Blood Bond (The Stones of Terrene Chronicles Book 4), page 18
Was it because of his softness toward Jade? A reminder from his subconscious of all his reasons for his hatred, his goals?
He rolled over to his side, groaning as a spring in the mattress poked him.
It didn’t matter.
He’d succeeded in getting the barrier down. And he would see to it that the Doldran lands—fertilized with Monomi blood—returned to his family line.
It didn’t matter if he toyed with Jade for a bit before ruining her completely. She had to be alive for him to torment Zak, anyhow. And once he’d let them feel a taste of the agony he’d been carrying all these years, then, and only then, would he end their miserable existences.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Ben
Ben hefted a pot of snow onto the stove to melt and stole a glance at Raine over the top of the metal. She was methodically pulling two rags and a small whetstone from her bag, her sword lying next to her legs. Her lashes fluttered, and she looked up, meeting his gaze. A small grin tweaked her lips even as a blush rose on her cheeks. He smiled at her and tried to contain the thrill that coursed through his skin. More than friends.
“Do I even want to know what happened between you two last night?” Geist groaned. He dropped an armful of chopped wood on the floor, then squatted to start feeding them one at a time into the metal stove. Light flickered over his face as the fire licked the wood, and Geist blew on it gently. He shrugged to himself, his tone conversational. “I mean, it’s not like the two of you were unchaperoned for that long, but something happened.”
Alarmed at how loud Geist’s griping sounded in the quiet room, Ben shot a quick look at Finn and Zak. But Finn didn’t appear to have heard, too absorbed in the stack of papers he was reading through while jotting notes on a separate parchment. Good. Ben didn’t want to interrupt what looked to be an intense session of Finn figuring out the notes to break the bond. A slight smile curled Zak’s lip.
Christopher rolled over where he slept.
Grumbling inwardly, Ben scowled at Geist, unable to keep his expression annoyed long enough for it to count for anything.
Geist smirked. “A lot can happen in a short time, so––”
Ben set the lid on the pot with more force than necessary, drowning out whatever Geist was going to insinuate. Brother-in-arms or not, sometimes strangling his friend seemed like a really good idea.
Finn shot up from the table, snarling something unintelligible. He walked away, turned back to beat his fists against the aged wood, then strode out the door, slamming it shut behind him. The walls shuddered.
Christopher bolted upright, dagger half out before his eyes blinked open.
They all stared at the door for a long, awkward moment.
The humor slid off Geist’s face, and he winced. “Sorry. I guess I was a bit too loud there.”
Zak rolled his eyes.
Christopher slowly sheathed his dagger, a heavy frown on his face. “We’re not under attack?”
“We’re still safe,” Zak assured their companion. He shot a pointed look at Geist. “Someone just hit a nerve.”
“Not like that’s a first.” Raine flashed a quick smile, which took the sting out of her retort. She climbed to her feet and stretched, the hem of her tunic rippling with the motion. She crossed the room and peered down at the pages Finn had been going through. “But I’d guess Papa’s reaction was because of something he found here. Not you, Geist.”
Christopher yawned and rolled over. “Great. Wake me when we’re ready to move out.”
“Speaking of,” Geist hoisted himself to sit on the kitchen counter and gestured at the small cabin. “How the flying whales did he have a place like this in the north?”
Raine settled in the chair Finn had vacated and smirked at Geist. “History isn’t your strong suit, is it?”
Geist spluttered, his face reddening. “School was a long time ago.”
Ben suppressed his laughter at Geist’s scowl and Raine’s smug grin. “I’m exempt of this quiz, right?” He grabbed a threadbare potholder and tried to swirl the heavy pot in place. “Not like I grew up here, after all.”
“Yes, yes, you’re good.” Raine scrunched her nose at Ben briefly before returning her teasing to Geist. “Do you remember any history?” She raised her eyebrows at Zak. “Any guesses?”
Zak crossed his arms and leaned his head back against the wall. “About how Finn knew of this place? Doldra had more land long ago. I’d guess it went this far north.”
Geist snapped his fingers and pointed at Zak. “Before the barrier. Right.” He jutted his chin out and nodded thoughtfully. “That would make sense.”
Raine ran her fingers lightly over the time-warped seat of the chair and shrugged. “This had been one of Lucio’s retreats for studying, I think. Papa would visit and work here with him. Before Papa was Finn.” Her eyes held a faraway look. “He’d talk about it on occasion, but I’d never expected to actually be able to visit.”
“It was probably a lot nicer back then,” Ben commented idly. He leaned against the wall, and the wood sagged slightly. He straightened. The condition of the house didn’t matter to him; it was a brief shelter in the midst of the snow.
“Probably,” Raine agreed with an easy grin as she poked at a nearby wall. “I find it hard to believe that Papa and his friends would linger long in a place like this if they had better options to work in.”
Something was different about Raine this morning. She seemed more … relaxed, somehow. Less uptight and tense. Was it because of their conversation? After her nightmare, he’d expected her to return to her wary, quiet self.
Pleasant surprises.
Raine straightened suddenly and turned to Zak. She bit her lip. “I nearly forgot. When Papa and I were in that laboratory room, I found this.” She slipped her hand into her pocket and pulled out her closed fist, holding it out for Zak. His brow furrowed as he reached out to take what she offered.
Jade’s necklace pooled into his hand, the rubies flashing in the weak firelight, and the silver gleaming white against Zak’s black gloves.
Zak’s breath left him in a whoosh, and his hand trembled as his thumb traced over the gems.
“I couldn’t leave it behind.” Raine sounded apologetic.
“Thank you.” Zak clutched the necklace to his chest, his expression stricken and bleak.
The door creaked open, and Finn stood there, silent as a statue, the brisk outside air sucking away what little warmth had been in the cabin. Ben shivered.
“Papa?” Raine crossed the room and held her hand out. “Are you alright?”
Finn took her hand and stepped over the threshold, his movements weary. He shuffled to the table and sat heavily, not meeting her eyes. “I am not ill, Spook.” He motioned at the rest of them without raising his head. “I know how to break the bond. Theoretically.”
There was no cheer in his words. No celebration or happiness.
Ben left his spot by the far wall to stand next to Raine, her hand still in Finn’s. Geist slipped off the counter to join them.
Zak nudged Christopher awake. “Finn knows how to break the bond.”
Christopher’s eyes snapped open, and he sat up.
“How do we do it?” Geist asked, his tone guarded.
“We don’t.” Finn lifted his hand and finally looked up at them with red-rimmed eyes. His voice warbled as he rubbed the back of Raine’s hand with his thumb. “It’s something only Void Born can do.”
Trepidation iced Ben’s veins. Whatever it was that only he and Raine could do, it wasn’t going to be pleasant. Not if it had Finn looking wrecked. Ben glanced at Raine out of the corner of his eye. She stared down at her grandfather with a pinched expression, her shoulders drawn back and squared as if ready for battle.
“Tell us, Papa.”
Finn sighed and touched two books that he’d taken from the Tastow research center. “I’ll try to simplify this.” He drummed his fingers against the books. “According to what I’ve read, the Elph made three daises like the one we found in Tastow.” He looked up at Raine. “It works as a grounding rod of sorts for Void magic.”
Raine nodded. “And that’s the same material the keystones were made from, right?”
“Correct.” Finn sucked in a deep breath. “The blood bond was created by sending three Void Born into the Void with what we know of as an activation stone.” His left hand clenched into a fist. “They were sacrificed to the Void on those daises, trapping them, their souls, some part of them into the Void. But they still remain connected to Terrene, powering the blood bond from there, in a way.”
Lead sludged through Ben’s veins. There were souls trapped in the Void?
“Whenever an uncharged activation stone is brought to the dais, it opens a portal of sorts to the Void that then charges the stone.” Finn flipped open one of the books and pointed to an illustration of a long-haired man holding a stone near a green-and-black wispy curtain.
He continued, “If a Void Born were to go on a dais while holding an activation stone, it would send them into the Void. And,” he hesitated. “If they had a bloodstone, it would sever the magic tethering the soul, which would break the bond. Theoretically.”
“Just like a bloodstone that takes down the barrier,” Geist murmured.
“Exactly.” Finn’s brow pinched, and he pressed Raine’s hand between his own. “But there’s no way of knowing what would happen to the Void Born who go in with the activation stone. Would they be trapped in the Void when the magic is severed? Would they return to Terrene? To Earth, or wherever they originated? Would they die? I don’t know.”
Ben swallowed hard. Would it be like when he crossed over the first time, when he had no memory of who he was for so long? If they survived crossing over, would they even remember who they were, where they were from?
“But you’re certain it would break the blood bond for everyone,” Raine said with quiet insistence.
“Yes. I mean, it’s never been done before, but the science for the magic is sound.” Finn rubbed his face with his free hand. “But what happens to them after …”
Raine’s gaze turned distant. “You said three Void Born would be needed?”
Finn’s hand trembled. “Three.”
Raine met Ben’s gaze, his trepidation mirrored in her eyes. There was no question in Ben’s mind that he would have to step up to do it. The only other Void Born he knew of were Christopher and that shopkeeper in Doldra. But the odds of finding that skittish shopkeeper again were slim.
Which left himself. Christopher. And Raine.
No. Maybe they’d be able to find that shopkeeper. L-something. Lance, wasn’t it? Bad enough that Ben would possibly be trapped in the Void forever, without a way to get to Sara, but he wasn’t about to condone the idea of Raine experiencing the same. She deserved better. To live without fear, with what family she had. It was hard enough to ask her to consider going to Earth with him, but she’d at least have family in him. If they were all trapped in the Void, with no way to escape? To just … die?
“I’ll do it.” Raine’s quiet words shattered Ben’s thoughts. He started to shake his head, and her eyes flashed in warning. Raine dropped her gaze to Finn. “This is what I’m here for, Papa. This is why I was found. Why you raised me. For such a time as this.”
Christopher rubbed his arm, his gaze haunted. “You need bloodstones.”
“Yes.” Finn glanced up at Christopher, taking in his pale face. “This place was left undisturbed, so what I’d hidden should still be here.”
Christopher looked almost whiter than a moment ago. “Are they charged?”
“How do you know such powerful artifacts are still here?” Zak asked, an edge to his voice.
“I am myself, yet Flint was a different me. Flint worked with Lucio on several projects related to the Void.” Finn rubbed his thumb and forefinger together, lines of sorrow aging his eyes. “I will check. But there should be enough. And they should still be charged.” He shook his head slightly, shadows haunting his eyes. “Putting up the barrier was a desperate gamble, and I didn’t have time to clear this retreat before that. I doubt Lucio did, either.”
A hint of color returned to Christopher, and he lifted his chin, confidence straightening his spine. “He didn’t. He would’ve used those, if he’d had them.” Christopher tilted forward at the waist in an almost-bow. “If it will break the bond … then I will help.”
“It will cost you everything.” Finn dropped his head into his hand, hiding his face.
Geist crossed his arms. “Is there any way to break the bond with less risk?”
Finn flailed a hand. “If there was, don’t you think I would have mentioned it?” He swiped a hand against his eyes. “This is not what I’d wanted for you, Raine.”
Ben glanced away, as if that would give them privacy for this conversation. His gaze snagged on Zak’s. The Monomi stared at him as if everything in his world was crumbling to pieces.
It probably was.
There had to be a different way. But maybe they’d get the favorable outcome and return to Earth, or Terrene. This could be Ben’s ticket home.
Or his ticket to the death that should’ve happened back with his unit.
There was no way of knowing until they did it.
“It’s not what I was planning for myself, Papa. But it is what it is.” Raine’s voice sounded steady, though it lacked conviction. She settled her hand on Finn’s back for a heartbeat. “Have we heard from the Phoenix yet? We need to figure out where to go so we can see this done.” She brushed past Ben, her fingers skimming over his knuckles. She stopped at the door and spoke without looking back at them. “I’ll be a few minutes.”
The door clicked shut behind her, and Finn sagged in his seat. “Can one of you lads glow them? We need to find them anyway.”
Geist cleared his throat. “R-right.” He grabbed the amber stone from the counter and gave Ben a pointed look, then nodded meaningfully at the door before busying himself with the glow stone. It lit in his grip, steadily pulsing with his outgoing message as he walked. Zak silently followed him.
Ben ignored Geist and tested the strength of the table before leaning on it. “If you had to guess,” he said quietly to Finn, “what would you expect to happen to us?”
Finn leaned back in his chair, and it creaked ominously. He ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t know, son. Working off what I’ve read thus far, I can think of reasons why the magic would dump you back here or on Earth.” Color leached from Finn’s face. “I can also think of reasons why it’s a death sentence.”
Ben absorbed that. “And you’re confident it would break the bond?”
Christopher leaned in, focused on Finn, hanging on his every word. “And it would give the southern nations a chance at victory?” His breath caught. “And my sister would be free?”
Ben cast a startled glance at Christopher. He had a sister in bondage. Somehow that was surprising, and yet not.
“Yes. That much I am positive of.” Strength entered Finn’s words. “The bond would be broken, and with that, compulsions would be shattered. No matter the age, or the distance, anyone who has been bonded will be free.” His gaze drifted to the door. “All would be free.”
“And it could serve as a distraction for Zak to find Jade, possibly. There would be chaos when it’s broken.” Ben knuckled the tabletop, pushing down the anger that bubbled under his skin. He knew war. If it took only three lives to save millions …
“What do you need for it to work?” Christopher asked, urgent.
“We need to find the original daises.” Finn rubbed a thumb against the crease in his brow. “That could take an unknown amount of time to find. All I could gather from the note was that the original undertaking was commanded by a Lord Kalanask over a century ago.”
Christopher could’ve been a statue. “Lord Kalanask?”
Finn nodded, a light of miserable hope in his eyes. “Have you heard of him?”
“I’ve met him.” Christopher’s voice tightened. “In the north. At Magus Heights. Lord Kalanask is Victor’s uncle. What do the daises look like? Same material as a keystone? Just, bigger?”
Finn nodded again, some of the misery draining out of him, slowly being replaced by intense focus. He sketched out a flat, rounded step. “Something like this, possibly.”
Christopher barely glanced at it before giving a short nod. “I’ve seen those at Magus Heights.” He swallowed. “And there are three.”
Ben’s gut clenched.
“Can you lead us there?” Zak cut in.
Christopher’s face smoothed to a soldier’s calm. “Yes.” He lightly hit his knuckles against the table, throwing an apologetic look back at Zak. “I haven’t had a chance to say it yet. I think I saw Jade, back in Tastow.”
Ben’s breath tightened in his lungs. Raine had found Jade’s necklace, but to know that they’d missed Jade…
Zak was suddenly at Christopher’s side, his gaze piercing. “Say that again?”
“She was with my sister.” Bleak sorrow mingled with hope in Christopher’s quiet statement. “On an airship.” He closed his eyes. “I can only assume that they’re still with Victor.”
Zak exhaled heavily, and leaned a hand against the wall. “Where would he take them?”
“I–I don’t know.” Christopher lifted his hands, palms up. “To his uncle, in Magus Heights? To the training facility that Coven Leader Lea has? Back down, to the south? I can’t guess.”
Finn’s throat bobbed. “Then we’ll decide on our direction when we get onboard the Phoenix.” He glanced up at Ben, solemn lines aging his care-worn face. “If you survive, will you stay with Raine? Protect my Spook?”
“You know it.” Ben swallowed the lump in his throat and eased up from the table, leaving Christopher beside Finn. “I’ll … get some fresh air, too.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Raine
Snow squeaked under Raine’s boots as she tromped to where the horses sheltered from the bitter cold.
The blood bond … powered by Void Born. Void Born who were trapped in the Void. Were the horrors ever enough? Nausea swirled in her, and she grasped a sagging fence post, hoping it would hold her up until the world stopped spinning.
He rolled over to his side, groaning as a spring in the mattress poked him.
It didn’t matter.
He’d succeeded in getting the barrier down. And he would see to it that the Doldran lands—fertilized with Monomi blood—returned to his family line.
It didn’t matter if he toyed with Jade for a bit before ruining her completely. She had to be alive for him to torment Zak, anyhow. And once he’d let them feel a taste of the agony he’d been carrying all these years, then, and only then, would he end their miserable existences.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Ben
Ben hefted a pot of snow onto the stove to melt and stole a glance at Raine over the top of the metal. She was methodically pulling two rags and a small whetstone from her bag, her sword lying next to her legs. Her lashes fluttered, and she looked up, meeting his gaze. A small grin tweaked her lips even as a blush rose on her cheeks. He smiled at her and tried to contain the thrill that coursed through his skin. More than friends.
“Do I even want to know what happened between you two last night?” Geist groaned. He dropped an armful of chopped wood on the floor, then squatted to start feeding them one at a time into the metal stove. Light flickered over his face as the fire licked the wood, and Geist blew on it gently. He shrugged to himself, his tone conversational. “I mean, it’s not like the two of you were unchaperoned for that long, but something happened.”
Alarmed at how loud Geist’s griping sounded in the quiet room, Ben shot a quick look at Finn and Zak. But Finn didn’t appear to have heard, too absorbed in the stack of papers he was reading through while jotting notes on a separate parchment. Good. Ben didn’t want to interrupt what looked to be an intense session of Finn figuring out the notes to break the bond. A slight smile curled Zak’s lip.
Christopher rolled over where he slept.
Grumbling inwardly, Ben scowled at Geist, unable to keep his expression annoyed long enough for it to count for anything.
Geist smirked. “A lot can happen in a short time, so––”
Ben set the lid on the pot with more force than necessary, drowning out whatever Geist was going to insinuate. Brother-in-arms or not, sometimes strangling his friend seemed like a really good idea.
Finn shot up from the table, snarling something unintelligible. He walked away, turned back to beat his fists against the aged wood, then strode out the door, slamming it shut behind him. The walls shuddered.
Christopher bolted upright, dagger half out before his eyes blinked open.
They all stared at the door for a long, awkward moment.
The humor slid off Geist’s face, and he winced. “Sorry. I guess I was a bit too loud there.”
Zak rolled his eyes.
Christopher slowly sheathed his dagger, a heavy frown on his face. “We’re not under attack?”
“We’re still safe,” Zak assured their companion. He shot a pointed look at Geist. “Someone just hit a nerve.”
“Not like that’s a first.” Raine flashed a quick smile, which took the sting out of her retort. She climbed to her feet and stretched, the hem of her tunic rippling with the motion. She crossed the room and peered down at the pages Finn had been going through. “But I’d guess Papa’s reaction was because of something he found here. Not you, Geist.”
Christopher yawned and rolled over. “Great. Wake me when we’re ready to move out.”
“Speaking of,” Geist hoisted himself to sit on the kitchen counter and gestured at the small cabin. “How the flying whales did he have a place like this in the north?”
Raine settled in the chair Finn had vacated and smirked at Geist. “History isn’t your strong suit, is it?”
Geist spluttered, his face reddening. “School was a long time ago.”
Ben suppressed his laughter at Geist’s scowl and Raine’s smug grin. “I’m exempt of this quiz, right?” He grabbed a threadbare potholder and tried to swirl the heavy pot in place. “Not like I grew up here, after all.”
“Yes, yes, you’re good.” Raine scrunched her nose at Ben briefly before returning her teasing to Geist. “Do you remember any history?” She raised her eyebrows at Zak. “Any guesses?”
Zak crossed his arms and leaned his head back against the wall. “About how Finn knew of this place? Doldra had more land long ago. I’d guess it went this far north.”
Geist snapped his fingers and pointed at Zak. “Before the barrier. Right.” He jutted his chin out and nodded thoughtfully. “That would make sense.”
Raine ran her fingers lightly over the time-warped seat of the chair and shrugged. “This had been one of Lucio’s retreats for studying, I think. Papa would visit and work here with him. Before Papa was Finn.” Her eyes held a faraway look. “He’d talk about it on occasion, but I’d never expected to actually be able to visit.”
“It was probably a lot nicer back then,” Ben commented idly. He leaned against the wall, and the wood sagged slightly. He straightened. The condition of the house didn’t matter to him; it was a brief shelter in the midst of the snow.
“Probably,” Raine agreed with an easy grin as she poked at a nearby wall. “I find it hard to believe that Papa and his friends would linger long in a place like this if they had better options to work in.”
Something was different about Raine this morning. She seemed more … relaxed, somehow. Less uptight and tense. Was it because of their conversation? After her nightmare, he’d expected her to return to her wary, quiet self.
Pleasant surprises.
Raine straightened suddenly and turned to Zak. She bit her lip. “I nearly forgot. When Papa and I were in that laboratory room, I found this.” She slipped her hand into her pocket and pulled out her closed fist, holding it out for Zak. His brow furrowed as he reached out to take what she offered.
Jade’s necklace pooled into his hand, the rubies flashing in the weak firelight, and the silver gleaming white against Zak’s black gloves.
Zak’s breath left him in a whoosh, and his hand trembled as his thumb traced over the gems.
“I couldn’t leave it behind.” Raine sounded apologetic.
“Thank you.” Zak clutched the necklace to his chest, his expression stricken and bleak.
The door creaked open, and Finn stood there, silent as a statue, the brisk outside air sucking away what little warmth had been in the cabin. Ben shivered.
“Papa?” Raine crossed the room and held her hand out. “Are you alright?”
Finn took her hand and stepped over the threshold, his movements weary. He shuffled to the table and sat heavily, not meeting her eyes. “I am not ill, Spook.” He motioned at the rest of them without raising his head. “I know how to break the bond. Theoretically.”
There was no cheer in his words. No celebration or happiness.
Ben left his spot by the far wall to stand next to Raine, her hand still in Finn’s. Geist slipped off the counter to join them.
Zak nudged Christopher awake. “Finn knows how to break the bond.”
Christopher’s eyes snapped open, and he sat up.
“How do we do it?” Geist asked, his tone guarded.
“We don’t.” Finn lifted his hand and finally looked up at them with red-rimmed eyes. His voice warbled as he rubbed the back of Raine’s hand with his thumb. “It’s something only Void Born can do.”
Trepidation iced Ben’s veins. Whatever it was that only he and Raine could do, it wasn’t going to be pleasant. Not if it had Finn looking wrecked. Ben glanced at Raine out of the corner of his eye. She stared down at her grandfather with a pinched expression, her shoulders drawn back and squared as if ready for battle.
“Tell us, Papa.”
Finn sighed and touched two books that he’d taken from the Tastow research center. “I’ll try to simplify this.” He drummed his fingers against the books. “According to what I’ve read, the Elph made three daises like the one we found in Tastow.” He looked up at Raine. “It works as a grounding rod of sorts for Void magic.”
Raine nodded. “And that’s the same material the keystones were made from, right?”
“Correct.” Finn sucked in a deep breath. “The blood bond was created by sending three Void Born into the Void with what we know of as an activation stone.” His left hand clenched into a fist. “They were sacrificed to the Void on those daises, trapping them, their souls, some part of them into the Void. But they still remain connected to Terrene, powering the blood bond from there, in a way.”
Lead sludged through Ben’s veins. There were souls trapped in the Void?
“Whenever an uncharged activation stone is brought to the dais, it opens a portal of sorts to the Void that then charges the stone.” Finn flipped open one of the books and pointed to an illustration of a long-haired man holding a stone near a green-and-black wispy curtain.
He continued, “If a Void Born were to go on a dais while holding an activation stone, it would send them into the Void. And,” he hesitated. “If they had a bloodstone, it would sever the magic tethering the soul, which would break the bond. Theoretically.”
“Just like a bloodstone that takes down the barrier,” Geist murmured.
“Exactly.” Finn’s brow pinched, and he pressed Raine’s hand between his own. “But there’s no way of knowing what would happen to the Void Born who go in with the activation stone. Would they be trapped in the Void when the magic is severed? Would they return to Terrene? To Earth, or wherever they originated? Would they die? I don’t know.”
Ben swallowed hard. Would it be like when he crossed over the first time, when he had no memory of who he was for so long? If they survived crossing over, would they even remember who they were, where they were from?
“But you’re certain it would break the blood bond for everyone,” Raine said with quiet insistence.
“Yes. I mean, it’s never been done before, but the science for the magic is sound.” Finn rubbed his face with his free hand. “But what happens to them after …”
Raine’s gaze turned distant. “You said three Void Born would be needed?”
Finn’s hand trembled. “Three.”
Raine met Ben’s gaze, his trepidation mirrored in her eyes. There was no question in Ben’s mind that he would have to step up to do it. The only other Void Born he knew of were Christopher and that shopkeeper in Doldra. But the odds of finding that skittish shopkeeper again were slim.
Which left himself. Christopher. And Raine.
No. Maybe they’d be able to find that shopkeeper. L-something. Lance, wasn’t it? Bad enough that Ben would possibly be trapped in the Void forever, without a way to get to Sara, but he wasn’t about to condone the idea of Raine experiencing the same. She deserved better. To live without fear, with what family she had. It was hard enough to ask her to consider going to Earth with him, but she’d at least have family in him. If they were all trapped in the Void, with no way to escape? To just … die?
“I’ll do it.” Raine’s quiet words shattered Ben’s thoughts. He started to shake his head, and her eyes flashed in warning. Raine dropped her gaze to Finn. “This is what I’m here for, Papa. This is why I was found. Why you raised me. For such a time as this.”
Christopher rubbed his arm, his gaze haunted. “You need bloodstones.”
“Yes.” Finn glanced up at Christopher, taking in his pale face. “This place was left undisturbed, so what I’d hidden should still be here.”
Christopher looked almost whiter than a moment ago. “Are they charged?”
“How do you know such powerful artifacts are still here?” Zak asked, an edge to his voice.
“I am myself, yet Flint was a different me. Flint worked with Lucio on several projects related to the Void.” Finn rubbed his thumb and forefinger together, lines of sorrow aging his eyes. “I will check. But there should be enough. And they should still be charged.” He shook his head slightly, shadows haunting his eyes. “Putting up the barrier was a desperate gamble, and I didn’t have time to clear this retreat before that. I doubt Lucio did, either.”
A hint of color returned to Christopher, and he lifted his chin, confidence straightening his spine. “He didn’t. He would’ve used those, if he’d had them.” Christopher tilted forward at the waist in an almost-bow. “If it will break the bond … then I will help.”
“It will cost you everything.” Finn dropped his head into his hand, hiding his face.
Geist crossed his arms. “Is there any way to break the bond with less risk?”
Finn flailed a hand. “If there was, don’t you think I would have mentioned it?” He swiped a hand against his eyes. “This is not what I’d wanted for you, Raine.”
Ben glanced away, as if that would give them privacy for this conversation. His gaze snagged on Zak’s. The Monomi stared at him as if everything in his world was crumbling to pieces.
It probably was.
There had to be a different way. But maybe they’d get the favorable outcome and return to Earth, or Terrene. This could be Ben’s ticket home.
Or his ticket to the death that should’ve happened back with his unit.
There was no way of knowing until they did it.
“It’s not what I was planning for myself, Papa. But it is what it is.” Raine’s voice sounded steady, though it lacked conviction. She settled her hand on Finn’s back for a heartbeat. “Have we heard from the Phoenix yet? We need to figure out where to go so we can see this done.” She brushed past Ben, her fingers skimming over his knuckles. She stopped at the door and spoke without looking back at them. “I’ll be a few minutes.”
The door clicked shut behind her, and Finn sagged in his seat. “Can one of you lads glow them? We need to find them anyway.”
Geist cleared his throat. “R-right.” He grabbed the amber stone from the counter and gave Ben a pointed look, then nodded meaningfully at the door before busying himself with the glow stone. It lit in his grip, steadily pulsing with his outgoing message as he walked. Zak silently followed him.
Ben ignored Geist and tested the strength of the table before leaning on it. “If you had to guess,” he said quietly to Finn, “what would you expect to happen to us?”
Finn leaned back in his chair, and it creaked ominously. He ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t know, son. Working off what I’ve read thus far, I can think of reasons why the magic would dump you back here or on Earth.” Color leached from Finn’s face. “I can also think of reasons why it’s a death sentence.”
Ben absorbed that. “And you’re confident it would break the bond?”
Christopher leaned in, focused on Finn, hanging on his every word. “And it would give the southern nations a chance at victory?” His breath caught. “And my sister would be free?”
Ben cast a startled glance at Christopher. He had a sister in bondage. Somehow that was surprising, and yet not.
“Yes. That much I am positive of.” Strength entered Finn’s words. “The bond would be broken, and with that, compulsions would be shattered. No matter the age, or the distance, anyone who has been bonded will be free.” His gaze drifted to the door. “All would be free.”
“And it could serve as a distraction for Zak to find Jade, possibly. There would be chaos when it’s broken.” Ben knuckled the tabletop, pushing down the anger that bubbled under his skin. He knew war. If it took only three lives to save millions …
“What do you need for it to work?” Christopher asked, urgent.
“We need to find the original daises.” Finn rubbed a thumb against the crease in his brow. “That could take an unknown amount of time to find. All I could gather from the note was that the original undertaking was commanded by a Lord Kalanask over a century ago.”
Christopher could’ve been a statue. “Lord Kalanask?”
Finn nodded, a light of miserable hope in his eyes. “Have you heard of him?”
“I’ve met him.” Christopher’s voice tightened. “In the north. At Magus Heights. Lord Kalanask is Victor’s uncle. What do the daises look like? Same material as a keystone? Just, bigger?”
Finn nodded again, some of the misery draining out of him, slowly being replaced by intense focus. He sketched out a flat, rounded step. “Something like this, possibly.”
Christopher barely glanced at it before giving a short nod. “I’ve seen those at Magus Heights.” He swallowed. “And there are three.”
Ben’s gut clenched.
“Can you lead us there?” Zak cut in.
Christopher’s face smoothed to a soldier’s calm. “Yes.” He lightly hit his knuckles against the table, throwing an apologetic look back at Zak. “I haven’t had a chance to say it yet. I think I saw Jade, back in Tastow.”
Ben’s breath tightened in his lungs. Raine had found Jade’s necklace, but to know that they’d missed Jade…
Zak was suddenly at Christopher’s side, his gaze piercing. “Say that again?”
“She was with my sister.” Bleak sorrow mingled with hope in Christopher’s quiet statement. “On an airship.” He closed his eyes. “I can only assume that they’re still with Victor.”
Zak exhaled heavily, and leaned a hand against the wall. “Where would he take them?”
“I–I don’t know.” Christopher lifted his hands, palms up. “To his uncle, in Magus Heights? To the training facility that Coven Leader Lea has? Back down, to the south? I can’t guess.”
Finn’s throat bobbed. “Then we’ll decide on our direction when we get onboard the Phoenix.” He glanced up at Ben, solemn lines aging his care-worn face. “If you survive, will you stay with Raine? Protect my Spook?”
“You know it.” Ben swallowed the lump in his throat and eased up from the table, leaving Christopher beside Finn. “I’ll … get some fresh air, too.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Raine
Snow squeaked under Raine’s boots as she tromped to where the horses sheltered from the bitter cold.
The blood bond … powered by Void Born. Void Born who were trapped in the Void. Were the horrors ever enough? Nausea swirled in her, and she grasped a sagging fence post, hoping it would hold her up until the world stopped spinning.
