The Keeper's Retribution: A Chosen Novel (The Keepers Book 2) Page 20

  If anything, they were worse now. Perhaps not the side effects, but definitely the complex nature of the visions themselves. Every time she started to believe she was getting a handle on them, they evolved.

  An all-too-familiar buzzing started just beneath the surface of her skin, and Effie shivered. The feeling intensified as she moved down the hall. Usually, she could identify what sent off the warning, but this time it appeared without prompting.

  Unease crawled through her, making her stomach tighten. Glancing around, Effie double checked that she was still alone.

  Quickening her steps, Effie rushed on until she was practically running through the citadel.

  Where is everybody?

  As if the thought was the trigger she’d been waiting for, her vision went black, and Effie skidded to her knees.

  Coughs racked her body and tears filled her eyes as she tried to See what was happening. She couldn’t make out anything through the thick gray fog that surrounded her.

  Tendrils of smoke separated themselves from the haze and wrapped themselves around her ankles, turning into clawed hands as they crawled up her body.

  She tried to run, but the hands held her in place while the swirling fog turned into row after row of faceless bodies.

  Swinging her arms, Effie tried to push the army away from her when they—along with the acrid fog—vanished.

  The space around her filled with books until hundreds of heavy tomes towered around her. Looking down, she was standing on a stack of books, each one easily the size of a table.

  Peering closer, she noticed that the glowing title beneath her feet was written in runes. Across the room, a book flew open, the pages rapidly turning before tearing themselves free of the binding and taking flight.

  All around her thousands of whispering voices filled the room. The words were indistinct, but their urgency grew with their volume until the indecipherable voices were screaming in her ear.

  Stumbling down, hands over her ears, Effie fell from the tower of books, the page-birds circling above her as she tumbled into the darkness.

  Breathing hard, Effie pushed herself up, cold sweat dripping down her neck. While the vision had passed, the harsh buzzing still raced through her veins.

  “At least that one wasn’t as bad as the last,” she muttered, trying to get to her feet.

  A wave of dizziness hit her, and she reached for the wall, using it to keep her upright as her eyes fell closed and she struggled to catch her breath.

  The smell of smoke still filled her nose and she coughed, even though the hall was clear.

  Worried now, Effie lurched forward, her steps still staggering. Smoke. I need to get to Smoke.

  Ronan found her drunkenly weaving her way down the hall, her body taking longer than usual to recover from her vision.

  She grasped his arm gratefully, not giving him a chance to speak before she sputtered, “I need to see Smoke.”

  Concern shot through his gaze, but Ronan didn’t question her. “The Triumvirate are gathered in the archives. I was actually just coming to find you. They think they might have found something.”

  She gave him what she hoped passed for a grateful smile and started off in that direction, Ronan matching her pace and offering her an arm to help balance her steps.

  “Thank you,” she murmured, leaning on him more heavily than she would have liked.

  Together, they made it to the central archive, Effie seeing nothing of the opulent room except the shelves filled with books. Her heart started to race as she moved deeper into the room.

  Images from her vision started to take shape, and it was hard to tell the difference between what was real and imagined. Effie swatted at a paper bird diving at her head before she realized she was the only one who could see it. Embarrassed, she dropped her arm and focused on the three scarlet-robed men.

  The central one turned his hooded face to her. “Daughter?” Smoke inquired, his usually soothing voice concerned.

  Effie opened and closed her mouth, suddenly worried that her vision might have been a warning about the Keeper. Shaking her head, she shoved the thought away, refusing to accept the possibility.

  “I had a vision,” she said, pausing to lick her lips. “It was similar to the last. Well, slightly more coherent, but only just. There was fog, thick and acrid, it turned into bodies. An army. They marched upon me and then vanished. Then books—” she gestured around herself wildly “—started to take flight. Well, pages from books. The titles were written in runes.”

  Effie stopped talking, her head pounding. It felt like the warning was just out of reach. Why would pages from books fly about the room?

  Within her, the buzz of her premonition turned into a shriek. Effie bit back a cry, not wanting to call more attention to herself. The vision was what was important right now. They needed to focus on that, and then they could deal with whatever madness was inside her.

  “A prophecy is coming true,” Smoke said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

  “Which prophecy?” Ronan bit out.

  One of the Mirrors shook his head. “It’s too soon to say.”

  “Is there a hint in my vision?” Effie asked, her hands balling into fists as another jolt of premonition raced through her.

  “Perhaps.”

  “One of our books is missing.”

  “We believe it contains the answers we’ve been seeking.”

  “Missing? How?”

  “Who else had access to your collection?” Ronan asked, perhaps more helpfully.

  “This particular volume? No one. It was sealed off in the Hall of Prophecy.”

  A gasp escaped as dead weight sat heavy in Effie’s neck and chest. Her gift was no longer warning her something was coming.

  It was already here.

  Effie tried to speak around the unexpected weight, but it was a struggle just to breathe.

  “Daughter?” Smoke asked, the first to notice, as always, that something was happening to her.

  Before she could try and answer, a loud boom rang out. Ears ringing, Effie couldn’t hear anything as the swirling lights floating around the room flickered out.

  Red runes sparked to life along the floor, casting the room in an unearthly glow. Ronan shoved Effie behind him, reaching for a weapon he didn’t have.

  Her hearing slowly returned, and she could make out bits of phrases, and the men made plans behind her, but Effie barely made note of them. She was more worried about the screams coming from another part of the building. They confirmed what she’d already known, what her gift had been shouting at her to recognize.

  The citadel was under attack.

  Chapter 28

  “How did they breach the citadel?” Ronan demanded, the need for vengeance blazing in his eyes.

  “Nothing is impenetrable if given the key.”

  “You think someone let them in?” Effie asked, spinning to face Smoke.

  There was a shrug. “It is the only plausible answer.”

  “But who?” she sputtered, her thoughts immediately turning to Tess.

  Effie gasped. Is this my fault? The Keeper would be familiar with the portals and other secrets of the citadel. It was not a far stretch that she would come seeking revenge. But the screaming . . . this was not the work of one Shadow-touched female.

  The ground started to tremble and bits of stone fell from the ceiling.

  A vicious growl sounded deep in Ronan’s chest. “Where the fuck are your Guardians?”

  “Doing their job.”

  Effie’s heart seized at the thought of Lucian caught unaware. If anyone can withstand a surprise attack, he can. She knew that it was true. Lucian was the fiercest among them, but her heart could not help but worry.

  More tremors shook the building and a beam snapped from the ceiling, narrowly missing them as it crashed to the floor.

  Thunder that had nothing to do with the shaking building swelled in the room. The Triumvirate’s anger was palpable, their emotiona
l storm almost as frightening as the unexpected attack.

  “Get her out of here. Quickly!”

  “And take her where?” Ronan snapped. “This was supposed to be the safest place in Elysia.”

  Appalled, Effie shot an accusing glare at her mentor. “If you think I’m going to run away like a scared little mouse then you clearly do not know me at all. I will stay and fight with the rest of you.”

  She could feel the weight of Smoke’s stare settle over her. “Many were likely caught unarmed. Go to the armory. Gather what you can for them.”

  “And what will you do?” Effie asked, her body already angled toward the hallway that would lead them to the room filled with weapons.

  “Protect what is ours.”

  Effie had not seen the Triumvirate fight—it’s what the Guardians were for—but a shiver of fear crept down her spine at the ominous words. She was glad they were on the same side.

  Ronan was already running, Effie just behind him, when she stopped mid-flight to fling her arms around Smoke. “Stay safe,” she said into his chest, squeezing tightly as she offered a quick prayer to the Mother to protect her friends.

  “You as well, Daughter,” he said, his voice oddly thick in her mind as he returned her embrace. “Now, go.”

  His hands burned where they wrapped around her wrists to pry her off of him. With a shaky breath and a little nod, Effie started to sprint for the door. She didn’t dare to look back. Not when the loud slam of doors bursting open echoed down the hall or the sound of wet grunts filled the air.

  With a choked cry, she pumped her legs faster. She was almost down the hall when there was another splintering crack. The sprinkling of dust on her arms was the only warning she needed. Effie flung herself forward, rolling awkwardly as she hit the floor.

  Panting, heart lodged somewhere in her throat, Effie stared at the mountain of debris that was now filling the hallway. The ceiling had caved in. Two seconds more and she would have been trapped beneath it.

  A large hand grasped her by the arm and pulled her up.

  “No time to linger.”

  “Ronan,” she gasped, “the kind of power necessary to do this—”

  “Shadows, aye, I know. We’ve killed them before; we’ll do it again.”

  “Yeah, with an entire army. Ronan, an attack of this magnitude—” Effie shook her head, unable to finish the sentence.

  Placing both his hands on her shoulders, Ronan shook her slightly. “Look at me.”

  Stomach rolling, she obeyed.

  “You cannot worry about the odds. One enemy at a time. That is how we’ll win. Do you understand me?”

  Effie nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  “Good. Now, we have orders—”

  “Ronan!”

  Reyna’s shout had both their heads snapping toward her.

  “Reyna?”

  “RUN!” she screamed, bloodshot eyes wide with panic as she frantically raced toward them. She was only half-dressed, but already covered in blood and ichor, a lone curved blade her only weapon. For the Night Stalker to flee instead of fight . . . that could only mean one thing. She was badly outnumbered.

  Behind her, three blue-robed healers followed suit, one tripping in his haste. He fell to the ground with a pitiful whimper, one of his friends skidding to a halt to turn and help him. It was the last thing they ever did.

  Just behind them, four Shadows stalked forward, forming an evil sort of diamond as they chased those fleeing.

  The central figure, more skeletal than anything animated with life had a right to be, held out its hands. The two healers began to gasp, clutching their throats as the Shadow pulled the air from their lungs.

  Effie watched in growing horror, their strangled cries breaking her heart. Without weapons of their own, there was no way to fight back. Not even to distract the Shadow long enough for the suffocating healers to try and escape.

  Ronan let out a savage roar, calling up his twin powers of Fire and Earth.

  Effie gaped, remembering Ronan didn’t need weapons to be deadly. He was Chosen. His power was more than enough to protect him.

  Maybe they had a chance after all . . .

  The Shadow grinned then, most of his teeth visible through the gaping hole in his cheek. His eyes focused on Effie as he curled his left hand into a fist, cutting off the healers’ cries. The silence more horrifying than anything else as their lifeless bodies dropped to the floor.

  Ronan threw his power into the ground. The effect was instant, the ground began to grow and swell, cresting like a wave.

  “Let’s go!” he shouted, not waiting to see the result of his efforts.

  Reyna was already barreling past him, the last of the healers hot on her heels. With a final glance at the four Shadows, Effie watched the shock wave make contact, knocking the Shadows off of their feet and slamming them to the ground.

  Knowing it wouldn’t keep them occupied for long, Effie started running.

  “In here!” Ronan called, slamming open the dining hall doors as he careened into the empty room.

  “We need weapons,” Effie reminded him. “How is hiding in here going to help us?”

  Ronan lifted a brow, moving to the back of the room. “We’ll never make it to the armory before they catch up. At least in here we have options.”

  She eyed the rows of wooden tables with their stacked dishes. “Are we planning on hurling plates at them?”

  The Shield held open the door to the kitchen with a dark grin. “I find that chef knives can be quite deadly.”

  Of course.

  Reyna was rifling through the knives, running her fingers along the blades and testing their balance. “These will work well for throwing,” she murmured.

  Effie’s attention was seized by blades twice the size of her forearm. Hefting the meat cleavers, she gave a test swing, trying to get used to their weight in her hands.

  Ronan let out a low whistle. “You’ll have to get close with those.”

  It was Effie’s turn to give him a savage grin. “Without fire, the only way to stop them for good is to remove the head. I was going to have to get close anyway. At least these will be faster than a dagger.”

  Ronan nodded, selecting a heavy-looking mallet and the longest knife as his own. “I can’t risk using my Fire without burning the entire place down around us.”

  “Decapitation it is then,” Reyna said, moving to stand beside him.

  Reyna’s dark hair was unbound and tangled, hanging to her waist in a mess of braids. Her skin was deathly pale and waxy, her lips cracked and her eyes feverish. She hardly looked well enough to stand, let alone fight. The lajhár poison had affected her far worse than the rest of them. Effie could only assume it had something to do with her being a Night Stalker, since she and Kael both seemed to have made full recoveries.

  “Maybe you should sit this one out,” Effie murmured.

  Reyna’s eyes went dark and dangerous. “The day I stop fighting is the day I die.”

  “What about you?” Ronan asked, talking to the healer curled up into a ball near the massive hearth.

  “I-I don’t fight, sir. It goes against everything I believe in to cause harm.”

  Tossing a blade at the shaking man’s feet, Ronan said, “Perhaps you better learn how to get over that. It’s them or you. Your choice.”

  Looking like he was about to be ill, the healer nodded, picking up the knife with trembling hands.

  “You know which end to use, right?” Ronan added.

  Effie would have thought Ronan was joking if his face hadn’t been cast in such grim lines.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Good.”

  Even though Effie was waiting for it, the crash of wood smacking into stone made her jump.

  “They’re here,” she said, tightening her grip around the heavy wooden handles.

  Chapter 29

  Effie peered out the wide window, taking care to stay hidden.

  The Shadows moved into the dining hall, looki
ng like they were out for a leisurely stroll. There was no need for them to rush, the victory—in their minds—assured.

  “Come out, come out, wherever you are,” one of them crooned in a rasping voice.

  “Be careful what you wish for,” Reyna snarled, hurling the first of her knives.

  It struck true, burying itself in the rightmost Shadow’s eye.

  “Now that wasn’t very nice,” it said, pulling the blade—and its eye—free with a disgusting pop.

  “These are the same Shadows that killed the healers, so we know at least one of them controls Air,” Ronan murmured, standing on the opposite side of the window as Effie.

  “Should we assume there’s one of each?” Effie whispered, thinking that a full set of corrupted elements was going to be damn near impossible to beat on their own.

  “Mother, I hope not,” Ronan said.

  Effie closed her eyes. Please don’t let there be Fire. Exhaling, she opened her eyes and waited for Ronan’s signal.

  Between them, Reyna threw another one of her knives.

  The Air Shadow knocked it to the floor with a wave. “Is that the best you can do?”

  Reyna bared her teeth, blades resting between each of her fingers. “Hardly,” she snarled, unleashing a fan of knives so quickly that the Shadows didn’t have time to react. The four blades finding homes in the throats of each of the Shadows.

  “Now,” Ronan said, diving through the opening running full speed at the one-eyed Shadow.

  Effie opted for the door, as it provided a clearer path to the Shadow on the right. She was knocked back before she was halfway. Earth, she realized as the floor opened up before her. Struggling to her feet, she finally noticed what she’d missed before. All four of the Shadows wore familiar black robes.

  The missing Keepers. Bile rose in her throat at the thought of more of her peers dying by her hand. How could you let this happen? she thought angrily, sending the accusation to the Mother. You’re supposed to protect your children.