Icebound (Legends of the Shifters Book 2) (14 page)

-Chapter Twenty-two-

As
soon as we walked out of the bedroom, we were flanked by armored soldiers. It
struck me as odd to be walking through the halls with a king when he was only
wearing a robe, but that was overruled by the excitement of learning the
prophecy. The excitement
and
the dread.

For
the prophecy to be so famous, the task at hand must be nearly impossible.

Next
to me, Princess Cecile seemed excited as well, but her eyes were tinted with
something I couldn’t quite place.
Jealousy?

My
attention was divided when we came to a halt beside what looked like a plain
gray wall, no different than any other in the fortress. The king muttered
incoherently to himself as he ran a hand over the stone.

“What?”
Princess Cecile asked when I didn’t have the nerve to speak up.

“It’s
been years and years. I can’t remember which stones to press.” He turned to his
men with a determined scowl. “Bring the battering ram. We’ll bring this wall
down one way or another.”

“What’s
on the other side?” I interrogated as the guards filed out.

“Patience,”
the king said. “It will only be a few more minutes, and then you’ll know
everything.”

The
king still stared at the wall, his eyes squinting as if he were still trying to
remember how to get to the other side. Finally, the men came back, bringing
more soldiers to help carry the heavy log.

King
Torran pushed us back. “Hit the wall right where I was standing,” he ordered
his men.

The
battering ram was maneuvered around to face the wall, and then the guard at the
helm shouted, “Ready? Heave!”

The
men drew back as far as they could and hurtled the beam into the wall. The
entire palace shook, but the wall remained seemingly unharmed.

“Ready?
Heave!” the man repeated, and they drove the battering ram into the wall again.
Dust fell from the ceiling like snow drifts.

“Are
you sure you can’t remember how to open it?” I asked, afraid the roof was going
to collapse on our heads.

The
king didn’t answer, instead choosing to keep his attention solely on the men
who were ramming into the wall over and over again. People were beginning to
gather at either end of the hallway, but the king waved them off when he saw
them.

After
about fifteen hits and no progress, the king muttered, “This isn’t working,”
under his breath. He walked forward as they were readying themselves for
another blow. “Stop, stop!” he yelled. “We need to try something else.” He
rubbed the back of his bald head, and then his eyes focused on me. “You, Ivy.
Why don’t you try something?”

Glad
to have the ceiling still intact above my head, I stepped around the guards and
studied the wall. Like the king had before, I rubbed a hand against the stone.
When my skin touched the wall, it seemed to hum with energy as one of the
stones lit up. I pressed my hand against the cold surface and the light faded
as another stone above it lit up. This happened seven times before something
like a click sounded and the wall began to rotate.

The
king clapped his hands together as a dark tunnel appeared. “That’s what I
wanted to see,” he said, that gap-toothed grin showing again. “Guards, stay
here and make sure no one passes. This is something that we need to do alone.”

The
majority of the guards nodded, and after the king lifted a torch from the wall,
Princess Cecile and I followed him down the hall.

“Why
haven’t you ever taken me down here?” Princess Cecile asked.

“Because
when you were little, you were barely able to keep a secret.” He brushed a
cobweb out of his face and continued. “And when you were older, I had forgotten
the code, as you just witnessed.”

Before
long, the tunnel siphoned out into a larger room, one just as empty as the
tunnel before it. “There’s nothing here,” I said, gazing around the room.

“Don’t
give up hope just yet,” the king replied.

He
walked forward, and as soon as his foot hit the stone in the middle of the
room, the ground under us began to shake. Princess Cecile and I cast a worried
look at each other. “Is that supposed to happen?” she asked.

“Wouldn’t
I be running if it wasn’t?” said the king.

I
wanted to go back into the tunnel for shelter, but as soon as I turned back,
the floor dropped. I crouched down on unsteady legs and placed a hand to the
ground to keep my balance. Soon, the tunnel was out of sight, just another
shadow in the darkness above.
If the battering ram didn’t bring down the
fortress, this sure will,
I thought.

Then,
the rumbling stilled and the falling floor jolted to a stop. I pushed myself
back to my feet and turned back toward the flickering torchlight.

“See?
Not so bad,” the king grumbled, but I could tell that the hand holding the
torch was shaking.

“How
are we going to get back up?” I asked.

“It
should take us back,” said the king, “but if it doesn’t, we all have our wings.
It shouldn’t be too hard to find the tunnel somewhere up there.”

On
the other side of the room, another tunnel had opened. Princess Cecile and I
followed King Torran once again.

At
the end, the torchlight only expanded so much, and the echoing room around us
was a black chasm. I couldn’t see anything.

As
I followed the king alongside the wall, I had to keep my focus on the floor. It
was made of tile, but several times, I nearly tripped over fallen rocks that
had crushed and cracked it.

“Somewhere
here, there should be a…” He paused as he looked for it. “Ah, here it is!” He
touched the torch to a groove that had been carved in the wall. It sizzled for
a moment before the fire caught and began to spread. It swirled around the
room, curving around the corners of the wall and illuminating the entire space.

Contrary
to what I had believed, the room wasn’t very big at all. The ceiling was high,
but not nearly as high as the last room.

I
studied the area. We were standing on a platform, and below, row upon row of
golden sarcophagi lined the space.

“A
tomb?” I asked, taking an involuntary step backward.

“How’d
you guess?” was the king’s sarcastic reply.

“No
wonder I always thought the castle was haunted,” Princess Cecile muttered.

The
king abandoned the torch and walked toward the single sarcophagus that was
raised on the platform with us. “The prophecy is over here.”

As
we picked our way through the rubble, I asked, “Are these your ancestors?”

He
turned with a glint in his eye. “No. They’re yours.”

I
steadied myself on the bannister. “My ancestors? What do you mean?”

He
gestured to the engravings in the gold. “Take a look.”

The
writing was loopy and somewhat difficult to read in the dim light, but I
eventually made it out.

It
read:

The phoenixes have fallen,

their
fiery forms reduced to ash.

Darkness has overtaken the land,

ruled
by
a dragon’s hand.

But soon, another phoenix will come,

to
slay
the scaled beast.

What was divided into the five will
become one,

when
we
rise again, bright as the sun,

to
bring
back a land of peace.

“That’s
it?” I asked. I felt like laughing. “I’m just supposed to slay a dragon?”

The
king raised an eyebrow. “Do you think it will be easy? Do you know how big a
dragon is?”

“How
could I? I’ve never seen one.”

“Neither
have I, but I’ve studied them in books. They’re rumored to be as big as this
room and capable of burning down an entire village with one breath.”

“It’s
a good thing I’m immune to fire,” I said.

“Not
dragon fire.” He gestured down to the tombs. “Do you want know how most of
these phoenixes died? They were reduced to ash when the dragon burned down the
palace that once stood right where we’re standing.”

My
relief lessened. “Then if this one dragon was capable of slaughtering an entire
community of my kind, what makes me different?”

“You’re
immortal, aren’t you?” Princess Cecile asked.

“Well…I
don’t know,” I said, absent-mindedly tracing the scar over my heart. “I don’t
think so.”

The
king coughed, eyes bugging out of his head. “Wait a minute… Y-you mean to tell
me that you consumed the plant of eternal life?”

“Not
on purpose,” I said.

“Well,
what was it like?” he prompted.

“Painful,”
I said with a grimace.

He
wrinkled his forehead. “Painful? How?”

I
pulled aside my sleeve to expose the ugly, jagged scar that traced across my
shoulder. “It gave me this.”

He
led me closer to the wall so he could study the scar in the flickering
firelight. “Strange. From my studies, the plant was only supposed to give
strength and immortality. I’ve never heard of something like this.”

Princess
Cecile stepped up next to her father, a look of worry on her face. “Should we
take her to the healer?”

“Absolutely
not,” said the king, turning on his daughter. “We can’t have just anyone
knowing the secrets of the kingdom.”

“But
he’s been the family healer since I was a baby,” she argued.

“Still…”
the king said. “I’m the only one that has studied the plant extensively. Unless
you include Edibus Finch.”

Princess
Cecile screwed her face into a sour expression.

“Who’s
Edibus Finch?” I asked.

“My
childhood tutor,” the king replied. “Taught me everything I know.”

“I
guess we should pay old Edibus a visit, then,” sighed the princess. “Great.”
The sarcasm was thick in her voice.

Curiosity
got the better of me. “What’s so bad about him?”

“He’s
just…hard to handle for long periods of time,” she replied.

The
king shook his head. “That’s an understatement. Follow me.”

He
picked up his torch again and we started back through the tunnel. Once the
middle stone was triggered, the floor began to rise again, but at a much slower
pace. It felt like ages before we reached the main floor. When the shuddering
came to a complete stop, the king set a brisk pace through the hallway and into
the openness of the wide corridor, with the battering ram sitting on the floor
and soldiers littered about. I was grateful for the morning light that poured
in from the window, especially after being in that dreary tomb.

“If
you would close the door, Ivy,” the king said, gesturing to the wall.

I
looked at it.
How?
Luckily, when I pressed my hand to the wall, it
responded immediately by shifting back into place as if it had never moved at
all.

“Clear
the hall,” the king ordered. “Back to your posts. You two, with me.”

Two
burly men fell into place beside us as we walked down the hall and up a flight
of stairs. The air was warm, but stuffy. We continued through an empty
servants’ hall until we came to a humble door at the very end. Before anyone
had the chance to knock, the door swung open and a man that resembled a bat
peeked out.

He
had pointed ears and a comb-over with long, greasy white hair. His spectacles
were as thick as dessert plates and almost as large. “What’s all the ruckus?”
he grumbled in a raspy voice. “I wasn’t alerted that a parade of elephants
would come tromping down my hallway this morning.”

“I’m
afraid you’ll get no more sleep today, Edibus,” the king replied. “I know I
won’t.”

The
old man scowled. “Oh, wonderful. What is it?” He opened the door a little more
as he studied the rest of the group. “And why have you brought an entire
entourage to my door? Have you come to carry me off to the gallows? You know I
can’t put up much of a fight.”

The
king sighed. “What would we condemn you of? Living far too long? Just let me
get to the point.”

The
man folded his scrawny arms across his chest. “Fine, but speak fast. I may be
strongly inclined to shut this door in a few seconds.”

The
king pushed me forward. “This is the phoenix.”

The
man’s eyes grew huge behind his thick glasses. He took them off for a moment,
squinting as he wiped them on his baby blue nightclothes. “The phoenix, you
say?” he asked, putting the spectacles back on and looking me up and down. “Ah
yes, I see it now.”

“See
what?” I asked.

“The
radiance of a light being. And more importantly,” he paused and pointed at the
place where my sleeve had slipped slightly, “the scar.”

-Chapter Twenty-three
-

“A
scar?” the king said, brow creased. “I knew nothing about a scar. Did you
withhold information from me?”

“I
didn’t keep anything from you,” Edibus said simply. “You clearly didn’t study
Rare
Flora Lore
by Jon G. Debley as thoroughly as I did. There was a whole page
on the scar that the immortal plant may leave.”

King
Torran frowned. “That book was almost seven hundred pages long and duller than
a spoon.”

Edibus
shrugged. “But informative, even though most of it was a bunch of hogwash. It
seems that he was right about the immortal plant.”

I
tilted my head. “That may explain that the plant could leave a scar, but how
did you know that the phoenix would have one?”

Edibus
looked sheepish. “Well…okay, I’ll admit it… I may have held back just a
tad
bit
of information.”

“What?”
the king shouted suddenly, fists balled at his sides. “It was my right to know
everything
about this!”

Edibus
squinted his eyes and pointed a bony finger up at him. “And you would have
found a letter and a journal under my bed, wrapped in parchment that said,
To
King Torran,
which would explain everything I hadn’t told you yet.”

“And
is it under your bed now?” the king asked.

Edibus
shut the door until only his giant spectacles peeked out. “Well…no. I was
planning on writing it when I felt like I was dying.”

“You
foolish old man,” the king said, shaking his head.

“Never
mind what would have been,” Princess Cecile interrupted impatiently. “The
phoenix is here now, and we need answers. Tell us what you know.”

The
old man sighed.  “I suppose it is time.” He threw me a quick glance. “Let
me get dressed, and we’ll meet in the library shortly.”

The
king drew out a sigh. “Fine, but I’m leaving a guard here to make sure that you
follow through.”

“Whatever,”
the old man grumbled and slammed the door.

The
king turned to me. “See what we mean?” he muttered. He pushed his way through
to the head of the group, and motioned for one of the guards to stay at the
door.

“What
if he had been killed?” he said as we made our way back down the stairs.

“I
suppose it’s a good thing that he lived so long,” said Princess Cecile.

I
glanced at the king, brow knitted. “If the royal family were the only ones who
were supposed to know about the prophecy, how did Edibus find out?” I asked.

The
king shot a troubled look back at me before he answered. “My father and mother
were older when they finally had me. After years of trying to produce an heir
and no luck, they decided to pass the information on to my father’s most
trusted advisor—Edibus. As ancient as he is now, Edibus was younger than my
father, and he’d promised to pass on the information to the next person to
ascend the throne. Then, coincidentally, my parents finally had me. They left
all the tutoring to Edibus. After my father died when I was eleven and my
mother when I was thirteen, it was up to him to pass on the majority of the
information.”

I
nodded. “Well, if your father trusted him that much, he must not be too bad.”

“I
do trust him, and I still can’t believe he didn’t tell me everything. He’s
just…an irritating man.”

“I
suppose there are worse things he could be,” Princess Cecile said. “And at
least he’s decided to tell us now.”

Once
we got back to the main floor, the library doors were only a few steps away. A
woman bowed to us when we entered, but kept on shuffling through the papers on
her desk. Through the shelves, a small sitting area could be seen. We sat there
while we waited for Edibus to show up. It certainly seemed that he took his
time.

There
were about twenty awkward minutes of tired yawns and impatient sighs before the
door opened up again, and he and the guard stepped through. He’d changed into
loose clothing not so different from what he’d been wearing before. With him,
he carried a small leather bound book that’s binding was falling apart.

“Ed,
what took you so long?” grumbled the king.

“It
takes a lot longer to dress when you get older,” grumbled Ed. “Not to mention I
had to find this old thing.” He raised the book.

The
king reached for it, but Edibus, moving faster than it seems an old man should,
snatched it out of reach. “Ah, ah, ah. It’ll be useless if I don’t find the
page first.”

The
king slammed his fist against the arm of his chair. “Then just get to it, would
you?”

Edibus
cleared his throat and opened the old book. He flipped through the pages until
he came to a certain one. “Ah. Here it is.”

The
king snatched for the book, and this time, Edibus let him have it.

He
studied the page for mere seconds and then flipped the book over to the cover.
“What is this? It’s hand-written.”

“It’s
the journal of Leon Baldwin, the last phoenix. Go ahead, read it out loud. I
think the young lady has waited long enough,” he said with a gesture to me.

The
king opened the book back up and began to read.

“He
says, ‘I had another vision today… I watched as the great metal giant was
hurled into the chasm, but it wasn’t me that did it. Instead, on the top of
that cliff, there was a small, red-headed girl, one that I’ve seen many times
before in my visions. The last phoenix.

‘The
vision ended before I could see if she made it across the pit of lava, but I’m
certain she did. I’ve seen her in the middle of a battlefield after she’s
gotten the scars.

‘Since
that vision, I’ve worked out why she has them. While the Creator let her have
the plant, no human in this world is meant to be immortal. She must have
consumed enough of the plant to make her more powerful than her mortal body
could handle. Whether or not the plant will destroy her completely, I wouldn’t
be able to say. I can only hope that she accomplishes her destiny before it is
too late.’”

The
king turned the page, and then shuffled through the rest.

Edibus’s
started toward a chair. “That was his last entry, if you were trying to look
for another.”

The
king looked at him. “Why did you keep this from me? What would have been the
consequence?”

Edibus’s
knees creaked as he sat down. “You are duty driven. If I had told you, you
would have been obsessed with looking for the phoenix, suspecting every small,
red-headed girl only to be disappointed when it wasn’t her. I wanted there to
be enough mystery that you could only wait, instead of wasting your life
looking for something that would only show up when it was ready.”

The
king looked down at the book. “I wouldn’t have done that. I was patient enough
when we heard that the phoenix had been found in Leviatha, the northern island
no less.”

“Only
because I persuaded you to stay. I had to remind you that it was her destiny to
come to Onwin in her own time.”

“Fine,”
the king gritted out as he stood. “Maybe I would have spent my life searching
for her, but that should have been up to me. You had no right to keep this a
secret,” he said as he raised the book.

Princess
Cecile reached up and placed her hand on her father’s arm. “Father, enough of
this. What’s done is done. The prophecy has been told, and I’m sure we could
all use some rest.”

The
king took in a few deep breaths as he stood up straight and dropped his hand.
“You’re right, Cecile. Take Ivy to one of our guest suites. I’m sure you are
both tired after your journey.”

Then,
he swept toward the door, but before slamming it behind him, he paused. “If you
were any younger, Edibus, I’d throw you in a cell. You’re lucky the phoenix
came now instead of a decade ago.”

Having
heard our conversation, the librarian wouldn’t stop staring at me curiously.
Edibus pushed himself out of his chair and walked up to the woman. “I trust you
can keep this conversation to yourself?”

The
woman nodded as she turned back to her papers. “Of course, Master Edibus.”

“Good.”
He turned to me and gave me a nod. “Rest up, young one. Destiny awaits.”

*   *   *  
*   *

After
being taken to a room as gray and bleak as any other in this fortress, all I could
do was toss and turn. I may have gotten in two hours of sleep, if you added all
the minutes together. I would drift off for a while, and then my mind would
wake up with a jolt and my heart would race, pounding in my ears as my eyes
wandered around the sun-drenched room.

When
the sun was high in the sky, I was awoken not by a thought, but by a voice.
“Ivy,” someone whispered. “Ivy.”

The
voice faded in and out, echoing slightly off the stone walls. I sat up straight
in bed. “Who’s there?” I asked, pulling the cover up to my chin.

A
laugh reverberated throughout the room. Then, through the barred window, I saw
him, glowing ghostly blue, slightly wavering with the wind. He walked through
glass and metal as if it wasn’t even there, and his feet didn’t fully touch the
ground.

“What
are you doing here, Niko?” I asked, letting the cover drop and backing against
the headboard. “How are you here?”

He
put his hands up. “Relax. I can’t hurt you in this form and you can’t hurt me.
All I want to do is talk.”

“
How
are you here
?” I enunciated, fighting the urge to scream for the guards
standing just outside my chamber.

“I
know you probably hope it after our last encounter, but I’m not dead. I’m
simply taking advantage of Kurt’s pendant.”

My
eyes widened. “How? I don’t have the other half.”

He
smiled maliciously. “You may not have it anymore, but someone near you does.
I’ve been watching you for a long time, Ivy. And now that I’ve altered the
magic, I can speak to you.”

There
was only one person who had traveled with me to get to Onwin. “Princess Cecile.
How does she have the pendant?”

He
snorted. “People do such foolish things when they’re afraid, particularly when
it has to do with the supernatural. First it was your prince. I told him to go
get the pendant and bring it back to the castle.”

“And
Princess Cecile?”

“I
told the prince to give it to her, as a sort of apology for not marrying the
girl he truly loves.”

“You’re
horrible,” I said in disgust.

“I’m
cunning,” he corrected. “Which is why I’m invaluable to King Ciaran.”

“Why
are you here? Why are you telling me all of this?”

“Partly
to see the look on your face when you find out what I’ve been doing all along.
Now I know everything. I saw the prophecy.”

Dark
tendrils of fear crept into my heart. “No,” I whispered. Could that fact change
the prophecy all together? Has my mission failed before it even began?

“But
here’s my question to you—how do you know you’re on the right side? How do you
know that the kings of Leviatha and Onwin don’t have darkness in their hearts?”

I narrowed
my eyes. “I don’t doubt that they do. They’re only human after all…It’s just
that some, like you and your king, have more darkness than others.”

“I
wouldn’t judge a person’s heart so soon,” Niko said, folding his ghostly arms
over his chest, his smirk changing into a frown.

“You
brought that on yourself when you tried to force me into your Saints of Sorcery
group.”

He
glowered at me. “Have it your way. But you don’t want to be our enemy on the
battlefield.” He paused to collect himself and let the same small smirk curl on
his lips. “But then again, you may not make it to the battlefield.”

With
that, he took the phantom stone off his neck and disappeared.

Heart
pounding, I stepped off the bed. He knew where I was, and Princess Cecile had the
other half of the pendant. I had to leave as soon as possible. I hurriedly
opened the window and grabbed the bars, ready to rip them out of place if I had
to. But then, I stopped to think.

 Princess
Cecile still had the pendant. I needed to make sure that it got as far away
from the Black Fortress as possible before Niko reported every little secret
detail back to King Ciaran.

I
slipped my sandals on and rushed to the door. The guards looked at me
questioningly, but didn’t say anything as they matched my hurried pace toward
Princess Cecile’s room. Her guards looked up as I approached.

“I
need to speak to the princess. It’s urgent,” I said.

They
looked at the guards behind me, and something passed between them that allowed
the guards to step out of the way. To avoid spearing my hand on one of the
spikes, I opened the door without knocking.

I
looked inside to see Princess Cecile still sleeping peacefully in her bed,
undisturbed by glowing apparitions like I was.

I
approached and shook her shoulder, startled when the harmless looking princess
gripped my arm tightly and brought a knife out from under her pillow, death in
her eyes. Then, she saw that it was only me and dropped my arm immediately.

“Couldn’t
knock,” I said, gesturing back to the spiky door.

“Oh.
Sorry,” she said as she slipped the knife back under her pillow.

“Where
did that come from?” I asked.

She
raised an eyebrow. “Did you think I would live in a place like this and have no
combat training? My father made sure I knew everything about fighting before I
turned sixteen.”

“Impressive,”
I said, ignoring my racing heart.

“Imagine
going through all that training and placing so much importance on ferocity only
to have the second form of a swan.” She laid back in the bed with a tired groan
and closed her eyes. “What do you want, anyway? Don’t you have sleep to catch
up on? Or did the plant give you the power to go forever without it?”