“That is where you are wrong,” the Lord Regent said as he climbed atop the long table and began to walk toward Wyatt, towering even further over everyone else in the room. “What’s gone is the reason to keep any of you alive.”
Wyatt stepped protectively in front of Lucy and glanced at the others. Athena was still comatose on the floor. What is wrong with her?
Something heavy struck the giant timber doors that marked the main entrance to the hall. The Lord Regent smiled and pointed a sword at Wyatt. “The only question is—how many pieces I can cut you into before my army breaks in. Your death is an inevitability. The games are over.”
Wyatt’s mind raced. They outnumbered the Lord Regent, but they were unarmed, and with Athena as she was, there was little hope to defeat him. And even if they did, Wyatt had failed to consider the vast contingent of Regents on the other side of the barred doors. He had thought that by traveling back through his memories and destroying the Bad Man that he would also be free of the Lord Regent and all of the madness in the Realms. Had he been wrong?
“Wyatt…” Ms. Abagail said.
He didn’t bother looking back as the doors shuddered again. Whatever time they had wouldn’t be enough.
The Lord Regent reached the end of the table and dropped down to the floor. “Your defiance won’t save you,” he said. Another step would bring the brute within striking distance, but Wyatt remained still. He had run enough.
“We’re not scared of you,” Lucy barked as she slipped from behind Wyatt.
“Frightened or not,” the Lord Regent said. “Blood is blood. Flesh is flesh. You will die the same. Whether with a smile or a scream matters not.”
The Lord Regent lunged for Lucy, thrusting a sword at her throat. Wyatt didn’t have time to think, so he gave way to his instinct and threw himself between the blade and his sister.
The sword met Wyatt in the center of his chest, but instead of gorging itself on Wyatt’s blood, it struck something solid and set loose an explosion of green sparks. Energy rippled through Wyatt’s body as the Lord Regent stumbled backward, clutching a broken sword.
The Lord Regent looked at the broken blade and then at Wyatt. His eyes narrowed, but Wyatt could sense the hesitation in his movements. He could taste the fear.
Wyatt stood tall as a familiar magic wrapped around his limbs and pulsed from his chest. “Your magic may be gone,” he said. Wyatt opened his mind to the whisper he had long ago forsaken and it returned immediately, at a shout.
The Lord Regent swung a pair of swords at Wyatt, but he wasn’t quick enough. Wyatt had already found the thread of life within the air of the room and sent it at the Lord Regent. Wind struck the Lord Regent and tossed him back onto the table with a crash of steel and flesh.
Wyatt broke off the stream of magic and gasped. Enlivened a moment before, he now felt weariness infiltrating his bones. Each inhalation felt like he was breathing sand. Something has changed, he thought. His power had returned and the magical voice of the world was clearer than ever, but it had never left him so…weak.
The Lord Regent groaned and rolled off the table, kicking aside a chair and landing on his feet. “How much can you give, mighty Druid, without taking any in return?”
“Again, Wyatt,” Lucy said. “Hit him again.”
Wyatt returned his mind to the air and lashed at its energy with his magic. It called for life, begging to be driven as a weapon. But the Lord Regent’s words gave Wyatt pause. And then there was a flash of what Omman had said to him while they dined on porridge and snake meat in the Dunes.
“Ah, you understand now,” the Lord Regent said. “You may still have your magic while I have none, but without balance…”
“What are you waiting for?” Lucy asked.
Wyatt looked down at his chest, relieved to see his old amulet swinging from a hempen string, no longer embedded in his flesh, but horrified at the utter brilliance of its color. Balance, he thought. Before, I could give or take life, but now…the hunger he had experienced in the Gazarian Pines, the voice that had driven him to take Fae’Herot’s life, was gone. The only thing that remained was the urge to give life. It was a feeling that exhilarated him, but also exposed the hard truth of his power.
“It was always a give and take,” Wyatt said aloud to no one but himself. “Even before, when I thought I was giving life, I was taking it as well in little ways I didn’t even realize, but now…”
“Now,” the Lord Regent said, “it flows only one way. Tell me, Druid, can you give enough to save everyone you care for? Is your soul deep enough?”
The desire was there—to pour every bit of himself out, but he knew that would solve nothing. He wasn’t enough. Not alone. Not alone…
Wyatt looked past the Lord Regent and smiled. “There’s one more thing you haven’t told me,” he said.
The Lord Regent twisted around to follow Wyatt’s gaze. He turned back and readied his swords.
“You’re scared of her,” Wyatt said, eyes still locked on Rozen.
The Lord Regent let out a primal growl, but didn’t move.
“You could have killed her a long time ago,” Wyatt continued, working a thought out in his head as he went. “Long before I even came to the Realms.” A new thought flickered into existence and he looked behind him. “And you could have killed her.” Wyatt pointed at Athena before turning back to stare down the Lord Regent. “But you didn’t. Maybe you did keep Lucy and me alive because we fueled your magic, but why keep Athena and Rozen alive?”
“The Draygan demands suffering for what she did,” the Lord Regent said through clenched teeth.
Wyatt shrugged. “Sure, okay. Rozen killed your son and you want to punish her. But that still leaves Athena. You captured her from the Pines and had her for days. But you only threw her in a pit and left her behind. Why?”
“I had hoped to draw you off course.”
Wyatt scoffed. “I don’t buy it.”
The Lord Regent stepped forward, drawing back all three of his remaining swords.
“You’re right, I don’t think you’re scared of Rozen,” Wyatt said, fighting to keep his body language casual.
The Lord Regent froze and scowled.
“I think you kept her for precisely the reason you gave. And I don’t think you’re afraid of her at all. But what I do know is that you are afraid of her.” Wyatt spun to the side and pointed at Athena again.
Ms. Abagail shot Wyatt a pleading look. Maia had both hands pressed to Athena’s back, her fragile face a wash of tears. Athena was still curled upon herself, still as stone.
In Wyatt’s periphery, he saw the Lord Regent flinch, and his hands lowered a fraction of an inch. “You know nothing,” the Lord Regent said. “She shall die the easiest of you all. Just look at her! She appears dead already. Your friend is gone, and I harbor no fear.”
Wyatt grinned. Despite the looming presence of the Lord Regent and the continual shockwaves from the unseen Regents beyond the dining-hall doors, Wyatt smiled. “You’re right. Athena’s not here, but I know where she is.” As he spoke, Wyatt slowly moved backwards, toward Athena, dragging Lucy along by the elbow.
“What are you doing?” Ms. Abagail whispered.
“Maia, Ms. Abagail,” Wyatt said quietly, eyes still pinned on the Lord Regent. “I need you two to stay alive for as long as possible.”
“What?” Ms. Abagail almost shouted.
“Hopefully, it will only take a split second for you, but in case it doesn’t, stay away from his swords. He’s slow in that armor.”
“What the hell are you talking about, Wyatt?” Ms. Abagail asked. “I don’t think playing tag with him is the answer here, and we can’t move Athena, too.”
“We’re in this together, remember? Athena’s a part of this, too. Always has been.” Then, turning to Lucy, he said, “You know where we need to go?”
Lucy nodded.
“You cannot run from me, Druid,” the Lord Regent shouted. He lurched forward, armored boots cras
hing against the stone as he leaned into a charge. “It is inevitable.”
“Time to go, Lucy,” Wyatt said.
Ms. Abagail shouted something, but Wyatt couldn’t make out the words as Lucy’s amulet sparked to life and shattered his reality. It fell like colored glass until nothing remained but endless black.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
WYATT BREATHED A sigh of relief when he saw her. He hadn’t been wrong. For once.
Lucy squeezed his hand and together they moved across the emptiness to where the teen with bright red hair sat motionless. Wyatt sat on one side of her and Lucy took the other, neither speaking.
Athena’s eyes were closed, her legs crossed, and her hands palm down atop her knees. Her mouth held the faintest hint of a smile, and Wyatt had never seen anyone look so at peace. He knew the eerie absence of the place added to it, but Athena was just as still. Just as tranquil.
“What are you doing here?” Athena said without opening her eyes or moving anything but her lips. “How did you find me?”
“Lucy’s getting really good at her magic, and I was here before, when I was looking for Lucy.”
Lucy murmured an agreement.
“I don’t want you here,” Athena said.
“We need your help,” Wyatt said. “I think we can beat the Lord—”
“No!” Athena screamed, clawing at her ears.
“But if you can maybe remember—”
“No!”
Wyatt held his tongue and looked at Lucy. His sister looked solemnly back at him and rested her head against Athena’s shoulder. Athena didn’t resist. After a moment, she dropped her hands back to her knees and returned to her meditative state.
While Wyatt had every bit of confidence in Lucy’s ability to control her magic now and bring them back to Sanctuary at nearly the same instant they had left, it still made him nervous to waste time. If time even existed in Athena’s private realm of nothingness. Wyatt looked away from Athena and studied the emptiness. It was peaceful.
Wyatt shook his head and looked back at Athena to ground himself. “Athena…” he said.
She didn’t respond or react.
Everything Wyatt had boasted of to the Lord Regent was true as far as he knew. Standing before him, Wyatt could sense that he had been right about the Lord Regent’s fear of Athena, but he didn’t know why. If anything, Athena was more terrified of him. Literally petrified. But still the Lord Regent was shaken by her presence. And there was still Rozen...
“I know what happened to my parents,” Wyatt said.
Athena opened her eyes and turned toward him.
“It was my fault, after all, even though it was an accident. But I remember it now.”
“Me too,” Lucy added.
“So what?” Athena asked.
“And I was right about remembering being the key to everything,” Wyatt continued. “We defeated the Bad Man.”
“And Ms. Abagail remembered, too,” Lucy said. “She made Henrick go away.”
Athena frowned. “Yeah, I was there.”
“He wasn’t as helpful as he seemed,” Wyatt quickly added. “The point is, I was right about remembering, but wrong that it was only about my past. We all have to go back.”
“Go back?” Athena asked.
Wyatt nodded. “Lucy can take us back into our memories. Yours, mine, Ms. Abagail’s. I know it doesn’t make any sense to you, but it’s true. We’ve been there. Like when we saw Ms. Abagail’s old home and her mom.”
Athena turned away and fussed with the plethora of colored bracelets around both wrists. Wyatt watched her for a moment, hesitant to push too much. He knew how volatile Athena could be, and he couldn’t force her away again.
“It’s funny how those stayed the same when you came to the Realms,” Wyatt said, watching Athena spin her bracelets. “Most of the time, my entire outfit would change back and forth. Never made a lot of sense.”
“They’re important,” Athena said.
Wyatt held out his own wrist in front of her, displaying the woven band of black, indigo, and yellow that she had left for him in the Pines. “Because your grandma gave them to you.”
“Only some of them.”
“They’re pretty,” Lucy said.
“That’s not the point,” Athena snapped.
“Then what is the—” Wyatt stopped as his mind fell back to memories of his first journey in the Realms. Athena’s wrists were covered in colored bands, but Rozen used white linen.
“You’re hiding your scars,” Wyatt said.
Athena looked at him. “You don’t know anything.”
Wyatt had always found reading people an impossible task, Athena most of all, but he could tell he had struck true. But he also knew he couldn’t force her to remember. That wasn’t how it worked.
“My dad crashed our van because I wanted to go to the comic book store,” Wyatt said, feeling his own memories bubble up to the surface. They were painfully fresh.
“We were fighting,” Lucy interjected.
“I caused him to lose control and the van rolled into a bunch of pine trees,” Wyatt said, eyes still locked with Athena’s. “It caught fire. Dad didn’t make it, but Mom got us out. But she was hurt bad.”
Athena grabbed Wyatt’s shaking hand. “Why us?”
“What do you mean?” Wyatt asked.
“Why did this stupid world choose us? You, me, Lucy, even Ms. Abagail.”
Wyatt turned away, but Athena grabbed his jaw and wrenched his gaze back to hers. “Wyatt,” she said. “Why us?”
Tears rained down his cheeks. He tried to pull back, but Athena held him fast. Her stare intensified, urging Wyatt to say the one thing he couldn’t admit to her. It would break her, and he was tired of hurting everyone he loved.
“Why?”
The words caught in Wyatt’s throat as he tried to speak, but another shake from Athena forced them out. “Because…what happened to us…all of us…we’re joined...”
“Joined how? Because of the Shepherd’s Crook? Lucy was never there.”
Wyatt shook his head as much as Athena’s hold would allow. Tears blurred his vision, but Athena’s eyes pierced through the veil, condemning him.
“I’m sorry…I’m so sorry, Athena…I didn’t mean to.”
“I know it was an accident, but what about the rest of us?” Athena urged.
“No…not just the accident… The…it was all my fault…at the toy store—”
“What?” Athena said, letting go of him and recoiling.
“I…I didn’t know… I didn’t mean to…”
“What fuckin’ toy store, Wy? What are you saying?”
“I…we were all there. You, my family, Ms. Abagail.”
Athena’s eyes widened and she spun away, climbing to her feet. “What the fuck are you saying, Wy? What the fuck ARE YOU SAYING?”
Wyatt stood, never breaking eye contact. “I was there…when he…you…”
Athena covered her mouth and stepped back. She began shaking her head.
“I’m sorry,” Wyatt said. “I wasn’t paying attention. I never paid attention… I opened the door and…”
Athena doubled over and screamed. The emptiness of the realm devoured the shout, giving no echo this time, but doing nothing to lessen the heart-wrenching tone. It cut through Wyatt and broke him. He stumbled toward Athena, reaching for her.
Still bent over, Athena said hoarsely, “It was you. That…it was you? How the…why?”
Wyatt reached for her shoulder, not knowing what else to do, but hoping to take away some of her anguish. Athena lunged at him, punching him in the stomach and grabbing his throat with her other hand. Wyatt gagged, but didn’t fight.
“I was faster,” she said. “I could have fuckin’ gotten away. I could have gotten away!”
Wyatt tried to apologize, but managed only a gurgle.
Athena pushed Wyatt away. “You let him…” Athena grabbed her hair and screamed again. She spun in a circle and let her hands
fall. When she looked back at Wyatt, her eyes were cold, distant, and dead. “How dare you? How fucking dare you, Wy? You…bastard!” Athena spun around again, gathered herself, and looked at Wyatt again. “You have no fucking idea what you did to me, do you? No fucking clue what your little accident did to me? DO YOU?!”
“I’m sorry,” Wyatt blubbered.
“You want me to fucking remember? Remember what, Wy? Remember fucking what?! I never forgot. Not one fucking second of what you did to me.” She pointed at Wyatt’s chest and it felt as if she had thrust a blade through his ribs. “You know why I come here? Why I shut down like I do? Because I do remember! I remember, Wyatt. So, what fucking now? Is this whole thing your sick game? Just to torture me some more? You brought me here, after all, to this god forsaken mindfuck of a world. And I believed you, I really did, that it was some wonderful, magical escape from everything else in my life.”
Wyatt shook his head. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t you dare apologize,” Athena said, charging at him. Wyatt cowered, but Athena didn’t strike him. Instead, she brought her nose to his. “You want to remember? Is that your game? Then let’s remember.” Athena turned away. “Lucy, take us back. However the fuck you do it. He wants to see? Then let him.”
Lucy was still sitting, silently weeping. She looked at Wyatt and then at Athena, and nodded.
“Good,” Athena said. She turned back to Wyatt, speaking through clenched teeth. “Now you can know exactly what you did to me.”
Chapter Thirty
THE GUNSHOT WAS louder than Athena expected. She had heard gunfire on television before, but when the giant man pointed his pistol at the man in the parking lot and pulled the trigger, the sound deafened her. She could see people screaming, their mouths open in anguish, but she couldn’t hear the sound of their cries. And that made it all the more horrifying.
The giant man yanked on Athena’s arm, dragging her away at a quicker pace than before. Athena screamed, her own voice cutting through the ringing in her ears. She thrashed against his hold as he hurtled past parked cars and dozens of shoppers. She looked to them pleadingly, begging for rescue. Many of them were screaming and running as well, and Athena knew they wouldn’t save her.
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