Forged in Fire (The Forged Chronicles Book 3) (10 page)

“You do.”

“Ok.” I sat down on the blanket. I wasn’t sure if I could handle any more bad news while standing. “Tell me.”

He sat down on the other side of the blanket. “First, tell me what you know about it. I find it difficult to believe that James told you nothing.”

“He had no clue what it was either. I mean he recognized it, but he didn’t understand the significance.” He’d been telling me the truth. I refused to believe anything different. Despite everything that had happened, he had been honest with me about some things.

“Was this before or after he asked his father for help?” Elron pulled the satchel close to his side.

“Before. The mark showed up after the first time.” I looked down. “Remember no judgment.”

“Understood.”

“After the first time we had sex.”

“I see.” Elron nodded.

“And then there was this whole poison thing.” This part of the story was really difficult to tell. It wasn’t something I had any interest in dwelling on.

“Poison thing? I do not understand how poison could ever be an aside.”

“When I don’t have him I get sick.” I looked down at my lap. The whole situation was embarrassing. I’d never imagined I’d been discussing my sex life with an Elf.

“Have him?”

I felt blood rushing to my face. “Sex.”

“Oh.” He fidgeted. “Then are you ill now?”

“I don’t feel amazing, but he seemed to think we could be apart for a while now. We uh, stored up.” Oh my god. This was beyond embarrassing.

“He knew you were leaving? I am still trying to follow.”

I forced myself to look at Elron. “He told me to get to Belgard to get Charlotte’s help. The darkness was taking over, and he was going to do something horrible for his father.”

“And the horrible thing had to do with a new gate?”

“Yes.” I watched him warily. “How do you know?”

“I am a watcher.” He tapped his temple. “Remember?”

“Yes. I do.” And I wondered how much else he knew but hadn’t told me. I was busy telling him my whole story, but I knew very little of his.

“I am surprised he let you go. If he truly has the Cipher in him then he must have far stronger willpower than anyone.”

“What do you mean?”

“That mark on your skin has significance.” He touched the spot on his own skin.

“Are you going to tell me what it means?” I wasn’t really sure if I was ready, but I needed to know. It was likely my life and survival was tied to it.

“It signifies you are a vessel. My guess is that is what the poison is.”

“Huh?” I tried to follow.

“You are a vessel. James may be the Cipher, but you have the dark power too. You are a weapon.”

I shivered. “A weapon? Like a suicide bomb or something?”

Elron closed his eyes for a few moments and then opened them. “Who are your parents?”

“We’ve been over this. I don’t know my dad, and my mom is from my world.”

“But you had visions of your dad… is that what you implied?”

I nodded. I hadn’t heard the voice again, and my thoughts on the matter hadn’t changed.

“Then have another.”

“Uh, I can’t just have another vision. Besides, you didn’t answer my question.”

“Which question?” Elron leaned back on one hand.

“The one about the suicide bomb.”

“Not in the way you are thinking. You are not a sacrifice. We do not have time to play around. Get another vision.”

“I can’t do it. It doesn’t happen by will.” And it was never something I willingly wanted to experience. The visions were forced upon me.

“Then describe what he looked like.”

“I can’t,” I admitted. “It was just a voice. I guess it wasn’t really a vision, just a voice in my head.”

Elron sighed. “Then I will just have to follow my instinct.”

“And that is?”

“You are a daughter of Belgard.”

“Um, that’s what James said. I don’t understand what that means.” And I wasn’t sure I wanted to. The more I learned about my role in all this, the worse off I seemed to become.

“It means you are a Winthrop, or somehow that blood runs through your veins. That is the family the Essence always runs through, and I am sure that is why James picked you.”

I shook my head. “James didn’t pick me for anything. We hit it off, and he brought me here to protect me.”

“But he told you what you were.” Elron straightened. “He knew.”

“He only knew after he got his dad’s power.”

“Ok.” Elron let out a deep breath. “I need to make sure we are on the same page. Do you understand what any of this means?”

I went with honesty. “Kind of.”

“You have royal blood. You are related to the Essence, and there are only a few ways that could have happened.”

And then everything clicked. “The uncle. The one who played basketball.” He had been in Chapel Hill. Technically it was possible. A stretch, but everything in my life was crazy.

Elron’s brow furrowed. “I have no idea what basketball is, but the Essence does have two uncles. One ran with her to the lost world.”

“Yes.” I thought about what Charlotte said. The closed door in the castle and the sadness on her face when she talked about him. “But he’s dead. Charlotte said that uncle died.”

“Blake killed him.” Elron’s face lit up.

“Why are you happy about that? Whether he’s my dad or not he was someone. Death is never a good thing.”

“I was not there, but we need to talk to someone who was. We need to know more about how he died.”

“Why? And what does this have to do with the vessel thing?”

“It does not directly relate, but it is important.”

My head spun. “You asked me before about us being on the same page. We are not on the same page.”

“We have a choice to make.”

“Ok.” Choices could be good or bad things.

“Either we go to Belgard as you requested, or we take a detour to find out more about that mark.” He pulled out several containers from his satchel and spread them out on the blanket.

“What kind of detour?” I couldn’t believe he was still thinking about food after our conversation.

“A detour to my land.”

“And how would that help?” Not that I had anything against the land of Elves, or whatever the real name of it was, but we had no time to waste.

“You were marked for a reason. It means the Cipher had plans for you. But you have royal blood. That changes things. We may be able to fight the poison.”

“Wouldn’t Blake have known that? You said he chose me for a reason?” The possibility of ending the poison connection both excited and worried me. I wanted to feel strong on my own again, but was it worth slowing us down?

“It would not be strong enough alone, but with magic anything is possible.”

“Magic?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Elven magic.”

“Oh.” I thought over his words. “But we don’t have time for a detour.”

“We do. It is the right decision.” He nodded.

“You said we had a choice to make. I need to listen to James and go to Belgard.”

“Look at me, Ainsley,” Elron demanded.

I listened and met his gaze.

“Do you believe in your heart James had no knowledge of the significance of the mark when it first appeared?”

I nodded.

“Then you have to disregard his directions. That mark changes everything, and it means those in Belgard may not be so welcoming. We need answers.”

“Charlotte saw the mark.”

“And what did she do?” He started to fix himself a sandwich similar to the one the night before.

“She worried about it.”

“Why did she refuse to help James?” He took a bite of his sandwich.

I had no appetite, but who was I to stop Elron from eating? “He said something about her not trusting him and thinking she could do this on her own.”

“The detour will be quick. We will hardly lose any time, and afterward I will take you to Belgard.”

“What happened to them not being welcoming?”

“They will have to welcome you once I can prove your Winthrop blood.”

“And going to your land is going to help us with that?”

“Yes.” He nodded.

“How?” I helped myself to a piece of fruit, more because it seemed natural than anything else.

He set aside his food. “I am not your typical Elf, Ainsley.”

“You are a watcher.”

He nodded. “Yes.”

“And I’m guessing there is more?”

“I can also step into the realm of the dead.”

“Wait.” I set aside the half eaten fruit. “We aren’t going there. Right? We aren’t going to where dead people are. I thought we were doing Elf magic.”

“We will do both.”

“I’m not sure I can handle this.” I closed my eyes and tried to calm down. That need was becoming more and more frequent now.

“The first part will be easy. I assure you my people will be very welcoming.”

“The Elves will welcome a girl with a Mendel mark?” I narrowed my eyes.

“Did you notice me recoil from you when I saw it?”

“No. You didn’t.” His demeanor had stayed the same, and he’d touched it.

“Exactly. We can tell when someone has an evil heart. You do not. Not at all.” He smiled.

“But I have darkness in me.”

“Yes, but not enough to change your heart. That is the key.” He held up a finger.

“This conversation is making me dizzy.”

“Then eat.” He shoved the containers toward me. “And more than fruit. You will need your strength.”

“I thought we were in a rush. Shouldn’t we go?”

He finished off his sandwich. “No matter how rushed we are, there is always time to eat.”

I started making my own sandwich. “You are a really strange man.”

“I am going to take that as a compliment.”

“
W
e need
to go after her.” Gregor brought Ainsley up for the third time that morning. I’d ignored him the previous times, but the tactic did not appear to be working.

“We have been over this. She is fine.”

“But we need her. I can feel it. Letting her go was a mistake.” He started to pace again. He did that almost as frequently as he pestered me with questions.

“It was necessary.” Although the reason behind my decision was becoming harder and harder to remember and understand.

“But we have no other weapon.”

“We have plenty of weapons. She is worth more than that.” She was worth so much. She was the only thing that seemed real beyond the darkness. Her face still appeared when I willed it to. I would see her again. I would have her again.

“It would not have hurt her. She would have survived.”

“I will say it again, she is worth more than any weapon. Any risk would have been too great.”

“You are weak.” Gregor sneered.

“No. I am strong.” Not strong enough to fight the darkness completely, but strong enough to protect her. She was my everything.

“I am going to find her.” He started toward the woods.

“You will not.” My words stopped him in his tracks.

“What are you going to do about it?” He taunted. “Kill me?”

“I cannot.”

“Why? It is not as if you care.”

“For the same reason you want me to do it.”

“So you do understand how it works.” He grinned. “Yet you came close to taking my life.”

“I was out of control.”

“And that means you were willing to risk it all?”

“No. I will stay in control, but that does not mean I will make your life enjoyable.”

He gritted his teeth. “Fine. I will see to the army.” He disappeared into the trees and left me worried. I hoped he was not going to do anything stupid.

My world had shifted and changed over and over in the past few weeks. I had believed happiness would finally be mine, and then I had it taken away. But I would get it back, and Ainsley and I would spend the rest of our lives together.

“The gate is ready.” A soldier’s voice carried into the clearing.

“Are you sure?” I had heard that news before, but each time the gate had failed to provide access to the lost world. Bridging the worlds was more difficult than my father had anticipated.

“We believe so.” The lack of confidence in the soldier’s voice was anything but reassuring. The first two times the messenger had been certain.

“You believe so?” I felt anger surging through my veins. “And that belief was enough to bother me with?’

“We believe so, sir.”

I stepped toward the soldier. “You believe so?”

“Yes.”

“Maybe you should stop believing and start doing.” It took every last ounce of strength I had to resist throttling the soldier. It was not me I reminded myself. I did not want the gate. I did not even understand why we were building it rather than taking over one of the others that already existed, but I saw it was necessary. I tried to remind myself over and over that all of this was for my father and not myself, but it was becoming increasingly harder to do. The darkness was spreading. I needed Ainsley. I hoped she would make it to Belgard soon.

“Sir!” A soldier ran out of the woods struggling to catch his breath, as if he had been running hard. These soldiers had been conditioned for endurance.

“What is it? I already heard the gate is supposedly ready.”

“This is not about the gate.” The soldier straightened up.

“Then what is it?”

“We found an intruder, sir. He claims to be a friend of yours, but he does not appear trustworthy.” The soldier made complete eye contact.

“What is his name?” I hoped it was not Talen. I was relying on him to help show Ainsley to Belgard. Talen’s people were good, but I did not know any of them as well as I knew him.

“He identified himself as Denny, but he will not tell us what he is. We are sure he is not human.”

Denny? The Dire Wolf? Had he made his way to Energo? I had all but forgotten about him. “Take me to him.”

“He is truly your friend?” The soldier questioned.

I was not wholly surprised by his reaction. Denny was an interesting character, and he certainly was not someone my father would have allied with.

“He is a friend.” Or he had been loosely one. I was doubtful he would be interested in remaining my friend if he sensed the darkness welling through me, but if I could hold it back I might convince him to help Ainsley. That was the only thing I could hope for.

“I will lead you to him.”

I followed the soldier through the thick forest. The sun all but disappeared as he walked deeper and deeper into the woods.

Through the near darkness I saw a figure being held by each arm by a soldier.

“I was beginning to think you were going to leave me hanging here.” Denny grinned as I approached. It was still dark where he was held, but Dires, like all shifters, had far superior vision to humans.

“Sorry for the delay.” I stopped a few inches from him. The soldiers watched me, awaiting my command to do something.

“It was no problem.” He glanced at the two soldiers holding him. “I’m going to walk away now.” The soldier’s tightened their grips on him. He easily shrugged them off.

The soldiers reached out for him, but I shook my head. “Do not waste your time.” I laughed. “Why did you pretend to be captured, if you were not?”

“Because I assumed they would send more reinforcements and I would be forced to fight. It was much easier to let them believe they’d taken me easily.”

I shook my head. “That is one way to handle things.”

The two soldiers who had moments ago been holding him exchanged confused glances.

“He is a wolf,” I explained so they would snap out of it and leave us alone.

“A Dire,” Denny corrected. “Not just a wolf. You might have actually been able to capture a wolf.”

“A Dire.” I nodded.

“What would you like us to do with him, sir?” They waited with their hands on the handle of their swords.

I chuckled that they actually thought they could do anything to him after his display of strength. Evidently the strengthening my father provided did nothing for intelligence. “You can leave us.”

“Are you sure?” One asked warily. “We can stay.”

“No need. He was speaking the truth when he called himself a friend. Return to your duty.”

“Aye, sir.” All three said before disappearing into the woods.

“You have a fan club now?” Denny raised an eyebrow.

“A fan club is probably the wrong word.”

“Who are those guys?” He pointed in the direction they had disappeared.

“Employees.”

He laughed. “Employees, eh? I wasn’t aware you were running a business now.”

“A family business of sorts.” Just not of the typical sort.

It was too dark to see his face, but the way he held himself changed, and I knew my words had sunk in. “What trouble are you in, James?”

“Do not waste time worrying about me.” I glanced into the darkness further in the woods and then back to Denny. “Worry about Ainsley.”

“Is she still in trouble?” He headed in the direction the soldiers had gone. “I had assumed you found her. Otherwise what are you doing here with employees?” He stopped before we reached the edge of the woods. There was enough light that I could see the deep furrows of worry on his forehead.

“I did find her, but I sent her off.”

“Sent her off?” His jaw dropped. “The girl you love? The one who will die without you?”

“I was afraid something worse would happen if she stayed.” And I was afraid of what I would do.

“What could be worse than death?”

“Death of many. Eternal guilt.” I left off the fact she would never forgive and I would truly lose her forever. That would not help my case.

“Where is she?” He looked out toward the clearing. “Where did you send her?”

“Hopefully she is near to Belgard by now. She needs to get there so she can get help from the Essence.”

“And are those terms supposed to mean much to me? You promised my friend Gina you would get her in to meet the Essence, but that doesn’t mean I know what the Essence is.”

“The Essence is the only one more powerful than the Cipher.” I thought about my words. “Or equally as powerful. Instead of controlling the dark and death as the Cipher can do, she controls the light and living.”

“I’m guessing I should leave the light and dark side out of this?” Denny laughed.

“I have no idea what you are referencing.”

“Nothing.” He bit back a smile. “Nothing at all.”

“She refused to help me when I most needed it.”

“And you think she will be kind to Ainsley? Being tied to the light and living means she’s a nice person?”

“She would never hurt Ainsley. Whether she’ll help her is another question altogether.”

“Is there a reason you couldn’t take her there yourself?”

“There are many reasons.”

“Reasons you might want to share?” He pulled out his flask.

I narrowed my eyes.

“It’s water.” He tipped it back and poured some into his mouth. “I promise.”

“Those types of habits do not change overnight.”

“I am drinking water.”

“Today maybe.”

“What I drink isn’t the issue here. Making sure Ainsley doesn’t die is. Or any of those other people for that matter. The whole eternal guilt thing.”

“Your concern is noted.” It was time for me to ask questions of my own. “How did you get here?”

“You mean after you ditched me in Alak?”

“You volunteered to stay as collateral.” Our time in Alak was a blur. I had only been concerned with one thing: saving Ainsley.

“We planned to return the dragons.”

He laughed. “Yeah well, lucky for me they took me at my word, and I was able to leave. I think I’ll stay clear of Zales from now on though. They may be pretty, but intense.”

“Very intense.”

“Would have been nice to have warned me.”

“You seemed perfectly capable of protecting yourself.”

“Like Ainsley.” Denny frowned. “Is she perfectly capable of defending herself right now?”

I felt anger welling through me. My vision tunneled.

“Chill.” Denny touched my shoulder. “That comment was uncalled for. Sorry. Let’s focus on the issues.”

I pushed the rage back. Denny could help. “Before we get to any issues, I need to know how you found me here.”

“Find is probably the wrong word. That implies it was accidental.” He smiled, and I wondered if he was making fun of my verbiage from earlier. He was a strange man. One minute he was angry and pointing fingers; the next he fell back into jokes.

I did not particularly care. “Then how did you come to be here?”

“Talen came back for me.” He put a hand to his chest.

“And he told you where to find me?” I was not surprised he knew I was at the tower. It was close to the gate. What did surprise me was that Talen chose not to come himself.

“He told me I needed to find you. He made it sound pretty darn important.”

“I need help.”

“Isn’t that why you have employees?” Denny rolled his eyes. “I am uninterested in helping you, but I’ll help Ainsley.”

“The two things work together.”

“What can I do?”

“First, accept this at face value and do not waste time asking questions. I was desperate to save Ainsley, and there was only one person who would help.”

“You already said the Essence wouldn’t.”

I braced myself before admitting my crime. “My father.”

“Shit.”

I nodded. “Pretty much.”

“So, what? You’re paying him back or something?”

“He gave me his power, and the darkness is taking over.”

Denny stepped away. “I would kill you if it weren’t for your connection to Ainsley.”

“You could not kill me.”

“Everyone can be killed.”

“Not easily.”

“What can I do? Where do I find Ainsley, and how can I break her connection to you?”

“I wish I had an answer to all of those questions.” And a way to stop the darkness. Despite the powerful darkness welling through me, I felt weak when it came to changing anything.

“Do you have an answer to any?” He took another swig from his flask.

“I know how you can help.”

“Care to fill me in?”

“The soldiers.” I still did not fully understand their strength. My father wanted them for more than their obedience. He had made them virtually indestructible, but they lacked brute strength.

“You mean your employees?” He shook his head.

“Yes.” I nodded. “You can keep them in line and watch over them.”

“I assume you can too.”

“Yes.” Easily, but that was not the issue.

“But you don’t want to.”

“This has nothing to do with want.”

“Your father.”

I nodded. “Yes.”

“Ok.” Denny paused as if mulling things over. Then he nodded. “What do you need me to do?”

“Prevent them from finishing the gate.”

“And you aren’t going to try to kill me?” He eyed me skeptically.

“No. I don’t need the gate.”

“Is this you or your father talking?”

“Both. I believe our problems can be solved within Energo.”

“Ok… I’d prefer if you didn’t bring them back to my world.”

“I figured you would agree.” I smiled. It was my first smile since Ainsley left, and it felt wrong.

“Ok, so how do I stop them from completing this gate?”

“I will leave that up to you.”

“Wait.” He froze.

“Yes?”

“You said not to worry about your problems and to focus on Ainsley. Shouldn’t I be getting her?”

“Do you know the way to Belgard?”

“Nope.” He shook his head. “Don’t even know where it is.”

“Exactly. You will be helping her if you slow them down with the gate.”

“What are you going to be doing?”

“Heading to Icentris. The answer to everything might be waiting there.”

“Is there a reason you didn’t do that before?”

“I could not leave my brother here unobserved.” Gregor was far more dangerous than I had counted on.

“So I am babysitting your brother too? I didn’t even know you had a brother.”