Page 43 of Midnight Kingdom

I’ve done this before...

The thought hits me like an anvil.

And suddenly I’m beyond sure I’ve carried someone up a mountain while they were injured. I don’t know who, exactly, but it was someone I cared for. Deeply. It makes me want to ask Pyre how to unlock my memories again, but I know it’s pointless. I’ve already asked him and it’s not possible. Besides, he’s too sick to do more than keep his head elevated for more than a few seconds at a time. “Hold on, Pyre. We’re almost there.”

“The Sentinel will perform the ritual. I don’t know how your power will react to being in the spire. Just... don’t let it consume you. Many good people have been seduced by the pool.” Pyre stumbles once more. I try my best to lift him from the ground, at the same moment that three figures appear. They look like shadows wrapped in shadows, hooded figures that float across the ground. They take Pyre from me.

I stand with empty arms and a wound tugging at my chest. One of the Sentinels urges me to follow. The magic within the spire is unlike anything I’ve ever felt. I wonder how it doesn’t simply tear Pyre to pieces each time he uses his magic. I can hardly stand it. The sensation of intense power worms its way beneath my skin and settles into my bones. My teeth begin to chatter and it’s more difficult to walk.

I didn’t know what I expected the Echoing Spire to look like, but the care with which it was created is evident. My eyes dance around the cavernous chamber that looks more like a temple than a well-pool of magic. Walls carved from jade glisten in the light of the candelabras, white trees with crimson leaves arch over my head, and the stone beneath my feet ripples with each step. I hear a waterfall in the distance.

Statues surround me. Statues that depict great sorrow, repentance, and even relief.

I catch sight of pillars with glowing objects floating on them: a dagger, a book, and a mirror. I can’t tear my eyes away until I hear Pyre’s voice echo through the vast space. “Keep moving, Eilish. The Sentinels do not appreciate outsiders lingering here long.”

We continue through the spire until we stand at the edge of what appears to be an ocean of magic. Standing at the center of this swirling accumulation of power, is an enormous statue of an elven woman whose tears flow like a waterfall. But the substance that collects here is not entirely a liquid, but a writhing entity of its own making. The colors shift like opals in the sun and I hear a song that’s painfully familiar.

How is it familiar, Eilish?I ask myself and frustrate over the fact I have no answer.

I search high and low for the source of the song, peering through the thick vines that crawl toward the top of the spire like hands reaching for the sky. I see no one, but I hear the woman from my visions, my mother.

My mother? How can that be? My mother is dead!

The Sentinels help Pyre into the pool. As soon as the necromancer touches the surface, a swell of energy engulfs the room. I fall to my knees, bending beneath the might of the power that thrives here. My hand reaches out of its own accord. One of the Sentinels grabs my wrist with so much force, he lifts me off the floor before tossing me onto my back.

The air is forced from my lungs and I can’t breathe. Can’t even think. All I can do is look up at the Sentinel.

He hisses, showing a horrific face beneath the cowl—one with no mouth and insect-like features. Petrified, I scurry back on my hands and put some distance between myself and the spire’s power. My heart is pounding and blood is rushing to my head, making me dizzy.

The Sentinels begin to chant in a deep voice I’ve heard Pyre use in the past. It’s too deep to be an actual sound, but I feel it and hear it nevertheless. The necromancer submerges himself in the magic.

When he stands and walks toward me once more, I’m struck by the sight of him. Strength oozes from his every pore. This isThe Guardian of The Veil. Long, scarlet locks flow down his back and the runes on his body glow brightly. Those eerie, sightless white eyes stare directly at me, and I feel the hunger coil within me. But soon, it’s replaced with something else.

Awe.

He looks at me, his expression betraying nothing. “What is it you want, Eilish?” he asks me, his voice echoing through the magical place.

I close my eyes and allow the question to probe me, to sink into my subconscious. When I look at up at him again, I know with no uncertainty what my answer will be. I clear my throat and continue. “I want you to help me become the leader you believe I can be. I’m terrified and I don’t know what will happen next, but I’m tired of playing the part of the victim who must be protected.” I swallow hard as the truth in my words rings through me.

Pyre’s smile fills me with relief. “I think you’ll find you’ve been ready for a long time.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

MORRIGAN

The Veil

“What do you mean, you haven’t found anything?” I pace in my astral form as Variant leans against his throne like the arrogant king I encouraged him to be. He moves away from the seat and stands right in front of me, glaring into my eyes as if he’s the one pulling the strings and not the puppet. My chin lifts defiantly. “I told you to find a way into The Veil. Something is happening here, I can feel it. And if we want this power for ourselves, we need to move quickly.” I don’t want to wait on the idiot sprite for answers. Variant needs to find them.

“I don’t like your tone, Morrigan.” Variant comes close to my face. “You forget who is in charge here! If not for the others hiding you there, I would carve out your tongue.”

“Apologies, my King. I only want what is best for us both.”

Variant smiles. “That’s better. I must say, I miss our time together. You were always so obedient.” His hand brushes my astral form, causing me to shiver though I can’t feel the warmth of his skin or the sensation of his touch. Just the memory alone is enough to make my core clench. I lick my lips and lean closer, causing his hand to pass through my body. He chuckles and walks back to the throne with a bit more confidence in his stride.

“Will you keep looking?” I ask softly.

“I will, and I will continue the harvesting as well. The talisman is nearly complete, and the artificer says it is her best work yet. With the life forces we’ve leached from the fae, you should have enough power to do as you promised and force Theren to submit to me. I need the Unseelie army if we are going to kill Silvanus.”

---