37. Owen

Owen

Another boom sounded from outside, shaking the foundation of Owen's tower. He craned his head to try and look out his window, but he could see nothing but the lone tree below him and the high wall surrounding the city. Something was happening outside, an attack. It had Rem on edge.

"Hurry, Owen." Rem's voice was tinged with annoyance and impatience. He held up Owen's burgundy vest, and Owen crossed the room to put it on. Rem tried to button it for him, but Owen swatted his hands away and moved aside.

"What's happening outside?" Owen asked. When Rem didn't answer him, he asked, "Is it part of Mordren's ritual?"

"You'll know soon enough." Rem glanced around, then took Owen's arm and made his way to the door. He was surprised he hadn't been locked in the shackles. As they made their way outside the room, Owen looked at Rem's back and narrowed his eyes at his nervous demeanor.

When Rem took Owen down to the dungeon, Owen wondered if this was also where the ritual would take place. But when Rem led him to a tunnel he hadn't been down before, he realized there was no one here but five prisoners within their cells. When they stopped, Owen glanced over at several older men dressed in dirty robes. Owen let out a breath and looked curiously at Rem .

"This is my first gift to you, Owen," Rem told him. He smiled as he stood before one of the cells. "These are the councilmen. The five of them are head of the Legion, with the Elder making the final decisions. These men have spent centuries killing Shadowborns like you. They've put Astran children through horrible rituals, all to extract power and use it for themselves. They are murderers. They've inflicted much pain and suffering upon the Astran people." He waved his arm out. "I am giving them to you, Owen. They are yours to slaughter, in whatever way you see fit."

Owen swallowed hard. He stared at the five councilmen, three of whom begged forgiveness, but the other two stood silently, as if they knew of their wrongs.

Owen wanted to hate these men. He wanted them to suffer, as Rem said, but Owen could never kill them. It wasn't his place to kill them, for while they had wronged those like him, killing defenseless men would make him no better than them.

Taking in a heavy breath, Owen took a step back and glared at Rem. "No," he said through clenched teeth.

Rem raised an eyebrow. "No?"

"I won't kill them."

The councilmen exchanged nervous glances.

"Well, I must say I'm surprised. After the way you killed Quinnby Kingsland, I thought for sure you craved the darkness that lurks within the shadows. You are Shadowborn, after all."

"You're the one who sold his soul to Mordren," Owen seethed.

"And you are the one who released him from the Vale," Rem shot back.

Owen's body lit with fire. He'd spent twenty-two years of his life running and hiding, listening to people tell him lies, only to end up a pawn in Rem's and Mordren's insane scheme. He'd let Rem murder Gilda and force him to open the Gate. He'd allowed Mordren into his mind and heart…

His fists clenched as that fire burned into his voice. "You made me open it!" Owen shouted. "You're a sick, twisted man!" He realized what he'd said before about Rem selling his soul, and he looked at Rem through narrowed eyes. "You sold your soul to a monster. What happens if you don't succeed in killing him? You lose your soul."

A look of panic shot across Rem's face, but he fought to cover it and replaced the look with a growling menace. "Watch yourself, Shadowborn ."

"You will never have the courage to kill Mordren," Owen whispered, realizing this truth even as he spoke it. He set his eyes on Rem and raised his voice, "I'm done following your commands."

"Done?" Rem's nostrils flared. "We had a deal."

Owen sneered at him. "Like the deal you made to guide me to safety on the Silent Road?"

Rem moved his head around, as if releasing the tension in his neck. "Have I ever told you how much I hate when someone crosses me?" He suddenly came at Owen, backing him into the bars of the cell behind them. The councilmen gasped and moved backward. Rem's hand moved from his pouch, and the flash of a familiar glass vial glinted in the torchlight.

Owen put up his arms and pushed Rem back, but Rem hit him, sending Owen's head against a cell bar. He grabbed Owen's head and pushed the vial against his mouth. Owen felt the liquid fill his mouth, and his first instinct was to swallow, for he'd gotten a taste of how that blood made him feel. It invigorated him, made him feel more powerful than he was, made him feel good .

It made him obey.

But he spit it out in Rem's face, making the man jump back, and the vial shattered to the floor, the rest of it spilling on the stones.

Owen had gotten a taste, but not enough to completely lose himself to the darkness. As he spat out as much of the remaining blood from his mouth as he could, Rem removed another vial from the pouch on his belt.

"You're a fool, Owen," Rem hissed. "Without my help, you will be sacrificed. You will make Mordren all-powerful, and everyone in this city will die. I will remain after you are dead and Mordren is gone. I will rule Avathon and Milarc without you." Rem's lips curled into a smile. "Your moment of triumph is over." He pressed the vial to his own lips and swallowed the blood inside.

Rem closed his eyes in ecstasy as the blood moved through his body. Then he opened his eyes and smiled cruelly. "The Hunter never stops hunting. It's in him to kill, to retrieve. The thrill of the hunt is… intoxicating. I will give you time to run and hide, Owen. One… Two…"

Owen turned and ran down a different passage from the one they had come from while Rem counted, his echoes bouncing off the walls. When he came to a door, he opened it, thinking it would lead back to the main part of the dungeon. To his dismay, he found himself in a tunnel lit by rows of torches on either side. When he tried to turn back, he heard Rem's voice calling for him.

Panting, Owen continued forward until he came to a balcony full of blue lights, lit by the fungi growing in the corners of the room and up on the walls. Owen looked around until he saw another balcony higher up. The same one he and Mordren had stood on yesterday .

"Owen!" Rem's voice echoed with excitement through the passageways.

Owen's heart jolted, and he ran for the stairs that descended to the path below. He crossed over a stone bridge as water trickled off into the shadows of the cave. When he felt a powerful rush of wind against him from Rem, it stole his breath, and he was knocked against a wall. He fell to the floor but immediately scrambled to his feet.

Owen sprinted out of the open area of the cave and entered a narrow stone tunnel. His breaths were rushed as he made his way through the twisting corridors, the damp air thick with something sinister. The blue glow of mushrooms aided him along as he ducked beneath low archways. When he came to a dead end, his heart pounded. A faint red haze gathered over his vision. He must've gotten some of Mordren's blood into his body. But he didn't feel the ecstasy overtake him.

Behind him, Rem's footsteps echoed along the tunnel, a hunter savoring the thrill of the chase, walking steadily toward his prey. With every stride Owen took, he sensed the shift in the air, the cold that swirled toward him vibrating. That's when Owen stopped, his eyes wide.

He could feel the power emanating from Rem. He couldn't sense him. No, he'd never been able to do that, and now he knew why. Rem was a man without a soul. But he could sense his power. Perhaps the small amount of blood Owen had tasted allowed him to sense Rem's power even through the emberstone. He hadn't had enough of it to fall into the darkness, but the light of the world was no longer visible either.

He was in that space between shadow and light.

A sudden crash through the wall sent Owen darting out of the way, covering his head as debris flew at him. He stumbled forward, running once again as Rem made his way through the hole he had just made in the wall.

Adrenaline surged through Owen's veins. He veered left into a narrow corridor and squeezed through, out of sight of Rem, until he emerged into a large room. Owen focused on his power as he knelt in the center and closed his eyes. Gripping the collar with trembling fingers, he called upon his Essence, willing it to flow through him. He thought of each one of his family and friends he'd lost: His father, his mother, Amias, Gilda, Brom, Colt… even others he'd been friends with in his life, such as Hale and Milo and Bridge and his family. He came to each one in his head. Then he thought of the people of Luthien who would endure slaughter in the name of an envious god.

He poured his Essence into the emberstone around his neck until he could feel the crystal absorbing the power. The collar grew hot, especially where the steel parts melded to the crystal. Owen winced, then gave a painful cry as the collar burned his skin.

At that moment, Rem turned the corner and raised his hands. The Hunter's face twisted into a grotesque sneer, and a powerful gust blew against Owen. He flew backward, his feet leaving the ground as a cloud of orange and purple sparks coiled around him, and the heat around his neck became unbearable.

He tumbled to the ground and grunted. When Rem gasped, Owen lifted his head. He knew he had to move, to get up and fight. When he saw Rem's shocked face, he followed the man's gaze to the ground.

The emberstone collar lay in pieces.

Rem took a step backward, and Owen jumped to his feet.

A look of terror passed over Rem's face. "Do you understand what will happen if you try to kill me?" He shook his head. "I gave you an offer. To kill Mordren in exchange for your life, for your blood… you can't defeat him alone!"

Before Owen could respond, Rem reached out both arms again, desperate to keep his power. But Owen was quicker and used his Essence to push Rem back, causing the man to stagger.

Rem's expression was full of fury as he raised his hands. Another powerful burst of air came at Owen.

Owen braced himself, planting his feet firmly to the stone floor. The force of the gust threatened to push him back, but he dug in, allowing his Essence to coalesce within him. Rem pushed against him more, until Owen finally stumbled back and fell to the floor. Then he felt a hold over him, as if someone had grabbed him, and he felt his body sliding up the stone wall. He felt something around his neck, like a hand, and he clawed at it, but nothing was there.

Was this what Quinnby Kingsland also felt when Owen had taken hold of him the first time? The power of taking a life without touching someone, how thrilling it must be. For a Hunter to strike at a distance.

Owen thought of the ease with which Rem had turned him over to Quinnby, of how easily Rem had reached out and taken Gilda's life. His mind numbed to every emotion but fury. When he raised his arms, purple fire erupted from his palms, the light bouncing off the walls and into Rem's dark eyes.

The fire spiraled toward Rem, and the flames danced around his body, catching his cloak on fire. The hold over Owen released, and he dropped to the floor and took several breaths before he got to his feet. Owen quickly approached Rem and kicked him down to the ground, where the man rolled about until the flames were all gone.

Smoke rose from Rem's body, his face red from burns, and the man sputtered as he tried to reach for Owen. Raising a hand, Owen sent him flying back into the rocks behind him, pinning him in place. Owen stared at him, seeing nothing but red for the Hunter as he strode toward him. He reached down for Rem's sword and pulled it from its sheath.

"Owen," Rem said, his breaths short. "You can't deny the darkness within you…" He let out a painful cry as Owen pinned him harder against the wall. "You are Shadowborn. There is no light within darkness."

Owen lowered his head as he placed the tip of the sword beneath Rem's chin. "Shadows only exist where there is light."

"You will never defeat him." Despite Rem's current predicament, the man smiled. "You're not strong enough. You never will be. Let me help you…"

Owen tried to see through the slight red haze before him. Just the taste of Morden's blood gave him a power he couldn't deny. It fueled his fury. It was just enough to make him see . He knew now who this man was. What he was.

"You…" Owen started, "are nothing but a monster. Remember that as you fall into the void."

Rem's eyes widened as it dawned on him what Owen was about to do.

Owen clasped his hand on Rem's shoulder and drove the sword through him. The last look in Rem's eyes was one of shock as he looked up, his eyes wide. Hot sweat dripped from Owen's head, running down his face as he sneered at the man he'd just killed. When Rem took one last breath, Owen pushed the man to the floor. Taking a breath, he stepped back and looked down at him until the Hunter went still .

Something clinked on the floor, and Owen narrowed his eyes as he bent to pick up a small vial of blood. He raised his arm to throw it but hesitated. After a moment, he clasped the vial and placed it in his pocket.

Then Owen turned to one of the tunnels that led through the labyrinth. He threw down the sword, his chest flaring with purpose. He knew now where Mordren was. He could sense him. The heaviness settled everywhere, the darkness penetrating every corner of the labyrinth.

He made his way out of the room, easily navigating his way back through the tunnels to the dungeon and up the stairs to the citadel. Once inside, two Arroki soldiers came at him. Owen took them both down with his Essence, throwing them against the far wall.

His Essence flowed freely now without the emberstone collar. Though, even with it gone, he still couldn't sense anything past the heaviness that engulfed the city. He could feel it moving around him in waves, and he could feel the direction it emanated from. He followed the darkness to the central chamber, killing any Arroki he encountered along the way with his Dark Flame.

Sweat poured from his head as he opened the doors to the throne chamber. He found the large glass window behind the throne shattered, and most of the back of the wall had been blown out along with it. As Owen made his way forward, his boots crunched over glass and debris. He climbed over the fallen stones and made his way outside into the dark of the night.

On the high-rise balcony overlooking the hills of the land past the city walls, Mordren stood tall. The sky was black, and wherever lightning struck, the clouds twisted into angry red columns. Three different markings were painted in red on the smooth stone of the balcony. Owen looked down at all the designs made up of circles and triangles and strange symbols he didn't know the meaning of, his heart racing. He could feel Mordren's power from here.

"You made it," Mordren said, sounding impressed. "Without Rem. I suppose you're more powerful than I thought." He smiled crookedly.

Thunder rumbled, echoing Owen's heart as he faced the god. He had to get the dagger. He had to halt the three made whole, the Transcendence Rite that could potentially spell disaster on the entire world.

"Are you here to defeat me, Owen?" Mordren chuckled darkly. When Owen didn't reply, he asked, "Are you afraid, knowing what will happen to you?"

Owen glared at him. "No." When Mordren frowned, Owen knew he had him. "You were right, I have nothing to lose. It'll make killing you even easier."

Mordren reached his arm toward the clouds, and a bolt of lightning lit up the sky.