Heir of Pendel (A Pandoran Novel, #4) (53 page)

Its middle was smashed and soaked in blood, as though the gargon had been clutching it in its jaws before it died, but at some point this man's helmet had fallen off, and I was staring down into Sir Torren's face.

His eyes were glassy and dead, staring straight up at nothing, and blood caked the corners of his mouth. I covered my mouth and looked away as my chest wracked with dry heaves. Sir Torren had come, just as he said he would. He'd come and brought his men because I'd asked him to, and now they were dead. They hadn't even made it through Campagna.

They would never reach Valdon, just as they would never return to Karth, back to their loved ones—their families. Families who had showered me with gifts and love after saving their city from the kytharii, and for what? So that I could persuade their men to march into a massacre? I slumped to the ground, trying to get a hold of myself. Trying to slow my panicked breath and calm my frantic heart. How could Gaia let this happen? Had she known, when I'd had that vision? The responsibility of this fell on my shoulders with the weight of a world, and I suddenly didn't have it in me to fight anymore. It wasn't worth this. Nothing was worth this.

And if you don't fight for them, then they will have died in vain
, Nexus said.

I squeezed my eyes shut and a tear leaked out. "I won't sacrifice anyone else."

Sacrifice is a part of war, child, and many more will be sacrificed before it's done. It's best you accept that now.

I couldn't accept this. How could anyone accept this? So often I'd read and studied war, and I knew it was terrible, but it didn't make me
feel
so much. I could never understand the nightmare it was, I could never appreciate the destruction. War was a monster with an unquenchable appetite for death. War took and it took and it never gave back, and I was tired of giving—so tired of sacrificing for a hunger that would never be sated.

You may loathe war all you want, but it will not stop men like your uncle from engaging it. Men like your uncle will consume until there is nothing left.

I hated my uncle. I hated everything he was and everything he'd done. How he could so callously destroy a world and its people, and all for what? Power? Why couldn't he just live his damned life and leave everyone else alone?

You may not ever know what propels men like your uncle, but they have existed since the dawn of time. And so long as people like your uncle exist, so will war. You can turn away from it or you can try to stop him.

I didn't want to just stop him. I wanted him dead. I wanted him to suffer for each and every future he'd stolen away from these men. I wanted him to suffer for all the suffering he'd caused their families.

So you will try to stop him, then.

I exhaled through tight lips and opened my eyes.

Don't even think it. I won't fly you there alone.

I scowled. "So now you can hear my thoughts
before
I think them?"

Nexus snorted and hot air singed my face. I blinked rapidly then coughed.

Right now, you have an advantage. Eris does not know where you are, nor whom you're with, and you have time to formulate a plan. Do not throw that away because you're a slave to your impulses. Impulse will help no one, and will probably get you killed.

The way he said it made me think he knew impulsiveness was my style.

Nexus ruffled his wings.
We need to get back. Lord Vega has a scouting party nearby.

"How do you know?"

I can smell them.

I glanced around. I didn't see anyone coming, and I didn't feel anyone, either. All I felt was cold. Still, I didn't see why we needed to leave right away. I didn't think a scouting party would stand much of a chance against a dragon.

But then Eris would know who you're with, and he would prepare to face us. It's better he not know. Not yet.

Nexus shifted, agitated and ready to get moving. I pushed myself to a stand and started back toward Nexus, but then I hesitated. "Give me a second…" I said, and I walked back to Sir Torren.

Nexus grumbled behind me.

I crouched beside Sir Torren and pushed his lids closed. He looked almost peaceful now—almost, as if he were sleeping. "I'm…sorry…" My voice cracked and another tear spilled over my cheek. "Thank you. For coming. For keeping your promise. And I will keep mine." I glanced down at the sword still in his hands, and with sudden impulse, I wrenched his fingers open and took it, then looked back at his face. "I'll take good care of this for you, and…I'll never forget all you've done. I swear it." I leaned over and kissed his forehead, then wiped my nose and climbed to my feet.

Nexus watched me. And when I got close enough, he tipped his wing for me to climb.

Our flight back to the vale was quiet, and my mind swam with guilt and despair. An entire army, gone, and from the looks of things, Lord Vega's casualties had been nominal. Now I knew I had more to worry about than just the shadowguard. Eris also had Lord Vega under his command, as well as pykans and gargons. It would only be a matter of time before Lord Pontefract joined the fold, if he hadn't already. What chance did we have? How could Gaia give me such a vague vision when she'd known full well what was already happening in this world? I was angry that I hadn't known, and I was angry at Gaia for not telling me—for not stepping in to help—and I was furious by the time Nexus landed, talons crunching upon loose gravel. But I forgot my fury when Nexus crouched on all fours, teeth bared and snarling. He wasn't snarling at me. His eyes were fastened ahead of us…on Myez.

Myez stood frozen to the spot, face slack with terror.

Nexus was still snarling.

"Waitwaitwait." I slid from Nexus's neck and jumped between them, hands splayed toward Nexus. "He's with me."

The snarling grew louder, rumbling through my body like thunder, and Myez stood, petrified.

You didn't say
he
was the human you were with.

"And when did I have a moment?"

You should've left him to die.
Nexus stepped to the side, snaking his head around me to get closer to Myez. Myez dropped the spear he was holding.

This is the man who captured and tortured Viridux.

Viridux? "What in the world are you talking about?" I asked.

Nexus snarled, gnashing his teeth.

You saw him, did you not? When you were in the underground city?

Underground city…? Oh! Thieves. There had been a dragon there who'd helped us escape with the aid of a little fairy creature. The dragon must've been this Viridux that Nexus referred to. Nexus's eyes narrowed, and he was still snarling.

"Myez, he's angry about the dragon you were keeping in Thieves."

Myez swallowed, wide eyes fastened on the wall of teeth. "I am sorry." Myez's words trembled, and in that moment he looked and sounded like he'd apologize for just about anything, guilty or not. "Tell him…tell him I only kept the dragon by order of Eris, but I…I made a mistake and I'm sorry—" Nexus moved his jaws closer to Myez, and Myez stopped talking.

And it is a mistake you will never make again.

Nexus reared his head back like a snake about to strike. I suddenly felt very strongly about Myez's safety, and I was not about to let him get eaten by a dragon. "Stop!" I screamed, jumping in front of Myez.

Nexus growled, slit-like pupils fastened on me.

My heart pounded. I'd been afraid of Nexus when I'd first met him, but even then he hadn't looked at me with this kind of fury. And I was afraid.

Move aside. This man is a traitor.

"
Was
," I said, growing frantic. "Please. He's with me, now. If it weren't for him, I'd be in Eris's hands by now. Probably dead. I swear on my life."

The rumbling stopped, and the silence that followed seemed even louder than the rumbling. Nexus regarded Myez with something like disdain, but he no longer looked as if he was about to eat him. At least not all of him. My chest rose and fell with quick breaths. Myez still hadn't moved from his spot, and a bead of sweat rolled down his temple. Finally, Nexus pulled his head away from us, and I sagged with relief.

If I see even a hint of treachery, I
will
eat him.

"Okay. Fair enough," I said.

Myez's gaze darted between Nexus and me. "Ah, what's fair?" he asked quietly.

"If Nexus thinks you're going to betray us, he'll eat you."

"Nexus." Myez swallowed, eyes resting on the dragon who was licking his talons. "Right. Okay."

Nexus followed us back to our cave. Myez kept glancing over his shoulder, half terrified, half in complete awe. I explained everything to Myez—how I'd come across Nexus and what Nexus had shown me.

Myez's eyes filled with sadness as he looked over Sir Torren's sword. "Lord Vega never liked your grandfather much, but I didn't think…" A breath. "I suppose we know which side he's chosen now."

"But what does he think he'll achieve through Eris?" I snapped. "My uncle doesn't exactly share power, if you've noticed."

"I'm sure he's made Lord Vega many promises, and Lord Vega has always been a greedy man. No doubt he'll swear anything in order to gain favor in Eris's new world."

Right. He'd even sworn away his niece, Isla. "At this rate, he's not going to have a world."

He does not just want this world. He wants Earth.

I glanced at the entrance to our cave, but all I could see of Nexus was a large claw. I couldn't tell if he was protecting us, or imprisoning us. Maybe both.

"What does he want with Earth?" I asked.

Remember: Earth and Gaia were one, once. Gaia split off from Earth, and in the process, she banished Mortis.

My mind started working through everything I'd been told about Earth and Gaia's history, and how their split had resulted in physical manifestations of light and dark magic, in the forms of both Gaia and Mortis. "Gaia banished Mortis to the shadow world, correct?"

Correct
.

"And where is this shadow world, exactly?"

The shadow world is like another dimension, similar to how Gaia exists separate from Earth, though there's no portal linking his dimension to ours, or Earth, for that matter.

"But if there's no portal linking his dimension to ours, then how do pykans bring shadow creatures through? And Lord Cethin…my uncle was able to bring him back. How is that possible?"

Nexus adjusted his crouch with a quick, irritated grumble.

Mortis is still tied to Gaia. There are vestiges of his dimension that bleed into Gaia.
He said this as if I should've inferred it already.
Those who practice dark magic find ways to access those threads, but only those powerful enough can actually draw creatures through the veil. There was a resurgence of shadow creatures during the Great War, and that is when the northern wall was built. The creatures that had been brought through by the dark wizards of the time were banished there, which is where they've remained. Until recently.

I let this soak in. Myez looked as if he wanted to ask a question, but I held up a finger to hold him off. I was still trying to piece Nexus's words together.

"But no one's succeeded in actually drawing Mortis through, have they?"

Nexus snorted from deep in his throat.
Obviously
.

My thoughts spiraled, and everything started making sense. Very perfect, very bad sense. "The unity shield is the only thing that could give someone enough power to do that, isn't it? Eris isn't just planning on harnessing the power of the shield to break down the portal system. He's going to use it to free Mortis."

A beat.
I would be embarrassed if it took me this long to figure that out.

My thoughts continued whirling. If the shield could give him enough power to free Mortis, then why didn't my uncle just focus on getting the stone? Why was he so focused on destroying all his adversaries here first?

I imagine it is because he'd rather not meet resistance once on Earth. Magic is different there. Weaker. More difficult. Of course, that will change gradually if he succeeds in tearing down the veil and bringing Mortis to the other side.

Right. Magic still existed on Earth—I already knew that, thanks to the Del Contes, when they'd used their amulet to travel from their home in Yosemite to my home in Fresno. They'd emphasized how difficult it was to actually use magic on Earth, but it wasn't impossible. Gaia may have split herself off from Earth long before any of us were aware, but magical traces of her still remained, like the portals, for instance. But the people of Earth didn't know anything about magic.

"And if Eris succeeds here, in destroying all Gaians who could actually use magic to help fight alongside the people of Earth, the people of Earth would be defenseless. They have
no
knowledge of magic. It doesn't matter if Eris only has a little bit of dark magic on his side. A little bit of magic, plus Mortis, would overwhelm the people of Earth. Eris would easily take over both worlds."

Nexus was quiet.

I stood up and started pacing in our little cave, rubbing my temples. This was bad. This was very, very bad. And here I thought Eris taking over Gaia was bad enough, but Gaia had never been his end game.

"Why in the world didn't the Dalorens just destroy the shield when it was in their possession?" I asked.

The shield can't be destroyed. Destroying it would also destroy this world, since the shield represents a physical embodiment of Gaia's power.

"Ah, I do remember that," I said. It was something to do with the elementals being tied to that shield, and destroying the elementals would be tearing the very fabric of this world apart.

"I'll admit," Myez said. "Hearing only one side of a conversation is extremely frustrating, but I think I understand the gist of what you're saying. Doesn't Lord Pontefract still have the unity stone?"

"He did when I left Orindor," I said, "but I doubt he'll have it much longer. My uncle's been mostly focused on taking over this world and gathering followers, but it looks like he's just about done with that. He'll be wanting that stone soon, I imagine, if he doesn't have it already."