Spring's Revival (The Amenoi Cycle #2)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

Auster kept his shaking grip on his sword as he moved up the slope and away from the cave. There was dust from the rockfall in his eyes, and he was having a hard time seeing, but he wasn’t about to ask for help from two strangers.

Or a stranger and someone that had once been as close to him as a lover. In the past, Boreus, Eleni, both of them had been Spring’s Anchor, his Priestess, his love, but that was not Eleni.

It was someone else, or something else wearing her like a coat. It was her face, but those were not her eyes, and Auster was trying to figure out if Boreus had gone blind, or if whatever was wearing Eleni had cast some sort of mind control on him.

Before he could say anything, before he could make up his mind to simply run her through and have done with it, whoever was wearing Eleni’s skin turned to look at him, and her eyes were filled with love and an apology.

“Auster,” she said softly. “I will not ask your forgiveness; instead, I will give you back to the Mountain.” She gestured up the slope. “The Highest will want to know that you have returned.”

Boreus was looking at him too, but there was an odd smile on his partner’s lips. “Once you announce your return, we will explain what has happened and make a plan to save Skirion.”

Auster nodded, short and jerky, before putting his sword away but keeping one hand on the hilt. If that creature wearing Eleni made a single move in his direction, he was going to slay it and be damned to the consequences to Boreus.

Who was looking at the creature with a deep love. He had to be under a spell, that had to be it. What had Eleni had him under a spell. But Auster wasn’t, he could see clearly, and that meant he had to get rid of Boreus so he could see if he could find Eleni under the thing that was wearing her.

She had to still be there; they saved him. Boreus had promised that he would find Eleni, that he would make her save them.

Auster nodded again. Turning his feet up the slope. He would face the Highest, perhaps tell them what he saw and beg their assistance. They wouldn’t help; Earth and Sky, Magic and Time, they had only ever been interested in what others could do for them.

He could feel them following him. Hand in hand at his back, and it made his spine itch. What did the creature want? With him and with Boreus, there had to be an ulterior motive there. Why would whatever was wearing Eleni have bothered with them?

Auster took a deep breath and kept his head forward,. Climbing the slope of the Mountain without a word. There was something following them now, something in the earth, and that just made his spine prickle more.

But eventually, they all made the summit. Auster bowed before the doors and pushed through them, only to be confronted with a massive, rotating sigil hanging in the air and four unfamiliar faces sitting on thrones around the room.

They were Highest, they had that corona in their eyes, and Time was there, sitting on the throne furthest from the door, eyeballing him with something of that familiar disdain.

“East Wind,” the woman sitting on the extra throne rose and moved in his direction. Three steps, but that was all that was needed for him to feel the sheer amount of power that lived in her veins. “I see you have returned to us. Welcome back to the Mountain.”

“Gratitude, Highest.” He bowed deeply. “I have returned, but I do not know what will be required of me now.”

“First, you will find balance again,” the woman said, flicking a look over his shoulder to where Boreus and the thing wearing Eleni were standing. “You did not tell him?”

“Apologies, my Highest,” the thing replied in a smooth voice. “It did not occur to me he has been in Charan since the summit came under your control.”

The woman sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose for a moment. “I am Light, East Wind, you know Time, he is as my brother. The others are my loves, my balance. Love, Courage, and Intellect.”

The three rose as she said their names, and Auster half thought that he recognized Love from a time before he had been in Charan.

“I was Dream,” Love said calmly. “Long ago, East Wind, we fought.”

“You trained me,” Auster blurted. “And now you are Highest?”

“That is an extremely long story,” Love said with a smile. “And I believe Compassion and the North Wind have a long story of their own to tell you. Return once you know, and I will tell you our story.”

“Go, East Wind,” Light said, pointing to the door. “Learn and balance yourself from your time in Charan. You will be summoned if you are needed.”

Auster swallowed the protestation that he wasn’t going to go with that thing wearing Eleni, but the Highest didn’t seem to sense anything wrong either. It was only him, that meant getting rid of the thing was down to him.

He’s always been good at getting to the heart of a matter, at seeing through the bullshit. And he could clearly see the problem here, something had invaded Eleni. It would be remarkably simple for a parasite or something like that to infect her mortal mind here on the Mountain.

For that matter, she shouldn’t even be on the Mountain, let alone breathing the air as though she had been born to it.

“Come with us, Auster,” the thing said calmly. “If you wish, we will go to our home on the side of the Mountain and explain all of this.”

“Someone had better explain.” Auster didn’t let himself glare or pull his sword out to dispatch the creature in Eleni. Rather, he watched as they bowed to the Highest and led the way out of the room at the summit.

They took him to the side of the Mountain, to a glen filled with dappled sun and long grass. “This will be our home.” The thing said. “Your home as well, if you wish to stay.”

Auster gripped the hilt of his sword, feeling Boreus glare at him from off to one side. “Now that there are no Highest here, I demand to know what is going on.”

“Let the prism blade go, Auster.” Boreus came to stand at the thing’s back. “There is no threat here.”

“Except the one right in front of you.” Auster said tightly. “That is not Eleni.”

“I’m not,” the thing said in a low voice. “But I am. Eleni and Autumn, we are I.” The thing shook its head and gave him a rueful smile. “I sound like Chaos.”

Boreus gave her a loving smile before he turned suspicious eyes back on the hand that Auster had wrapped around the Prism Blade. “All of this can be explained, but I will not while you are being a fool.”

“You can explain, or I can cut that thing down.” Auster said, trying to keep the rage in his gut and not let it free.

The thing gave him a look loaded with sorrow and then up at Boreus. “I will go, while you explain. I think I will just muddy the waters.”

“Where would you go, love?” Boreus touched the thing’s cheek.

“I will go to the spring and stay with the Song.” It said sadly. “I will come when you call.” It turned away and left down the slope without a backwards glance.