Bricrui (The Forgotten: Book 2) Read online

  Katya did not move, but watched him carefully as he approached. When he came within ten feet, he stopped.

  “How do you know my name?” she inquired.

  “The Myaamia sent you?” he asked rather than answer her question, though it sounded more like a statement.

  She nodded, seeing no reason to deny it.

  “We have been forced to keep an eye on all of their dealings, so we noticed when you joined up with them. I am fairly surprised that they chose to send you here, you didn’t seem to be on their side.” There was a slight questioning tone to his voice.

  “I’m not,” Katya supplied, “They are holding my friend hostage.”

  “Ah,” the man nodded his head.

  “Why do you keep an eye on them? Because of the incident? You’re afraid of their retaliation?”

  The man sighed. “I fear that it has been going on for far longer than the incident. And the true events of those days are nothing like what the Myaamia believe them to be. You see, the Dena’ina do not hold the same distaste for the marked as the rest of the tribes. We welcome those who are thrown out by the others to live in our special sanctuary here.” He waved his arms out around them, to the crowd of people that was gathered around. Katya eyed them warily, but they stayed a fairly safe distance away, and not even the guards who had been chasing her moved any closer while the man spoke. “The Myaamia Elders, and the leader in particular, feel that this is some kind of blasphemous place, and because of this belief, have tried to send in assassins to wipe out the marked many times. The ‘incident’ of which you speak is the final outcome of two such attempts which ended in the regrettable deaths of several of the Myaamia tribesmen. We tried our best not to harm them, but their single-minded obsession with eradicating the marked had to be stopped. They forced our hand.”

  “The Myaamia act as though the Dena’ina attacked them.”

  “I assure you, that was not the case. We have wanted nothing more than to be left alone. Those who are exiled for the mark are welcome to come here. It is what this village was made for. We are forced to hide them up here rather than allow them to live amongst us only for their own safety. They are hurting no one.”

  Katya thought about this. The safe-guards that were put into place to get here were designed to frustrate and slow those who didn’t already know the way, but any who did would be able to pass quite easily. It was not built to hurt or kill.

  The man seemed to sense her contemplation and he paused, beginning again when she looked up at him expectantly. “The stone that the Myaamia have sent you to retrieve would not only result in grave consequences for the Dena’ina, but would also give the Myaamia great power. We do not know what they are up to, but we have felt pulses of magic and it has reeked of the power of all of other tribes’ stones. If they are to get hold of this one, whatever spell they performed could become unbreakable.”

  “They sent out a summons to all the tribes. Everyone but you sent a party for what they called ‘the Arrival’.”

  “Do you know what this ‘Arrival’ was?”

  “They kidnapped the Princess of Gelendan and presumably put some sort of spell on her before they allowed her to be returned to the King and Queen.”

  “They cannot be allowed to finish whatever it was. The future of the people of Gelendan could count on it. I don’t know where you are from, but I can sense the mark on you though you have hidden it with a scar. The Myaamia, or at least their leaders, have been quite intent on ridding the world of every last trace of the Dark King, blaming every evil of the world on him, forgetting that he is long dead.”

  “Why would it be grave consequences for the Dena’ina to have the stone removed? I assume you mean more than just losing a source of power.”

  “Indeed, the powerstone keeps the chaotic magic at bay. Surely you have felt the order of this place, in comparison to the magic beyond. It keeps things like the spell to bring water to the top of the mesa in place. Without it, many spells we rely on for our daily lives would suddenly cease to function.”

  Katya was brought out of the memory and retelling by Hunter’s voice.

  “Lorcan mentioned that too, though he didn’t seem concerned about the Dena’ina’s fate. He still believes that his parents were killed in cold blood when they were sent to the Dena’ina supposedly on a peaceful mission. I guess they were captivated by Kali’s lies as well.”

  “Kali?” Katya questioned.

  “Yes, the leader of the Elders with the braid, the woman who sent you on the mission.”

  “Oh, so that’s her name.”

  “So the stone you brought back wasn’t their powerstone?”

  “No,” Katya confirmed, “Nor did it contain its essence, which would also have allowed them to complete the spell. The Dena’ina have dedicated their lives to magic involving stones and said that they were able to create a stone that would fool the Myaamia for long enough for us to escape. I agreed to bring back this fake stone so that the spell would not be made permanent and the Dena’ina would not lose their powerstone. The Dena’ina are planning on sending a group to meet with the Myaamia to try and figure out what they are doing and hopefully enlighten the rest of the tribe to what the Elders are up to. They also healed the Bloodstone, the stone that carried the essence of Nuko,” she said, bringing it out from under her tunic to look at it. Having found Hunter and Gareth – who had also helped her heal – it was no longer nearly as painful to look at the stone and remember Nathair. “They removed all of the darkness from it, erasing the years of evil that it has done.”

  Hunter seemed to sense her intense connection to it, though she had not yet told him the whole story behind it. She would tell him someday. She would tell him everything, because he was her other half. She had known it when she was little, and the loyalty she felt for him now was more than words could describe. Had the Dena’ina not offered her the fake stone in its place and the only way to save him would have been to bring Kali the stone that would mean the world’s destruction, she would have done so.

  “I think perhaps it deserves a new name,” Katya said, stroking the stone which had faded from the blood red it used to now be completely translucent. “I will call it the DragonStone.”

  *

  Layna and Gryffon called to Katya and Hunter, hoping that one of them would hear the summons. The Knights who were stationed in the forest had reported that they had found their way to them and were currently hiding out in case of a search party from the tribe. Layna had witnessed the flare in the sky and felt the spell. If he and Katya were free, it could mean that the stone had been delivered, and their curse permanent. She held her breath waiting for a response. After a short while, the mirror shimmered and was replaced by Katya’s face.

  “Layna,” she greeted her with a smile, “It’s so good to see you!”

  She looked like the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders, and the haunted look she used to carry was no more. The smile was genuine and reached to her eyes. Layna smiled sadly back, glad that her friend seemed to have found her happiness, though afraid of its cost.

  Katya was pushed good-naturedly out of the way by Hunter, who the woman gazed at with such affection that Layna could guess the reason for her good mood. Apparently it wasn’t just the fact that he possessed information about her past that held her so attached to him.

  “Queen Layna,” he addressed her much more formally, “we have much to report to you. And good news.” His eyes twinkled.

  Layna’s heart lifted. Perhaps Katya hadn’t sealed their fate after all.

  They filled her in on the events, including the fact that Katya had not, in fact, delivered the stone that would have sealed their fate to the Myaamia.

  “I could kiss you!” Layna said happily, gripping the edges of the mirror.

  “Good thing you’re on the other side of the mirror then,” Katya said with a feigned disgusted look.

  “But I’m not,” Hunter told her impishly, and then drew the woman
in for a passionate embrace.

  Layna averted her eyes until the extremely long and drawn-out kiss ended, leaving Katya speechless and shocked – a state Layna didn’t think she’d ever seen the girl in before. She let them bask in the moment for a while before regretfully turning the tide of the conversation back to the seriousness of the situation.

  “Unfortunately,” she pointed out, “that still leaves us with the fact that Phoenix has already been cursed. And an unknown number of others have already had it spread to them. We’ve sealed off the palace already, but we fear that it may have already reached the city. We have no way to tell. Really, we need some way to completely isolate the city and as much of the surrounding area as we can until we can find a way to break the spell.”

  “Are you sure it can be broken?” Katya asked.

  “There has to be a way,” she said firmly, not allowing any doubt to creep into her voice. Until there was no hope left, she would be strong. “The tribe was so unsure of it being permanent that they sent you to retrieve the stone. Since you did not give them the means to strengthen it, I am sure that it means there is a way to break it.”

  “But while you’re working on breaking it, it will be spreading even farther,” Hunter said practically, “So you need some sort of way to contain it.”

  “Gryffon and I have been working with the royal mages and we think that there’s a way we can form a huge bubble, in essence, around the city. The only problem is, Gryffon and I have enough power to create this spell, but maintaining it would require all of our attention. Attention that is desperately needed elsewhere at the moment.”

  Katya looked thoughtful for a moment. “What if you anchored the spell to something else – like a stone – to maintain the spell for you? Would that work?”

  “I suppose,” Layna agreed hesitantly, “but I don’t know of anything that would be able to handle that kind of power for long periods of time.”

  “What about the Bloodstone?” Katya asked.

  “I don’t-” Layna began, but Katya cut her off.

  “The Dena’ina healed it. They sealed the crack that Leoht put in it and drained it of the evil taint of Nuko.” She drew the stone out from under her tunic and held it out for Layna to see. Indeed, the stone had turned completely clear and Layna could sense no more of the dark aura in it.

  “Would that be able to hold the type of power we’re talking?” she asked skeptically.

  “It held the essence of a dragon,” Katya retorted a bit sharply. Layna knew her past with Nathair and understood the significance of the stone to her.

  “I would not be able to guarantee that it would not be damaged in some way,” Layna warned her, “It would be a trial of sorts, and I don’t want to risk making you lose it. I am already forever in your debt for saving my life many times and for not delivering the stone to the Myaamia. How can I ask you to give up the Bloodstone?” She understood the significance it must hold for the woman. The strength of the emotions that the collar’s removal combined with the mark’s attraction had wreaked havoc on the girl’s heart.

  Katya put on a stern face. “I do seem to have to rescue you a lot you know, Layna. I’m seeing a pattern starting to form…”

  “I know,” she sighed, “and I can’t thank you enough. Now I know why you’ve been avoiding me all this time.” She said it in jest, but saw a flicker of guilt pass over Katya’s face. Had the woman actually been avoiding her?

  “It’s not really the Bloodstone anymore anyway,” she changed the direction of the conversation, “I’ve renamed it the Dragonstone, and using it to do some good in the world would be most appropriate I think.”

  Layna nodded her thanks. “That would solve that problem for us then,” she said, greatly relieved. Containing the curse would buy them precious time. And time was all they needed. Eventually, Layna was sure of finding a way to break the curse and until then it would cause no immediate harm to the people. They wouldn’t even necessarily have to know about it. They could have mages scan people for it at the city gates and detain any who had it under the pretense of simply an illness they didn’t want spreading. There was no need to alarm the people without cause.

  They worked out the details and cut communication. Katya would transport the stone here so that she and Gryffon could perform the spell on it. That settled, Layna hugged Gryffon happily and the two of them made their way to the Council chambers. Not only had Katya allayed her fears that the curse would be permanent, but she had also given them the means to buy them enough time to figure out how to stop it.

  All the Council members had recovered from their ordeals and were back to their normal activities, including, much to Layna’s relief, the bulk of the paperwork. Layna and Gryffon had already filled them in on most of the situations, including the proposed merger, and they had each gone home to contemplate the country’s next moves. Layna had been happy to let someone else weigh out the pros and cons for a change.

  Today’s meeting would concentrate on what they had come up with, as well as Layna now being able to relate the happy news from Hunter and Katya. She felt much of her stress melting away. Having the Council back to share the responsibility was a huge relief, and knowing that they could protect the majority of people from the curse and that they would be able to find a way to break it made her happy beyond words. They would find a way to break it!

  The efficiency with which the Council cleared up all of the regular matters which she and Gryffon had been unable to resolve impressed Layna and further boosted her mood. The proposal to unite with Treymayne was now not something they would feel pressured to do, but could take their time and ease into. The Council was tentatively in favor, but requested more time to contemplate. As for the more immediate concern of the curse, they were all relieved to hear that Katya had not sealed their doom and all shared Layna’s optimism that a way to break the curse could be found.

  Understandably, given that all six Council members had personally been affected by it, the situation with the Telvani’s Faithful and the projects he was working on was a source of some contention. Between the six of them, they had been able to scour the reports on his dealings and come up with their best guess as to where Lord Farthen and the last of the Faithful and remains of Telvani’s project would have holed up. Natalya and Alina both had decided to ride with the Knights on, hopefully, their final mission. Layna didn’t especially like the idea of the two little girls riding into a fight, but she couldn’t find the heart to deny them the finality of seeing the last stronghold captured. She had demanded a promise out of both of them that they would stay out of the fight, and they both had grudgingly agreed. Layna and Gryffon personally inspected all of the party’s members to ensure that even if they had already contracted the curse, that it had not yet taken hold in order for them to spread it outside the city.

  The Council all agreed that containing the curse should be a top priority, and all liked the idea of using a stone to create a barrier around the city. They made the arrangements quickly and the same day they were ready to perform the spell.

  Layna held Gryffon’s hand, connecting their powers, and started the spell they had created with the help of the royal mages. It was on a much greater scale than the original spell they had read about and they could only pray that it would work. They had incorporated several aspects of the barrier spell that had once separated Gelendan from Treymayne. No one would be able to pass by the barrier except if one of the appointed mages who had the ‘key’ allowed them through.

  As they chanted the incantation, a filmy substance rose out around them. It shimmered and floated on the breeze, spilling out into a shape surrounding the two of them. As they worked, it got bigger and bigger. It slowly expanded, its surface getting smoother as it did so, passing straight through people and walls.

  Soon, the edges could no longer be seen, but she and Gryffon could feel them, stretching thinner and thinner as it spread outwards into and beyond the city. They pushed it as far as they could, finally
reaching their limits miles from the outside of the city walls. They broke contact with the power, taking the time to solidify the spell; searching for weaknesses and patching these and creating a loop of power for it to continue to feed itself even when they broke contact.

  When they had done all that they could, they severed the connection with the spell and felt it settle into place within the stone. Layna had been skeptical about working with the Bloodstone – rather, the Dragonstone, as Katya now called it – but once she had touched it, her fears had evaporated. The Dena’ina must indeed be masters of stone magic.

  She breathed a sigh of relief. The spell had worked, and the curse was contained. Even if they could not find a way to break the spell, the bulk of the people would be safe.

  CHAPTER 15

  Natalya glanced over at Alina worriedly. She was showing no signs of turning into one of the Bricrui and every sign of recovery from her trauma. Natalya was hopeful that having broken the spell that had caused Telvani to transform, it would prevent Alina from following a similar path. Just in case, Queen Layna had the Knights who were stationed in the forest venture out to the plains to gather more of the chokeroot. Natalya had luckily known what this ‘medicine’ that Alina was being given was because of her travels with Hunter on the Plains and they were able to send back a large supply of it.

  Regardless, Natalya was still worried about her coming along for this trip. When the Council had recovered enough to resume their normal duties, one of the first items on all of their lists was finding out where Lord Farthen had gone to when the Bricrui took over his castle. They were all rather motivated on the subject given that he was in charge of Telvani’s project, and they soon had come up with the most logical place.

  Natalya had requested that she be able to accompany the Knights, despite having already found Alina, and had been surprised that Alina had wanted to come with her. After being cleared by the royal mages that they showed no signs of the curse, the two of them had set out with the Knights. She wasn’t entirely convinced, however, that Alina facing her captor would be entirely healthy.