“It isn’t one spell. There is a final spell that would need to be cast at the end – the one that rips the realms asunder. That one doesn’t change, but before that spell can be cast certain requirements must be met. The problem we have is there are a lot of ways and a lot of roads to get things ready for that spell.” Wulver’s jaw tightened, and certainty once again infused his demeanor. “Bottom line is you are in danger. We still don’t know why you’ve been targeted, and all the paths we’ve traveled thus far have led to dead ends. With you here, maybe together we can figure this out. Isn’t that why you were going to meet us tonight, to get some answers?”
“Yes, by talking and working together,
not
to be treated like a criminal. I came to you in good faith, to answer questions and open up my life to you so we could get answers together. But now I’m in jail and while you can take your sweet time figuring out what’s going on, my life will be in shambles. Isn’t that special?”
“I promise I’ll get you home as soon as possible.”
“Forgive me for saying that your promises don’t mean squat.”
He drew in a deep breath, his eyes searching hers, as though he was trying to figure out how she worked, at least enough to say something that would have her agreeing to stay by her own free will.
The door creaked and opened and a man entered. He had curly ginger hair with sideburns and was wearing jeans and scuffed up tennis shoes, with a grey t-shirt under a battered dark brown leather jacket. He walked over to Wulver, leaning close and whispering into the leader’s ear.
Wulver’s eyebrows furrowed and he shifted to stare at ginger boy, seeking confirmation without words for whatever was heard. Ginger’s mouth turned down and he nodded, then left the room.
Laire, Fallon, and Aislynn looked on in curiosity. Not a sliver of sound reached Larissa, but from the way Wulver’s mouth tightened and his eyes narrowed, she knew he didn’t like what he heard.
Wulver’s eyes settled back on her. “For having the cleanest record I’ve ever seen in my life, a whole lot of people want to meet you. What is your secret?”
“Wulver,” Fallon called, “What’s going on?”
Yes please, what the hell is happening now?
Wulver sighed. He closed his eyes and scrunched up his face, the way people do when they’re expecting an explosion. “The Oracle has summoned her.”
“
Ah, hell no!
” Fallon said, and Wulver really could have warned her about the volume Fallon could achieve, at least given her some ear plugs. “What do you mean summon? We only got her to the safety of the compound.”
Wulver stood, facing the swordswoman. “The Oracle commands that Larissa be brought to her at moonrise.”
“The Oracle can also feel the backside of my boot.”
Anyone who irritated Fallon that much couldn’t be all bad. This might be fun. And hey, she was an Oracle – hence the name. Maybe answers would finally be forthcoming.
Larissa stood, looking to Wulver. “Can she tell me why all this has been happening to me? Is that why she wants to see me?”
Wulver didn’t look like he believed that was a possibility, but after a moment he plastered on a smile and said, “I don’t know why you’ve been called, but yes, the Oracle may give you some answers.”
“Wouldn’t count on it,” Fallon muttered.
Wulver pinned his gaze to Fallon, command and authority in his bearing. Yes, this man was leader here. “She is to go to the Oracle.”
Do you understand?
was not said, but Larissa felt it floating in the air.
Fallon crossed her arms over her chest, slouching back against the mirror. “Yeah, got it.”
Wulver left the room. The second the door closed after him Laire started jumping, a huge smile on her face and her body shaking in repressed excitement. “I’ll go, I’ll go, I’ll go. You don’t even like the Oracle. Let me.”
Before the first words were out of Laire’s mouth, Fallon started to shake her head, and as soon as the green-haired woman took a breath, Fallon used it as her opportunity to say, “No way.”
“Please please
please
.”
“Let me rephrase. No way in hell.”
Laire stopped jumping, a small pout coming to her lips. How she had been able to prevent an ankle fracture while jumping on those spikes, Larissa would never know. “Why not?”
“Because if they have an orgy going on, you’ll want to join. And if they don’t have an orgy going on, you’ll want to start one. I’ll take Aislynn with me.” Fallon looked over at Larissa. “Congratulations. You are about to do something many mortals dream about but few get to experience. You’re about to meet the Oracle.”
The acolyte was a young elf male, no more than hundred years. His hair was shorn in the way of all those newly pledged to their necromancer master while the scar pattern on his chest marked to those who knew the symbols who his master was. His eyes gleamed with a feral and fierce devotion, one the gargoyles had yet to crack.
Terak stood before him as he had the last several hours. “I ask again, why are you here trespassing on our lands? Your master knows my kind are resistant to your magic, so it is not in his best interest to court the wrath of Gargoyles.”
The high-pitched giggle teetered on the edge of sanity. “Perhaps my Master knows he has nothing to fear from a Gargoyle obsessed with a worthless human woman. Tell me, Gargoyle, is what’s between her legs so unique that you let it take you away from your Clan?”
There was nothing Terak wanted more than to feel flesh fall beneath his claws, but long training kept him still. This was the most the acolyte had offered all day. There would be time for vengeance later. Now there were only answers to be found. “Not so worthless. You have been unstoppable in your quest for her. Why should only necromancers possess that type of power?”
For the first time, a gleam of intelligent cunning peeked out from behind the madness. “You don’t even know her secret.”
“I know you want her so badly you go directly against the Guild to collect her. What else do I need to know to realize her worth?” Only when the words were spoken did Terak realize their truth. He had been so focused on the necromancers and the new knowledge of their ultimate plan he never considered all the other avenues where danger now lurked. She was a prize of great worth. His stomach wrenched hard at all the ways she could be now used to further various interests.
“Our source never indicated you felt this way.”
Source?
Betrayal.
A gargoyle was in league with this evil, feeding them information. Who? In exchange for what? He pushed the bitter burn away to think on later. To the acolyte he said, “I am
Mennak
. I am answerable to no one, and your master is pitiable if he does not know even that about my kind.”
The acolyte made no reaction to the offense. Instead, his mad smile gleamed brighter. “Only time will tell us if your words are true, gargoyle. We should like to see you prove them.”
And a gut-deep realization spread through Terak that he would get no more from the acolyte, no matter the methods used.
Malek waited outside the thick cell doors. “Does anyone else know he is here?” Terak asked once he cleared the prison. Malek had been the one to find the acolyte, and had come straight to Terak.
“No, just as you ordered.”
“You heard what the creature insinuated?” Terak wanted his second-in-command to gainsay him, to tell Terak he was wrong in thinking one of their kind turned on them.
Instead Malek nodded. “I wish I did not believe it, but it makes sense.”
Terak placed his hand on Malek’s shoulder. “At this moment, I trust only you. Keep watch on the grounds. With the capture of the acolyte, the necromancer may try to force a meeting with the betrayer.”
Terak headed for his chambers, but was waylaid by Krikus. “There is an issue with the human woman,” the old councilor said without preamble
Cold, sick fear spread through his stomach. “Is she hurt?” and even he could hear the terror the tone held.
“She was captured by the Guild. We do not know where they hold her.”
A powerful relief hit so hard he was dizzy, and almost embarrassed himself with the need to lean against the wall. Instead he forced legs to stiffen and hold his weight upright.
His first instinct was to pursue her, to gather warriors and fight. But even if he knew where she was held, he could not leave. His Clan was in danger, and he needed to find the threat within. With the Guild she was safe.
Later, the Guild would pay for taking her. Now, they were the best option to keep her protected.
To Krikus, Terak said, “Send out our scouts to be on the lookout for her. As soon as she is found they are to send word. We will take her back…
…by battle if necessary.”
*****
“You would betray me, Valry?”
She had arrived to her meeting with the accursed vampire with her shoulders back and her head high, but now, as she saw him step from behind several rocks and Malek at his side, her body hunched over, losing the arrogance that always marked her passing. She reached out a beseeching hand. “This is not betrayal. I would never betray you. Everything I have done was so our people can become great again.” She motioned to the vampire who was still several feet away. “He is here to offer a bargain.”
“Which means you do not believe us great now, under my leadership and the leadership of my father. If that is the case, I wonder then why you would
not
1betray me.”
“You are a great leader, but you are blinded by a utopian vision of living in this world as equals amongst the other races, but they will never accept us. We must always live separate, and they must know our strength so they will never come against us!”
It should hurt more, the female he once meant to mate aligning herself with a man with the blood-red eyes, a mark of a true vampire and necromancer. It should tear at his chest, drive him to howl at the moon and claw the dirt around him.
And he did feel that, but for another female. Larissa was apart from him and the ache in his chest would not abate. He could not lean over and pull her toward him. He could not see her little chin lifting as she fought him or those blue eyes laughing and inviting him to share in her joy. All he could not do was tearing at him, pulling him apart at the seams.
He would get her back, and if the Guild fought him, he’d destroy them all.
The only emotion he could spare for Valry was anger, anger that she was keeping him from finding Larissa.
Betrayal or not, perhaps some good could come of this night if he could discover why it was Larissa these beings were obsessed with. Terak turned to the vampire. “What is your name, Vampire?”
The vampire cocked his head in surprise. “You would speak to me, Terak, Clan Leader of the Gargoyles?”
“I would be a fool to not listen to your words now that you are here before me. Valry spoke of a bargain. Tell me what it is.”
“I am Garof.”
“And who is your master?”
“That does not concern you, Clan Leader. That knowledge will not affect the words I speak. I hope my lack of answer will not stop you from listening to my other words.”
Terak inclined his head. Vampires never gave the name of their Master; it had been a desperate attempt he gave slim hope to succeed, nothing more. “I will listen to your words. What actions I will take based upon them is not guaranteed.”
“My people want the woman. She is needed for a spell.”
“She is needed to rip the Realms apart, this I know.” Terak watched the vampire closely, but to the vampire’s credit, the only sign this might have been a surprise was an extra-long blink. “How would she accomplish such a task? Why her?”
Garof shook his head. “You do not need to know the specifics. What I am willing to divulge is that we need her and her alone. To possess her we would be willing to pay a very high price.”
What did the vampire think to offer? “How high?”
“Since you know the ultimate purpose the woman would serve, you will understand when I say this. Once we return the Magic Realm to its former state, we will have Gargoyles rule over all, second only to the Necromancers.”
They would never quit hunting her.
As Valry gasped and even Malek let out a grunt of surprise, this knowledge pounded through him. She would never be safe again. There was nothing he could do to blunt their interest. With his words and his covetous gaze, the vampire showed how much they desired her.
To stay with her was to put his Clan in the direct path of the necromancers. They would go from neutral parties to fierce enemies.
But to walk away from her was as good as handing her over to them.
She was sunshine. She was light and laughter and the key to a part of him that had sat, unused and rusty, since his mother had died. She was gentleness that surrounded a will of steel, and a fierce protectiveness to her family and her students and whoever else she considered her Clan.
She kept the secrets of a Gargoyle and had fought to save him. She told him her secrets and let him wipe away her tears.
Calm descended, thick and complete.
She was his heart, his life, and he would forever protect her. Whatever he needed to do, whatever he needed to give up, he would keep her at his side and ally with whoever he must, as long as she was safe.
The vampire was watching him with careful eyes. This channel had to remain open, for the hope of future information. “What if the spell does not work? What will you give that will serve my people here, in this realm?”
The vampire looked surprised. “The Magic Realm will once again exist, Clan Leader.”
“Do not talk to me of certainties, Vampire. Yes, the Magic Realm may once again exist, but I will not make my people an enemy of several powerful Houses on that hope. I want to know what I will receive should this certainty not come to pass.”
“I would need to talk to my Master and ask him what he would wish to give.” Garof nodded at Valry. “I will contact the female in our usual manner when I have a response for you.”