Dark Summoner (Relic Keeper Series Book 1) (6 page)

A
strong, unexpected voice, called out over their laughter, silencing them. “What exactly do you think you’re doing?”

Through the pain, I recognized the voice—Reagan. I wanted to warn her, to tell her to leave and save herself, but my voice was gone as a result of being choked. He released my hair and threw me to the ground. “This has nothing to do with you,
Triae
. Walk away.”

She stepped closer and crossed her arms over her chest, glancing down at my crumbled body. Her voice remained steady. “I don’t think I will. In fact, I’m going to say this to you only once. Release her.” She paused before she added the last words. “She is under my protection.”

Tension laced with a mix of confusion and anger consumed the air around us. “It is forbidden,” one of them shouted as they looked from one to another, uncertain.

She spoke again. “It is as I say. Let her go.”

When they made no move to release me, she raised her chin and slowly spoke. “Then it begins.” She reached behind her back and pulled out a sharp blade. She then raised her right hand into the air and placed her palm open toward the sky. “Feel the fire of the
Immorati
.”

Closing her eyes, she chanted under her breath before blue flames ignited over her palm. When she opened them again, her eyes glowed a brilliant, electric sapphire. Every sound went silent as she prepared to do battle with my monsters.

What the hell? I watched mesmerized and shocked. Reagan—my Reagan—the best friend I’ve ever known was someone else entirely.

“When Terrak comes for her, there will be nothing left.”

The flames blazed and twisted in her palm. “Not if I can help it.”

Intense blue fire exploded outward and flew from her hands, just as a dozen blasts of light tore through the blackness. They took direct aim at the group of monsters still standing. I thought I heard men’s voices break through behind the light, but I felt myself tunneling away as the last of the oxygen began to disappear from my lungs.

I looked at Reagan, once my best friend, now a magnificent, bad-ass stranger. She swung her blade with total precision as she flipped backward and directed blue flame at a figure coming from behind me.

Just before darkness overtook me, one final question fell softly from my lips. “Who the fuck are you?”

When I regained consciousness, Reagan and Dorian knelt beside me. Dorian spoke to the four gigantic men who stood around us, their voices low murmurs not matching their stature.

“She’s back,” Reagan said, relieved.

Dorian’s eyes searched mine for some kind of recognition. Casually, he flicked a stray hair out of my eyes. “You’re making a habit out of passing out.” He winked. A dimple formed as he smiled. “You all right?”

No. I’m not. I feel like Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole. Everything that I once knew, once understood, was now becoming the exact opposite. I fell and didn’t know which way was up or where I would land.

Concern seeped into their expressions the longer I remained silent.

I was angry. Angry for being lied to. For having the truth—whatever that was—kept from me. For being deceived by those I trusted. I may have kept my
sight
a secret from Reagan, but that was completely different. I didn’t know if any of it was real or could be real. Anyone who I’d ever told had called me crazy or abandoned me. I wanted to start fresh with Reagan. To me, it was only a little lie. Nothing like the secret she had kept.

Dorian dipped his head forward, and I noticed crusted blood along his jaw. I remembered how only moments ago, he had almost given his life for me. I softened.

“I’m okay.” I expected my throat to burn or ache, for my voice to be barely a whisper after the ordeal I had just gone through. Instead, it was normal. No pain, no change. As if I hadn’t been almost choked to death.

“We’ve got to get moving,” she said.

She wanted to pull me into a hug but held back. Maybe it was the wariness and betrayal on my face that stopped her.

“Did you . . . did this really just happen?” I asked.

“What do you mean?” She quickly changed the subject. “I caught you before you fell and—”

I raised my palm into the air between us and gestured for her to stop talking. I stepped away from all of them.

“Please don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about. I may have passed out but I don’t have fucking amnesia.”

I grabbed my neck, cradling it in my palm. “How is it possible that I’m speaking right now or that my neck doesn’t even hurt? What did you do to me?”

She was hurt by my choice of words, but I didn’t care.

“We had to heal your throat—”

“
Heal
my throat?”

For the first time, I really looked at Reagan—the exceptional tone of her muscles, the confident way she carried herself, the look of strength and determination in her eyes. Had it always been there? Tears welled in my eyes. It was as though I’d just lost the last thing that ever mattered to me. I felt robbed. Hurt. Angry. Betrayed.

“Who are you?” I asked her, before I could stop myself.

“What? Who am I? Abby, I’m still the same person. I—”

“No. Don’t you dare pretend like nothing is different.”

“Look, I promise, if you let me explain, you’ll understand.”

“Oh, I understand. I guess I wasn’t the only one hiding secrets.”

She could have easily opened up to me and told me I wasn’t alone rather than let me keep my suffocating secret all these years. Let me know there were people just like me all over the world, but instead, she let me believe I was still a freak.

Would I have even believed her? I don’t know. I know that I’m not being fair. Even I could admit that. But I couldn’t stop these irrational emotions.

“What about Julia? Were you going to help her or just let her die? Wasn’t she with you?”

She knew what I accused her of—callousness and selfishness.

“Abby, you don’t understand. I cared for Julia. I tried to help her, but my job is to protect you. And you alone.”

“Your job?”

She cringed.

“So I’m a
job
?”

“No . . .I mean, well . . .yes. But it’s not what you think. It’s not that simple.”

“What the hell are you?” My hands flew into the air as the anger bubbled over. “
Who
the hell are you?”

“Abby, you’re like my sister. I would never—”

“No. You don’t get to say that. Not anymore.”

A man’s stern voice interrupted our argument. “Dorian. We don’t have time for this.”

A second man chimed in. “They’ve never done this before. Attacked in broad daylight. Attacked the masses without restraint.”

“I know,” Dorian said. “She’s getting stronger.”

I wanted to ask who?

Dorian turned to Reagan. “What exactly is a
Triae
doing here?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “What do you mean?”

“How did he know to send you?” He said the word
he
with total distaste.

She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the wall. “You really think I’m going to answer that?”

They stared each other down, neither one willing to give in to this little power play. One of the men who had joined Dorian earlier, approached us. “The wards won’t hold another wave, not when Terrak gets here.”

“What’s our window?” Dorian asked, his tone firm.

“Not long. Five minutes. Maybe ten. You’re running out of time.”

Dorian grabbed my hand and pulled me forward. “Miles, give me the keys.”

“Are you sure that’s the best idea?” the other man asked.

Dorian held out his hand. “Do you have a better plan?”

His question was met with silence.

“I didn’t think so.” He took two steps before Reagan blocked his path. A heavy tension filled the space between them.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“
We
aren’t headed anywhere. I’m escorting her across the other realm—to the Council. She’s not safe here. Not anymore.”

“You’re not taking her anywhere without me.”

“Across what?” I interjected, but they both ignored me.

“I don’t need your help,” Dorian said.

“Good cause I wasn’t offering it.” She countered. “I’m not leaving her side. Especially not now. If any more Necros pop up, you’re going to need me whether you like it or not.”

Dorian weighed his options. “No.”

“She’s becoming more powerful every day. Do you really want to risk Abby’s safety?” Reagan said.

“Across
what
?” I asked again.

Dorian turned to me. “Abby, we don’t have time right now.”

“No. Answer me!” I yelled as I pulled my hand from his grip. “Why are you both acting like this is about me?”

The ground quaked again as another unnatural crash of thunder boomed through the cloudless night sky.

“Time’s up,” Miles said.

Dorian offered his hand out to me, his eyes pleading. “Because it is about you, and if you want to live, we have to go. Now.”

W
ood smashed, and I tripped over the crumbled doorframe as a rush of cool air and moonlight let me know we’d made it out.

A violent battle raged within the parking lot as tens of men fought fiercely with monsters. Pained screams ripped through the air between the sharp crashing of metal against metal. Blood smeared the ground like thick wet paint, and I swallowed the bile in my throat.

Out of nowhere a sleek, obsidian Ferrari appeared in the parking spot ahead of us.

Dorian unlocked the car and rushed me inside. He almost slammed the door on Reagan before she grabbed the frame and jumped inside behind me. Seconds later, he was in the driver’s side and jerked the car into reverse. The tires screeched as I hurriedly put on my seat belt. The car lurched forward, the seat belt pinching my skin from the force. We zoomed through the parking lot, Dorian easily missing several people by an inch as we careened onto the highway. Reagan sat in the back seat, the embodiment of calm and ease. She texted while her body swayed with the erratic movements of the car.

“I need to know what’s actually going on,” I said.

A shadow on the street behind us caught my attention, but before I could get a good look, it was gone as quickly as it appeared.

Dorian glanced from me to the rearview mirror, searching for something or someone. I understood now that his driving was intentionally erratic. He was taking various exits and switching roads continuously in an attempt to lose anyone who could possibly have followed him. At several points, we went over a hundred miles per hour. A half hour later, the car slowed as he eased off the gas. The tension in his shoulders dulled.

“We’re almost there,” he said.

As much as I appreciated the effort, I didn’t need to be reassured. I needed to know what the hell was going on.

“What were those things that attacked us? They smelled like death.”

“They essentially are death. They’re called Necros. Undead creatures that do their master’s bidding.”

Undead creatures. I repeated the word over and over in my mind. Since the return of my
sight
, everything in life was strange. There were evil monsters who wanted me dead and magic battles with glowing swords.

His voice broke through my thoughts. “What did you see back there? When you focused on the road. What was it?”

“I’m not sure. A man I think?”

“Are you sure it was a man?”

“Okay. That’s it. You need to tell me what’s going on and you need to tell me now.” I tried to sound in control but inside I was a total mess. He hesitated, and I glared at his profile, crossing my arms over my chest in irritation.

He cast a glance in the rearview mirror to Reagan. They kept eye contact, some wordless conversation happening between them. After another minute she nodded and concentrated on her phone.

“You want the long version or the short version?” he asked.

“I want the version that tells me everything.”

“Long it is.”

“Who are you?” I asked.

His brows furrowed. “You know who I am.”

“Is your name actually Dorian Cross?”

“Yes.”

“And you said that all this is about me?”

“It is.”

Reagan chimed in from the back seat. “I’m still me, by the way, if you’d care to hear about it.”

I wasn’t ready to deal with her yet so I focused on Dorian. “How is that possible?”

He didn’t answer and looked again to Reagan.

“I thought you were going explain everything.”

“I’m deciding where to start,” he said.

“At this point, the beginning works best for me.”

An adorable dimple appeared on his right cheek as he smiled. “You’re probably not going to believe much of what I say, but you’ve asked for the truth.” He took a deep breath. “Twenty-five years ago, the Nine Diviners of the Temple of Light all had the same vision. They saw the rise of the Black Walker, a sorceress of great power and even greater evil. Four hundred years ago, she’d almost pulled both worlds, yours and ours, into total desolation. Only by a very rare chance in events was she subdued. Unable to destroy her, the priestesses of the Light banished her into the forgotten realm. She’d been stripped of her magic, cast into shadow sleep, and left to rot for eternity. Somehow she rose and found a way to reclaim her power.”

Reagan scoffed. “Somehow? Honestly, Dorian? We all know that someone has helped to bring her back to power. The Council is just afraid to admit that there are traitors among its ranks.”

Dorian clenched his teeth, the only evidence of his anger.

“I don’t get it. How is this about me?” I asked. Multiple realms? Millenniums of time? Others who had visions?

“Not long after their vision of the Black Walker, the diviners had another. This time they predicted that an ancient object, known as the Relic, would awaken with the birth of a child. They knew this child was destined to become the Relic’s Keeper and the only one who would be able to stop the Black Walker. They believed this child would come from the mortal world. That’s why the Necros attacked us tonight. They were sent to do their mistress’s bidding.”

“So that’s why they were after you?” I said.

“Yes, but they were after you, not me.”

His revelation struck me like lightning . “You think I’m this person? The Keeper? You realize I’m not a child, right? You said this person was a child.”

“That was roughly twenty-five years ago, Abby. The Council discovered the Keeper’s identity only a few days ago.” He gauged my reaction. “This child, who was now a woman, had been unknown to the rising evil, but somehow your whereabouts and existence became known to them.”

“This is crazy. I can’t be the Keeper.”

“Why not?”

“Because . . . because ... I don’t know!” I said, throwing my hands into the air. “It doesn’t make sense. I’m not a fighter or warrior or anything like that. I can’t protect anything.”

His laughter filled the car, and I scowled at him. “I don’t think this is funny.”

“I apologize, but you’re trying to use human logic in a realm outside of mortal boundaries. Power isn’t always defined by strength or skill. Sometimes the power lies deep within you. Something you’re born with.”

“I’m sure that there has to be some kind of mistake here. I’m not special or unique.”

Reagan’s eyes flashed and she cocked her eyebrow. “Really, Abby? What do you call the visions? Your
sight
? Whether or not you’re convinced that you’re the Relic Keeper is irrelevant. The Necros and their master believe you to be the Keeper. This puts you in the gravest of danger.”

For someone who knew what it was like to view the impossible and see the unseen, I was being cynical. But how was I supposed to behave? I’d spent most of my life trying to convince myself that the things I saw weren’t real. Was it actually possible that I was destined to fight this Black Walker? I didn’t know.

“What exactly is the Relic?”

“No one knows for certain, but it’s said to be an amulet, one that is powerful enough to both create and destroy worlds. It can upend time and wreak havoc on the realms like nothing ever has.”

I repeated his words back to him. “No one knows for certain?”

“The Relic doesn’t come from either of our worlds, Abby. We barely understand all that it can do, all that it has done.”

“So how do you even know if it can do what you think it does? Maybe it’s just another legend?” I said.

“It’s not,” Dorian replied with total certainty.

“What does the Relic do? How do you know it can stop her?”

“We don’t, but we know it has the potential to—if the right person wields it.”

“I thought it was a necklace. You make it sound like a weapon.”

“It is a weapon. A very powerful one. But accepting your destiny is a decision that no one can force on you. It must be your choice, but that single decision will save worlds—or destroy them.”

No pressure. No pressure at all.

“So how is this person chosen exactly?”

“Again, no one knows, but it’s been over two thousand years since the Relic was awake.”

“Two-thousand years?” It was almost impossible to grasp that amount of time.

“Yes, the last documented evidence of its power comes from over two thousand years ago, but it’s the best chance we have.”

I sat up straighter and took a deep breath. “So you guys base all of your faith on beating this super powerful sorceress on an uncertain prophecy about a necklace that you think might help someone defeat her? You people can’t be that crazy.”

He let out a heavy sigh. “It’s our only chance. Your only chance.”

“Wait. You said you’d only discovered my whereabouts a few days ago, but I met Reagan six years ago . . .” My voice trailed off as more questions filled my head.

“Yes. Well, that’s a question I’ve been wondering for several days now. I’d recognized that she wasn’t a mortal, but I’d had no idea at the time she was a
Triae
.”

“What’s a Treeay?” I butchered the word.

Reagan answered, her fingers still strumming on her phone. “We’re wielders of ancient magic, both dark and light.”

Did that mean good and evil?

I looked to Dorian. “What’s your role in all of this?”

“I’m a guardian—a protector of the Temple of Light. It’s my duty to protect and guide the Keeper, but most importantly to prevent the Relic from falling into the wrong hands.”

“So let’s say I believe that I’m this Keeper, which I’m still not convinced of. How did they find me tonight?”

“I don’t know. It wasn’t common knowledge and only a few very select people knew of your existence.”

“Oh, I have an idea,” Reagan answered. “But you’re probably not going to like it.”

I could tell she was trying to annoy Dorian. Whatever their history was, whatever sides they came from, it was clear they didn’t get along.

“So who does she work for?” I asked Dorian.

“You know,
she
is sitting right here and can speak for herself.”

“Fine.” I twisted in my seat until I faced her, my eyes narrowed in anger. “You said it was your job to protect me. If you’re not a guardian and the Council didn’t hire you, then how did you find me so long ago?”

“Yes, I’d like to know that as well,” Dorian said, his tone darker than before.

She opened her mouth but snapped it shut. It wasn’t like her to think before she spoke. The Reagan I’d always known had been carefree and open. Maybe that was all an act.

“You’re going to have to ask him that,” she said.

“Who’s him?” I asked between an unexpected yawn.

“He’s—”

“No one.” Dorian cut her off.

“You’ll find out soon enough. He doesn’t like people speaking for him anyway.”

The two of them had another stare off in the mirror before the topic was dropped for good.

“Where are we going? You said it’s somewhere safe?”

“I’m taking you across the realm—to the Council. We don’t have time to wait for their next assembly.”

I was too tired to argue or ask questions. “And where exactly is this other realm?”

“It’s right here, all around you.” He waved his hands in a circular motion. “Think of our worlds like a braided piece of rope. They are intertwined and blended in several places. One does not exist without the other.”

I leaned my head back against the seat, my eyes becoming heavy. “What happens if I’m not the Keeper?”

“You are.”

His words sounded distant as my mind reevaluated everything that had happened over the last several days. “So it wasn’t a coincidence that I ran into you at that shop or you asked me out, was it?”

I could tell the accusation of my words made him uncomfortable.

“No. Like the others, I knew of the prophecy about the Relic Keeper but I had no idea who it was or if it was even true. Not until that morning. I needed to get to you as quickly as possible. When I discovered your whereabouts, I made sure to beat everyone else there.”

My voice had softened from the exhaustion finally catching up with me. “How did you know it was me, or where I was?”

“I think right now is not the best time to explain my methods. For now, you’ll just have to trust me,” he said with his ever-present wink.

A wide yawn stifled my words. “Why can’t I go back to my place?”

“If they found you at the club, it’s highly likely they know where you live.”

“And they didn’t grab me sooner because?”

“Oh believe me, they tried, but I had several men positioned around you at all times. They had created a ward, protecting you until I was with you again.”

Reagan leaned forward, her voice wrapping around me like a cozy, thick blanket. “Close your eyes and rest, Abby. I promise you’re safe.”

Her words were a command to my subconscious, demanding me to obey. I drifted into a deep sleep right after Reagan said, “He won’t let you take her from him, Dorian. Not again.”