Chartile: Prophecy (37 page)

“
So be it. You three
search the library. She may be looking for the birth records,” said
Valin. “Dimitri and I will continue to look for the circlet.” He
looked at Dimitri who stood beside him. Though still glaring,
Dimitri nodded.

They took off in the opposite direction down
the hall, their hands on their sword hilts and their bodies tense.
Jayson, Jack and Leo watched them go, and cautiously entered the
library. It was vast, larger than they had anticipated, and they
stood staring wide eyed in the doorway for several moments.

“
Well, this could take a
while,” said Jack. Leo didn’t answer. His eyes ogled at the
plethora of information before him, his greed and addiction for
knowledge fighting the will to stay on task. Jack gave him a hard
push forward through the door, and Jayson followed, his spirits
still down cast.



Piper’s hand flew to the sword at her hip.
She drew the blade, but Taraniz held up her empty hands in
surrender, tucking Runa’s journal beneath her arm.

“
Please,” Taraniz said
again, her voice calm and gentle. It was nothing like the voice
Piper had heard her use when commanding her troops against Outland
Post. “I only wish to speak with you. I promise.”

Piper stared at her skeptically, not daring
to move.

“
You are free to search me
of weapons,” said Taraniz, her hands still raised.

Slowly, Piper lowered her blade, but did not
sheath it.

“
Fine. I am listening, but
I want to know how you knew I would be here,” she said.

Taraniz lowered her hands, and grabbed
Runa’s journal, holding it to her chest again. She looked at the
floor, silent for some time as she struggled to find the words.

“
I knew as soon as you
entered Cannondole.” She straightened to her full height and took a
deep breath. “I could feel your presence through the minds of the
soldiers. I knew you were there, in the forest and the manor. Then
I lost you for a while, but I knew if you had gone to Cannondole, I
just knew where your heart would lead you. I felt you when you
entered the noble’s wing.” Taraniz took a step forward. Piper
raised the tip of her blade slightly, and Taraniz, taking the
warning, stepped back again. “I do not know how I did it. So much
that I do seems that way. I thought it was a good idea. I thought
about how I might do such a thing, and then it just happened. I
searched your mind for memories, and I used one of mine as well. I
made them materialize so you would follow them. I am glad you
did.”

“
You are lucky I did,”
said Piper coldly. “You should not pry into people’s minds,
Taraniz. It is not polite for one. Now, where is my
grandmother?”

“
She is safe. I promise.
She is with the nobles of Sparrow’s Port. I did not hurt her. I
only asked her some questions. I knew you would come here looking
for her.” Taraniz looked at the floor, her lower lip trembling. She
ran her fingers absently over the leather of the journal and looked
at Piper again. “I am sorry,” she said. “I have wanted to talk to
you for so long. Ever since I discovered the truth – but I haven’t
been able to.”

“
Not attacking the people
of my village would have been a great start,” scoffed
Piper.

“
I know. Piper, I am
sorry. I am sorry for everything I have done. I never meant it to
be this way.” Taraniz dropped the journal. She clutched at her
head, grimacing in pain and nearly fell to the floor. Piper rushed
forward, abandoning her blade on the dusty bed. Taraniz was
panting, her eyes shut tight with pain. Piper touched her shoulder,
and almost instantly, Taraniz’s eyes opened. She took several deep
breaths and rose from the floor. “I’m alright. I am sorry.” she
said breathlessly.

“
What happened?” Piper
asked. Her voice was gentle, and her hand remained on her sister’s
shoulder.

“
It is difficult to
explain,” said Taraniz. “You must understand, I never wanted to
conquer Chartile. I wanted to unite our peoples under one banner. I
never wanted this bloodshed. When I discovered I had magic, it was
— oh, Piper, I cannot put it into words!”

Tears streaked Taraniz’s face. Piper reached
for her free hand and led her to the bed. She sheathed her sword
and sat beside her, holding Taraniz’s hands between hers.

“
It was as though an evil
awoke inside of me. I became two different people, and I could not
control it. I cannot control it still. The true me screamed inside
my heart and my mind, but it was though a wall had been built
around me and I could not escape. I had heard rumors of a girl in
Outland Post that had magical abilities, and I thought that perhaps
the secret to controlling that… that rage might lie there, with
you.

“
I wanted your help. Truly
I did. But every time I began forming a party to travel there, the
evil inside of me would overtake everything and lock me
away.”

The princess wiped the tears from her eyes,
and turned to face her sister. Piper saw the similarities between
them now. The high cheek bones she now knew came from their mother,
the freckles across the bridge of her nose, which had been from
their father.

“
Piper, I want you to rule
with me. I want us to be equals. We are sisters. We both have an
equal claim to the throne, and magic. Teach me how I can control
this hate in my heart, and we could be the most powerful rulers in
all of Chartile. Think of all the wonderful things we could do for
all of the races of our land!”

Piper stared back into Taraniz’s blue-grey
eyes, and sighed. “Taraniz –”

“
It’s Ani,” said the
princess, with a smirk.

Piper smiled back and continued, “Ani, I
honestly cannot help you. But I have a friend. I’m sure he has
followed me here by now. He taught me so much about controlling my
magic. I think, with his help, and the boys, we can help you.”

“
The boys?” Taraniz asked
surprised. “So the prophecy is true?”

Piper smiled at her, and nodded excited.
“Yes! This evil in you, it must be Noraedin’s soul. Ani, if we can
just –”

Taraniz’s eyes flashed black. Her smiling
face fell, and she stood, pulling a dagger from inside her sleeve.
Piper reached for the knife at her back, but Taraniz was too quick.
She pushed Piper to the bed, the dagger raised above her face.

Piper kicked Taraniz in her stomach and
pushed her to the floor. The dagger flew through the air and
smashed against the mirror of the dressing table. Piper ran to
Taraniz, who lay face down on the floor.

“
Ani,” she whispered,
pulling Taraniz into her arms. The girl was dazed, and the
blackness faded from her eyes as she blinked them into
focus.

“
Oh, Piper!” she breathed,
and began sobbing when she saw the shattered mirror. “I am so
sorry! I didn’t hurt you, did I? Forgive me!”

“
Of course I forgive you,”
Piper whispered in her ear. “This is not you. The reincarnation
process between you and Noraedin’s soul has been… compromised. I
think he’s trying to finish what he started through
you.”

“
Can you fix this?”
Taraniz pleaded, looking up at Piper. Her face was pretty, even
when she cried.

“
No, but I think with
returned kings, and Dimitri, we might be able to –”

Taraniz’s eyes flashed black again. This
time, Piper was ready for it. She pinned Taraniz’s arms behind her
back, and held her to the ground.

“
Leave my sister alone!”
she screamed. “Ani, you have to fight this! Come back to me!” A
power unlike anything Piper had ever felt surged from Taraniz’s
body. It exploded through Piper with an audible blast, and Piper
slammed against the mirror, shattering it even further.

Taraniz stood, her eyes still black. They
flashed back to their innocent gray-blue, but there was no kindness
behind them. Taraniz lifted her hand, and Piper flew through the
air again, landing hard on the bed. The shackles on the wall
snapped around her wrists. Taraniz smiled, and it was very unlike
the Ani Piper had just met.

“
She is mine,” said the
voice Piper knew too well.

Taraniz turned and left the room, kicking
Runa’s journal under the bed.

“
Ani, wait!” Piper called.
“You can fight this! Come back!”

Her footsteps slowly faded away on the stone
stairs. Taraniz was gone.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Sacrifices

Jayson ran his hand over the smooth bark of
one of the Belirian tree book shelves in the elven library. He
pulled a random book from the shelf in front of him and opened to
the center page. It was a record of trading with Harpy’s Point, and
judging by the fade and smudge of the ink, he guessed it was many
years old. He snapped the book shut, and placed it back on the
shelf haphazardly.

“
This is stupid,” he said,
not caring to keep his voice down anymore.

“
Ssh!” said Leo. He poked
his head around the corner and glaring at Jayson.

“
Oh, shut up, Leo,” said
Jayson in anger. “You know Dimitri and Valin left us here to keep
us out of the way.”

“
Jayson, this library is
massive,” said Jack, his tone more hushed. “Piper could be in here
anywhere. We don’t want to draw attention from the
guards.”

“
We are the returned
kings.” Jayson folded his arms across his chest. “We should be out
there looking for the circlet and for Taraniz. Dimitri might have
magic too, but there are three of us and only one of him. She’s not
in here. I just know it in my gut.”

“
Maybe we can find
something useful, though.” Leo thumbed through a book. “An ancient
book on magic, or Piper’s birth records.”

“
I don’t think the records
are in here, Leo,” said Jack. “Taraniz wouldn’t have kidnapped Gran
if they were.”

“
But they could be,” said
Leo. He picked up another book and gingerly turned the pages as
though they were made of glass. “If Gran hid the documents in here
somewhere, Taraniz might have kidnapped her to torture Gran into
telling her where she hid them.”

Jack looked at Jayson and shrugged. There
was a loud crash outside the door in the hallway, and palace guards
materialized from the shadows within the library. They walked
toward the boys, swords drawn and their faces devoid of any feeling
or emotion.

Jayson, Jack and Leo reached for their
weapons and began backing towards the door main door. The guards
remained silent, continuing to pursue them slowly and steady.
Jayson raised an arrow, ready to shoot. Leo reached out an arm and
shouted “Wait! Stop walking for a minute,” he said. Jayson chanced
a glance at him, his brow furrowed. “Move aside. Away from the
door,” said Leo. They stepped out of the way and behind a tree
trunk.

The guards walked past them, unblinking. Two
nearly bumped into them on their trek toward the door. The guards
suddenly halted, frozen in their tracks. After a moment, two
continued out the door and into the golden hall. A third guard, who
had stood beside Leo, Jack and Jayson turned to them. He raised his
sword, his eyes blank and staring.

“
Can I shoot him now?”
Jayson cried.

Jack reacted first. He hit the man in the
stomach, then again behind the knees. The guard swung at him and
nearly sliced his shoulder. Leo jumped in, swinging for the man’s
arm. Jack’s bow staff knocked into the book case behind him, and
parchment went flying.

“
The books!” Leo
cried.

“
Not now, Leo!” said
Jayson, his bow still strung. He stepped back and forth in an
attempt to get a shot.

“
Into the hall!” Leo
shouted, and bounded for the door.

“
There’s more guards out
there!” Jack protested, but his back was towards the door and it
seemed the only means of escape. He made one last jab at the guard
and bolted after Leo.

Jayson groaned, and followed his friends to
the main door. More guards swarmed the halls as Jack had predicted,
and they converged on the boys as soon as they stepped into the
golden hall. Jayson stood in the door, firing his arrows one after
another. He made sure to aim for areas that would render his
enemies injured but not dead.

He felt a hand grab his shoulder. It
tightened, ready to spin him around. Jayson dropped his bow and
grabbed for the dagger he kept at his waist. He turned and ducked
under his assailant’s arm, jabbing him in the neck with the
blade.

Jayson’s entire body went numb as the
guard’s hot blood sprayed over his hand. He staggered back,
watching as the man’s once blank eyes filled with fear. The guard
dropped his sword, clutching at his neck. His knees hit the floor,
and he collapsed, sputtering and gasping. Jayson backed away. He
didn’t want to watch the man die, but couldn’t tear his eyes from
the scene. He looked down at his arm, and saw it was covered in the
man’s blood. The guard’s neck continued to ooze blood between his
fingers, and he spluttered and wheezed.

“
Why?” the man
gasped.

Jayson dropped to his knees, holding his
blood streaked arms out before him, and rocked back and forth.

The force of the blood lessened, as did the
man’s wheezing cries. Jayson knew he was dead when he exhaled one
long, gurgling breath. Jayson lost his breakfast on the floor
beside the guard. He wrapped his arms around himself, rocking
harder, and sobbing uncontrollably.

The guards had somehow regained control of
themselves when injured, and had run off as Jack and Leo fought
them. The two stood staring at the guard, watching as he took his
last breath. It wasn’t until Jayson had vomited did they rush to
his side. They removed their tabards with trembling hands and tried
to wipe the blood from him.