by D. M. Sears
Havassa placed her hand over her son’s. “I know Marcus was your best friend, but binding yourself to his daughter will not make him come back.”
“That is not why I did it. She is more special than anyone realizes, and not just for the magic. I converted her with very little blood, by accident, of course, but she turned, that is unheard of. Eden saved my life. When we touch, warmth passes between us. I can’t get her face out of my mind. Never has another made me feel what Eden creates in me.”
“Love does funny things. I would have thought Katsu would have become my daughter-in-law. Does she know you are bound?”
“She does. She is the one who brought me to you.”
“What? She has not been seen since you left Ellethny for the outer world. You say she brought you to me?”
“Katsu was in the guard’s arraignment. Are you saying she is not part of the vampiric guard?”
“This is odd to hear of. I will talk to your sister and find out why she let her in. It is not like her to let her senses down, no one is better at being a Captain than Ale’dra.”
“Dear sister, she was always the better soldier. Father never forgave me for not being part of…” Gregor waved his hand around, “all this.”
“Do not speak ill of your father, dear, he was a good man, and if I am not mistaken, he lost his life allowing you to be free of all this as you say.” Havassa’s tone was firm yet soft. She knew Gregor hadn’t meant for Wilton to die, and the guilt he carried over it would follow them both for the rest of the time they had left.
“I know, mother. I will never forgive myself at his death. All I wanted was to be able to choose my own way, not what the Gelseys thought I should be.”
“I will tell you, Gregor, the Gelseys are more powerful than they were before. If they get their hands on her, all will be lost. If Circenn finds out she is your mate, they will not stop until both of you are their puppets. Be very careful of whom you place your trust with. People are turning to the dark with each passing day, in hopes to gain favor.”
“I will stay safe, trust me. I have been fighting shadows for many years. I will not be taken lightly.”
“I know, my son. Now, you must go. We have tarried here too long. I must tell you that I have to pass on that she is to be the next head mage. If I do not tell them something, they will surely kill me.”
“I know.” Gregor rose, “If you decide you want a free life, send me word.”
“Thank you, my son. Go…now.” Gregor hugged his mother quickly and walked the path back to the glass door.
Chapter Twenty-Six
My head was killing me. The food had to have been poisoned, that was the only explanation I had for the way I was feeling.
I sat up and the room began to spin again. “Oh no, really!” I was so frustrated.
I eyes focused through the spinning around the once-elaborate room, only to find it cold, dark, and broken down. The bright-colored walls were now faded and cracked. The furnishings were worn and ripped; rodent-like creatures scurried around the edge of the walls. All the beautiful accessories were corroded or broken. I looked around the dilapidated room and felt my heart sink. My clothes were still in front of the brazier, which was still lit and new. I grabbed them quickly and put them on, shedding the tattered blanket.
I walked around the area finding my way to the door, shortly realizing the doorknob was gone. Now what. How was I going to leave? A cackling laughter chilled me to the bone and I spun around to see the red-haired woman from Amend’s attack.
“So, this is the child who will be my demise. I must say, you do not disappoint. You remind me so of your mother.” The floating woman came closer and I stared into her black eyes.
“How did you know my mother? Who are you?” I tried to sound calm, but my voice came out trembling.
“Oh, sweetheart, I know everything. You think you have some great destiny to save our world. It is such a pity that you are so young.” The woman moved close to my face.
“I am old enough to know what evil is.” The cloying smell of too-sweet perfume sickened my stomach.
“Are you?” She laughed wickedly. “I think you are very young and naïve, indeed. Your mother and father once thought to elude my powers, and look at them now.”
The woman turned to her side pointing at a smoky image coming into view. I looked at my parents, their skin raw and bleeding, pale, sickly-looking, bound by rusted chains. They were gaunt shadows. I ran over to them reaching out my hand to see their images fade in front of me.
“LET THEM GO!” My mark, fired up by my anger, supercharged my body.
The evil laughed echoed through the room, leaving me chilled. “I will do no such thing. They are receiving their punishment, such as it is. All Ellethny bows to my will or suffers the consequences. I am the only ruler here, and not even a young girl can supplant me.”
“You have no right to rule as you do. This land belongs to each person that inhabits it. What gives you the right to do these things? The people suffer from the darkness that you have unleashed across the land. Soon no one will be left to rule over. What kind of a kingdom will that leave you?” My eyes bore into her.
“I will have a world that fears me. I am more powerful than any that has been or will be. You will never be strong enough to defeat me and my army of shadows.”
Pictures rolled in front of me displaying horrifying scenes of her army destroying villages and clans. People were being eaten by the shadows; others were succumbing to the darkness. I fell to my knees, tears flowing freely now, the anger coursing through me, my birthmark pulsing with rage. “You are a monster.”
“I am no monster, my sweet, I am your grandmother.” Her red lips parted showing her teeth, her mouth contorting into a large blackened grin.
“No! How could you do this to your own son?” My voice was just above a whisper now.
“Family or not, I will have no one stand in my way.” With that, she disappeared, leaving the images engraved in my mind. My stomached roiled and my head pounded. I vomited on the floor in front of me as sweat poured down my face.
I found the old blanket and wiped my soured mouth with it. My parents were alive, being held prisoner. Who knew what horrors they were facing and had faced all these years? I let my tears fall. I needed to save them, but I couldn’t leave this place. I wanted Gregor even more now. I let myself go and tried to find his essence inside me. The bright thread was beating with my heart, and I held it tightly to myself. Since I couldn’t connect to him, this was the next best thing.
I curled up on the floor, holding his essence close, humming a tune Val used to sing to me when I was small. I closed my eyes, but the images shown to me wouldn’t stop coming. My tears burned a trail across my face and puddled on the floor. I felt the burn in my wrist recede to a throb and watched a pale blue aura surround me. My bubble soothed me and gave me a safe haven to grieve over my parents.
Time passed as I lay there, unable to move. My depression weighed me down and my limbs were useless. I gave in to the sadness. I let it envelop me, taking my strength. What good was it going to do me to fight this losing battle? I wasn’t enough of anything to contend with this woman and her army. I was foolish to think I could help anybody, including my parents.
I lay in my cocoon thinking of the meadow and Gregor. I was happy there. That was the only part of all this that felt real. How I longed for Gregor to hold me. I needed his sheltering arms to hide me from the pain I was feeling. My leaden body was beginning to drift off when a vision hit me.
A beautiful young girl with moon-shaped eyes the color of the sky walked into a large council room. Her hair made her frame look smaller. The expression she wore was one of pain and hatred. She steeled herself and walked towards the people sitting at an oblong black table. “I have news of the traitor human that has come to our world. Her name is Eden, and she is in fact the daughter of Marcus and Eve Gelsey.” The girl looked at each person and stopped on two figures at the head. One was an oily-looking man.
I heaved and tried to suck in air as the vision faded. This girl, whoever she was, had just informed the enemy of who I was. This was not good. I rose shakily to my feet, not sure what to do. I needed to get out of here, but Amend said I couldn’t leave until I found the answers I needed. The real problem was knowing the questions.
“Ah, you have figured out the first of the trials.” The telltale giggle gave Amend away. The slight man materialized in the room.
“How did you get in here? I need to go. My parents are alive.” I was frantic in my speaking.
“I am projecting, Eden, I am not really here. My spirit is here to help you in these trials, nothing more. You must find the question that needs an answer in order for you to leave here. Until you do, you will forever be stuck in an endless loop of your own fears.”
“But…I don’t know what the right question is!”
“My dear, you will, when the time is right.” The projection vanished, leaving me alone in the wrecked room.
“Amend!” I shouted for him, but no answer. I watched an image like fog roll in and come into view. In front of me was Gregor. I jumped up and ran over to him. I threw my arms around him and watched him change into my grandmother, Circenn.
“Aw, how beautiful young love is.” She stared at me with that goofy grin plastered to her pale face, her red hair up in a fancy knot. “Do you want to see your lover, my sweet? I will show you.”
Gregor came into view on his knees, hands bound behind him. The young woman from my vision in front of him, eyes ready to spill over with tears. Guards were holding Gregor down as he tried to struggle. “Why are you doing this? Please let him go…he is innocent.”
“Innocent!” Her voice turned into ice as she spit her words at me. “For a hundred years he has killed my shadows. Gregor has been a thorn in my side for far too long.”
The young woman lifted a sword and swung. Gregor’s head fell with a thud to the floor and I felt my heart stop. “No.”
“Oh yes, my sweet. That pretty thing was once in love with him, just like you. He used her and spurned her. Looks like she got her revenge. Pity, really. He could have been useful to me.”
Circenn’s grin widened at my expression. “How will you raise your child alone? Maybe she would be better off with me instead.”
I looked on in disbelief. This was the second time I was told I was having a baby. My dreams were real; I am going to have a baby girl. I was happy and sad at the same time. Gregor…this couldn’t be happening. My rage consumed me and I felt my energy building. This crazy woman would never get her hands on my child, no matter what.
I raised my head and looked Circenn square in the face. “You think these things will break me, bend me to be on your side? All you have done is made me want to take you down. You think you are the most powerful person here? Well, let me tell you something…take a back seat, sister. I am more powerful than you will ever hope to be. You just called down the thunder, and when I get out of here, I am coming for you. There will be no place you will be able to go without me finding you.” My hands clenched at my side and I smiled at her, watching the color drain from her face.
“We will see.” Circenn evaporated and I was alone once more.
“Amend, how do I harness and use all my power?” I was ready to get the hell out of this shack. My family needed me and I wasn’t going to let Gregor die in vain.
“That is the question to answer, my dear.” Amend’s voice echoed around me.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Gregor walked through the trees, paying no attention to anything. The lack of contact with his mate was wearing on him. The comfort he received from her connection could not be expressed in words. Eden was his life now, what happened to one became the other’s responsibility. He had no idea where she was or how to get to her. The whole idea of her being unreachable made him furious and hot with rage. Gregor could not hold the anger and frustration any longer. A medium size tree was to his left; Gregor grabbed it with his hands and yanked it out of the ground. He let his cry echo in the forest as he broke the tree in two sending splinters this way and that. He dropped the pieces to the ground and stood there gazing up at the stars.
“EDEN!”
He wailed into the night hoping by some miracle she could hear him and call back. He zipped through the forest towards their meadow. It was the only place he could be to wait out the torture of her being gone. Gregor wound his way through the trees and brush. He had to go out of his way since there was no way to fly again. Finally, he found the pool and jumped in. The cool crisp water made him feel alive and alert. He made his way up to the cavern and out into the meadow. The sun was rising but he didn’t care. Sunbeams hit his skin like a thousand needles, yet, he stayed by the stream, remembering their night together. Everything he was, now, belonged to Eden.
“My young friend, why do you stay in the sun?” The high-pitched voice belonged to only person Gregor knew.
“Don’t bother me, old man, now is not a good time.”
The laughter echoed in the open space of the meadow. “It is always a good time to bother one. Pain is not the way to get Eden back.”
“What is, then? Huh? You take my life without even courteously letting me know, you throw her into the trials without her knowledge of them…give me one reason I shouldn’t crush your skull with my bare hands.” Gregor was seething mad and if Amend materialized Gregor wouldn’t think twice before ripping his head off.
“My, my, temper, temper. I do not have to explain my actions to anyone in regards to another high mage. However, seeing as she is your mate, I will explain. If I had told you both about sending her to the trials you would have demanded to go and as you well know, it is forbidden. If I had explained to Eden what the trials were sooner than I did, she would not have gone willingly, and she needed to be calm.” Amend came into view in front of Gregor. The heat rose in him at the little man.
“If I were you, I would back away from me.” Gregor let the warning ring out.
“Follow me, son, let’s go into the cave so you can understand my words without the searing pain…shall we?” Amend gestured to the cavern and walked, with his staff, inside.
Gregor stood in the sun for a few minutes before deciding to go in the cave. A big algae-covered rock sat to one side and Gregor sat on it. Amend was resting against the wall peacefully.
“Talk, old man, my patience wears thin.”
“First, I will tell you that Eden is unharmed. She is doing remarkably well. Her fears are coming into view and she is meeting them head on. Eden’s biggest weakness is you, as you have probably figured. She is ready to harness her power but only because she thinks you are dead. Right now, her power manifests off her emotions instead of her manifesting them when she wants. This is dangerous. With her thinking you have been killed and her parents are being tortured, her emotions are running rampant, and so is her power. I am afraid she will only use the power for revenge, which is what the dark magicks require.”
“How do we stop that from happening? I will not let her turn, she is pure.”
“I am afraid she will, if we cannot change things. All the signs point to her joining the Gelseys, if we cannot get her to use her powers for the right reasons. That is where you come in. I am not permitted to take you to her, but I can open up a pathway for you to communicate with her. This will stay open for a short time, assuming we get permission from the Ancients.”
Gregor thought about it. “If that is all you can do, I would be grateful.” He couldn’t pass up the chance to talk to her. It was at least something.
“Rest now, I will come back at dusk and we will proceed.” The slight man was gone and Gregor lay on the cool rock processing his conversation.
Gregor let his breathing slow and the song of nature course through him. Today was one of those days that the comfort brought by the earth was a blessing. His nerves were shot by the lack of contact with Eden, he was still worn from the last few days of fighting, and to top it
off, he had to worry now that the Gelseys knew who Eden was. Gregor wanted to carry Eden away from here and return to her world where they could blend in and she would be safe. The truth was, their land depended on her defeating the darkness and ruling Ellethny. Without Eden, their world and the outer world would fall into ruin. Too many things to digest.
The day slowly faded into dusk and Gregor paced the cavern waiting for Amend. When the sun finally fell behind the horizon, the little man popped into the cave. “I thought I was the only one who knew of this place.” He rubbed his hand behind his neck feeling the tension that had built up for the last two hours.
“You come to learn that I know every hidden place here. I have watched you for some time, my friend, and like others, I have kept an eye on you. It is now time for you to fulfill your destiny.” Amend set an array of items on the rocky floor.
“My destiny is to protect Eden. That is all.”
“Yes, and that is what you are going to do now. Like it or not, your fate is tied to hers. If she fails, you will be dragged into the dark with her.” Amend was serious and his grave look convinced Gregor of the finality if he failed.
“Let us get to it, then.”
Amend and Gregor spent time setting up the various ingredients he would need for the communication spell. Gregor made a small fire in the cave and drew the salt line around them.
“Sit there and we will begin.” Amend took a vial containing lamb’s mint and emptied it over the fire. The flame roared to life swallowing up the herb. “Take this and light it when I say.” Amend handed Gregor a braid of holy grass.
“Spirits of the past high mages, hear me. Purify this place as we seek communication with one who needs help.” He held the staff up in the air as he spoke. “Light the holy grass and then quickly blow it out Gregor.”
Thick white smoke billowed out from the braid and Gregor watched it swirl around him and Amend, leaving its sweet fragrance behind.
Amend threw in jalap root for the urgency of the situation. “We ask to have an opening for this vampire to speak to Eden in the trials.” The fire grew higher as he spoke.
