The Rising King (29 page)

I ready myself to confront him with my own magic when unbelievably, Kera jumps in front of me. Her
incordium
blade absorbs the magic Baun throws and she tosses it back at him. He quickly jumps out of the way, hitting the ground and quickly rolling to his feet.

I fire a surge of energy toward him and he blocks it by summoning a section of the underground labyrinth up. A cage that holds the griffin rises out of the ground. My strike rocks the cage and the animal screeches. I dart around it while Kera goes to free the animal.

As I dodge quicksand, hardening it as I pass,
firsts
appear in the arena from all directions. They’re pouring out of the underground, a clear sign Cahl has done his job. In the stands, the Rodarians transform back into their original forms and leap into the arena.

I search for Baun, and see him dart into the ice cave. A few bright flashes later, he rushes out with a huge smile on his face. He’s having fun. We’re all fighting for our lives and he’s acting like it’s a game.

The griffin lands beside me and Kera vaults off its back and points. “There. Signe and my father.”

Within the nearly empty stands, Hadrain is arguing with Granel. It doesn’t look good. Navar’s loyal soldier looks ready to attack. Kera’s father pushes Signe behind him, offering her the little bit of protection he has. Not far away, someone who looks just like Signe races toward Granel. I know that determined look. I break my cloning spell over Reece just as he reaches his target.

The griffin screeches as the ground erupts next to us, forcing me to look away from Reece. Kera grabs my arm and yanks me away from the growing mound. The next second, the dirt splits open and millispits pour into the arena. I send a fiery blast, roasting them into toasty oblivion. When next I look into the stands, Granel is clutching his chest as blood seeps through his fingers. Reece finishes him off, yet Nightmare Men spring up all around them, blocking their escape.

Kera unwinds her hold on the griffin’s leather rein and points the animal toward our friends. “Please,” she begs the creature. “Help them.”

The large eagle eyes blink, and the griffin takes off, heading straight for the stands. The creature swoops down and rips its talons into one of the Nightmare Men as it snaps the head off another before landing. Reece doesn’t ask permission, but slams Signe on the beast’s back and commands it to take her to safety. Surprisingly, it does just that.

From the corner of my eye, I see a hell hound rush forward. A volley of quills rains down on us, and I’m able to incinerate most, but a few land too close to Kera. She grabs her bow and demolishes the hell hounds before I even decide what to do.

I can’t find Halim. When I say as much, Kera searches with me, and then points across the arena. “Halim.”

The boy, Cahl, and a handful of other soldiers have gathered the youngest of the
firsts
in the ruined temple. As I watch, one child is grabbed by a statue. The stone arms squeeze, and the child cries out. Cahl forces the arms apart and the child latches onto Cahl’s leg. The Dark Souls swoop in, marking the marble stone to black as they pass. I try to create a force field around the structure, but it won’t hold. My stomach knots up as I helplessly watch the inevitable.

“Keep trying,” Kera says as she pats down her coat. Her hand dives into one of the pockets and she pulls out the whistle used to call Blaze. She doesn’t waste time, and clamps her lips on the metal and blows. No sound that I can hear comes from it, but I know it’s working. I can hear the whines of hell hounds rustling within the trees. Sure enough, dragons suddenly fill the sky of the open-air arena. They dive for the Dark Souls, ripping into them. The attack gives Halim and the
firsts
the time they need to help the children escape.

I swivel around, taking stock of who is where when something moves in the trees behind Kera. I push her to the side and take a hit from Baun’s magic. A sledgehammer to the chest would have been softer. I stagger backward, but I don’t go down. He strides out of his hiding place and nods. “Impressive. You’ve learned a lot in a short time, but…”

He sends another shot at me, followed by another, and I drop to my knees. “Did you know taking successive hits will weaken any defense? It’s like using a battering ram against a castle gate.”

“Dylan,” Kera calls and she motions to the ring.

I’m not sure how many chances I’ll have to use it. I won’t waste one on protecting myself. I try to light up, but the energy I’ve used to defend myself against his attack makes that impossible. Kera steps in front of me, her
incordium
blade ready to absorb the power Baun threatens to throw my way.

He narrows his eyes. “How exactly did you survive?”

“With this.” She grabs my hand and shows him the ring. “I guess it didn’t like you.”

Baun flashes a grim smile. “I should be more careful where I toss my rubbish. In fact”—he widens his stance and his hand glows—“I’ll take that.”

Though Baun calls the ring, it stays on my hand. Surprise registers on his face. It must be quite a shock when his commands are ignored. I slowly stand. The look I give him is filled with disappointment. “Teag deserves better than you.”

He reacts, like the tyrant he is. His chest puffs out and his face turns red. “There is none better than me. My way promises a better life.”

“How?” I demand. “By terrorizing the people with monsters you can’t control? By allowing others to destroy a world we’re honor-bound to protect? By ordering innocent people to give you every speck of power they own? When will it be enough?”

“Enough? Power is infinite. How can anyone have enough of that?”

It’s exactly as Kera said. I don’t want to ask the magic to do what needs to be done, but Baun’s reign of terror will never end if he’s not stopped.

“I’m sorry.” I pull the ring from my finger and toss it at Baun’s feet. “You and your friends are no longer welcome here. I banish you to a place so dark, your soul will never escape.”

As soon as the ring touches the ground, it flickers to life. A dark vortex appears overhead. I grab Kera’s hand and we stagger back. High-pitched shrieks echo as the
pux
abandon the area and the arena is plunged into darkness. Lightning flashes. The dragons roar and spin away to safety. The wind that the intense storm generates pulls every evil thing toward it. One by one, the Rodarians self-combust into clouds of dust that join the growing whirlwind. Though the Dark Souls try to get away, they’re slowly sucked into the rotating mass, coloring the vortex an inky black. Navar’s poisonous, oily form struggles against the pull, but it’s a losing battle. Bit by bit he slips away, no longer a threat, but a victim of his own evil. Screams from the recently freed Nightmare Men mingle with the storm’s roar as they’re violently torn apart and pulled into the surging energy.

The rest of us huddle low to the ground. Though the wind violently whips our clothes and hair, none of us feel the draw of the vortex.

The last to leave is Baun. He struggles against the pull, using every scrap of his power, but even he isn’t strong enough to fight it. He growls like a bear on the attack as his soul is ripped away. It enters the twisting mass, and immediately begins to fight off the attack of the others. The vortex mushrooms, expanding with the evil it collects until it covers the whole coliseum. My ears feel like they have cotton stuffed in them. The ground rumbles and splits open. Hot, sulfur-laced air pours out. The massive, swirling expanse of tumbling bodies and souls suddenly implodes, and in the blink of an eye, it’s sucked into the earth and the ground slams shut.

The wind calms. The terrified screams are gone. A heavy silence fills the arena, and at the point where the vortex disappeared, Baun’s body lies still. Under his hand, a rock pulsates a bright blue as it collects all the power of Baun’s magic. Kera takes a hesitant step forward, but I hold her back. Reggie goes and squats by the body. He feels for a pulse, then looks my way and shakes his head.

The Lost King is lost again. This time for good.

There’s no joy in the moment. My body gives way, and I slump to the ground, sitting cross-legged, my head in my hands. Kera kneels; her knees digging into the soft earth as she wraps her arms around me. She places her head on my shoulder and whispers words of comfort in my ear.

“He killed my mother,” I rasp after a long, silent moment. “He tried to kill you. He killed people I will never know, but who deserved to live. He was a monster.” I turn my head and look deeply into her violet eyes. “So why does my heart feel”—I search for a word I’ll never find, and settle for one that barely begins to describe what I feel—“heavy?”

“He was your father.”

There’s a lump in my throat I swallow past. “I never want to see him again.”

“You won’t. None of us will.”

I pull her across my lap and nuzzle the soft skin of her neck, taking comfort in the realness of her, of us. “Good.”

But it’s a lie. I wish things were different. I wish he’d wake up and be the man I’ve always dreamed he would be.

I wish…

Kisses Make It All Better

Lying on my back staring up at the workings of the motorcycle Grandpa gave me, I glance up as Leo approaches. He squats near my back and even though he’s holding a glass of iced tea, he uses that hand to point to a loose bolt on the motorcycle he’s helping me to refurbish. “Missed one.”

As I retighten all the bolts, the fire alarm in my grandparents’ house begins to wail. I look toward the screen door of the kitchen and see smoke billowing out and hear Grandpa shout for Grandma. It’s funny how everything has changed, yet nothing’s changed. “What’s going on in there?”

Leo’s eyebrows spike downward like a worried hound dog. “Lucinda is learning how to cook.”

That’s unexpected. “What’s she making?”

Leo lifts his other hand to show a blackened square I’m pretty sure is supposed to be edible. “Grilled cheese sandwiches.” He takes a bite, chews, and forces himself to swallow. “It’s not going well. Her talents aren’t really suited to domestic duties, but my dad says she has to earn her keep besides keeping the barn mouse-free.”

He wobbles a bit, and I’m instantly sitting up and grabbing his elbow to steady him. I point to the lawn chair. “Sit. You nearly died, and Grandma will yell at me if she finds you doing too much.”

“Yes, your majesty.”

“Funny.” He knows I come to the human world to forget about my responsibilities in Teag, and he’s a jerk for reminding me.

He thinks he’s hilarious and throws himself in the chair before pushing back his wild black hair and grinning. “Ever since her dragon adventure your grandma’s become one bold woman.”

“Adventurous,” I correct him.

He sighs. “I wish I could have seen it.”

“Grandpa wishes you’d stop talking about it. I think he had a stroke when she and Blaze swooped out of the sky and started their game of whack-a-Rodarian.”

“He’s got our problem.”

I don’t follow. “Which is?”

“Girl power.”

Now I do. “There are worse things in life.”

“Like?” he asks and takes a sip of tea.

“Not having a girl at all.”

“Bro, you are so on-the-money with that.”

Grandpa opens the kitchen door and without stepping outside, plops a full trash bag on the porch. “Dylan?” he yells over at me. “Come take out the trash.” He leans out of the kitchen, glaring at me until I give him my full attention. “Today,” he emphasizes before disappearing back inside the house.

I hear low snickering coming from a pair of my personal bodyguards. Hadrain, being the head of Teag’s council, insists they go wherever I go.

“I’m a king, and I take out the trash,” I mutter. I’ve tried to explain to my grandparents I shouldn’t have to deal with such menial chores. They don’t agree.

“Yes, sir,” I call back louder, ignoring my personal guards’ humor.

The sound of yelling has us craning our necks toward the forest, and puts my guards on high alert until we see Reece running out of the woods and Halim racing alongside him on the new BMX bike Reece bought him. The kid does a wheelie, and pops up on the back of Grandpa’s open truck bed and then down. He jumps off and spins the bike on its back tire before setting it on the ground.

It reminds me I want to take my board out later today—after I take out the trash and muck out the barn. “Showing off, are ya?”

He just got the bike three days ago. No one knew it had been his birthday in the middle of all the excitement in Teag, and when we all found out, we went nuts on gift giving, pizza eating, and arcade gaming.

His cheeks are red and he’s out of breath and he looks happy. Really happy. “Just having fun.”

Leo sips his iced tea and squints over at the pair. “The kid’s crazy athletic.”

“It’s the
first
in him,” Reece says matter-of-factly, and throws himself into the chair next to Leo.

A bright speck of light hovers close to Halim’s ear and Leo’s eyes grow huge. He jumps up and steps back, pointing. “What is that?”

We all look at Halim. He glances around until he figures out what’s scared Leo. “What, her? She’s a
pux
.”

He pats his shoulder and the little female lands where he motions. “She got separated from her tribe during the fight. Don’t worry. I’m training her to be nice.”

“Sit down, Leo,” Reece says in the voice he uses to instruct the men of Teag to fight without using their magic. He then grabs Halim by the arm and shoves him toward the house. “Go get me a beer, son.”

“Sure.” Halim trots inside the house, eliciting a yelp from Grandma when she sees the
pux
.

“Son?” Both Leo and I say and raise our eyebrows at him.

Reece shrugs his broad shoulders. “He won’t leave me alone so I figured, might as well keep him.”

“He’s not a pet,” Leo says.

“You would know all about that,” Reece mutters with a smile.

If he wants to get Leo all riled up, he’s done it.

“We’ve had the talk.” Leo’s voice is loud and insistent. “She’s starting to come around.” At Reece’s doubtful look, he sits straighter. “She allowed Dylan to make a Keeper of Life for her.” He points to the house. “She’s in there right now burning food like every other female we know.”

I hoot at his daring. “Better not let Grandma hear you say that or she’ll smack the devil out of you.”

Reece folds his hands together and tucks them behind his head. “You got me there, but correct me if I’m wrong, the magic only stays in her collar while she’s in the human realm. As soon as she crosses into Teag, you’re back to batshit crazy cat girl.”

“That’s not fair, Reece.” A mock frown settles on my face. “She’s crazy here, too.”

We both break out laughing and Leo looks between us. “Oh, that’s messed up.”

I cut him some slack. “Okay, okay…I agree with you. She’s doing great. Much better than I ever expected.”

“Oh hey.” Reece digs into the pocket of his shorts and pulls out a rock and hands it to me. “Good luck.”

I rub the smooth surface with my thumb. “Thanks.” I put it in my pocket. “Kera needs what’s in here. She just doesn’t know it yet.”

“Aren’t you a tiny bit worried?” Leo asks. There’s real concern on his face.

“Nope.” I stand up and wipe the grease from my hands on an old kitchen towel and throw it on the ground. “Check my work, will you? I’ll be right back.” And I head to the house.

I get inside and four pairs of female eyes turn to me.

Lucinda looks lost, a condition I’ve never seen her in. She points to the stove. “It’s the pan. It’s defective.”

Signe’s freckles are bright with her annoyance. “She said that about the saucepan when the soup burned in the bottom.”

Grandma turns an optimistic glance on me. “Don’t mind them. It’s normal to get frustrated when learning a new skill.” Clapping her hands together, she refocuses their attention. “Cooking takes patience, girls. Let’s all take a deep breath and start again.”

Kera looks ready to find another activity, and readily pops out of her seat. “Did you need something?”

“Yeah, can we talk?”

“It sounds serious. Is it about Teag?” The hope in Kera’s voice is almost laughable.

I nod. “It is. Do you have a minute?”

She tosses Grandma an apologetic look, grabs my arm, and pulls me into the hall. “I always have time for Teag.”

She leads me into my room and closes and locks the door. Before I can say a word, she’s in my arms and her lips press against mine. For longer than I care to admit, I forget about what I want to say and enjoy the moment.

She runs her hands up under my T-shirt, and I shiver against her touch. The halter top she’s wearing exposes her back and I skim my fingers over her warm skin. The scent of summer fills the room. No one smells as good as Kera. She gets closer and her hip smacks against the rock in my pocket. Pulling away, she frowns. “What’s in your pocket?”

I press her onto my bed, where she tucks her feet cross-legged beneath her, and I sit down opposite her. I dig out the rock that glows a soft blue and set it on the bed between us.

She instantly stiffens. “No.”

“It’s time.”

“I can’t.”

“You can.” I slip my hands behind her neck and unlatch Mom’s amber necklace. Kera has adopted it as her own and wears it to remember my mother. I place the necklace on top of the rock and put her hand over them both. “It’s the last to leave. All the magic Baun stole is back with their rightful owners. What’s left can’t stay in the rock. It’s too unstable. I could transfer it to myself, but we both know it’s too much for one person to hold.”

“That doesn’t mean it wants me to claim it.”

“It’s your magic, Kera. You’re still alive and it wants to be with you.”

Tears well up in her eyes. She tries to take her hand away, but I won’t let her. “We’ll make a proper Keeper of Life this time. Take it slow. You don’t even have to wear the necklace every day.”

“But I like wearing it.”

“It’s ugly.”

Distress wells up in her eyes. “I could have one of our artisans remount the stone.”

I drag my thumb through a tear rolling down her cheek. “The magic wants you and only you.”

The terror that simple fact causes catches me by surprise, and she says, “What if I try to hurt you again?”

And here I thought she was worried it would hurt her. “You won’t, and do you know how I know that?”

She shakes her head, but leans forward needing to hear.

“Someone filled with an amazing capacity to love told me that goodness will always triumph over evil.”

“When did I say that?”

“You didn’t. I think it was one of the fairy godmothers from
Sleeping Beauty
, but it doesn’t matter who said it. Whoever it was, the voice-over actor was right.” I place my hand over hers. “I won’t let you or anyone else hurt me. I promise.”

She bites her bottom lip, and her hand trembles under mine. “Never make a promise you can’t keep.”

I tip her face up until she looks into my eyes. With as much passion as I can muster, I say, “I can’t rule Teag alone. I need you. Not the broken person you’ve decided you should be, but the strong, amazing one I know you can be. I won’t let you hurt me. I promise.”

Though I’ve said basically the same thing since we realized all the magic Baun had taken from his people had been transferred into the rock when he’d died, for some reason, this time it clicks.

I lift my hand off hers. When she doesn’t move, I press my fingers to the rock and command the magic within to transfer into the amber. The rock glows an electric blue until I can see the delicate bones of Kera’s hand beneath her skin. The room grows unnaturally dark, and when the transfer is complete, everything slowly returns to normal.

She eases her hand away and lifts the amber from the rock that’s now a boring shade of brown and puts the necklace back on.

“How do you feel?” I ask.

“Like…me. How do I look?”

It really is the ugliest Keeper of Life, but she makes it look good. I throw her my best come-and-get-me look. “Like you want me to kiss you.”

She laughs and throws herself into my arms. “You read my mind. That’s convenient.”

I pour all of my love and hope and dreams into the kiss, and for once in my life, I know exactly where I belong. To Teag. To my family. To Kera.

I’ll never be alone again.

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