TWENTY-FIVE
Ten minutes later, Eamon and I emerge from the dense woods and step into a small clearing not much larger than our camp. “What is this place?” I ask.
“One of our training grounds,” Kyan answers. I look up to find everyone else assembled.
Bastien watches me, narrowing his eyes at Eamon’s hand pressed intimately against the small of my back. I step to the side, just enough to break contact, but Eamon shifts to take my hand in his.
“Glad you could finally make it,” Toren calls, rubbing his reddened fingers together for warmth. “We expected you nearly an hour ago.”
“Sorry. Someone decided to sleep half the day away.” Eamon looks fondly toward me and I glance away, only to find Bastien’s unreadable face. A coldness in his eyes warns me of his mood. He is obviously less than thrilled about Eamon joking about waking me up.
Kyan clears his throat and commands each of our attention. “I called you all out here to discuss our plans. Each of you are doing well with your training. I’m very pleased with how well you have stretched your abilities. They will serve you well in the war to come.”
I drop my head as guilt needles at me. I’m the only one not improving. Aminah’s ability to speak to minds has now expanded to sending mental images to anyone within a five-mile radius. Eamon can grasp an image of the future and manipulate it to see all angles at will. Toren’s speed has increased, Zahra can easily lead an animal rebellion and Bastien…he has been training outside of camp. I’m not even sure what his ability has grown into.
“Why are we discussing this now? Surely Drakon won’t attack in the dead of winter.”
“Perhaps not, Eamon, but we need to be planning. Weapons need to be stockpiled and more recruits need to be found. We can’t hope to win this war if we don’t have allies within the City boundaries. I will be heading back for duty soon, as well as many of the others, and we will begin to feel out our comrades.”
“And Illyria?” Bastien asks, purposely avoiding my gaze.
“She is struggling, I’ll admit that. I’m still trying to discover her trigger, but I’m positive we will sort it out. Until then, I need to know where all of you stand.”
“You mean whether or not we will let Illyria follow through with this harebrained suicide mission, you mean,” Eamon growls. “Well, I’m not going to let it happen.”
He winds his arm around my waist and pulls me close to his side.
Toren and Aminah’s voices rise to agree with Eamon. Zahra remains indifferent, but it’s Bastien’s silence that worries me the most.
Is there another way? I silently ask Kyan.
Not if you want to save your friends.
I suck in a deep breath and exhale slowly, preparing myself. Then I have no choice.
You always have a choice. Kyan turns to watch the heated argument surrounding him. Your friends love you.
They won’t understand.
Kyan turns to face me, listening to every tormented thought I am unable to express. He hears my fears, the pain choosing Eamon will cause and my concern about Aloysius seizing control of my powers. You will be ready to face anything Commander Drakon throws at you. I promise you that.
“This is my decision,” I say loudly. My friends instantly fall into a stunned silence. “I know the risks, but Kyan is right. We need to start planning.”
“You can’t be serious,” Eamon exclaims. “There’s no way I’m gonna let you near that man.”
“That’s not your decision.” I can feel my anger rising as his possessive nature kicks in. This is what I feared most about accepting him as something more than just a friend. I will belong to him in a way that will be suffocating to me.
Eamon looks around the group. “Isn’t anyone else with me? Toren? Aminah? You two are on my side, right?”
“Of course we are, Eamon,” Aminah soothes, casting an apologetic glance my way.
“What about you?” He stares pointedly at Bastien.
“I will support her desire,” he replies stiffly, unwilling to meet anyone’s gaze.
“Coward!” Eamon shouts. “You’re not even going to fight for her, are you?”
Bastien’s neck pops as his head jerks upright. The raw ferocity of his gaze pins Eamon in place. “This is Illyria’s decision to make. Not yours. Not mine.”
“She’ll make the wrong decision and you know it,” Eamon spits back.
Bastien snarls and leaps from his place to slam Eamon back into a tree trunk. “Have you even stopped to think about what this will do to Illyria? The fear and pain she will endure?” He shoves Eamon as he steps back. “All you think about is yourself.”
Eamon splutters, his face shifting through several shades of red.
“Do you even know what true love is?” Bastien says, breathing heavily as he fights to control his anger. “It’s letting the one you love go, even when you know it will destroy you. Are you man enough to do that?”
Eamon’s face drains of color, unable to break eye contact. Bastien doesn’t back down. “I didn’t think so.”
He walks straight past me, without even the slightest hint that he knows I am there. I clasp my arms around my waist, curling in on myself at his rejection. Is this the pain I will endure when I tell him the truth?
“That means nothing,” Eamon stammers. “I just think there’s another way.”
Bastien turns and looks upon him with pity. “If you think there is, then you’re a fool.”
Eamon bristles. “So you’ll just let her waltz into that psycho’s palace and marry him?”
“No.” Bastien’s eyes go dark as midnight. “I’ll kill him before he ever has a chance to touch her.”
My focus blurs, darkening around the edges as images flood my mind. My skin tingles and the hairs on my neck rise. The images come so fast I can barely grasp what I’m seeing. I see a palace, beautiful and gleaming with colors, so radiant I nearly have to squint. An older man approaches me, his head adorned with a crown. I catch a glimpse of myself in a floor length mirror, leaned against a wall. I hardly recognize myself.
My hair is piled atop my head, coiling down my bare back. A smaller but identical crown nestles on my own head. A delicate slip of silk drapes my slender frame, hardly covering anything at all.
Just over the King’s shoulder, I spy Bastien slipping in through the window. The image blurs as the King turns and tosses a knife. I try to look away, try to wash the image of Bastien’s blood spilling onto the floor from my mind, but I can’t.
Kyan? My mental voice sounds terribly shaken. What was that?
The future.
Will it happen just the way I saw? I hold my breath, praying that he will assuage my fears.
Yes.
My heart sinks into the pit of my stomach. No. I won’t let that happen.
Focus on today, Illyria. That future is still far off. We can deal with it later.
Kyan steps forward to silence everyone. “I’m here to train Illyria so that when the time comes she’ll be able to protect herself. The war has already begun among our people. We need to start the Rising, a rebellion of Caldonian and human brothers fighting side by side.”
He looks to me with undeserved pride. “She alone can restore peace to our people. That is worth fighting for, worth dying for.”
Toren rubs his chin, turning to scrutinize me. “If Illyria were captured during this raid, before she is ready, what would happen? How powerful is she really?”
Kyan appears reluctant to answer. Please, I call to him. I need to know.
He sighs. “I’m not sure there is any good way of explaining this. Okay, imagine your powers are like a pie. Each of you have been given a small sliver from that pie to use. But Illyria…” he pauses to close his eyes. “She is the pie.”
Eamon frowns. “I’m not following you.”
“My apologies. Perhaps I’m not explaining it right.” Kyan clears his
throat, scrunching up his forehead as he thinks.
“No,” Bastien says. “It makes sense. You’re saying that Illyria is the source…of all power?”
“Yes.” My mouth goes parched as Kyan smiles. “She is an anomaly that cannot be explained.”
“So that means─” Eamon pauses to glance at me. “We are all part of Illyria?”
“Oh great,” Zahra rolls her eyes.
“What does this mean exactly?” Toren asks, silencing Zahra.
“It means that she is capable of doing anything if she believes she can. Unlike us, she can adapt to any ability that she is presented with. You have already seen how she has mirrored Eamon’s gift of sight, Toren’s speed and she appears to have an usually strong connection with the weather. She’s adapting, learning.”
“Like a chameleon,” Aminah says. “She blends in with her surroundings, adapting to survive.”
“Exactly,” Kyan grins, looking relieved. “With enough time, Illyria will be able to mirror each of your abilities, but there is no end to what she can adapt to.”
“And if I can’t control it? What am I capable of?” I ask, drilling my gaze into Kyan.
He stiffens, working hard to avoid my direct eye contact. “Everything in the universe is bound to good and evil. Action and reaction. God vs. Satan. You get the picture. With Illyria, her own good and evil are battling.”
“And if the evil wins?” Eamon asks.
His frown deepens as he stares at the snow-covered ground. I wait, demanding an answer. When he finally meets my gaze, I can see the depth of his fear. “You could tear apart this entire planet if you lost control.”
My thoughts shatter in a million directions. Judging by Kyan’s pallid complexion, he isn’t joking, and that scares the crap out of me.
“Note to self: don’t tick off Illyria,” Eamon says.
“That’s a good point. How do we keep her under control?” Toren asks.
A growl rises in my throat as I glare at him. “I’m not a dog you can put a leash on, Toren.”
He raises his hands in defense. “I know. I’m not implying that. It’s just…there are a lot of people that live here, Illyria. Do you want to risk their safety?”
I grind my teeth as I shake my head. “No, of course not.”
“I’m in agreement with Illyria,” Kyan says, silencing the murmurs flitting around the group. “A cage will only fuel her anger. I think we need to let her be herself.”
Toren wraps his scarf tighter around his neck as the wind whips through the trees, sending gusts of snow swirling among us. “It’s nothing personal, Illyria. We just don’t want anyone to get hurt.”
“Yeah, I get it. Thanks for your vote of confidence,” I grumble under my breath. It hurts, more than I want anyone to know. Eamon pulls my hand into his and twines his fingers with mine.
From across the clearing, I sense a storm brewing within Bastien. The hairs on my arms rise as I look up to see Kyan and Bastien locked into a silent staring contest. My breath catches as Aminah’s face drains of color. She must be listening in.
What’s going on, Kyan? I ask tersely as Eamon and Toren continue to debate the implications my presence may have on the camp.
His face remains expressionless when he finally answers. It’s nothing to worry about.
Bastien’s thunderous face betrays his words. Tell me!
Kyan breaks off his staring match with Bastien to look at me but I am drawn toward Bastien. I gasp, shocked by the anguish marring his face. What did you tell him?
The truth.
I stare at Bastien, knowing this pain is the same I will be forced to endure each day that I pick Eamon over him. I want to smile at him, to give him some small reason to hope, but I can’t. My destiny forbids it.
Bastien’s face darkens as he turns and melts into the forest.
I’m sorry, Kyan whispers to my mind. He’s not coming back.
“No!”
Eamon’s fingers stiffen around my hand. “Illyria? What’s wrong?”
Rage mingles with disbelief. Bastien is the only one that truly believes in me.
Someone is shaking me but it’s hard to think past the aching in my chest. I can’t lose Bastien. I’m not strong enough right now to let him go.
“What’s wrong?” Eamon shouts at me.
“He’s gone,” I whisper.
Eamon looks around, confused. “Will someone tell me what the heck is going on?”
“Bastien left,” Kyan informs him flatly.
“What do you mean he left?” Toren steps into the center of group, searching the woods where Bastien stood.
“Why would he…” Toren trails off as he notices for the first time how intimately Eamon holds me.
The Shadow is coming and there is nothing I can do to stop it, even if I wanted to.
“Illyria?” Eamon calls. “Talk to me.”
The whispers rise and fall in my mind and a sense of foreboding calm falls over me. I swivel my head to the side just before the Shadow takes over. “You need to run.”
Eamon flinches back. “What? Why do I need to…” his face drains of color as the lavender in my eyes fades to obsidian.
“Good riddance, I say,” Zahra snorts, examining the dirt under her nails. “I don’t think I could stand another minute of Bastien’s moping.”
“Zahra, no!” Kyan’s warning comes too late.
Eamon flies through the air as I shove him out of my way and turn on Zahra. Energy flows through my veins and my hair crackles as it rises from my shoulders. I grin and stretch out my arms, curling my fingers. Zahra gags, clawing at her neck. Her eyes begin to bulge as I lift her high into the air, laughing at the gurgling whimpers that spill from her lips.
“You will never speak his name again,” I growl, slowly closing my fist.
“Illyria, no!” Kyan throws himself between us. Only the dilation of his pupils betrays his fear. “You don’t want to do this!”
“No?” I cock my head to the side, my voice low and guttural. “I’m pretty sure I do.”
“This isn’t you. It’s the Shadow controlling you. You must fight it,” he pleads.
My lips peel back as I bare my teeth at him. “I don’t have to do anything.”
With a flick of my wrist, Zahra careens through the air and slams into a large pine tree. Her screams cut off as she tumbles down through the boughs and falls limply to the ground. She groans, but doesn’t move.
Kyan takes a step toward her but I snatch him in my grasp. “I don’t think so. It’s not nice to spoil my fun.”
“Can you even hear yourself? This isn’t the Illyria I know.” Kyan struggles against my hold as thick dark clouds spill over the mountain and encircle us. The gentle winds become gusts as clouds swirl overhead.
“What is happening?” Toren shouts, cradling Aminah in his arms. Eamon inches toward Zahra on his hands and knees. A large welt has begun to form over his right eye where he hit face first against the ground.
Electricity crackles in the air, forking through the clouds overhead in brilliant white streaks. Thunder rolls in near constant waves.
“Toren,” Kyan cries over the winds, “get them out of here!”
My head swivels toward Toren and he shrinks back. “Oh god.”
I raise my hand and Toren tackles Aminah to the ground, rolling her behind a tree. “Fool! Do you really think a mere tree can stop me?”
I toss Kyan aside as I focus on the tree, easily yanking the ancient roots from the ground. Dirt pelts the clearing as I raise the tree and hurl it directly at my friends. Aminah’s shriek lances through my mind, but I ignore it, watching gleefully as Toren struggles to keep her out of harm’s way.
I uproot a second tree and take aim as Toren and Aminah reappear at Kyan’s side. “Get the girls out of here,” Eamon screams as I’m tackled from behind.
The instant he touches my skin, a j
olt of electricity floods through his body. He cries out, rolling off me. I grab a handful of his shirt and raise him into the air before me. “I told you to run. You should have listened.”
With a mighty howl, I hurl Eamon into the forest. The sound of his bones snapping against a tree trunk is lost to the winds.
Kyan glances up as I bear down on them. “Toren, go! Now!”
Aminah wraps her arms around his neck and they blur out of sight. I roll my head as I release a growl of rage that makes the trees shudder. Birds take flight as I throw out my hand and carve a path straight through the woods in the direction of the camp. Trees fly into the air, crashing back to the ground.
“They’re gone, Illyria.” Kyan says.
I turn and glare at Kyan. “Your bravery will get you killed one of these days, Kyan. Perhaps today is that day.”
He struggles to his feet, battered and bruised. His approach is slow and cautious. His gaze flickers over my shoulder, hardening at the sight of Eamon’s broken body. Both legs lie at awkward angles, one arms appear to be dislocated and a deep gash across his forehead pours blood. “Let him go.”
“Why should I?” I throw out my hand and send a gust of wind and snow slamming into Eamon, propelling him back into a tree. His nose spurts with blood as I release him and he crumples back to the ground.
Kyan takes another step, but I mentally shove him back fifteen feet. He slams to the ground, grunting as I hear some of his ribs crack. He struggles back to his feet, grimacing around the pain. “You love him, remember?”
Even through the torrent of whispers in my mind, I remember the truth of his words. “Yes.”
“Then why are you hurting him?” Kyan asks, struggling to rise to his knees.
I grin. “Because it’s fun.”
“This isn’t you!”
I swirl my hands overhead, gathering icicles from barren tree branches. Like a game of darts, I toss them at Kyan, savoring his pathetic dance with death. “You’re wrong, Kyan! This is exactly who I am.”
He cries out as an ice dagger penetrates his palm. Blood drips from his wound, staining the snow crimson. He rises slowly to his feet, clutching his hand to his chest, keeping it above his heart.
I lift my face to the sky, holding my hands aloft as the clouds darken, bringing night to the land. Lightning lashes out at the trees that surround the clearing. Blue flames race down the dampened trunks, searing the bark as it rapidly combusts.
“Take her!” Kyan shouts.
My head drops in time to see Toren rise with Zahra in his arms. He sends a pointed glare at me before disappearing again. Enraged, I sweep my hand and level an entire row of flaming trees. One slams into the ground only a few feet away from Eamon. Kyan lurches forward, hands outstretched toward him.
“Please stop,” he begs. “You’re going to kill him.”
A buzzing fills my ears as I look toward Eamon. For the first time, the whispers diminish and I see the destruction I have caused. He looks broken, like a child’s toy tossed aside. A tear slips down my cheek as flaming branches fall from the trees all around, spreading the flames to areas beyond the clearing.
“What have I done?” I whisper.
A loud splintering from above sends scorching debris raining down on Eamon. The top half of a tree rocks in the wind, groaning as it snaps free and plummets to the ground.
“No!” I wave my hand and redirect the winds to shelter Eamon. Kyan falls to his knees, stunned.
“Toren! Get them out of here!” I scream.
A blast of wind seconds later announces Toren’s arrival. His glare is unforgiving and I choke back a sob. “I don’t know how long I can hold the Shadow back. It’s too strong. You need to save them. Get as far away as you can!”
With a curt nod, Toren turns his back on me and races to Eamon’s side. My best friend’s moans of agony shred my heart.
“I’ll be back for you,” Toren calls to Kyan before he vanishes.
Kyan looks up at me from his crouched position, wary but hopeful. “Are you in control?”
“Barely.” I grit my teeth as the whispers rise again. “It’s too strong…”
“Fight back,” Kyan says, stepping closer. “You are stronger than you think you are.”
I shake my head, feeling like I’ve just been sucked into a cyclone of my own making. “You’re training isn’t working. I’m still dangerous.”
Another step forward. “It takes time, Illyria.”
“I don’t have time!” A gust slams into Kyan’s chest, doubling him over as he gasps for breath. “See? I’m already losing control!”
“You do,” Kyan chokes out. “This is your destiny.”
A snarl rips from my throat. “You want me to destroy Bastien. How is that some noble destiny?”
I thrust out my hands and pin Kyan to a tree. He howls as flames rain down upon his arm, singeing his shirt and the skin below.
“Illyria, no!”
I turn to find Toren facing off with me. His condemning eyes burn with anger and resentment. “Are you happy? You’re going to kill us all!”
Listen to him, Kyan weakly calls to me.
I bend over, screeching as I yank at my hair. Rasping laughter echoes through my mind as I’m mentally shoved aside. My lips curl into a snarl and I leer at Kyan. “Get out of my head!”
Toren dives for Kyan, rolling out of the way as sharp icicles hurl down at them from the sky, forcing them to retreat deeper into the burning forest. The icicles shatter upon impact.
With a great gust of wind, I thrust up into the air, hovering over the thawing ground. Lightning streaks across the darkened sky, darting from the clouds to set acres of forest on fire. Smoke burns my nostrils as I rise higher. Lifting my arms, I pull down rain from the heavens. Swirling my arms about me, I create a nearly invisible barrier, shielding me from the elements.
Toren and Kyan huddle behind a tree, drenched by the torrential downpour I unleash upon them.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” I taunt, rising into the air to see them.
“What are we going to do?” I hear Toren ask, his teeth chattering from the frigid rain. “We have to stop her.”
“We have to stop her,” I giggle obnoxiously. “Kyan can’t save you Toren. No one can.”
I watch as Kyan’s jaw tightens with resolve. He pushes off the tree with his one good arm and raises his hands in surrender. “You want me? Here I am.”
“So you are both brave and stupid,” I grin, hurling an ice spear at him. It pierces his shoulder. Kyan cries out, stumbling, but he rises up again despite Toren’s desperate pleas. Trails of blood wash away from the wound in the deluge of water falling from the sky.
“You’re afraid of me.”
“Of course I am,” Kyan says, yanking the spear from his shoulder. “You are far more powerful than I realized.”
I sneer down at him, sinking to hover ten feet in front of him. The trees about me explode, sending wooden shards into the air, pelting against my protective shield, but I am unaffected by their impact. “You’re no different than the rest of them. I know what you all think of me, what you say behind my back when you think I’m not listening.”
He ignores the sting of my words. “Fight back, Illyria. You are stronger than the Shadow.”
“No, she’s not,” a maniacal laugh erupts as I stretch my arms out to my sides. Rain patters off the shifting force field. It glows, pulsating with blinding white light. “No one can control me. No one can stop me.”
“I can.”
“Bastien?” I spin in mid-air, shocked to see him standing less than fifteen feet behind me. He doesn’t shift his gaze toward Toren as he sneaks out from under the trees. “Let her go.”
“No.” I barely recognize the deep grating growl passing my lips.
He steps forward with confidence. His eyes pierce through the shadow, straight to my soul. The whispers
shriek in my mind. “Fight back, Illyria.”
“I can’t,” I weep as I can feel the Shadow’s grasp pierce deep into my mind, anchoring down for a fight.
Bastien’s steps are steady, untainted by fear. “You have always been strong enough. You just have to believe it.”
Tears stream freely down my cheeks as I fight to hold onto a shred of my sanity. “You came back.”
Bastien nods. “I came back for you.”
His words pierce through me like a flaming arrow, scorching the Shadow as it flees. My body spasms as I wrench back control. The bubble around me dissipates and my eyes roll back into my head as I plummet to the ground, unconscious.