On Wings of Chaos (Revenant Wyrd Book 5) (10 page)

“We can try, Guardian,” was all he said.

“I intend to open the borders of the Shadow Realm and work with the other realms, but if we do this, you have to promise that none of my people will come under attack whenever they stray into your realm,” Joya said. There was a hardness to her voice, letting everyone in the room know that she meant business, and she wouldn’t be one of those Guardians that they could push around, as she felt they tried to do with Azra and Aladestra.

“We will certainly accept those terms, and we will work to correct any negative action against your people. But, as I said, humans are the minority here. Since most of the races lived together in relative peace before humans settled in the realms, it is unlikely any of the other races, save the trolls and chaos dwarves, would harm either of your people,” Sara said, this time looking at the ooslebed and the frement.

“Should we get word to our people, Guardian?” Shelara asked.

Joya nodded her head, and the cat-man and the dark elf left the office, the door hushing shut behind them.

“It amazes me how they treat you as if you are their ruler, when you hold no sway over any race but humans inside your border,” Annbell said. “I wish our races were more attentive like that.”

Joya didn’t know what to say, so she didn’t say anything.

“Thank you,” Sara said to Joya. She moved some things around on her desk, indicating that they were through with that discussion and moving on to other things. “Now, when the well was penetrated, the Realm of Earth showed me something that I needed to see. It told me that what I had to find was within the Mirror of the Moon. I went there, and encountered my sister, Grace, who nearly beheaded me. I’ve since learned that she was possessed by one of the Norns.”

Rosalee, Dalah, and Grace looked to one another, a sadness and a darkness in their eyes. Joya couldn’t be sure what had transpired with the three of them while they were possessed by the Norns, but it was obviously something that still stuck with them.

“Before the attack, I had found a slip of paper. I couldn’t imagine why the realm wanted me to have this slip of paper with nothing but names and numbers on it, until I got sick, and Mag happened to find it.” She looked up at the short-haired sorceress, who was staring back at her Guardian, not moving a muscle.

“I think that Azra is right, and I think I know what the gathering darkness is. I also think Flora is right in saying that all of these attacks are keeping us occupied while a larger threat is brewing.”

She held up the paper, as if anyone could read it, which they couldn’t. Joya was close to Sara and still couldn’t make out the words scrawled on the parchment.

“It says, ‘Arael lives,’” Sara told them all. Complete silence filled the room. Maeven stopped fidgeting. Cianna stared at her hands as if she might have guessed this already.

“We are to believe this because a piece of paper told us so?” Dalah asked.

“Not a piece of paper,” Grace said finally, drawing all attention to herself. “That's the paper I got from the nymphs who live at the base of the Falls of Nependier. Orilyn told me there might be significance in their death.”

“What does that mean, though? Why is that significant?” Mag asked.

“The nymphs are able to see the truth of a situation, and maybe even divine the future from looking at someone. Their eyes and tongues were cut out, signifying that they saw something, but even in death they couldn't speak it,” Maeven explained.

“They can talk after they die?” Mag looked uncertain.

“It's thought that they can,” Maeven answered.

“They can,” Grace confirmed. “You don't want to see it.” The old lady shuddered.

“Okay, so if they had died, what is the significance then? How were they able to predict this? How did they know which order to die in so that we could determine their message?” Mag asked.

“I really don't know,” Grace said. “Maybe whatever force guides them knew what was going to happen and led them there that day?” Mag looked skeptical, and Joya couldn't blame her. She didn't really believe it either.

“We can't deny that it’s true, though,” Angelica piped up. “Jovian was attacked by a black shuck, and they haven't been seen since Arael was alive last. The Well of Wyrding was corrupted again, the cities are being attacked by malignant wyrd — not just caustics, this I can attest to myself, since we fought one in the Spire of Night.”

“And Aladestra reporting the losses with her verax-acis,” Sara said. “Though why they haven’t attacked yet is beyond me. I can’t imagine trying to keep that many of those monsters under control.”

“Unless Arael is behind it,” Grace said.

“And not to mention we fought a grigori who called himself Samazahd at the plantation,” Jovian said.

“You did what?” Annbell asked, suddenly alert once more. “How did you survive?”

Jovian motioned to his face, and the scar that crossed it. “We nearly didn’t.”

“Astanel was there,” Joya said. “He did something to him, some kind of black lightning that Caldamron and Shelara told us sent the grigori beyond the Black Gate.”

“Alarist power,” Mag whispered, her eyes distant, seeing a time past. “It’s called darklight.”

“Is that something
all
alarists are able to do?” Angelica asked.

Mag nodded.

“But there’s more than all that,” Jovian said. Everyone turned to him, and he looked conflicted about whether he wanted to say anything or not. Maeven put a comforting hand on the younger man’s back, concern knitting his eyebrows together. “I’ve had dreams recently.”

He didn’t need to say anything more. As soon as Joya heard the mention of dreams, gooseflesh prickled its way up her arms and across her scalp. She knew what he was about to say — the turquoise monument and its transformational light. She closed her eyes and shuddered.

“So have I,” Angelica agreed.

The door bumped closed behind Shelara and Caldamron. They went back to stand behind Joya, who was too interested in the conversation at hand to pay more than passing attention to the dark elf’s blue hand upon her shoulder, telling her the communication was done.

Joya shook her head.
Of course both of them would have the same dream,
she thought.

“The Turquoise Tower,” Jovian said. “We’ve seen it in our shared dreams, rising in the west, armies of half-breed angels, standing against one another. A legion of black-winged angels poised across an expanse against a host of white-winged angels.”

“And us in the center,” Angelica said, barely above a whisper.

Joya’s eyes focused on Cianna, who was staring straight back at her.

“You’ve been dreaming of the Turquoise Tower?” Sara asked them. Angelica and Jovian nodded. “Then I assume Joya and Cianna have felt the pull too?” She looked to Joya, who nodded.

“Yes,” Cianna spoke, her voice cracked.

“All beings with angelic blood are being called to witness what’s coming at the Turquoise Tower,” Rosalee said, her voice vacant. When Joya looked up at her, the red head was looking to a point far west. She wasn’t sure Rosalee was even present in her own mind. Joya shivered.

“Rose?” Grace asked, patting the black-clad knee of her friend beside her.

Rosalee snapped back to herself, itched the back of her head, embarrassed, and motioned toward Sara. “I’m sorry, please continue.”

“Does she do that often?” Annbell asked Grace, to which the old lady nodded, a small smile ghosting her lips.

“How many did you see in the dream?” Sara asked Angelica and Jovian.

“Hundreds of half-breeds at least, thousands maybe?” Jovian supplied.

“All at the tower?” Annbell asked.

“Yes, all getting their wings,” Angelica said.

“What does it mean, though?” Rosalee asked.

“Oh, for Goddess’ sake, Rose!” Grace trumpeted, tossing her hands heavenwards.

“It means war is coming,” Sara said.

“Just like last time. He was
seeking
the Turquoise Tower,” Grace said.

“Yes, and it was said he had found where it was before Sylvie killed him,” Dalah said.

“And now, if he’s back,” Cianna said. “Then he knows where it is.”

“And all of these attacks are happening to keep us diverted from the actual threat,” Maeven said.

“The rising evil in the west is a portent of war,” Annbell said. “He will sweep over the land and lay waste to it.”

“
If
this is all truly happening,” Shelara said. “We have nothing to really go on, right?”

“Just a dream?” Caldamron said.

“You were out,” Joya whispered. “There’s much more than a dream pointing to this conclusion.”

“But the dream’s enough!” Cianna said incredulously, drawing all attention to her. “Angelica, Jovian, and Joya are anakim.”

Shelara blinked at Cianna, not understanding the significance.

“It means they have the gift of foresight,” Maeven explained. “They’re able to see things before they happen, most often in dreams,” Maeven said.

Shelara looked to her Realm Guardian.

“I don’t seem to have the same power,” she said. “But even I’ve dreamed of the tower.”

“Because you’re an angel,” Grace said. “At least in part.”

“And what does this tower do?” Shelara asked.

“If one goes there who is of angelic blood, it restores their wings, granting them their angelic status once more. For half-bloods it burns out all humanity in them,” Grace said.

“That’s it?” Caldamron said. “He would just get his wings?”

“That’s not all of it,” Sara said. “The grigori and the other fallen, or the half-breeds here in the Great Realms, once their wings are restored, are granted access to the Ever After once again.”

Angelica hissed a gasp of air through her teeth.

“That means. . .” Joya said.

“Yes. Arael would have access to the Ever After, and the Goddess.”

“Not just a war in the realm of man, but one in the Ever After as well,” Dalah whispered.

“Dear Goddess,” Maeven breathed. “What do we do?”

Sara massaged the bridge of her nose. “We can’t simply ignore the coming war.”

“But I don’t know how long Angelica and I will be able to resist the call of the tower,” Jovian said. “It calls out to our blood. At first it was just in the dreams, but now it calls out to us even when awake. We need to go to it.”

Joya was shaking her head. “We can’t.”

“Why not?” Angelica asked. “What are we supposed to do? As angels, shouldn’t we be fighting for our side?”

“What about Amber?” Joya asked. “We can’t forget her. That was our original mission.”

“I’m beginning to think your original mission for Amber and this rising darkness are linked,” Grace told Joya. “This entire thing has been escalating since she was taken. We thought maybe Porillon was somehow going to use the medallion for something, but all she did was jump into the well and corrupt it. That caused the uproar, and since that has been cleansed, has anyone seen her?”

“Just in that tree village,” Angelica said.

“Greenwood,” Sara nodded.

“Right, and where has she been since?” Grace asked. “Isn’t it strange that she just vanished, when before she was so much part of our journey in finding Amber?”

Joya shook her head. What was happening to her family? It was more than she could bear.

“But I can’t just leave,” she whispered, near tears. “I have to stay with my people. At least through the war.”

“There may come a time when the pull is too strong to resist,” Cianna told her.

“What are we going to do?” Flora asked, mirroring Maeven’s sentiments.

“Face one issue at a time. For now, we all know what’s coming, and we had best prepare for it. The chaos dwarves could attack at any moment; it’s time that we get ready. Joya, please do what you can to bring an army here. Mag will get our army ready. Maeven, I need you to help her while I check on the situation in the highlands, making sure the giants are doing okay against the troll forces up there. If I’m able to, I’ll escort them down here. Flora, please get your students to Root Commander Krouner to join in the wyrding effort. Grace, Rose, and Dalah, would you please help out in the infirmary? Angelica and Jovian, just stand by and be ready to go where you’re needed at any given time.” Annbell looked around the room. “At this point, you’re all part of our war council. What does that mean? I’ve no idea, since we’ve never had to fight one, but if you have any ideas, please bring them to us.”

“Any further questions or thoughts?” Sara asked.

No one said anything, just stood and filed out as if they were mourners at a funeral.

As Joya was following everyone out, making plans for the green gem given to her to communicate with the Shadow Realm in times of need, which she had secreted away in her travel packs, she overheard the frement speaking with Sara.

"Those stairs of yours are treacherous, milady," Caldamron told Sara. "If you would give me a small team of engineers and laborers, we could install a lift for you, like Guardian Joya has in her spire."