37. Declan

Chapter 37

Declan

A tikus braced himself against the rim of the Well as I pushed him up and out of its opening. The Mage sprawled across the floor and lay there as I jumped up beside him.

“Atikus, are you all right?”

“Fine.” His muffled voice bounced off the glassy surface of the cave’s floor. “Can we not do that again— ever ?”

A chuckle replaced concern as I gripped his arm to help him stand.

“We may need to make one more trip to get you back home, unless you’d prefer to take the gate and walk all the way from the mountains to Saltstone.”

Atikus wobbled and sat on the crystalline bench across from the Well. “I might prefer a few decades of walking to riding that river of death again. How is your head not—?”

His last word trailed off as his eyes took in the cavern for the first time.

“What’s wrong? Are you all right?” I asked.

Atikus spoke in awed tones. “For hundreds of years, I kept the secret of the Well. Velius and I spent countless hours guessing what the hallowed mountain might look like, how magic in the air might feel, at what wonders that were hidden and would never be revealed to anyone beyond its Keeper.” He sighed at the mention of his old friend. “When you returned from your first journey here, describing the cave with a boyish gleam in your eyes, I never dreamed I would gaze at the majesty of the Well. You have helped me live a dream, son.”

Atikus stood on shaky legs and braced himself against my shoulder with one hand. His head turned slowly—so slowly—as he took in every crystal and crevice, every shade and shadow, with widened eyes.

I gripped the old man’s arm and watched as he surveyed the cavern.

“I was pretty stunned the first time, too. Look down.”

Atikus took a reflexive step back as azure mist curled upward beneath its glassy ceiling, winding toward Atikus’s feet. Once he realized it was harmless, he kneeled and placed a hand on the floor. The mist responded, hungrily racing to mirror his bony fingers and palm.

Atikus erupted in a childlike laugh that echoed off the crystalline walls.

“Oh, that’s not even the big show. Come over here,” I said, hooking the Mage under my elbow to help him stand. I walked him to the opening that was the Well of Magic, where mist wafted upward, unabated by stone or crystal or glass. It seemed to sense Atikus’s approach and greeted him, enveloping his entire body in glowing, writhing fog.

Tears of pure joy trailed down Atikus’s cheeks.

My heart soared.

I couldn’t wipe the goofy grin from my face, so I swatted rebellious curls out of my eyes—an old childhood tick.

“Declan, I am rarely speechless, but this—” Atikus choked on a happy sob that racked his chest.

I beamed at the small boy in Mages’ robes before me. “I know. I get chills every time I come in here, especially when the currents greet me.”

Atikus kneeled and extended a hand toward the opening, toward the gently rushing magic that flowed beneath.

I caught his hand and pulled it away. “Oh, no. That’s one thing you cannot do. Kels? says the currents will overwhelm and consume you.”

“Then how . . . how did you travel in them? How did you bring me here?”

“I honestly don’t know. It’s an Heir of Magic thing, I guess.” I shrugged. “The first time, I felt like I’d been dragged behind a horse for hours, then run over by a dozen carts. Though, I never felt any pain. órla said I would always be safe in the currents.”

“órla?” Atikus’s head snapped up. “Didn’t she—”

“Yes, she sacrificed herself, but her Spirit returned to the Well as it always does.” A confused look crossed Atikus’s face. “Atikus, she isn’t what we thought. She is magic’s essence. She cannot die. She will be reborn in a new form.”

“Sweet Spirits . . .”

“For now, she speaks through the currents. You couldn’t hear us talking?”

“I was more focused on staying in one piece than listening to you babbling into the void. Yours was the only voice I heard.”

I leaned closer. “Your eyes didn’t change like mine did. That’s odd.”

“I may be the most knowledgeable Mage alive, but I feel like a new acolyte around you—and all this .”

“Second most knowledgeable,” a warm voice said from behind.

Atikus wheeled around.

His eyes widened and smile broadened as Kels? strode toward us.

“Kels??” The astonished Mage struggled forward on unsteady legs. “It has been decades—no, centuries . You have not aged a day!”

“And you still remember how to flatter a woman, you silver-tongued Mage.” Kels? reached us and wrapped her arms around her old friend, then peered over his shoulder and winked at me.

Then she noticed my eyes.

“Declan, your eyes —”

“I know, but it’s all right. órla warned there would be changes when I entered the currents. She doesn’t know if this is permanent or not, or if there will be other side effects later on. Nothing else changed—at least that I can tell—other than people’s reactions back home.”

She released Atikus and stepped past him toward me, concern creasing her brow. “What do you mean, people’s reactions ? Last I heard you were being hailed as a hero everywhere you walked.”

I shrugged as my eyes fell. “They’re scared of me, like I’m going to attack them with my eyes or something. I don’t know. Even the kids wouldn’t come close. They run or hide behind their parents.” My gaze strayed to meet hers, then shied away. I muttered, “Guess I’m alone again—”

Kels? closed the gap between us faster than an adder could strike. Her palms cupped my cheeks and forced me to look into her eyes. “Declan Rea, you are never alone. You hear me? Never .”

I stared and lost myself in my mother’s ideal reflected through her vision.

She saw something I couldn’t fathom, someone I didn’t recognize. How could anyone believe in another person with such reckless abandon? I wished some measure of her confidence in me would take root in my own heart and grow— but I knew it was likely too late for that, especially with magic literally seeping out of my eyes every time I blinked.

Self-conscious under her maternal gaze, I said, “For whatever reason, Atikus was unaffected by his trip along the currents.”

Kels? gave me a look I couldn’t interpret but said nothing, turning back as Atikus coughed.

“Unaffected? I can barely walk after bouncing from the continent to this island!”

I snorted, relieved the spotlight shone elsewhere. “I meant magically. We can’t help that you’re old and frail.”

“Hey!” Atikus smacked me on the arm. “I am distinguished . And hungry, now that we are talking about our feelings.”

“Of course you are.” I rolled my eyes.

“You boys come with me. I can take care of your stomachs while we talk about fixing Atikus’s magic. As much as I would love to catch up, órla’s warning has me thinking there is little time to waste.”

Nothing worked to restore Atikus’s magic.

We tried Healing, then Healing combined with air, hoping I could somehow breathe life back into his Gift. It had seemed a silly idea at the time, but Kels? swore she remembered something akin to it working to Heal another Mage many years before. We were growing desperate, and Kels?’s wild-guess theory failed as all previous attempts had.

On our fifth morning together, Atikus, Kels?, and I sat around the table on the landing overlooking the standing stone circles. Our bellies were nearly as full as our wine glasses.

As we transitioned from lunch to wine on the ridge, our conversation also shifted from Atikus’s perpetual questioning of all things magic toward possible treatments to restore Atikus’s connection. Kels? was disappointed the trip within the currents had done nothing to aid him and was surprised when Atikus described feeling none of the tingling sensation that assaulted me as I traveled. His lack of sensation, along with his inability to sense órla’s presence or hear her voice, underscored how complete his separation from magic truly was.

“I was afraid to let go of him while we traveled,” I explained. “Maybe he needs to be exposed to the currents without me protecting him with my touch.”

Kels? shook her head. “No, we should not try that. Putting him into the currents without you would likely kill him—or sear his consciousness so he would lose all sense of identity or self. You are the only person in my thousand years of life who has touched the currents and lived. We will save that for a last resort.”

“What if I Called to his spirit, like a summoning, but inside?”

“Now that is just plain creepy, and I have lived long enough to see many things that would make your skin crawl,” Atikus said.

“You might be onto something, as creepy as it may sound.” Kels? chuckled at Atikus, then grew serious. “But you would have to be very careful. Interaction with a living being’s spirit is dangerous, and not just to them. The will of a spirit is a fickle thing, and Atikus might not be able to control what it does.”

“What are you talking about? It is my spirit. Why would I not be able to control it?”

“Yes, it is your spirit, as long as it is within you, but if Declan connected with it, there would be a path it could take through his consciousness to escape the bonds of your mortal body. In essence, Declan could be a conduit to allow your spirit to become sentient in itself and then be loosed on the world to do who knows what. Freed spirits are incredibly dangerous. That is why we must be cautious when constructing summoning circles. Think of it as a conscience-free Atikus in spirit form roaming the land.”

“Sounds like another spirit I met recently, except without my sparkling personality,” Atikus said sourly.

Kels? ignored his attempt at humor. “Exactly. Irina’s spirit maintains her personality and some of her will but now lusts for vengeance of its own. The woman I knew would never kill innocents.”

“The woman you knew was entombed for a very long time. I expect that dark prison changed her, even in spirit form,” Atikus said.

I cleared my throat. “We’re wandering. Back to helping Atikus. I don’t like the spirit interaction idea anymore. Let’s shelve that for now. What else?”

And so the afternoon and evening went, each idea more audacious than the last, and each being added to a very large and growing scroll of unpopular suggestions. When night’s darkness fell and the stars’ light guided our vision, we were nowhere closer to an actionable plan than before.

Kels? stood and downed the last of the wine in her glass. “We should get some sleep and start fresh in the morning. My mind cannot take any more tonight.”

The next day, we sat eating a hearty breakfast and chatting about recent events on the continent. Kels? soaked in every bit of news about Keelan and the goings-on in her homeland. As Atikus reached across to fill his plate for the third time, a voice, clear and commanding, boomed throughout the mountain. It sounded—no, felt —like the mountain itself was speaking.

órla’s voice was an eruption of urgency. “KELS?! Someone has made it past the hut, past the wards. Hatred and anger burn in her wake. She is almost at the Well!”

“What in the void—” I started but cut off as my tunic flared to life, the Phoenix practically leaping from my chest.

Kels? shot to her feet. “Declan, come with me. If someone is powerful enough to pass the wards, I may need your strength to protect the Well.”

I shot to my feet as well. Atikus moved to follow, but Kels? stilled him with a glare. “Atikus, stay here. If we get into trouble, you are the only one left who can go for help.”

I charged after my mother through the winding corridors of the mountain. The crystals embedded in the walls, normally glowing with gentle light, now pulsed brightly, as if angered by the intruder.

As I skidded to a stop in the entrance to the Well’s chamber, I was shocked to see its crystalline walls and ceiling pulsing even more brightly than the hallways had. The lazy river beneath its glassy surface roiled and raged, white caps pluming atop cerulean waves. It felt as though the currents begged for escape, for the opportunity to join the fight to come.

Kels? ran toward the platform containing the Well’s opening and panted as she stood a few paces from the billowing mist that gushed forth.

I stood beside her a few heartbeats later.

The hairs on my arms and neck snapped to attention, and my skin pimpled at magic’s touch.

My tunic’s glow became insistent, almost painful to look upon.

Then the intruder entered the chamber.

“Larinda?” Kels? asked, dumbfounded. “How did you get in here?”

The old woman strode forward without a hint of the ailing joints I knew plagued her. She held her chin high and stared through bright, keen eyes.

But it was her smile I noticed above all else.

“It’s not Larinda,” I whispered.

Larinda waved a hand in the air while continuing her trek forward. “Listen to the boy, Kels?; he is brighter than he appears.” She cackled at her own jest.

Kels? called to her Light, and the mist surrounding the Well poured into her mouth and nose. Her skin began to glow, and her eyes blazed with the light of the sun. With a wave of one hand, she erected a shell of swirling air around the Well.

I gaped, having never seen the strength of my mother’s magic.

Larinda cackled again, more amused than concerned by the Keeper’s display of power. She raised a finger and shattered Kels?’s shield without so much as a grimace. Sparks of spent magical energy exploded throughout the room, forcing Kels? and me to throw up shields of air to protect from the blast.

When we lowered our arms, the woman who was no longer Larinda stood only a few paces away, raging fire blazing in each palm.

“Boy, I was using magic long before you were born. Do not waste my time. I have waited many lifetimes to deal with your mother.”

Without further warning, Larinda flung both palms forward, and fire flew forth, one blaze aimed at each of us. I threw out my arms and pulled moisture from the air. Discs of water the size of my head appeared before my outstretched hands, flew forward, and doused the balls of flame.

Kels? threw her head back and cried out, “Eveth erna fertu!”

A dozen glowing crystals broke free from the wall and hurtled toward Larinda.

The ancient woman ducked and threw up a bony hand. A shock wave of air and energy pulsed from her raised fist, blasting Kels?’s missiles away to shatter against the walls of the cavern.

Again, Kels? didn’t hesitate.

With Larinda distracted by deflecting the crystals, she drew more mist into her chest and formed balls of pure azure magic in each palm, similar to the fire Larinda had thrown before. She hurled one ball, arcing it high in the air toward Larinda, while sending the second in a blazing streak toward the woman’s chest.

Larinda managed a quick shield, absorbing the missile headed for her torso, but the second attack struck a half pace from where she stood. The soundless eruption lit the cavern with a kaleidoscope of brilliance, forcing me to shield my eyes with my arm. Sparks of shimmering magic flew in every direction.

Larinda screamed as the force battered her body and mind.

The attack bore no heat, but its strength assaulted Larinda’s magical core.

Sensing an opening, I reformed my shield, this time drawing both air and water. I stepped forward, shield wall extended two paces before me.

Another step, then another.

Larinda’s eyes widened, and she took a step backward.

Quicker than she could react, I threw my arms forward, hurling my shield into her.

The impact of hardened water and air slammed into the aged, frail body she now inhabited, sending Larinda’s form flying backward and into the crystalline wall. Blood streamed from a gash on her forehead, and more flowed from another wound on the back of her skull. The inhabiting spirit didn’t feel disorientation as Larinda would have felt from such a blow, but the body of her servant was slow to rise.

With moisture and heat nearly exhausted within the cavern, the temperature plummeted, and thick clouds billowed each time we breathed.

Kels? shivered as she screamed a warning.

I fell back on my Ranger training instead of using more magic, lunging forward, driving a fist into Larinda’s sternum and doubling the old woman over.

I gripped her by her hair and pulled her head upward, readying another blow, but Larinda was faster. Her bony fingers bent, and hardened knuckles thrust upward into my neck.

I gagged and gripped my throat, straining for air as I staggered backward.

“Irina?” Realization dawned on Kels? as her teeth began to chatter.

“Took you long enough, witch . How dull you have grown over the years.” The woman’s head snapped unnaturally toward her, then cocked to one side. It has only been a millennium since you stripped me of my power and cast me aside—you and your family of Mages .”

“Irina, I was not even there when the last battle occurred—or when your parents—”

“Enough!” Irina screamed. “I will reclaim my power and send you straight where you belong: into the void.”

A wave of Compulsion blasted into Kels?, knocking her backward. My tunic resisted the spell, but Kels?’s eyes glazed, and her body relaxed.

“Cast him into the Well,” Irina commanded.

Without hesitation, Kels? stepped forward and gripped me by both shoulders.

Startled, I turned, but she pulled with all her strength.

My feet had been well set at shoulder width apart in anticipation of Irina’s next attack, but I hadn’t expected an assault to come from behind— from my mother.

I staggered into her embrace.

“Mother!”

Her eyes were wild orbs of glass that stared, yet saw nothing.

She yanked backward and dragged me toward the Well’s opening.

I threw an arm behind me but couldn’t dislodge her grip.

Irina, seizing the moment, flew onto the platform and punched my chest with her Enhanced Strength. My tunic raged at her touch, and her hands came away scorched.

She screamed in agony and staggered back.

But her shove had been enough.

Kels? tripped over her own feet and, still gripping my shoulders, tumbled backward.

I cried out but was helpless to stop our momentum.

The cavern spun above.

Larinda’s bloodied face grinned down with maniacal hatred.

Kels?’s grip vanished as she reached the current.

I threw my arms out, reaching for the edge of the Well, but its glassy surface slipped from my fingers. A thunderous clap rang through the chamber as the Keeper and Heir vanished beneath the raging river of magic.