Defy

  Ariana half-expected him to swing it in a wide arc and take her head from her shoulders. Instead, he held it with the pommel extended toward her.

  “It is time to see whether you live,” Eirik intoned, “or whether these soldiers get to have their fun with you before Deimos finishes you off.”

  Swallowing, Ariana eyed the sword. She wouldn’t be able to lift the thing, so Eirik certainly wasn’t in any danger of her trying to attack him with it. But she didn’t know what the residual energy on the weapon would do to her. Still, there was no getting out of this. If she wanted any chance of surviving, she had to try.

  “You must put it down,” she said at last. Her voice was barely above a whisper. “Otherwise your energy will impact the results.”

  After giving her a long stare, he strode over to the table and set the sword on the length of stone. Ariana followed. Her gaze moved over to the wherlins of the daughters of Saraqael. Somehow, having even the images in the same chamber with her gave her strength. They had managed to defeat the most feared Mercesti regime in Estilorian history. She could do this.

  Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and cleared her thoughts. Although she didn’t know specifically what she sought, she brought a likely image to mind. Nine elders joined in thought and purpose. Energy cycling between them, growing with ferocity as they honed their focus. An unrolled length of parchment between them, its surface glowing with luminescent writing. Murmured words of power, unintelligible but potent. A searing flash symbolizing the culmination of their efforts.

  When she opened her eyes, there was a wash of lavender light in the dark chamber, indicating the use of her second power. She reached out and touched the sword’s pommel.

  Three separate lengths of lavender light speared out from the weapon.

  Three? she thought in dismay.

  “Can you find the scroll?” Eirik asked.

  Her heart thrummed as she considered the reason for the different paths of light. Perhaps one path led to the place where the idea of the scroll had been conceived. Another could lead to where it had been created. And the third might just be the one that led to the scroll itself. Her second power didn’t usually track things in this manner, but this was by far the most powerful and mysterious object she had ever tried to find. She supposed anything was possible.

  Deimos stepped closer and closer the longer she hesitated, escalating her fear. The truth was, she had no idea whether any of the three paths led to what Eirik sought. They could lead to objects entirely unrelated to the scroll.

  So she did the only thing she could. She lied through her teeth.

  Taking a bracing breath, she replied, “Yes. I can take you to the scroll.”

  PART III:

  Obtain

  Obtain [v. uhb-teyn]: To come into possession of; get, acquire or procure,

  as through an effort or by a request: to obtain permission.

  Chapter 26

  Tate wasn’t entirely sure how to interpret Sparky’s sudden departure after he saved her from the korrigans. Just when he was surely about to agree to send Nyx after her, he disappeared. Maybe he had been unable to maintain his connection to her for some reason, she guessed. She stood there for several minutes in case he tried to reconnect with her, but in the end, he didn’t return.

  She put it from her mind, knowing Nyx would find her eventually.

  So off she went, toting her fishing pole and the slayer grass knife with her. Because she was handier with her nunchucks than with a blade, she created a slot for the knife in the lining of her wet boot and carried it there. It was thin, so it slid nicely between the thick layers of leather.

  Although she’d just about drowned and she still had no idea where she was or how she’d ever find her way home, she started her hike with more confidence and optimism than she had the day before. She’d managed to survive so far on her own—well, with Sparky’s help. If her luck held, she’d come across some Waresti she could approach to get her to Central, where someone would surely know how to contact her parents.

  That didn’t mean she could afford to be less vigilant, she reminded herself as she trekked through the forest. Where there were Waresti, there could also be Mercesti. She shuddered to think what could happen if she ended up at the mercy of the dark ones.

  When she had dried enough, she paused to style her hair, placing her shift-cloak over her shoulders for ease in transporting the garment once she was done. Then she continued on, keeping a careful eye out for food.

  She emerged cautiously from the edge of the forest about an hour later. Before her was a vast, sunlit expanse of green, vine-like plants. Curious, she moved cautiously from the cover of the trees to examine the plants.

  Strawberries.

  After staring at the bright red fruit for a moment to convince herself she wasn’t imagining things, Tate jumped up and down and spun around in a maniacal form of dance. Her skirt-cloak floated around her shoulders as she held back a loud whoop of joy. Then she laid her fishing pole on the ground and started picking and eating the ripe and delicious fruit.

  Normally, she wouldn’t have needed more food the day after eating a meal. But the rather small fish hadn’t been very satisfactory, and she suspected that it had been quite some time since her last proper meal. The strawberries were like a miracle on her tongue.

  She knew better than to overdo it, however. If she ate too much of the sweet fruit too quickly, her stomach would likely cramp up on her. After eating enough to satisfy her, she used some more fabric from her skirt to create a pouch and then gathered as many berries as she could carry. Tying the pouch to the end of her fishing pole, she slung it over her shoulder and then continued her march.

  The ground rose steadily throughout her hike that day. Her calves burned and the air cooled. She wasn’t sure how wise it was to be deliberately moving to a colder environment when she lacked any clothing with which to warm herself. But she couldn’t see turning around at that point.

  When she reached the outer edge of the strawberry field, she realized the ground dipped down for a bit before leveling out and then rising again.

  And from there it went up. And then up some more.

  Holy crap. She had reached a mountain.

  Zachariah had fully planned on remaining in the nice, plentiful glade for at least a couple of days. When he woke up after the single night and adventure-filled morning spent trapped in a dream with a stubborn, fluffy-haired vixen, however, he changed his mind.

  “Come along, Nyx,” he said as he picked up his satchel. “Perhaps if we leave this place, she will leave me alone.”

  He knew that made no sense, seeing as they had connected with each other a number of times in various locations, but he felt a pressing need to move on.

  The water-soaked silhouette of the female’s form had burned itself into his memory. He knew her scent wasn’t actually clinging to his clothes, yet he swore he could detect the fresh lemony essence when he sniffed his tank top. His side where she had slept against him in the dream felt warmer than his other side when he awoke. It was all crazy and nonsensical and—he could admit it—just a little terrifying.

  As he started off with Nyx, he deliberately focused all of his attention on their trail. He told himself it was to ensure they didn’t stumble upon any Waresti or Mercesti. It most certainly wasn’t because he was avoiding thinking about the fact that he had implied that he would send Nyx after the blasted female.

  “I just had to use the bloody antitoxin,” he muttered. Then shut up when he reminded himself he wasn’t thinking about it.

  They walked for nearly an hour in no particular direction. Nyx’s companionable silence was quite welcome after the long night and stressful morning. As they eventually emerged from the forest to a vast meadow, a rather strange sensation overtook him. An intense lightness of spirit surged through him, making his chest feel like it was swelling. The muscles of his face had the unmistakable urge to curve upward. He staggered to a halt in the meadow and b
linked in surprise.

  He felt…what, exactly? Her thought sprang into his head: happy.

  Realizing that she was funneling the feelings to him through their damned connection, he tried to counter it. For some reason, he couldn’t.

  Glancing at Nyx, who stood nearby watching him with her ageless gaze, he said, “She is not happy because she expects you to come find her. I am certain it is for an entirely unrelated reason.”

  Nyx gave him a slow blink.

  “Damn and blast,” he growled as he paced, reaching up and rubbing his hands roughly through his hair. “I already gave her back her life, did I not? Why is that not enough?”

  Back and forth he paced, working hard to convince himself to drop it and move on. She was the fool who believed he was a model Gloresti who cared about another Estilorian’s well-being enough to send his one and only companion after her. He hadn’t actually promised to send Nyx. He had merely mentioned it was a possible option. If she had chosen to believe otherwise, that was none of his concern. Why would he give two damns about some female he barely knew?

  He didn’t. And that was that.

  But he found himself jerking to a halt, giving his hair one last tug of frustration over his own weakness. Then he turned to Nyx.

  “I have no idea where she is,” he said. “But she needs help. She said she cannot fly. You know where you snatched her and can surely return her wherever she needs to go. Then she can stop harassing me while I sleep.”

  He felt calmer after talking it over with his companion. Now he understood why he was relenting and sending the kragen after the female. It was for his own bloody peace of mind. She would then leave him be.

  “Go find her and return her to her home,” he instructed. “But try not to get yourself discovered. Stick to the ground during daylight hours if you can. If anyone saw you grab her, they could be looking for you.”

  Nyx gave a nod. She was an intelligent creature. He didn’t doubt her abilities in the least. Reaching out, he gave his friend a rub on the neck.

  “Thank you.”

  With one more flash of her diamond eyes, the kragen turned and hurried out of the meadow. For her size, she was a remarkably stealthy creature when she wanted to be. Sighing, Zachariah sat down in some high grass so that he was relatively hidden. Then he closed his eyes and focused.

  It took a few minutes to clear his mind, but before long, he was mentally striding along a low mountain ridge with the dream-female in his sights. Her hair was once again piled on her head and accented with its various colorful and glittering adornments. She wore that ridiculous bright green garment around her neck and a cloth bearing some kind of richly-scented fruit slung over her shoulder.

  “Have you completely lost your mind?” he demanded.

  She jumped a foot and issued what sounded like a squeak. Whirling, she faced him, a bright smile lighting her face. “Hi, Sparky.”

  “You could catch the eye of half the Estilorian plane wearing this thing,” he snapped, walking right up to her and untying the cloak from around her neck.

  “I—”

  “Any Mercesti in the area will be drawn to you like a beacon,” he interrupted, holding up the piece of clothing and examining the underside of it.

  “But—”

  “You should be wearing it with this lighter side facing out.” He briskly whipped the garment back around her and started refastening it. “It is practically white, and up here in the mountainous areas will blend in better.”

  “Well—”

  “And unless you want to attract a trail of bears or similar animals that could slay you where you stand, you should dispose of this ripe fruit at the first possible opportunity.”

  They stood staring at each other for a long moment. He waited for her to respond to his logical statements. She seemed to be waiting for him to say something else. Raising an eyebrow, he crossed his arms and waited.

  “You touched me,” she said at last.

  “I…”

  He trailed off. He had touched her. But he was only a projection. That shouldn’t have been possible.

  She walked up to him and tried to touch him. Her hand passed right through him.

  “Wow,” she said, her brilliant eyes wide. “I guess when you’re really passionate about something, Sparky, you have the ability to partly manifest yourself.”

  Passionate? About her?

  He snorted. “You talk foolishness. Such a thing is not possible. Transferring oneself from one location to another merely through thought?”

  “Oh, I definitely wouldn’t say that’s impossible.”

  Her smile puzzled him. It was as though she knew something he didn’t. Frowning, he said, “I am here to inform you that Nyx is on her way. I told her to collect you and return you back to wherever it is she took you from.”

  “Of course you did,” she said with a small wave of her hand. “I trusted you to do what you said you would. Thanks, Sparky.”

  Her continued faith in him both baffled and irritated him. He was undeserving of it, and he didn’t like how she made him examine himself and look closely at what he’d become. Stepping away from her, he prepared to drop the connection, silently vowing to stay away from her from there on out.

  Before he did, he caught her gaze and said, “Trust me when I say that you should never trust me, Beautiful.”

  Chapter 27

  The reestablished connection to Tate pulled Tiege right out of sleep. It had taken him longer than usual to fall asleep once they returned to the camp after making the decision to split up. He had lain awake wondering what he had gotten them all into.

  Sending Quincy and Sophia off on their own to rescue some random female from a group of Lord-knew-how-many Mercesti seemed completely idiotic.

  And absolutely necessary.

  Not a single one of them was content to leave another being at the mercy of the group who had slain females in such a brutal manner. Once Tiege managed to convince himself that splitting up was the right thing to do and that Quincy and Sophia were resourceful and clever enough to pull off the rescue, he couldn’t help but worry that the mystery female would already be dead by the time they got to her.

  Between these thoughts and his continued worry about Tate, his head didn’t clear enough to allow sleep until the sun was already lightening the sky. He’d probably only slept for about an hour when Tate’s connection had his eyes once again opening.

  “Hey there,” Clara Kate said from her position on a nearby log. She secured the lid on the waterskin as he sat up and caught her gaze. “You rested enough to move on?”

  “Yeah,” he said, battling back a yawn. He was still tired, but he wanted to get moving.

  She nodded. “Good. Ini-herit walked with Quincy and Sophia to that clearing. He wanted to look at the tracks again in the light to make sure he correctly interpreted them. Then he’s going to send Quincy and Sophia off after the female captive.”

  “Okay.”

  Tiege got to his feet and stretched a bit. The air was cool and fresh. A light fog was already burning off, but it gave the trees around them a misty quality. It suddenly felt as though they were in the middle of a dream. How had things gotten so off-course in just a matter of weeks?

  “Do you remember the first time we had a family camping outing?” C.K. asked as she shifted the recently doused cinders with her booted foot.

  He couldn’t help but smile as he glanced at her. “Yeah.”

  “You, me and Tate skipping rocks at the pond while Soph measured and tracked the distances.”

  “Eating food off sticks over an open fire for the first time.”

  “Sleeping on the ground and thinking it was the best thing ever.”

  “Yeah,” Tiege said again. He glanced around at the patch of grass and earth that had served as their bed last night. “What were we thinking?”

  She grinned briefly, then looked toward the trees where the others had gone as her expression sobered. “It’s funny how eager we all we
re to grow up. Now, here we are, coming of age. And all I want to do is go back to that campout when we were little kids and only had to call out to our parents if we needed anything.”

  Tiege knew just what she meant. Before he could respond, however, their conversation was curbed by Ini-herit’s return.

  “We were correct about the direction taken by the Mercesti,” said the Corgloresti elder. “Assuming they maintained their course and remained on foot, Quincy and Sophia should be able to catch them later today or early tomorrow. They will have to stop at night to ensure they do not overlook any tracks that could help direct them.”

  C.K. and Tiege both nodded.

  “Is your connection with Tate reestablished, then?” he asked Tiege.

  “Yeah. We’re ready to roll.”

  After dealing with the fastening of the flight harness, during which time Tiege adamantly wished he could fly on his own, they set off. Without Sophia to scout for them, they flew as carefully as possible. Ini-herit and Tiege took the lead, flying among the trees whenever possible. Tiege paid careful attention to how the Corgloresti elder moved his wings as well as his body as they maneuvered between narrow gaps in the branches and skimmed over pine boughs.

  They had to stop a couple of times to walk through expanses of land with very little cover. Ini-herit didn’t want to risk them being seen. At mid-day, they paused near a spring to refresh themselves. C.K. refilled the waterskin and snacked on the last apple. Ini-herit stood without moving, his arms crossed and his eyes on C.K. Tiege still wondered what was up between the two of them, but it was hardly any of his business and he wasn’t about to ask.

  “The connection to Tate is very strong now,” he said. “I practically feel like I could talk to her if I wanted to.”

  “Why do you not?” Ini-herit asked.