Powers of the Six (30 page)

“What?” Alec answered with feigned innocence. “What do you mean?”

“You know exactly what I mean.”

“I came to fight.”

Nolan scowled as they squared off. “If I live through this, I’ll kill you.”

Alec laughed and, with a quick movement, began the duel. “Ha!”

Nolan barely blocked the blow. He deflected it and stepped back to gain some distance, his hands shaking.

“Relax,” Alec said, the light of Speed flashing in his eyes.

Their swords danced. Nolan’s arm remembered the moves far before his thoughts. Time and place disappeared as Nolan concentrated on the match.

As it progressed, Nolan’s lungs burned. He grasped his sword tightly in his sweat-coated palm. Nolan’s tunic clung to his chest and sweat dripped into his eyes. He blinked it away, refocusing on the duel. Flaring Perception, he focused on the design on the hilt of Alec’s sword. An idea flared in his mind. He smiled and with a flick, he hooked Alec’s hilt with the tip of his sword, flinging it free into the nearby grass.

Alec gawked at his open palm where his sword had just been.

People erupted in cheers.

Alec grinned. “Well done!”

Nolan laughed breathlessly. He’d finally beaten him! But before Nolan could rejoice further, a metallic flash caught his eye.

He swung, connecting with Kardos’s blade.

Kardos’s brows knitted, his brown eyes burning with hate. “Well done, you say?” Kardos growled. “His nightforsaken Shay power glowed the entire time.”

“He’s only been fighting two months,” Alec said.

Kardos cast an angry glance at Alec before glaring at Nolan again. “Let’s see how he does with someone who won’t let him win.”

Nolan’s arms trembled from exhaustion and fear. He knew Alec’s moves. How would he do against Kardos?

Alec’s eyes flared golden-yellow. “I didn’t let him win. If you want to spar with him, that’s fine. But at least give him a few minutes to rest.”

“And in a battle, they’d give him time to rest?” Kardos said. “No. We fight now.”

Nolan barely dodged in time. Kardos was on top of him, slicing with an intensity he’d never seen. His blows hammered as on an anvil. Nolan used Accuracy to avoid Kardos’s angry blade. This was no sparring match. With every jarring blow, Nolan fought for his life. He dodged and parried, though his waning strength began to show.

With a flick of Kardos’s sword, pain flamed through his thigh. Nolan ignored it, focusing on his moves. After some time, the battle started turning to Nolan’s favor, if slightly. And by Kardos’s increasing ferocity, the blacksmith saw the shift as well. Kardos stepped back as Nolan pressed forward. Nolan’s anxiety slowly peeled away. He had a chance. He could do this!

“By the light! Who is that man, and what did he do with Nolan?”

Nolan’s focus jarred to a sudden stop. He saw Hakan grinning widely. Both Emery and Megan stood with him, their mouths hanging open in shock.

And at that moment of distraction, Kardos lunged.

The world around Nolan jerked into one focused moment as Kardos’s blade tore through his chest. Nolan’s breath came out in a strangled gasp. His vision tunneled. Kardos yanked out his sword and swung back to finish the job.

Alec appeared from nowhere, blocking his father’s blow.

Nolan collapsed, his body shaking. He could vaguely hear chaos erupting around him. As his vision dimmed, a sudden, warm healing surged through him. Nolan arched into the energy, gasping and coughing as his lungs breathed once again. Megan stared down at him. She shook as she pressed her hands against the sides of his face.

“Father!” Alec yelled.

“Get out of my way,” Kardos said. “It’s about time we rid the land of the filth.”

“Filth? If you mean those with Shay powers, then you fight me as well!” Alec said, holding his sword between Nolan and Kardos.

Kardos glared, and then he turned and marched away.

“Stop him,” Emery said, his voice so sharp everyone stared. Even Kardos paused before continuing on.

Maska met the glowering blacksmith in three strides. Kardos threw back his blade, but before he could swing, Maska grabbed his hand.

“To the fires with you!” Kardos yelled. He struggled against Maska’s Strength until a crunching pop came from his hand.

Kardos growled. “Fight like a real man, and we’ll see how you fare.”

“If I were to see a real man, then I might feel inspired to fight,” Maska said, his face still expressionless, though his eyes glowed red like fire.

“This is our home,” Emery said. “You will not come here and pick us off like vermin. We allowed you here, welcoming you into the safety of our village. Is this how you repay us? What you’ve done is inexcusable. You’ve not only hurt Nolan, but you insulted the whole village with your ignorance and bigotry!”

“I’d do more than insult if given the chance,” Kardos said. “You’re cowards as well as Rol’dan demons. You share their power, but hide in the woods pretending you aren’t them.”

“So you believe us to be demons then?” Emery said.

Kardos’s silence was his answer.

“Yet your son holds this same gift.”

Alec held Nolan’s arm, helping him to his feet. “I’m so sorry, Nolan. I had no idea—”

“I have no son,” Kardos said.

Alec’s grip tightened and his face paled.

Emery’s Shay emerged. The purple light, which always shone brightly in Emery’s eyes, glowed more intensely than before. Kardos jerked against Maska’s grip as he tried to get free.

“Take your wretched hands off of me, Tala-swine!” Kardos flinched, and then the rage on his face transformed into fear.

Emery continued to stare at Kardos until a resolute expression came over him. “Bring him to the ruins,” he said. “He can face his own demons there.”

***

Casual conversation had no place in times like this. Nolan walked between Alec and Megan, at a total loss for words. He blamed himself for what happened, but his logical side knew it wasn’t his fault. Kardos had started it all.

Alec said nothing, either. He only stared at the ground as he trudged along. The scar on his cheek seemed deeper, as if it revealed his insides as well.

Once again, blood soaked the front of Megan’s dress. Nolan had imagined their reunion differently. A nice talk. A private walk through the woods. Not her saving his life after getting a sword rammed through his chest.

They arrived at the temple ruins. Maska led the way, pushing the reluctant Kardos in front of him. When they entered, four circles of light shone on the ground. The red symbol of Strength and the purple of Empathy now joined the previous two.

“Bring him to me,” Emery said.

Maska dragged Kardos forward. Like before, Emery’s eyes blazed brighter than Nolan had ever seen. Kardos struggled harder, cowering as Emery’s power washed over him.

Emery pointed to the light of Accuracy. “Hold him there until it’s no longer necessary.”

“What are you doing?” Panic spread across Kardos’s face. “Let go of me, Tala-swine!” But even with the insult, Maska didn’t react. He walked with determined steps and held Kardos in the light of Accuracy.

Kardos squirmed and cursed, but stopped abruptly as the pinpoints of dancing light appeared. Maska released his hold and stepped away as blue lights swelled around Kardos Deverell.

“It’s not possible,” Alec stammered.

Nolan shook his head, mirroring Alec’s shock.
How can it be
?

Kardos rose into the air, and after the light faded, drifted down, fell to his knees, and sobbed. After several long minutes, Kardos stood, cursed, and held his broken wrist to his chest.

Megan stepped forward, reaching to touch him; he glared at her and moved away.

“Be careful of your hatred, Mr. Deverell,” Emery said.

“What do you know of hatred?” Kardos said between gritted teeth. “You can never understand.”

“There is a fine line between us and the Rol’dan,” Emery said. “They stopped focusing on what was noble and pure when they accepted their position. We, on the other hand, must stay straight on the path of good, otherwise we lose who we are and become like them. Hate what they do, not who they are. They are lost to themselves. They deserve pity instead.”

“Pity the Rol’dan?” Kardos said slowly, as if the words tasted bitter. “You want me to pity them after what they did to my dear Norah? They ravished and killed her while my boy watched. And then they blamed her for what happened, as if she were some common whore. You can’t possibly understand what I’ve been through.”

“You are right, friend. Though I don’t understand completely, I do share your sorrow.” An unreadable expression fell on Emery. “The biggest regret I have in my life is that I did nothing the day your wife died. Please, forgive me.”

Kardos’s head rose, stark confusion masking his grizzled face.

Alec gasped and went sickly pale. “It was you?” he said. “You were there, weren’t you? With the Strength Rol’dan who killed my mother?”

Emery’s face fell. “I was. I didn’t realize the captain would kill her until it was too late.”

Alec’s face went from pale to red. “Yet you stood there and watched him defile her?”

“I have no excuse for my past,” Emery said sadly. “I ignored a lot of things then, more than I can even remember.”

Kardos growled and lunged at Emery. Before anyone could react, Kardos pounded Emery’s face with his good hand like a sledgehammer breaking stone. Emery fell, and Kardos fell with him, continuing his relentless assault.

Maska’s eyes flared red, and he yanked the flailing blacksmith off Emery.

“You gutless dog!” Kardos yelled. And a trail of every imaginable curse flew from his lips as Maska dragged him away.

Emery sat on the ground, blood pouring from his deformed nose and split cheeks.

Vikas yanked out his sword. Though he was a small man, a fierce glare shone behind the light in his golden-yellow eyes. He wasn’t a man to cross.

“I’ll kill him,” Vikas said.

“No. Don’t.” Emery said. “I deserved this.”

Vikas scowled. “You deserve no such treatment.”

Emery put a hand on Vikas’s leg. “Please, friend. In this instance, I do.”

Vikas frowned and reluctantly sheathed his sword.

Megan knelt next to Emery, and the expression on Emery’s broken face was horrified.

“Oh, Megan … No.”

“Shh, now,” she said. “Just hold still.”

Nolan looked away as the green light of Healing flared in her eyes. His stomach churned with the sound of bones cracking and her whimpering echoing through the temple.

“I’m sorry, Megan,” Emery said softly. “I’m so sorry.”

Nolan touched the bloodied spot on his tunic and mirrored Emery’s guilt.

Alec staggered and collapsed to the ground, putting his head between his knees. How much more could he take? His father had disowned him simply for who he was, and now the truth of his mother’s death was revealed in the face of the man Alec respected more than anyone. Alec deserved none of this.

Nolan thought back to his conversation with Emery and all he’d gone through. If anyone understood loss, it would be Emery. And Nolan knew, without a doubt, Emery was not that same man who watched the murder and defilement of an innocent woman.

Emery and Megan stood together. Nolan wasn’t sure who comforted who—probably a little of both. They whispered to each other, his arms around her in an embrace. Jealousy flared in Nolan. There was nothing between them. That’s what Emery had told him. Yet, watching them … Nolan wasn’t so sure.

Alec’s shoulders shook in chest-heaving sobs. Nolan slid down the wall next to him, at a complete loss of what to say or do. After a while, an Empathy Shay passed over them. Nolan met the sorrow-filled face of Emery. His cheeks were moist, as if he’d been crying too.

“Alec?” Emery said.

Alec’s head jerked up, and his eyes flared with both anger and his Shay. “There’s nothing I want to say to you,” he spat.

Emery flinched. “I can understand, but there is one more thing I thought you should know.” He hesitated. Even when Kael had beaten him in the West Tower of Alton, he had never acted this uncomfortable; he wrung his hands together and bit his lower lip. “I want you to realize, your mother didn’t die in vain. In fact, her death will probably save us all.”

Alec gawked at him, the anger in his expression transforming to frustration.

“You see,” Emery continued, “the night she died, I’d used my power to sense her.”

“What?” Alec spat. His face reddened once again. “Did you get some sort of sick pleasure from her fear?”

“No,” Emery answered. “That’s what’s strange. She held no fear. I felt determination and courage, not fear. Both traits I see very much in you. And when she attacked the captain, she desired to right what was wrong so it wouldn’t happen again.” Emery ran a hand through his hair. “I saw more bravery in that small bit of woman than I’d seen in the entire Rol’dan army the whole seventeen years I’d served. And from that moment, I realized I could no longer be a Rol’dan.