17. Marius

The tug on Marius’s soul felt like so much more than curiosity, but he hadn’t wanted to further alarm Tahlia and Fara. This sensation was not a tickle of interest but more like a dragon had sunk his talons into Marius’s very being and dragged him to the timeworn fortress below.

To calm his own fast pulse, Marius set a hand on Ragewing’s warm scales. Ragewing raised his head and grunted. He extended a wing and held off a blast of cool wind and mist, protecting Marius in a way that had him swallowing against a lump in his throat. He was so grateful for Ragewing, for Tahlia, and even for Fara and her dire warnings and inexperience. He didn’t think he deserved their loyalty, but he was incredibly glad for it.

They landed amid the fog that didn’t seem to be ready to lift anytime soon. Tahlia dismounted and helped Fara down.

Four stone towers stood in a rough square. The weather-eaten remains of what had once been wooden walls stretched to each one. A variety of circular stone buildings dotted the area. One appeared to be a dovecote, another a kitchen with the domed stove still intact, and a taller one in the back had possibly been a chapel. The wind whistled through a plow someone had pulled into the old fortress and a bronze chain clanked against one of the towers. A thousand mysteries could be hiding in these ruins. Trunks of gold and jewels might be just beneath their feet.

“Ooooh, spooky. I like it.”

Fara threw up her hands. “Of course you think this haunted nightmare is great. You probably want to settle in and roast marshmallows.” Her wide stare slid over the wind-blown weeds growing by a forgotten well.

It was a wishing well, complete with a wooden arch decorated with constellations. Tahlia wandered over.

Marius’s view of the females blurred like his vision had been marred by drink, so he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to clear the fuzziness away. He opened his eyes again and blinked. His vision was better, but not yet normal.

“Marius?” Tahlia came closer, but thankfully, not too close.

He held out a hand. “Just give me a minute.”

But instead of taking a breath and gathering himself, his feet moved of their own accord. He stalked toward the well.

“Marius?” Tahlia shouted and ran up beside him.

Fara, still near Vodolija, was saying something, but the whispers of strange voices echoed in his ears. The hairs on the back of his neck rose.

“Stay back,” he said, barely able to hear his own voice.

He looked down into the black of the old well, and a sense of evil slithered over his skin. Ragewing came up beside him, growling, nostrils loosing tendrils of smoke. The dragon spit sparks into the well. The bits of fire danced down and disappeared. The whispers rose, louder and louder and louder. With voices like rocks cracking against each other, they spoke in a language Marius didn’t know. The sensation of evil’s presence increased. A weight on his chest, on his shoulders, the foul and invisible essence turned his stomach and brought on a cold sweat that slicked his face.

Shadows burst from the well and blew Marius, Tahlia, Fara, and the dragons backward.

“Not a wishing well! Not a wishing welllll!” Tahlia shouted, scrambling to unsheathe her sword.

Somehow the wispy essence pouring from the well had a heaviness to it. The sentient, ragged cloud of evil zipped past Marius, then down again to release a gust of wind. Marius stumbled and nearly fell. Tahlia grabbed Fara to keep her upright. The shadows whirled around the air above Vodolija’s head, then dipped and shot at Fara.

Heart pounding and ears ringing with the voices, Marius lunged and put himself between the shadows and Fara. Tahlia shouted something Marius couldn’t hear.

Everything slowed. The shadows were going to unmake him. He knew it. They were pure evil. He drew his sword though it was likely worthless.

The shadows split and flowed around Marius like a river of night. His hands sparked with what felt like fire. He dropped his sword. Golden light crackled from his fingertips as he spun, and the shadows gathered overhead. With no idea what was happening, he lifted his hands. The golden light snapped upward and shattered the shadows into a thousand pieces. The wind pulled the bulk of the evil apart and the voices at last fell into silence.

“What in all the realms was that?” Tahlia was panting and holding Fara’s arm.

“We should leave now before whatever it was returns.” Fara drew away from Tahlia and started toward Vodolija.

Marius’s arms ached to pull Tahlia to him and to make certain she was well and whole. “Are you all right?”

Tahlia nodded. “What just happened with your hands?”

“I assume it’s… The…” The heat of frustration swallowed him and he swore creatively.

Fara waved from her spot beside the Seabreak. “I don’t know about sons of bastard mountain goats, but I like the sentiment. Let’s fly.”

“We can’t leave,” Tahlia said. “We have to figure out what that was and how it’s tied to Marius.”

Marius wanted to chime in and agree, to add his thoughts, but his tongue refused, the contents of his mind straying to the curse and its unseen rules. He bowed his head and tried to breathe through his impotent anger. Ragewing came close and extended a wing over him. He set a hand on the dragon’s scales and comfort flowed into him, easing his tension.

“The shadows struck out at you and Fara,” Tahlia said. “That’s what you saw too?”

Marius grunted to confirm.

“But they ignored me and they didn’t harm you when you defended Fara. It was like you were untouchable. They didn’t even seem to notice me.”

“Why are you calling a cloud of shadows they?” Fara asked.

“I’m not sure,” Tahlia said. “I sense that it was a collection of beings. Do you agree, Marius?”

He nodded, not trusting his tongue. But maybe he could tell her a few things. He had to try. “I heard voices. Did you?”

“No.” Tahlia frowned and studied his face, her smooth brow wrinkling as she pondered. He loved how she looked when she was thinking.

Fara shuddered. “Please. Let’s get into the sky and away from this place.”

Tahlia waved an impatient hand at Fara. “This is exciting. I’m not going back to sit by a fire and wait until whatever comes at us. I’d rather meet it head-on.”

Groaning, Fara returned to Tahlia’s side.

“It was another language,” Marius managed to say despite the tightening in his throat and the strangling feel of the dark magic on him.

A slender shadow rose from the well and slithered toward them.

“Another one!” Fara shouted.

Marius was already lifting his hands. The golden light once again flashed from his fingers and palms, chasing the last shadow. But the shadow didn’t dissipate. It just hovered over them, not attacking, but not breaking into pieces like the others had.

“Is it coming for me?” Fara had shut her eyes, but she was holding up her fists like she was ready for a boxing match.

“I don’t think so,” Tahlia said, studying the slip of darkness.

Marius growled at the shadow. It seemed to shiver, growing more transparent. Then it zipped away.

The evil sensation that had Marius in its grip increased in intensity. It wrapped him in a shroud of confusion and the world blurred. An invisible chain latched onto his heart and pulled hard.