Riftkeepers: Reckoning

by Carrie Whitethorne

  Is he doing what Zander does? I’m going to fall into a bottomless pit. If I fall, could my shadow catch me?

  No time. Get Klara down.

  Blair fired at her; his bright blue fire spreading at her feet, another shot hitting her in the shoulder. She retaliated with an attack on his mind.

  I dropped my damned shield again!

  With Blair under control, she pushed her thoughts to him.

  Stop. Don’t move. Don’t think.

  He roared at her, shaking with fury at how easily she’d managed to incapacitate him.

  Do you need extra mental barrier training Blair?

  He snarled as red, hot flames engulfed her.

  Temper! Sit down Blair; you’re out.

  Backing up, she laughed as the flames died away, and sent her shadow after Izak.

  He was ready for a mental attack and was close to her. With no way into his head, she pinned him instead, following her shadow with fire. The darkness lifted to reveal him covered in black and violet serpents. Shadow covered him and suddenly he was free.

  She had no time to chase him down; her back tingled and she spun to see who was coming her way. Too late, Dagda barrelled into her, knocking her back. No time to react, she landed awkwardly, the breath knocked from her lungs.

  Rolling onto her front, she forced herself up, coughing and wheezing on all fours. A ball of flame soared over her head and she looked up to see where it had gone. It glowed, showing Dagda towering over her, the flame caught in a tiny, but violent, vortex in his palm. He gave her a triumphant smile before dropping the hot tornado at his feet.

  The red flame reflected in her eyes as she glared up at him. Fury took over, the pain in her chest fading away as the seconds passed. Her shield dropped as her temper flared, allowing a water dart to strike her cheek, tearing the skin, letting blood pour to her jawline. Her eyes flashed violet and Dagda showed a flicker of concern. As he faltered, she took the opportunity, springing to her feet, shadow and flame covering her body.

  He snarled and leapt back, the wind and fire before her growing swiftly to double her height. Dagda was lost from view, but she heard him gasp as she boldly stepped into the tornado he’d left for her. With a short blast of cool fire, she knocked him back.

  “You’re done, Dagda.” She knew he’d heard her.

  The roar of the gale that rushed around her was deafening, but she was protected from Tyrin’s water darts. Feeding her power into the walls that protected her, she pushed.

  Take down Klara…

  As the tornado moved across the cairn, Charlotte safely hidden within, her opponents launched a combined attack. Fire, lightning, shaking ground: none stopped her; all sucked into the raging torrent she controlled.

  We’ll take you down. You may as well give up now.

  When she didn’t respond, she felt Dane scraping what felt like claws over her mind. She picked up speed, moving towards their side of the cairn.

  Just put the fire down, Lottie.

  Squeezing her eyes shut, she willed him out of her mind. She pushed so hard she was sure she felt the force outside of her body. Suddenly, sunlight returned to the cairn, laying the whole area open to her. She was feet from Klara.

  A tendril shot from the spinning mass and hauled Klara in. She scowled as she spun in the winds, but didn’t struggle. After a few seconds, she was lowered back to the ground and Charlotte reassessed her situation.

  Klara down. Dane quiet. Blair, Lukas, and Dagda down. That leaves me with Callan, Izak, Tyrin, and Anton. God, I’m tired…

  Running low on energy, she pulled her power back, allowing the tornado to shrink and eventually die away. They’d grouped together now, watching her and muttering amongst themselves.

  I need a wall…

  At the thought, a shadowy dome covered her, and she sent her power into the earth. Deeper and deeper she pressed, seeking the power she needed to finish them before she collapsed with exhaustion.

  The connection snapped into place and she sighed with relief as the new, raw, clean energy of the earth washed her fatigue away. Her domed shield began to pulse, her body throbbed with its power, but she held the connection. There was a new, strong wind blowing through the cairn. Not Anton’s. Not Dagda’s. Hers.

  Her dagger still in her hand, she drove it, blade down into the ground and gripped the hilt tight.

  Pull them in.

  They tried to port away, tried to fight against the unexplainable force that pulled them to her, but nothing worked. Izak and Tyrin attacked her shield and watched in horror as it absorbed their power and reflected it back at them.

  Lottie, don’t hurt them.

  Oh, you’re back. Where are you?

  Out, as you so maturely put it. You near smashed my head in!

  I won’t hurt anyone. You’re meant to be shielding.

  You broke my fucking shields!

  She looked up to see Tyrin cringe as he passed into her protective dome. Anton remained impassive. Izak and Callan were behind her, out of view. The dome began to shrink, lightning flashing within the swirling smoke that formed the barrier.

  “Charlotte…” Callan said nervously as he began to stoop.

  Her grip on the dagger tightened, her knuckles turning white as she turned her head to him and said, “You’re out.”

  Callan frowned as she squeezed her eyes closed and screamed a single word in her head.

  OUT!

  With an outward blast, the four were pushed away from her along with her shadow dome, leaving her on the ground, panting, still gripping the dagger.

  Blair got to her first, gently removing her hand from her dagger and tugging it from the earth. Dane lifted her to her feet, pulling her head to his chest. “You’ve got it. That is precisely what we’ve been hoping you could do.”

  “Where did Callan end up?” she asked.

  “I’m here. Are you okay?”

  Turning from Dane, she took his hand and squeezed. “No. I’m starving and I’m tired.”

  “How long did you draw from the earth?” Blair asked.

  “Dunno. Not long before I used the dagger.”

  “Well, you took us all out in fifteen minutes. That’s impressive, Charlotte,” Blair said, smiling broadly.

  Callan tilted her chin and examined her face. Her nose wasn’t bleeding; she was sure of it. His eyes flashed as he ran his thumb over the cut on her cheek.

  “Sorry,” Tyrin mumbled from behind her.

  “What I want to know is, why did Klara get the gentle treatment?” Dagda grumbled.

  “She’s a girl.” Charlotte laughed and Dagda grunted in response. “My face will heal, Callan. Calm down. I should have kept the shield up.”

  Izak had gone to retrieve the children and cleared his throat as he returned.

  Looking to them, Charlotte asked, “Okay?”

  “Yeah, Mummy, you’re awesome!” Enya beamed. Zander was equally as awestruck, but didn’t say anything.

  “Thank you, all of you,” she said to the rest of the group. “I think that helped.”

  Izak looked at her and said pointedly, “You’re as capable as any of us. You can team with any of us to take an enemy down. Your defences are strong, Charlotte. You’re doing well. When shall we do this again?”

  “I need a few days, I think,” she said, closing her eyes briefly. “I need to go home, Callan.”

  “I’ll follow with this pair,” Dagda said, patting her back.

  Callan took her straight to bed.

  “Sleep. I’ll get you up in an hour. I’ll have lunch ready.”

  She nodded, sinking back into the pillows. She didn’t even take off her boots, letting her eyes close.

  “Charlotte, come on, you need to eat,” he murmured, stroking her hair.

  “What time is it?” she grumbled, shifting uncomfortably.

  God, these boots…

  “Just after one. I left you a little longer; I couldn’t rouse you earlier. I’ve brought you some lunch.”

&nbs
p; Her stomach grumbled as the smell of food reached her and she dragged herself into a sitting position. Callan handed her a tray, kissing her head, and went into the bathroom.

  “Are you still sore?” he called as she took a bite of the hot baguette he’d prepared.

  “A bit. It isn’t bad though. But Dagda hits like a train. This is lovely, thank you.”

  She heard the bath running and Callan joined her on the bed. “I’ve sent the children to the palace for an hour. We’ve been invited next door this evening. Aoife’s agreed to come.”

  She smiled, swallowing a mouthful of food, and said, “We haven’t seen her for months. It’ll be nice to catch up.”

  “I think she’s been avoiding us. She must be over whatever guilt she was holding onto. She hasn’t really met Ferne yet, so she’ll be fussing over her. You know how she likes making new friends.”

  “Yeah. Bless her; she’s lovely. Ferne’s going to love her.” She paused, then said, “I’m sorry I threw you…”

  Callan laughed. “I wasn’t thrown. I was both pushed and pulled. I could have fought against a simple push. There was no breaking out of that hold. I was grateful for the gentle landing.”

  She frowned, taking another bite of bread as she wondered how that had happened.

  “I don’t know what you told it to do, but it was surprisingly mellow. Almost as if it recognised us and didn’t want to harm us,” he said, sounding equally as puzzled as she was.

  “Didn’t Dane say it was a living, breathing thing?”

  “He’s never said that to me.”

  “Must have been one of our mental chats.”

  “Ah. Well, then I have no idea! What did he say?”

  She tried to remember. “He said, it’s a living, breathing thing. It has a mind of its own, but it takes guidance from me. Does just what I want it to.”

  “Well, while that’s reassuring, it clearly does have some independent thought. If you weren’t specifically telling it to be gentle with us, it did that on its own. It must take on part of your personality.”

  She shrugged and continued her lunch.

  “I wonder if it would pick us out and be careful in a high stress situation?”

  Her mouth still full, she said, “Dunno. We can try it out if you like.”

  When he shot her a side glance, she sniggered, covering her mouth with her hand.

  “I’ll turn off that bath and grab the drink I forgot,” he said, leaving her on the bed.

  Finishing her lunch, she moved the tray and began to remove her boots. Noticing the back of her hands, her brows rose. She was still examining the place her hands had been lacerated when Callan came back.

  “What’s wrong with it?” he asked, taking it in his own.

  “Nothing now,” she said, puzzled. “They were cut. One of Tyrin’s darts caught me. There was a pretty deep one, too, but it’s healed.”

  “Hmm.” He ran a finger over the skin, then did the same on her cheek and said, “Your cheek is healed, too. You must have done it in your sleep. Perks, I suppose.”

  “Yeah, more every week,” she laughed, smiling up at him.

  “Have a soak. I’ll go back for the children. We’re expected at six and we’re eating there, so take your time.”

  He kissed her and was gone.

  She sighed with relief when she spotted the can of coke on his bedside table. Drinking most of it down, she removed her jewellery. Studying her bracelet, she recalled what Rona had said.

  I wonder why she said never to take it off.

  Picking up her phone, she opened the browser and went for her bath.

  Seventeen.

  Ferne had made her mark on their home in the few weeks she’d been there. Seated around a gleaming marble dining table, they chatted and drank while the children played on their tablets in the lounge.

  “It’s really lovely, Fe,” Charlotte said, as they discussed the changes to the house.

  “Yeah, it’s great. Now the pool table is upstairs, there’s room for this,” she said, patting the table top. “I know it’s a bit of a squeeze, but with the family being so big, we need the ten places.”

  Thinking about the layout upstairs being the same as their own, Charlotte asked, “Where was there space to put it?”

  “She had two bedrooms knocked out,” Dagda said, rolling his eyes. “Now we have a gym and games room.”

  “We don’t need five bedrooms and the garage was too cold to work out in,” she said defensively, frowning at him.

  Charlotte turned to Callan and mouthed, “Oh my god!” then asked, “What else do you have planned? It sounds like there’s more to come.”

  Dagda mumbled something about her having done enough.

  Aoife laughed, filling her glass from the carafe on the table, and said, “No woman wants to live in a bachelor pad, Dagda. It’s gracious of you to allow Ferne to make the changes she needs to make it feel like home. How are you settling in, Ferne?”

  Ferne threw herself into animated conversation with Aoife, so Charlotte excused herself and went into the garden for some fresh air.

  A few minutes later, she heard the door click closed behind her.

  “Sorry, can I join you?” Alayna asked, pulling out one of the chairs at the small table Charlotte was seated at. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. As much as I love her, if I hear any more about that damn table, I’m going to throw it out the window,” she said, laughing “Are you?”

  Alayna sighed. “I’m glad to be home,” she admitted quietly. “We’ve been at Houska since Petr’s funeral and I was missing the sun.”

  “I’m growing to love Houska,” Charlotte admitted. “For all its cold and gloom, my friends are there. Well. Dane’s friends.”

  “Don’t let them hear you say that,” Alayna scolded. “They’d be mortified. They’re terribly fond of you, you know.”

  Brows raised in surprise, she said, “Really? I didn’t think they were all that bothered, just working with me under Markus’ orders.”

  Alayna shook her head and smiled. “Do you have to work at the self-depreciation, or is it a natural talent?”

  Clicking her tongue, Charlotte complained, “You’re starting to sound like Dane.”

  “Hmm, well I suppose you do after forty years,” she said with a chuckle.

  “Forty?” Charlotte exclaimed in a hushed tone. “You managed to sneak around for that many years?”

  Alayna nodded. “I didn’t like him, at all, for most of my life. It was easy to keep that up in public.”

  “What happened?”

  Smiling to herself at the memory, she said, “We had a huge ball when I turned two hundred. Afterwards, I went into the city with friends. I got drunk; he got me home in one piece.”

  “How old are you?” Charlotte asked.

  “Two hundred and forty-one in September,” she said, grinning. “I was a very, very late surprise for Ma and Dad. It’s unheard of for us to have babies so late.”

  “Wow…Alayna, are you ever going to marry him?” She knew it was a bold question, and that she’d asked before, but things had changed so dramatically over the last few months, curiosity got the better of her.

  “He’s asked twice more since solstice. I’ve turned him down. I will accept,” she insisted, noting Charlotte’s expression, “just not yet. I’m not ready.”

  “That’s fair enough. I never imagined I’d ever meet anyone to marry, and now look. It all clicked into place. There’s no rush, is there?”

  “No. We have all the time in the world.” After a moment’s pause, she said, “You did a really good job with Klara. Markus was still buzzing about it while I was there.”

  Charlotte offered a tight-lipped, but grateful smile.

  “Modest as ever,” Alayna sighed. “Dane’s looking for me. Are you coming back inside?”

  “Yeah. Hopefully she’s found something else to prattle about. If not, I’ll run next door and grab a bottle of tequila. That always shuts her up.”
/>   Dane brought the tequila. While he, Dagda, Ferne, and Callan moved into the kitchen, Charlotte stayed at the table with Aoife.

  “I miss her terribly,” she said, pouring a glass of wine.

  Charlotte’s chest tightened. Swallowing the knot of emotion that had taken up residence in her throat, she said, “Yeah. I find myself wondering when she’ll visit, then I remember. It gets easier. It happens less over time. It was the same when Mum died.”

  Huffing a humourless laugh into her glass, Aoife muttered, “Time heals all wounds.” The contents of the glass disappeared in a few, large swallows, and she poured another. “This whole business, Charlotte, has been horrific. I hoped I wouldn’t have the misfortune of having to live through it a second time. The last war was enough.”

  Is it a war?

  Running a finger along the stem of her wineglass, she smiled and said, “It’ll be over soon. We’re ready for her.”

  “I hope we can keep our losses to a minimum.” Aoife drained her glass and stood. “It’s time I left. I’m poor company when my mood takes a maudlin turn.”

  Charlotte nodded. “Take care, Aoife. Hopefully we’ll see you soon.”

  Aoife looked at her sadly and said, “Please be careful, Charlotte.” She turned and left the room and Charlotte looked down at her hand, fingers still fiddling with the stem of the glass.

  Ferne swayed in the doorway. “Come through with us, Lottie. Don’t sit in here alone.”

  “I’m okay. Just having five minutes.”

  Ferne scowled. “No, you’re brooding. Come on,” she said firmly, clicking her fingers.

  Yes, boss.

  “Fine.” She left the table and her now empty glass and followed Ferne into the kitchen.

  Dagda had shot glasses lined up, pouring tequila, while Dane sliced a lime. Charlotte held up a hand as he opened his mouth. “Nope. I don’t do shots.”

  “Misery,” Dane muttered, placing the sliced lime in a bowl.

  “I have kids to get up with. I’m happy watching you four. What are you playing anyway?”

  Callan produced a coin from his pocket and flipped it into an empty glass and said, “Hit, you sip; miss, it’s a shot.”