The Mapkeeper and the Rise of the Wardens (24 page)

Minutes passed. Lucy opened her eyes to find a mountain of rock debris and dust settled around the shield created by the map. The map still glowed and pulsated in her hands. Her heart soared and she felt a stronger connection to the map than ever before. She clung to the strength of the passion she felt, willing the map to sustain her protective cocoon. Looking up, she realized that rubble pressed against her cocoon of light on all sides. The entire cavern had collapsed!

On the map, the image of the hidden Warden cavern deep in Doldrums Forest was reduced to a great pile of rocks. Until she was inside, it has been invisible on the map.
They must have cursed it so it wouldn’t show up on the map
, she thought.

She had to free herself from the wreckage. With the swipe of a fingernail across the parchment, she slashed the shackles that bound her ankles. She closed her eyes and touched the image of herself, lifting up with her finger. As if lifted by an invisible elevator, she rose through the deep pile of rocks as smoothly as a ship plying the sea. Emerging from the mountain of rubble, she left the flat stone table far below and took to the sky. A strange calm came over her despite the trauma of what she’d been through.

Tracing a path with her finger, she glided above and between the tops of the trees of Doldrums Forest toward Abodox. The stunning serenity of the view of the vast forest from above contradicted the violence that had taken place beneath its canopy. She soared between the tips of the great evergreens, the evening sun an exquisite golden ball dipping through a pink sky toward the horizon over the Dark Sea in the distance. But she could not relish the splendor of the view. Her heart was broken, laden with more competing sorrows and horrors than most people experience in an entire lifetime. A constant stream of silent tears flowed down her cheeks as she neared Abodox.

She descended through the trees and touched down a short distance from the cavern on the outskirts of the clearing where the battle had taken place. Landing on both feet, Lucy released her finger from the map. Using her sleeve to wipe her wet cheeks, she drew in a shuddering breath, suddenly aware of her utter exhaustion. Though she was terrified to approach the rock where she’d left Cadmus and her brothers, she knew she had to. However irrational, she clung to the hope that somehow he had survived his horrific wounds. Bracing herself for the worst, she began to trudge toward the entrance to Abodox.

Voices ahead made Lucy catch her breath. She darted behind the nearest tree and crouched, straining to hear the indistinct voices. A man shouted something and a female answered as distant hooves pounded the ground. Lucy held her breath and leaned out, peering around the tree trunk in the direction of the noises. Her heart pounded with anticipation as the sound of hooves drew nearer.

She let out her breath in a gush of relief when she recognized Axel and Lance rounding a bend in the path, cantering toward her. Lucy’s heart soared—the spells must have been lifted when the Wardens were crushed beneath the stone! She stepped into the open and cried out to her friends, tears of joy spilling down her cheeks.

“Axel! Lance! You’re all right!” She fell to her knees, weak with relief.

The centaurs’ stoic faces lit up when they saw the Mapkeeper on her knees before them.

“Ms. Barnes, you’re all right!” They reached her and bent, lifting her up by her arms. “We thought… We didn’t know what happened to you,” Axel said in his calm, baritone voice. “But come, you must see the others. They’ll be elated you’re all right!” Before she could object, Axel scooped her up in his arms as though she were a small child and galloped toward Abodox.

They passed Adalia, Tryste, and several of her other trusted advisers along the path.

“They are patrolling the area, as were we before we found you,” Axel explained. The elves were overjoyed to see Lucy waving at them from the centaur’s strong arms.

“Ms. Barnes!” Adalia exclaimed. “What a relief! We are so glad to see you!” But Axel did not slow his pace.

“The others are keeping watch at Abodox,” he explained.

They were back in the clearing in several minutes. Lucy’s heart seized up with joy when she saw her brothers, Zadok, and Fritz standing at the entrance to the cavern. Axel set her on her feet beside them and she was smothered with simultaneous hugs from Mack, Luke, and Fritz. Zadok stood to the side, grinning with joy.

She laughed, wiping tears from her cheeks.

“Lucy, you’re okay! We were so worried!” Mack exclaimed.

“I was worried about you, too! They turned you to stone, and I didn’t know if you’d ever be back to normal again!”

“All the spells were lifted! But where did they take you?” Luke asked.

Lucy’s expression darkened. “They took me to their lair,” she said, still hardly able to believe what had happened herself. She would need time to process it. “They tried to make me drink the cloning potion so they could use my clone to control the map. Then they were going to kill me. I was surrounded by Wardens, and they had taken the map from me.” Their eyes bulged as they listened to her story. “But I focused on my anger at what they’d done to you and…” she couldn’t bear to utter his name. Her eyes filled with tears once more, so she averted them from her brothers and stared at the ground instead.

Luke looked away as Mack stepped toward his sister and touched her arm. “Lucy, I am so sorry,” he said with sincerity.

She broke down in tears, unable to bear the intensity of her emotion. Mack pulled her into a hug and let her cry while the others stood by in respectful silence. The pain of her broken heart pierced her anew.

“Where…” she began between sobs, but couldn’t finish the question.
Saying it aloud will make it true
, some irrational part of her subconscious chided.

Mack placed a gentle hand on her back and guided her toward the boulder where the final fight had taken place. Each step was agonizing, the pain of her broken heart weighing her down like an iron anchor. When at last she lifted her eyes to look upon him, she found Cadmus had been laid on his back on a patch of grass beside the boulder, arms crossed over his chest. His light brown hair formed a perfect frame around his face, even in death. Lucy fell to her knees beside him and sobbed, the reality of his death at last hitting her with the force of a freight train. The pain that coursed through her was physical, and so intense that she lost awareness of everything but the body lying before her.

Tears poured down her cheeks as she wept without reservation, clinging to Cadmus’ lifeless arm as she leaned over his body. Her hair fell around her face and her tears began to drench the strands. After several minutes she opened her eyes and taking a deep, shuddering breath, summoned the courage to look at his face. She couldn’t believe how handsome he was in spite of the dirt and dried blood marring his face and clothing. His profound love and courage had cost him his life, but his sacrifice ensured that she would live to save Praxis. She rocked back and forth as she knelt, somehow needing the motion to distract her from the pain of losing him.

“You were the true hero,” she choked out between sobs, grasping his cold hand between her shaking ones and kissing it. “I love you, Cadmus.” She squeezed her eyes shut, hot tears gliding down her cheeks and dripping off her chin onto his chest plate. The pain of speaking her love aloud and not hearing him say it in return penetrated her to her bones. She’d never known such emptiness. She stroked the stubble along his jawbone with the back of her hand, committing his face to memory.

She knelt beside him for so long that when at last she stood, darkness had cloaked the forest for the night. Everyone except her brothers and Zadok had retreated back inside Abodox. She slowly stood and turned to face them, wiping her sticky cheeks once again. Fatigued and filthy, Mack and Luke plodded into the cavern tunnel beside their sister. No one felt the need for conversation. When Lucy reached her cot, she lay down without bothering to change her clothes and succumbed to the deep slumber of utter exhaustion.

҉

She awoke many hours later, disoriented and unaware of how much time had passed. The events of the previous evening flooded back into her mind in succession, and her heart grew heavy once again, overburdened with grief.

But she was still the Mapkeeper, and there were many questions left unanswered. Swinging her legs over the side of her cot, Lucy forced herself to stand and stretch her sore muscles. She shuffled to the wash basin and took her time lathering and scrubbing her face, neck, arms, and beneath her fingernails. The centaurs had provided simple, scentless lye soap and a rough cloth, but Lucy didn’t mind. The roughness of the wash cloth was a welcome distraction from the torment of the incessant replay of her memories in her mind’s eye. She dried herself with another rough cloth, then, in a single gulp, drained the contents of the tin cup of water left on the table beside her cot. She left her chamber to find the others.

“Good morning, Ms. Barnes,” a centaur greeted her as they passed in the cavern corridor.

“Good morning.”

She proceeded straight to the Abodox dining hall, where the clan leaders had made a habit of meeting. Mack, Luke, Zadok, Adalia, Gump, and Enzo were seated at their usual table. Auriel stood at the head of the table, her arms stretched wide, explaining something in exasperation. The other four Bellaux—all that remained of her clan besides her sister Odessa—stood behind her, solemn as ever. Their collective height and beauty made the Bellaux an imposing group.

“Ah, there she is,” Auriel said as she caught sight of Lucy entering the dining hall.

“Good morning, Lucy,” Zadok greeted her. “I hope you slept well?”

“Like a baby. What’s going on?”

“It’s Odessa. She’s still missing.” Auriel’s reply was tense. She wasted no time catching the Mapkeeper up. “We must go find her. We would have gone already, but the others convinced me to wait for you to wake up before we go out into the forest. We need to know the status of the Wardens.”

Lucy sank into a chair beside Adalia and explained to the whole group what had taken place inside the Wardens’ hidden lair. The clan leaders were rapt. She opened the map and showed them the location of the hidden cavern that had served as the Warden lair. It was now exposed, the dark magic that concealed it having been lifted when the Wardens were buried alive. Even Enzo failed to stifle a gasp when she showed them the pile of rubble on the map deep in Doldrums Forest. Her explanation of how the map had created a protective bubble around her and how she managed to raise herself out of the debris and soar over the treetops back to Abodox astounded them. Even level-headed Adalia, who was two-hundred years old and had lived through the reign of three previous Mapkeepers, was wide-eyed. Their reactions bolstered Lucy’s confidence.

Zadok filled Lucy in, explaining that the leaders were operating under the presumption that Bade and Hobart had returned to the mountains with the trolls, as they were nowhere to be found when the dark spells were lifted. There would be a memorial for the deceased Praxians, regardless of clan, the following day at noon.

“Ms. Barnes, your deeds were nothing short of heroic,” Auriel praised. “You saved Praxis by your quick thinking and focus under pressure. We are forever indebted to you, and you will always have the support of the Bellaux.” Auriel’s voice was melodic. Mack ogled her as she spoke, spellbound. “But we are eager to begin the search for my sister. Armed with the certainty that all the Wardens were killed in their lair, will you join us in the search?”

“Of course I will, Auriel. I am eager for Odessa’s safe return,” Lucy replied with sincerity.

“But where do we start? She’s still not showing up on the map,” Mack pointed out, eager to help. He leaned forward, clutching a forgotten copper stein of cider between his hands.

“If my hunch is right, I know where she is,” Enzo interjected. The group was silent. In unison, they all turned to stare at the fierce-faced gnome.

“We had a pact,” Enzo explained with a sigh. Auriel’s jaw dropped, her gaze darting around the room to gauge the astonishment of the others. Enzo narrowed his eyes at her. “Auriel, I can assure you with near-certainty of your sister’s location. I know you’re afraid of the repercussions, but you must remember that we are among allies here. Odessa’s secret is not so terrible that it cannot be forgiven.”

“I knew that my sister had a secret, but she refused to divulge it to me. How—how did you discover what it was?” Auriel asked, her face pale.

Enzo sighed again, folding his hands in front of him. “I stumbled upon Odessa in the forest. She was tending to an injured creature. Rare as it is to see a Bellaux alone and out of the Tree of Virtue, I snuck closer to find out what drew her so deep into Doldrums Forest all by herself.

“She had the injured creature hidden beneath a rock outcropping against the side of a sheer cliff. It was a large creature, though it never made a sound as she cleaned its wounds. I was able to creep within paces of her position, hidden by the tall ground ferns until the creature sensed my presence. I still hadn’t had a good look at it yet when it snorted and lifted its head in my direction. Odessa whipped about and discovered me squatting among the plants.” Enzo paused before finishing. “At that point I saw the thing clearly through the plants. She was caring for an injured unicorn.” The leaders gasped in unison.

“No!” one of the Bellaux cried in disbelief. “It’s not possible!”

“Unicorns have never been seen by anyone alive today except for the most ancient of the elves!” Adalia scoffed. “How can you be sure of what you saw?”

“It was a unicorn all right! It had a pure, silken white coat and a long silver-white horn. It was magnificent!” Lucy noticed the other clan leaders lean in, engrossed by his tale. “Odessa made me swear to keep her secret, and in return she gave me leaves from the Tree of Virtue to help heal my ailing son.” The Bellaux gasped again.

“My son had been very ill for a long time, and no amount of medicinal or magical healing helped before we tried the leaves. His condition deteriorated, until he grew so weak he was unable to walk! I had no choice but to do whatever it took to help heal him.” Enzo peered up at the Bellaux, defensive, and eager to justify his position.

“She would
never
do such a thing!” Auriel exclaimed, her pale blue eyes flashing. “To give away fruits or leaves of the tree is a grave sin among our clan. Your accusations are bold, Enzo.” Auriel crossed her arms. “But if you claim to know where Odessa is harboring this injured unicorn, you must take us to her.”

“Forgive my ignorance, but why is a unicorn such a big deal?” Mack voiced the same question Lucy had been pondering.

“Like Adalia mentioned before, there have been no known unicorn sightings except by the oldest of the elves, who are now hundreds of years old,” Zadok replied. “Not only are unicorns among the rarest creatures of Praxis, they also possess exceptional, quite powerful magic. It is said that looking into the eyes of a unicorn will heal whatever ails you. It is also known that the powder of unicorn horn can heal a wide variety of illnesses, though it is illegal to hunt and dehorn them. It is recognized among all clans that they are a protected creature. Anyone who takes the life or horn of a unicorn will be put to death, by order of the king.”

Enzo pushed back from the table and stood, gulping the last of his cider. “Auriel, I’m ready to go whenever you are.”

“I’ll arrange for armed escorts,” Zadok added, trotting to the entrance of the dining hall, where Axel was stationed and awaiting instruction. Enzo, Auriel, and the rest of the Bellaux hurried out of the dining hall.

Adalia followed. “If there really
is
a unicorn, this isn’t something I’m going to miss,” she muttered.

Lucy was left alone with her brothers. “I’ve been thinking about something,” she began, her voice just above a whisper. Unease coursed through her veins. “When I… when I brought down the Warden lair around me,” she paused, struggling to find the words to describe what she saw. Mack and Luke looked at one another, unsure what their sister was trying to tell them. She swallowed, knowing she had to tell the truth. She looked from Mack to Luke, hoping they would stand by her side when she revealed what she’d done. She gathered her courage and continued: “I saw one other thing on the map inside the lair—besides just the Wardens.” She looked from Mack to Luke, hoping one of them would finish her sentence so she didn’t have to.

She looked down, her eyes welling with tears. She wasn’t sure she could stand any more turmoil and loss of life. “It was the people and creatures the Wardens had kidnapped,” she choked out, tears slipping down her cheeks.

Mack and Luke’s eyes widened.

“Ohh,” Luke breathed, covering his mouth with one hand. “I was beginning to wonder…” he shook his head side to side, overcome with the weight of it.

Mack put a hand on Lucy’s shoulder. “Lucy, it’s not your fault.” His voice was firm. “You did what you had to do. You saved the map… and the Mapkeeper. Both are essential to the survival of everyone else left in Praxis. You have to believe that. What you did was
right
,” he emphasized. She drew in a shuddering breath. “The Wardens are responsible for the deaths of those people and creatures, not you.”

“But I brought the cavern down around them! They could have lived!” she insisted, her voice rising with emotion.

Mack jumped up from his seat and rounded the table to sit beside her. He grabbed her by both shoulders, making her face him. “They were gone the moment they were kidnapped and cloned,” Mack told her, looking into her eyes. “Yes, of course it’s tragic, but Lucy, I swear to you, it’s not your fault.” He held her gaze, his expression fierce and loyal. “You have to believe me.”

She nodded, wanting to believe her brother, though she felt a dozen different emotions at once. Luke gazed at her with hurt behind his eyes, seeming to share in her pain.

“We need to focus on rebuilding now,” Mack stated. “The map shows no more Wardens, but we can’t be sure that we’re out of danger.” The three Barnes siblings looked down at the map together. It still glowed, pulsing with faint light and warmth. They saw themselves in Abodox, each with a miniature inscription beside them labeling the individual in meticulous script. Lucy noted that Enzo, Auriel, Adalia, Axel, and Lance stood in a circle somewhere deep in Doldrums Forest. If a unicorn was indeed at her feet, it didn’t show it on the map. Odessa was nowhere to be seen on the map.

“When it stops glowing, it goes blank,” Lucy explained. “I’ll lose the ability to track people. I’m getting better at keeping it activated, though. I just have to keep my focus.”

The siblings watched as the five creatures shifted around a bit and then began to move back toward Abodox.

“I have a bad feeling about this injured unicorn,” Lucy muttered.

Zadok reentered the dining hall. “How are you holding up?” he asked, taking a seat at the head of the table beside Mack.

“I’ve had better days.” Lucy’s smile was weak.

“You fought well, and your bravery saved us all,” he replied in his kind, wise way. He sat straight-backed and showed no signs of discomfort despite a blood-soaked bandage covering his left shoulder and a large part of his upper arm. Lucy stared at the wound. “It will be fine. It’s a superficial wound,” he assured her. She grimaced. Seeing Zadok, the strongest creature she knew, in less than perfect health made her uneasy. She brushed the discomfort away, determined to focus on the responsibilities she had to fulfill.

“Zadok, it looks like Axel and Lance are on their way back with Auriel, Adalia, and Enzo,” she began. “In the meantime, do you have another set of trusted advisers you can send to the castle to check on Queen Oleksandra? We still don’t know what has become of the clones. Everyone at the castle except the queen and king were clones.”

“Great idea,” he replied, standing in a smooth motion. He beckoned to two centaurs standing guard at the entrance to the dining hall. They came at a gallop. “Tobias, Zandar, take along two others and make haste to the castle.” Zadok placed a hand on the shoulder of the centaur nearest himself. “Check on the queen and king, and report back the status of the castle guards and groundskeepers, all of whom are clones. We need to know whether they lived, and if so, what state they are in. We don’t know how the killing of the Wardens may have affected them.” Both centaurs nodded, stoic and resolute. “I will await your report here at Abodox. Be fast and effective, but be careful, my friends.” They nodded and galloped out of the dining hall. Two more silent centaurs took their places outside the dining hall without being summoned. Lucy marveled at the discipline of the centaur clan.

“Lucy, you and your brothers are welcome to stay here at Abodox as long as you please. My home is your home,” Zadok offered.

“Thank you, Zadok. I appreciate your kindness,” she replied. “I think we will stay here until we receive word that it’s safe to return to the castle. The king and queen are going to need help sorting everything out in the aftermath of all this,” she predicted. Her heart ached as Cadmus sprang into her mind once again. Hot tears welled in her eyes.

Suddenly, the entire cavern shook with a vengeance. Lucy’s chair danced beneath her, thudding against the stone floor with violence. Lucy, Mack, and Luke dove under the table as opaque mineral stalagmites broke from the ceiling and plummeted to the stone floor, shattering in explosions of crystals. The quake was the most ferocious they’d experienced yet. Lucy closed her eyes and covered the back of her neck with her hands, fragments of rock and mineral crystals pummeling her. Over the low rumble of the quake, the rattle of chairs jumping up and down on the unsteady ground accompanied frenzied shouts. The tremor ceased with the same abruptness it began with.

Lucy removed her hands from her neck and opened her eyes to a thick cloud of dust. Coughing, she scooted backwards out from beneath the great wooden table. “Mack? Luke? Are you guys all right?” she asked as her brothers emerged beside her, coughing and brushing dirt off their sleeves. Luke shook his head, his long locks flapping back and forth around his head and forming a dust cloud of their own.

“Yeah,” Mack replied, wiping his face with the back of his sleeve and looking around the dining hall. “Zadok!” he shouted, running to a corner of the room. Lucy froze. The leader of the centaurs was sprawled, motionless beneath a massive chunk of fallen stone.