by Megg Jensen
One man sat forward in his chair, placing his chin between his palms. “So you’re the one in Chase’s visions? I never quite believed it and here you are, in front of us, bringing forth what could be the end of the world. I suppose you have the dagger too?”
I nodded, patting the bag hanging from my hip. I never went anywhere without it anymore.
“You don’t even know what Eloh wants you to do,” Reychel said, smug. I wished I could understand why she was so against me. I couldn’t do anything to make her less suspicious of my motives.
“It’s true, I don’t know for sure. But I have found a way to stop the Malborn war. I know how to end it all for good. It might be what Eloh talked about, it might not, but I’m determined to end this magical war you all insist on fighting. I’m going to bring everyone to a level field.”
I stared down Reychel. If I kept avoiding her gaze, I’d never earn her respect. The council had secrets to severing that I needed to know. If I couldn’t get past her, it was possible none of them would side with me.
“How do you propose to do that?” A woman on the other end of the table asked.
I took a deep breath, steadying myself. It was now or never to announce the ridiculous idea I’d stolen from my twin sister’s wistful ramblings.
“I want to sever everyone all at the same time. Once magic is gone, the Malborn won’t have a reason to come after any of us. Not only that, but they should forget they ever wanted to. Everyone will be safe.”
If I’d thought they were surprised the first time I spoke, I’d been wrong. A couple of men banged their fists on the table. Women shouted, telling each other how ridiculous I was.
Reychel opened her mouth to say something, but everyone else was so loud, I couldn’t make out anything she said. She slipped her hand out of her husband’s and stood up.
“Stop!” She screamed it at the top of her lungs. All eyes were on hers in seconds. No one dared say another word.
Reychel placed her hands on her hips. Her eyes jumped from mine to Chase’s.
One brave voice spoke up. It was the first man who’d originally questioned me. “There’s not enough gifted people to make that even possible. Severing needs to be done in a circle of gifted. You can never completely eradicate it from the world. It would takes years to accomplish this. It would be pointless to use severing to stop the war.”
Reychel’s head snapped to the side. She gave him the poisonous look I thought she’d only reserved for me. “I have a question. You will all wait until I’ve asked it before you speak again.”
The room fell silent. So she held ultimate power here too. Mark still had a quiet grin on his face. I never understood what was going on behind that.
“How soon can we make this happen?” Reychel asked.
My jaw dropped, sure I’d misheard her. “Excuse me?”
“I think the idea is brilliant,” she said. Part of me expected a friendly smile from her, but I didn’t get it.
“It’s impossible,” the man said again.
Reychel turned to him. “No, no it’s not. And I know where the answer is.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Reychel grabbed my elbow, whisking me down the hallway of the castle. Her fingers dug into my skin, causing me more than a little pain. Still, I followed behind her. Chase held back with his father. They whispered quietly behind us.
I glanced back at him more than once, pleading with my eyes, but he’d just shrugged and continued to converse with his father.
“Where are you taking us?” I asked the back of Reychel’s dark hair. Her silence rang in the hall. “Why can’t you just tell me?”
She stopped abruptly, and I nearly ran into her. “You need my help, Lianne.” Her voice almost sounded excited. “I know where to find the answers.”
Maybe she’d snapped. Sometimes people went insane after being severed, knowing that everyone around them knew who they were, yet they couldn’t remember. Perhaps the madness had finally caught up to Reychel.
“I’m going to check if this will work. You don’t have to come if you don’t want to. None of you do.” She shot an angry look back at her husband and son.
“We’re right behind you,” Mark said. He clapped Chase on the shoulder.
“Yes, Mother. We’re all coming. Maybe just lay off a bit on Lianne, okay?”
Reychel rolled her eyes and let go of my arm. For a brief moment I saw Chase in her. Who would she have been without being severed? Would she have been as kind as her son? As giving? There was so much about her that was still a mystery to me.
“Of course. I’m sorry, Lianne. You both better thank Eloh that I was able to retain my memories, otherwise you wouldn’t be so close to answers. I know where to find them.”
“Thank you for helping us.” I placed my hand on her arm. I meant it. I still had no idea what her motivation was for helping us, since she’d seemed against us from the start. Whatever it was had to be important.
“You may not feel that way once you see what I have to show you.” Reychel’s eyes clouded over, lost in another place. Perhaps a memory of the past. Whatever it was, I felt like we were close to getting what we wanted. I wished I knew what the cost would be to all of us. I had a feeling no one would escape this path unscathed, but without traveling it, we all might fall to the Malborn, never to rise again. Life without memory had to be better than no life at all.
“Do you want to tell me what it is first?” I wasn’t sure whether or not I could trust her. I didn’t want to waste any more time. Then again, if the council kept talking after we left, as Johna suggested they would, they might come up with a helpful solution. I’d set the ball in motion, now I had to keep chasing it downhill.
Reychel only shook her head. “It’s not much farther now.”
I fell back a bit to Chase and his father. “Do you know what she’s after?” I whispered, not wanting to upset Reychel anymore.
“Based on the direction we’re headed, I think she might have found something in the collection of books she brought back from the Southern Kingdoms.
“Books?” I wrinkled my nose. It wasn’t that I didn’t like books, but we didn’t have time to sit down and read. I needed a solution and I needed it now. Elessia said they were coming. We didn’t have much time left.
Mark winked. “You might be surprised. Reychel knows those books by heart. If there’s something in there that can help you, she’ll likely know exactly where it is.”
I let out a sigh of relief. Chase grabbed my hand, squeezing it tight. “It’s true. I often bothered her when I was little. She’d always shush me, hand me an illustrated book, and I’d sit on the floor at her feet, pretending to read while she poured over those books.”
“What are they?”
“Histories. Magical texts.” Mark hesitated, stroking his cheek. “There’s also some journals that nearly killed her years ago.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Killed her? How could a journal kill her?”
“It’s a long story,” Mark said. He gave Chase a knowing look. “Maybe it’s something I can tell you someday. There isn’t time now.”
“There may not be any time later.” I reminded him of the stakes. “Anything you need to say needs to be said now.”
“Then it will remain unsaid.” Mark strode ahead, leaving Chase and I to amble behind their hurried steps. He slipped his arm around his wife. I watched her shoulders gently relax, even if only for a moment. She needed him and he was happy to oblige. It made me happy for her, even if I didn’t totally understand her motivation. Mark was her beacon of hope. He was kind and gentle, not just toward her, but toward everyone. If he loved her unconditionally, then I knew I had to take a harder look.
“Trust me, you don’t want to know. It’s a long, twisted story.” Chase stroked the inside of my wrist with his thumb.
“Someone should write a book about it,” I joked.
Chase smiled. “No one would believe any of it anyway. It’s far-fetched, even compared
to the madness we’re living now.”
“That’s hard to believe,” I said.
Mark and Reychel stopped abruptly in front of a heavy, worn door. The dark wood gleamed against the dim candlelight of the hallway. Reychel took a deep breath, placing her hand on the door, almost as if she was searching for a pulse. The solemnity of it made my heart quicken. What book could be so important?
Reychel’s head whipped in my direction. “Before we go in, you must swear not to share anything you learn here with anyone else. The knowledge is far too dangerous for the casual person. What you’ll learn isn’t for the weak.”
I nodded my head. “I swear it to you.”
Reychel looked at Mark with a question in her eyes. He smiled, and then placed his hands upon the door.
“It’s locked with my father’s gift,” Chase whispered in my ear. “They don’t want anyone else going through the books.”
For one brief moment, I considered turning my back on them. If what was in there was so terrible that no one could know, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know either. If the information Reychel thought she had couldn’t help me, then it wasn’t knowledge I wanted to have. I steadied my breathing, preparing myself to walk in.
It was almost laughable. Here I was, one of the most feared people in the castle due to my appearance and reputation, but I was scared of a book.
Mark nodded, removed his hands from the worn wood, which I noticed had a flattened impression from years of his hands touching the same spot. Reychel pushed the door open, motioning us to follow her inside.
I marveled at the bookcases flanking every wall. Candles sat on the table, dressed in hardened waxy drips. Mark snapped his fingers and flames burst into life on each candle. Reychel pulled a book off a shelf on the other side of the room. Cradling it in her hands as if it were as precious as a baby, she made her way over to me.
“The answers you need are here. Normally I’d have you search for it yourself, so I know you’d understand the intricacies of the story. Unfortunately we don’t have time for that.” She handed the book to me and I took it in my shaking hands. “This book tells the story of Eloh and her ascension. It also tells how she brought magic back to our world, after it had been missing for so long.
“She was chosen, just as you have been, Lianne. She didn’t want her destiny either, but she took on the mantle bestowed upon her. Those of us with magic are all descended from her sons.”
I looked at Chase. We were related?
Reychel laughed. “Yes, all people with the gift are somehow related to Eloh. While anyone can have the gift, the original families are the strongest. The distance is so far that you and Chase have nothing to worry about. It’s not as if you’re brother and sister. Or even cousins worth tracing back.”
Chase let out an uncomfortable laugh. “Well, that’s good to know.”
“So how did she bring magic back to the world? Do you think there’s a key to reversing it to take the magic away?”
“I do.” Her normally agitated features melted into sadness. “Do you recall the picture Chase drew of you? The one with the girls being sacrificed?”
My stomach turned. How could I forget it? Absently, I patted the dagger in my dice bag.
“If you want to bring about the end of the gift, you must use the dagger to sacrifice ten girls. Every ten years, Eloh’s people sacrificed ten girls through fire, hoping to bring back the favor of the gods. Eloh should have been one of them, but a guardian was sent to save her. Magic came back through her sons. The dagger, held only in your hand, may send the gift back to the gods.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
My fingers ran over the bag at my waist. I knew the dagger was inside, even though I couldn’t feel it. At least not with my fingers. I felt its presence whenever it was near me. Since I’d tried to toss it out the window of Johna’s home in the trees and it reappeared in the room, I hadn’t been away from it for more than a few moments.
I knew it was part of my destiny. The connection I had to it proved stronger than I would have believed. Yet, I couldn’t convince myself I’d use it to kill. All the years I’d trained in hand-to-hand combat hadn’t been in preparation for bringing death. It was for defense. Unwillingly, I’d caused the death of thousands – people I’d known and many more from the Malborn army I didn’t.
I closed my eyes, picturing Chase’s drawing in my mind. I stood behind ten girls, holding the dagger above them. There was no blood, no indication I’d hurt them. Yet, I was no fool. I knew what sacrifice entailed. Death and destruction of the innocent.
“I don’t know if I can do it.” I said it under my breath, my head down and my hair cascading around my face. I wasn’t even sure if anyone heard me until I felt Reychel’s delicate hand on my shoulder.
“But you must. If your solution is to take away the gift, there’s no other way of severing all of mankind without reversing Eloh’s sacrifice.”
I looked up at them. Mark, Reychel, and Chase all gazed at me with kind, supportive eyes. Chase’s held something more. His love penetrated everything he did, reminding me that he supported every move I made.
“I want to read it. Maybe there’s a clue in there, a way to make all of this possible without harming anyone.”
“Lianne,” Mark said, “you might be right. It may be the only way to make everyone stop fighting. In the last twenty years, magic has wrought more harm than good. In fact, it’s only gotten worse. The Malborn are hungry for more magic. If no one had access to it anymore, then they’d fight fair with hands and swords. It seems to me that you’re doing the right thing.”
“Even though you’ll forget Reychel?” I asked him. “You won’t remember your love story. Is it worth that sacrifice?”
Mark pulled Reychel into his arms. “I don’t need a love story to know that this is the only woman I’ll ever want. You can take away my memory, but nothing can separate the bond between us.” Reychel melted into him.
I remembered the way Mags loved Trevin, even though she couldn’t remember him. Maybe it was possible for love to surpass severing. One look at Chase and my heart swelled. Did I love him because of our history together or would I still love him regardless?
“Do you mind if I read through this book tonight before I make a final decision? Even if I do have do some sort of sacrifice,” my voice shuddered, “I need to know how. Will this book tell me?”
Reychel shook her head. “No. It tells Eloh’s story in her own hand. Even she didn’t understand everything. She was a pawn of the gods before she was elevated, but when her sons were born and their gifts manifested, she knew all of it was true. Read the book, Lianne. Maybe it will offer you some guidance before the Malborn arrive at our castle looking for you. Knowing them, they won’t be sated just by your capture. We’re old enemies, death and destruction always comes in their wake.”
“There’s still one other missing piece.” I hesitated, not sure I was ready to share. I swallowed hard. Telling them might only turn them against me. “I have to find the one whose mind is clear.”
Reychel looked confused. Chase’s head snapped toward me, his eyebrows furrowed. He knew I was about to confess, but I knew he wouldn’t stop me. He nodded slightly, telling me he supported me no matter what choice I made.
“Eloh told me to look for the one whose mind is clear,” I said. Reychel and Mark’s eyes met. “I think it’s my mother.”
“Your mother?” Reychel asked. “Why would you think that?”
I took a deep breath. It was time to lay all my cards on the table. “I’ve seen her.”
“So you’re our little trespasser. Why doesn’t that surprise me?” She looked at her son. “Did you know about this?”
“Not when it first happened. Lianne found the community accidentally while she was riding Aphotica. I didn’t know about it until afterward.”
“And I suppose you helped her go back and taught her how to get around the gifted alarms we had set in place?”
“Yes, I did. L
ianne is perfectly capable of taking care of herself in a situation like that. No one was ever in danger.”
“Except maybe everyone in Serenia.” Reychel’s voice growled deep within her throat. “Lianne’s mother was never fully severed. She’s only being shielded from her memory.”
“What?” I nearly dropped the book. “But I was told…”
“I know what you were told,” Reychel snapped back. “The severing didn’t work. She was too powerful. We have gifted guards remotely shielding her memory at all times. That’s why the entire community is under constant surveillance. We even have someone on the inside, keeping an eye on Kiran every moment of the day. It’s your old friend, Mags. She wanted to help make things right. She volunteered to take the position. We can only check in with her once a week, though, since she’s not gifted.”
I ran my hands through my hair. That explained Mags’ presence. I hadn’t even guessed for a moment that she was there undercover. She played her part well and her friendship to me rang true. She hadn’t told anyone I had visited.
“Why didn’t anyone tell me?” My voice rose several pitches. I frantically thought back to our visits, wondering if I’d done anything that could have given her access or set her free.
“We didn’t want you to be afraid, Lianne. We were trying to help you recover. Once you’d come out of your shell, we were going to tell you.” Reychel stepped away from Mark, standing tall. Her head barely reached my nose and I knew she was trying to show me how strong she was.
“I am not, nor have I ever been some fragile baby,” I said. “Because you withheld this from me, I might have hurt everyone. Again. So much of the pain I’ve caused has been accidental because no one told me the truth to start.” I glared at Chase. “Did you know?”
He held his hands up in front of him. “Absolutely not. If I knew, I never would have helped you get back in there.”
“None of us thought you’d be foolish enough to seek her out.” Reychel stood firm. Mark’s expression didn’t change. While I appreciated the way he supported his wife, I wanted him to have some kind of reaction. Was he so blinded by love that anything she said was right?
