Savage Worlds, page 7
part #3 of Savagery and Skills Series
“It’s no different than anything else we’ve done. I stood against him once.”
“And barely survived,” he shot back, losing what little control he had over his anger. “You think now that I’ve finally found you, I’m just going to let you do something as reckless as this? As stupid?”
“He wants me,” I reminded him, and his lip lifted in disgust. “I don’t like it either, but it’s the truth. If he thinks he’s getting to me, then I could get close enough to end this. We might not have to march into war. We could save hundreds of lives. Thousands.”
“I will not trade your life for theirs.”
“I can do this, and you can’t tell me not to. You’re willing to throw yourself at him in a bloody war, but I’m not allowed to try and take him out without there being an actual battlefield?” I laughed bitterly as I realized the other option. “Or are you just pissed because you want to be the one to relieve Rudarius of his head?”
“That’s not it at all, and if you think so little of me, maybe he’s already started to turn you against me.”
His eyes were filled with such rage and sorrow I didn’t have to ask to know what he was thinking about. The vision I had of him killing me.
“I’m begging you, don’t do this.”
“You survived against him for years,” I pointed out, my voice quieter.
“He’s not the one who turned me. He’s not inside my head. You won’t win against him.” He yelled the last and his words hovered in the air.
It was as though he’d punched me in the stomach, knocking the air from my lungs.
Minnie and Helena looked horrified, and Macron rose to his feet, moving between us.
“Seneca, take a breath. Calm down.”
“Why are you telling me to calm down?” I said as I pointed an accusing finger at Draven. “After everything you told me, that you made me believe, in the end, you still don’t actually think I’m enough to defeat him. Admit it.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“You sure about that? You think I what, want to end up with him?” I went for Draven, glaring at Macron to make him move out of the way. “I’m doing this for us. To give us a chance to end this with both our lives intact.”
“It’s too dangerous. You’re unstable. And these rings, we don’t even know if they’ll help.” He reached for my hands, but I drew back. “Seneca, please, I can’t lose you to him. I won’t.”
I didn’t understand. He wanted to risk the future I saw? How could he not see this was a better option? My power was unstable, I couldn’t argue with that, but we nearly killed each other in that farmhouse just so he could prove a point; that I was strong. Strong enough even to beat Rudarius.
“Promise me you won’t speak to him again, that you won’t talk to him like you just did.” Draven took my hands and this time I didn’t pull away. “Promise, Seneca.”
The doorbell rang, but Draven kept hold of my hands.
Praying this would not come back to bite me in the ass, that he’d forgive me eventually, I nodded. “I promise.”
His narrowed gaze studied my face closely, but the doorbell rang again.
“That’s probably Nathaniel.”
Draven reluctantly released my hands. “You’re sure you don’t mind him knowing everything?”
“Not if it helps us in the end.”
His eye twitched at my words, but he said he’d get the door.
I took my place in a chair, avoiding Minnie.
She was staring at me.
Helena whispered to her, but then Draven answered the door, and a vampire entered, with Shane behind him.
I hadn’t even realized Shane had been missing.
From the scowl Draven gave him, it was clear he wasn’t supposed to be.
Introductions were made briefly, and I spoke only when asked a direct question.
Draven pulled off an act that everything between us was perfectly fine.
But it wasn’t. Not by a long shot. This was going to be a long night and an even longer morning.
Chapter 6
Seneca
“You sure you want to leave like this?”
I glanced over my shoulder at the cottage where Draven slept soundly. Dawn brought cooler weather with it and bright rays of sunshine he would not be able to step into without burning himself. “Yeah, let’s get a move on. We have a lost kingdom to find, right?”
“He’s simply trying to protect you after so many of us failed.”
“Don’t,” I whispered as I checked my daggers to make sure they were firmly sheathed in my boots and my onyx blades at my hips. “I said I wouldn’t do anything stupid and I won’t. Are we going or what?”
Draven was under the impression Macron and I weren’t heading out until this evening.
But I woke up this morning and slipped out of the bedroom. Macron hadn’t liked my moving up the timeline, but something in my eyes must have stopped him from arguing with me. The faster we found the kingdom and the forge, the faster I could return to Draven and assure him I was good to go.
Besides, it was not like I knew the first thing about reaching out to Rudarius. If he came to me, however, no telling if I could tune him out or not.
Macron finished whatever internal argument he was clearly having with himself and knelt in the grass. As he had when we escaped from Otherworld, he used his finger to trace symbols into the ground. As each one was completed, it glowed with a life of its own. The power pulsed through the ground and hummed beneath my feet.
“You sure you know how to get to this realm?” I asked when he was on the last symbol.
“Let’s hope so.”
“That’s not very encouraging.”
He shrugged. “I could be rusty.” He finished the final symbol and the ground within the symbols burst to life with a white glow. “Hurry, inside.”
I took Macron’s hand, and he pulled me into the circle. The white light pulsed brighter, swallowing us within it. The cottage disappeared, but I heard Draven’s yell all the same. Shouting for me to wait.
A sharp crack deafened me, and then my feet left the grass of my backyard to land on a slick, rocky surface. The light faded, and I was left with white spots in my vision as my eyes adjusted to the grey world we landed in.
“You should’ve told him we were leaving,” Macron commented as he snapped his fingers and a tall, onyx staff appeared in his right hand.
I drew both of my short swords as a horrible shrieking sounded behind us. “How about you not get involved,” I muttered.
The trees surrounding us were all dead and dried. Fog covered the ground, and a light mist fell cold against my face. At least I thought to wear my long coat. I could hardly see a few yards in any direction. The ground was mostly rock, no sign of living vegetation anywhere. Even breathing was hard as the air was thick. It was not a sensation I enjoyed.
“We need to move.” Macron nodded for me to follow as another shriek came through the fog, this one much closer.
“Do I want to know what that is?”
Macron picked up the pace, dodging around trees and boulders covered in blackened, burnt moss. “Probably not.”
“Do you even know where we’re going?” I asked after a solid ten minutes of jogging through rocky, hilly terrain that appeared to be all the same to me. I was chilled to the bone from the damp there seemed to be no end to. The shrieking beast chasing us had been silent for the last couple of minutes, but it did nothing to make me feel better. “Macron? Why do I feel like you’re hiding something from me?”
He stopped short, and I slipped in the slick mud and rocky ground, running into him. “The only one who can find the kingdom and the forge is someone of that kingdom. That would be you, Seneca.”
“Me? I’ve never been here before, remember?” I argued annoyed as I shoved past him.
“Let’s find shelter and I’ll explain.”
I gripped my swords harder and was more than ready to stay where I was until he told me everything, but the shrieking came again, followed by thundering steps. Whatever monster chased us was massive and crashed through the trees easily enough.
Macron urged me forward, and I sprinted ahead, ducking under low hanging branches and jumping over fallen logs as the trees grew closer together. I skidded to a stop as the dead trunks gave way and the ground disappeared. Macron caught hold of my coat and yanked me back in time to stop me from tumbling down into more fog.
“This way.”
He shoved me to the right, and we raced along the top of the ridge then down and around, the beast’s pounding steps growing closer and closer. I glanced backward, but there was nothing there at all. Nothing I could see. I heard it though as it screamed at prey getting away. Us.
The ridge slipped down lower, and Macron suddenly caught my elbow and yanked me to the right. There was an opening in the rock face, dank, stinking of mold, and filled with cobwebs. There was a slight bend, but it dead-ended.
“We’re trapped.”
Macron stood at the entrance, holding his staff before him.
“Did you hear me? There’s no way out of this cave.”
The glare he shot me over his shoulder, eyes glowing white, was exactly as I’d seen him the day he rescued me from Rudarius’s dungeon. I fell silent and took a step back to give him room.
Old words heavy with power fell from his mouth, each one building on the other. Rocks and leaves scattered over the cave entrance as the beast crept closer and closer.
I made ready, keeping my power close at hand, in case I needed it. A hulking shadow appeared on the ground, and I held my breath, wondering if my heart beat too loudly. It’d find us and kill us. We’d never have a chance to find the forge.
When the creature came into view, I bit back a curse at the sheer size of it. I’d call it a wolf, but it was more bear-shaped with sharp, pointed teeth hanging over its bottom lip. Its black and grey fur was mangy and slick from the mist. It rose on its back legs, sniffing the air. The claws on its front paws had to be a foot long, easily.
It swung its massive head around, yellow eyes looking at me.
I froze.
Only the attack never came. Its mouth opened wide and it screamed, the sound more human than animal. It was beyond unnerving. Then it turned and lumbered off, shrieking every so often.
“We should be safe here for a while,” Macron announced once it was gone.
“Illusion enchantment?”
“Amongst other things. I covered our scent and made the cave entrance appear as solid stone. But it won’t last long, not here.”
“Why not?”
“This place is a drain on my magic.”
I reached deep to find my own well of power ready to go without issue. “But not mine?”
“The lost kingdom is here somewhere in this gods-forsaken realm. Your connection to it is what keeps you strong while it weakens me.”
“And you didn’t tell me this before because?”
He shrugged and gave me a wry smile I wanted to smack off his face. “Didn’t want you to worry.”
“That’s great. Not only are there giant, crazed beasts roaming these woods, you think that somehow, I can find the forge and all the while, you’re going to be getting weaker. I’m going to have to carry your ass out of this place, aren’t I?”
“Only if it takes too long to find the forge. I have faith you’ll find it quick enough.”
“Funny, since you had no faith to tell me the truth all those years ago.”
He rested his staff against the cave wall once we moved as far back as we could. “I thought you weren’t mad at me for that anymore.”
“I am. I’m mad at you for a lot of shit, but there’s no point in bringing it up.”
“Seneca, I kept you from the truth to keep you safe. And like so many others in your life,” he went on when I huffed and turned my back on him, “I was wrong to do so. You had every right to know what blood runs in your veins. I’m sorry I disappeared on that day, but I can’t change the past. All I can do is be here to help ensure you fulfill your destiny.”
“Yeah? And does that include being killed by the vampire I love because I turn into an evil bitch?”
He spun me around and glared intently into my eyes. “You are not going to turn. Rudarius has messed with powers far beyond his comprehension. He thinks because he turned you into a vampire, that he has a claim on you and your powers. That you belong to him. You don’t. You are a royal in your own right. The last of your kind and the strongest. What Briar showed you is merely one of many possibilities. Don’t take it to heart.”
“Bit late for that,” I whispered as I sheathed my short swords. “Whatever. You’re right. We don’t have time to waste. The forge, how do I find it?”
Macron waited a couple of beats then gave in. “You need to clear your mind, get into a meditative state, and simply feel.”
“Feel? Really?”
“Yes, really. Get as comfortable as you can.”
Nothing like trying to meditate on cold, hard ground while there was a monstrous beast ready to tear us to pieces roaming outside in the woods. I sank to the ground, crossed my legs, and rested my palms facing upward on my knees.
Macron’s feet shuffled as he moved back toward the entrance of the cave. I was going to ask him what I should be feeling for, but as soon as I closed my eyes and breathed in deep, the tinge of familiar magic whispered against my ear. The arms on my hair stood on end as I took another breath and let it out, reaching for a magic matching mine. It surrounded me, and I sensed it was woven throughout the very fabric of this realm.
My physical body stayed where it was inside the cave, but my mind took a trip and wandered outside. I passed Macron, who was keeping watch over me, his brow bearing more worry lines than I remembered seeing there before. The magic called to me, and I moved easily through the trees, knowing I wouldn’t be seen by whatever creatures lurked in the shadows.
Eventually, the ground beneath me turned to cobblestones. There was a road running through the woods. I followed it a few more yards then stopped and looked up. My vision became enhanced, and I was dragged onward without even moving, the road ended at a courtyard made of onyx stones, crumbling and covered in vines, brittle and blackened. Beyond that was what remained of a mighty castle. Three of the four towers had fallen in, and most of the roof appeared to have rotted away. The iron gate that guarded its entrance lay bent and broken on the ground.
In the heart of the ruins lay the forge.
The fires had gone out long ago, but it was there, and from the looks of it, was perfectly intact. All we had to do was make the treacherous journey through the trees without getting eaten, and we’d make it. I blinked and found myself standing back on the road as if my feet had never moved. I turned, following my path to the cave and my body.
Only this time, the trees shifted around me, and the forest shimmered in and out of view.
Seneca…
I told myself to keep walking. I didn’t have time for a chat with Rudarius. I told Draven I wouldn’t speak with him again. Yesterday, I thought I’d be willing to go back on that promise. Not now. Macron would get weaker the longer we were here which meant there was no time to waste.
Seneca… come to me, my sweet. We need to talk.
“Not happening,” I muttered with a hiss. “Back off.”
The trees shimmered again, and this time Rudarius’s voice was behind me and not inside my head.
“Why must you always be so brash?” His hands rested on my shoulders as he stood behind me. We were back in the same room as before. Alright, maybe this wasn’t just inside my head. Were we really inside his fortress? “I can’t see where you are. Curious. What is that old mage up to now?”
“None of your concern.” His hands should’ve had me pulling away, but just as the last time we spoke, their presence didn’t bother me. “What do you want?”
“Merely to see if you considered my offer yet.”
“You’ve hardly given me any time. What’s the rush? Nervous?” I teased, giving him a smile as I glanced over my shoulder.
Those red eyes held confusion then amusement. “Perhaps not as much as I was before.”
Was it really going to be this easy to trick him? At least Draven would never see these conversations and what I was doing in them. If he ever heard that I’d been flirting with Rudarius, playing along with his scheming, he’d lose it. “I haven’t decided anything yet. I’m still contemplating removing your head from your shoulders.”
This time I pulled away from his grasp, the sudden cold throwing me off, but I walked to the chairs and plopped down. His red gaze followed every move I made. “You going to stand the whole time?”
“Something has changed in you. I can’t decide what it is though.”
“Same simple tainted fae I’ve always been.”
His brow arched. “I highly doubt that. You are many things, simple is far from one of them. A woman with your beauty, your strength and power could never be reduced to such a word.”
“Thanks, I think.”
He took the other chair and sat, crossing his legs casually. “I sense you have questions.”
“You could say that, but what hope do I have of you answering them honestly?”
He bowed his head. “You a have a point, but something tells me you’ll be able to tell if I’m lying. Go ahead, ask me anything you want. That is why I wish for us to speak,” he said as he motioned his hands around the room. “A place we won’t be interrupted. A chance to get to know one another.”
“You make it sound as though by the end of these talks I’m not going to want to kill you.”
He shrugged. “I would much rather have you on my side in this war, Seneca. Seeing you standing with the fae angered me for many reasons.”
“And they would be what? Because I was kicking your ass?”
His lip twitched, and his smile faltered. Shit. I had meant to be playing nice, not pissing him off. “If I recall, you fell to my attack. If not for Draven, you would already be by my side. You’d understand why this war must happen and why you would do well to join me.”
