His Final Secret Page 22

  His face changed as she said it, moving from placid stone to roiling sadness. His eyes dropped, the tears pouring from them like a storm. He shook his head. No.

  "No, what? No, you don't love me? I know that. How could you when-"

  He reached out and took her hand, gently, still shaking his head. He pointed at her and clenched his fist. You don't understand.

  "I understand enough. I understand you imprisoned me on this ship. I-"

  He pulled her close. Before another word could escape, his lips were on hers. She tried to pull her head away for a moment, until her own feelings got the better of her, and she instead melted into his arms. His mouth was warm and gentle, incredibly gentle, his kiss soft, telling her a whole story of how he felt in those passing seconds.

  I do love you.

  She wanted to stay in the moment forever. She kissed him a few more times before pulling away.

  "Then why? Why are you helping him? Why did you lie to me?"

  He pointed at her and clenched his fist again. You don't understand.

  "I want to understand, Worm. I do. I want to believe in you. I want to trust you, and know that what I feel is safe."

  He smiled. A tender smile that melted the rest of her anger away. He pressed his hand over his heart, and then put it to hers. You will.

  She stared into his eyes. They were so full of emotion. She had seen her father look at her mother the same way so many times.

  "I hope so, for both our sakes."

  CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT

  Eryn

  They reached the fog that Captain Ballard had told her about three days later. The Sorrow was adrift, moving only with the current, and at the same time it felt to Eryn as though something was pulling it along.

  Or someone.

  Worm had set about clearing the decks of corpses not long after the dragon fled, adamant that Eryn not use any more of her magic. He had tried to get her to use one of the vials of the cure, and she had refused. The scaly patch of skin on her arm had grown slightly, but she knew by then when it was bad enough to worry about.

  Despite everything, she as calm as she could remember being since the day the mayor of her village had come knocking to tell them her secret had been revealed. Worm was taking her to him, but he had asked her to trust him, and she had decided that she would. At least for now. That didn't mean she wouldn't take her chance at killing him if and when it arrived, even if it meant killing the man she loved as well. Some things were bigger than one or two people.

  That was a worry for another time.

  She was almost happy, sitting on the deck of the boat watching the sea with Worm behind her, his arms wrapped around her stomach. She would lean back every so often to nuzzle his neck and face with the back of her head, and he would tighten his embrace in response. She felt safe in his arms. Even the dragon had been afraid of the tattooed man.

  Almost happy. Talon was still out there, somewhere. Had he found the Refinery and the cure for magic? Was he looking for her? Had he heard what had happened in Varrow, and to the Overlord? She knew he could take care of himself. He was over a thousand years old, after all. Still, she didn't want him to worry about her.

  She sighed and put her hands over Worm's. Three days alone together. She had tried to find out more about where he had come from, but as far as she could tell he had been given the same treatment as the Nine, his memories of those times stolen away. She had lain in Captain Ballard's bed with him at night and listened to his heart, trying to discern the thrumming of the ebocite beneath it, or to feel it calling to the prozoa she knew had invaded her body and blood. She had heard nothing out of the ordinary. Felt nothing of a magic heart. He seemed only a man, yet it was so clear he was much more than that.

  She had considered giving herself to him on those nights, despite her earlier mind to wait to be properly wed. It seemed such a quaint notion after all she had been through, and she was as curious as any girl her age about being loved by a man that way. She felt so much more willing with him than she had ever been with Wilem. He wasn't asking for it, and always appeared so happy to hold her. She was just as happy to be held, and so she didn't push. She could wait to see where there future took them.

  The fog rose as if it were a creature climbing from the sea, wrapping itself around them to drag them into the depths. One moment the sea was calm and clear, the next it was almost invisible, a curtain of white leaving them able to see only a few feet ahead.

  "This is it," she said.

  Worm removed his arms and stood, helping her to her feet.

  "How far to land?"

  He held up three fingers and then motioned for her to follow him. She did, and he took her to a small room on the quarterdeck, where a flat, gray stone rested on a table. The stone had a golden pole rising from the middle, and it seemed to be attracting the mist to it. It climbed in through the windows like tentacles, reaching for the pole, swirling around the base, before pluming out behind it, leaving a single corner of the air around it clear.

  "This is how Captain Ballard knew which way to go?" she asked.

  Worm nodded. The ship's wheel was directly below, out on the deck. It was useless to them without any sails.

  Eryn eyed the pole. The ship was drifting in the right general direction, but it was off course. Maybe it was enough to get them to the Unknown Lands, but she had a feeling they would wind up as just another crumbling vessel piled up in the Boneyard if they didn't do something.

  "We need to steer it," she said.

  He pointed out to the broken mainsail.

  She smiled. "We don't need sails. We have magic."

  Worm shook his head. He didn't want her to use the power.

  "What choice do we have? I don't want to wind up smashed on some rocks, or lost out here forever."

  His face implied his disapproval.

  "Worm, we have three vials of the cure."

  He pursed his lips, thinking. Then he turned and headed out of the room, bouncing down the steps towards the hold.

  "Where are you going?"

  She followed behind him, down to where the barrels of ircidium ore were stored. He had stopped at the one closest to the door and was in the process of lifting it against his chest. He came towards her, not slowing, forcing her to move aside. She followed him back up the steps and then watched him throw the barrel into the ocean.

  Eryn smiled. He was making the ship lighter. "Won't he be mad at you for dumping all of the ircidium?"

  Worm nodded. He pointed at her. You're more important.

  "Why am I so important?" she asked.

  He rolled his eyes as though she were being daft. Then he flapped his arms, acting like the dragon and pointing at her. He mimicked her next, standing at the bow of the ship with her sword held up and her hand forward, blasting the creature with magic. He turned around, his eyebrows raised.

  "Because I have powerful magic," she said. "I figured that much. I mean, has he ever had another Cursed taken to him before?"

  Worm nodded and held up his hand with four fingers raised. He pointed at her and raised his thumb.

  "I'm the fifth. What happened to the others?"

  He looked at the floor and headed back into the hold for another barrel.

  Dead. Whatever he wanted her for, she wasn't sure it was a test she wanted to pass.

  She moved to the back of the boat, looking down at the waves behind them and calling on her magic. "Tumultu," she said. The sea began to roil behind the boat, gathering itself unnaturally and pushing against the stern. She moved her hand to change the direction of the force, batting at the side of the ship and slowly turning it to better match the direction of the compass.

  I'm coming to you, as you wanted. One moment, one chance, and you will be the one who is dead. As I promised, mother. I hope I can keep Worm out of it, but if I can't, I will kill him too. I will survive, and I will make sure that this never happens to anyone else's family ever again.

  "I swear it by Amman."
/>   CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE

  Talon

  They moved through the corridors of the reactor as quickly as they dared, keeping a constant vigil for Shifters.

  "They are near," Jeremiah said more than once as they wound their way through the service tunnels. They were outside of the most traveled routes, tucked away in passages that had seen little use even when people had lived there. They all knew it was only a matter of time before they were attacked. The only question was the size and makeup of the force that appeared.

  "The core should be that way," Spyne said as they reached a small door back into the main reactor. "Down that corridor to the platform, and then down the platform to the core. That's where Worm left me to die."

  "It left it to die," Jeremiah said.

  "I had my orders," Spyne replied.

  "Quiet, both of you," Talon said. "We don't need to draw them to us. The subroute is the goal. The Shifters are inconsequential."

  Spyne huffed. "Inconsequential? No. We should kill as many as we can. We have the Carriers. We have a wizard. We can clean this place out."

  "When we return."

  Talon opened the door slowly. It was silent on ancient hinges.

  There was a Shifter waiting for him anyway.

  A powerful hand slashed across the open space, aimed at Talon's head. He ducked down below it before pushing himself forward and into the Shifter's midsection.

  "A troll?" he heard Spyne say behind him. "I hate trolls."

  Talon grappled against it with one arm, pushing it back so the others could get into the corridor. He shouted as he gained leverage on the floor and brought the Shifter up and back, knocking it off thick, heavy legs and onto the floor, landing on its stomach.

  Trolls were bigger than the other Shifters, ten feet tall and thick with muscle. They were limited in their ability to move between timelines, but what they lacked in finesse they made up for in brute strength and the ability to take massive amounts of punishment. That Talon was able to put it on its back was a testament to his enhanced strength.

  Spyne pulled Wilem aside to allow the Carriers forward as more Shifters appeared around them. The orcs and goblins would be easy for the juggernauts to manage, but the forces here were larger than they had expected, and the trolls and darklings that intermingled with the lesser Shifters made their ability to reach the subroute less than assured.

  "Wizard," Spyne roared before bringing his broadsword around and through a smaller goblin.

  Wilem summoned his magic, sending a streak of energy out over the General's shoulder and into one of the darklings. It hissed and vanished, reappearing a moment later hanging in the air in front of him, teeth bared to sink into his neck.

  A large backhand swatted it away, sending it towards the wall. It vanished again.

  "Not those," Spyne said. "Those little bastards are almost immune. Hit the trolls as hard as you can, soften them up for us."

  "Protect the cure," Talon growled back from his position atop the troll. He had managed to get his knees onto its stomach and was doing his best to keep it down while it flailed beneath him.

  Wilem nodded, finding one of the larger Shifters was approaching the Carrier with the box of cures on its back. "Ignis," he whispered, sending a gout of flame at the Shifter. It howled as its hide singed in the heat, but it didn't slow down.

  "Gah, I have to do everything myself," Spyne said, bursting forward, grabbing a goblin by the neck and snapping it at the same time he got between the troll and the Carrier. The Carrier moved on to attack an orc while Spyne first removed the troll's hands, and then removed its head.

  Talon shifted his weight to the side to avoid a grasping hand, and then brought his sword down on the Shifter's neck. It gasped once and died, and he rolled off and got to his feet, bringing his blade neatly around and into an orc that appeared to his left. He felt a searing pain in his leg, looking down to find a small darkling with its teeth in his calf, trying to rend his skin away from his body. He sliced it away expertly at the same time he used his other hand to catch the wrist of a thrusting orc, twisting and breaking it before stabbing the creature in the throat.

  "It has been too long," Spyne said, laughing as he dropped another of the Shifters. "Way too long."

  "Where are they all coming from?" Wilem said.

  Talon threw a goblin aside, gaining a few moments of peace in the battle. There were more Shifters incoming. So many more. It seemed impossible. They crowded into the corridor, popping in and out of the timeline. For each one they killed, it was as though two more took its place.

  "Let them come," Spyne said, hacking at another. "Let them keep coming for all of eternity." He killed another, and then another. Ahead of him, one of the Carriers vanished beneath a pile of darklings.

  "We're going to be overrun," Talon said, finding the Carrier with the cure. He started moving towards it. "We need to get to the subroute. Wilem, can you clear a path?"

  Wilem was doing his best to keep the Shifters ahead of him, the third Carrier staying close and providing some measure of protection. He launched a missile into an orc, and then threw a fist at a darkling that leaped at him from his right. He managed to smack the creature aside, but another appeared a moment later, biting into his arm.

  He screamed and flailed, trying to shake it loose. The Carrier turned and grabbed it, crushing it in its powerful grip. He ignored the pain and bleeding, forcing himself to calm and focusing on the magic. "Be ready," he said. He gathered the power to him, and then unleashed it with a word. "Fulgur."

  Streams of lightning flowed from his hands, branching out and striking everything inside the corridor. Talon raised his sword as the energy flowed towards him, catching the magic with his blade and fortifying himself against it. Spyne did the same, while Jeremiah turned his empty socket and pushed it against the wall to protect it. The Shifters screamed in pain, the orcs and goblins dropping almost immediately, while the darklings blinked away. Within seconds, the hallway was filled with smoke, the smell of burning flesh, and dying Shifters.

  "Move quickly," Talon said. He could see the dark shadow of the shaft down to the subroute ahead of him.

  Spyne pushed past, sinking his sword into anything that still showed signs of life while Talon retreated to Wilem. The wizard was pale and sweaty, somehow managing to stay on his feet.

  "I'm not as strong as Eryn," he said. "I can't use magic like that and not feel it."

  Talon took his arm, leading him along. "Get us down to the subroute. That's all you need to do now."

  They ran towards the end of the hallway. Already the Shifters were regrouping, more orcs and goblins coming into their timeline and reaching out for them. The Carriers kept them at bay, tireless in their defense. Talon felt Wilem stiffen against him, and a moment later the stone platform rose to their level. A few Shifters had ridden up with it, and Spyne and Jeremiah removed them, forging ahead onto the platform. The two remaining Carriers joined them a moment later.

  "We're almost there," Talon said.

  The platform began to descend. A deep, rumbling roar echoed from the depths below them.

  CHAPTER SIXTY

  Talon

  The sound of it made Talon stiffen. He met Spyne's gaze. The Second of Nine was looking back at him, angry concern on his face.

  "It isn't possible," he said.

  "What isn't?" Wilem asked.

  "That's the sound of a Shifter goreling," Talon said.

  "Goreling?"

  "Take a creature as powerful as a dragon and shrink it down to the size of a warhorse. Make it faster and more agile, and then give it the ability to phase."

  "Phase?"

  "They straddle both sides of the distortion," Spyne said. "Time is never quite right around them, which makes them visible in one place when they might actually be in another. There's no way to tell without trying to hit them."

  "I suppose they are resistant to magic, too?" Wilem asked.

  "Yes," Talon said. "It's more than that, my boy.
They can't come across on their own. They aren't simple creatures drawn to the ebocite like the goblins and orcs. They're made by more advanced Shifters."

  "Wizards," Spyne said. "Shifter wizards."

  Wilem's eyes widened. "You're saying there's a wizard down there?"

  Talon nodded. "The only place they could have come from is the subroute. They must have come across from another reactor, one that they were trapped in, like in Genesia."

  "One that is still operational," Spyne said.

  "It is there," Jeremiah said. "It opens it."

  "Where?" Talon said.

  "It is there. It is Area North."

  Talon felt cold to hear the words. His head snapped to where Jeremiah stood on the platform.

  "Area North?" he said.

  "It is it."

  Talon closed his eyes. Area North. Ares'Nor? He squeezed them tight, visions of battle surrounding him. Shifters. So many Shifters. He fought them. He killed them. A wizard was at his back, firing magical energy into their ranks with abandon. Decimating them. More came. There were always more.

  "It can't be," he said.

  What he was seeing wasn't the Battle for Ares'Nor. At least, he didn't think it was. Was it a skirmish before the larger assault? Or had it happened after?

  "Brother, open your eyes and get ready to fight," Spyne said, his large hand coming down on Talon's shoulder.

  The memory broke away as he opened his eyes. The platform finished its descent.

  The Shifters were waiting for them.

  He screamed as he charged ahead, at the same time a blast of blue fire poured towards them from above. The Shifter wizard. He brought his blade up to catch the magic, holding tight against it. The goreling leaped over the waiting orcs and goblins, its in-between state making it blurry in his vision. It tackled the first of the Carriers, large jaws tearing into the armor.

  Area North. He had confused the name. Or forgotten it. The largest reactor in the Empire.

  And it was still active.

  He couldn't understand why or how. He had no time to consider it.