CHAPTER ONE #3
Once, Evylin would have teased Deckard about his attachment to a horse, but she merely smiled wryly.
No matter how much she relied on him, she was struggling to return to their old banter.
The schism in her mind between fear and reliance kept her from finding that middle ground of companionship with him.
Sarcasm couldn’t find a place amidst her unsteady feelings.
Instead, she often found herself silent in his presence, simultaneously fearful of drawing him near and driving him away.
After changing into their new clothes and dropping off their coats, the troop made their way to the back gate of Norhels.
Auden and Deckard took the lead. Their band, heavily armed and dressed primarily in black, garnered the stares of the citizens as they passed.
They resembled mercenaries, Evylin thought.
Or, with the Calders present, perhaps they appeared more like a noble escort.
The noontime sun cut through the dissipating fog, glinting off the sea. The waves lapped at the shore as they walked toward the beach. They climbed over the rocks, traversing the rugged terrain all the way back to the Day Keep, well out of sight of the city.
Rafferty turned to Ilain, who lingered near his and Evylin’s side as they walked. “Last time we were here,” he said, “Blount took the Relic, and the Keep went dark. What are we expecting this time?”
“I couldn’t say for sure,” Ilain admitted. “With the Relic returned, I’d imagine the magic will come to life again. And that may mean the Shades will fight to get it back.”
“Does that mean we’ll have to fight the Guardian too?” Ethenn asked on her other side.
“Probably.”
At Ethenn’s frown, Ilain laughed. “Don’t worry, dear,” she teased, reaching across to squeeze his bicep. “With the Day Relic in our possession, Auden is twice as powerful as usual. And the Fire Relic makes me three times as powerful. We’ll keep you safe.”
She said the last part with a wink that made Ethenn’s cheeks turn pink. “Why does it make you more powerful than him?” he asked, studiously avoiding her gaze.
“Because I’m naturally more powerful than my brother,” she said nonchalantly.
“How’d that happen?” Rafferty asked.
Ilain grinned. “Allore’s grace, I suppose.”
“Guess that’s good for us,” he replied. “And what about the Night Keep? What should we expect in there?”
At that, Ilain’s bright mood dimmed. “That’s a mystery, I’m afraid.
As in all Keeps, we’ll face Shades and a Guardian, and the structure will be more or less the same.
However, as I’m sure you’ve come to notice with the two Keeps you’ve had the privilege to enter, they reflect the Relic that they house.
And a Keep that reflects Night is a rather unsettling prospect. ”
“How so?” Rafferty prodded.
Ilain gave him a pained expression but didn’t respond.
Having experienced Night magic as the captive of Prince Blount, Evylin answered for her. “It isn’t a magic any sane man would deal in.”
With an understanding nod, Rafferty let the subject go.
They knew of Auden and Evylin’s suffering at Prince Blount’s hands.
The heir to Wauld was after the Relics himself, and he’d been using their party to lead him to them.
He’d ambushed them, leading to Hewitt’s death and taking Ilain, Thom, Rafferty, and Ethenn captive.
To learn the locations of the rest of the Keeps, Blount used Night magic to torture Auden.
When Evylin attempted to rescue her comrade and escape, the prince kicked her across the face, then slapped her for her further disobedience.
If it hadn’t been for Deckard’s rescue of the rest of their troop, Auden and Evylin would have died at the Night Mage’s hands.
Night magic was horrible. Of that, Evylin had no doubt. Dark and cruel, just like the prince who wielded it. Its Keep would be no different.
With Auden and Deckard at the front of the group, they found the Day Keep’s entrance at the base of the cliff.
A large rock butted against the jagged face, its weatherworn surface crusted in lichen and mollusks.
The faintest split in the cliffside revealed the narrow passage down into the Keep.
One by one, they slipped into the darkness.
The air grew cooler and damper in the cave, and they were shrouded in black for a moment.
Suddenly, bright golden light shot forth from the antechamber of the Keep, lighting up a pathway of stone columns and arched windows. At the far end, an iron door awaited them, with rays of light etched across its face.
As Deckard made to move for the hall, Auden stopped him. “May we have the Relics now?” he asked, a respectful tilt to his tone despite its pointed request.
Deckard paused, drawing back his shoulders.
The golden glow on one side of the antechamber clashed with the darkness from the other, casting Deckard half in light and half in shadow.
It gave him a stark, haggard look, showing the wear and stress their journey had placed on him.
Tall, he nearly reached the hall’s low, arched ceiling.
For a moment, Evylin thought he might refuse, their trust in the Calders still tremulous after their weeks of lies, but then he turned to Rafferty. “Go ahead,” he ordered.
Digging a hand into his coat, Rafferty retrieved the two Relics from the inner recesses of his coat. Their golden chains and pendants shone in the light, but their gemstones—a yellow topaz and a scarlet ruby—refracted dimly as he held them up.
“I’ll take the Fire Relic,” Auden said, reaching for the red talisman.
Deckard held up a hand to stall him. “Isn’t that wasting our best assets? If you’re a Day Mage and Ilain is a Fire Mage, you should carry the appropriate Relics.”
Though Ilain stared at the Fire Relic with excitement in her eyes, Auden’s brow furrowed with worry. “That isn’t a good idea,” he objected. “You’d be giving us a taste of the complete sum of our powers. We won’t want to give it up.”
“We have to make it through these Keeps,” Deckard said. “I’ll risk your hunger for power if that means our safety.”
“That sort of power can become an obsession, Jonn,” Auden argued.
Deckard didn’t back down. “If it becomes a problem, I’ll trust Evylin to knock you out and pry the Relic from your hands.”
Pressing her lips together around a dry smile, Evylin almost laughed. Though part of her doubted that she could best a pair of Mages at the height of their power, her pride appreciated the sentiment.
Auden looked reticent but nodded.
Rafferty proffered the ruby Relic to Ilain. “Milady,” he crooned, then tossed the topaz Relic to Auden.
As soon as the Relics hit the Mages’ hands, the gemstones lit up as though with an inner beacon. Once the chains hung around their necks, Ilain gestured to the hall. “Shall we?”