The Rise of Isaac, Books 1-3, page 51
Hurrying downstairs, he dropped the bag by the door and moved toward the basement. He unlocked it and headed down to see Alison.
He hadn't yet told her he was leaving, unsure how she might react but he couldn't put it off any longer.
"Ali? I need to talk to you," he said as he stepped off of the last stair.
She was sitting on the sofa, having tucked the pull-out mattress away beneath the seat. She looked up from one of the books he had left her for entertainment. "What is it?" Her tone was cool but she was nowhere near as hostile towards him as she had been once.
"I have to go away for a while," he said, leaning casually back against the stair bannister and folding his arms.
She shot to her feet and the book fell to the floor with a thump. "What?" For how long?"
He almost smiled at the tone of concern in her voice. "A week or so."
"What about me?" she asked in alarm. "You can't leave me here alone!"
"You won't be alone. A friend of mine will be coming to look after you."
"Who?" she asked, taking a step toward him.
"No one you know. Don't worry, he'll take good care of you."
Alison looked nervous. She hurried forward and he raised her eyebrows at her.
"Don't leave," she implored, reaching out and touching his arm.
He watched her silently as she tugged his folded arm free and gripped his wrist.
"I have to," he said, a lump rising in his throat.
"Where are you going?" Her eyes searched his.
"You'll see," he said with a slanted smile. There was no point in trying to convince her that Isaac was alive. Instead, when his friend was home and safe, he would plant the truth before her eyes so she could deny it no longer.
"I don't want you to go," she whispered, pulling him toward her.
He stepped forward, eyeing her warily. "Well I must." Taking hold of the hand that was clasped around his wrist, he removed it and kissed the tips of her fingers. "See you soon."
Dropping her hand, he walked away and climbed the stairs. He glanced back briefly, catching sight of her anxious expression. He turned away and exited the basement, locking it behind him.
He checked the time and, as if on cue, a knock came at the door.
William opened it and smiled at the man outside, his dirty blonde hair fluttering in the summer breeze. "Good to see you, Truvian."
"And you, William." He smiled and stepped inside, placing a bag down by the staircase.
"Are you sure this isn't too much trouble?" William asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"Are you kidding? I'm just happy to be involved in this. I'll do anything I can to help." He smiled, his eyes wandering over William with a look awe. "I still can't believe you're alive, it's just...too incredible for words."
William grinned. "Well you're gonna get even more of a shock when Isaac walks through this door."
Truvian shook his head in disbelief. "I think you're right."
William bent to pick up his bag and shouldered it. He produced the basement key from his pocket and handed it to Truvian. "She's down there." He pointed. "I've left the kitchen fully stocked with food. She might be a bit...difficult. But do your best."
Truvian laughed. "I know women, I'll manage."
"You don't know Alison." William smiled then turned to leave. "See you next week."
"Good luck," Truvian said, shutting the door behind him.
William headed off down the path towards the ocean. He would take a boat out to the Gateway then make his way to Arideen. He wasn't looking forward to the trek through the desert in Arideen to Vale's Gateway. The last time had been more than demanding, but he had been using magic to heal himself and Isaac back then. He would only need to look out for himself this time so the journey would be less difficult.
The warm, sea air filled his nostrils as he walked on. He was filled with such a sense of purpose that he had no doubt that his path could be anything short of divine.
***
As Isaac lay sleeping in the bed William had set up for him in Brinatin, he couldn't take his eyes off of him. It was nothing like the dreams he had had for years: of Isaac returning to him in full health, for their plans to begin immediately. Isaac was barely able to stand, let alone bring down the Gateways.
It was a terrible setback but they had faced many setbacks along the way and this would just be another obstacle that they would overcome together.
William felt oppressed by the presence of the vark. Now the creature was fully in the same world as him rather than reaching across from Vale, its effect was tenfold. He didn't know how Isaac had been able to stand it for all those years but guessed he had somehow become accustomed to it. He shook his head for the hundredth time to try and dim the constant vibration in his ears.
"Would you ever leave us?" William hissed at it.
"Gooo whhhereee? Kogure no leaveee," it whispered inside his head.
Isaac stirred, his eyes flickering open and locking with William's. A small smile pulled at his lips. "Is it truly you?" he asked in a croaky voice.
William nodded, reaching forward and gripping Isaac's wrist; his skin was cold and clammy so William warmed it with a slow trickle of magic.
"I feel terrible," Isaac said, coughing heavily.
"I know, I don't understand why yet but I'll figure it out." He smiled and tears pricked his eyes.
"I know you will." His eyes roamed the room as if taking in every detail. "How did you get me here?"
William's heart soared. The answer was seemingly impossible and he could hardly believe it were true himself. "The vark, Isaac. It can travel between the worlds without the Gateways." He hated the way the creature made him feel but he couldn't deny its incredible advantages now.
"How? That's not possible!" Isaac tried to sit up but instead collapsed back into the pillow with heavy breaths.
William healed him as best he could and a little colour returned to his face once more. "When you came through the Gateway I cast the spell on the vark so its full form could enter the human worlds. But it had to be attached to something human so I bonded it to you. You collapsed the second you stepped through and I tried to heal you but it wouldn't work. Kogure said it could take us somewhere, it kept saying it and I didn't know what it meant until this blackness opened up beside me. I'd never seen anything like it and I didn't trust it.
"But you see, Kogure knew how to get to Brinatin because it's been projecting itself here from Vale every time you sent me a message. It said it was strong enough to take us there. I didn't really believe it but I had no choice. I thought you might die, I had to try something. So I picked you up and stepped straight into the black hole. Oh and it was so horrible Isaac, like being sucked into a vacuum so all my insides felt compressed and yet somehow simultaneously pulled out of my body. But we arrived here in Brinatin, right in the kitchen where I've spoken to the damn creature a thousand times!"
Isaac gazed at him in disbelief. "You really bypassed the Gateways?" he breathed.
William nodded, tears of happiness falling from his eyes.
Isaac laughed, so loudly and energetically that William was surprised for a moment. Then he joined him and they both laughed like they were teenagers again, ten years of waiting flooding out in a moment of pure elation.
25
Blades and Blood
Oliver jumped to his feet and pulled Anna up. He backed away from the warring men, tugging Anna with him. Oliver scanned the area for May but couldn't see her. Her bed was empty. His blood turned to ice as his eyes flitted around the camp, searching for her amongst the chaos.
Rogan and Quinn jumped into action, stepping in front of them. Magic came alive in their hands and they began casting shots of concentrated blue light at the soldiers.
With the magic distracting the men, Anna lunged back toward their gear and chucked Oliver his shoes and coat then gathered hers in a bundle and sprinted back to him. Oliver pulled his boots on roughly, tucking the laces into the sides rather than tying them. He tugged his coat on and quickly helped Anna into hers.
Larkin appeared behind them, holding his dagger aloft. "Where's May?" he asked as the others shook their heads.
A man cried out and Oliver swivelled around to see Billy finishing another one of the soldiers. That was two down. He glanced around wildly trying to spot Dead Xen, expecting to see him at any moment.
Hector was fiercely battling a man twice his size and was losing stamina by the second.
Rogan and Quinn stepped forward into the battle, taking carefully aimed shots at the soldiers.
Oliver felt vulnerable and was all too aware of the dagger left beside his bed. He steeled himself, focusing on the fur blankets and charged toward it. He slid to the ground, missing the swipe of a sword as a furious-looking soldier lunged at him. He rolled and landed on his bag. The soldier stabbed at him and he whipped the bag around so the sword plunged through it, narrowly missing his face.
Oliver kicked out as hard as he could and his foot connected with the man's shin, making him buckle to the ground in pain. Oliver lunged for his Glaciol dagger close by and jumped to his feet. He ran back towards Anna and Larkin, ducking waves of magic as they flew through the air.
He slid to a halt by Anna and shouldered his pack, unsheathing the dagger.
"Get behind me," he said to Anna who was the only one left unarmed.
She nodded, taking a step back and he and Larkin rubbed shoulders as they moved in front of her.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here then?" The voice made shivers creep up Oliver's spine and he turned to face the murderous man he loathed so much: Dead Xen.
"Get away from us," Oliver snapped, slashing the dagger at the man.
Xen dodged it easily and chuckled softly. He licked his lips excitedly as he retrieved his sword, running a palm along it so it ignited with purple fire. "If even a little of this fire touches you it'll burn through to your bones like acid," he hissed the last word.
Oliver eyed the sword warily and backed away, his dagger feeling as useless as a snowball against the man. He glanced at Larkin who raised his blade a little higher.
"Run!" Oliver snapped at Larkin then stepped forward to give him and Anna a chance to escape.
Xen slashed his blazing sword through the air and Oliver fell backwards to avoid it, thrusting his dagger upwards as hard as he could.
The dagger missed its target and the fire of Xen's sword licked Oliver's forearm, dissolving the material on his sleeve and biting his skin. The pain was unbearable. He cried out as his skin hissed and sizzled where the fire burrowed into it.
He focused on pushing himself backwards away from the man but blood was dripping to the ground in torrents and the pain almost made him blackout.
Oliver ground his teeth together and refused to look at the injury, afraid of what he might find. He dropped the dagger and gripped the wound tightly, almost blinded by the searing agony running up and down his arm. He wondered why he was still alive then heard Xen shout to Rogan and Quinn.
"Mages! I want you lined up against the wall or your friend loses his head." Xen's eyes flickered to a spot behind Oliver.
Oliver turned and found that the hunters had been captured and lined up against the rock face. Quinn and Rogan surrendered as Larkin was forced into the lineup. Oliver's stomach lurched violently.
He swung around, searching for May and Anna. A solider had Anna on her knees in front of him, a blade pressed to her neck. May wasn't there and terror entered his heart as he started searching the area for any sign of her.
"Move," Xen ordered him and Oliver crawled up to join his friends.
Rogan reached down to help him and Oliver hissed in pain, screwing up his eyes from the intolerable burning sensation. His friend forced Oliver's hand aside from the wound and wrapped his own around it. Oliver's breath hitched at his firm touch and he blinked away the darkness curtaining his eyes.
Green light flickered in his periphery and the wound suddenly felt as though it were being bathed in a numbing balm. The pain relieved inch by inch and Oliver came back to his senses, his breaths coming in small gasps then slowing to a normal rhythm. Rogan took his palm away and Oliver finally looked down at his arm where the skin looked the way it always did. He sighed heavily and nodded his thanks to Rogan whose eyes were heavy with worry.
Oliver turned and gazed at the scene ahead. His gut twisted in shock as he spotted Havid's bloody body lying on the ground, his lifeless eyes staring at the sky. He glanced at the other hunters whose faces were contorted in hatred and realised Billy wasn't amongst them. He roved the ground desperately looking for May but relief swept through him as neither she nor Billy joined the dead.
Xen paced in front of them, trailing his sword in the snow. The soldier holding Anna cupped her chin in his hand and Oliver shook with anger.
"Xen? Why are you doing this?" Hector asked him in a strained voice.
"That's Commander Xen to you, hunter." He bared his teeth. "Now, where are the other two?" He eyed them all carefully, looking for signs of weakness.
"The Queen sent us on this mission," Hector tried again.
"The Queen sent you here so that no one would be suspicious when you all died in a tragic accident. I can't decide whether the warwolves got you or the grolls, I guess I'll figure it out."
"But why? We work for the Queen!" Marley barked.
"What have we done to deserve this?" Hannah asked in a rage.
"You have done nothing. But Hector here has become a nuisance. And two of this lot are of some value to her majesty," he said, gesturing to Oliver and his friends.
"What do you mean, of some value?" Larkin blurted, looking around at them all.
Xen didn't answer but pointed his sword at Marley. "That one," he said to one of his men.
With a sick feeling, Oliver recognised Sergeant Knole. The soldier stepped forward and gripped Marley's arm, pulling him towards Xen then tried to push him to the floor.
Quinn took a step forward, raising a hand.
"Ah, ah, ah!" Xen warned, gesturing to the solider holding Anna.
"Don't hurt her!" Oliver barked as the soldier yanked her hair back to expose her neck further.
Quinn backed up, shaking her head at a loss of what to do. Rogan touched her arm in a gesture of comfort.
Sergeant Knole tried to force Marley down but he remained standing, his muscles tensing against the soldier's assault. Two more soldiers approached and the tall, bald one punched Marley in the stomach so he buckled forwards. The other kicked the back of his legs and he fell to his knees in front of Xen.
Xen lifted his sword into the air above his head.
"NO!" Chip cried.
Oliver shared a desperate look with Rogan who shook his head in dismay. His heart galloped in his chest.
"Where are the other two?" Xen asked them in a deadly tone.
"Please. Don't," Hannah implored.
"Where. Are. They?" Xen repeated, baring his teeth. "I'll count to three then red-beard loses his head."
"This is madness," Hector growled.
"One," Xen said quietly. "Two." He licked his thin lips.
A shadow launched at him from above. Oliver looked up to see Billy flying through the air from a ledge high up on the rock face. He held a small knife above his head and murder was in his eyes as he came down on top of Xen. The two of them collapsed to the ground.
In a second flash of movement May appeared behind the soldiers and pelted a well aimed rock at the soldier who held Anna. It met its target and the man crumpled to the floor as the others turned to look at her. Anna scrambled to her feet and ran to May's side.
The hunters used the distraction and rushed towards the soldiers, pulling swords from some of the men's sheathes and killing them quickly. Rogan and Quinn charged forward, unleashing hell on Xen's remaining men.
Oliver ran to help Billy but, as he reached them, Xen stood up and Billy rolled off of him, a bloodstain growing across his front. Billy groaned and started to get to his feet. Xen lifted his sword up with a smile that bent the scar on the left side of his face into a downward curve. Quinn darted forward to help and Xen threw up a shield that knocked her down.
Before he considered what he was doing, Oliver sprinted toward the man. He collided with Xen and they dropped to the ground. Somehow, perhaps by the element of surprise, Oliver managed to force the sword from Xen's hand.
Before he could think through his next move, strong hands ripped Oliver away from Xen, yanking him backwards. He struggled against them but, when he turned, he saw Marley looking deadly serious. "Run!"
"But Billy-" Oliver started, glancing at the man but he could see it was no use. Billy was back on the ground, his eyes glazing over as the life went out of them. Quinn was back on her feet, running toward Billy but it was too late.
Xen swung his sword in an arc through the air and Quinn shot a blast of white light at him. At the last second, he blocked it.
"Go!" Quinn screamed at Oliver and he spotted Rogan running up behind her.
A shudder ran through his bones as he resigned and fled after Marley. He triple checked that everyone else was in the group ahead of him, all of them sprinting into the Nosic pass. He and Marley gained on them and, as Oliver fell into step with Chip, the boy lost his footing.
Chip crashed down onto the snow, sending a white spray into the air.
Oliver almost fell over his own feet as he stopped to help the boy. Chip reached up a hand and Oliver clasped it tightly, their sweat making the grip slippery. He tugged and Chip scrambled upwards, his fingernails scraping Oliver's wrist.
A flash of red exploded in the corner of Oliver's eye and a concentrated, beam of light collided where their hands met.
The heat of it singed Oliver's fingers as he snapped his arm away, but kept a tight hold on Chip. He fell back into the snow as Chip's weight mysteriously disappeared and he gazed around to see the smoking end of a soldier's gun aimed toward them.
Oliver recoiled in horror as he spotted Chip a few feet away, yet his own fingers still gripped those of the boy's hand. Oliver made a noise of repulsion as he dropped the severed hand into the snow, the blood staining it red as it absorbed it.
