Page 3 of The Last Wish of Bristol Keats
Kormick’s hideous warriors would.
Kormick himself would.
How far would you go?she had asked Kormick, and he easily answered:As far as I need to go. He would do anything to become king of Elphame and gain control of the cauldron that would put them all under his thumb.
Bristol closed her eyes, seeing his soulless stare again when he trapped her in the alley. Unseelie. Her father’s despair swept over her.When she’s with him, she is not herself. But who was she? Had Bristol ever really known her mother at all? The answer was obvious. No. Her mother was good at hiding things, at playing roles. When she was with Kormick, maybe she was being exactly who she wanted to be, someone more powerful than any nightmare.
“Don’t forget this,” Cully said, and handed Kasta a small sleeping hare, calmed with magic. Kasta lowered the animal into her saddlebag. The proxy. A powerful kind of glamour would transform it, one that could stand the test of time, the difference between a castle made of sand and one made of granite. A hare that would become Cael for weeks. This was a magic Bristol had never seen. Only the most powerful sorcerers could conjure it, and Olivia was one of them.
Julia sidled close to Bristol. “So I assume this means you two have resolved your differences?”
Bristol nodded. “We haven’t had a lot of time to talk it out yet, but we’re working on it.”
“Good,” Julia said. “Be sure that you do, or those differences will eventually catch up with you.”
“I know. Thank you, Julia. And thank you for letting me crash in your room, and letting me cry on your shoulder.”
She smiled, creases lighting her beautiful cat eyes. “That’s what friends and shoulders are for.”
They walked with the others to the waiting horses.
Avery’s newfound confidence glowed on her sun-kissed face, freckles traveling like stars across her cheeks, and Rose and Hollis were engaged in excited chatter. Breath rippled lightly in Bristol’s chest.No knights will die on this mission, she promised herself.None.
She wished Glennis wasn’t still away on patrol. She always had a calming and encouraging word for the recruits. They needed that now more than ever. A single word could be more empowering than all the magic and might in the universe.
August bowed, allowing Bristol and Tyghan onto his back, and Tyghan slipped his arms around Bristol to hold the reins. “Let’s move out,” he called, and the Tuatha de horses leapt forward in unison, taking to the air.
CHAPTER 3
The border of Danu passed beneath the company of knights in a green haze. Tyghan lifted his hand as a signal to go dark. One by one, the knights and their horses faded from view and became part of the sky, invisible to anyone above or below. Since Bristol hadn’t acquired the ability, and perhaps never would, Tyghan swept her into his circle of invisibility. Only an amulet created by Master Reuben made them partially visible to one another.
The company stayed in formation behind August, like a wedge of white swans performing a ballet in the sky, dipping, rising, turning in unison, a magnificent and ruinous wonder. Their grace belied their lethal power.
Tyghan glanced over his shoulder and gave another signal—one to Kasta to take the lead. She eyed him uncertainly, and he repeated the signal. She moved forward, and he and Bristol dropped back. He knew Kasta had been flustered when he showed up at the last minute with four extra recruits in tow. Especially with Bristol at his side. That was not Kasta’s strategizing style, and he hadn’t meant to catch her off-balance in front of everyone. Not to mention, she was the one who had drilled and prepped the recruits for the mission. It was best that she lead. But it was more than that. She wasn’t just smart and prepared—she was loyal, a lifelong friend. He owed this trust to her.
He had another motive too. A self-serving one. He wanted every bit of his concentration on Bristol and her safety. They were going down to an area a dozen scouting parties had identified as the likely location of the Abyss portal—a deep, slender gorge half a mile long. Numerous swarms of restless dead had been spotted in the sky near the eastern end by the watchguards at Mistriven, though the exact spot remained elusive. It was an odd location for the portal, unlikely even—on the fringes of Fomoria instead of deep within its interior. If it wasn’t there, odds were they would never find it before the Choosing Ceremony, which meant they wouldn’t be able to stop Kormick from claiming the throne of Elphame.
And if it was there—
His chest tightened, a fusion of hope and terror clutching him. Knights didn’t depend on hope, and there was no room for terror when heading into battle. Confidence and cunning were the fevers that usually raced in his veins when he faced an enemy. He shook off this new feeling with logic. This was what they had all trained for. What they had trainedBristolfor. She would be safe.
The gorge came into view, and Tyghan’s blood raced hotter. “We’re going down now,” he whispered into Bristol’s ear. “Keep watch on the east end. This might be our last chance to find it. On the day of the ceremony, there won’t be time.”
“Last chance. No pressure there, right? Thanks a lot, Your Majesty.” Though she tried to keep her voice light, he heard the breathless flutter in her words.
“You’ll be fine. Just take your time. Remember, the only thing we’re doing today is finding it.”
There was an order to these things. If they closed the portal now, it would raise suspicions over who had done it. Kormick would look straight to Danu and have Maire reopen it and summon every demon out of hell. It had to be closed at the last minute, when there wouldn’t be time for Maire to do anything about it. While closing a portal was a quick affair, opening one took more time, not unlike a construction project. According to the historical records, a portal could take several days to open, and the Abyss portal, perhaps even longer. Once Kormick and his entourage had arrived for the parley and were caught up in the pageantry—that was when Bristol would close the Abyss.
Tyghan was glad she would be nowhere near the battle. She’d be far away while Danu and the hidden forces of Elphame descended on the Stone of Destiny and kept the path clear for Cael to claim his throne. No doubt a battle would ensue, but it would be one the Danu and Elphame forces could overcome. Once Cael stepped up, Kormick’s quest was over—the Cauldron of Plenty would be out of his grasp.
August circled and Bristol scanned the landscape.
“Anything?” Tyghan asked.
“Not yet.”
They circled again. Nothing. “Maybe we need to go farther east—” Kasta drew close. “She may need to shed her invisibility to have her full powers available.”
