I guided her outside where the beacon could escape faster without the castle walls holding it back or dimming its light.
“It’s time to enact the spell to bring my stars. May I prick your finger?” I asked, holding a pin in one hand and a goblet in the other.
Hayden looked between the two and said, “This is going to be a painful spell, isn’t it?”
“I’m afraid bringing stars from the sky often is,” I said, then pricked my own finger and dripped the blood in the goblet.
“Who... Oh, Dannie and Caroline?” she asked.
“And Parker’s dear friend Pieter. They will help me with what I must do next. I need their strength,” I said.
She offered her hand, let me prick it, then dribbled her blood into the goblet. I pressed my hand against hers and began the slow, rhythmic chanting required to reach my friends. Once they heard, they would return to their human forms, like me, yet they would not return fully. They had been good when they passed, where I had been a bit on the tarnished side. Their wings would be glorious, and their power unmatched even by Cole.
“What do we do—” Hayden’s question was cut short by the power drain, the energy necessary to send my beacon out to them. She clutched her head and grit her teeth. I knew well the pain was worse than the memory recall, but it was necessary. Given that I was stronger than Hayden, it took a bit longer for the pain to reach me. When it did, I fell to my knees beside her.
“Don’t... break the... bond... no matter... what,” I said through gasps.
The droplets of blood lifted from the goblet and swirled together as one, then shot toward the sky. Behind it, a swirl of light grew until it was too bright to watch, then it shot across the night and toward the clouds before disappearing into the Heavens.
Once it was gone, Hayden and I both fell unconscious.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Larkin
The Vogel Castle, Goldene Stadt
WHAT WAS THAT? I’d forgotten for a moment my sister and Ulrich could hear my thoughts in dragon form. Parker, still in human form for the long flight, was unable to give us any orders from my sister’s back. A streak of brilliant light shot across the sky, upward, then disappeared behind a thick cloud cover. The clouds illuminated as the light dove through them, then all was dark again in an instant.
I have no idea, but it can’t be good... or normal. Isla stretched her neck out long and blew her flame, just a touch of light to better show our landing area. No one wanted to damage the Vogel castle more than it had been damaged by Annabell’s explosion.
The night fell fast. Though most days sped along as we drew nearer to the fight of our lives, it still seemed that day bled into the night in the blink of an eye. Perhaps it was the overcast nature of the weather, but I thought it had a lot more to do with our apprehension of what was to come tricking our minds into believing our days were fleeting.
Ahead, the castle rose above the trees, stately and solid as ever despite its constant clashing with monsters and battle. A slight movement to my right distracted me from the courtyard where we were to land. I squinted to see better, a failed attempt to use my unique vision as a dragon since it was too inky to see even my own feet. Finally, a guard shone a spotlight in our direction to identify us, making the area around us easier to navigate.
In the distance, I caught the shadow of wings entering Goldene Stadt. Every cell in my body tensed, knowing it was not one of my den members, but it was Cole. His presence sent a chill down my spine that I was sure my passengers noticed, but who could maintain their composure when true evil was in their presence?
Isla landed a moment before me, just inside the gates of Goldene Stadt’s central courtyard. The moment her clawed feet touched the stone, all chaos broke. Cole landed beside her, eliciting a snap from my sister. She was foolish to lash out at him, but I understood her inability to control herself. It was harder as a dragon to maintain composure when threatened, and it was in our nature to lash out at anything we perceived as a threat.
Isla! Enough! I projected my thoughts toward her, earning a snort and spit of fire.
From everywhere, villagers poured into the courtyard and pummeled Cole with everything from pitchforks to axes, but nothing penetrated his skin or harmed him—annoyed him, perhaps, but not harmed.
He’s going to kill them all if we don’t get this under control. I thought, directing my statement to Ulrich.
Ulrich released his passengers and glanced over his shoulder toward me. He took their princess, the future queen. I doubt there’s much we can do to calm them at this point. They’ve had—
Ulrich’s thoughts were cut short when Cole screeched and poured his fire over the villagers. Somehow, he managed to pull off the feat without harming any of them, but that did not stop them from scattering back into the castle, their shops, and even a few into the stables. Cole’s purpose in the kingdom was not yet established, but if he were there to collect any of the Seven, I assumed it would have been with far more devastation in mind. Why had he not killed them all? Why had the epitome of darkness and destruction not killed everyone who had attacked him?
This is strange. What is he doing here? Isla asked.
Cole’s long neck craned as he maneuvered around the remaining army and villagers. He was, at this time, larger than me. It seemed he was always the size dragon he needed to be to make his point—small enough to perch on a balcony, yet large enough to exert his dominance over other dragons by sheer size alone. It was either the best parlor trick in existence, or he could, in fact, control the size of his dragon form.
As Cole’s neck elongated and he bellowed into the darkness, I shivered. If a dragon could smirk, I would say Cole had the expression down pat as he lowered his gaze on me. He snorted, and puffs of smoke escaped his nostrils, then he grunted. Without warning, he shrank in size until he was a man, though likely nowhere near mortal. Smoke billowed around him as he stepped toward Parker, still in his human form.
Parker stood rigid, ever the soldier, but pushed Ophelia behind him.
“I trust I can deliver a message to you, and that it will be received in the manner it is intended,” Cole said, handing Parker a square of folded paper.
Parker took it tentatively, then opened it in front of everyone. His eyes lifted from the page, connecting with Cole’s. “You expect me to believe this is real? How can we know this isn’t a trick?”
“I tried to tell her you would not believe I brought it in good faith, but she insisted,” Cole said with a shrug.
“She who?” Parker asked.
“Elfriede, who did not intend to harm your friends. I assure you, the spell she wrote is an effective treatment and will have your people up and about in no time, but by all means, don’t take my word for it. See if I care who lives or dies here.” Cole dismissed Parker with a wave of his hand and turned his back, but he had, likely, not anticipated Jack’s foolhardy actions.
A giant golden wolf leaped from an upper balcony, directed toward Cole’s head. At the last moment, Cole shifted, and Jack landed upon his back. Flinging him off, Cole spun and snapped at him. The dragon was more agile than any of us, prompting Jack to enter a battle of skill with him. It was the exact reason we had left Schwarzwald in the first place—to prevent Jack from doing something ridiculous—but it was useless. We could no more stop the man from fighting for Hayden then we could stop the sun from setting.
Cole continued snapping at Jack, while Jack dodged his angry teeth. A few times, Jack got in a decent snap, but they hardly fazed the giant. Soldiers spilled from the castle along with villagers who’d grown brave again. Isla and I burst into action and joined the battle that rolled toward the drawbridge. To save it from destruction, it was lowered so the ball of rolling reptiles could continue their battle in a more open area. But that was not Cole’s plan.
Once free of the confines of the castle, Cole lifted into the air, flew a circle, then dipped down and grabbed Jack. Before his actions even registered fully, he was gone.
The dragon, Jack, and even the smoke that followed him were just... gone. All that remained was Jack’s echoing howl as it faded into the distance.
I shifted and looked around, hoping my eyes had played a trick on me. “Where did he go? What happened?”
Ely approached my right, sweaty and wielding a sword. “He just... bolted away. I’ve never seen anything so fast in my life!” he panted. “Are you okay? You’re bleeding.”
I glanced down to see I had injured my arm, but I would be fine. “Okay, just... I don’t even know what just happened,” I admitted.
“He took Jack, that’s what happened!” Sierra yelled. “I’m so sick of this. I’m going to—”
“Stop right there,” King Agustus said from a few paces away. “I’ll not have another of my children taken tonight. Guards! Take the princess to her quarters and ensure her safety. Ely, I expect you will correspond with those in Schwarzwald immediately.”
“Yes, sir,” Ely said, then darted away as Sierra cursed everything that moved.
“Larkin, were you able to read anything in the dragon’s thoughts?” the king asked.
“No, sir. I’m sorry, but it seems he is either quite good at keeping his thoughts hidden, or I’m only able to hear those in our den.”
He placed a calming hand on my shoulder. “There’s no need to be sorry. We will figure—”
“Um... Sorry to interrupt, but... I actually think this might work,” Parker said, handing the message from Cole to Agustus. “The spell seems familiar like I’ve heard it somewhere before.”
“It can’t be. If it were common, then our skilled witches would have—great beasts!” Agustus shouted as his eyes moved over the square of paper.
“What?” a dozen or more of us shouted when he startled us with his outburst.
“I have seen this before! Why didn’t we ever think of it?” Agustus said, running his hand over his face. “Summon my wife and her sister. We’ll siphon the death right out of them!”
“Come again?” Ulrich asked, his head tilted as he studied his former father-in-law. “Wouldn’t that be dangerous for Aline and Clara?”
“We will soon find out. I am sure they will know their limits, and I will not allow them to stretch past their ability,” Agustus said.
Ophelia and Parker shared a look, one that said they were as skeptical as the rest of us. I felt his tension ebb from him in waves, a special bond between the dragons and our leader. The hunters in our group paced or tapped their feet, anxious to get their hands on something they could kill or maim, which wasn’t a horrible idea so long as it wasn’t someone I cared about. If they could get a handle on Cole, I’d even cheer in their corner.
Tense moments passed as everyone conversed about the situation at hand while avoiding the one we could do nothing about. Cole taking Jack was not a part of our plan, and I, for one, wasn’t crazy about waiting around to see if a cure worked while the future king of Goldene Stadt was somewhere out there with pure evil.
I felt my skin itch, ready to do anything to find him. I needed to find Jack because if I didn’t, it meant we were perfectly fine with leaving someone behind. Well, I wasn’t there yet. I wouldn’t walk away and let him—
“I might not hear your thoughts in human form, but I still know you well enough to know when you are planning a death mission,” Parker whispered in my ear. I hadn’t noticed him step closer, and I certainly hadn’t noticed that he gripped my arm in an effort to keep me grounded.
“We can’t just abandon him, Parker,” I whispered. I still wasn’t sure if I would obey Parker’s orders if they went against my instinct to save our people. I was the alpha, after all.
“I don’t intend to, but we need to see what this spell does first. Something fishy is going on, and I want to see what it is.”
“Like?”
“Why? Why would Cole bring us something that would help our people? There must be something either up his sleeve or someone else controlling his actions.”
“You think it’s Annabell? Would he do that for her?” I asked.
“I’d do it for you,” Ulrich said, joining our conversation.
“Right, but you are not a bad person, Ulrich. Cole is... he’s... Well, he is what he is, right? Are we to believe he is capable of love?” I asked.
“It might be the only thing he is capable of,” Parker said. “Let’s see if this spell truly is in good faith, then we’ll figure out our next step. Either way, we won’t abandon Jack. We’ll go for him, Larkin, I swear, but how this plays out determines whether we go in guns blazing, or... whatever the opposite of that is.”
I chuckled but nodded. “Okay, let’s see if these witches can suck the death out of our friends, then we plot a rescue mission.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Annabell
Elfriede’s Castle, Das Unbekannte
“COLE! I SAID NOT TO bring anyone else here!” I shouted as my father brushed dirt from his pants. Jack wore a scowl, but all said, he was in good shape after having been carried from Goldene Stadt to our castle in Das Unbekannte. Hayden stood by his side with her hand on his back, a loving gesture of support though she could not mask her smile.
“He attacked me like a savage beast,” Cole said. “You said I could not kill anyone, and so I did not.”
“How does that relate to bringing him here?” I asked.
“I wanted to kill him, but instead, I might have hit his head upon a few trees along the way. The wolves are invincible. He shall survive a few bumps. I assumed you would prefer I bring him here than injure him defending myself.”
“I oughta—” Hayden grasped Jack’s arm and stopped him before he neared Cole.
“Perhaps we should not,” Hayden said. “Just, um... maybe this once we let the slights slide?”
Cole huffed and turned his attention back to me. “I try to do what you ask, Ellie, but what am I to do when I am attacked? I can only control what is inside me for so long, and when I am pushed to my limit, it is even more difficult to control such things.”
Jack narrowed his eyes. “Ellie? Her name is—”
“Jack! Let’s... go sit by the fire and warm you up,” Hayden said, urging her husband to move where he was less likely to be in the line of fire if Cole was angered.
I took Cole by the elbow and pulled him out of the castle. He followed, but reluctantly.
“You are clear that I despise all who live in this forest, right? That I believe they are traitors to your crown, and should all suffer the consequences, yet I have not attempted to slay a single one of them because you requested it of me? Elfriede, I am not a being to be trifled with. I am to be feared, and that part of my heart that you own is all that stands between me and complete destruction of this entire land.”
I pursed my lips and crossed my arms, an old habit that wouldn’t die. “You can control yourself better than that. Surely, you can. I’ve seen moments of kindness in you since I arrived, Cole.”
His black hair fell into his face again as he worked to control his breathing. His shoulders tensed, and his jaw locked before he gripped his hands into tight fists. “It has taken all my control to do what I have done, Elfriede. I do not think you understand what is at stake here. If I do not absorb the Seven soon, then what I am, this vessel will overflow with darkness. I won’t be able to dilute it, to control it, nor will I want to by then. It will have tainted what little soul I have beyond repair. You remember that feeling. You remember how hard it is to control it.”
“You were born to control it, Cole! How can a being born to do something possibly be unable to do the very thing it is intended to do?”
“That makes no difference! I was born a vessel, but that does not mean I am bottomless! Even the finest pottery can crack, and what is a pot if not to hold water? What does a cracked pot do, Ellie? I was meant to pass this on to my child, just as my father did to me. But how? How can I create a life whose purpose is to endure misery like mine?”
“Your child would be stronger
than you are? More capable of controlling this?” I asked, still working to comprehend all that he was. I should have paid closer attention in my first life, then perhaps I might have been able to change where we ended up.
Cole pinched the bridge of his nose as he often did when dealing with mortals—in this case, a former princess who was probably as clueless and petulant as everyone had believed. “Yes. Each generation is stronger, almost as if our ability to contain it grows. So, you see, I must absorb light or... or have a child to do it, and I will not subject my child to such things. If I do not, then—”
“Everything releases into the world. Is there nothing that could contain it completely? Forever? If there was something, then you would not have to kill innocent people, nor would you have to produce a child to inherit your curse.”
Cole laughed and swiped the hair from his face. “Perhaps something with greater light power, but certainly not something earthly. It would require a massive influx of pure, clean energy to dissolve it entirely. But as it is, I am the only one available, so I must.”
I thought for a moment, realizing he had just described what I intended to do. My belief that I could destroy the forest’s dark energy with the help of the stars was reinforced, but I needed to know one more thing. “If that were possible, if such a thing existed, then what would happen to you?”
Cole shrugged. “I have no idea. I’ve never considered it because such a thing does not exist, so it is a useless waste of my time.”
“Would the Darkness return in time? New darkness born of new sin?”
“The Darkness grows each day, Ellie. That is the nature of the humans that live here—everywhere, to be precise—but I would think if the forest’s original, magical evil were eradicated, then what remained would be the usual darkness of a human world uninfluenced by magic.”
The Heart of the Darkness Page 10
