The three of us - Shannon, Elu, and I - immediately went looking for Hedaris and Amidan, the only others we knew. We soon found them in the Library. Hedaris had a glass of wine, and Amidan was up on a ladder, looking at books. Her hair fell in dark waves over her shoulder, and I got jealous all over again. Why is it that everybody has to look better than I do, all the time? It's just not fair.
"Lady Shannon, Meg, Elu," Hedaris said, flashing his gorgeous grin at us. I was too angry with the world in general to notice.
Shannon sank dejectedly into the chair next to him. "We were left behind."
"Too bad." He put the glass down, stared at it, then said carefully, "My Lady, you are aware of what you must do?"
"Huh?"
I grabbed a book about lycanthropy and started flipping through it.
"Ah, so no one told you of the powers that come with royal blood?"
"No...no one ever mentioned it before."
A hideous creature stared up at me from the page. I gasped as silver eyes bored into mine, and slammed my defenses into place. Not this time, I thought grimly. I'm sick of being spellbound, Dakota - first Kit, then Asjanel, now you.
The picture winked at me, and the silver light was gone. The silver scythes melted into ink drawings of ordinary wolf arms, and the creature was a werewolf again.
"I see." I glanced up as Hedaris leaned back in his chair. "So you did not know that only a person with royal blood in their veins can raise the dead?"
Shannon stood up, knocking her chair over. "I'm not a necromancer!" she gasped. "That's what they do - they resurrect people. Not me!"
Hedaris shrugged. "Not many people know much about the Book," he said. "Only a member of the royal family can read aloud from it. A very powerful necromancer could use it without spoken words - but none with that kind of power remain today."
"So you read from it!" Shannon cried. "I'm through with magic, Hedaris!"
I flipped a page, then another, then three more in quick succession. Silver eyes on every page, raw power where my fingertips touched the dry paper. I tried to speak, to tell them about Dakota, but he stayed my tongue.
"I cannot," Hedaris said, eyes widening at the mere thought. "My Lady, only one uncorrupted by the teachings of the Academy and the Tower can raise the dead. I studied at the Academy for years, before it was destroyed."
"Amidan?" Shannon pleaded.
"Not me," the princess said absently, taking a book down and tossing it onto the table, which caused my book to jump under my hands. The unbound power flowed up to my elbows, and to my terrified eyes, it looked like my arms had vanished in a pool of darkness. I couldn't even scream. Why do I always get spellbound?
Not spellbound, Dakota hissed. For do you not retain control of your body? It is only your overly talkative tongue I have stilled.
"Why not!" Shannon cried. There was no question, only a kind of desperate horror. Shannon had severed the ties that bound her to Avrien. Like the others, all that existed for her was the vision of home.
How awful.
Amidan shrugged, threw another book down. The darkness crept up to my shoulders. I struggled to my feet, couldn't scream. My chair scraped across the floor, but the sound was lost in the large Library.
The princess sighed. "Well, I can't read the language of the arcane."
"Neither can I!"
"Ah," Hedaris said. "That's the key. Allison can. She can lend some of her powers to you. She would not do that for my sister. I say, are you all right, Meg?"
"Fine," I gasped, dragging myself backwards as the darkness let go and clung again to the book. Compelled by the will of the unbound, I picked the book up. "I think I'll...put this away." I ran past them, toward the door to the forbidden section.
"But she got it from that shelf right there," Amidan said behind me.
I shoved the door open, the book clasped in my hands. "Kit, help me!" I cried, throwing the book to the floor. "I'm not strong enough by myself..."
The door creaked, and Elu's small voice whispered, "I sensed him as well, Margaret."
"That's not my name," I snarled. "That's my mother's name."
"Ah. I see."
He pushed past me, picked up the book, and pushed open a door. I followed him in, somewhat worried that a blind child was my guide.
The light that spilled in from the hall illuminated a huge Venus fly trap. I backed away. "Elu, I'd stop walking if I were you," I warned.
He threw the book at the plant and grabbed my hand. We watched in silence as the carnivorous plant chewed on the book.
"That will hold him for the five days we need," the boy said in satisfaction.
I shook my head, feeling quite pale. "He wanted to destroy the Book, I think," I whispered. "God, why does everyone come after me?"
Elu patted my hand. "Rumors, my dear Meg. Isn't that what I'm doing here?"
"What?"
"Oh, the Oracles love to mess with mortals' heads. Since I was born, everyone's been convinced that I'm the key to some great power. Which I'm not. I don't think." He laughed. "Half the prophecies that the Oracles give at births are wrong."
"Well, no one prophesied anything when I was born," I muttered.
"How would you know?"
I blinked. "I don't suppose I would."
We walked down the hall, his little hand clasped in my thin one, and entered the other library. I stared at the book lying on the table, traced my fingers over the keyhole, and remembered the cold metal of the key, the blood on my hand...
I picked the book up, almost dropped it because of how heavy it was. "For heaven's sake," I grunted. "It's made of gold or something."
Elu ran into the table in his haste to reach it. "Ouch," he muttered. "Lemme touch it, Meg."
I handed the book over. He staggered under the weight, then put it on the table. "Not gold. It's from the Western Continent."
I sighed. "Please don't tell me that we have to go to the Western Continent."
"No, of course not. What gave you a silly idea like that?"
"A lifetime of bad movies and worse books."
*Jared*
It was the weirdest thing I've ever experienced, getting into the plane when it was just the four of us and Kyretholle. It was so weird to think that Kitana was dead and we couldn't trust Shannon or Meg. So weird.
I missed Earth again, so bad it hurt worse than all the bruises and cuts I'd gotten in the sacrificial chamber. I mean, on Earth, people died. But not people I knew personally. Back there, I thought it was bad when we moved to Wisconsin and I left all my friends in England. Yeah right.
You don't know bad until someone you know is dead. You don't know bad until it hits you that someone is dead, died a horrible, agonizing death, and it was your hand that struck the final blow. Or threw it, in my case.
Kyretholle blew into her pipes and we lifted up. I leaned over the side to watch as we went toward the barbarian camp. Calsa? Still smoking, off in the distance. The plateaus? Filled with rushing water, bridges gone. Grass? Still blue.
"Hey," I said, trying to sound cheerful. "If the grass is blue, what color does it turn when it gets dehydrated?"
"Same color as green grass, I guess," Allison said.
Ashton shrugged. "It doesn't matter. What matters is getting the key back from Ryac. Jared, you're going to have to come up with a plan."
"Why me?"
"Because you're the thief, and we'll probably have to steal it, that's why."
We landed outside the barbarian camp. Kyretholle led us in, and we were greeted by several of the Plainswomen. They dragged Mary off somewhere, and the rest of us found ourselves surrounded by barbarian men.
"You killed Asjanel," one of them said in harshly accented English.
"Sure did," I replied. "What's it to you?"
"He's just so diplomatic, isn't he?" Ashton whispered to Allison.
The man, to my surprise, flung himself down at my feet. "Hail the magician of the People of the Winds!" he cried. The others followed suit.
"Wait! I'm not a magician!"
"You must be, for you killed Asjanel."
I glanced helplessly at Allison and Ashton, who just stepped back and let me handle it.
"I...uh..."
"He's not a magician."
Ryac strode up to us, casting disgusted glances at the barbarians. "Come this way, children," he commanded. We obediently followed him into a tent, where he gestured at some pillows. "Sit down."
I remained standing. "Do you know why we came?"
"Of course. You want this." He held up the key, sharp edges gleaming in the light of a torch.
I felt relieved. At least it wasn't beyond the Door, right? The three of us sat down, warily. He chose to lean on the wall of the tent. I wished it would fall over. That would be hilarious.
Ryac set the key down on a little table. "So, let's do business, shall we?"
Allison cleared her throat. "First of all...is Kyretholle really Asjanel's daughter?"
"As surely as I am his son."
"Whoa, wait, back up," Ashton said. "Let me get the facts straight...the three of you are...were...a family?"
Ryac smirked. "And how is this a great shock to you? Magic runs in the family. At the least, I would have to be Asjanel's nephew if I were to also be his apprentice."
I tried to say something intelligent. Wasn't happening. "She's your sister?"
"Yes..."
"Then why was she helping us to kill off her father?"
Ryac shook his head sadly. "You just don't get it, do you? We all hated Asjanel, young assassin. I certainly did. Why do you think that, in the end, I didn't try to save him?"
"But he's your father," Allison said. "Doesn't that mean anything to you?"
"Not a thing. Now, about the key," he said smoothly. "I definitely want something in return for that."
"We have nothing to give," Allison said. "We don't belong in this world. We have no money..."
Ryac smiled at her. "I don't want something from you. It's what you have that I want, young assassin."
I blinked. "Oh."
Ryac waved his hand. Ashton and Allison got the hint and left the tent. My thoughts turned immediately to the miniature axe strapped to my side.
Asjanel's son rolled his eyes. "Did you have to bring them with you?"
"Yup."
"All right. I want a contract, young assassin, in return for the key."
"For who?"
"My sister."
"Not happening." Asjanel had a really messed up family, as far as I could see. Children who wanted him dead, then turned on each other...scary.
"Then I guess you don't want this key." He picked it up and slipped it into a pocket.
I jumped up and strode over to Ryac slapping him on the cheek. "Shame on you!" I cried. "I'm an assassin, Ryac. I work for money, not materials. The key could be a bonus, perhaps..."
"How about the key and some valuable information for the Head Mage?"
I thought about that for a moment. "All right."
"Asjanel's death did nothing to help the situation here in Telaia. Now that he's gone, others will rise to take his place. Like me, for example. People who are a good deal smarter than he was, and more motivated."
"You gonna name names?"
"Can't do that. The evil was concentrated in Naeco before, but with Kitana returning - that is what you plan to do with the key, correct?" At my nod, he continued, "With Kitana returning, it's going to spread out. Past the boundaries of Telaia, into the rest of the world. Asjanel was one insane person. But now, the evil has to work harder, faster, because he's no longer here for us to hide behind."
I nodded thoughtfully. "That's some nice information there. The key?"
"When you bring me Kyretholle's head."
"All right. Nice doing business with you. Sayonara."
I skipped out of the tent and crashed into Allison, Ashton, and Mary, who had apparently returned. "What's he want?" Ashton asked.
"I'm under a contract to kill Kyretholle."
"What?" they all shrieked.
"I don't get the key till I kill her." I sighed theatrically. "You know, it's really too bad. Ryac seems to think he's smarter than his father...but he trusts thieves."
And I held up the key, which glistened in the light of the fading sun.
*Allison*
"You want me to do what?"
I stared in horror at Shannon, Hedaris, and Amidan. "Y'all must be really hungover if you think I'm going to give her my powers."
"Come on," Shannon said desperately. "It's our only hope."
"Oh, that's funny, cuz I thought the key was our only hope!"
All six of us, as well as the royal teenagers and Elu, were in the forbidden section of the Library. The Book and the key lay on the table, just ready to be used.
"I need to be able to read the Book," Shannon said for the seventh time.
I shook my head, crossing my arms over my chest. "Not happening."
Ashton peered out the window at the full moon, rising slowly in the sky. "It's almost midnight, I think. Better hurry up."
Jared cut in. "By which we mean, give her the damn magic, Allison!"
"Just do it, Ally," Mary told me.
I sighed, held out my hand, which Shannon nervously took. I shoved the magic through my fingers, into her, hating it. I may not have liked Avrien, but the magic was nice, and being without it made me feel so...defenseless.
Shannon shuddered, dropped my hand. She went over to the Book. "Where's Kitana?"
Hedaris and Amidan quietly went over to the door and opened it. Imarath walked in, carrying the pale, limp body of the former Head Mage. I felt suddenly nauseous and didn't watch as he laid her on the table. Then he, as well as the royal teenagers, went out, closing the door behind them.
Shannon slid the key into the hole in the Book, then turned it. She pushed the cover open and started to read.
"Table of Contents. Page 1, introduction to Lost Arts. Page 33, Chronomancy. Et cetera, et cetera, page 602, Necromancy." There was a brief silence while she flicked rapidly through the pages. "Necromancy, the lost art of restoring a soul to a dead body. The ritual must be performed on the full moon immediately following the death of the one to be resouled."
"Check," Ashton whispered.
"To start, one must have a necromancer's magic, class AA1." Shannon fumbled in a pocket and pulled out a small, vaguely reddish braid. "Check." She gently set the braid on Kitana's stomach, then shuddered. "God, I can't do this..."
"So I gave you my power for nothing?" I said.
She shook her head, took a deep breath, and went on. "As the midnight hour approaches, the necromancer to perform the ritual must reconcile themself to their God." She bent her head and started to pray softly.
I heard a crash behind me and whirled, expecting Satan himself, but it was only Meg, having dropped a book. She shakily picked it up. Meg had been really jumpy since we'd returned...it was sorta weird.
Shannon lifted her head. "Immediately before the recital of the sacred words, the necromancer must absolve the dead of their crimes in life." She glanced at Ashton. "What does that mean?"
"You have to ask God to forgive Kitana, too," Ashton murmured.
"But she's evil!"
"Maybe being dead changed her mind! Just do it, Shannon, it's almost midnight!"
So Shannon started praying again. Other than her soft voice, the Library was silent. Too quiet, as they say in movies.
Meg let out a strangled gasp. All of us, except Shannon, turned to glare at her. She bit her lip. Feeling guilty again? Probably. Elu slipped his hand into hers.
Shannon went on, "At the midnight hour, the necromancer must begin the ritual. The necromancer in question should not be under the age of twelve, the elderly, diabetic, pregnant, be in danger of cardiac arrest, et cetera, why are they warning me now, kinda late for that..."
Midnight. And she started to read.
The language of the arcane was low, haunting, slithery. With the remnants of my magic, I vaguely understood it. The recital began as a psalm of praise, turned into a quick summary of how Kitana had died, why we wanted her alive again. Shannon filled in our names as witnesses of the procedure and went on to walk in the depths of an abstract river, calling out for Kitana's soul to come back.
Very creepy. I'm glad I didn't have to do it.
Elu left Meg and wandered over to Jared. He rested his head on the assassin's arm. Jared gently stroked his hair, eyes on Shannon, like the rest of us.
The recital then took on a different tone. Somewhere in the magic, I heard the soft whispers of Kitana's soul returning to stand with Shannon in the waters of life.
Now the questioning. Was she worthy of returning to life? Of course not. Good answer. Had she learned something from her brief not-living? Oh yes, she said. Too much. Was she prepared to return to life? Sure, why not.
Shannon began the last stage of the ritual, the dark poem that would help Kitana's soul back into her body. All in all, it had gone well. We had accomplished what we'd set out to do. Soon we would have Kitana back, and we could all just go home.
Elu started to cry then. "He's coming," the blind prophet whimpered. "He's back..."
"Who?" Jenny whispered, glancing at Shannon, still busy reciting.
"Him."
We all knew immediately who he meant. Ashton shifted into the form of the phoenix and hovered in the air, eyes darting about. Mary reached for her sword. Jared reluctantly pulled out his knives. Shannon didn't notice, lost to the magic. Meg screamed, backed up, almost knocked a shelf over.
The book she had dropped earlier flipped itself open. In a silvery mist, the frightening form of Dakota began to take form.
Shannon broke off near the end of the ritual and slowly turned to stare at Dakota as he slipped into his physical form. Where she had shorn off his leg at the knee, we still saw bone and blood. Jenny groaned, looking pale at the sight of it.
I was beyond doing anything but screaming.
Dakota propelled himself forward with his wings, landing in front of me. "I haven't been bound yet," he hissed.
"We noticed," I whispered.
Ashton dove at him, her claws sinking into his shoulder. He batted her away with one sharp arm, and she took flight to avoid being sawed in half. Mary leapt forward and tried to slash at him with the sword, but he met her attack and flung her into me. We hit the table, overturning it and knocking the Book and Kitana onto the floor.
"Ouch," she said faintly.
There wasn't time to congratulate Shannon on a job well done, because Dakota was on the loose.
Again.
*Shannon*
I "borrowed" one of Jared's knives and threw it at Dakota. It hit him, but didn't faze him. He turned from Amanda and Mary and started to stalk me - an amazing feat, as he had one leg.
Over his shoulder, I saw Kitana stagger to her feet, the red braid that I assumed held her magic clutched tight in her hand. I hadn't quite finished the ritual, so I wasn't sure how she was alive, but that was just fine with me.
Jared threw a knife at Dakota's back. He whirled on the assassin, faltered. "He won't hurt you," Allison cried. "Kill him, Jared!"
But this wasn't Asjanel, this was Dakota, Jared's beloved hunting wolf. Well, former hunting wolf, now he was just...scary. Elu sniffled from the corner where he'd taken refuge.
Ashton tried to claw him again, but he swiped at her with one of his arms. She soared out of the way and bit him on his good leg, using her feathers to burn him.
"Well, now he can't walk," I said sarcastically. "Too bad he's got wings!"
Mary was on her feet now. She tried to cut into one of Dakota's wings and was knocked out of the way again. Some general - couldn't fight worth shit, apparently.
Kitana, pale as usual, leaned on the table. "Kota, could we take two seconds and explain to me what the hell is going on?"
"Go ahead," he said, sneering at us.
Allison took over the explanation. "Meg stabbed you, you died, Shannon brought you back to life."
"She's not a necromancer..."
"But I've got royal blood," I said grimly.
"Ah, that explains it. Continue butchering them, Kota."
"Thanks," we all yelled simultaneously. Well, Ashton just shrieked incoherently, but I'm sure that's what she meant.
"Don't do this," Elu sobbed.
"Sorry, young one," Dakota said. "Humans and their unnatural magic must die."
And, since I now had Allison's powers, that meant me. Perfect.
I ducked as a scythe slid over my head and rolled out of the way. "Aren't we supposed to bind him?" I cried.
"Give me a minute," Kitana said.
"We don't have a minute!" Meg said. She delivered a flying kick to Dakota's spine, sending him sprawling. "Recover from that, wolf-boy!"
Mary took the time to slash one of his wings. "He'd have to walk on his hands to move around now, and he hasn't got any," she said, satisfied.
Mary is so naive.
Dakota shifted back into his wolf form, which was miraculously uninjured. The first thing he did was leap at her throat. She screamed and fell back. Jared finally snapped out of his adoration of the damn thing and sprang at him, burying a knife in his side. He howled desperately and started to shimmer silver again.
"You are such a coward, Kota," Kitana muttered. She flicked her fingers imperiously and he rose into the air, still vaguely glowing. "Trying to run from a bunch of teenagers...that's just sad. And I don't tolerate pathetic creatures like you."
She picked up the Book and flipped through the pages. "Binding," she said in a conversational tone. "A very easy art to learn - just take the key..." She closed the book and took the key out. "...and proceed to lock the cage."
"What cage?" I asked, echoed by the others.
"The one in his mind." Meg shuddered at that, and for a fleeting moment, I understood. But then I didn't anymore.
Kitana turned the key, and we all heard a satisfying click as Dakota disappeared, presumably bound. Ashton turned back into Ashton. Elu found his way to Jared and hugged him.
Kitana looked very faint and sat down on the table. She held out the key to me. "Want to finish that ritual now?"
So I did, and at the end, she looked a good deal better.
We left the forbidden section, Kitana carrying the Book and the key. We stepped out into the normal Library and were greeted immediately by Hedaris, Amidan, Imarath, and Kyretholle.
The rest of the night, we celebrated. Hedaris kissed me. It was nice, even though we were both so drunk we barely noticed who it was we were kissing.
I woke up around noon the following day with a spectacular hangover. I found Tylenol on my nightstand and took it dry, then ran to the bathroom to throw up. I think what I mostly thought about for six hours was plumbing, how the mages had gotten it, how wonderful it was, and how much my head hurt.
The six of us Earthlings were guests of honor at a banquet that night. I declined the wine, which Ashton called "the first intelligent thing you've ever done." I hate her.
The food was good, I sat next to Hedaris...what could be more perfect? If we were on Earth, probably.
"Hey, Kitana," Mary said tentatively. "When can we go home?"
The Head Mage shrugged. "Whenever. How about tomorrow afternoon? You can have the morning to say good-bye."
I said my good-byes that night, though. Hedaris and Amidan were leaving for Calsa right after dinner. I went outside with them.
"Visit me on Earth," I said. "After Calsa's fixed and all."
"Maybe we'll come to stay," Amidan murmured.
"But don't you have to stay here and rule?"
Hedaris shook his head. "Kitana's going to become the queen just as soon as we've rebuilt the city. It'll be good for us to be normal people, instead of royalty."
"Aren't you sad? That you won't be king?" And that I won't be queen, I added silently.
The royal teenagers shrugged. "Let Kitana do it," Hedaris said. "I'd rather work as a Seer."
"And I'd rather go to Earth," Amidan said. "You live in America?"
"Yes. In Wisconsin."
They smiled at me. "We'll visit," Hedaris said.
My heart fluttered around in my chest for awhile after they'd left. So Hedaris might still be in my future. Now I was totally voting for Kitana to be queen, or empress, or dictator, or whatever she desired.
Not that it mattered. In less than twenty-four hours, I would be home.