Page 33 of An Archer's Redemption

“Atikus, it is Órla. Follow my voice.”

Part II

Chapter 13

Declan

Istood a few dozen paces below the Keeper’s cottage and let my eyes roam the landscape.

The day was bright and cloudless, and the tangy ocean breeze tickled my nose. Lush palms dotted the sandy shoals, while squat plants with broad leaves spread lazily across the ground. Gulls called in the distance.

The ocean could be seen from most places on the island, but from halfway up one of its peaks, the undulating carpet of blues and greens and brushstrokes of glittering white stole my breath. I couldn’t imagine a more tranquil place in all the world.

And then I heard the scream.

Piercing, anguished, and clearly my mother’s cry.

I dropped the pack I had slung over my shoulder and sprinted back into the cave.

“Mother!” I yelled as I raced through the Phoenix-hewn halls.

I found her a few dozen paces inside where we had parted. She sat on the cold ground, her back leaned against the cavernwall. Tears marred her ageless face, and she stared at the wall opposite into nothing.

I squatted, gripped her by the shoulders, and shook her. “Mother, are you all right? What happened?”

She looked up with a hollowness in her gaze. “It is Atikus. His spirit is weak, so faint I can barely sense him.”

“Is he alive? How weak?” Then I realized what she’d just said. “Wait, you cansenseAtikus’s spirit?”

What other powers had she never mentioned?

Kelså nodded. “Something has happened. He was attacked. I do not understand how or by whom, but this was not a physical assault. It was magical. He is still alive, but his connection to the currents . . . Atikus has beenseveredfrom magic.”

I ran a hand through my hair and slumped to sit beside her. “But he’s the Arch Mage. How could someone—”

“I do not know, but I do not think he was the first to be attacked. I sensed something days ago. It was unlike anything I have felt before. It made no sense. I do not even know how to describe it—a stabbing? That does not sound right, but it is how it felt, like someone stabbing into the currents.”

“When?”

“A day or two ago. I thought little of it at the time because it happened so quickly and then was gone.”

She began to stand, bracing herself with one hand against the wall, but I shot to my feet and gripped her by the elbow.

She looked up, her brow knitted with concern. “I know you want to get back to the mainland, but I would appreciate you staying a few more days. Atikus may need help we can only give him at the Well.”

“Of course.” I nodded. “I’ll stay as long as you need me.”

We made our way to the cliff’s ledge, where the stone circles and magical wine awaited. The latter soothed our frayednerves and energized our minds while the former focused our conversation.

“If Keelan were here, he would start with, ‘What do we know?’ He’d make us lay out everything we are certain about, then go from there.”

“He is quite the investigator, is he not?” Kelså offered a tight smile.

“The best. At least, that’s what they say.”

“All right, what do we know?” she parroted.

“First, there was an attack of some sort days before the one on Atikus. Second, Atikus suffered an attack you say felt similar to the first one. Only this one was powerful enough to take his magic from him.”

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