But she wouldn’t leave Tate.
When she felt Metis touch her head, she kept her gaze on Tiege in hopes he could see her more clearly than she saw him.
Then she whispered, “I’m sorry.”
Sophia, Quincy, Clara Kate and Ini-herit were right behind Derian and Melanthe on the battlefield, so they all piled into the library after Tiege and Zachariah. Melanthe raced ahead of them, following the map inside her head.
“Wait!”
The order came from Quincy. Sophia staggered to a stop beside him, confused. When she got a good look at his face, she finally realized just how difficult this must be for him. He appeared to be having some kind of flashback. It had his complexion going pale and his silver eyes unfocused. Her heart wrenched over what had to be painful memories.
He explained, “Assuming they’ve reached the scroll piece, they’ll be far from here…at least an hour by foot.”
When everyone looked at each other, he extended his wings. “I remember now.”
No one argued. Going against the rules of the Elphresti, they all took flight. Although she felt a strong urge to get ahead of everyone else and fly faster, Sophia stayed back with Quincy, Clara Kate and Ini-herit, letting Melanthe serve as the guide. Derian, Tiege and Zachariah flew beside her in a staggered pattern so their wings didn’t touch. All of them had their weapons drawn.
Within a couple of minutes, they spotted Eirik standing with a piece of parchment in one hand and a black kris in the other. The low timbre of his voice carried to them, though they couldn’t make out the words. Those were followed by a high-pitched voice that Sophia assumed was Metis. The female wasn’t visible.
Neither were Tate and Ariana.
When she realized how far they still were from her cousin and friend, a surge of energy rushed through her. It wasn’t unlike the one that had overtaken her when she killed Bertram as a panther. Her instinct to shift was nearly unstoppable.
But she knew Quincy wanted her to stay with him. Although they hadn’t had much time to discuss it, she saw how much her disappearance had cost him.
She must have made a sound that alerted him, as he suddenly looked over at her. She could almost feel herself vibrating with the need to shift. The need to help Tate and Ariana. When she caught his gaze, she saw the glow of her eyes reflected in his irises.
“Do it,” he said.
That was all the encouragement she needed. Diving, she headed straight to an aisle. A few feet from the ground, she shifted into a cheetah. Her clothes and armor fell into a forgotten heap as she surged ahead. She shot past stacks of books and scrolls. Elaborate bookcases passed in a blur. The only thing imprinted on her mind was the path to Tate and Ariana, and she knew she could get to them.
“Ariana!” Tiege shouted from somewhere far behind her.
She was nearly there. Just one more stack of bookcases…
“Run!”
The urgency in Tiege’s voice had Sophia flinging herself around the last bend. To her left, she saw Eirik with his hand on Deimos’ shoulder. Ariana sat on the ground in front of him with Tate’s upper body cradled in her arms. Metis was missing, but Sophia couldn’t worry about that. Deimos touched Ariana’s head, his mouth moving as he chanted.
Even as Sophia leaped from the side with the intent of tearing into Eirik, she heard Ariana whisper, “I’m sorry.”
Sophia’s flight through the air didn’t have her sinking her teeth into flesh, however. It had her crashing spectacularly.
Eirik and Metis were gone, and they had taken Tate and Ariana with them.
Chapter 43
“No!”
Tiege’s cry echoed through the vast library. Quincy felt the torment behind the single word.
They had come so close. But they had failed.
When they finally reached the place where Eirik had stood with the scroll piece, Quincy saw Sophia in her cheetah form investigating the large red stains on the ground. Some of them were Tate’s blood, but the rest were all that remained of Deimos. Having been on the ground, she had missed the gruesome sight of Metis standing over the evil creature, absorbing his essence like another being would air in her lungs, until the stain was all that remained.
Squatting beside her, he touched her head and explained, “That was Deimos. Metis has assumed his form…likely so that she could get them out of here.”
Melanthe approached. With a flash of red light, she generated a pile of clothing. “Sophia,” she said in a soft voice, “I can aid you in dressing if you would like.”
When the two females moved behind a series of tall bookcases, Derian walked along with them to stand guard. Since there was no one in the library outside of them, Quincy figured this was habitual for the Mercesti. As he got to his feet, he realized everyone was standing around as though in a state of shock. He supposed they were.
Moving closer to the pedestal that he once approached while Saraqael hunted for a solution to save the love of his life, he felt transported back to that moment. He had seen a glow from the pedestal, one that caught his eye and had him lifting up the parchment he found there and reading it. It was at that moment that a bright light flashed from where Saraqael sifted through scrolls. Quincy hadn’t known it at the time, but his friend had just sealed his fate.
And in so doing, secured the futures of many others.
“This was where the scroll piece used to be,” Quincy said after a moment. He lifted a page of the large book housed there. “Eirik definitely has it now.”
He glanced up when he heard Sophia and Melanthe emerging from behind the bookcases. Just as he turned to face them, Zachariah shoved past him. With blazing red eyes, the Mercesti heaved the heavy stone pedestal with all of his strength. The book flew through the air, its brittle pages scattering like autumn leaves. Stone fell to the ground with a deafening crack.
Even as the sound careened through the library, Zachariah punched the closest bookcase, splintering the wood. Then he struck it again.
“Zachariah,” Tiege said.
The Mercesti was beyond reason, however. He reared back to strike the bookcase again, his knuckles wet with blood. Tiege reached up and grabbed the other male’s arm.
“Stop it! She wouldn’t want this.”
Using his larger size to his advantage, Zachariah shoved Tiege to the ground. Even as the Kynzesti fell, Zachariah went with him, ending up on one knee with his fist raised to strike Tiege.
“Sparky!”
That stopped him.
Quincy glanced at Sophia, who had spoken the word. She stopped next to him and took his hand, but her gaze was centered on Zachariah.
“Think about what you’re doing,” she said quietly. “You’re not honoring Tate this way.”
Zachariah released Tiege. His chest rose and fell as he caught his breath. The intensity of his gaze eased, even if his pain did not.
Staring at Sophia, he said, “Do not ever call me that again.”
She nodded. Quincy gave her hand a squeeze. Then his gaze moved back to Zachariah, who remained on one knee even as Tiege regained his feet. The Mercesti braced his left forearm on his bent knee as he reached down to touch a small pool of blood with his right hand. After a moment, he bowed his head and covered his eyes with his left hand.
With a similar devastated expression on his face, Tiege reached out to touch Zachariah’s shoulder. Seeing the gesture, Clara Kate put a comforting hand on Tiege’s arm. Fascinated, Quincy watched his elder tilt his head in consideration. After a brief hesitation, Ini-herit tentatively touched Clara Kate’s other hand. Without missing a beat, she wove her fingers with his. Sophia then reached out with her free hand to give Ini-herit a pat of appreciation for making the gesture.
Silver light flared. Quincy squinted against it, tensing as he wondered what was happening. When the brilliance of the light eased, he opened his eyes. What—or rather, who—he saw had his heart dropping into his stomach.
“Saraqael.”
The shimmering image of the
dark-haired young man standing before them gave him a familiar smile. Sophia gasped upon hearing her grandfather’s name. Zachariah got to his feet. Everyone stared at the image with a range of emotions on their faces. Quincy realized Saraqael was dressed just like he had been the last time they were in this library…a white shirt with dark pants and knee-high boots.
“Yes, my old friend,” he said. His voice had emotion clogging Quincy’s throat. “I have a connection with this place. It is so good to see you, even under such terrible circumstances.”
“How…” Quincy trailed off, uncertain what to ask. What to say. His thoughts seized as he tried to accept what he saw.
“I am here because the six of you joined in touch and grief,” Saraqael said, looking among them. “Your connection was powerful enough, you see.”
No, Quincy didn’t see. But Saraqael had settled his gaze on Sophia. His sharp silver eyes moved to where her hand connected with Quincy’s. For the first time, Quincy worried what his best friend thought about his feelings for his granddaughter.
“Sophia,” Saraqael said with another smile. “It is nice to meet you, granddaughter.”
“Yes. Um, hello,” she replied, clearly dazed.
“Your beauty and intelligence are just staggering,” he said, bringing a blush to Sophia’s cheeks. “It makes me wonder what you see in Quincy.”
When Quincy’s jaw dropped over the unexpected, playful dig, Saraqael winked at him. Then he looked back at Sophia and said, “It warms my heart to see the two of you together. Please allow me and your grandmother to congratulate you.”
The words had the invisible band of emotion around Quincy’s chest easing. While he had never expected to have the chance to ask his friend’s blessing, it was a relief to have it.
“Oh,” Saraqael continued. “I also thought you might like to know that your great aunt has blonde hair.”
That had Sophia’s eyes widening. “She does?”
“Yes. Your grandmother was not an only child, after all.”
Quincy blinked in surprise. Before he could pursue that, Saraqael turned, crossed his right arm over his chest and bowed.
“Archigos Ini-herit,” he greeted. “Thank you for all you have done to protect my legacy. I know that above all others, you have sacrificed the most to be here right now.”
The elder lifted a chin in response, his expression revealing nothing.
Then Saraqael turned his gaze to C.K. “Clara Kate…my love’s namesake and my firstborn grandchild.”
“That’s me,” she managed.
“Your part in this journey has not yet begun, but you have done whatever you could to aid your cousins in theirs. I applaud you. You make all of us proud.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, her eyebrows lowering in confusion. “Do you know what’s going on here?”
“Of course I do.” Here, he turned somber eyes to Tiege and Zachariah. “I am so sorry for your loss.”
The words fell like hammer blows, causing everyone to grow quiet. Quincy couldn’t think of a thing to say. Their failure to save Tate and Ariana weighed heavily on all of them.
“Loss?” Sophia echoed at last. She looked up and caught Quincy’s gaze. He shook his head.
“Yes, of course,” Saraqael replied. “Tate—”
“Isn’t dead,” Sophia interrupted. “I know the scent of death. Her blood didn’t carry it.”
Saraqael briefly bowed his head in acknowledgement before saying, “I was only going to say that Tate and Ariana are lost to you…for now. But you must get to them soon. Eirik will begin to piece together what the scroll contains and realize how much more of a role all of you will play in this.”
Quincy’s head reeled as he continued processing the fact that he was standing there having this conversation. Still, his voice freed up enough to ask, “Do you know what the scroll pieces say?”
“I know what the piece contained here says, but I do not know the location of the last piece.” Saraqael once again smiled. “Archigos Ini-herit’s map will help you find that one.”
They all looked at the Corgloresti elder, who shrugged.
“The one you wear around your neck,” Saraqael added.
Reaching under his shirt, Ini-herit pulled out the medallion he wore. Quincy had seen it many times. It contained a series of etched images in a variety of colors, resting on a silver background. None of it looked much like a map to his mind, but then again, he hadn’t known to look at it in that light.
“You might have been willing to have the location of the scroll piece erased from your mind, sir,” Saraqael said, “but you were smart enough to give yourself a backup plan.”
Clara Kate nodded, clearly not surprised. “Okay. How do we read the map?”
“That, I cannot say.”
Frowning, Tiege asked, “What did the scroll piece contained in this library say?”
“I will recite from the beginning that which I know:
“Should time and Fate both dictate
That nine Elders become eight
Let not their power and sway
Fade like the light of the day.
~ - ~
By this scroll may power flow
So another’s skill may grow
And from eight will one become
Mightier than anyone.
~ - ~
To unfurl the force herein
Eight journeys must now begin;
Once separate and undefined
Different paths somehow align.
~ - ~
One most pure in blood and soul,
One with too much self-control,
One conceived of age and might,
One who dwells ‘tween dark and light.”
As Saraqael recited the scroll, his gaze moved among them line by line: Quincy. Ini-herit. Clara Kate. Zachariah. When he stopped speaking, he waited for them to look between each other while they absorbed the meaning of the words.
After a moment, Clara Kate cleared her throat. “You’re saying that we’re all part of the eight needed to unfurl the scroll’s power?”
Her voice was thin, as though she had trouble accepting the words as they left her mouth. Quincy could hardly blame her. Even having been prepared for this by the guesses posed by Malukali and Knorbis, it still blew him away. But the scroll’s descriptions did fit. He was also willing to bet his right arm that the last scroll piece would describe Sophia, Tate, Tiege and Ariana. Their fates had been unavoidably woven together from the moment Nyx first snatched Tate out of the sky and carried her to Zachariah as a gift.
“Yes,” Saraqael replied. “You must get to Tate and Ariana as soon as possible.”
They all exchanged looks. There had never been a doubt about that, though the question remained how they would ever find them. Metis could have transported them anywhere on the plane with her new ability.
“My time is done, and I must go,” Saraqael said, pulling Quincy’s attention back to him.
The words were surprisingly less painful than Quincy would have thought, though they did make his throat constrict. Sophia’s fierce grip on his hand helped. When his friend gave him one last smile, Quincy finally got to say the words he’d never really had the chance to more than forty years ago.
“Goodbye, my friend.”
Chapter 44
No one spoke as they once again defied the rules of the Elphresti and took flight inside the library. Zachariah was sure to get in trouble for the destruction he caused, but they had much bigger things to worry about. First and foremost, they needed to come up with a plan to rescue Tate and Ariana.
They all had a lot to absorb. Sophia now knew she was one of the eight beings meant to somehow activate the power of the Elder Scroll. The pieces that Eirik currently held might not say as much, but it wasn’t a huge leap of logic to conclude that she, Clara Kate, Tate, Tiege, Quincy, Ini-herit, Zachariah and Ariana were involved in this for a reason. Their connection to each other, rocky and uncertain as it was, had grown
over the past couple months. Somehow, every step they had taken up until then felt mapped out…fated, as though it was all leading them to some significant point. Although she didn’t have much evidence to support her deduction, she felt confident in it.
Her gaze continually moved to Quincy. Their interaction with her grandfather had shaken all of them, but him most of all. His expressions had ranged from shock to sorrow to joy as they communicated for the first time in nearly forty years. Now, he looked contemplative.
They all had to come to terms with what they had just been told. It would be up to them to embrace this destiny and do whatever was required to stop Eirik from using the scroll for his own evil purposes. Whether they could then destroy it to avoid this ever happening again was unknown. But Sophia knew they had to try.
When they reached the entrance to the library, Zachariah led the way out. His expression was stony, but she had witnessed the pain he experienced over losing Tate. She had no doubt that he loved her. If his emotional reaction hadn’t convinced her, the ring he wore and the changes to his pairing marking certainly would have.
Obviously, some events had occurred during her absence that she had yet to learn.
When Zachariah gave the all-clear, they exited out the small opening. Sophia looked around as she emerged, blinking against the sunlight. Although the day was fading, the light was still painful on the eyes compared to the energy balls they created below-ground.
She couldn’t believe the carnage. Eyes wide, she watched the Waresti and Derian’s Mercesti moving among the many bodies lining the ground. Enough time hadn’t yet passed for the bodies to begin dissolving into colored sand. The extensive violence exhibited on the field around them had Sophia feeling weak in the knees.
Quincy reached out and put an arm around her. It gave her strength, as did the sight of Clara Kate and Ini-herit hurrying to see if they could assist the injured.
“You have your healing supplies?” she asked.
“Yes,” Quincy replied.
“Then let’s make ourselves useful.”
They spent more than two hours moving from one being to the next, treating a range of injuries as Ini-herit’s silver healing energy glowed. The elder couldn’t heal Mercesti, so Quincy’s skills were highly in need. Sophia had learned enough from him over the years to serve as an effective nurse. She found herself treating almost as many injuries as he did.