Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
F allon was sitting at his desk, dictating a letter to Mauricio when the doors of his office were flung wide open. Novi and her new entourage barged in, suggesting that his work would need to be set aside.
“You’re early,” he scolded while glancing at the clock.
“I couldn’t wait any longer,” Novi answered with a wide smile. “I’ve been looking forward to seeing Loric for weeks now!”
He shared a look with Mauricio, then sat up straighter and leaned forward on his desk.
“Perhaps your handmaids should wait outside while we get things arranged?”
Novi shot him a skeptical look.
“Your project won’t be secret for much longer,” she countered. “And if your top advisors know all about it, then surely why can’t mine?”
“You have trusted advisors now?” he asked with an amused laugh. “Callista I can understand, but Annika? You’ve only known her for a handful of days.”
“She’s a kindred spirit,” Novi said, mildly offended. “She used to be human and now she’s not. She’s also from Earth and has somehow managed not to give us all away to her people or to her husband’s. The Estellians all think she’s human. And Talvi is in your custody. If it goes badly, you do have options. But you won’t need them, will you?”
Novi walked behind Fallon’s desk and sat down on his knee, draping an affectionate arm over his shoulders.
“Besides, I already know Annika is trustworthy because if she wasn’t, you’d never let her anywhere near me...or our daughter.”
Fallon looked at Novi, then at her round belly. Then he looked up at Mauricio. He knew he was about to lose his argument, but he wasn’t ever going to admit it without a second opinion.
“What do you think?”
Mauricio glanced over to Callie, then studied Annika for a few moments.
“It’s highly advantageous to have a connection like Annika to the modern world. It aligns with our vision. And Loric did say he was looking forward to meeting her.”
“Very well,” Fallon said, hugging Novi a little closer. “Lock the doors and we’ll get started.”
Callie took care of the doors while Mauricio fetched a small black chest that was sitting beside Fallon’s desk. He set it down by the nearest wall and ceremoniously opened the lid. A warm, golden light streamed out, piquing Annika’s interest.
“A portal ?” she squeaked in disbelief. “So it really did come from you!”
Mauricio hesitated, holding one of the gold bricks in each of his hands. Fallon frowned, then nudged Novi to get out of his lap.
“Where have you seen this before?” he quietly asked Annika as he came over to stand at Mauricio’s side.
“I...I saw one of these a little over a year ago,” she stammered. Fallon narrowed his suspicious eyes at her.
“Explain.”
“Okay...well, um...about a year and a half ago the natural portals between Earth and Erit?hti weren’t working...that’s how I got stuck here in the first place. That’s how I met Talvi and Konstantin.”
“Konstantin?” Fallon repeated. He turned to his secretary. “Is this the same Konstantin who?—”
“Yes, sire. He’s Renata’s Estellian trading partner,” Mauricio confirmed. “He’s been buying quite a lot from us lately.”
Fallon held back the satisfied smile that begged to unleash itself onto his lips.
It was true that he didn’t want another war with Estellians. But there were so many ways to take over another empire without force. The crystix was a perfect example.
It could send messages without a messenger, reducing the time between communications from a matter of days to a matter of seconds. It gave access to Ellunian newspapers, awakening the readers to examples of the empire’s advanced magic and thriving culture. Even if they were scared of being caught with enemy technology, every Estellian who had a crystix wanted everyone else they knew to have one as well.
Right at this very moment, the Royal Sinaryan Navy was busy patrolling the waters to protect this precious cargo as it infiltrated enemy territory and won them over one at a time. The Estellians had shunned the excessive use of magic to their detriment, and they were on the brink of learning just how much at a disadvantage they truly were.
Instead of testing the limits of what it could do, they had only ended up limiting themselves. Learning about the wonders of the world beyond their borders would make them realize how much of a disadvantage they were now at. And given the production numbers, they were learning this fact quickly. The crystix was so popular on the Estellian black market that Renata couldn’t supply them to Konstantin fast enough.
“His latest delivery has been far more interesting,” Fallon said as he settled his eyes back to Annika. “Keep talking. I’d like to know how a bard from Earth has seen one of my portals over a year ago when no one else at court even knows they exist.”
Annika nodded, failing to notice Novi and Callie’s shocked expressions.
“Right...so Talvi’s dad and Konstantin put together a group of us to find out what the problem was with the natural portals not working. They were all screwed up, and leading to the wrong places. It turned out to be a bunch of Pazachi shutting them down.”
Fallon clenched his teeth as his eyes burned with obsidian fire.
“Did you say Pazachi?”
“Yeah...” It was clear that Annika was starting to panic, but Fallon had encountered enough spies in his court that he had zero patience for them. It didn’t matter to him if he upset this foreign redhead—not if she was capable of bringing ruin to his kingdom. He narrowed his eyes at her, silently prodding her for more information. “They’re Druid extremists...they didn’t want anybody using the portals, so they started closing them all over the world.”
“Oh, I know all about that,” Fallon murmured. “The question is, how do you know all about that?”
Annika shrugged.
“Well, like I said, they were the reason I got stuck in Erit?hti long enough to meet Talvi and his family. His dad and Konstantin sent us to find the Pazachi...only when we did, a big fight broke out and we accidentally wrecked their portal. The next thing I knew, people and animals from this world came flying out of it, and then I got sucked inside and landed on Earth. When Talvi and I first came to Sinarya, we recognized the design of the bricks right away.”
Still holding the portal bricks in his hands, Mauricio carefully placed them back into the chest. Fallon’s thoughts were racing. So far, Annika hadn’t lied to him. She’d done everything he’d asked, answered all of his questions, leaving him, deep in thought as he calculated his next step. If she kept being so damn useful, he might not be able to let her leave.
“Does the name Draganos mean anything to you?”
“Yeah,” Annika replied with an obedient nod. “He was the leader of the Pazachi.”
“Where is he now?”
“Dead. Talvi killed him.”
Impressed by his stroke of luck, Fallon glanced at Novi, whose eyes were wide with wonder. “You’re not the only one who’s looking forward to speaking with Loric,” he finally said, and motioned for Mauricio to resume assembling the portal. “The sooner we get there, the better.”
Mauricio quickly assembled the arch of interlocking golden bricks, but when it came time to walk through it, Callie took one look at the iridescent swirling membrane stretched across it and backed away.
“I think I’ll stay here with Mauricio, if you don’t mind,” she said.
“Suit yourself,” said Fallon before escorting Novi through the magic doorway. Within a few seconds, they were standing in Loric’s office, surrounded by shelves of academic books and his numerous inventions.
“Greetings, Your Highness...Novi,” said Loric, who was standing beside his desk. As usual, it was covered with papers, but today his favorite tea set was sitting on top of everything. Suddenly Fallon’s other guest stumbled through the portal. “This must be Annika. How exciting to finally meet you. My name is Loric. I’m Head Professor here at the university.”
“Nice to meet you,” she breathed in bewilderment. Her eyes darted around the office, adjusting to the dim light.
“Very nearly took you for a human,” he observed before straightening himself and turning back to Fallon.
“What gave it away?” asked Fallon.
“I can’t read her thoughts,” Loric admitted with another quick glance at the small redhead. “Of course, I’m not trying terribly hard, but you never have to with humans.”
“No, you certainly don’t. She doesn’t take orders, either. I can’t compel her to do anything. No one can.”
Annika’s blue eyes widened with concern.
“But I’ve done everything you’ve asked me to.”
“Asking one to do something is different than compelling them to do it,” explained Fallon. “It makes you more like us than a human.”
“Our visit couldn’t have had better timing,” Novi said as Loric motioned for them to take a seat around a low table surrounded by a set of overstuffed chairs. “Fallon and I just found out that Annika’s seen one of our portals in action. Sounds like it was the original prototype that was stolen a couple of years ago.”
“It’s so refreshing how you don’t bother with polite chatter,” Loric said as he gave everyone a cup of tea and sat in the chair closest to Annika. “It lets you get straight to the most fascinating topic of conversation. I wish more of my colleagues functioned that way. I’d get twice as much done in half the time.”
“If you value efficiency, listen to this,” Fallon said with a restrained grin. “Not only has Annika seen the prototype of our portal, but her husband Talvi was kind enough to get rid of the Pazachi fool who stole it from us.”
“Is that so? ” Loric asked.
“Yes,” Fallon nodded, trying unsuccessfully to conceal his pleasure. “Draganos is no longer a problem for us.”
“I say, that is good news. Well, we know how his fate turned out. What happened to the portal?”
All eyes turned to Annika, who was busy adding sugar to her tea.
“So...I wasn’t there for this, but Talvi told me that he and his friends split up the pieces and went their separate ways. They said the stones were full of black magic. They didn’t want anyone to get hurt because of it, so they got rid of them. Some were dropped into the ocean. Some were thrown into caves or over cliffs, although Talvi’s brother Finn saved a few so he could study them. But then he...”
Annika hesitated and set her tea down in her lap.
“What did Talvi’s brother do?” Fallon asked.
“He...he went a little crazy,” she confessed while staring down at her lap. “Apparently he’d been keeping the portal pieces under his bed for months.”
“Does he still have the remnants of our portal?”
“No.”
“What happened to them?”
“I’m not sure,” Annika said with an apologetic shrug. “You’d have to ask Finn. All I know is that they were gone back when we thought he was dead.”
“Why did you think Finn was dead?”
“Ummm . . . ”
Fallon’s eyes narrowed with interest as Annika’s anxiety level shot up. He could hear her heartbeat quickening in her chest, and could feel the heat coming off the back of her warm neck.
“Oh, this is that scandal you were involved in, wasn’t it?” Novi blurted out. “When all the Estellian papers reported that you slept with Finn and then Talvi killed him and went to prison—where he met Dillon—but then it turned out that Talvi actually killed a doppelg?nger—an enemy of the state—and Finn had simply chosen a horrible time to go on vacation somewhere remote, right? Did I get that all right?”
Annika let out a weak laugh, followed by a sheepish smile.
“Yeah. I mean, that’s what the papers all said, but it’s mostly lies. Talvi thought he’d killed his brother, and he met Dillon in Bleakmoor Prison. The guy he killed wasn’t a doppelg?nger. He was a Pazachi—Draganos’s son. He wanted revenge, but Talvi killed him.”
“I’m looking forward to meeting him more and more,” Loric snickered in fascination. “Your husband and his family sound quite interesting.”
“Indeed,” Fallon hummed.
“Is there any news on Talvi’s mission?” asked Annika.
“Nothing to share at this point,” said Fallon. “They were blown off course by a storm, but they’re back on track. However, it is quite interesting how useful Talvi has made himself to us. He may not have taken care of Draganos out of goodwill towards us, but he seems to share our values of keeping the portals open between our world and Annika’s. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“Yeah, absolutely,” said Annika. “It’s the only way we can be together or have any kind of life. Otherwise one of us has to leave our family behind, along with all of our friends, our home, and everything we’ve ever known.”
“Can you imagine a world where you step through a portal and you’re with your family?” Novi asked with a snap of her fingers. “And then you walk through and you’re here with his family? All in the blink of an eye! You could spend holidays however you wanted, instead of in carriages or trains.”
“Honestly, I’d never have believed it if I hadn’t seen it for myself,” Annika admitted. “So far, most of my experience with portals has been a huge pain in the ass. Pardon my French.”
“That wasn’t French.”
“I know. It’s just an expression where I come from,” Annika explained. “It means I’m sorry for swearing. But wait—do you know French?”
“Of course I speak French. All Sinaryans do,” Fallon said before taking a drink of his tea. “The portal in Prasad, Veselle opens into Paris, France. It’s rightfully ours. Most of the humans here are descendants of the original French imports.”
“You actually call them imports ?” Annika asked with a dubious frown. “That sounds an awful lot like human trafficking.”
Fallon cast her a dubious look and set down his teacup. It was time to school this naive modern human on her own race. Or at least, her former race.
“Imagine life in medieval France. Pestilence and death were widespread. The average human lived to be not even forty years of age. It wasn’t difficult to invite them to live in a world with inexpensive housing, clean running water, and proper medical attention...not to mention practical magic to make their lives easier. If they give us children, then they’re provided for as long as they live. It’s always been a mutually beneficial arrangement.”
“I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions,” Annika apologized with an embarrassed expression. “I don’t know much about your history. I do have another question, though.”
“Go on.”
“I thought Prasad was in Sirana. But everyone talks like it’s in Veselle. Why is that?”
“War changes borders all the time. We’ve been at war with the Estellians for centuries.” He paused to raise an eyebrow at her. “I’d suggest looking at a different map.”
Annika lifted a hand to her face, scrubbing it with her delicate palm.
“I feel like such a dumbass,” she said as her fingers fell back into her lap. “Sorry for swearing, but it’s true.”
“The cure for ignorance is having the courage to ask questions,” said Fallon, hoping to console her. “And as Novi will surely tell you, Professor Loric’s office is one of the few places where you may speak as freely as you like.”
“It’s true,” Novi snickered while trying to get more comfortable. “I swear like a Sinaryan sailor whenever I’m in private.”
Fallon couldn’t stop musing about the woman who had so much experience with his original portal. He leaned forward in his chair, unable to ignore the myriad of questions rumbling through his brain.
“Annika, you said earlier that people and animals from this world came flying out of our prototype, and once that had ceased, the portal drew you in and brought you back to Earth, correct?”
Trying to be polite, Annika stifled her laughter.
“You make it sound so nice. The truth is that your portal sucked me in and spit me out,” she told him. “I got banged up pretty bad. I was just glad it left me in Paris so I could find somewhere to get help. When I first came to Erit?hti, it was through a natural portal in Bulgaria. It was in the middle of nowhere.”
His ears perking up at this new information, Loric crossed the room and stopped in front of one of his overcrowded bookshelves, then selected a large, slender title. He brought it over to the seating area and opened it to reveal a map of Erit?hti on one page. On the opposite page was a map of Europe and the Middle East.
“Those are the locations of all the portals!” Annika gasped. She leaned closer to inspect the landmarks of small black stars that both the maps shared.
“Those are the locations we officially know of,” Loric explained. “As you can see, the one you say you initially went through doesn’t show a matching location anywhere near Bulgaria.” He flipped the page, which showed the same map of small black stars, but these were positioned on a map of Earth. Loric turned the page back and forth a few times, then looked at Annika.
“That means the portal you went through has been kept secret all this time.”
“As far as I know, only Talvi’s family and friends know about it.”
“Could it be one of the lost portals?” asked Novi. “I’ve read some books that say there are a lot more out there that we don’t know about. If what Annika says is true, then that proves it.”
“It’s a possibility,” Loric answered while nodding his head. “I don’t know what other explanation there could be.”
“Are there a lot of lost portals?” asked Annika.
“It’s impossible to know,” he said with a shrug. “That’s the trouble with being lost. There’s an old legend that says there’s one in the mountains nearby, but the city of Sinarya has been here for millennia. We’ve never come across a portal.”
Fallon caught Novi staring up at the ceiling, frowning so deeply that her entire face was scrunched up. He knew right away that her mind was hard at work.
“Annika, you said when you came to Erit?hti that the portals were broken, and that they led to the wrong places. When you returned, you landed in Paris after using our artificial portal...and Paris is a known portal location on Earth. It’s linked with Prasad.” Novi pointed to one of the black stars on the map in front of them. “So why didn’t you try going back home using the portal you arrived through? Why did you stay long enough to meet Talvi and his family and find the Pazachi? Even if it was broken, shouldn’t that first portal have led to one of these other locations on Earth? Maybe Budapest? Jerusalem?”
“Nope,” Annika said with an emphatic shake of her head. “If it looked like Jerusalem or Budapest, I would’ve hopped through it in a heartbeat. But when I stuck my head through the portal, all I saw was some kind of apocalyptic wasteland.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. It was scary as shit—I mean, scary as hell . Honestly, I kinda wondered if it actually was hell. I wasn’t there for very long—I literally popped my head in and took a look around. But I’ll never forget what I saw. The sun looked like a burning piece of charcoal, and the light in the sky was red, like the clouds were full of blood instead of rain.”
Fallon’s eyes widened at her observations.
“What else do you remember?” he asked before flicking his eyes to Loric, who gave him a knowing nod. He was thinking the same thing that Fallon was.
“I remember it was ungodly hot. The air burned my eyes and my lungs. Everything smelled like sulfur and ash. The ground was all black...there was a desert of black mountains and black sand. There was a river, but it was made of fire and lava. Like I said, I only stuck my head in for a couple seconds. It was too hot to stay very long. I thought maybe the other side of the portal was an active volcano, but that wouldn’t explain the black sun or the blood-red sky.”
“Did it look anything like this?” Loric effortlessly flipped through the book until he found an illustration of Desmondia.
Annika brought her teacup to her lips and took a drink, then inhaled so sharply that she started to choke and cough. Fallon handed her a napkin so she could dry her face.
“Was the tea too hot?” Loric asked, his brow furrowing in concern.
“The tea’s fine,” Annika gasped while catching her breath. “It’s this picture! That’s exactly what I saw! Even the mountains are just like I remembered them....they’re all shiny and smooth, like black glass that has little ripples running through it. Where is this?”
“Desmondia,” said Fallon, trying not to let anyone see his true sense of awe. “Although I’m astounded that you’ve seen it with your own eyes. It’s nearly uninhabitable. At least...uninhabitable to creatures such as yourself.”
“Where is it?” Annika asked.
“It’s not of this world. It’s not of yours, either. It’s in the Demon Realm...it’s where my ancestors are from.”
“Oh, like Daiyana, the mother of all the N?kki elves?”
A burst of warmth flooded Fallon’s veins. The little samodiva hybrid hadn’t been here very long, but she was paying attention.
“I see you’ve been studying your history. Or should I say, our history?”
“That was me,” Novi said as she refilled Annika’s cup. “It’s not every day that a human turns into something else—at least, not something magical. When I found out that Annika used to be a human just like me, the first thing I asked her was how it happened. That’s why I told her the history of who Daiyana was, and how she’s blessed me.” She stopped to share a grin with Annika. “It’s not quite as mysterious as having a three-hundred-year-old prophecy that says I’ll be the Liberator of Souls.”
“I’m rather curious to know how a modern woman from Earth came to be destined as the Liberator of Souls,” Loric mused while toying with his chin. “I find it incredibly intriguing that there’s a three-hundred-year-old prophecy about you .”
“It’s an old Druid dialect,” Annika explained. “Talvi says we shouldn’t take it literally word-for-word. Apparently, there’s a lot that could’ve been misunderstood.”
“Perhaps it’s not about you?” Loric mused.
“No, it’s definitely about me,” Annika assured him with a grin. “The prophecy said that Talvi would marry a woman from a distant land with the voice of a siren and the blood of a samodiva, and…” She trailed off while giving a little shrug. “Well, here I am.”
“She does have samodiva blood,” Fallon confirmed. “And her voice is exquisite. You should come to court tonight and hear her sing, Loric. That is, if you don’t mind indulging us in another performance, Annika. The court has all but demanded you play for us again.”
“I don’t mind. I thought it was fun.” She smiled brightly as an idea came to mind. “Maybe we can get some other musicians and have a backup band for me?”
“That can be arranged,” said Fallon. “If not in time for this evening, then very soon.”
“I should like to see that very much,” Loric said, clasping his hands in anticipation. “Wood nymphs are known for their beguiling natures...I can only imagine what it would sound like to combine that samodiva magnetism with all the power of a siren’s song.”
“Oh, it was incredible!” Novi gushed. “The court loved Annika! Absolutely loved her! In fact, her singing was so amazing that it—oh, never mind.”
“What else did it do?” Loric pressed. Novi cast Annika an awkward look.
“Her singing got Tristan out of bed.”
“Is that so?” Loric wondered out loud. “Nobody’s seen Prince Tristan for months.”
“Well, maybe Annika’s prophecy as the Liberator of Souls is right, because she basically brought him back from the dead.”
Fallon leaned back in his chair and tented his fingers, mulling a thought over in his head.
“Annika, what does your prophecy say? Do you know the exact wording?”
“I do, although the prophecy was given when Talvi’s mom was pregnant with him. I know it was a Druid priestess who said it.”
“Would you share it with Loric and me?”
“Sure.” She took another drink of tea. “Talvi’s bride shall be from a distant land with the blood of a samodiva and the voice of a siren. Thereafter this union, through his bride’s altered body, she shall cultivate and give birth to a voice that will liberate one soul at a time, thusly anchoring these lives to the world of the living.”
Fallon’s eyes flicked over to Loric, who was busy jotting down her words in one of his countless notebooks.
“This is exactly what she said?”
“Yeah . . . although the priestess used an ancient Druid dialect.”
“Yes...yes...” Loric muttered. His face was calm, but the light in his demonborn eyes was unmistakeable. “If your husband is one of the Kallo elves, then it was translated from this ancient Druid dialect into Karsikko. Although if you indeed have the blood of a samodiva and the voice of a siren, it doesn’t seem to have lost much in translation. You’re not pregnant, are you?”
Annika barely had enough warning to stop from spitting tea all over her lap a second time, making Novi laugh so hard that she had to fan herself off.
“No, I’m not planning on having kids for a while,” Annika finally said. “Not for a few years.”
“Well, I suppose that gives you plenty of time to sort out whose souls your future child will be liberating,” Loric said in a bright, cheerful tone. “Although...”
“Although what?” Novi practically yelled at him. “You’ve got ideas, don’t you? I knew you would!”
Loric gave her a gentle smile.
“It might be nothing at all, and you shouldn’t get your hopes up, but the Department of Linguistics has a number of dictionaries and other reference books. If you want to do a bit of research on various ancient Druid dialects, you’re welcome to borrow as many as you like.”
“That would be wonderful!” Novi replied, but her excitement was erased with a painful wince.
“Are you alright?” Fallon asked as he rose to his feet.
“I will be,” Novi hissed. “Our daughter has just decided to start kicking my left kidney. I’ll have to go to the Department of Linguistics another time.”
“I could fetch the books for you,” Loric offered. “I know exactly which ones will be most useful.”
“You can’t possibly carry them all,” Fallon said, and put aside his empty cup. “I’ll come with. You two ladies will be fine on your own, won’t you?”
“Yes, as long as I’m not stuck,” Novi squeaked, then held out an arm for someone to help her out of her chair. Annika gently pulled her onto her feet. “I just need to stand up for a bit and get this baby to change her position.”
“If you need anything, my colleague’s office is right next door,” Loric told the women. “We won’t be long.”
After working with various mages at the university for years, Fallon knew his way around the building. He’d spent his younger days obsessed with harnessing the power of the sea, but the study and practice of magic had always fascinated him. Once he became the ruler of his kingdom, he had to set those dreams aside and find others to carry them out on his behalf. People like Loric, whose thirst for knowledge was tempered by the wisdom of his age.
“Your new bard is quite charming. And chock-full of valuable information, I might add,” said Loric as they stepped into the elevator.
“Yes, she has made herself rather useful to me in a very short span of time,” Fallon admitted. “If her husband is half as useful on his mission, it will change Sinaryan history forever.”
“You must be excited for his return.”
A tightness took hold of Fallon’s chest as the elevator doors closed. “I try not to think too much about it. It’s difficult to believe the Marinossians only came here for financial gain. I keep getting the sense that they're here for a bigger reason.”
Loric chuckled as they descended. “I don’t find it difficult to believe at all. Everyone desires financial security. And to be so valuable to a Sacred Son, well, that’s priceless. You’re the most powerful man in the kingdom, if not the entire empire.”
Now it was Fallon’s turn to laugh.
“And yet, I can’t even marry the woman I want.”
“Because you’re not a private citizen,” Loric gently reminded him. “You’re a Sacred Son of Sinaryos…a descendant of the gods who walks among us. Which makes me wonder why you offered to do something as mundane as carrying books. You could’ve had a servant bring them back for you.”
Fallon shook his head.
“I’d rather not wait for them to ride from the castle to the university, and then back. And I’m not ready to unveil our grand plan for the portals just yet.”
“They’ve proven to be quite useful, though, haven’t they?” Loric said with a grin. “Not to mention reliably safe, thanks to Novi’s contributions.”
“Yes, her mind is remarkable,” Fallon confessed as they walked down the hallway and entered the academic library. A few mages were sitting at tables taking notes from ancient texts, while others were reading and studying.
Once they came to the language section, Loric easily found a few titles and pointed them out to Fallon. Yet the prince took his time gathering the books.
“I have to ask you about something unpleasant,” he finally said. “And this conversation must be kept confidential.”
“What do you want to ask me about?”
“Kaos magic. Someone in Sinarya has been using it recently. Someone with access to the castle. I need to know how to protect myself and Novi against it, or at least, how to neutralize it.”
“Ahh…” Loric replied with a look of great concern. “I can understand the need to protect your family, but it would take years to train you. Even with your ancient bloodline, you still might not be strong enough to handle that sort of power. That’s the trouble with Kaos magic—it’s so unpredictable. Even the most powerful and skilled mages can quickly lose control of it…as we both know.”
"Right," Fallon said while absentmindedly inspecting one of the book covers. "But did any of them have the power of unicorn magic to help them control the Kaos?”
Loric raised a curious grey eyebrow.
"Not to my knowledge.”
"Would it have made a difference if they did have that magic? Unicorns are the most powerful creature in all the world, and they don't create chaos. They create harmony."
Loric narrowed his eyes and gave him a curious look.
“It might very well have helped them. Your sudden interest in the effects of unicorn magic on Kaos wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that Annika has it in her blood, would it?"
Fallon hesitated for a second, wondering if he was going to regret laying all his cards on the table.
“I know it’s a long shot, but yes…knowing that Annika has untapped unicorn magic has me considering how useful she might be in fighting against whoever’s been using Kaos magic.”
“I’m certain she’d be quite useful, indeed,” Loric said. “We already know she’s more valuable than gold. There’s not a king in all the empire who wouldn’t want to exploit her power for themselves.”
“Oh, I’m well aware. I’d like to find a way to keep her at court long enough to learn how to access her power, although it would be easier if it were on friendly terms. A songbird doesn’t sing nearly as well when it’s locked up in a cage.”
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that, sire.” Loric stroked his chin in thought, then motioned for Fallon to follow him into a section of the library that was sealed off by a heavy metal door.
“I’ve never seen this part of the library. Where are we?”
“We’re in the most restricted area of the entire restricted section,” Loric explained. “You’ve shown me a great deal of trust over the years, sire, and I know your intentions are honorable. It took great courage to tell me that someone in Blackwood Castle is using Kaos. I thought I’d send you home with some of the less dangerous texts on Kaos and the abilities of unicorn magic.” He reached into his robes and pulled out a key, letting the two of them into the restricted area of ancient-looking books. The scent of dust and antique leather wafted up into the air as the two men walked through the aisles.
"But I must warn you, Fallon…Kaos is incredibly dangerous. It should be handled with the utmost care and respect. There is even less known about the powers of unicorn magic, so tread lightly. Read all you like, but you must promise me not to put any of this into practice without the help of a skilled mage.”
Fallon placed a reassuring hand on the professor’s shoulder. “You have my word.”
Loric breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, sire. I knew I could count on you.”
With that settled, Loric turned his attention to the stacks of books in front of him. His finger rested on the spine of a title, then he frowned, shook his head, and found another book. Again he frowned, shook his head, and searched for another one. He finally settled on a newer title gilded in gold and copper foil.
"Start with this one," he said as he handed Fallon the book. "It's an encyclopedia of sorts, but it also contains one of the most comprehensive histories of the practice of Kaos. Where it came from, what it can and can't do, what can go wrong, that sort of thing.”
"What about this one?" Fallon asked, tapping the locked metal cage surrounding an ancient, thick, and dusty tome. Loric shook his head.
"The Grimoire of Damnation? I don't think you're ready for that on your first day."
“But there’s a unicorn on the spine. See?” Fallon said, pointing through the metal bars. “Look how old this thing is. There’s probably something useful in here, otherwise it wouldn’t be locked.”
“There’s a reason for the cage,” Loric warned, but Fallon ignored his hesitation.
“I’m only going to read it. If I find anything useful, you’ll be the first person I tell.”
Loric’s arm shook as he reached out and gingerly removed the caged book from the shelf. He carefully opened the lock and let out a deep breath. There was a look of reverence in his eyes as he lifted out the book and passed it to Fallon.
"Why is it kept locked in a cage? Does it contain a spell on how to raise the dead?" Fallon joked.
"Entire armies of the dead," Loric replied with a grimace. “I’ll permit you to take notes, but don’t read anything out loud, do you hear me?”
“Loud and clear.”
“Not a word!”
“I understand.”
“And Fallon..."
"Yes?"
"Don't make me regret doing this."