Chapter 18 #3
It must be stopped, Ever. I’ve learned so much of its terrible desires and the chaos it will reap from our land.
I believe you are the answer. I have read the Elysium Prophecy over time and again, the one that lays beneath the Keep, hidden from the eyes of the four nations. It must be the truth, buried deep by the Reapers for their own gain. I believe it is speaking of this moment.
‘Seek the Void, for it shall guide the
chosen ones to their glorious path,
a weapon of purity, and the gift of null.
In a web of lies and cruelty, fate will favour
the peacemakers of destiny.’
The Reapers are surely responsible for the ‘web of lies and cruelty’ so with the gift of the Void, you can unite the ‘peacemakers of destiny.’
I’ve learned all I can of the Void’s powers from the books kept in the Reapers’ library.
You would not believe the knowledge in these tomes that they keep from the rest of the world.
Magic we cannot even fathom. The Void power is spoken of in many prophesies and even great philosophers gained whispers from the stars about it.
The power you hold is greater than you know.
It’s believed by some to be power imbued with starlight itself and it can counter the greatest of magic.
I trust in you Ever. I witnessed what you did on that battlefield in Cinder Vale. You cut off the magic of the four armies, thousands upon thousands of Fae rendered powerless by your hand. So I propose, you and only you, could have a chance at Voiding the magic of the blood moon.
Please, Ever, you must do this, if not for me, for you, for Cascada.
Find anyone who will assist you. Anyone you trust who might fit the description of a ‘peacemaker of destiny’, bring them to Never Keep on the night of the blood moon.
I will meet you at the ten towers upon the hour the moon rises and lead you to the chamber where the ceremony will commence.
Forgive me for placing this responsibility on you. But I know if anyone in The Waning Lands can do this, it’s you. My Ever.
Domerna sil oceania,
Harlon
P.S. Be careful. Solomon has sent a group of Reapers to capture you. I don’t know what he’ll do if he gets his hands on you. Be sure he never does.
My hand trembled, my eyes devouring those words once, then twice to be sure of them.
“I took the liberty of reading that,” Mavus announced smoothly and I snapped my head up to look at him. “Fine, fine magic Harlon had put on that letter too, but I’m a master of breaking magical seals. It’s what keeps me so well-informed in this land.”
“So you know,” I exhaled, the weight of Harlon’s words pressing down on me. I couldn’t even muster the energy to be angry at Mavus for prying in the face of this deadline. The blood moon… When was that? I knew it was soon, but was it weeks, days?
“I know everything there is to know. I learned of the monster before this here letter, but now I know it is comin’ to me great land to destroy us all and I can’t be havin’ that.”
I stared at him, finding a sudden ounce of hope to latch onto. “You’ll help?”
“Aye, lass. I’ll help ya. I’ve been itching to have a stab at the Reapers for some time now and it looks like my name is being called by the blessed stars at last.” He clutched the bundle of amulets at his throat and kissed them all, smiling darkly.
I nodded quickly, shifting closer to him, knowing I couldn’t fail Harlon. Because of course I forgave him. The thought of him alone among the Reapers at Never Keep made my gut tug and I shot a prayer to Pisces to watch over him.
“Alright, that makes two of us then,” I said, a rush of adrenaline racing through my blood. “But who else can we–”
The door opened across the room, the squeak of hinges telling of someone’s arrival. I didn’t know what the Reapers might think of finding their library in disrepair so I shoved to my feet and planned to make a quick escape.
“We’d better get out of here,” I whispered to Mavus as I slinked to the end of the aisle, chancing a look at the door. There was no one there so I crept toward it at a fast pace, about to dart out of it when a hand caught me from behind.
I was spun into the arms of a red-haired Reaper woman and within half a heartbeat, I knew I was in trouble. Vines blasted into me, launching me back against the wall and pinning me there as more vines grew from the wall itself, coiling around me in a wild knot.
“You fool –knock her out!” a male Reaper crowed from behind the redhead. “The Cardinal Reaper wants her alive.”
Harlon’s warning echoed in my head and I cursed myself for not being more prepared.
A snarl left my lips as the Void tore from me in a potent wave, the vines dissolving as the redhead ran at me with a syringe in her grip.
The vines dissolved around me as I stole their magic away and I darted aside as the redhead tried to stab me in the neck with the needle.
My heart rioted as I spun around and raised my hand, casting a huge wave which sent them both flying back into one of the aisles. I froze them in place just as Mavus came running toward me, looking to the Reapers I’d attacked.
“You gotta kill ‘em, lass,” he said wickedly. “They’ve seen us both here. And they could spin a web of lies about this attack. For your sake and mine, they gotta die. I’ll do it for ya if ya can’t bottle it.”
I turned the ice encasing the Reapers to sharp blades that dug deep into their flesh and killed them fast, a sneer twisting my features.
“I can bottle it,” I said coldly, meeting Mavus’s gaze.
“Indeed, it seems ya can.” He tilted his head as he regarded me, like he was seeing the power I possessed and taking stock of it.
“Well lass, how’s this for an idea – I’ll travel with ya onto your next destination and we can have a little chit-chat about how we’re gonna handle that monster.
The blood moon is just a few weeks away and there’s no time to spare.
” He offered me his hand, a deal waiting to be struck.
And though I knew Mavus’s deals were wrought with trouble, I was in need of allies who were willing to place their life on the line for the sake of the world.
Mavus didn’t exactly strike me as a ‘peacemaker of destiny’ but he would have to do.
I slid my palm into his and he smiled like the cat who’d gotten the cream. And there I went, following some instinctual madness, taking chances on my enemies again.