up shocked.

  “It was still sealed?”

  “Yes, and look at the bottom, at the signature.”

  I unrolled it carefully and didn’t even read what it said, but jumped right to the bottom of the page. The wax seal had borne the sigil of the Darrah line, but the signature was not of a Darrah, surprising me.

  “Broden? He was alive to write this?”

  “What does it say?” Craig asked, leaning closer to peer over my shoulder.

  It took me a few seconds before I could get my eyes to focus on the handwritten words of Broden. “’If you’re reading this then we failed. The Vindicar has done what she can, but I fear her death will be in vain. Corruption is spreading. Even now, my own memories grow muddled as the wound at my side festers.’” I paused when Craig cursed under his breath. “Broden was dying when he wrote this.” I skimmed the page and saw several drops of dried blood along the edges. I couldn’t bring myself to finish it.

  Craig gently took it from me. “’We were betrayed, and it’s worse than I imagined. The pieces have been taken. Malcolm, he is the only soul who knows where they are, but I fear for his life. His last message came by raven a fortnight ago, and there have been none since. If the new Vindicar finds this, you must seek out those with knowledge, those who shy from the world. Find them… they are the only ones…’ It just stops,” Craig whispered.

  “He must’ve died before he could finish the letter.” I rested my hand on his arm. “Are you alright?”

  “Yeah, love, yeah, I’m fine.”

  Something was eating at him, but I wasn’t going to push it, not here. “What does he mean though, by those with the knowledge?”

  “I was hoping you might know,” Forrest said, nodding to Craig. “Any ideas?”

  He rolled the letter back up, holding it as he leaned against the rock he’d been using to prop himself up. “There’s only one that fits that description and they are not going to be happy to see me.”

  I wasn’t sure who he might mean, then remembered what he’d been doing the night before I met him. “Sorcerers? We have to find them?”

  “Sounds like it. They told me they only had one piece though.”

  “Do sorcerers lie?” I asked. “You know since I’ve never met one before.”

  Craig grinned, but it failed to reach his blue eyes, intently staring into the flames. “They’re pains in the ass, hard as hell to track down, too.”

  “But you found them, right?”

  “No, they found me and requested I steal the blade for them.”

  “Executioner?” Forrest asked confused. “What would they need a sword for? They use magic, not weapons last time I checked.”

  “No idea, and since I stole it and the piece of shield they were paying me with, they’re likely to try and kill me on sight, instead of helping.” He poked a stick angrily into the fire causing it to pop and smolder. “I’m not even sure how to find them.”

  “You think Mama Lucy might know?”

  He shrugged one shoulder, still not meeting my gaze. “It’s possible.”

  “Then our next stop should be back at Mama Lucy’s. And you know, I had a thought, think there’s a chance this mind wiping spell didn’t affect the witches if they were living with the humans? I wasn’t sure how the worlds were connected before the split.”

  Forrest shrugged, and Craig looked just as clueless. “No idea,” Forrest said, “but it wouldn’t hurt to ask her some questions.”

  “Great, then that’s where we’ll go,” I said, already pushing to my feet when the world spun, and I collapsed with a curse.

  Two strong arms caught me against a hard chest.

  I opened my eyes to see Forrest scowling down at me as he lowered me back to my blanket. “What?”

  “Do you have any idea of what you’ve put yourself through these past few days?”

  “So what?”

  “So, you’re not trained to handle it. You’re pushing yourself far past what you’re capable of dealing with.” He tucked another blanket in around me and placed a saddle bag behind my head for a pillow.

  “You’re starting to sound like Craig,” I grumbled.

  “Craig is right. You’re going to hurt yourself if you push too hard too fast,” he sighed. “I know you think you’re ready to take on the
damned world, but you’re not. All of this is happening far too quickly for your mind to understand how to handle the extra power and energy. Give yourself time to rest.”

  “Yeah, because we have time to rest when there’s a plague coming after us, and some unknown bad guy gunning for me in particular,” I snapped. “I know who he is, I swear I do,” I added in a whisper. “They were talking about him… gah! Why can’t I just remember?”

  Forrest gripped my shoulders firmly. “Rest, Kate, please. Stop giving us both heart attacks, huh?”

  I opened my mouth to argue, but his gaze shifted to Craig watching us across the fire.

  He wasn’t jealous, but the concern on his face told me just how much I stressed the two of them out lately.

  “You’re right,” I finally said. “I’m sorry, I just… I feel like I’m behind, you know?”

  “Yes, I think we all do.” He tucked the blanket in again and leaned down to kiss my forehead. “Sleep, please. We’ll head back to Lucy’s when you’re strong enough to use the Moon Portal again.”

  I closed my eyes and settled into the warm blankets to try and get some rest. Seeing Mama Lucy would do me some good, I hoped. And give me a chance to sort out whatever was inside my head.

  11

  Craig

  Kate’s quiet snoring was a welcome sound as she finally drifted off to sleep. Forrest and I ate in silence, but I wasn’t hungry, not anymore.

  “You should get some sleep,” Forrest murmured quietly. “We’re safe here.”

  “Are we?”

  “If you want to keep watch, have at it, but I’m telling you, nothing is going to come for us in this grove. It’s protected by my kin.”

  I stared into the darkness around us and smiled. “That’s why you wanted to come here.”

  “The tombs of my ancestors aren’t far off, and there’s always one patrol in the area.” He shrugged as he settled back and closed his eyes. “Figured we could all use a rest. See you in the morning.”

  “Yeah, morning.”