Mattie, it appears that we’ve got an unexpected visitor! Garin sent the warning to his wife as he cautiously approached the sloping side of the stable. The footprints continued around the hill’s edge and towards the cave’s entrance.
Just as he was debating the wisdom of following them, Mattie’s command came through loud and clear. Don’t start a search on your own! We’re on our way!
Garin paused, fully intending to listen to her advice. And while his eyes kept sweeping the surrounding area for danger, they did miss one place. A snarl from above was all the warning Garin had before someone jumped down upon him from the rounded roof of the stable!
Shock came first as his attacker slammed into his back, knocking him over! A foul stench came from the mud-covered man, as if he hadn’t bathed in weeks. But Garin only had a second to register that because his assailant punched him in the face, causing them to begin wildly tumbling down the slight incline. Garin returned the strike using the help of the pommel still in his hand; the filthy menace let out an animalistic growl in response. Then Garin yelped as the man sharply bit the spot between his thumb and index finger, the sudden shock of pain making him drop his sword! And it was soon beyond his reach for the world continued to spin from the tangled way they were rolling across the snow.
Garin blocked a few more frenzied punches before he decided he had enough! When their downhill momentum started to slow, he reached for the power of Air and pushed the assailant away from him. An enraged screech and a very satisfying thumping noise later, Garin quickly stood up and tried to discover the identity of his assailant.
The intruder growled as he rose to his feet. Black hair that could have been shoulder length plastered the sides of his face; the strands caked with dirt, crud, and twigs. The tattered and mud-splattered clothes that hanged a little loosely appeared to have been expertly tailored at one point in time. And a travel-stained sheath hung at the broad-shouldered man’s side, the shape of which was very familiar. He was almost unrecognizable, but Garin knew exactly who this was!
“Renard?” he tentatively inquired, holding his hands up in hopes of calming the situation down. Unsure if he was more shocked at the prodigal royal son having attacked him or at the fact that sword was supposed to be hanging in the throne room of the castle, he continued, “It’s me; your brother, Garin.”
An eerie light glowed within the lost prince’s eyes. A wild look that Garin had seen once before, the night Stephan had attacked him. And if it meant what he thought it did…
Oh shit! he thought as Renard rushed towards him!
Unfortunately, the prince was faster than the last time they had fought each other for the privilege of possibly becoming the kingdom’s next Protector, a contest that seemed a lifetime ago. Garin didn’t move his feet quite quick enough, and a battering ram would have struck him with less force when Renard’s charging tackle hit the right side of his torso. Air painfully escaped his lungs before he even hit ground!
Pushing through the agony, Garin slammed an elbow into the side exposed by the prince raising an arm as if to strike him in the head. He heard a noise of discomfort as Renard’s weight shifted just enough that Garin could throw the man off. Rolling to the side after he sent his half-brother tumbling, he jumped to his feet.
“Brother, please stop this,” begged Garin as he watched the prince pull his face out of a snowdrift.
Renard snarled, shaking his head and rising to his feet. “Brother? Just because our father acknowledged you does not make you my brother!”
Not letting his guard down in case of another attack, Garin still tried to keep his voice calm, “We’ll always have our differences, but that doesn’t make our family ties any less true.”
What the hell!?
Mattie’s indignant question made Garin groan, her timing couldn’t have been more disastrous! She was standing twenty feet away with her hands on her hips, the Draconian next to her appearing to be utterly confused. Garin quickly explained to her, He’s under a compulsion to attack me, like Stephan was.
For Leto’s benefit, he added out loud, “Don’t interfere.”
Renard glanced over at Mattie, a sneer growing on his face. “The half-breed bastard always gets what he wants, after all. So please, don’t interfere.”
Then Garin’s heart raced as the prince unsheathed the sword at his hip. Like its twin, Crepus, the blade was gently curved in a beautiful and deadly fashion. The setting sun was causing it to glow orange as it easily reflected the fading light.
Now this was a pickle, no doubt. His own sword was lying on the ground, behind Renard’s current position. There was no way to safely retrieve it at this point. And though he could raise a protective shield, there was also a chance that the weapon bouncing off of it could inadvertently harm his brother.
Then Renard growled when Garin shook his head, an action caused by his wife’s silent inquiry about giving him her sword. Having watched her in action, he knew that his ability to use it properly would be clumsy at best. The blade required a different skill set, and he was betting that his brother lacked such knowledge as well.
When Renard charged him, he saw his brother awkwardly lift the blade over his shoulder. The sword was lighter than any of the others in the kingdom, so his brother’s grip was too firm, causing the weapon to shake. Garin waited with bated breath for the impending downswing. It came with a snarl and in an ungainly arc. He swiftly spun out of the way, leaving the toe of his boot in his brother’s path. Having overcompensated the strength necessary to complete the maneuver, Renard was already unbalanced. It was easy to trip the man, causing him to fall to earth and lose his grip on the weapon. Garin wasted little time and snatched up the sword before his brother could reclaim it.
Once his hand had fully grasped the hilt, Garin felt something akin to a tug coming from within his gut before the universe gave him another start! Bright and shiny one instant, the blade darkened completely to black the next. Garin’s heart raced when he realized that it wasn’t ebony fire slowly beginning to dance on the changed steel but shadows—and somehow they were coming from him!
His attention went back to Renard when the man gasped, “That’s not supposed to happen!”
Garin dropped the unnatural weapon to the ground, though he truly wanted to throw it into the furthest ocean. Studying his brother as the prince slowly sat up, he saw that the wild look in Renard’s brown eyes had changed into confusion. The expression then turned to relief when his gaze finally focused on Garin once more.
Renard let out a shaky breath. “Brother, I found you. There might be hope for us all yet.”
Garin didn’t have a chance to respond to the sudden change in Renard’s attitude. Instead, he was soon skidding through the snow to his brother’s side. The prince’s face had turned completely white before his body had collapsed to the ground. Garin’s heart was in his throat until he felt his brother’s pulse under his fingers, weak but steady. Then he hurried to pick Renard up and out of the cold snow, wondering if what the man had gone through the past few weeks had at last taken a toll. Mattie hurried on ahead to the Watchtower, knowing that was exactly where he was heading.
Answers to his many questions were put on pause for now; his brother’s life was infinitely more important.
Chapter 49
“I find it very interesting that two men were both magically compelled to attack their bastard half-brother,” muttered Leto as he passed Mattie a fresh cloth.
“I also find it interesting that I haven’t punched you in the face yet, but you don’t hear me bemoaning that fact,” groused Garin as he struggled to finish hanging a heavy tarp over the entrance of the tower. “At least, not out loud.”
Mattie just shook her head at the both of them, though she was grateful that Garin had volunteered to cover the largest escape route for heat. The temperatures were quickly falling now that the sun had gone down. While three dragons would’ve been just fine without the extra attempt to shut out the elements, the unconsciou
s prince lying next to the fire would not.
Taking the cloth from Leto, she dipped it into the bucket of icy water. It was a good thing it had snowed recently, giving her the ability to melt some of it for this time of need. After partially wringing the soaked fabric over the bucket, she then squeezed a few precious drops between Renard’s cracked lips. Luckily, he wasn’t too far gone not to reflexively swallow those down.
“I’m not sure what’s causing this fever,” Mattie grumbled, placing the cloth over Renard’s sweat-covered brow. “It could be anything.”
“He’s obviously undernourished,” commented Garin as he double-checked his handiwork.
“He obviously needs a bath,” lamented Leto as he added a fine powder to the fire. It sputtered for a moment before releasing a flowery scent.
“What I don’t understand,” growled Garin, upset at the Draconian’s attitude. “Is why didn’t he transform? It’s painfully obvious he spent the past few weeks wandering about as his human self, despite the fact his animals would’ve allowed him to travel at a much faster rate.”
“And why did he steal this?” pondered Leto, lifting up Crepus’ twin. “Though while I’m not amazed that Nox survived the purge as well, this weapon has once again proven its tendency to show up at the strangest of times. Almost as if it had a mind of its own. And considering the identity of its last wielder, I am not surprised it felt a kinship with one of his descendants.”
Garin shivered while his face turned a sickly shade of green. Leto had muttered under his breath earlier how odd it was that Caligo’s old weapon had ended up in the last place anyone would have looked for it. And because of the way the blade had responded when he had momentarily held the ancient weapon, Garin had absolutely refused to accept Nox when the Draconian had offered both forgotten swords to him after Renard had been made comfortable. The unchanging broadsword had been swiftly returned to the sheath hanging from his belt, while he insisted the strange blade belonged to his brother. Leto had chuckled at his discomfiture and just said he would keep an eye on the sword until Garin was ready.
“Let’s worry more about how we can break Renard’s fever, shall we?” Mattie snarked at last.
“Unfortunately,” sighed Leto while he tossed another handful of powder into the fire. “Healing isn’t one of my strongest talents.”
“We need to get him to Elita or Belladonna,” growled Garin.
“And I told you, traveling at night could make him worse!” insisted Leto. “I know that much at least! We’ll stick with the original plan to leave in the morning, just switch the directions for which we’re heading. You’ll take the western route; that way you can get him to a healer and save the plan all at once.”
Sighing, Mattie lifted the rag from Renard’s forehead. A small gasp left her lips when the prince’s hand suddenly reached out and firmly grabbed her arm. His eyes remained closed when his brow furrowed, as if he were caught in a horrible dream.
“Help me,” he faintly pleaded.
Something more than his hand began to reach for Mattie, something more than the Darkness she knew still lurked somewhere inside him. It started as a faint brush against her magic, nothing more. A thing so small, she nearly ignored it. It wasn’t until the sensation changed into a gentle, encouraging tug that terror at what was happening rocked her to the core! She had to get away from Renard! Now!
After violently pulling herself out of his grip, Mattie knocked the pail of water over as she quickly crab-crawled across the floor. She didn’t stop until her back hit the far wall. The feeling of being trapped overwhelmed her and hyperventilating seemed to be a perfectly normal response.
“Mattie?”
That concerned voice sounded like her husband. Mattie managed to lift her eyes while Garin crouched down in front of her. There was a misty haze about him that had nothing to do with magic and all about the fact she was close to passing out! Her breathing was broken and ragged, mainly consisting of strange wheezing noises when she painfully struggled to get air into her lungs.
Garin grabbed Mattie’s shoulders and began to make a production of breathing steadily. In and out. In and out. When she eventually forced herself to mimic his actions, he nodded encouragingly at her. The couple kept that production up until finally—finally!—her breathing returned to normal.
Mattie’s gaze flickered over to Renard, and the Draconian was nearby with the pail hovering over the fire. It seemed Leto had begun melting some new snow to replace what water had spilled in her mad scramble. While a part of her was happy that they could still provide the prince some comfort until tomorrow, the rest of her wanted to just forget everything and flee! Adjusting to this new fear about her royal cousins was not going to happen in one night!
“You guys are going to have to take over his care,” Mattie croaked out to Garin, lowering her eyes. Plenty of guilt hit her when she stammered, “I—I just can’t be near him right now.”
“What happened, Little Wolf?”
Tears hit her eyes at hearing the nickname. Mattie wanted to answer Garin’s question, but how could she explain this? What words would be adequate to convey how terrifying this surprise had been!?
Mattie had seen and felt Stephan’s strange magic, had seen how full of golden-like energy he was. But that had also been before her abilities had fully awakened. Renard possessed it too, on what had seemed to be a frightfully smaller scale than his eldest brother. It only faintly hovered about him like a golden, otherworldly mist; a power she had mistakenly underestimated. For even that little bit of unusual arcane energy had tried to coax her Soul Walking ability to the forefront, and had nearly succeeded!
What were they? And since this strange power could have only come from her, what in the hell was Bridget Evermore Braun!?
“I don’t know,” said Garin, his eyes wide with shock.
When Leto made a humming noise of surprise as well, Mattie tentatively asked, “Did I say all that aloud?”
“More like fretfully whispered it, but yes,” answered the Draconian while he dipped a cloth into the water. The expression on his face reminded her of a man broken by too many tragedies at once. As he gently placed the cold compress on Renard’s forehead, he sighed, “From what you just told us, I fear this finally confirms that the princes are what some might call Semideuses.”
“Semi what?” demanded Garin as he held out his hand to her.
Mattie shook her head at the offered help to stand. Right now, staying firmly on solid ground seemed the wisest course of action. Especially when their lives were swiftly heading down the path of the insane!
“That’s impossible!” she shouted at Leto. “This is the real world, not some ancient fairy tale!”
“For someone who has not only experienced a life-altering change at the hands of a mystic jewel, but has also met both Hel and Kylene in person,” he grumbled as he made sure to wipe Renard’s face thoroughly. “You’re awfully closed-minded about the possibility you share this world with some very powerful beings.”
Mattie felt a twinge of fear from Garin, one she could understand completely. “Wait. Are you telling us that there are more creatures like Helka running around out there?”
Leto paused only long enough to look at the couple with utter disappointment in his eyes. “Not as many as before, but yes.”
“But Helka admitted she’s not a god,” Mattie snarled. “So there can’t be any such thing as a demigod!”
That was a word Garin finally recognized. His emotions quickly went into overdrive, torn between fear of and concern for his brothers. “I’m beginning to agree with Mattie on this. Look at him! He’s as sick as a dog, so you must be mistaken!”
Leto shook his head impatiently and soaked the cloth again. “It’s in times like these that I hate being at a loss for the right words. These creatures have a name for themselves that they tell no one, so I am stuck using the vernacular to explain things the best I can. And while I agree that there is nothing divine about any of them, it doesn�
��t mean people didn’t worship them in the past, before magic became more commonplace. They are extremely powerful and near-immortal beings, after all.”
Then he stared down at Renard with a dejected expression on his wrinkled face before squeezing some fresh water over the man’s lips. “But this one is obviously different than the majority of their offspring. He might bounce back better than most people from various inflictions, but he’s not immune to anything this world decides to throw at him.”
Mattie believed Leto’s information could help explain a lot. Why Renard had been the prince cursed with the Darkness. Why he had always seemed like the weaker brother when it came to his ability to accumulate a ton of cuts and bruises. Maybe parts of his shady character were because he had always known on some level that Stephan was the stronger. And though he loved and was loyal to his brother, jealousy could still be a very sinister poison on the soul.
Leto sighed, bringing Mattie out of those thoughts. “Unfortunately, this revelation also confirms my worst fear. The ward Helka gave me, the one Roland insisted upon to keep his people safe—it’s been broken for some time. At least long enough for the creature who calls herself Bridget to win the hand of a king and bear him sons.”
After the day’s events, Garin was definitely beyond his breaking point. He was shutting down into a dark, cold rage that made her shiver. “We need to abort our plan,” he asserted.
“Actually, we should continue on with it,” countered Leto as he put the cold compress on Renard’s forehead again. “The Menapolin queen already has some scheme of her own in mind, that much is obvious. If we can startle her enough to make her pause and reconsider her machinations, it might just give you enough of an edge to survive this.”
Garin was going to continue arguing his position until Mattie pointed out, “Plus that’s still the fastest way to get Renard to Belladonna’s.”
He glared at her, and she glared right on back. She was correct, and he knew it. And though Mattie too wondered if this plan would backfire on them in the end, there was no doubt his brother desperately needed help.
Unraveled Homecoming Page 34
