Wings of Nestor (2 page)

“Why?”

“Because I knew what it would do to you.”

“I deserved to know.”

Alcander sat up, looking at her through the moonlight. “You deserve to pick the man you love without guilt.”

Kiora’s eyes flickered over to meet his. They were open and vulnerable again. His white hair shone in the moonlight and his face looked softer, lit as it was by the flame.

It was not the cold, harsh Alcander who made the magic flow between them. It was the moments like these, when he was open and she could see into his heart. There was so much pain, and worry, and compassion. She flinched away from the depth of his gaze.

“Good night, Alcander,” Kiora whispered, rolling over.

“Good night.”

She closed her eyes, a small part of her hoping that sleep would be an escape from Alcander and Emane, the rest of her knowing it would only be a doorway to her dreams.

Layla stood across from her, looking horrified for a second before Dralazar’s magic tore through her.

The scene switched and Kiora was standing in blood. She pulled her hands in front of her face, turning them over in confusion as blood dripped down her arms. Morcant came into focus, whispering “Toopai” to her over and over again. She desperately tried to wipe his blood off her hands.

Then Nestor, the Creator, was there, in his throne room. Standing at a window, he looked over a valley. Another man was there whom she had never seen before. He was average-looking, with short, tawny hair and a well-trimmed beard. He stood a good six inches shorter than Nestor.

“Have you completed the task, Belen?”

“Nearly.”

Nestor gave him a warning look. “She is smart, Belen. She will learn what you are up to.”

“I deserve to be caught. Maybe she will kill me—I deserve that too.”

Nestor dropped his hand onto Belen’s shoulder. “Just make it right. That is all we can do now.”

The scene went black and then she stood in a small room the likes of which she had never seen. It looked somewhat like a blacksmith shop, but with strange books stacked everywhere. Odds and ends hung from rafters and pegs: dried herbs, bags of rocks, leather. Belen sat at a bench, chanting. His hands hovered over a silver metal cylinder. Under his chants, the piece began to move on the table.

Watching Belen work brought back memories of the magic Eleana had performed to make Emane’s armband. The silver Belen worked with folded in half and then began to twist around itself, cutting its length by half again but doubling its width. It then proceeded to curl into an elongated C, its tips turned up and out. No sooner had the metal stopped twisting than the door opened, revealing a woman in a resplendent red silk cloak that rippled as she walked. She pulled back the hood, her black hair spilling out over her shoulders.

“Hello, Belen. Are you finished yet?”

“Almost, my lady. The magic is not yet finished.” He held up the shape for her to see. “But I nearly have it.”

Jasmine let out gasp of ecstasy as she grabbed it from him. She pulled a book from the back of the table. Kiora recognized it—it was almost identical to the one she’d received from Eleana. Jasmine flipped the book open but the vision clouded over, black shadow pouring in on all sides. And then the familiar green eyes popped open, narrowing as if they saw her.

CHAPTER TWO

Found Again

KIORA MOANED AND TOSSED in her sleep. Alcander watched her, still as a stone. Then his magic began to drain and he jumped to his feet. “Drustan!”

Drustan snorted awake, pulling his head up sleepily. “What?”

“It’s coming,” he yelled. “Emane, come on.” Alcander leaped over to Kiora. Kneeling down beside her, he shook her. “Kiora. Kiora!”

Her eyes flew open.

“We have to go.” Alcander grabbed her hand to pull her up. “The Shadow is coming.”

The three ran, scrambling over rocks to climb onto an anxious Drustan. He looked to the right and the left, searching for any sign of the Shadow.

Kiora threw a bubble as her magic began running out of her like a spigot. Drustan launched himself into the air.

“Which way?” he yelled.

“Up,” Kiora answered. “Straight up. Get out of range.”

Drustan’s massive wings pumped, pushing them into the sky. Kiora looked down. The Shadow appeared at the base of the rocks. It was the size of a person, but immediately began growing in size. Heaving, it billowed outward and upward.

“Fly!” Kiora yelled.

Drustan was pushing his wings to their limit, but the Shadow was gaining on them.

“Hold on tight!” Drustan yelled back to them.

The three searched for handholds amongst the large scales, digging in their fingers and toes as Drustan adjusted his flight pattern. Now he went straight up. Kiora’s bubble flickered and was gone as the last bit of magic drained from her.

A scream of excitement came from below and the Shadow ceased to grow outwards. Instead, it focused all of its energy on following them straight up. For the second time in twelve hours, Kiora was hanging on to the back of a dragon for dear life, completely void of magic. She couldn’t ignore the irony. Less than two months ago, she didn’t know she had magic. Now the lack of it made her feel naked and vulnerable in a way she couldn’t have imagined.

The Shadow was growing rapidly, although she did notice that its speed diminished when going up instead of out. But it still gained on them. Emane hung above her, nervous sweat pouring down his face. Alcander was below, looking less strained with the physical exertion and more concerned about the growing mass billowing beneath them.

“Any ideas?” Alcander yelled up to her.

“We should be out of range soon!” Kiora prayed that it was true. There were no brilliant ideas this time. If Niall’s story turned out to be false, she had nothing else.

The black Shadow sent a tendril whipping up, barely missing Drustan’s tail. A few more flaps of Drustan’s wings and Kiora could feel magic. “It’s working,” she shouted as the Shadow stuttered and dropped farther behind.

Drustan grunted, pushing them higher. The air was thinning, and between the exertion and the altitude, he was gasping for breath.

“Just a little more,” Kiora encouraged him, glancing back down at the Shadow.

It had stopped, rippling against an invisible barrier. Niall was right—it could only go so high. Kiora threw up a bubble. Another scream issued from the Shadow, one of blood-boiling anger. Drustan leveled out—not losing height, but allowing the three passengers to release their aching fingers.

The scream below them faded, replaced by a voice that echoed across the sky. “I will find you,” it seethed. “It is only a matter of time.”

Those words sent shards of ice through Kiora’s veins. In a moment of sickening clarity, she understood exactly how it kept finding them.

The Shadow folded in on itself and vanished.

“What now?” Drustan asked, flapping as little as he could to keep them in one place.

“We camp back where we were,” Kiora said.

***

DRUSTAN LOOKED DISTASTEFULLY AT the tiny stretch of rock. “I suppose I still need to sleep in this form.”

“Not if I don’t sleep.” Kiora sighed.

“What are you talking about?” Alcander asked, summoning dead branches from the wood below.

Kiora flopped onto a stone. “Each time we were found, it was after I had a dream about Jasmine.”

“I don’t see how that can possibly be related.” Alcander broke a branch over his knee.

“Each time I dream of Jasmine, something happens. The dream stops. It goes dark, and then I see two green eyes. They see me—but not in the dream. It’s like…” Kiora looked up, needing them to believe her. “Somehow, those eyes find me.”

Alcander still looked skeptical.

“You can’t
not
sleep,” Emane said.

Drustan rested his head on his claws. “It does explain how the Shadow found us.”

Kiora rubbed her temples. Her eyes were burning and her head was already pounding from lack of sleep. “That’s how they found the camp in the canyon,” she said, realizing it as she spoke. “I dreamed of Jasmine there, too.”

Alcander stood up, brushing his hands on his pants. “Emane is right—you can’t not sleep. And if what you are saying is true…” He paused, trying to reconcile it all. “If the Shadow is actually finding you in your dreams, we are safe nowhere.”

“There has to be something we can do.” Emane looked from Drustan to Alcander.

Kiora reached into the neck of her shirt, pulling out the blue pendant the Guardians had given her.

Drustan perked up. “Call them! Maybe Eleana can help.”

Kiora eyed the pendant. If this didn’t work, she had no idea where else to turn before she fell asleep involuntarily. And how many times could they meet the Shadow before their luck ran out?

She pulled herself to her feet. “I’ll be back.”

“I will go with you,” Alcander and Emane both said at the same time. Emane’s eyebrows furrowed as he looked over his shoulder at Alcander, who would not meet his gaze.

“No,” Kiora said gently. “I’d like to go by myself.” Giving them both a weak smile, she left the barrier in a bubble.

Making her way down the side of the rocks, she walked until she found a flat one that suited her purposes. Sitting down, she leaned back, wrapping her fist around the pendant. “Eleana,” she whispered. “I need you now.”

Eleana had said the farther away she was, the longer it would take for help to arrive. Kiora prayed it would be soon—her eyes already felt like they were full of sand.

CHAPTER THREE

Minds Collide

UNSURE HOW LONG IT would take, Kiora erected a small boundary around herself. She had grown so proficient at them as of late that it barely took any thought at all. She tried to sort through the events she saw in her dreams with Belen and Jasmine and the Creators, but it was useless. Her mind was covered in fog and nothing fit together.

Desperate to stay awake, she paced around the rock, trying to figure out what she was going to say to Emane. She snorted. She couldn’t even explain it to herself—how was she going to explain it to him?

A tiny ball of light appeared in front of her with no thread and no warning. Kiora scuttled backwards. The ball of light continued to grow rapidly until a shimmering image of Eleana stood in front of her.

“Eleana? Why can’t I feel your thread?”

“You were so far away, but you said you needed me now.” Her voice sounded muffled, like she was underwater. Her image flickered. “This was the best I could do.” She held out her arms apologetically.

Kiora explained her dreams and what happened each time the eyes appeared in them. “It’s like they can actually see me, like they’re looking for me.”

Eleana frowned.

“Is that even possible?” Kiora asked.

“Technically, yes. But the amount of magic it would take to perform something like that . . .”

“How much?”

“If you are correct in your assumption, the Shadow is scrying for you. In order to do that, everyone’s dreams would need to be monitored.”

“Everyone’s?” Kiora’s breath caught in her throat at the enormity of it.

“Yes. That would be quite a feat in Meros, but here…” Eleana gestured. “It is almost incomprehensible.”

Kiora swallowed, letting that sink in. “I don’t know what to do. I have to sleep.”

“We could block your visions.”

“No! We can’t. Whatever they are trying to tell me is important. But I need more time and information to figure this out. ”

Eleana sighed. “There was one other way, but …”

“What? Please. There has to be something.”

“We do not have what is required,” Eleana said simply.

“What?”

“There is a way to join your mind with another’s. When you dream, the person scrying for you will be led to the blank mind of the one you have joined with, and nothing else. But we need a willing participant.”

“Emane can—”

“No, Kiora,” Eleana said firmly. “You don’t understand. You need a mind that is closed, hard to penetrate. Human minds are the most open of any species I have encountered. He would do little to block magic as powerful as this. Drustan is a better choice, but still not acceptable. His strengths lie elsewhere.”

Kiora bit her lip, staring at the rock for a while before looking back to Eleana. “What about you?”

“You do not know the true magnitude of what you are asking, and yet, I would willingly do that for you, Kiora.” Eleana smiled sadly. “But it will take me a couple of days to get to you. Even with materializing, I cannot cover that great of a distance. I fear you will not be able to keep yourself awake that long.”

Kiora’s head dropped.

“Perhaps Lomay?”

Kiora shook her head. “There was an attack on the camp. Lomay took the people and left. I don’t know where he has hidden them.”

“He left you alone?” Eleana’s glowing shape flared as she stepped forward.

“We had to get Emane. Dralazar had taken him, and—” Kiora stopped at Eleana’s sharp intake of breath.

“Dralazar is here?”

Kiora swallowed, gripping the sides of her pants as she looked away from Eleana’s gaze. “He was. Dralazar is . . . is…dead.” She was met with silence and stumbled to fill it. “I—I—it was…” All she needed to add was one word: me. It was
me
. But she couldn’t. She looked to Eleana, hoping the answer was evident in her eyes.

Eleana bowed her head for a moment, clasping her hands in front of her. “It was always your destiny.”

“I am sorry,” Kiora choked out.

There was a tear on Eleana’s cheek. She couldn’t remember seeing Eleana cry before. It made it worse.

“I am the one who should be sorry. Maybe if I had been stronger, it wouldn’t have been your destiny.” She smiled weakly. “But no matter how bad, Dralazar was still my brother.”

Kiora understood that all too well. “Layla is dead too.”

“Did Dralazar . . . ”

“Yes. No.” She shook her head. “He gave me a choice: protect Emane or Layla. I chose Emane.”