The Rising King (10 page)

“I gave it to your grandfather. Faldon.”

“This just got a whole lot more complicated,” I mumble. The two of them aren’t on the best of terms at the moment. “Did he know what it was?”

“Of course he did. I know your grandfather can be difficult, even in the limited form he is in now, but he was always a man I could trust with that kind of power and to do what is right.”

“What he feels is right, you mean.”

“Don’t we all?” He waves his hand in the air as if he’s wiping clean a whiteboard. “Still, he gave it away long before he died.”

Well, there’s a cheerful note on that bad history. “Why would he give it away?”

“He had his reasons, I suppose.”

A son who had turned into a killing tyrant comes to mind. “Who did he give it to?”

“Someone in the human realm.” My dad presses his fingers together, and slowly raises his gaze to look over the tips and straight at me. I hate how he feeds every moment with drama. I sit back, acting as if I don’t notice the sudden spike in tension, and wait for him to get on with it.

His gaze narrows on me. “Your grandmother.”

There is no way I heard him right. “Grandma Newton has it?”

His nod is slow and heavy. “I believe so.”

I lean forward. “Is she a
first
?”

A short, harsh laugh erupts. “No. She’s human. Just like your
mother
.” The bitter way he always talks about Mom makes it clear he still blames her for all his troubles. Carrying a grudge seems to be his specialty. “That’s how powerful this magic is. Anyone can use it, though I doubt your grandmother knows the power she holds.”

“Wow.”

“Wow, indeed.”

We sit there, neither of us talking. I can’t believe my grandmother possesses something that powerful and never told me. Not once.

“We need it back.” My dad’s voice slices through the silence and brings me out of my thoughts. “You have to find it, Dylan.”

Even I can see the importance of retrieving a magic so powerful, it can do whatever it’s asked to do. If it’s really as all-powerful as he says it is, I could use it to help Kera control the darkness within her.

If I wanted it before, now I’m desperate to find it. “I’ll try.”

His old nature flares. “That’s not good enough.” He closes his eyes and breathes deeply until the tension eases from his body. “We are in serious trouble. Finding that magic is our only hope. If you do this, and I truly believe you are the only one who can get your grandmother to hand it over, you can’t give up. You must do whatever you can to bring it back.”

I clench my teeth. He really is a jerk.

I stand. My jaw aches holding back the harsh words I want to hurl at him. “I get why you want it back. We need it. You may be my dad, but you don’t know me. I don’t give up. I’ll find it.”

“Good, and this is between you and me. No one else must know where you’re going or why.
No one
.”

I’m not interested in attracting every power-hungry warlord in Teag and beyond either. I get the importance of keeping this a secret. “I go home all the time, and since I don’t even know what I’m looking for, I don’t see how anyone else will know either.” I turn to leave.

My dad stops me at the door. “It has a name, and when you call it, it will answer.”

Magic. It’s all about the weird. “What’s its name?”

“Álainn, but you must say it exactly.”

My dad makes me say it over ten times and then nods when he’s satisfied. “I’m sorry I can’t give you more information.”

I know he can’t lie, but that’s the first thing he’s said that I actually believe 100 percent. He stands and stares up at the map. I’m as good as gone, a dutiful servant he’s sent on a mission.

Though I believe he’s right and I’m the only one who can find the magic we need, I still don’t fully trust him. “While I’m gone, what are you going to do?”

He doesn’t turn toward me; he just continues to stare at the tapestry. “Times are desperate. Teag needs help, and I’ll give it all I have…which isn’t much.”

He touches the tapestry and it comes to life. Fire erupts. An inkblot widens to the north. He jerks his hand away and curls it into a fist. “Hurry, Dylan. We’re running out of time.”

Used Magic

I’ve never been so aware of time. It’s something I always took for granted. My motto’s always been, If not today, there’s always tomorrow. That’s no longer true.

I go looking for Kera. Not to tell her what I’m about to do, but because I have to see her, to hold her one more time before I leave. All I want is to drag her back to the human realm and find a way to close the barrier, but she won’t come with me. I know it. Teag is everything to her.

I check her room. She’s there, sitting on her bed. Her fingers poke through her long dark hair as she holds her head in her hands. She had undone her braid and let the heavy mass of hair fall over her bent knees. I push the door wider. “Kera?”

She looks my way, sweeping her hair back to reveal restless dark-violet eyes. I step inside and close the door. “Are you okay?”

Her tongue darts over her full lips and she bites down, her teeth worrying at the corner of her bottom lip. She shakes her head and looks away.

“What’s wrong?” Seeing her like this makes it difficult to leave.

“Am I a good person?”

I sit next to her on the bed that’s princess-large and slip a section of her hair behind her ear to get a better look at her. “Of all the people I’ve ever known, you are the kindest, the sweetest…the coolest”—I gently tilt her face to mine—“the most amazing person. Ever. Good doesn’t even begin to describe you.”

The look she gives me says she’s scared to believe me, and it melts my heart. I pull her into my lap. Her arms rest limply on my shoulders as she straddles my hips. Her knees press against my sides, and I cup her face between my hands and kiss her forehead.

“Can a good person, a really good, honest person, turn bad?”

The desperation I hear in her voice makes me pause. “I don’t know.”

Philosophy was never my thing. I rarely had the need to think beyond myself, not until I met Kera. She definitely changed my life. She opened my eyes to the needs of others in a way that had me feeling personally responsible for their happiness. From day one, she’s been grooming me to be king by leading the way.

My answer isn’t the one she wanted and she drops her gaze, her lips a straight, neutral line. I hate seeing her so sad. I duck my head to find her eyes, and I mouth the three words I will never get tired of saying.
I love you
. Not even a tiny hint of a smile touches her lips. There’s only one thing that can get her this worked up.

“You’re worried about the dark magic, aren’t you?”

She nods. “I can’t stop thinking about it.”

She should be worried. “I know. I thought I was going crazy there for a while, but after Wyatt died, something clicked inside me. It was my choice. Either I controlled the dark power or it controlled me. I came to the conclusion that if I couldn’t be in control, then I’d rather not have any of it.”

She blinked and sat straighter. “You gave away some of your powers? You can’t do that, you need them.”

“I didn’t give any away, but I’ve lived most of my life without magic. I can’t say I was happy to force the part I didn’t like deep within me, but I had to do it. The power tried to convince me only it could make me happy.”

Kera’s teeth tug at her bottom lip again and I force her to look at me. “It’s a lie. Power doesn’t make me happy. You make me happy. Only you.”

I pull her close and kiss her eyes, her nose, her cheeks, and whisper in her ear, “I love you down to my bones. To my core.”

I kiss her ear and move to her neck. I smile when her hands slide into my hair and she tilts her head toward mine. We kiss, the beginning of it gentle, quick pecks and nuzzles, but all too soon our kiss deepens. She tastes exotic and warm, and I can feel that crazy addictive need only she creates start to take over.

I twist and we fall onto the bed. I roll her onto her back and stare into her big violet eyes. They’re filled with the same need as mine. She stares at my lips and presses closer for more and I have no way of stopping myself now, not when she looks at me like that.

A heavy knock sounds on the door. I lift my head and snap, “Go away.”

Kera runs her hands under my jacket and pulls it off me. I slip hers off her shoulders and my lips follow the line of her collarbone.

Another knock sounds. Louder. I stop and stare into Kera’s eyes. We’re both breathless with want. The heavy knuckles pound so hard, I’m surprised the door doesn’t cave in.

A throaty growl escapes me, and I push off the bed and yank the door open. The hall is dark and cold. Bodog appears out of the shadows, looking like a rag doll that’s become a dog’s forgotten chew toy. “You leave soon.”

I glance behind me at Kera, who pushes to her elbows and cranes her neck to see who is at the door. I step forward and whisper, though my words are anything but kind, “Keep it down.”

“How soon?”

The guy won’t let it rest. I close my eyes and sigh. “Soon.”

“Now?”

“Yeah, sure. Now.” I’d say anything to get him to go away.

“Bodog will wait.”

“Are you kidding? Where’s Faldon?” My grandfather Faldon is always nearby.

Bodog brings forward a tall wooden walking stick and plants it in front of him. He leans heavily on it as though he’s not kidding.

Perfect. I narrow my gaze at the stick that holds the spirit of my dead grandfather. “Has anyone told you your timing completely sucks?”

“No,” Faldon’s rough, dry voice says.

I step back into the room and grab my coat.

Kera rolls out of bed and stands next to me. “What’s going on? Is that Bodog? Is he looking for me?”

“He wants me. I’ve got to go.”

I hesitate, undecided on whether or not I should tell her where I’m going. It’s only a quick run home. No big deal. And once we have the magic, we’ll use it and Teag will settle down and life will get a little more normal. I could use a dose of normal about now.

I bend and kiss her one last time. Every time our lips touch, I fall a little more in love with her. I break off and bury my nose in her neck and smell the heady scent of her skin. It’s killing me to leave. “When I get back…”

I let the promise hang in the air and bolt for the door. If I don’t leave now, I’m afraid I never will. I don’t look at Bodog as I pass him. It doesn’t matter. He falls in step beside me, his big head bent to watch the progress of his even bigger feet, which surprisingly match the quickness of my steps. My grandfather rides in Bodog’s paw of a hand as he taps out a staccato beat on the shiny stone floor.

As we make our way through the labyrinth that makes up Phoenix Hall, whispers follow us. Baun built his new structure on the footings of the collapsed Hall of Whispers. It’s only a guess, but I think that’s why I hear little snippets of conversations, like echoes. It’s tempting to stop and listen, but the words are too soft to really know what’s being said. It’s annoying, like a headache that won’t go away.

We round another corner and Bodog’s head swivels my way until his googly eyes latch onto me. “You leave soon.”

Bodog can be such a nag. “I suppose
he
told you.” I nod at the rustic-looking wooden staff. “He’s a dead piece of dried-up wood. How can he still see into the future?”

“Death does not steal one’s intellect,” Faldon’s voice rasps from the stick. His face appears and it doesn’t look pleased. “I am encased in a living shell. Until it dies, my soul is free to live in this moment.”

As if to make a point, a tiny sprig of green pokes out of a knot and waves at me before retreating.

I rear back. “Don’t do that wavy thing. Ever. And I’d keep the I’m-alive-until-the-stick-dies info to myself if I were you. You never know who might want to permanently prune you into teeny tiny pieces.”

“I show myself only to those I trust.” The sound of wood rasping against wood sounds as he clears his voice. “I’ve come to advise you not to do this thing.”

“Once a sage, always a sage. Thank you for the advice. You can go now.” To everyone else, he’s just a knobby old stick an odd little man uses to get around. To me he’s one of the reasons things haven’t gone so smoothly. Nothing screams dysfunctional family like a grandfather who tried to kill his grandson. He’s where he is because I acted in self-defense. And I’m where I am because he gives out crappy advice. I want to ask if he gave Grandma the magic we need, but Faldon hasn’t been the most trustworthy person in the past.

I bust out of Phoenix Hall with Bodog still on my heels. “Go away.”

“I cannot.”

I have no idea where Bodog’s loyalty lies. It’s clear Faldon can influence him. Still, Bodog has the heart to do what’s right. It’s his yapping stick I don’t trust.

“Our king is powerless and you are headed back to the human realm. Do you want Teag to fall into the hands of our enemies?”

“I wouldn’t exactly say he’s powerless. The whole invisible shield thing proves that. And I wouldn’t go if I didn’t think it was important.”

“What could be more important than saving Teag?”

“You’re the seer, the mighty sage of Teag. You tell me.”

A puff of wood shavings comes out of his mouth. “If you would listen to me, two of your human friends would not be dead and your most vulnerable friend wounded. When will you see that—”

I stop and whirl around. Jason and Wyatt are dead. Kera was just with Reece, who is definitely wounded, but I would hardly call him vulnerable. The only other human friend I have is very much on the vulnerable side. I’ve never touched the stick before, but I grab it from Bodog and squeeze until the rough bark bites into my palm “Where is he?” I choke out.

“Now you care?”

I take the stick in both my hands. The wood begins to smolder under my fingers. I’ll gladly snap the stick in two. I’ve had enough of Faldon’s double-talk. Bodog’s eyes grow to the size of saucers and Faldon’s lips clatter together in disbelief. My voice is raw and filled with a promise. “Tell me where Leo is or your soul leaves. Permanently this time.”

He tells me, and I toss the stick back at Bodog, who wets the charred areas with his tongue much to Faldon’s disgust.

I push my way through the thickening crowds. Word travels fast. I wouldn’t be shocked if everyone in Teag has migrated to the Ruined City seeking safety. Nowhere is safe. We’re being attacked on so many levels, it feels like we’re on the final pass around the drain.

I don’t knock. I barge into a little room in the back of a dress shop where Lucinda is bandaging Leo’s side. He snaps to his feet, his sword in his hand, and she turns, her hair suddenly crackling with energy. On seeing it’s me, she turns back to Leo, all docile, and he sits, sagging into his chair. Blood spatters the floor and soaks a nearby cloth.

“What happened?” I demand to know.

“I had an encounter with a Nightmare Man. Got stabbed. Didn’t like it. Don’t want to do it again.”

“My dad has Orntho’s ring. He said the Nightmare Men were gone, that they—” I stop. What exactly did he say? No shadows, no Nightmare Men. I thought he meant they were gone, as in no longer around. Does he know what we’ve done?

Lucinda shakes her head. “Taking the ring from him was a mistake. You only relegated them to the shadows where they can attack at will.”

Is she actually blaming me for what happened to Leo? I officially hate Lucinda. “I had no choice. He was about to kill my dad.”

She pauses and slants a concerned glance my way. “Is Baun hurt?”

“Would I be here if he were?” My curiosity rears its head. She seems to know more about the Nightmare Men than she first let on. “Did you know the Nightmare Men would do that if we took away the ring?”

“I think the real question is, did your father?”

Lucinda loves trouble, and trusting her is never easy. When we were in the Hall of Whispers rescuing Leo, Lucinda seemed to have a very friendly attachment to my dad. Leo won, but it was really close. We stare suspiciously at each other.

Bodog appears at the door and the stick he carries heaves a heavy sigh. I glare at Faldon. “Did you know the Nightmare Men were still around and active?”

Faldon stammers for a second, and finally says, “How could I? No one knew they even existed until today.”

“If I find you knew, I will personally chop you into tiny pieces and throw you on the fire.” I turn to Leo, not completely convinced of what I see. “Are you okay? You look pretty good.”

But looks can be deceiving. Case in point; Lucinda appears to care for Leo, but I have serious doubts.

Leo wraps an arm around his girlfriend’s waist and squeezes. “Cin got old ugly face before he did any real damage.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. It’s more of a scratch.” He coughs and grabs his side. “She’s gotten good at bandaging me up. Been doing it a lot lately.”

I know. Leo’s been shot, stabbed, skewered, and roasted along with everyone else. He’s followed me into more than one situation that didn’t look winnable. Now I have to convince him it’s time to go home. Without Lucinda.

I’m pretty sure I have a way of getting her away from the “love” of her life. Acting has never been my thing, but I’m a decent liar. I bend my head and knead the back of my neck. “We have to warn people the Nightmare Men are still in the city. If my father doesn’t know, then he’s in danger. I can’t think of anyone they’d like to murder in the dark more than him.”

Faldon’s scratchy voice agrees and Bodog frowns. I turn to Lucinda. “You know more about the Nightmare Men than anyone here. What do you think?”

“I—” She looks at Leo for a long moment, then me. “I agree. I could go and warn your father.”

“Okay.” It was almost too easy. That little speck of loyalty she feels for my dad is still there. “I’ll stay with Leo.”

She stares at Leo, and whatever she whispers to him, I can’t hear. She grabs her things and leaves. I turn to Bodog. “Can you go and tell Kera about the Nightmare Men?”

He nods, and I stop him before he leaves. “She won’t let me protect her, but she might let you.”

The little man leans on his stick, clouded by layers of frayed and faded fabric. To look at him, no one would suspect there was an expert fighter hiding in there. “Bodog will stay with her.”

I nod, and glare at Faldon. “Do you have anything useful to tell me?”