Page 70 of Becoming D'Vaire
“Yeah, I’d love to.” Delaney wanted to shadow walk and was so glad that one more benefit of having Grigori bonded to him was that he could finally accompany the other dark sorcerers.
“Dear, have you discussed it with Grigori?” Saura asked as she settled her tiny frame into a comfy indigo-and-black chair.
“We did talk about it shortly after we met. I’ll bring it up again to him, but he didn’t seem to have any objection.”
“Somerly’s shitting bricks over it. He’s afraid I’m going to get stuck on the other side of the veil, and we’ll never see each other again,” Dre’Kariston confessed. Though Dre’Kariston had shadow walked before, it was at a time when he and Somerly were separated. Delaney was thrilled when the pair worked out their issues and found their way back to each other.
“You’d see each other again,” Renny supplied. “If you died, he’d no longer be immortal. If he survived his heart sickness, he’d only have to wait two or three thousand years before his lifespan was over. Then you’d be reunited in death.”
“Great, Renny. That’s really helpful to tell a concerned mate,” Dra’Kaedan retorted.
“It’s called a joke.”
“Even though Somerly’s nervous, he understands the importance of what we’re doing and my desire to speak with Derwin,” Dre’Kariston said. “I’d like to know he’s all right. I need to know if he’s alone and whether he’s found the Coven of Familiars. If he hasn’t, we’ll have to come up with a plan to find them and get him to a place where he’ll be around other people just like him.”
“Can a temporary crossover like myself shadow walk? If Derwin’s not with the Coven of Familiars, I can locate Eldwyn. My familiar won’t be pleased to see me, but I know he’s going to want to help. Not only does he care for every familiar but like all our people, he’ll want Carvallius to pay for what he’s done to us. We’d be alive if not for his evil,” T’Eirick stated.
“A question for Chand. I don’t know if you can shadow walk. You’re hardly more than spirits yourself and are close to your walk back on that side. You might not be able to return,” Dre’Kariston commented.
“I could find the Coven of Familiars, right? I’m one of them. I could shadow walk to locate them if necessary,” Lucian, Dre’Kariston’s familiar, asked.
“I don’t see why not. Did you want to come with us? You’re welcome to do so. I’m sorry, I didn’t even ask. That was really rude of me,” Dre’Kariston remarked.
“I have no fear of the dark magic inside me, but I’ll admit death does freak me out. I’m not going to be signing up for a shadow walking day trip unless it’s necessary. I’ll help because this is too important not to. No worries about not asking me—I didn’t even consider it until we started looking at options for what we do if Derwin isn’t with the Coven of Familiars,” Lucian responded.
“Trust me, you’re on the right side of the veil. Some people get the chance to live again if Fate rebirths them but for all the warlocks that died, the majority are still waiting. Death’s not agony, but it can be an endless abyss without remarkable people like Chand. It hurts me to think I once disparaged his people as evil. They have a gift, one Fate was gracious enough to give,” Saura replied.
“I’m just glad we finally convinced you to stay,” Dra’Kaedan said.
“Okay, so our Del’s going to talk to Grigori, then you’ll shadow walk, so we can get our plan set in motion. In the meantime, we have a purpose here today,” T’Eirick stated.
Idris untangled his limbs from the sofa and grabbed a metal box done in the colors of Aleksander’s dragon. “I have the stones. I’ve used magic to engrave two thunderbolts over a dragon’s head, so we know this is the wizard version of the D’Vaire stone.”
“Idris, you really do think of everything,” Saura enthused.
“Let’s start with one and see how this goes,” Delaney suggested. “Idris, if it becomes too painful, stop casting.”
“It’s not going to be a big deal,” Idris responded. He took a single stone and set it on the coffee table.
“Dra’Kaedan, start with your healing spell. Idris, when you’ve got a grasp of it, let me know, and I’ll funnel my magic through yours,” Delaney instructed as he stood next to his best friend. Dra’Kaedan took a spot on Idris’s other side. If their plan worked, it would create a stone that when used by a dark wizard would heal minor issues without much pain. “When it’s twisted properly, aim it into the rock.”
A thick beam of light flew from Dra’Kaedan’s hands onto a spot a foot away from the D’Vaire stone. Idris thrust out an even wider swath of indigo, and he grimaced the second it hit Dra’Kaedan’s magic.
“You okay?” Delaney asked.
“It’s not horrible, just stings,” Idris responded. “I’m familiar with warlock magic. I’ve got this. Go ahead and slide yours into mine.”
“This is getting sexy,” Dra’Kaedan quipped as Delaney pulled from his deep pool and layered darkness over the indigo. Seconds later, it twisted into a rope with Idris’s power; then it became a braid of black, bluish-purple, and gold.
“Heading for the stone,” Idris said as he tugged it across the space. The rock glowed at the edges as they shoved it full of dark mending. Delaney studied Idris’s face carefully for signs of distress. There was tension in his jaw which proved he was making light of how it was affecting him, and Delaney was incredibly proud of his friend’s perseverance. Minutes later, the object they were counting on to allow people like Delaney to heal themselves rattled on the tabletop.
“It’s as full as you’re going to get it,” Dre’Kariston remarked. “You can stop casting.”
Delaney tugged his magic back inside himself, and the other two sorcerers did the same. Relief was written all over Idris’s face.
“Go ahead, Del. Touch it. What do you think?”
Delaney cast a quick spell to create a black shard with a sharp edge. He slit open a cut in between two of the lines Vadimas gave him as he ascended through the wizard levels. A moment later, he picked up the D’Vaire stone. A sharp sting hit him first, then his skin healed.
