Amidst The Rising Shadows (Book 3) (17 page)

“Beautiful is it not, human?” Halcylon asked. “No, don’t get up. I doubt you could even if you wanted to.”

Aaron lifted his head, which took every ounce of will he had. “Home,” he whispered.

Halcylon squatted down, his cold eyes peering at him. “You really are a mess, but
this
is your home now,
human
.
You’ve been sentenced to the same fate that your kind would have visited upon my people. Hytharia has scant time left, and you will be the only one to witness her passing. Initially, I thought to just kill you outright, but I find that this is a fitting end for you.”

Halcylon rose to his feet and had to balance himself as the ground shook violently. More of the mountain caved in on itself, and the night sky was exposed on the far side of the cavern. The air began to rush away.

“My time here is up. But know that your beloved Safanar will be in good hands,” Halcylon began to walk away and turned around, “So much for the strength of men.”

Halcylon and his soldiers disappeared through the portal, and after a few moments it vanished, plunging everything into darkness.
 

Aaron’s heart sank as he lifted up his hand in a vain attempt to keep the portal open by sheer will alone, but he had nothing left to give. The air was thinning, and the ground shuddered underneath him. Giant fissures tore the ground open, forming deep chasms.

This is it. I’m going to die.
The thought was strangely comforting, but for the deep rumbling of the Eldarin from the recesses of his mind. Aaron tried to focus so he could draw the energy into himself, but failed.
 

Rocky pieces of the mountain continued to fall. Something glittered in front of him that wasn’t there before. It took a few moments for the glittering object to register in Aaron’s failing mind. He glanced up, and standing before him was a dark figure with green eyes. Hints of the creature’s pointed teeth lay inside its mouth, but its body remained blended to its surroundings.

“Thraw,” Aaron whispered.

“This is the device you need, human; get us out of here,” Thraw said.

Aaron looked at Thraw’s form for the first time. The creature had the brown complexion of the Hythariam and a shaggy black main. Each foot ended in a metallic claw protruding from hairless skin. The green eyes were reminiscent of the Hythariam both in size and shape, and most importantly intelligence.

“You’re part Hythariam,” Aaron said and felt his body jerk against the column.
 

Thraw picked up the small Keystone Accelerator at its feet and shoved it in into Aaron’s lap. With a swipe of its claws the chains fell away from Aaron’s arms.

“There is no time, human. You must use the device, or we’ll both die,” Thraw said.

Aaron's hands clumsily snatched at the Keystone Accelerator in his lap. He swiped at the top, and the cylinder flared to life, casting a bluish light around them. Aaron stared dumbly at the portal to Safanar before him. If his mind had been working right, he would have known that the portal would only last seconds.
 

Thraw grabbed the human by the arm and leaped through the portal as Hytharia gave a final shudder and the ground beneath them gave way to darkness and flame. The portal closed immediately behind them. Thraw's eyes almost squinted shut in the sunlight. The human lay unconscious in a huddled mass of misshapen arms and legs, which left him to wonder if it would be a mercy to simply kill the human to put it out of its misery.
 

Hunter senses kicked in, and Thraw leaped into the nearby tree line as more of the humans came running. The beast climbed the tree and watched as the humans gathered around. The sunlight here was almost blinding, as he had never seen the outside, but for images that would play for the Hythariam. The fresh air burned the inside of his lungs, but he bore it all in silence. He had heard the others talk of climate acclimation and assumed he would need time to get used to his new world. Then it would be time to hunt. His gaze returned to the humans as they carried off one of their own and Thraw set off, eager to be away and do the one thing he had been bred to do: hunt and kill. Only the Hythariam were his prey, and Halcylon was his target.

C
HAPTER
11

REUNION

Along the outskirts of Shandara the sun was hours away from setting. The rune-carved staff rested with part of its heft sticking up from the earth. Grass had returned in patches, transforming the barren area into the potential for green fields. The staff hadn’t been moved or touched since it had been stuck it into the ground. Sarah closed her eyes. She could still see Aaron stumbling toward the portal, the Nanites coursing through his system. Her hands clenched at her helplessness as she kneeled there upon the ground hardly able to move. The Nanites that Aaron tricked into leaving her body had left her weak and disoriented. She opened her eyes, letting the memory fade. The runes along the staff glowed dully. She knew that the staff was connected to Aaron somehow, and after seeing that her people were provided for, she came here to feel closer to him. Braden was with her of course, and he spoke quietly with the De’anjard that guarded the staff. Her eyes glided over the runes being drawn into the pulsating rhythm. A soft breeze pulled at the wisps of hair that had escaped her braid. No one had wanted to touch the staff for fear of cutting Aaron off from Safanar. Barely two months had passed, and she was no closer to Aaron than she was when she first woke. The rune-carved staff was a mystery, and she had to know its secret. Could it help her find Aaron? More importantly, could it bring him home? She brought her hand up to the staff and could feel the hum of energy along its carved surface. Her fingers grazed overtop, and the quickening of energy from the staff seeped into her fingertips. Sarah quieted her mind and focused on Aaron. She could almost smell his earthy presence in a mixture of fire among the fringes of her senses. The runes on the staff flared brightly for a moment before the staff went dark.

Braden and the De’anjard guard came running over. “What happened?”

“I don’t know. I barely touched it, and suddenly it went dark,” Sarah said.

They stood there for a moment, not saying anything. All of them staring at the staff.

“Does that mean he’s...” the guard asked.

The fear in her eyes was mirrored in Braden’s for a moment. “No, he’s not gone.”

The comms device chimed up, and Braden withdrew it from his pocket.

“Braden. Is Sarah with you?” Verona’s voice asked through the device.

“I’m right here, Verona.”

“Good. We need for you to return to Rexel. There have been reports of the High King’s army attacking,” Verona said.

“We’ll be right there,” Sarah said.

Braden closed the comms device, “You didn’t tell him about the staff?”

“I will when we get there,” Sarah said, bringing out the travel crystal.

Braden nodded and instructed to the guard to stay with the staff. He took Sarah’s hand, and she engaged the travel crystal. In a moment they emerged in the Free Nation’s Army encampment outside Rexel. Verona greeted them. He wore the green forest clothing that the Hythariam wore. Roselyn stood at his side with her hand upon his arm. It was clear that the two were in love. She was happy for them both, and at the same time she felt a tinge of jealousy at their happiness. Sarah clamped down on those thoughts immediately. If it weren’t for the efforts of Verona and Roselyn, she might not be standing here at all. Roselyn watched her with the keen golden Hythariam eyes that were almost feline but not quite human.

They exchanged greetings, and Verona led them through the camp.

“I’m glad we were able to help members of the Resistance escape the city, my Lady,” Verona said.

“We were able to get a lot of them out, but there are still people there who need our help,” Sarah said.

“The Khamearrian army has been attacking our allied nations. Reports are still coming in except we don’t know how they are able to attack so many places at once,” Verona said.

“They could be using the travel crystals,” Braden offered.

“We thought of that, but the reports speak of a large attack force, laying siege to castles and small cities. Seems like a tall order for a travel crystal, even with the Elitesmen,” Verona said and went into the numbers of the attacking forces being reported.

“You’re right, it’s too many for the travel crystals traditionally used by Elitesmen, but they certainly aren’t marching there otherwise they would have been seen. They must have found a way to augment the travel crystals to move larger attack forces,” Sarah said.

“That’s what we’re afraid of. We’ve been advising the nations allied with us to stay on alert, but we’re having trouble coming to any of their aid. So far they've hit places close to the Khamearrian border, and not everyone that was hit was allied with the FNA."

"My father is sending a message to the other kingdoms. That no one is beyond his reach. They could attack here at any moment," Sarah said, noting the heightened activity around them.

“What’s happening?” Roselyn asked.

A crowd was gathering a short distance from them, so they decided to head over. The crowd was gathered around one person, who stood taller than most of the men gathered around him.

Verona frowned, peering into the crowd. Then his mouth fell open, and he turned to Sarah, “My Lady...The Goddess has blessed us this day. Our wayward friend is back.”

The breath caught in Sarah’s throat, and she began running. Aaron stumbled along, looking as if he had walked a great distance. Some people came to his aid, but he waved them off. His clothes were in tatters, and he was covered from head to toe in bruises and dried blood, but she didn’t care. She ran to him and took him in a fierce embrace, and the crowd around them melted away. Sarah gazed into his honey-brown eyes with hints of gold on the edges, expecting to see the man she loved; instead she found a stranger looking back at her through Aaron’s eyes. A sudden coldness sucked the breath from her. The crowd around them cheered. Verona and the others came up behind them smiling.
 

Aaron leaned in to press his lips to hers, and she flinched back instinctively. A gnawing doubt rapidly spread through her core.
This is not my Aaron.
The people closest around looked at her in shock. Her breath quickened in her chest, and she studied Aaron uncertainly. The crowd around them knew what Aaron had sacrificed to save her, and here she was spurning the miracle of his return, but she couldn’t help it. This was not Aaron, and the certainty of it crawled along her skin.

Aaron didn’t seemed fazed that she had pulled away. He looked around at the others tiredly and fell to the ground, going unconscious. Verona and Braden carried him away. They pointedly didn’t look at her, and some others scowled in her direction before moving on.

Sarah stood rooted in place, unable to move or shake off the feeling that something was terribly wrong. A gentle hand touched her arm, and Roselyn’s eyes drew up in concern.

“What is it, Sarah?”

Sarah’s eyes darted around, and her breath came in short gasps. “It’s not him, Roselyn. I know this must sound crazy, but when I looked into his eyes I swear the man we knew wasn’t there.”

Roselyn narrowed her gaze inquisitively, “Are you sure? Look at him. He’s been through quite an ordeal.”

Sarah grasped Roselyn’s arms, “It’s not him. You have to believe me. He saved me in Shandara using his own life force to keep me from dying. Since then we’ve shared a connection, and now it’s gone.”

“It’s all right,” Roselyn said soothingly. “I will examine him, and we’ll be able to see if he is, in fact, Aaron Jace.”

“Do whatever you like, but I would know my love if I saw him.”

Some of the men passing by glanced in their direction, and Roselyn stepped closer to her. “I have a sample of his blood at Hathenwood. I will get another one from him and compare, but you need to calm down. If you start flinging accusations you may find that there are some here who would harm you.”

Sarah clenched her teeth, the muscles in her body becoming rigid. “You know something.” It wasn’t a question, and the look in Roselyn’s golden eyes confirmed it.

“Nothing you don't already know. You’re daughter of the High King. There are some who think you are just a spy. Others believe you to be a perfect bargaining piece to negotiate terms with him. And still others say that you manipulated Aaron into sacrificing himself for you.”

Sarah had to fight to keep her mouth from gaping open, but deep down she knew what Roselyn said was true. She had been too preoccupied with trying to find a way to rescue Aaron and help the Resistance to pay the naysayers much mind. If she openly voiced her doubts about Aaron, then they would use it against her.

“I’ve been blind,” Sarah said.

“No you’ve been working to find a way to help Aaron. We all have. People will talk and have opinions regardless. I want to help you. If that man isn’t Aaron then he is not here for our own good, and we need to remove that threat, but what if it is Aaron?” Roselyn asked.

“It’s not.”

“What if something was done to him that changed him to his very core? Like what was done to you?”

Sarah opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out. Roselyn had a point.

“He’s been gone for months. Who knows what’s been done to him in that time,” Roselyn said.