Chaos (Dragon Reign Book 4) Read online

  “And everything else?” I asked, unable not to be awed by what happened to her.

  Since Malcolm and Broden were so near me when it happened, residual power rubbed off on them. They each gained a heightened sense and together… together we plotted to end the war started by my father.

  I wanted to see more, but Celandine’s voice fell silent inside my head, and I huffed.

  “Just when we’re getting to the good stuff.”

  I strained, trying to see, but it was too much, and my eyes eventually closed again.

  In the morning, I’d set out again. I made to aim for the ruins, but had no way to know for certain yet if I went the right way or not. The original Darrah lands were massive and short of flying above the trees and completely losing any secrecy I might have, I’d have to keep walking and see where my feet took me.

  In the back of my mind, I sensed Celandine was quietly guiding me.

  As I drifted towards sleep again, I reached out for Craig and Forrest, missing them more than I wanted to admit. Even their annoying lectures and arguing would’ve brought a smile to my face.

  But I was alone and from what I could tell, being alone meant keeping them alive for a while longer at least. That was all I wanted. Them to live.

  I was the Vindicar after all, right? Sacrifice was my future.

  I gulped at the idea of dying, but shoved it down deep.

  One day at a time, that was all I could do.

  6

  Craig

  “Kate!”

  I shot up in the bed and stared around the room, raising my hand to my cheek.

  I swore I felt her here, felt her hand against my face, heard her whisper my name. But my room was empty, and Forrest wasn’t rushing in to tell me she’d come back.

  I flung myself back onto the bed, but there was no point in trying to go back to sleep, not now. I was too wired and anxious.

  Lucy and the rest of the witches they could spare were supposed to be arriving today to help with the portal, and they were also going to be experimenting with another option for attacking the plagued.

  Crane dropped a few hints at it having to do with Forrest’s dragon fire, but gave no more details. He told me he was working on a second Executioner blade, too. One I could carry that would be more effective against the plagued.

  I splashed cold water on my face, smirking at my reflection. I hadn’t looked this haggard in years. Not since I took off from my father and was on my own for the first time. I poked at the bags under my eyes, and my hand strayed to my cheek. The skin was warmer than normal, and I swore I’d felt her.

  “Why did you run, huh?” I muttered. “Why? Why couldn’t you have just trusted us?”

  Her leaving to protect us in a way made sense, but it hurt more to think she hadn’t trusted to tell us the truth first. We deserved that much, but no, she just took off into the Burnt World and expected us to be alright with it. As if we wouldn’t find a way to come after her.

  I wondered if she knew everything else about our past lives. After Forrest showed me that text and told me the story of how the three of them met, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

  What happened that drove them together and then at the same time, nearly pulled them all apart. Emotions ran high back then, and it wasn’t a lie that Forrest and I both had intense feelings for Kate, beyond just meant to be by her side to fight the darkness.

  Back then, Celandine had been betrothed to Malcolm, but after the war started, he had clearly wound up with another, so he could be the King the dragons needed while Celandine took up the role of Vindicar.

  From what we read, Broden and she were close, but there had been no true emotional bond in the beginning, not like what I felt when I was thrown back into his head during the fighting.

  He loved her, would’ve given up everything for her.

  And I was going to do the same, if it meant her living this time.

  As decent-looking as I could get for the day, I trudged out of my room and went to bang on Forrest’s door, but he didn’t answer.

  I opened it, enjoying the idea of waking him up as obnoxiously as possible for some much-needed distraction, but his room was empty.

  Shrugging, I closed his door again and made for the hall.

  But as I neared the main stairs, I paused at the sight of the sorcerers and witches rushing around down below. It appeared Lucy and her coven were here and already getting to work on creating a new portal.

  I cringed to be around them all again, but if they could get us to Kate, I wasn’t going to put up much of a fuss.

  I was barely through the corridor leading to the hall when a furious voice snapped my name like a whip, and I grimaced, coming to a stop.

  “Don’t you walk away from me, young man,” Lucy yelled, and reluctantly I turned around as she stormed towards me.

  “What happened? Why did you let her leave?”

  I growled in warning, but she continued to glare at me.

  “You think this is my fault?”

  “You swore you would look after her, you both did! And now she’s out there alone!”

  “We wouldn’t have let her leave our sides, ever! She took off all on her own! She left us, too,” I snarled, and my face shifted even as I fought to bring myself under control. “I would have chained her to a damned wall if it would’ve kept her here, but she’s a Darrah!”

  Lucy’s eyes narrowed. “That has nothing to do with this.”

  “Yes, it does. If she was going to leave, nothing was going to stop her, that’s why she didn’t tell us anything! She didn’t trust us, she just left!”

  I took a few deep breaths in through my nose as we glared each other down.

  I blinked and saw Kate’s black eyes hovering before me again.

  With a fierce growl, I shook my head to try and clear the image, but it stayed with me.

  Lucy’s face softened, and some of her anger melted away. “You’re right, I’m sorry, I just… I can’t stand to think of her in that horrid place alone.”

  So, Forrest hadn’t told her about my vision yet. Probably a good thing.

  I bit back another growl. “And you think we can?”

  “No, you’re right.” She blew out a harsh breath, and her hands shook as she crossed her arms. “Why would she do this?”

  “To try and save us all.”

  “Alone?”

  “She knows how it ended for them before… or us,” I explained quietly as I got my emotions under control. “She’s being a hero, or thinks she is.”

  “Well, we can’t have that, now can we?”

  “Do you know how to get the portal opened?” I asked.

  She motioned for me to join her, walking towards the chamber we made the attempt in the last time we tried.

  “It’s not the knowing that’s the issue. It’s the amount of power and what it’s going to cost us if this Zohar is trying to prevent anyone from following Kate.” Lucy hung her head. “She probably doesn’t even realize there was no way to sneak into that world. He knows she’s there.”

  “What will he do when he finds her?” I hated to ask, but couldn’t stop myself.

  “I don’t know. I don’t know what’s going to happen, not anymore. Do you?”

  I shook my head, not trusting myself to lie convincingly.

  As we neared the chamber, I heard Forrest yelling and picked up the pace, thinking the plagued were attacking here, but when we entered the room, it was Greyson he was warding off.

  “No. No way in hell.”

  “You won’t know until you try it,” Greyson said annoyed. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

  “Drinking a strange potion? It could kill me for starters!”

  “What’s going on?” I asked, noticing the cup in Greyson’s outstretched hand.

  “They want to turn my dragon fire into a more effective weapon against the plagued,” he grunted. “By drinking that and seeing what happens!”

  “Will it work?” I asked Grey
son.

  Forrest glowered at me.

  I glared back. “What?”

  “I’m not drinking it.”

  Greyson pursed his lips. “The only way to test it is for you to drink it and breathe fire.”

  “We don’t even have a plagued to try it on.”

  Lucy held up her hand as she stepped closer. “Actually, we do.”

  I patted Forrest on the back as he deflated. “Sorry, man, looks like you’re going to be a test pig today after all.”

  “This is not funny,” he uttered through clenched teeth. “I don’t even know what’s in it.”

  “It’s a modification of the potion needed to kill a plagued,” Greyson explained, exasperated. “Where’s your sense of adventure?”

  “I lost it somewhere between the plagued demons, undead dragons, and all the other shit we’ve dealt with!” He threw his arms up and stalked around the chamber.

  I tried not to laugh, but failed miserably.

  He turned on me. “Stop laughing!”

  “What? This could be incredible if it works.”

  “If,” he shot back fiercely. “If it works. If not, just tell him the side effects, Greyson, please.”

  Greyson set the cup on the table nearby, covered with more vials and bowls of herbs, and bubbling liquids over burners.

  He shrugged sheepishly as he said quietly, “It could backfire, and he would no longer be able to breathe… fire that is.”

  I stopped laughing immediately. “Is that all?”

  “Or?” Forrest grunted, planting his hands on his hips. “Go on, it gets better.”

  Greyson sighed, but added, “It could prevent him from shifting again.”

  I whistled and understood his reluctance completely now. “There’s no other way to test it first? He just has to drink it and hope for the best?”

  “It would be the most trusting way to test it.”

  “But there is another way,” I stated. “Then do that.”

  “It won’t be as effective, and we may not be able to see if there would be any side effects.”

  “Do it,” I snarled as I stepped closer. “Every second we waste trying to get over there, Kate is on her own dealing with the plague. I will not waste time trying to reach her while you twiddle your thumbs like an idiot!”

  I spied Forrest grinning out of the corner of my eye.

  It was true, once upon a time I rarely lost my temper, but with Kate in my life, those days seemed to be long gone.

  Greyson gulped loudly and bobbed his head.

  “Forrest, if you come with me? We’ll capture your fire and start with that.”

  “And the portal? How long until we get it up and running?”

  Lucy rested a calming hand on my arm, and a rush of warmth hit me, forcing me to relax. “We are working as quickly as we can, but it is delicate. We can’t rush this, not if we hope to get the two of you there in one piece.”

  I bit back my anger and nodded stiffly. She bustled away as more witches came into the chamber and I stepped back to the side to keep watch on the spectacle of creating a portal that would work this time.

  Just hold on Kate. Hold on. We’re coming for you.

  “Crane, it seems, wants your attention,” she said, and nodded across the room at the doorway. “Go on, get your mind off this for the moment.”

  I wanted to watch them work, and be here the second the portal was ready to open, but she was right.

  I stalked through the chamber and met Crane at the doorway.

  His face was blackened with soot, and he wore a heavy leather apron over his robes, sweat dripping down his face.

  “I have good news,” he stated, and we walked towards the stairs that would lead outside to the forges. “The blade is ready for your inspection, and I think you will be quite pleased with the result.”

  I couldn’t breathe fire, but Crane promised he would find a way for me to use the potion more effectively too, so I wasn’t relying on Forrest. And if we were separated, or worse one of us killed, the other had to be able to keep the fight going.

  “I hope you made it lighter at least,” I said, as heat from the forges hit me, and I tugged my sleeves up my arms, wiping the sweat already beading on my forehead.

  “Lighter and with a touch of something extra.”

  He reached for a leather cloth on the table behind him and whipped it away, stepping to the side to allow me to see.

  The hilt was black steel, braided with silver and sapphire dust that stretched from the pommel to the guard. The blade itself was also black, just as the original blade, two-sided, with a deep groove in the center, but there was something over it.

  “Is that glass?” I asked confused.

  “No, clear steel. Something new we’ve been experimenting with.”

  I reached out and ran my fingers over the cold surface, all the way to the pointed end. “What’s it for?”

  He pointed at the hilt towards the guard, right where my thumb would rest. “This sword is imbued with the potion for killing plagued. Press this here, and it will catch fire, making it quite the formidable weapon. Go ahead, give it a few whacks.”

  I picked it up and was surprised to feel just how light it was in my hands. I easily swung it around, stepping away from Crane as I hefted it in my hands and went through the motions with the sword, arcing it over my head, spinning around, lunging forward with it. Each move was easy without the added weight of the original blade.

  “I’m impressed,” I said and laid it back on the table. “You’re sure it’ll work?”

  Crane waved someone forward, and I heard a familiar, horrible screeching.

  I spun around to see a plagued, half-decayed dragon being brought forward in chains.

  “You’ll have to test it to be certain.”

  The plagued shrieked at the sight of me, but the sorcerers attached the chains to two metal loops embedded in a post nearby.

  It threw itself towards me, but the chains held fast, and I glared at it, growling as I reached behind me, picked up the sword, and let all my anger at how this journey had turned out.

  I’d lost Kate, potentially forever if we couldn’t reach her in time.

  I bellowed with rage as I spun around and slashed the blade down the plagued just as my finger hit the button.

  Fire ignited with a hiss, and when I finished my attack, the plagued screamed as the fire engulfed it and potion seeped into its wound.

  The fire consumed it within seconds, and its body slumped to the ground, nothing but bones.

  When the fire sputtered and died, the held up the blade, the flames licking along the edge of the steel, and smirked.

  “Crane, I think this is going to work perfectly.”

  7

  Kate

  I whipped around and stared into the dead trees behind me, brow furrowing, but Craig wasn’t here.

  I swore I heard him say my name, say something, but I was alone. I wished he was here. I wished they both were, but it was just me and the burned-out trees to keep me company.

  Well, mostly I was alone.

  Celandine kept me company as I trudged onwards for another day and night, pushing closer to the ruins.

  I’d given up on using the shards to try and sense anything, and focused only on moving deeper into the Darrah lands. When darkness started to fall once more, I found a small grove, up on a hill to rest on and started a small fire to keep warm.

  I held out my hands to the flames, letting them lick my skin without burning me, and searched the sky for stars.

  But I could see nothing, but darkness overhead.

  A wave of dizziness washed over me, and I braced as Celandine drew me into another memory.

  I noticed, she only sucked me into them when I was in a restful state, and not putting up much of a fight against her intrusion.

  Honestly, I kept hoping I would see something I could use, that would help me against Zohar. I shut my eyes and curled up by the fire, the Executioner blade in my hand, just
in case.

  I felt a shudder rush over me, and when I opened my eyes, I stood beside Celandine, Broden, and Malcolm as they guided their horses by the reins through tall, dead grass.

  Black smoke billowed ahead of us, and I could just make out the shapes of small cottages.

  A horrible, rotting smell hit me full in the face, and I gagged the same time I heard a growl erupt from Broden’s throat, and his hand fell to his sword.

  “My Lady, wait here,” he ordered.

  Celandine’s brow rose.

  “Please,” Broden added.

  “No, whatever is there, we will see it together,” she insisted, and undid her heavy, red cloak, draped it over the saddle of her horse to reveal the breeches and blouse she had on beneath, as well as a bit of chainmail and armor. She drew her own sword and led the way, leaving Malcolm and Broden to hurry after her, releasing the horses behind to graze.

  I kept pace with Celandine as she picked up speed, eventually running full out as the village came into full view.

  Embers burned in a massive firepit in the center of the village square, but none of the homes appeared damaged.

  I frowned, spinning around, wondering where that smell came from when I noticed something odd about the mud beneath my feet.

  Celandine spied it, too and followed the pattern as Malcolm and Broden spread out to the sides, keeping a close eye on her as they checked out the rest of the village.

  When she finished tracing the pattern, she crouched down and rested her hand against the scorched earth.

  “This cannot be,” she whispered.

  I was still trying to understand what the massive symbol meant that had been burnt into the ground around the fire.

  It had sharp edges and jutted out asymmetrically, but I had seen it before, or thought I had, back at the Darrah ruins.

  “Celandine? What is it?” Malcolm asked as he joined her.