Release (The Protector Book 3) (14 page)

“Good. Then trust me when I say we need your son. He is invaluable to this plan. He is going to hand us Ithreal’s dagger and the ring. All we must do is wait.”

“And the ring, what of it, what does it do?”

“The ring will take you to Ithreal. You will meet with him, he will bless you, and he will reveal the location of the remaining soul pieces. After that, he will…you will do with it what you choose.”

“And you know how it works?”

“Serephina is clever, but we will discover the ring’s secrets.”

Riley smiled, his dark eyes staring into his reflection in the window. “I still cannot believe it’s been this long. After all these years, all these troubles will go away. All our work will finally pay off. I will no longer be seen as a traitor, but as a god and hero.”

“Yes!” Drake glanced to Darius, who fell back onto the couch. “We are so close. We’ve worked far too hard and endured too much to let impatience get the best of us now.”

Riley nodded and turned to Darius. “Forgive me, Darius. I was brash.”

Without a word, Darius nodded.

“If you’ll excuse me, I should rest before my next visit with Chase. His dreams are a mess of unanswered questions. I spend too much energy trying to find him inside them. Next time, you must get me closer.”

“As you wish,” Drake said.

Riley gave a weathered smile and his feet tapped against the floor as he left the room.

Silence followed and Drake’s angry eyes turned towards Darius. Darius did not look up from his cup. He continued to dunk his tea bag into the murky water and shook his head. “Do not give me that look, Brother. He overstepped himself.”

“Your arrogance will spoil everything. Keep yourself under control.”

“Please,” Darius said. “He is no wiser than the day we plucked him from his nest.”

“As the eldest Brother, it is my duty to make sure things go as planned. I will not have you—”

Darius laughed. “Please. You were made mere seconds before I. That fool will do as he is instructed, or he will face my wrath.”

“You will not harm him! You will not destroy this for us again. Father left me in charge. As such—”

“Brother!” Darius jumped to his feet. “Father was a fool. He let himself become banished to his own unfinished hell in a feeble attempt to conquer what Serephina had created. His judgment was clouded.”

“You dare challenge Father’s word? You dare challenge me?”

Power swelled in the air, and Darius stepped back and lowered his gaze. “No…I do not.” His voice was quiet and he turned his back to Drake. “I’m sorry, Brother. I am tired. I have been imprisoned in this fragile world for far too long.”

Drake’s anger faded, and with it, the magic vanished. “I…” Drake stopped and shook his head. He walked to his brother, a hand gently turning him around. “I’m sorry, Brother. Here I am lecturing you to remain calm, and I myself have lost my temper. We have both been trapped long. This I know. But I do not wish to squander the opportunity we’ve worked so hard for.”

Darius smiled. “Neither do I, Brother. Neither do I…”

“Come.” Drake pulled Darius against his chest and they wrapped their arms around one another. “We are almost there. Soon we will be with Father again and these bars will no longer hinder us. We shall have our freedom. After thousands of years, we will taste the air of home. No more prison, no more restrictions, and no more pain. This I promise you.”

Not another word was spoken. The Brothers remained in an embrace and sadness filled the air.

I stepped back and the floor creaked. The Dark Brothers jumped away from one another and turned to face me. Their eyes tore through me, but they did not move.

“What is it?” Darius asked.

Drake shook his head. “I…don’t know. I fear my mind is playing tricks on me.”

“Then we must continue. Let us prepare for our next invasion.”

Drake nodded. “Yes…” he said, his eyes still staring into mine. “He will break eventually. I can feel it.”

Chapter 14

The sound of shuffling around me forced me to jump to my feet. I was disoriented and clouds of sleep filled my eyes. I got to my feet and tried to move, stumbling over something and falling back to the ground.

White clouds crawled across the bright green sky. The trolls were awake, ignoring me while I pulled myself off a still comatose Vincent and fumbled to my feet. The trolls went about their daily routines, mixing things in pots and gutting small creatures they’d pulled from the river. The smell made a lump rise in my throat.

I sat back down on my stump and took a deep breath, trying to get my bearings. A few trolls walked past me, stopping to let me know they were disappointed in me for letting Vincent live. I ignored them and tried to wrap my head around what I’d just seen. Was it a dream, a vision, or something else? They talked about getting the ring and the dagger. But they already had them. Had I just witnessed something from the past? They couldn’t see me, which meant they weren’t in my mind, but was I in theirs?

The fire snapped and crackled in front of me, reminding me of the seers. Images from their vision flashed in my mind before the memory of Tiki holding me against the ground, frustration filling his eyes, took over.

Thoughts of what I could do to keep my word to Tiki circled through my head. I had to get myself under control. I was the Protector and it wasn’t my job to deal out revenge; I was supposed to protect the dimensions—and everyone in them. I never gave my word unless I intended to keep it. That was a hunter’s oath. Now I needed to focus. It was time to grow up and do the right thing. I owed that to everyone around me: Marcus, Rayna, Willy…and my mother. I wouldn’t let her death be in vain.

I stared into the orange dirt, lost in thought when Tiki’s sandaled feet filled my eyesight. Dark circles still hung beneath his eyes but he looked better than he had hours earlier.

“Have you discovered where we need to go?” Tiki asked, brushing the strands of long hair out of his eyes.

“I…have no idea.”

“You were gone all night,” he said, looking up at the sky. “A new day cycle has begun. How are you unsure?”

“It was just scene after scene playing through my mind. Random images of everyone, some strange world, then you guys, then Rayna, another strange world, and then I woke up, alone on the hilltop. The seers left me there. They never said a word. I thought they were going to tell me where to go.”

Tiki shook his head. “This is how the trolls’ seers work. They go into your soul and their powers show you images of your past or future. They do not possess power like Krulear’s kind.”

“Well unless you’re familiar with every dimension in the Underworld, I’m not sure the seers were of any help. I’m trying to figure out these worlds I’ve seen, but nothing about them seems familiar to anything I’ve read.”

“With the exception of Theral, I have never traveled to any of Ithreal’s worlds. From the stories I’ve heard, they are filled with fire, ice, and broken tribes. Those are only stories, but Ithreal is a dark god full of rage, and few travel to his worlds and return to tell about them.”

“That’s reassuring.”

Tiki shrugged.

“Everything is foggy right now. Like I woke up from a dream,” I said. “There
was
a world full of fire…and we were fighting demons I’d never seen before. There was an abandoned village and mountains in the distance…”

“When it comes to Ithreal’s worlds, it is my understanding that some of them are ever-shifting like the seasons of Drakar.”

“If that’s true, we’re no better off than we were.”

“We already know what worlds we must visit, but where the soul pieces are in those worlds still eludes us. We should focus on landmarks from your visions that might lead us closer. The demons you saw will also be of help. Certain Underworlders only occupy specific regions in each world.”

“Unfortunately, that will have to wait. Time works differently here and I promised Marcus once we had our answers we’d return. I don’t know what answers we have yet, but we’re not getting any more sitting here.”

“Good,” Vincent said, waking up behind Tiki. He looked refreshed and strong. Other than a few fading scratches on his chest and the mess of hair on his head, he looked almost normal. “It’s about time we get out of this hellhole. I’ve been here a day too long already.”

******

I thanked Garsmith for his hospitality and we gathered outside their village. He explained how his son, Ishmar, would be upset knowing he missed us, but understood our urgency. He declared the trolls’ alliance to us should we need it. I wasn’t sure he had the authority to do that, but Chief Sorrent trusted him enough to leave him in charge, so I assumed he’d honor his word. That was reassuring to me. After realizing how difficult it was going to be to find a soul piece, I had started to think we’d have better odds building an army than finding a needle in a haystack.

“Now this time, before the portal consumes you, take a deep breath and hold it,” Tiki said. “Keep your eyes closed and focus on your destination. If you release the breath too early, the teleportation causes more pain. Keeping air inside your body resists the pressure, and maintaining your focus on where you want to go means the destination will arrive more quickly.”

“Now he tells us,” Vincent said.

Tiki ignored him and looked between us. “Everyone ready?”

I nodded.

“I…not yet…” Vincent said, turning to me. “I understand your anger, Chase, I truly do, but I need to know when we return that you will help me.”

I didn’t need to look to know Tiki was staring at me. I dropped my arm and took a step back.

“You set me on fire,” Vincent said, “and perhaps that was an even-handed response for all that I’ve done. But you spared me, and I hope that action foreshadows your desire to help. Just as I once tried to kill you, it now appears we are even.”

“Oh, we’re far from even,” I said. “I’m not the reason your life was spared and I wouldn’t assume anything. I haven’t agreed to help you.”

“I have no one left to turn to.”

“The irony in that is just too much. You’re a Taryk. I thought you had connections everywhere.”

Vincent eyes fell from mine. “Perhaps when I have something others want, this is true, but it is mostly out of fear that others acknowledge me. The Underworld would jump at the chance to knock me down a peg. Friendship is few and far between in Underworld business.”

“Is that what you think we are, Vincent? Friends?”

“Of course not!” Vincent scoffed and then quickly composed himself. “We merely have the opportunity to help each other.”

“And you’re going to help me how?”

“Help me save my family. Help me finish this endless war the Sovereign has pitted against me, and I will dedicate all of my family’s efforts and resources to your cause.”

“That’s an easy bargain for you. Most of them are already dead.”

“I do not know the true result of the Sovereign’s attack. I only know that yes, many have met an ashy fate, but those who have survived will be indebted to you, as will I.”

I shook my head and took a deep breath. A commitment to Vincent? I spared him, wasn’t that enough? I’d already told Tiki I’d help, but Tiki’s disapproving gaze told me taunting Vincent was not right.

“Fine, I’ll help. But it isn’t because you’ve thrown your family’s service at my feet. I didn’t spare you out of guilt. I spared you because of Tiki. He made an oath to help you, and as such, I will help him. But make no mistake: it’s he you have to thank for your life.”

“Truly?” Vincent turned to Tiki.

Tiki didn’t reply. He only looked back and forth between us, waiting.

“Don’t get me wrong,” I said. “You’ll hold up your end of the deal with me, but when it’s all said and done, Tiki’s the one you’re indebted to.”

Chapter 15

I did as Tiki instructed, and although I hadn’t mastered the landing on your feet portion of the trip, there was significantly less pain. My chest hurt afterwards from the pressure, and I felt like something was oozing from my ears, but all of that had faded by the time we reached the condo.

Trucks and SUVs I recognized were parked on both sides of the street. Was there another meeting? How long had we been gone? A bad feeling sank into the pit of my stomach. I skipped the wait for the elevator to come down and took the stairs.

The condo door was unlatched, and I could hear a myriad of panicked voices on the other side. I pushed through, and the smell of sweat and blood filled my nostrils.

There were blood-soaked rags everywhere. People I recognized and some I didn’t moved back and forth across the room. Panic made my stomach churn and I pushed through a group of strangers to get to the living room.