Page 15 of Fate Promised

Juri growled. “He called the vanishing isle.” Swearing violently in Vulk, his hands clenched into fists. He’d failed to kill Hoyt—again—and the necromancer succeeded in bringing forth the vanishing isle from whatever realm it normally lived in.

Triska wiped the sand off her face. “The vanishing isle? Are you sure?”

His hackles rose. He had to keep Hoyt from getting on that island, no matter what. “You were performing some powerful magic there. You learned magic while I was gone?”

She shifted. “Sort of, it’s hard to explain.”

Whatever she’d done had eliminated Hoyt. “I should go check on the others and see what else the necromancer did.”

Triska nodded. “I’ll come with you.”

Before they could take a step, Fergal shuffled up to them. “I didn’t think I’d see a rune in my lifetime.” He squinted first at Triska, then at Juri. “And this one is particularly surprising.”

Juri’s eyes narrowed, and he studied the taffy seller. “You know about runes?”

“Know it? No. No one can know them, although there are wyrdstaaves who think they can whisper words to a rune to make it obey, but runes are … unknowable.”

Juri glanced at Triska. “What do we do?”

Fergal’s brows shot up. “Do? When a rune speaks, you listen, boy.”

“Boy?” Juri’s glanced down at himself. “I haven’t been a boy in a long time.”

Fergal waved his hand. “You’re still a lot younger than me.”

“And a lot hairier.” He glanced at Triska, and her lips lifted a fraction. The way they would back when he sassed teachers in school. Making her smile was always his only goal in school. Learning was not.

He sobered and rubbed his chest. “I meant what do we do about Hoyt—that necromancer. He noticed the rune and the connection. Is he one of these wyrdstaaves? He seemed to think he could attack one, or both, of us.” Hoyt had shot magic at him, and it landed instead of bouncing off him like magic usually did.

Fergal cocked his head. “I think it’s safe to say you’re both at risk, and you’d better protect each other. I heard the poem, the rune is mimicking a bondmate kind of connection, and you know what often happens if one bondmate is killed.”

Triska blanched. “The other dies as well.”

Juri’s stomach clenched. His connection to Triska put her in mortal danger. Exactly what he’d always tried to avoid. All these years of staying away, staying apart, only to have her targeted by a necromancer now… This was his fault.

If she didn’t know him, she’d be safe in her bed right now.

“I’ll look through some of my books that touch on rune magic,” Fergal continued. “It’s been a long time since I studied them, and I need to refresh my memory. Maybe there is something we can do. And we also need to deal with that.” Fergal pointed out at the bay.

“I know. He wants to get onto it.”

Fergal snorted. “No one gets on the vanishing isle. He’s a fool.” But his eyes narrowed, and he lapsed into silence. “Well, no one will get onto it tonight. Even with full moons to sail by, that water is death to anyone who tries.” Waves smashed onto the shore, eating far up onto the beach. Protected as the bay was, only the fiercest gales caused the waves to crash like this. But there was no ripping wind. The roiling sea was responding to something else.

Fergal turned back toward the beach. “We’ll see it better in the morning light. Right now, I’d better make sure those damn necromancers didn’t injure anyone permanently. Hoyt was a careless student in school, and I’m sure his magic work is just as sloppy now.”

“I’ll help you,” Triska said.

Juri peered at Fergal. What had the magicwielder said? Hoyt was a careless student in school. “You know Hoyt?”

“Yes, I knew him when he was a student. His power has changed remarkably since then.” Fergal reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of taffies. He gestured toward Triska. “Eat one. It’ll help you feel better, and it has a bit of …” his eyes twinkled, “oomph to it to help restore your magic. Wait for it to kick in before you help to heal anyone.”

Juri glanced at the treats wrapped in wax paper and plucked a chocolate one out. He handed it to Triska.

“Ooh! Chocolate. My favorite.” She smiled, and his heart stopped.

Fergal moved his handful of taffies toward Juri. “You can have one too. Heavens knows you used to steal them off me every chance you got.”

Juri snagged a peanut butter taffy. He fumbled with his claws to remove the wax paper.

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