Chapter 3 Declan #2
Only then did I realize Ayden was sitting back, staring, while Kelsa gripped my hand.
She released me and sat back, her eyes brimming with tears.
“We survived, as did most of the civilian people of Saltstone. Our army lost almost everyone, but the Guard remained intact. We’ve had to recall the Rangers from the eastern border to begin rebuilding. The new Triad invested in a navy, since most of our fleet consisted of unarmed merchant ships.”
I rubbed my temples and squeezed my eyes shut, trying to make the images flee my mind.
“I don’t think the Kingdom fared much better, but we’ll be prepared if they try anything again.”
“What about Irina? What about her crown?” Kelsa asked.
I looked up. “Irina? She died when Isabel was killed, when the tower fell. No one’s seen the crown since the Phoenix took it.”
Kelsa shook her head. “She is not dead, Declan. Her spirit was not contained.”
Ayden crossed his arms but remained silent. Tension tightened about his eyes.
“How could you know that?”
“The currents never calmed after the battle. I can still sense great turmoil. And in the images, I saw Irina’s spirit flee Isabel’s body. If she had been taken beyond the veil, I would not have seen her spirit. She is still out there.”
“Her spirit roams the continent?” Ayden whispered my thought.
I sat back, struggling to grasp the implications of such a thing.
“When you taught me about spirit communication, you said spirits could cause great harm if not contained by a circle. You were insistent I learn to draw the circle perfectly with no breaks. When the tower fell, that broke the circle containing Irina, didn’t it?”
She nodded.
“Could she inhabit another person, like she did with Isabel?” I asked.
“Perhaps.” Kelsa stared into the distance. “If she did, she would not want to inhabit just anyone. She would want someone with a strong Gift.”
“That could be any number of people, though I suspect that number is much smaller now.”
Kelsa thought a moment. “She would also want someone with a weak mind so she could control them. That would be a hard combination to find. Most of those with powerful Gifts have a mind to match, making their ability to repel Compulsion far greater.
Based on what you have told me—and what you learned from Keelan—she gained most of her power from the crown, which is now missing.”
“But if she found the right host, and then found the crown . . .”
“Declan, I wish you could stay here forever, but you need to leave.” She stood. “You may be the only one strong enough to find and contain Irina.”
My eyes widened. “How am I supposed to do that?”
“I . . . I do not know.” She stepped around the table and rested her hand on my shoulder. “All I know is that you must try. There is no one else who stands any hope of facing her, especially if she rises to power again.”
I stood on the porch of the Keeper’s cottage, staring into my mother’s eyes.
“Seeing you again was more than my heart hoped for,” she said. “Please come back when you can.”
I moved onto the first step and wrapped her in a tight embrace. “If I had my choice, I would never leave this place again. I love you, Mother.”
Kelsa swallowed hard, as if to hold back her tears, then pulled away from my embrace and slapped my chest teasingly.
“Don’t you dare make me cry again, Declan Rea.”
I smirked and gave her a peck on the cheek.
Ayden chuckled a little too loudly.
“And you, Ayden Byrne.” Kelsa marched around me and poked him in the chest with a finger. “You take care of my boy, or the Phoenix and I will hunt you down. You hear me?”
Ayden’s eyes widened as they shifted from Kelsa to me.
“Can she—?”
Kelsa and I burst out laughing.
“She’s yanking your chain, lordling.”
“Oh,” he said, returning his gaze to hers but not losing a bit of his childlike trepidation.
Kelsa cupped his cheek as she so often did mine. “You are my son now, too. I will think of you often. You boys come home to me, please.”
Before Ayden could think of a witty retort, Kelsa grabbed him and hugged him close. When she pulled back, his eyes held more than a little moisture.
“Oh, I should’ve mentioned this before,” I said.
“Uh-oh.” Ayden found his smirk again.
Kelsa spun and planted her fists on her hips. “What is it, Declan Rea? I know that tone.”
I lowered my head and muttered, “So . . . I kind of told Keelan.”
Kelsa’s arms crossed, and her already arching brow rose further.
“Yeah. So, I told him about . . . um . . . well . . .” I looked down, trying to avoid her gaze. “I told him about everything, but I used magic to bind him to silence and mask the knowledge in his mind. He can’t speak about it, even if Compelled.”
Her mouth set as she gripped my arm. “What is done cannot be undone. But son, no one else. Ever. Do you hear me?”
I nodded.
“I’m serious. órla gave you—gave both of us—a magnificent gift in letting you keep your memory. More than that, she gave you the ultimate trust. The security and fate of magic itself rests with the secrets you carry. If Irina—or anyone with ill intent—learned of the location of the Well,
it could mean disaster beyond imagining.”
I nodded. “I know, but Keelan is the most trustworthy person I know. His whole life, even his Gift, revolves around the truth. Add my binding, and I’m confident he will never betray that trust. Wouldn’t you . . . someday . . . ?”
Her eyes flew wide. “Oh, Declan, of course I would want to see him, to see the man he’s become. There’s nothing my heart craves more, but my heart can never take precedence over the welfare of magic and this world—and neither can yours. That is the burden we both bear.”
I hesitated, then asked, “How do I even remember you?”
“What?” Her brow furrowed.
“When I leave this place, how do I remember everything? I know órla told me things, but could her magic restore what the Keeper’s protections took away?”
“All that time with her, and you still do not see, do you?” Kelsa smiled. “órla is beyond us all, beyond any Mage. Only the Well surpasses her in strength and power. If she chose to break a spell cast by mere men, she could do so with barely a thought.”
“But . . . if she has that kind of power, why could Irina . . .”
“In the end, órla had to choose. She sacrificed herself to save the people, but that meant allowing Irina to go free. She can do wondrous things, but being in two places at once is not one of them.”
“But couldn’t she have stopped her? Before all those people died?”
“Perhaps. Perhaps not. In the end, she gave herself for the good of others. We may never understand more than that.”
She stared into my eyes for a long moment, then drew a deep breath and cupped my cheek.
“Enough of that. I refuse to say goodbye. I love you. Travel safely and come back soon, all right?”
I wrapped her in another hug. Ayden was quick to join in, wrapping his arms around both of us.
Afterward, with a hand on Ayden’s shoulder, I thought of home and . . .
Nothing happened.
“Give me a minute,” I said when Ayden shuffled. “I just need to get a place in my mind.”
I thought of the Mages’ Guild, the place where I grew up.
Still nothing.
“Declan, what is happening? You look like you ate something sour.” Kelsa’s face scrunched in concern.
“I don’t know. I don’t even feel magic’s tingle when I try to Travel. It’s like . . . I just can’t.”
Terrified my magic was gone, I pulled moisture from the air and formed a wobbling ball of water before me. I released a heavy sigh as I let the water splash to the ground.
“My magic still works.”
“Have you only Traveled the one time?” Kelsa asked.
“Twice. The first time was when I returned to the mainland. I Traveled to Ayden,” I said. “The second time was when I Traveled from Grove’s Pass to Saltstone, before the siege began.”
“Was órla with you each time?”
I thought a moment, then nodded.
“I do not fully understand the Bond. No one has bonded in millennia. Something about órla’s presence may strengthen your power or respond to your need.”
I tried one last time. Nothing worked.
“Maybe you’re right. I guess it doesn’t matter why; we can’t Travel.” I shrugged and looked toward Ayden. “Ready for a hike? The gate is on the other side of the village.”
Ayden clapped me on the shoulder. “After you, my good sir.”
Kelsa gave each of us another peck on the cheek. Then, far too quickly, Ayden and I made our way down the mountain path.