Chapter 4 Vaxan #2
Zayn eyed me, mirth shining forth in spite of everything. “More power, you say?”
I tensed.
Power that could come at a steep price.
Winter hadn’t wanted anyone to know about his glitching, hence him going to Ketheron in secret, hence the very meeting he’d been headed to that had led to this subsequent disappearance. And he especially hadn’t wanted Sylas to know.
Remnant eyed me studiously, then turned to Ketheron beside him. “If you will.”
Ketheron glanced at my crown.
He stepped up to me and smiled kindly. “All will be well, little lord,” he spoke, a moment before his golden magic sparked.
He swept his hands the length of me, and then a heavy weight lifted, and I looked to see a near-translucent film identical to Remnant’s encompassing me.
“It will maintain until nightfall,” he informed me.
“Thank you.”
“Of course. You have expended a great deal of power in aid of my tiny god.”
“Tiny god,” Evira uttered. “That’s unbelievably sweet.”
“Crown Heir,” Remnant greeted Evira with a polite nod, and then what looked like a smile in his eyes as he looked at Zayn, although his mouth was obscured by the metal mask covering most of his facial features.
Evira tensed at his utterance of her title.
Hmm. With all our immediate attention having been on Winter’s disappearance, she hadn’t yet debriefed us on what had transpired with her father in the Dracoryn Realm earlier. Had she been punished?
“So much royalty all pulling for Winter,” Ambrose commented, cutting off my train of thought.
My panicked train of thought.
Very unlike me.
I detested it.
Immensely.
“And intense fire power,” Sylas said, giving Zayn a chin lift.
Zayn’s smile at that acknowledgement faded all too soon as Sylas shook his head at the three of us and rumbled, “Winter’s situation has become known to me.”
Damnation.
“The culprit behind Winter’s abduction left me no choice,” Ketheron told us. “Winter’s teleportation path was compromised by him. My gorgeous intervened and brought Winter here. However, he was overpowered by said culprit, and Winter was taken.”
“Overpowered?” Zayn choked, eyeing Ambrose. “You? How the fuck?”
“We are dealing with a True Celestial wielding a perversion of Celestial magic,” he responded. With a grave glance at Sylas, he added, “And access to necromantic power.”
We were dealing with what?
That couldn’t… for that to be the case—
Remnant’s words cut my thoughts to the quick as he looked upon me. “Our means to track Winter are far too detrimental to many involved. Fortunately, Ambrose was able to determine that you have a safer, albeit incredibly taxing method.”
I nodded. “Vibrational tracking.”
“A barely known Basilisk ability,” Ambrose said.
“Barely known for a reason,” I answered pointedly.
“It won’t be spoken of beyond us,” Remnant assured me.
I cracked my knuckles. “And this culprit. A True Celestial as you said.”
I wanted to ask how on earth that was possible, given the Severance. But the priority was facilitating the tracking and extraction of Winter.
Ambrose frowned. “He’s aware of the tether?”
“Aware or merely anticipatory. He’s been teleporting continually, breaking my hold on the link—eight times so far.”
“I see. He’s also slowing you down, causing such strain.”
“Yes.”
Sylas stepped forward.
But then Ambrose pressed a hand to his chest. “No. As we discussed, we can’t risk your necromantic magic connecting with Ruxnoth.
Even a slight access point for somebody as astute and opportunistic as him could be enough to tap your power.
When it comes to the actual extraction, your magic must only touch Winter, not him. ”
Ruxnoth. That was this creature’s identity.
Evira, Zayn, and I exchanged a look.
That was the name of the being who’d taken our love.
A growl rumbled from Sylas that startled Zayn, surprised me, and had Evira tensing.
Sylas Morgrave was known for his impeccable control.
Given the fact that he was the son of Morien, he’d had to go to great lengths to always present himself that way over the last two decades. It had been imperative that he’d shown himself to be the antithesis to the likes of Morien.
But this crisis concerned his own son.
Having to compartmentalize that—Winter being in danger and enduring possible damage and torment—was clearly a step too far.
Sylas grunted and stepped back from Ambrose.
He turned to Remnant as he gestured at Zayn and Evira. “Take them back to Loxley Academy. When you hear from us, move them to my home for debriefing. I can’t alert Velra, Lazriel, and Cassius until Winter is extracted and safe from harm. The fallout would be—”
“You know well that I understand. I will see to it.”
“What? No. We’re not leaving while Winter is still out there,” Evira protested.
“Sylas,” Zayn started, as he stroked Evira’s arm. “The four of us are a package deal now. We solidified things and you know better than anyone here what that means. There’s no way we’re being benched.”
“We came here via vampire speed courtesy of Remnant, not teleportation. Why do you believe that to be, when the more efficient method would have been the latter?”
Zayn frowned.
Evira eyed Sylas steadily. “Too many eruptions of extreme power set off alarm bells to the Guardian Movement. It could reveal that Winter’s been taken. Somebody who’s already on a load of watchlists.”
“Yes.” He gestured at Zayn. “Chaotic expulsions of your magical flame will register as unstable when you’re emotional, as is the case for many young magic-wielders with volatile temperaments.
Something you and I will work on as we’ve discussed, but which hasn’t been achieved yet.
” He told Evira, “A dragon heir unleashing her power who is being monitored by House Vortimer agents is also an undue risk.” He pointed at me as he told them, “His power is controlled. He’s older, more learned, and that control is also partially inherent.
Not to mention, his vibrational tracking is required.
The two of you don’t need to be put in danger as well.
It’s the definition of unnecessary risk. ”
Ambrose added, “I can mask the expulsion of two powerful beings in Ketheron and Sylas, no more than that. And only for a time.”
“It’s what’s best for Winter. All right,” Evira acquiesced.
Zayn tugged at his hair. “Yeah, okay.”
Sylas nodded, then told Remnant. “Brief them as necessary. Especially the intricacies involving discretion.”
“Of course.” He went to Sylas and grasped his shoulder. “Message the instant you find him, Sylas. Do you hear me?”
“Absolutely.”
In the next moment, Remnant snatched up Zayn and Evira in a blur, then burst away with his Ancient vampiric speed.
“Resume,” Sylas told me. “Ketheron will give you a boost.”
I nodded and sank to my knees, pressing my palms to the dark sand.
Ketheron settled down at my side and reached out, grasping my shoulder carefully, while Sylas and Ambrose moved to a distance that wouldn’t impact my task.
“Maintain steady breathing when you feel the rush of power. Do not fear, Ruxnoth cannot interpret my magical signature due to my Polygenus Entity nature.”
“The moment you latch onto Winter, we’re moving in. You’ll need to come along so we don’t lose the tether should Ruxnoth attempt to move Winter again,” Sylas told me.
“Rules of engagement?”
“We need access to those necromancers. He can’t be terminated yet,” Ambrose said, which earned a snarl from Sylas, but no actual comment.
Beyond the issue of how to dispose of a True Celestial bearing warped power with an army of necromancers doing his bidding, Sylas also knew it had to be this way currently.
Despite his warranted distaste, which I most definitely shared.
I detested it when justice couldn’t be served.
When deliverance couldn’t be guaranteed.
When protection couldn’t be simple.
Alas, we lived in a time when complications abounded.
This world could be volatile, vexing, and decidedly unforgiving.
And sometimes it just… hurt.
“Understood,” I forced myself to utter.
Then I drew in a centering breath, and gave a nod for Ketheron.
In the next moment, I was spluttering as the intensity of his power rushed through me, a tidal wave of hot pressure flooding my veins and being alike.
I pushed deep into the sand, my fingers sinking into the shifting grains, Ketheron’s assistance serving to expand my reach without strain, enabling me to hold focus at a level of intensity that hadn’t been possible before.
I transmitted the vibrational resonance downward until it settled into the basalt beneath.
The bedrock received me easily, its dense structure thrumming through my arms in response to the frequency I was emitting.
Excellent.
Stability had been achieved.
I cast the vibrational path outward, pushing past the breaks in the link I’d felt earlier due to Ruxnoth’s incessant teleportation. It essentially leapfrogged over the hollow absence and caught the next link along the chain. Over and over.
My hum threaded deeper, determinedly following the echo that the tether I’d tagged Winter with sent back to me.
I reached farther, not stopping, not tiring, not being overwhelmed by the obstacles Ruxnoth had put in place.
Closer.
Closer still.
It wouldn’t be long now.
Just hold on, little death.