Lorcan cleared his mind entirely
and focused solely on the frozen cave deep within himself. He saw the fat
little birds sliding around on their stomachs and felt new energy course
through every vein. Extending one hand out in front of him, Lorcan shot an
icicle directly into Vera’s chest.
Their blonde master thrown from her
feet into the dark underbrush, the wolves went insane. Julian and Evie’s
throats were ripped out. The beasts surrounding Lorcan and Luciana attacked,
but they all threw themselves at Luciana.
The Senator’s daughter became a
whirlwind. She slashed this way and that, spinning, diving, stabbing, and
kicking. Lorcan had never seen anyone fight like that. He tried to help her
with magic, but seeing Evie and Julian die like that – he couldn’t find his
focus. He flailed about with his staff, annoying the wolves more than anything
else. They ignored him entirely.
Something hard and cold hit the
back of Lorcan’s head with a painful thwack!
Lorcan had time to spin around as his vision faded to blackness and he began to
pass out. Vera was standing over him with the icicle that had been in her chest
now in her hand. A bloody hole in her dress where the projectile had pierced
her heart revealed a pristine circle of pale skin. Lorcan’s mind was rapidly
degenerating into blurry nothingness, but it looked very much like Vera’s fatal
wound had miraculously healed.
“Nighty-night, sweetheart.” Vera
blew him a kiss and waved as Lorcan lost consciousness.
Lorcan woke up on a bed of moss
beside Lake Wanderer. A wolf stood guard over him, watching attentively, but
not snarling or being at all aggressive. It was early morning and the sun was
out for once rather than being hidden behind rainclouds.
“Oh good, you’re up!” Vera said
cheerfully. She handed him a cup of tea.
Lorcan reluctantly accepted the
tea. “What the hell is going on?”
Vera smiled as she absently
scratched behind the guard wolf’s ears. “I’m here to help you fulfill your
destiny.”
“You killed Evie and Julian! And
maybe Luciana!” Lorcan shouted angrily.
“Oh, don’t be ridiculous! If all it
took to kill Anna was a pack of wolves, she’d have been dead ages ago! And
technically you were the one who
killed those people when you chose not to come with me.” Vera waggled her
finger at him admonishingly.
Lorcan stared at her for a moment,
speechless.
“This is all very difficult for
you, I know. But it won’t matter one bit once you become the man you were born
to be. You’ll be able to bring both of them back from the dead, though if I
were you I’d leave Julian deceased. He was a bit of an ass,” Vera advised in a
kindly, conversational tone.
“What the hell are you talking
about?” Lorcan asked her.
“The Last Sorcerer needs you. He’ll
teach you everything you need to know. Ask your medallion. He’ll tell you all
about it.” She pointed at the talisman on Lorcan’s necklace.
Lorcan gently touched the symbol
covered metal. “Is what she’s saying true, Lord Cumberbatch?”
“Ah.
Well, you see boy…that is a tricky question to answer. No matter what I say you
won’t understand much of it.”
“Ooh, Cumberbatch! Good, I was
hoping you would get him instead of Rupertson. How do you do, my lord?” Vera
asked politely.
Lorcan ignored her. “Just do your
best to explain what is happening to me, will you?”
“I’m
afraid I don’t know exactly. I lived a thousand years in the past and have no
way of knowing what has transpired since then. I created this talisman at the
behest of the Divinatrix that lived during my time. She told me very little
about what it would be used for. Since the world is not overrun by the living
dead, I am forced to assume that the Golden Empires succeeded in defeating
Death. The Divinatrix said this talisman would be used in the distant future to
ensure the Sacrifice was not in vain. You have no way of knowing this for
yourself, boy, but women who can see the future are insufferably vague.”
“That doesn’t tell me why this girl
and her wolves just killed my cousin and my friend,” Lorcan said irritably.
“You killed your friends,” Vera corrected.
“The
other side wants you, obviously. Evidently, it’s not as simple as killing you,
they need you alive for some part of their plot to return Death to power.”
“And how could they do that?”
Lorcan asked.
“I
have no idea. I don’t even know what we did in the Sacrifice. I had only just
been approached when the Divinatrix had me make this talisman.”
“Can you at least tell me how in
the world she survived an icicle through her heart?” Lorcan eyed the bloody
hole in Vera’s dress.
“I can answer that one!” Vera
chirped happily. “Men always make the same Bargain with the Last Sorcerer, but
women are given more latitude because so few of us choose to make the Bargain.
I chose wolves.” She scratched behind the guard wolf’s ear again and it licked
her cheek.
“Wolves? How does that make you
invincible?” Lorcan wanted very badly to run, but his head was still pounding
and he knew he couldn’t outrun a wolf.
Vera shrugged. “There were other
perks. But mostly I got my wolves.”
“Please, Vera. Let me go home. I
don’t want any of this madness with the Last Sorcerer and magic talismans! I
want to go back to my family and help buy my cousin.”
Vera laughed lightheartedly. “Well
of course you’re going home, silly! That’s all part of the plan. You aren’t
ready for the Frozen Citadel yet, that will come later. You have a lot of
choices to make before we get to the point where you’re ready to help the Last
Sorcerer. Don’t worry though, I’ll be here for you.” She rested her hand
tenderly on Lorcan’s arm.
“So you’ll let me leave right now
if I want to go back to my family?” Lorcan started standing up hesitantly, but
when Vera and her pet wolf made no move to stop him, he stood up fully.
Vera nodded. “There’s just one last
thing before you go.”
Lorcan prepared himself for
something truly awful. Would he have to choose between two more people he cared
about? Was she going to torture him? The horrors seemed endless.
Vera wrapped her arms around Lorcan
and gave him a passionate kiss with a surprising amount of tongue.
When she was done kissing him, Vera
smacked Lorcan on the ass, said, “Toodles!” and strolled away into the woods
with her wolf in tow.
Lorcan stood on the shore of Lake
Wanderer, dumbstruck.
“What the hell?” Lorcan asked no
one in particular.
Lorcan stumbled up to the top of
Weyrd Mountain still reeling from the events of last night. Julian and Evie
were dead and it was all his fault. What would Great Uncle Mort say? And Great
Grandmother? Luciana was going to kill him for sure. He had ruined everything!
“Oh my God, Lorcan! Son, thank God
you’re alive!” Lorcan’s dad sprinted across the yard from the still as soon as
he saw his son. He threw his arms around Lorcan for a bone-crunching hug.
“Dad…Julian…it’s all my fault!”
Lorcan mumbled.
“There, there son. Don’t say that.
Luciana told us what happened. That horrible bitch killed her sister and your
cousin. She’s to blame for this.”
“I don’t know why this is
happening. I just…” Lorcan trailed off. What else was there to say?
“You just need a drink. Come over
to the still and drown your sorrows with the rest of us.” Lorcan’s father put
his arm around his son’s shoulders and led him over to the still.
Great Uncle Mort was three sheets to
the wind and Uncle Pete did not look to be too far behind him. The other uncles
and cousins were drunk as well, but not quite so inebriated as those two.
Lorcan’s dad poured him a glass of something strong smelling
Uncle Cal raised his glass. “To
Julian! The best damn womanizer the Moon clan ever had!”
“To Julian!” Everyone raised their
glasses and drank deep, Lorcan included.
Since this is a BONUS CHAPTER the choice is open ended! What happens
next?
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