Chapter 3
1407 Words
3
A few hours later found me seated on the couch opposite my unconscious fiancé. His face was tense and lacking in color. It reminded me of the hand that had hung from the bed that fateful night, and the blood that dripped from the fingers.
I started when a hand fell on my shoulder, and looked up to find Rodney standing beside me. His eyes were completely on me. “I am truly sorry.”
I blinked at him. “For what?”
He took a seat beside me and sighed. “For putting you through such agony. Alec was willing to sacrifice himself for you the moment he realized the danger I presented to him was real, and in that willingness, I knew you would suffer greatly from the loss of him in your life.”
I shook my head. “It’s fine.”
A ghost of a smile appeared at the corners of his lips. “You are as terrible a liar as your mother, and I perhaps appreciate that similarity more than how much you look alike.”
I stared down at the floor and pursed my lips. “How do you do it?”
He arched an eyebrow. “Do what?”
I raised my eyes to his and searched his face. “How do you go on living for so long without her?”
Rodney-no, my father’s-face fell and he grasped his hand over one of mine that lay in my lap. I couldn’t stop my hand from trembling. “You worry about losing him again.”
I flinched. “Every day.”
Rodney’s smile widened. “I am glad for that.”
I blinked at him. “You are?”
He nodded. “That means that you truly love him, and I have seen the lengths to which he will go to prove his own love for you. Such a bond is rare, and should be cherished for all your lives.”
I winced and turned my face away. “But what if that isn’t very long?”
Rodney leaned in and lowered his voice to a whisper. “Make every moment count, and never forget to remind him how much you love him.”
“I just-” Tears sprang to my eyes and my voice grew a little hoarse. “I just…I want him back-Alec and all his memories-but I feel like I’m losing a part of him again with his memories lost. Everything we’ve been through since I came here, all the times he’s saved me-”
“And you him,” Rodney reminded me.
A small smile appeared on my lips. “And those. I just feel, I don’t know.” I let out a deep sigh. “I just feel lost. Like I don’t know how to act around him with whatever he remembers.”
“Just act normally,” Blackbeak spoke up as our avian friend swooped in from the entrance hall and landed on the top of Alec’s chair. “You’re a terrible liar, anyway.”
I frowned at him. “That’s easy for you to say.”
He stood straight and puffed out his chest. “Don’t you think I’ve had my fair share of flings?”
I raised an eyebrow and a sly smile teased the corner of my lips. “With humans?”
Blackbeak sputtered on his own indignation. “W-what? Are you mad! Of course not! Why would I bother with you lot? Not even a decent feather on you!”
“So, it was just other ravens?” I guessed.
He stood straight again and lifted his beak in the air. “I’ll have you know I was propositioned by the queen of the fairy people.”
I snorted. “Seriously?”
Blackbeak glared at me. “Why is that so impossible to believe? She fancies anyone she pleases.”
“She must be easily pleased.”
The bird gave off a huff and turned his tail feathers to me. “She happens to have very good taste, and she’s an excellent dancer.”
“So why did you turn her down?” I asked him.
He opened his wings and gave them a flap. “These restless wings can’t be tied down to one woman. They must be kept free to fly wherever they please.”
Rodney coughed to hide his laughter. I wasn’t so discreet and burst into merriment. Blackbeak shot a look of death at both of us, and I heard him mutter something about stupid humans.
One of those ‘stupid humans’ stirred, and I was relieved when Shade, no, he was Alec, I had to get used to that, opened his eyes. He shifted and winced. “How long was I out?”
“All of the morning,” I told him as I looked him over. “How do you feel?”
He twisted a little and his back cracked. “I’ve felt better.”
“Food will help, and a few answers to whatever questions you might have,” Rodney spoke up.
Alec sat up and ran his hand through his frazzled hair. “I don’t know where to start. . .”
“Then I’ll summarize this whole mess for you,” Blackbeak spoke up as he paced the top of the chair. “You’ve been here for five years, trained to be a protector for Elly, and just today managed to mess it up by getting hit by a bunch of sparkles that took away all that time and energy. Now we’re stuck trying to find this guy to get your memories back.”
I turned to Rodney. “How can we get his memories back?”
“Der Hort uses an amulet to harness his abilities. Those recently acquired powers can be extracted from the amulet should the originator of the abilities place the trinket around their neck.”
“So how many times has that worked?” Blackbeak questioned him.
Rodney shrugged. “I am unable to say, as I have yet to hear of anyone being successful in stealing the amulet from der Hort.”
Alec and my jaws hit the floor, and my voice was a little higher than normal. “Then are you sure it’s going to work?”
“In theory, yes.”
Blackbeak ruffled up his feathers. “We’re risking our necks for a theory?”
“Do you have a suggestion?” Rodney returned.
“We could try just killing the little pipsqueak.”
“That would risk destroying the amulet, as the trinket is connected to his life force via magic. That has been proven when Shade last came into contact with him.”
I arched an eyebrow. “What happened then?”
“Shade?” Alec spoke up as he looked around at us. “Is that what I was called in this world?”
Rodney nodded. “It was, and you became quite the feared warrior due to your desire to protect your beloved-” He gestured to me, “-and in your unblinding faith in following my orders.” I gave his arm a little punch. Rodney rubbed his limb and sheepishly smiled at me. “I only thought to console him.”
“Uh-huh,” I mused before I returned my attention to Alec. He still looked a little dazed. “You don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to. Blackbeak and I can go find him on our own.”
Blackbeak wrinkled his beak. “Speak for yourself! I don’t know what kind of powers this guy has!”
Rodney sighed. “A great many, though fortunately the amulet can only hold a half dozen powers at any one time. Should he wish to acquire any more he needs to eliminate one.”
My eyes widened. “So, that means he only has five abilities.”
Rodney nodded. “So it would seem in his attempt to steal yours.”
“So, do you happen to have his current roster?” Blackbeak questioned him.
Rodney cupped his chin in one hand and furrowed his brow. “He would have kept the ability to hide himself, and the ability to move at great speeds.”
Blackbeak threw up his wings. “Great, so he can move faster than we can and be invisible while he’s doing it. What other powers does he have? He can kill people just by looking at them?”
Rodney shook his head. “No, he summons ice daggers out of his hands and has mastered throwing them as one would a normal dagger.”
“And he can make a huge fireball,” I added as I looked at my companions. “So that makes four out of the five skills.”
Rodney shrugged. “And I cannot think of any others he would have kept and not sacrificed in order to make room for your skill. He might also have acquired a new skill of which I am unfamiliar.”
“So more importantly-” Blackbeak added as he used one wing to gesture to Alec, “-what powers would he get from Mr. Amnesia here?”
Rodney studied Alec up and down. “He would have many to choose from. His ability to transform into a dragon, or the ability to fly, or perhaps his great strength.”
Alec’s eyes widened. “I had those?”
Rodney’s face fell and a dark cloud settled on his brow. “That, and one other, and we must at all costs keep der Hort from acquiring that one.”
I tilted my head to one side and arched an eyebrow. “What’s that one?”
“The ability to open the Seal of the Dragon.”
- Writer
