Page 139 of An Archer's Redemption

“What?”I asked, turning to look at Declan.

“She said it took five of the original Mages, using their combined power, to cast the spell—and it consumed all of them—except her. By design, she wasn’t part of the casting—she was an object of it. That’s how she became Keeper.”

I nodded.“I knew about her becoming Keeper through the spell but had not realized the other Mages were consumed by it. I assumed a couple may have died, while the others were lost to history after leaving the island. The bigger problem here is how much power was needed for the casting—and they were casting into a purified Well, not the muck we are dealing with today.”

“We need to go back to the island. The answers are there. I can feel it.”

I held his eyes a moment.“Can it wait until after I finish breakfast?”

Declan laughed out loud, turning Jess’s and Keelan’s heads once more.

“Care to share?” Jess asked.

“No,” Declan said through chuckles. “Just Grampy and his appetite.”

Two hours after I tossed my napkin on my plate, Declan and I hugged Jess and Keelan goodbye. I told Jess we were headed to Saltstone to review scrolls my Mages had unearthed, a lie that deeply bothered Keelan. It pained me, lying to Jess, but the security of Rea Utu was paramount. The Compulsion cast on Keelan’s mind to protect the island and its inhabitants would have allowed us to share our destination with him, but Declan argued against it. Jess and Keelan had grown close, and he did not want a secret to drive a wedge between them.

With a last wave and pair of tight smiles, Declan and I Traveled to the island.

On our third day on Rea Utu by island time, Declan’s magic-enhanced voice bounced through every corridor of the cavern. “Atikus! Come quickly. I found it!”

A moment later, I shuffled into the library, wheezing from my brisk walk from the kitchen where I’d been making lunch. I passed a rectangular worktable that was now buried beneath dozens of unfurled scrolls to find Declan pacing between two stacks near the back of the grotto. A ball of undulating magic bobbed as he walked, somehow keeping up with his frantic movement.

His eyes never left the scroll he held.

I gripped his arm to stop his pacing, then peered around his shoulder to peek at the parchment.

“What language is this?” I asked. “I don’t recognize it.”

Declan grinned. “Keep looking.”

I furrowed my brow at the strange symbols, then something astonishing happened.

They beganshifting.

Symbols splintered apart and formed letters in Melucia’s lilting dialect. Whole words vanished as others appeared.

The inky dance was mesmerizing.

“Sweet Spirits. I have never seen magic do that,” I muttered.

When the spell settled and I could read each line, I released a long breath and allowed myself to relax. “My boy, you have done it. You found it!”

I slapped Declan on the back, then sobered. “There is just one problem.”

“What now?”

“The Well is still poisoned, and I do not know how to cure it.”

Declan looked back to the scroll. “Could casting this also purify the currents?”

“Hmm.” I fiddled with my beard as I thought. “Maybe—or it won’t. We could waste an immense amount of magical energy and destroy our only hope of fixing things.”

“Immense amount of magical energy. I’ve heard you use that exact phrase before.” Declan dove into his memories. “What about using the crown? The one we recovered from Thorn and Irina?”

I shook my head. “That will not work. The crown lost its magic when the diamonds were shattered. It magnified whatever Gifts the wearer possessed but also granted the Gifts of the spirits trapped within each diamond. Those were lost when the spirits were freed.”

“Wait! I think—you weren’t talking about the crown when you said that phrase; you were talking aboutIrina’s staff, how it magnified her power.” Declan paced. “What if we used the staff to magnify our power as we cast the spell?”

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