Awakened (36 page)

Was the emotion softening his voice real or fake? “Gaming?”

“Video and computer games. She designed them for a company. Ever played Realm of Gorath? The Serpentine?”

“I don’t play video games.” But I planned to find them as soon as I got back home. If I ever got home.

“Those were hers. She was brilliant.” Again, sadness laced his voice.

“And you? Why were you there?” I asked.

“I enjoy a game or two now and then,” he said with a smile.

I started to ask him “Like what?” but then clammed up. I didn’t want to know anything about him. The tunnel slopped downward and narrowed. The temperature continued to drop. I shivered. As though tuned to my emotions, he offered me the coat. This time, I took it and murmured thanks. The fur coat reached to my ankles. I slipped my arms through the sleeves and buttoned it up. It fit me, as though tailor made for me.

“Before the conference was over, I’d fallen in love with her,” Valafar continued, drawing my attention. I realized he was discussing my mother. “Tatiana was brilliant, funny and full of life. She’d also been hurt and didn’t trust easily.”

Yeah, Grampa had told me about the Guardian who didn’t think Mom was good enough for him because Grandma was a gypsy. But I wasn’t buying Valafar’s story. Everything he said and did was suspect. If I hadn’t needed the distraction, I would’ve stopped asking him questions. “What was her favorite color, food, time of the day? How come she couldn’t tell you were a nature-bender?”

Once again, he answered all the other questions except the last one. I sifted through the information, my feet starting to hurt. It seemed like we’d been walking forever. “How far to go?”

“Almost there. Tatiana knew I was a demon from our first meeting,” Valafar added. “She didn’t know I was a nature-bender. We agreed to never discuss our pasts. When she became pregnant, I wanted to marry her. She wasn’t ready.” He became quiet and I thought he’d finished his story. “But she was excited about having you. She decorated your bedroom with colorful butterflies. Tatiana loved butterflies. After you were born, she became jittery. When Coronis’ security team paid us a visit, she must have heard our conversation and got scared.”

“Or she probably saw it. She was a powerful clairvoyant.”

He stopped, turned and smiled. The smile transformed his face and gave me a glimpse of the man my mother had loved. “Hmm, I never knew that. She must have seen Coronis’ raven-head guards, heard that I was a nature-bender and a duke in hierarchy. Coronis needed me back on the island as head of security. I would’ve kept two homes if that was what your mother wanted. She never gave me the chance to discuss it. I was away for a week. When I came back, she was gone. The rest you know.” He turned away.

I followed him, mulling over what he’d just told me. Could he be telling me the truth? According to Grampa, Mom was angry when she disappeared. Could she have befriended a demon to hurt Guardians? Or was I letting Valafar sucker me?

We entered another huge cave, the ceiling covered with stalactites shaped like shark teeth and tubular ones with skinny stalagmites under them. These weren’t regular limestone stalactites. They were lavacicles. Ragged lava pillars rose from the floor like buttresses and disappeared into the roof. A huge hole, probably a collapsed lava tube, took up a portion of the floor to our left. Beyond the hole, the cave curved and disappeared into nothingness.

Valafar pointed at the curve. “That leads to the chamber where the dagger is hidden.”

I nodded

“You must continue alone from here.”

Suspicion coursed through me. “Why?”

“None of our people has ever made it past the hole and come back.”

I didn’t like this new information one little bit. “Why not?”

“The dagger won’t let anyone get close. We’ve lost countless people in an attempt to retrieve it. All they see is a bright light, then they’re gone.”

“What makes you think it won’t hurt me?”

He dismissed my question with a sharp wave of his hand. “You ask senseless questions, Lilith. As the wielder, the dagger will not harm you. It will come to you and you will command it to do anything. Now go and get it.”

Apprehension slithered up my spine, my heart starting to beat hard. The area past the hole was murky. I hesitated.

“Remember your grandfather,” Valafar added in a hard voice.

Right, like I needed to be reminded Grampa and Bran were depending on me. I swallowed past the constriction in my throat. I shouldn’t fear darkness. I’ve seen light come out of darkness. I took a deep breath, let the glow within me expand.
I can do this. I must do this.
I removed the fur coat and pushed it in Valafar’s hand. I removed my hunter coat, and let it fall to the ground, then I started toward the hole.

My heart drummed an uneven staccato, my breathing shallow. What lay beyond that corner was unknown, and I’d never been more scared in my life, but this was one time I couldn’t afford to panic. Loose rocks and shadows made it next to impossible to tell what I was stepping on. I lost my footing and grabbed a stalagmite to break my fall. I glanced back at Valafar. “You could at least give me the energy balls to light the way.”

He shook his head. “They’ll fizzle before they get to the hole.”

Despite my dire situation, I smirked. That was one smart dagger. No wonder he wanted it. He might not have said so, but I knew he wanted the dagger for himself. The smile died on my lips as I contemplated the missing floor before me. It was wide, and a thrumming sound emanated from it. Fear clenched my gut. “What’s down there? Cerberus?”

Valafar glowered without answering, but he let the two energy balls follow me as far as they could go. I studied the area beyond the gaping floor. The glow from the orbs only illuminated the pillars closest to the hole. Beyond them was nothing but gloom. No, that wasn’t true. A bright light with a green tinge seeped from the shadows, but only illuminated the top of the pillars, the ones at the farthest end of the cave. The area in between was dark. My teleporting had better not fail me.

Aiming for one of the nearest pillar, I teleported and dug my fingers inside the crevice on the rough surface. Sharp edges dug into my palm and skin. I ignored the pain and looked down. I couldn’t see the bottom and didn’t want to take a chance and plunge into nowhere.
Think of it like rock climbing, without the harness. You’ve done it so many times with Grampa.
I lowered my feet to the broad base, moved around until I could teleport to the next pillar.

Heading toward the brilliant light, going on instinct, I moved from one pillar to another, my fingers, hands and arms smarting. Once, I almost lost my balance. Pebbles rolled from under my feet, and took forever to reach the bottom. I swallowed hard, imagining other collapsed lava tubes below me, waiting to swallow me up. I took extra care with each teleport, sweat dripping down my face, hands hurting from the bruises I was collecting from the sharp, rocky surfaces. I wanted to curse Valafar for all my troubles but I kept seeing Grampa and Bran’s faces. Unconscious. Helpless. Depending on me.

I worked my way past the stalagmites and pillars, the dazzling glow ahead calling to me, memories of my loved ones pushing me on. The light grew stronger and the thrumming louder. Or maybe it was just the blood rushing past my ears.

Once my eyes adjusted to the brightness, I realized the light shone from inside a chamber formed from a vertical lava tube. I could see the floor and the ground supporting the pillar I was hanging on to for dear life. I stepped down, staggered inside the chamber and collapsed on the ground.

Breathing heavy, I looked at my hands and winced. They were bleeding, and my arms were raw. I couldn’t take a moment to catch my breath. Bran and Grampa’s faces floated in my head. I needed to find the dagger and get out of there.

I shielded my eyes and tried to locate the source of the brilliant green light and the deafening sound. I squinted, looked up and I saw it, a bejeweled dagger so dazzling I had to avert my eyes. The glow came from the blade, the noise from its rapid twirl. The dagger spun so fast it looked like a disk.

Going on instinct, I raised my hand and pointed at it. “Stop.”

The blade slowed then came to a halt. It dangled in mid-air, held by a force I couldn’t fathom. An eerie silence filled the air now that the dagger stopped moving. The clear crystal and wavy blade rose from a gilded hilt decorated with colorful stones. Chiseled inscriptions were patterned in green along it, and a prominent jadeite teardrop sat in the middle of the guard. The pommel, also gold, had tiny decorations I couldn’t decipher from my position but the handle was black. The dagger was nothing like the replicas I saw at the dojo.

I opened my palm. “Come.”

It didn’t drop.

I focused harder. “Move.”

Again, it didn’t budge.

“Please?”

Nothing.

I tried again, and again, and again. My shoulders drooped in defeat and I covered my face. I came all this way for nothing.
What will happen to Bran and Grampa now?

I refused to give up. I closed my eyes and sought guidance from the light. The orbs appeared and coalesced, bathing me with their brilliance. A female voice as old as time itself resounded in my head, instructing me on what to say.

I raised my hand palm up and repeated the words. “By the Order of Xenia and Principalities, I command you to be champion of all that is good and true, protector of the innocent and the just. In return, I will be your guard and protector. And no man or woman, mortal or immortal shall command you unless I will it.”

The dagger floated down into my hand. I closed my palm around the hilt. A powerful jolt shot from the dagger’s hilt through me. I cried out at the pain. It grew in intesity. I dropped on my knees, tried to drop the dagger but my fingers couldn’t move. The pain reached fever-pitch. I curled up on the floor, eyes closed and silently begged the owner of the voice for oblivion. Then it stopped.

I opened my eyes and sat up. My fatigue disappeared. I felt energized. I noticed strange marking on my arms and hands. They looked like someone had written and drawn squiggles under my skin with black ink. As suddenly as they had appeared, they melted away. As the glow from the kris dagger dimmed, I realized the luminescence came from inscriptions on the blade.

Once again, I was cloaked in the darkness. But for the first time in my life, it didn’t bother me. I pushed the dagger in the sheath around my waist, turned and froze.

Valafar watched me from across the width of the cave, an energy ball floating beside him. “Give me the dagger, Lilith.”

22. THE BATTLE OF THE MAGES

“No!” I said. The blade started to vibrate.

Valafar’s eyes fastened on the dagger, his face contorting with a mix of fascination and fear. He waved a black sheath with inscriptions, metal fasteners and a strap. “The dagger must be placed in a special pouch with secure binding. Give it to me.”

I shook my head. “I can’t.”

“You can.” His voice was soft, suppliant.

“You told me it killed other Hermonites who tried to retrieve it. Even you couldn’t come this far until now. Or was that just another lie?” The vibrations were faster now.

“It wasn’t. Now that you have it, if you give it to me, it won’t harm me. That was the problem with Tariel. Coronis wanted the dagger, but he refused to give it to her. Instead he threw it down here, made it impossible for anyone to claim it. Coronis kept him alive for decades, hoping he’d relent. He didn’t. But she never gave up hope of one day possessing it. She swore that if she couldn’t breed the most powerful being on Earth, she’d find someone to wield that dagger. Right now, that person is you. To ensure your survival, I must have it. The dagger is the only thing that can kill Coronis.”

The female voice I’d heard before spoke to me again.
The dagger draws its powers from the heart of its wielder. Pure hearts lead to good deeds, dark hearts to mayhem.

Valafar was the Duke of Chaos. The thought of what he could do with this dagger left me cold. I shook my head. “No. The dagger stays with me. We had a deal
.
Grampa and Bran’s powers for me. Honor your word, or I’m teleporting out of here. Alone.”

He glowered, his voice becoming brittle. “You’re not ready to wield such a powerful weapon, Lilith. And you can’t teleport out of here without me. The island has an impenetrable force-field, unless you know how to avoid it. Give me the dagger. Once we finish off Coronis, we’ll head back to L.A. or the valley to help your grandfather and the Llyr boy.”

Liar.
Anger washed over me. I reached down and wrapped my hand around the hilt. The blade started to glow, green light filtering from the edge of the sheath. “Step aside or I’ll attack.”

A tall figure stepped out of the shadows and stood between me and Valafar. “No, allow me.”

My eyes popped. Was I hallucinating? “Grampa?”

“I’m here, baby.” He didn’t turn, but he extended a hand toward me.

I ran to his side, wrapped my arms around him. For a moment, he cradled me close, pressed his lips on my temple. As if the dagger knew I was safe, the light dimmed, and the blade went still. “You’re okay. How did you find us?”

“Gavyn. Take her,” he said to someone without shifting his gaze from Valafar.

The others came out of the gloom—Seth, Moira, Janelle and Hsia—weapons in their hands. Moira created
alpha
balls. They lit up the cave like a Christmas tree. Where were the trainees? Bran? Hsia put a protective arm around me and nudged me away from Grampa’s side.

Valafar’s eyes dragged from me to Grampa. “How did you recover so fast?”

“My granddaughter and her amazing capacity to love.” Grampa flashed a triumphant smile. “The entire time you were lying to her about who she is and her destiny, she stayed linked with me. While
you
drain powers,
she
replenishes. Ironic, isn’t it?”

I healed them? No wonder I felt woozy and fatigued just before Valafar teleported me to the cave. “Bran?” I whispered.