Page 11 of An Archer's Redemption

“Maybe you’re right. I guess it doesn’t matter why; we can’t Travel.” I shrugged and looked toward Ayden. “Ready for a hike? The gate is on the other side of the village.”

Ayden clapped me on the shoulder. “After you, my good sir.”

Kelså gave each of us another peck on the cheek. Then, far too quickly, Ayden and I made our way down the mountain path.

Chapter 4

Danai

My eyes roamed along the golden doors, taking in the detailed etching of the Phoenix that dominated their mirror-like surface. No one tended this chamber, yet the doors remained as shiny and perfect as the day they were laid on their hinges. I traced a finger along one of the Phoenix’s talons. I couldn’t remember touching the engraving before, and despite centuries of work with magic, it brought a boyish grin to my face.

Finally, tired of my rumination, I reached up to the plain metal plate on the wall and spoke the words, “E vesh Irina,”Take my life, Irina. As the doors swung open, I made a mental note to find a way to change the words required to enter this chamber. Irina was dead to me now—at least, that’s what I kept telling myself.

I slipped inside, impatient for the doors to open, and was shocked to find a cloaked figure kneeling in prayer before the altar. As I stepped closer, the outline of a mask, feathersprotruding where ears would normally be on an animal, marked the man as one of the Children.

“Child, turn and face me. What are you doing in this sacred place?” I demanded.

The figure didn’t move. The incessant muttering of the man’s prayer grew louder as I approached. When the prayer ended, the Child rose and turned to face me. The mask was of a snarling bear with what appeared to be an eagle’s wings for ears.

Lifeless eyes widened with recognition. The man bowed at the waist.

“Forgive me, High Lord. I did not know you would arrive today.”

My impatience grew. “I asked you a question, Child. Who are you, and why have you disturbed this place? None of your Order should even know of its existence.”

“Do you not know me, High Lord? I am the Elder of the Children.” The man’s head cocked to one side in confusion. “I felt our Mother’s passing and returned to her stone to mourn. It is a grievous end to our cause.”

Is that sadness in his voice? Can Children feel sadness? Or anything, for that matter?

“Irina failed us all,” I said with indifference, causing the Elder’s eyes to widen at my sacrilege. “I have come to release us from her grip.”

I brushed past the Elder and beyond the altar to stand before the onyx monolith that loomed over the chamber. Its lettering glittered in the magical light of braziers standing throughout. I reached into the pack I carried following the siege and removed a coil of thin rope, wrapping one end around the stone and tying it securely. I then walked back around the altar, releasing more rope with each step, until I stood inside the edge of the pool, again facing the monolith. Finally, I reached into my pack and removed the crown.

The Elder gasped and fell to his knees. “High Lord! How? Why do you have her crown?”

“Mycrown,” I corrected, then placed the ancient relic on my head.

An intoxicating wave of power coursed through me, and the Gift of Enhanced Strength contained in one of the diamonds answered my call. I gripped the rope, braced my feet against the inner lip of the pool, and pulled with all of my magically enhanced might. By the fourth draw, sweat beaded across my brow, and the pulsing crimson of the diamonds flooded the room with an eerie, bloody glow. On the tenth pull, the monument teetered until it fell with a crash against the altar.

Both shrines to Irina’s legacy cracked and shattered.

The golden script burst into flame.

When the last of the fires died, once-majestic words were replaced by charred remnants.

I dropped the rope and wiped my brow, smiling at my handiwork. There would be no second return of the Empress Irina.

“High Lord, what have you done?” the Elder sobbed. “Our Holy Lady is lost to us now.”

I pitied the fool.

Even in his hollowed-out state, the man felt the loss of his mistress, the loss of his purpose.

In that moment, a brilliant idea struck.

“Elder, what do you know of the prophecies of the One?”

The man looked up. “Irina was the One foretold, and now she is lost. Byyourhand.”

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