Spring Frost (14 page)

          “Logan was there?”

          “Yes – only those with fey blood could see the book, but you two weren’t supposed to see the book until you were ready. So my uncle had me cross over the Crystal River in order to cast a spell – to make you forget. You and Logan both. The book was called the Book of Faeyore. And when my uncle told me…it all started to make sense!”

          “The Book of Faeyore?” I looked up in confusion. “I’ve never heard of it.”

          “It’s the biggest discovery yet,” said Alistair. “It means there’s another way for us to defeat the Sorceress. You don’t have to go into the Sorceress’ book as I did, and risk the poison getting worse. You have your own book of magic.”

          “Faeyore?”

          “Yes,” said Alistair. “It belongs to you. It’s the book owned by the very first Queen of Feyland, passed down from generation to generation. It’s filled with ancient prophecies – and my uncle told me that one of the prophecies was about you. A girl from the mortal world destined to become the Queen of Fey. And the book says something else, too. Something I didn’t understand until now. That the first Queen of Feyland wasn’t entirely Fey either. She was something else – born of a more ancient magic. Like her sisters – the Sorceress and the Enchantress. And it was prophesied that one day she would return in the body of another of her line…”

          “Alistair, we have to find Rose. What does all this mean? We can’t waste time sitting here talking when Rose is in trouble!”

          “It means, Breena, that you could be this third sister. The ancient power of the Sorceress could run in your veins too. It means, you have the power to fight off Clariss…”

          “But how? Even if I did…how could I tap into that kind of magic?”

          “That’s why the book appeared to you even in your human form, Breena. The Book of Faeyore chose you to appear to – yet when you were only living as a human my uncle thought that the knowledge would be too dangerous for one so young. But now you’re ready to return to the book. And just as the Sorceress’ book appeared to me – so too can the book appear to you. And you can use it to learn the secrets of your magic. And to fight off that poison in you once and for all.”

          “But where is it?” I was more confused than ever. “How do I find it?”

          “That’s the thing,” said Alistair. “You don’t find it. It finds you.”

          “Where do I start looking?”

          “Where do you normally look for books?”

          “On a bookshelf.”

          “Exactly. The Book can hide among many others – just look for it, and you will find it.”

          “So if I just go to the library and look on a shelf…?”

          “Like I said. The book finds you.”

          “Fine…” I was wary, but I followed Alistair to the library. But to my surprise I found that we were not alone. Logan was already there – an enormous burgundy book in his hands.

          “Logan?” I strode over to him. “What are you doing here?”

          “This book…” Logan looked down at what he was carrying. “I’m…not sure, actually. It was like something called me here. I don’t remember. I just saw this book and felt like I had to…”

          “The Book of Faeyore!” Alistair went over to him. “I recognized the markings.” He and I exchanged  a glance. “But I don’t understand. You’re a non-magical Fey – how can you even touch the book – let alone find it.”

          Logan opened the book. The pages turned – by magic, it seemed – and opened about midway through.

          “The Wolfstone,” Logan read alone. “is connected to the magic of the Ancient Three: the White Magic, the Black Magic, and the Magic of Many Colors, which is the most ancient and powerful of all. It awaits the cooperation of all three kinds of magic before it can restore magic to others. He who holds the Wolfstone is its keeper, and responsible for the three powers and their magic. He must ensure that the White Magic remains good. He must also restore the goodness of the Black Magic, which was once as pure as the White Magic until evil polluted it. He is the bond between the Three – and they will all feel drawn to him….”

          “But what’s the Wolfstone?” I turned to Logan. “I’ve never heard of such a thing!”

          “I have,” said Logan. “Back when I was Delano’s prisoner. I started having these nightmares – these visions. And in one vision an ancient Queen came to me – and I dreamed she gave me this stone…only…when I woke up, it was still there!” He pulled the stone from his pocket. It glittered blood-red.

          “Then – you’re the Keeper of the Wolfstone?” We looked at each other and Logan’s eyes grew wide.

          “This is what my grandfather meant,” Logan said. “When he told me I was destined to have a bond with a Fey woman. Only it’s not one woman at all…it’s three!”

          I caught Logan’s eye and blushed, watching as his cheeks too turned crimson red. If what the book said was true, then perhaps the bond I felt with Logan…could it be? I had always assumed that our bond came out of our friendship, out of the time we had spent together in the mortal world, out of the fact that Logan was the only one who understood, like I did, what it was to be caught between two worlds, the Fey and the human. But now I read that our bond was stronger than that; it was fated – it was destined. It reached back through time to the very founding days of magic.

          “The bond between the Many-Colored Magic and the Keeper will be one of the most powerful forces in the world,” Alistair read out loud. “It sustains Feyland itself. Thus the Keeper of the Books has a responsibility not just to one of the Sisters but to all three. His magic counterbalances the warring magic between the three Sisters; only he can help to achieve balance between the three. He will have no magic himself, but will serve as a vessel of magic for others. His love and loyalty will be the only things that can save Feyland.”

          I turned bright red. What did this prophecy even mean? I always thought that Kian was my destiny, that he and I shared some magical bond so powerful that nothing could break it. I always thought that while my feelings for Logan came from the mortal side of myself, magic determined that my feelings for Kian would always be stronger, rooted in the inviolable destiny of magic. But now I wasn’t so sure. Was the book telling me that Logan and I were connected in some ancient and magical way that went beyond even my connection with Kian? Certainly, Logan seemed to think so. He was looking at me with shining eyes; I could see something like hope in his gaze. Was he wondering what I was wondering?

          I shuddered. I hoped not. I had hurt Logan enough for twenty lifetimes; what he needed now was peace, not more heartbreak. Not more despair. I couldn’t risk letting Logan get close to me again, only to tear his hope away once more. No, I had made my decision, I told myself. I loved Kian. I had chosen Kian. This bond…whatever it was…would have to be ignored for the present.

          And yet how could I ignore it?

          All I knew was that whenever Logan came near me or wrapped his arms around me, I felt an incredible pulsing warmth coursing through my veins, keeping me from Freezing, keeping me safe. When the cold icicles of Winter made my veins turn blue and my skin turn chalky white, it was Logan who brought me back from my pain, who turned me back to normal. He had always been that person to me – the one who brought me back from the brink, who rescued me from my own pain, who reminded me of the girl I used to be and the girl I really was.

          But he had been that to Rose and Clariss too. Rose was so shy, so often insecure, yet it was Logan’s jovial charm that was capable of bringing her outside herself, of bringing out the confidence and color in her cheeks. Logan had a special bond with Rose – I had already noticed that – whether or not the real Rose tried to kiss him. And Clariss…

          After all, Clariss had only started really hating me once she thought that Logan was in love with me. What was it about Logan that had driven Clariss to such murderous rage? Was it love? Was Clariss even capable of love?

          No, I couldn’t ignore the bond that Logan and I shared. But I’d have to be careful. “So wait a second,” I said. “If Logan has a bond with all of the Sisters, then doesn’t he have one with Rose, too?”

          “That would make sense,” said Alistair.

          “Then can’t Logan use that bond, that energy, to get Rose back?”

          “I don’t know if I can,” said Logan. “I don’t even know where she is!”

          “But surely you can feel it?” I said. “If you try. It’s like me and Kian – magical bonds give you the power of telepathy.”  

          “But you and I don’t have that,” Logan said sadly. “So why would I have it with Rose?”

          “I don’t know,” I admitted. “But we have to at least try…”

          “Before we start looking for Rose,” Alistair said. “You should take some of the potion I’ve made, Breena. It’s a stronger version of the one my uncle gave you – it should heal you for longer.”

           I shook my head. “As long as I’m sick, there’s a part of Clariss in me. Right now we can’t afford to lose that part. At least, not before we find Rose. I need to keep up this contact with Clariss…”   

          I looked up at Logan and Alistair. “Because right now I have an idea.”

Chapter 16

          “
B
reena, what are you doing?” Alistair looked at me with trepidation.  But before he could protest I had already seized the Dark Sorceress’ book from his hands.

          “What are you doing?” cried Alistair.

          “Don’t you know how dangerous that is?” Logan cautioned. But I didn’t listen to them. I had a plan all my own. If Clariss’  darkness connected us – then the more poison I ingested, the closer I’d be to Clariss. The closer I’d be to finding Rose.

          As soon as I touched the pages I felt the familiar poison coursing through me, darkness entering my body. Black shadows seemed to rise like inky spindles from the letters of the page; they entered my veins and snaked up and down my body, rivulets of black that filled my body. The pain was agonizing; I didn’t care. I was going to find Clariss. I was going to end it, once and for all. I gritted my teeth, feeling the darkness wash over me like a tidal wave.

          “Breena, don’t!” Logan rushed forth, pushing the book out of my hands. I looked up at him in surprise. He was holding the book, but nothing seemed to be happening to him…the book had no effect on him whatsoever.

          “No, I have to!” I ran towards Logan, grabbing the book.

          “Breena, please!”

          But it was too late. The dust from the books was thick in my nostrils and I could feel the book calling to me, inviting me, beckoning me in…

          I was inside the Book.

          All around me was shadows. Everything was darkness. Black and grey, white and dark. This wasn’t a physical place at all – but rather a magical construction. A palace of shadow and evil. I was floating through it, my wings fanning out behind me. I felt lighter than air, buoyed up and carried through this mysterious place. The ground beneath my feet was not solid, but rather it swirled in smoky whirlpools. Instinctively I knew where I was. This was the depths of Feyland, the recesses of pure evil. The core of Feyland, where the Dark Hordes had once hatched. Where evil begins.

          I caught sight of a wan, pale figure in the distance. It was Clariss, clad in a raggedy black lace dress that looked like nothing so much as a spider’s web. Her face was pallid – no longer beautiful. There was no kindness behind her harsh, limpid eyes.