Chapter 11

Royce kept a vigilant eye on Rune and Duran to ensure they were holding up as they continued. Rune because it was obvious the strain he’d expended to cast the final spell had taken a hefty toll. He was leaning more on his staff with each step, and he couldn’t recall him doing that during the marching pace he’d set to cover the distance to the falls. His shoulders were slumped, and his face was pale. Duran and Grayson were walking steadier, but the magic casting had drained all three of them.

The sandpit did eventually convert back into low-lying grassland, which helped all of them visibly relax, knowing there wouldn’t be any more of those creatures attacking them. It made sense they walked into a nest right by the water, a trap meant for any thirsty creatures unfortunate enough to stumble across the sand, unaware of the danger below it. The further they traveled, the more trees appeared, providing shade, telling them they had truly left behind the dangers of the sand nest.

“There are the falls.” Duran paused where all of them would be able to see the cliffs in the distance when they crested a rise in the land. The falls themselves were majestic and wide. Spray rising from the water hitting the bottom eclipsed the river base. A multitude of rainbows in varied colors danced along the bottom, twinkling along the hovering mists like floating gems.

Rune raised a hand to frame the sun then studied the shadows on the ground. They all knew they had time limitations. None of them wanted to find out what being on the wrong end of those three days would bring to them. “We’ll reach the base and take a break. If we still have time today, which we may, we’ll plot our next steps.”

Duran seconded Rune’s suggestion. “Whatever I need to see next involves the falls. We all need to rest.”

“Agreed,” Grayson added.

Royce followed Rune and Duran silently. He was more worried about the group’s state of exhaustion. By the length of the shadows, the day was moving slower than felt normal, which was good. Three days. Find the crown and portal home.

They could do this.

 

* * * *

Duran sank to shaded ground. The moisture in the air surrounding the falls was thick, utterly opposite of the scorpion’s nest. Royce’s notice of the lack of animals surrounding them made sense now if the two scorpions were regular hunters. Nothing would dare intrude and become dinner. Now they could get some much needed rest. The slow moving mist was refreshing against their sun-heated skin and pleasantly cooled them. Iba and Remy were nestled in the boughs of a nearby tree, both tucked in for their own hard earned rest. Packs and water skins were dropped as each let out a sigh, as one by one, they became comfortable on the ground to stretch out tired legs. Grayson dug into his pack to hand out dried meats, fruits, and bread rolls.

Rune had settled closer to the trees, his hand lightly molded over a raised root. His staff lay on the ground beside him, his loose hand resting palm up on his thigh. It appeared he was already deep in a meditative state, his breathing regular and slow.

“What’s he doing?” Royce motioned with the strip of meat in his hand before tearing off a hunk to chew.

Grayson replied, “Meditating. He can connect with nature to balance himself and replenish his magic.”

Royce thought about it, then asked, “Do you have to do the same? Either of you?”

Grayson shook his head. “Being so strong on the mage magic, resting is all I need. It’s my force of will that supports what I can do, when I draw from the surrounding earthen fields to use their energy. It’s also why we train from such an early age, so we know how to balance our ability and not drain ourselves to the point of no recovery. Even a conduit can burnout.”

Royce’s eyes widened, and his rising hand froze. “You can expend your magic to the point of death?”

Both Duran and Grayson nodded. Duran continued, “It’s very dangerous if you don’t understand your limits. Magic has many layers. Mage and natural magics are really a small selection of the entirety.” Duran leaned back on a flat palm, rocking his feet back and forth before him. “I’m a fire mage like Rune, but nowhere near his ability. My natural energy magic is supported by the planet’s magnetic fields, gravity, nature, weather, a lot of different aspects running together in an endless kaleidoscope giving me a more personal view to the subject. It’s partly why it’s so rare. Having so many influences can make life difficult on the magic user. Having too many influences has been said to cause a mage to lose their mind.”

“Because you’d have to pinpoint what your magic is trying to be?”

Duran smiled. “Exactly. Most choose to focus on one or two energies. I trained for years to be able to use the planetary energy to see auras. It’s a lot of inputs to decipher into its own language. I have to say, for a non-user you understand the differences quite well. It’s nice to have someone to talk to about it who isn’t expecting anything to have that knowledge.”

Royce leaned close, his chin coming to rest lightly on Duran’s shoulder. His smile was pure predator and prompted a shiver down Duran’s spine that wasn’t brought on by fear. Definitely not because he was afraid of the man sitting so close to him. The darkened glint of want in his eye was unmistakable. “I have an expectation but I can wait until you’re ready.” He winked and pulled away.

Grayson snickered. Duran shot him a narrowed look, letting it go when Grayson held up flat palms in surrender.

Royce sprawled on his back, flinging an arm over his eyes, a leg rising to bend at the knee. “Gonna catnap. Wake me if you need me.”

“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt for us to do the same.” Grayson pulled one of the packs near and laid down to rest on it. “I’m pretty sure we still have several hours of sunlight before us. And we’ll need to find a secure place to camp for the night.”

“Go ahead. I’m going to study the map and see if I can determine our next goal.”

Grayson closed his eyes and fell silent.

Whuhu-hu.

“I’m fine,” Duran answered without any heat. “I’ll rest soon, too.”

A ruffle of feathers seemed to reprimand him but he couldn’t rest that deeply, not yet. He scooted to lean against a tree trunk and tucked his legs up into his chest. Sitting before the waterfall, with the rumbling backdrop of the water crashing together at the bottom, he was able to relax. It was loud, but they were far enough away for it to not be overwhelming, giving him a chance to think. Wrapping his arms around his shins, he settled his forehead to his arms and closed his eyes. The details of the map came to life on his eyelids.

There were the expansive falls where they currently rested. Where are we going? Where is the crown? Sadly there wasn’t an arrow or something simple pointing the way. Examining the falls on the map, there were several animal trails splitting to climb the face and ledges. As he studied them to their ends, several at the right seemed to urge him to focus in a single direction. Okay. Right it is. Mentally tracing those, he found one that seemed clearer. Did it travel up the cliff, or did it go into the cliff? From the depiction of his mind’s eye, it was hard to tell. The line rose a distance and then faded again before he could make the next determination. They still had a ways to go when it seemed to disappear into the unclear distance of the map, much like the view prior to reaching the falls.

He did this several times, advancing and retreating down the viewable lines. Eventually each one seemed to drop away, almost a feeling of being pushed back. Except for the one. It didn’t seem to matter which way he tried to focus on the map, the lone discernible aspect was the one trail.

I guess that’s my arrow.

After several minutes of investigating the intricacies of the map, he relented. So he knew their next direction. They had to find the one trail and follow it. Too bad the map couldn’t reveal what perils lay in wait on that part of their journey. Knowing if they were walking right into mortal danger again would have been most helpful.

Blinking lazily into bright sunlight, he was disconcerted when it appeared he may have dozed for a few minutes even though he’d had no intention of it. The shade he’d been resting under had shifted nominally from when they’d first settled to when he’d opened his eyes. The strain of the energy spent today was more than he could recall needing to tap into in recent memory.

“Feeling better?” Duran peered over a shoulder and found Royce leaning against the tree with him.

He yawned and then rubbed a hand over his eyes. “How long? I swear I was thinking about the map then I opened my eyes.”

He chuckled. “Not too long. A catnap for me is less than thirty minutes. It’s literally for the cat.” A raised hand teased through hair curled against Duran’s face. The tenderness of his touch drew Duran like the warmth of the sun on a cool morning. It had been years since he’d allowed anyone as close to him as Royce. Since he’d felt so drawn to someone to allow physical contact. “If you fell asleep when you didn’t want to, then you needed it.”

Duran leaned close, their faces mere inches apart. “What about the other two?”

“Iba is watching over Rune. He’s still meditating, though his color is better. Grayson is still asleep. I don’t imagine either will be like that for much longer. We don’t want to waste the rest of the sunlight before we need to find a place to camp for the night.”

Duran nodded, hyper aware of the light pull and tug of Royce’s fingers through his hair. “Do you think we’ll find it?” he asked.

Royce’s gaze flicked over his face, his hand stilling in its light tugging. “I have to believe we will do our best to find it. There is a reason we were sent here, a reason it must be returned to the rightful family. Like you said before we left. I can’t see where sending us on a false hunt serves anyone. What if there’s a reason beyond us being here we still can’t see? Does it matter if there is or isn’t?” he asked thoughtfully.

“No, I don’t suppose so.” Duran dug up a small pebble and pitched it. “It boggles my mind why Jayce’s success revolves around it. He’s fulfilling the prophecy as we speak.”

Royce’s expression softened. “Because his part is only a part, not the whole. You are a part of it, of the prophecy, as well. Tell me the prophecy.”

Duran gazed at him skeptically yet he looked sincere. He did as Royce asked, his tone low to not disturb Grayson who remained asleep a few yards away.

“Honor the strong, the fearsome, the wise. That sounds like all of you. You are there to help him see justice rendered.”

“By finding the crown?”

Royce shook his head, mild exasperation evident in his pursed lips. “No, you’re being stubborn.”

Duran gazed forward, unable to hold his intense stare as he peered out into the distance. The mist and falling water of the falls were as beautiful as when he’d first sat down. The sparkle of water as it broke in the sunrays was as beautiful as their own world. He knew he was avoiding Royce. He also knew he wasn’t infallible. So, why him? “I don’t feel like I’m anything special to be given such a monumental task. And honestly, there’s nothing to fear in me. I fight when I have to.”

“You’re not here to fight. Survival doesn’t count,” he quickly pointed out, jabbing into his side with a stiff finger in punctuation when Duran huffed, then returned to the gentle wrapping of a hair curl over a finger, back and forth, keeping them connected. “We know Jayce needs the crown, and we believe we know how it got here, but what if discovering it gives us more information? Something none of us would ever know or be able to even guess at? What if the information helps him? What if there is a clue to the other mages who were helping Carden at the time of King Bail’s murder? What if they’re still alive like he is? Or something else entirely? We know this is the land of dragons. Where are they? We haven’t seen one yet. Why? See? We’ve all already noted the lack of viable wildlife here. You’re focused on one aspect: the crown. The possibilities are endless with answers to questions we haven’t even begun to ask ourselves. There is a reason the four of us are here.” He angled to peer upward through the trees and leaves. “And I really believe the three days is also for a reason. Like you said, we can’t be gone for years. They are still moving on, without us. Jayce has plans and alliances he wants and needs to create, the keep has to be guarded. Men have to be trained. Our three days will give them time, but more than that and it becomes a detriment to dally.”

Duran barely blinked as Royce expressed his thoughts. “When did all of that occur to you?” He’d clearly underestimated the snow leopard. Duran was mage educated but he’d neglected to see the possibility of Royce being equally intelligent. It was clear he was able to step back from the quandaries and view a larger, strategic picture. He didn’t even know how old Royce was. Admitting he’d been blind to what the skin shifters could bring to the table left a sour taste in his mouth. He hadn’t thought about the impact before but being secluded at the temple hampered many of the mages’ broader education opportunities. Seclusion limited their scope of knowledge by not experiencing more or interacting with other races and peoples. Studies were important, but so was the deeper knowledge offered outside.

“After yesterday and all that happened to bring us here, I started thinking about what we knew about the crown, and how much of it had been passed down through the years, which being skin shifter, wasn’t as much as the mages have shared. But it was a puzzle to me and I’ve always liked a good puzzle. As in the fact Lord Atkill has been colluding with the Alendaren’s. No one knew of this before the attack on the keep. A piece of the larger puzzle. Because of his treachery, we now have alliances and strong bonds with northern chieftains and with the mage temple, as well, because of yesterday alone. You’ve gained your familiar and we were given our own quest. All of this has a purpose. It won’t be easy, but all of this is driving us closer to fulfilling the prophecy. All of us.” He rested against the tree trunk as his words trailed off. A scant fraction of movement from either would bring their lips together. Duran’s heart pounded at the invitation. It was impossible to look away now, captured by ice-blue eyes and an unrelenting urgency to claim the lips that were so close.

“What are you waiting for?” Duran wondered.

Royce smiled gently, not being coy by misinterpreting his meaning in the least. His fingers drifted from his hair to his cheek. The gentle stroke of fingertips poured warmth through him. A connection Duran hadn’t been able to name, yet could most certainly feel. “When I kiss you the first time, it won’t be because I take it. You will give it to me. And we made a pact. I can wait for you.” Duran’s lashes lowered at the caress of fingers against his jaw. The press of Royce’s thumb as he traced over his bottom lip sent his heart racing. His heart tripped at the tenderness in that stroke of flesh against his. The single caress woke nerves along his spine to catapult goosebumps down his side. “I just said I like puzzles. You’re a puzzle I want to unravel over and over,” he promised.

Unavoidable warmth surged through Duran’s belly and lower. The pull Royce had on him was indescribable. He made Duran so hungry, for touch, for the kiss hovering between them on the whisper of a promise. The way his body reacted, the sizzle of nerves becoming more sensitive to the man’s nearness. The pull was undeniable. Pale hair burned with a red hue from the sunlight streaming through the canopy overhead, the golden burnish accentuated by the red rays and reflecting it back into the world. He’d never forget the sight of that moment, of how handsome Royce was, how at peace he was, assured and confident in a way that made Duran’s body quiver with the need he created inside.

Whuhu-hu.

Duran blinked, pulling away from the moment, feeling disoriented as he tried to remember what they’d been talking about before he’d fallen so utterly under Royce’s spell.

Whuhu-hu.

What? He heard and it took a few seconds for Remy’s translated voice to make sense in his head. Duran jerked to his feet and raced through the trees to find Rune violently shaking where he sat. “What did you see, Remy?” He gripped his friend by the shoulders but Rune was deep in his meditation, not responding at all. His eyes were closed, sitting cross-legged with one hand curled lightly over the root beside him with his cloak spread out around him. Nearly fully upright, he was slack like he was relaxed but not asleep. And he shook in rolling waves from his shoulders all the way to his hips, managing to stay upright through decades of practice.

Whuhuhu. Iba and Remy coasted down to lower branches. Concern radiated from both. Whuhu. Whuhu.

“What is he saying?” Royce crouched down between roots, keeping a distance but close enough to help either Duran or Rune should he have to react toward either.

“The tremors. Images.” Duran grimaced. He gripped Rune’s elbow gently, not wanting to harm him by pulling him forcefully from his meditation. “Iba sees snow and flames. It doesn’t make sense. We’re nowhere near either. Grayson!” He shouted over his shoulder.

Grayson jerked from his sleep, grunted, and then stumbled up next to them a moment later, leaning against another tree with a braced palm. “What happened?”

“I don’t know. Remy said he started to shake a few minutes ago. It’s like he’s seizing but he’s not stiff.” He forced away the snaking fear trying to dig into him that something was wrong with Rune. He refused to believe it.

Grayson dragged a stiff hand over his face, attempting to wake up. “How long has he been meditating?”

“Almost as long as we’ve been here,” Royce offered. “I awoke a few minutes ago, and Duran and I were talking when Remy told Duran there was something wrong.”

Whuhu.

“Remy says Iba can’t feel him now.” He searched Grayson’s expression. “What does it mean?”

Grayson sank down with them, all of them concerned over their friend. “We’ll have to wait. It could be his meditation, he could be in a vision. I’ve never seen when he has one, so I truly don’t know. I thought they occurred when he slept.” He rolled a shoulder. “He tends to stay pretty private, even now.”

Duran searched tree limbs overhead. “Can you feel him at all, Iba?”

She drifted down on silent wings to settle on Rune’s shoulder, then threaded her beak through his loose, straight hair.

Whuhu.

Duran’s shoulders slumped. “Remy said no. Whatever is wrong, he is not with us.”

All three huddled around Rune to keep him protected. They waited apprehensively for any sign, watching over Rune until he began to flex his arms and moan quietly. His head lolled on his neck as his eyes fluttered.

Duran and Royce flipped around to face him. Grayson pulled a water skin closer, holding it outward. “Here’s water.”

Rune grabbed it and gulped thirstily, like it had been days since his last drink. When he opened his eyes, he spied the close circle of the three surrounding him. “What happened?” Iba was nuzzling into the side of his head, a soft cooing warbling her throat.

“We were hoping you could tell us,” Duran replied. “You had a fit of some kind, and Iba said she couldn’t feel you.”

Rune blinked several times, then twisted his head. “I’m sorry, heart.”

“What happened? You were meditating but we couldn’t wake you out of whatever had gripped you, either.” Grayson plugged the skin and propped it by his leg.

“I had a vision. A strange one.” He took his time shaping the words, like he wasn’t sure he knew how to say them. He pressed a fist into his chest, over his heart, trembling as he gradually grew steadier with each drawn breath. “I feel like something inside me has changed, but I don’t know what.” Soothed to learn he was fine, Iba bounced off his shoulder and flew upward to sit with an observing Remy.

“A vision? Of what?” Duran asked.

“I’m not sure it’s going to make much sense.” He rocked his head, sighing when sound pops signaled a loosening of muscles and bones. “The army. It’s huge. More immense than we’ve dared to envision. And there are dragons. They were fighting ferociously. Fighting the army. It was so very strange.”

“Where did the dragons come from?” Duran demanded. “Dragons don’t exist on Kielbos.”

Rune met their gazes, one word stark. “Here.”

Duran shrank back. “Someone has taken dragons from here and opened a portal to take them to Kielbos?”

Rune leaned against the tree he’d been meditating closest to. “It would appear that way. Someone has to be controlling the army. And the dragons if they’ve been taken for the army. This definitely means there are other mages involved.” His brow tightened thoughtfully. “There was a mage’s name. Natugenus. The one who inscrolled the axe the sabra carried. We were able to recover it when they attacked Jayce when I first found him. If she had the power to portal, she could have manipulated the sabra but may have also influenced the army as well. She could be working with Carden, or even working beyond him if she still lives. I couldn’t see that much to know.”

“How many have the knowledge to create portals?” Duran tried to recall anyone else in the temple who may have even hinted about the possibility and couldn’t think of one person. All four wore worried expressions at the implication.

Rune rolled a shoulder. “It’s truly not known. For our own safety, only those who need to know, do.”

“The vision you had, is it happening or future?” Grayson wondered.

“I wish I knew.” He sighed and pressed a cheek to the dry bark of the tree, his features drawn from the strain of the experience. “There were so many, a swarm of evil, of bodies and blood.” He shuddered, his gaze alight with a fire that brightened them from within. “I truly feel we must succeed now. I believed before, but now, we cannot fail. Whatever power the crown brings, it is imperative it is recovered. The end of the Blood Spawn army requires it.”