CHAPTER TWO
Passing into the sunshine-yellow beams of light in the antechamber, Evylin felt an immediate sense of warmth spread through her.
The metalwork windows bore images of suns, and as they walked farther, the light grew brighter.
Their boots thumped against the stone floor, each soldier cautiously drawing weapons.
Auden hesitated momentarily before placing a hand on the iron door.
An immediate thunk sounded the release of the Keep’s lock, then a rolling click-click-click accompanied the door’s opening.
The rooftop garden of the Day Keep awaited them, a heavy brown sky hanging above them.
But the moment Auden set foot inside, the sky flared to life.
Yellow pulsed all around the tower, causing Evylin’s eyes to ache in its instant brightness.
The sweet scent of flowers drifted to her nose as she moved along at the Mages’ backs.
Vibrant grass and a pebbled path stretched to the back of the Keep, flowered bushes and trees guiding their way.
With cautious steps forward, the troop scanned every inch of the garden.
The path led to a tall obelisk at the back of the Keep, where the entrance to the Chamber lay.
Shifting her grip on the leather hilt of her sword, Evylin moved to Ilain’s side.
Her heart started beating heavily in anticipation.
She tried to grasp hold of the sensation, willing her magic to kick in.
After their time in the Water Keep, she’d yet to lock onto her powers as a Warrior again.
It seemed to elude her, held away by the mundane depression she fought.
She feared that she couldn’t access it anymore and would fail her friends when they needed her most. But as the pebbles crunched beneath her feet and the golden light surrounded her there in the Keep, she found her senses coming alive with sharp relief.
Suddenly, Deckard moved to Evylin’s flank. “I hear them,” he said, sword raised in preparation.
Fanning out, Thom and Rafferty shifted before the Mages while Ethenn nocked an arrow, gazes keen on the roof’s edges.
They took position not a moment too soon, as hundreds of Shades rose over the sides.
The humming pulse of their presence filled Evylin’s ears, undulating with the creamy yellow light that fused their clay forms.
As though summoned by the magic itself, Evylin’s Warrior senses sharpened, her skin prickling with ready power.
Her muscles grew taut with eagerness for action.
She could see every blade of grass, feel every pebble under her boots, and hear her companions’ heightened breaths.
The world slowed imperceptibly to allow her to take it in.
The twang of Ethenn’s bowstring drawing back signaled Evylin that the fight was about to begin, and she readied herself when Auden suddenly cried out, “Wait!”
Body primed to strike, Evylin nearly stumbled forward, and Ethenn fought to hold the tension on the string.
The Shades stood still at the tower’s edges, staring at the troop as their magical forms hummed.
Auden set a hand to the Day Relic. “It’s warm,” he said to Ilain.
Her hand flew to the Fire Relic at her breast. “Mine’s not.”
Red hair shining with a golden tint in the brightness, Auden took a step forward, surveying the Shades. “You,” he pointed to a particular Shade, “come here.”
As instructed, the Shade stepped forward while the rest remained still.
Though the threat seemed nonexistent, Evylin and Deckard exchanged a worried glance, weapons ready. Thom shifted uneasily on her other side.
Examining the Shade up close, Auden’s green gaze swept over it excitedly. The Shade bore no facial features, only an oblong head. Its form mimicked humanity in the most rudimentary way, as though someone had shaped their clay but had not taken the time to put in the details.
“No one has ever. . . .” Auden paused as though remembering their business here in the Keep. He looked up to where the Shade’s eyes should have been. “You are under my control?”
The Shade’s glow winked once as if in answer, and Auden gasped. “I heard it,” he murmured, then looked to Ilain. “I heard it in my head. They can speak through the Relic.”
Mouth ajar, Ilain blinked rapidly. “We don’t have time for study, Auden.”
He nodded as though trying to convince himself, turning back to the Shade. “You will let us pass unharmed?”
Another wink of light.
“Will you join us below in the Chamber?”
This time, the light winked twice.
Auden frowned. “No,” he translated for the troop. “I’d hoped we could take them with us into Night.”
“Too good to be true,” Ilain quipped.
Relaxing his stance, Deckard let his sword lower, and Evylin followed his lead. She could hear the other men easing beside them. Ethenn shook out his arm, taxed from holding the bow taut for so long.
Auden dismissed the Shades with a near-reluctant tilt to his voice. He was ever the magister, a scholar seeking new knowledge. His eyes carefully studied the Shades as they retreated down the sides of the tower and out of sight, their hum receding with them.
Rafferty clapped a hand onto Auden’s shoulder. “Not to worry, Highlord,” he teased. “With that Relic around your neck, I’m sure they’d happily let you come back and prod them to death in pursuit of academia.”
As Ilain chuckled along with Rafferty, the Mages made for the path. Ethenn jogged around them to move to the front. He kept an arrow nocked as he ensured the way was clear. Evylin looked up at the Deckard brothers, one on either side. “Too good to be true?” she muttered to them.
Thom let out a huff.
Deckard shook his head dubiously but began to follow their team.
The false start caused Evylin’s grip on her magic to stutter.
Her skin didn’t tingle with the same ferocity, and her senses returned to a natural awareness.
The flowers didn’t smell as sharp, her eyes didn’t adjust to the light, and their footfalls now sounded rather muted, like she had a pillow pressed over both ears.
It worried her, yet they crossed the rooftop without incident.
Evylin couldn’t shake the feeling that it was all too easy.
They should be fighting for their lives, yet they were about to enter the Chamber at full strength.
She supposed she should be grateful for the blessing.
But she worried this was lulling them into a false sense of security.
They reached the marble obelisk, its door a replica of the Keep’s entrance.
While Ethenn watched their backs, Rafferty took the lead, holding the door open for the Calders.
The troop stepped into the obelisk’s stone interior, a spiral staircase leading them into the Chamber.
Winding down what Evylin imagined to be dozens of flights, she worked to maintain a touch of her magic.
Even if the Guardian below allowed them to pass, they would enter the Night Keep in mere minutes.
She had to be ready for whatever insanity it would throw at them.
The Day Chamber sprawled before them, creamy marble with golden veins covering every inch.
The columns, the floors, and the ceilings—all of them shone with brilliance.
No windows lined the space, but it radiated light as though the sun’s rays beamed over it all.
At the far end of the Chamber, the dais awaited with a pair of metal gates at its back.
And stretched out in front of the dais lay a massive golden dragon.
Evylin’s heart fluttered at the sight of the beast. The echo of Ryen’s memory whispered to her. They’d dreamed of fighting a dragon as children. It was part of her vow to him when she left Whickam Village.
“Win dozens of duels, rescue a princess, fight a dragon . . . and become legends worthy of five hundred tales.”
She’d fulfilled her promise, but it had come at the cost of Hewitt’s life.
Evylin’s fingers trembled against the grip of her sword. No matter how docile the Guardian seemed, the troop crept forward cautiously. When last they were in the Chamber, the dragon’s talons had sliced open Deckard’s stomach. If it hadn’t been for Auden’s Day magic, Deckard would have died.
Even weeks later, Evylin’s body grew cold at the memory.
Leaning toward Auden, Rafferty motioned toward the Relic. “You think that thing’ll let you control the Guardian too?” he asked.
“I hope so,” Auden replied.
The dragon lay still as they approached. Its golden eyes watched them, though it never lifted its head. Nor did the creature seem surprised by their presence. It simply watched.
Cautiously, they moved around the Guardian for the dais. Stepping up and to the back, Evylin kept one eye on the dragon, sword at the ready. She couldn’t fathom that it would be this simple, not even as they all crowded onto the platform before the gates.
Ilain hurried up to Auden’s side before the pair of gold metalwork gates. A pulsing yellow light beckoned, so bright Evylin couldn’t see what lay beyond it. The scrollwork of the gates twisted like vines and branches, coiling up to encircle a half-sun and two half-moons.
The gates whispered danger to Evylin—a warning of darkness and death on the other side.
She tightened her grip on her sword, shoving down her fear.
Stepping up to her side, Deckard stared at the gates with a narrowed gaze. His hand brushed over the marble pedestal where the Relic once lay. His jaw had clenched, and his brow pinched together in that way of his—a sure sign of his worry. “You said the Keeps are mirrors of one another?” he said.
The Calders turned back to him. “That’s what our studies suggested,” Auden confirmed. “The ancient Mages’ accounts claim this as a back door between Day and Night.”
“That seems like cheating,” Ethenn remarked, watching the Guardian warily, arrow nocked securely.
“You got a problem with that?” Rafferty asked, twirling a short sword in his hand.
“No,” the hunter returned, letting his arrow relax a little in his grip. “I’m simply saying that it doesn’t make sense. If this is truly a back door, and if the Keeps truly mirror one another, then doesn’t that mean we’ll walk right onto the dais, right next to the Relic?”
“Theoretically,” Auden said.
Ethenn nodded at his point proven. “Why would the makers of the Keeps do that?”
A slow grin worked across Ilain’s face as she scanned him. “You’re right. It’s a trap.”
“You’re telling me we’re willingly walking into a trap?” Thom demanded.
“We don’t have a choice,” Auden countered.
“To little Loxley’s point,” Rafferty said, “aren’t we walking straight up to the Relic?”
“To the best of our knowledge.”
“Then who cares if it’s a bloody trap?” he returned. “We walk right in, you grab the Relic, Highlord Existential Mage, and poof! There goes the Night Guardian.”
“It isn’t that simple,” Ilain said, despite her grin.
“It never is,” Evylin muttered.
Ilain tossed her an amused glance. “It takes focus to kill a Guardian, like all magic. Walking through and grabbing the Relic will help, but Auden and I will need to focus on connecting with Night to destroy the Guardian. Then we’ll have to fight our way out.”
“Why couldn’t he just control the Shades again?” Thom suggested.
Auden took over with a shake of his head.
“I have two theories,” he said. “First, we are returning with the Relic. There is nothing for the creatures to defend now. But with the Night Relic still in its Keep, the Shades will be tasked with reclaiming it. My second theory is that I could control them because I’m a Day Mage with the Day Relic.
Neither may be true, but I think we should assume that we need to be on our guard. ”
“Very well,” Deckard said, then motioned to the gates. “We made our plans last night. Let’s not squabble about them any longer.”
Rafferty and Thom stepped up behind Auden and Ilain as the Mages prepared to open the gates. Ethenn held the back, with Evylin and Deckard just before him. She didn’t like the plan any more now than last night, but she didn’t have any better suggestions either.
The plan was simple: The Ephrians would distract the Guardian while the Calders found the Relic and channeled their connection to Night. Not elegant, but hopefully successful enough to avoid death.
Evylin’s throat tightened. Eyes locked on the metalwork of the gates before them, she tipped her head toward Deckard. “Do me a favor?” she said, voice low.
“Anything,” he returned.
Auden and Ilain lifted their hands to the gates.
“Try not to get severely injured this time,” Evylin said. “I’d rather not carry you out of another Keep.”
The warm, breathy sound of Deckard’s laugh seeped into Evylin’s core, and her muscles instinctively relaxed. “I’ll do my best,” he promised.
The sun and moons on the gates began to glow, forming a radiant globe of light. Pure yellow light pulsed out from the sun, and deep purple beamed from the moons. The gates opened soundlessly as the light beyond grew brighter, and the metal doors swung inward.
“Quickly,” Auden summoned before grabbing his sister’s arm and disappearing into the light.
Thom and Rafferty disappeared next, Deckard and Ethenn hurrying at Evylin’s side.
Golden light enveloped them, covering every inch of her skin in warmth and blinding her entirely.
For one terrifying second, she lost track of Deckard.
For one heart-stopping moment, she thought she’d lost him too.
But just as quickly, the awareness of his presence returned, and she could breathe again.
It only took four steps to pass from Day into Night: two to walk through the gates and two to leave it.
Evylin was no longer blinded by light beyond comprehension. Now, she lost her vision to an all-consuming darkness that smothered her.