Silverbrook

by J C Maynard

  Calleneck shouted over the clamor to Sir Beshk. “We can’t make it, just go! Seal off the entrances to the Network! They know!”

  Sir Beshk blew two soldiers six feet in the air. “How will you get back to—” he stopped himself before he revealed the location of the Nexus and sliced through the abdomen of a Cerebrian with his glowing longsword of blue Taurimous.

  Calleneck yelled back. “Just go! Seal it off! We’ll find a way back!”

  Sir Beshk looked at Calleneck with sorrowful eyes, begrudgingly turned away, and vanished through the gate into the garden. Dozens of soldiers charged after him, but an enormous boom indicated that Sir Beshk had sealed off the Network.

  Calleneck grabbed Dalah and sprinted away from the troops, turning into an alleyway. Both of them stopped when they saw it was blocked off. Behind them, another war horn blared. Dalah turned to Calleneck. “What do we do Cal?”

  Calleneck look up at the walls of the alleyway that had plenty of outcroppings. A thought came to him in the voice of Kyan. “To the roofs. We’ll escape the city that way.”

  Dalah nodded, and they scaled the building unseen onto its roof as the Cerbrian troops raced through the streets below. Calleneck pointed through the cold night into the mountain valley beyond. “Once we’re out of the city, we can make our way back to Seirnkov on the surface.”

  Dalah looked at Calleneck with watery eyes. “This is my fault, I’m so sorry, I was stupid and-”

  Calleneck hugged Dalah. “It’s okay, we’re gonna be alright.” He leaned back and wiped the tears off her cheek. “Just follow me.”

  Dalah took a deep breath in and looked north. “Okay.”

  Endlebarr

  Chapter Forty One

  ~Morning, February 22nd

  Tayben, having returned to consciousness after weeks of floating timeless in the lake of Tenebris, stood awake on the grassy shoreline. He slowly looked around at the forest glade and back to Silverbrook. Tayben’s clothes still glittered with beads of light from the pool of light surrounding Abitha Silverbrook’s house.

  Silverbrook put a hand on his cheek. “Are you alright?”

  Tayben nodded, and a tear dripped down his face. “I know what I have to do . . .” Tayben looked over to Fernox across the lake, glistening white and majestic with his wings spread. Tayben breathed out, trying not to let tears run. “I need to go back.”

  “Where?” said Silverbrook.

  Tayben closed his eyes. “To battle — I need to finish what I started.”

  Silverbrook realized what Tayben meant, and her hand dropped from his face. She paused for a while before speaking. “You’re going back to fight?”

  Tayben slowly nodded. “In the lake of Tenebris . . . I- I saw my brother- Fillian. I know where the Ferramish army is. They’re about to collide with the Cerebrians. Thousands of men on thousands of men. Your monsters with the Ferramish, the Phantoms with the Cerebrians.”

  Silverbrook looked at Tayben with a deep sadness in her eyes. “You know that if you go you may not come back . . . Tayben, it’s going to be a bloodbath.”

  Tayben nodded. “I’ve seen enough blood for a lifetime already . . . but that doesn’t mean my fight is over. I can’t stay here forever, and I can’t just leave my friends and family to die. It’s not something I can abandon now. I’ve died once already.”

  Silverbrook stood silently. “You’re seeking out death.”

  Tayben shook his head. “I’m seeking out a world where people are no longer afraid.”

  A tear dripped out of Silverbrook’s eyes. “I know, Tayben . . .” There was something wrong in her voice.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Tayben.

  Silverbrook looked away and wiped a tear from her face. She turned back to Tayben, looking deep into his eyes. Softly, she began to speak. “Tayben . . . the reason I found you in the forest when you first met me, the reason I’ve been protecting you, it’s because I know you . . . I’ve known you since the moment you were born.”

  Tayben stood still. “How?”

  Silverbrook extended her hand to Tayben’s head, and a smoke-like stream of light flashed. “Let me show you.” she said.

  Tayben’s vision swirled and, trying to orient himself, he looked around to see a dark hallway in the Palace of Aunestauna. It was as if he was actually there in the memory.

  Silverbrook stood there beside him and spoke. “I told you the truth before, that I had created the stone and the beasts for Tronum, and that I planned to escape Aunestauna with my two children and their father . . . but I did not tell you all the truth. The names of my children — Shonnar and Raelynn Nebelle. Their father never could have gotten married to a Palace servant while working there under Tronum, so I kept my maiden name of Silverbrook.”

  Tayben’s stomach turned as he began piecing it together. From one end of the dark, dreamlike hallway Tayben saw two figures — a young-looking Madrick Nebelle and Abitha Silverbrook, who held a baby in her arms, followed by a toddler boy who clung onto Madrick’s hand.

  The two stopped and Silverbrook handed the infant Raelynn to Madrick, speaking in a whisper. “Take them to Cerebria. I’ll meet you in Seirnkov, there’s something I have to do for Queen Eradine.”

  Madrick looked at his small children. “You said you would come with us on the ship.”

  “Madrick, I can’t . . . Queen Eradine needs me.”

  “I need you . . .” said Madrick.

  Silverbrook lowered her head. “I promise I’ll find you. Take Raelynn and Shonnar, head to the docks now.”

  The toddler — young Shonnar Nebelle — looked up at Silverbrook. “Where are we going?”

  Silverbrook knelt down to Shonnar. “You’re going on a ship to a faraway place where you’ll be safe.” Silverbrook kissed his head and stood up. She looked into Madrick’s eyes. “Everything will be okay.” She kissed him, kissed Raelynn who was cradled against his chest, and headed back down the dark hallway.

  Tayben and Silverbrook followed behind the memory of herself, down the hallways of the Palace that he had known as Eston until they came to Queen Eradine’s bedroom. They stood behind the young Silverbrook as she knocked on the door quietly. The door opened and a Palace nurse stood there. Silverbrook tried to look into the room. “Is it over?”

  The nurse nodded. “But come quickly, the child isn’t well.”

  Like ghosts in the memory, Tayben and Silverbrook followed the younger Abitha through the door and into Eradine’s room. The Queen lay on her bed holding a newborn. She looked young, but tired and weary. Tayben held his breath, seeing her alive once more.

  The memory of Silverbrook approached the Queen’s bedside. “Your Majesty.” she said.

  Eradine picked up her head. “Abitha?”

  She nodded. “I’m here.”

  Eradine, breathless, looked at the memory of Silverbrook. “My child is dying, Abitha.”

  The memory of Silverbrook looked at the newborn in the Queen’s arm. She placed her hand on its head.

  The real Silverbrook turned to Tayben. “I could feel the life leaving you . . .”

  Tayben’s stomach dropped. “That’s me?”

  Silverbrook extended her hand to Tayben’s head and the world around him spun until he stood back in the forest grove in Endlebarr.

  Silverbrook spoke with a tear in her eye. “If a soul is halfway between life and death, in limbo between the world and the abyss, a certain spell from a powerful sorcerer could bring someone back into life — back into mortality before they drift away. As you died, I tried to use my sorcery to catch your soul before it slipped away . . . but as I tried to pull it back into the world, I felt it shatter.”

  Tayben looked at Silverbrook with a locked gaze. “. . . into how many pieces?”

  Silverbrook stared straight back into his soul. “Four.”

  Tayben stood still, trying not to believe her.

  She continued. “But after seeing what happened when both Tronum and Xandria had a birthright to the throne,
your mother knew that only one of you could stay. So I flew away on Fernox carrying you, the bodies that would be called Kyan, Tayben, and Calleneck. I gave Kyan to my friends, the Aldas, in Aunestauna. I never imagined they would give you up to an orphanage. I flew to Woodshore in Cerebria, to my cousin’s family, the Shaes. That was where you grew up in this body. I flew to Seirnkov to wait for Madrick and my children. I met the Bernoils there and gave your body of Calleneck to them. I kept your minds separate until I thought it was time to ease them back together.”

  Tayben’s stood in shock, trying to find a reason to rebuke what he’d just heard.

  Silverbrook continued to speak. “But my Taurimous’s strength was growing out of my control with the beasts, the stone, and then with the spell I cast to save you. I was afraid for my family until I knew how to control my powers. With Fernox, I fled to Endlebarr where I could hurt no one — where my power could be fully unleashed and I created this.” She motioned to the hollow around them, a grove of light and life. “But after years of abandoning my family . . . I just couldn’t bring myself to come back, not when I still don’t know how dangerous my powers are and how they might hurt people.”

  Tayben sat down on the grass to think. For minutes, he sat there unraveling the story in his head. This whole time . . . it all comes back to the night of my birth; it all comes back to Silverbrook. I was once one person, and now through her magic my soul split into four? How can that be possible? How can I believe her? . . . I have to. Tayben looked up. “I owe you my life.”

  Silverbrook shook her head. “I cursed you.”

  “You saved me.” Tayben stood up. “You brought me out of limbo before I died and gave me a chance to live. I wouldn’t change anything that happened . . . but through the connection I have with my other bodies, I’ve learned the truth, and what side I’m really one. Right now, I have to go . . . I have to fight.”

  Fernox flapped his wings and flew over to Tayben and Silverbrook. He nuzzled his giant head into Tayben’s side, seeming to read Tayben’s thoughts and confirm them.

  “If Fernox wishes to accompany me, I would be grateful to you to let him fly me to the Ferramish army, where I’ll join their ranks.”

  Silverbrook nodded, looking at the great white lion rustling its wings. “He is dependable and unimaginably loyal. He wishes to take you there.”

  “Thank you.” said Tayben.

  Silverbrook put a hand on Fernox’s soft mane. “You’ll be fighting against the army for which you once fought.”

  Tayben nodded. “I know.”

  Silverbrook shook her head. “The Phantoms will hunt you down and try to kill you. You don’t have their strength anymore.”

  “I know.” said Tayben.

  “I can restore some of that power you once had, with my magic. It won’t rival the nymphs’, but it may help you stay alive.” Silverbrook extended her hand and touched his head. A stream of white light coursed gently into his head and illuminated his body for a moment.

  Tayben opened his eyes, and saw Silverbrook, who looked weary. Tayben stepped back. “You transferred your strength to me?”

  Silverbrook closed her eyes, tired. “Enough to protect you . . .”

  Tayben nodded. “Thank you . . . I’ll need everything I can get.” Tayben jumped up onto Fernox’s muscled back, leaving room for Fernox’s wings to move.

  Silverbrook reached up over the lion and put a hand on Tayben’s knee. “Before you leave . . . there is one more thing . . .” She could barely bring herself to say the words. “You . . . you aren’t the only person I’ve been trying to reach through the Tenebris. This whole time, all these years, there has been someone else . . . Years ago, I began seeing visions of a little girl capable of creating life — flowers — like I have done. She was always with Madrick, being watched over and cared for and taught. So I thought it was Raelynn . . . I pulled her closer and closer to me and my power through the Tenebris, through giving her visions and knowledge, through the glowing flowers. But it wasn’t Raelynn. I don’t know who it was, but her soul still lives in the Tenebris . . . I fear she may present an even greater danger to the world than Xandria.”

  Tayben knew instantly who it was. “Her name is Selenora Everrose . . .”

  Silverbrook nodded. “She has grown even more powerful in death than I am. I just wanted to tell you know, in case . . .”

  Tayben finished the sentence. “. . . you don’t see me again . . . You will, some way or another.”

  Tears ran down Silverbrook’s cheeks as Tayben put his hand to Fernox’s mane and whispered. “North! I’ll guide you.”

  Fernox gave a growl and kicked his legs, running over the ground faster than a horse. Tayben felt the power of the lion beneath him as Fernox leaped up into the air over the lake of Tenebris. Seeing the ground get smaller beneath him, Tayben felt the rush of cold air against his skin as Fernox flapped his wings. The two of them broke through the canopy of the forest, emerging over an endless sea of autumn-like red and orange trees. Tayben looked down, where hundreds of feet below, the light of Silverbrook’s pool of Tenebris shone through the trees. Tayben looked ahead, hundreds of miles in the distance. Below him, Fernox roared, making Tayben’s insides shake. The cool air blew back Tayben’s hair, and he felt like part of the clouds above him. The sun continued to rise in the east and cast a golden light over the land as Tayben and Fernox flew north to the Ferramish army.

  ◆◆◆

  Fillian stood at the entry of the General’s tent on a blanket of moss. Supervising the soldiers gave him a sense of vigor. Soldiers adorned with scarlet belts and reddened armor crossed left and right, each trying to hasten the progress of the preparation. The Ferrs were almost ready to engage in their biggest assault of Cerebrian forces since the war began — Fillian estimated that his forces ranged from fifty to sixty thousand men. Tronum had ordered a ninety percent deployment of troops from the camps of Abendale and Wallingford; they had arrived at the Great Gate three days before and had just reached the bulk of the Ferramish army. Most troops however, remained unaware of Silverbrook’s monsters because the army moved them at night. The Prince hoped that it would be unnecessary to use them in the assault. Cerebrian forces had raced to a mountain that jutted out of the forest and hoped to halt the Ferrs in time to bring reinforcements from the Fjords. The battle would be fought in the foothills, the Ferrs below their enemy, in no more than a days’ time.

  A call from a nearby officer interrupted Fillian’s thoughts, “Archers, look above!” Twenty longbows pointed skyward as a dark shadow flew over the trees. Because a layer of fog hung in the canopy, Fillian could just barely make out a pair of wings. Another second later, the figure of a winged lion emerged.

  Fillian’s instantly thought of his father’s stories about his winged lion. “Hold!” he called. “But stand at the ready!” Were the stories true? And if so, how is the lion here now?

  Descending from the mist, Tayben and Fernox landed with a thud on the moss next to Fillian. Advisors emerged from the tent to see why soldiers were gathering. Tayben wore his black robe, but also a white blouse underneath. As Tayben dismounted Fernox, Fillian drew his sword and raised it to his throat with a look of apprehension in his eyes.

  Tayben put his hands up. “My Liege.”

  Fillian held the sword to Tayben’s throat and looked at a line of pikemen. “Contain the lion.” he ordered, nodding toward Fernox. The soldiers surrounded the lion and armed themselves with spears; Fernox remained calm.

  Fillian turned back to Tayben. He looked older than Tayben remembered, though he had seen him as Eston just a few weeks prior. Fillian seemed as if he had darkened, hardened himself to the world around. Fillian stepped forward. “Who are you?”

  “My name is Tayben Shae — I’m loyal to Ferramoor.”

  “Says your Cerebrian accent.” said the Prince.

  “I didn’t say I wasn’t Cerebrian, My Liege,” said Tayben, “I said I am loyal to Ferramoor.”

  “How am I suppos
ed to believe that?”

  “I can tell you how to defeat the Cerebrians.” Tayben pointed behind him at the massive winged lion sitting on a bed of moss. “I also flew here on your grandfather’s lion.”

  Fillian’s eyes widened. It is true.

  Tayben gently raised his hands in submission. “Would you prefer to discuss this privately?”

  When Fillian noticed the crowd surrounding them stirring, he dismissed them and focused again on Tayben and then on Fernox. “Come.” he said and lead Tayben into his tent.

  As they walked toward it, Fillian looked at Tayben and his stomach dropped a bit. He stopped Tayben. “You-” Fillian paused, staring into Tayben’s face, “You remind me of someone I know-” Fillian’s face went blank as he paused again. “. . . knew."

  ◆◆◆

  Gallien stood on a giant tree branch beside General Lekshane. “Are you sure?” he asked. “How can you be sure?”

  General Lekshane nodded to himself and scratched his reddish brown beard. “I can feel it . . . Tayben Shae is close.”

  “Did he join the Ferrs?” asked Gallien.

  Lekshane nodded and then stomped on the branch. “I believe so; I should’ve never listened to you — should’ve never let him go.”

  Gallien stood in silence.

  Lekshane looked down at the other Phantoms and back to Gallien. “Our lives are in danger as long as Tayben Shae lives, Mr. Aris. He has no doubt explained to Prince Fillian how the Ferrs’ monsters affect us.”

  “Then the damage is done.” said Gallien. But as the words left his mouth, he knew he had made a mistake. Lekshane’s hand shot out and grabbed Gallien by the throat, holding him still.