The Parallels
TWENTY-ONE

It was time for all this to end. I was tired of running, tired of putting those I loved at risk and above all else, I was tired of not knowing the truth. There was no point in delaying what I’d already decided to do weeks ago. So instead of waiting, I sought out my fate and as it turns out, so did he.

“Come with us; there’s no need to spill any more mage blood,” Xavier had said simply. He’d intercepted me as I was on my way to replace him and I did not fight him when he brought us to the same clearing I’d arrived only hours before. We wait in the quiet snow-covered oasis.

“Turns out, you’re the one they’ve been looking for this whole time.” He surveys me as if wondering just why exactly that is then tries to break through my shield.

I picture a torrent of waves crashing down on the sand as if a storm was brewing on the horizon beyond. Xavier stumbles backwards and brings his hand to his head.

“Perhaps you’d like to replace out,” I say threateningly, edging closer to where he stands. He brings his hand to his side and the throbbing in my head subsides. “How can you trust the Herrings considering all they’ve done to your people?” I ask disgustedly, then spit at his feet.

Xavier’s eyebrows come together in confusion. “How do you think I’ve kept Northpoint safe all these years?” He whispers. “Surely you didn’t think every mage who sought shelter here ended up staying?” He sees the confusion in my face and clicks his tongue. “Still so naive.”

“You’ve sent your own people to their death?” I shake with fury. “We’ve spent our entire lives dreaming of Northpoint, of a place where we’d truly be safe.” I break off and my eyes flutter to the trees surrounding him, sure that I heard movement from beyond the thick folds of their branches. “You think you can trust them?” My words are venom. “They’ve spent their lives hunting you down, who’s to say that once you hand me over, they won’t take you next?” A few of the soldier’s he’s brought along shift uncomfortably.

“Cause’ you’re the way out of this Fade forsaken land.” It’s not Xavier who answers this time. I spin on my heels as at least two dozen Herrings emerge from the woods behind us and at their helm is none other than Camus.

“You brought him here?” I ask Xavier as the Herrings file into a line on either side of Camus.

There’s an edge to Xavier’s voice when he says, “I’m not a fool, girl. He appeared here before dawn demanding your presence.”

My stomach drops. Only Northpoint’s veilers knew the entry points which means that the Herrings had managed to capture one. I stare at the warped monstrosity before me. Camus doesn’t not move a step closer. We each appraise one and other, standing face to face as foes. Our roles were cast by a coward who couldn’t even fetch me himself. I am tired of the tip-toe dance we’ve come to expect from each other. Xavier was right; there was no need to spill any more blood and I wouldn’t be the reason for that to continue.

I see the surprise register in Camus’ features as I take three steps forward and extend my hands to him. “Take me but leave these people,” I demand.

He doesn’t approach, but ushers forth another Herring instead. They’ll bind my magic, so I can’t harm them, but I need to be sure they will leave the others unharmed, so I play the only card I have left.

“We’ll use this to travel to Fairvale.” I hold out the transference stone knowing that as soon as I leave, Xavier would do well to evacuate Northpoint through the underground tunnels and to safety.

Camus laughs and gestures to another Herring behind him that I can’t quite see, once the pack splits I nearly lose my footing. Two Herrings drag Darius through the opening and throw his unconscious body to the snow-packed ground near Camus’s feet. His face is swollen with bruises but the steady rise and fall of his chest ensures me that he’s’ still alive.

“Fraid we got one of those already, goldeneye.” He reaches into his pocket and holds out Darius’s transference stone. “Even if you go back through that veil, we can follow you now. WE can follow you anywhere so long as we have him,” he kicks Darius hard in the side, but he doesn’t move, “and this little gem.” I want to slice the smile right from his horrid face. Camus’s eyes flicker to Xavier. “We’ve been ordered to bring the girl back, but he said nothing about having a bit of fun beforehand.” Camus laughs then looks directly at me. “And goldeyes, we don’t need no rope to subdue you.”

With a flick of his wrist, a silver orb zips through the air and plows into my chest. I’m thrown back a good fifty feet and hit the ground hard. The orb jettisons silver ropes over my entire body, and the effect is instantaneous. It’s like a bucket of ice water has been poured into my blood. I will the cassiterite to help me, but it doesn’t budge. I feel for my magic, but there is none. The rope tightens the more I try to tap into my magic until it’s burning its way through my clothing. It’s not lost on me what will happen if I keep trying to use my magic, so I stop as I feel the tiniest burning sensation on my arms. The rope has already seared through my clothing and leaves an angry red marking when it momentarily touched my skin.

A frenzied cry breaks the wintery morning and the Herrings charge forward. I try to sit up, but the ropes tighten around me once again. Xavier brings his hands to his chest then throws them outward sending a blue lightning bolt of electricity toward the Herrings. Most duck before the magic hits them and those that don’t are thrown clear back to the opposite edge of the clearing. Camus effortlessly grabs Darius and runs straight to where the veil lies but moments before he breaches it, he falls to the ground and writhes in pain.

Over my shoulder, Arthin appears like a shadow in mid-air and she’s not alone. Oreya, Maira, Iofin, and Rhian stand behind her along with a few of our soldiers and one of the veilers who’d greeted us when we first arrived. Arthin focuses intently on the Herrings, and with a small turn of her outstretched hand, they all begin to scream. Oreya and Rhian immediately run to me. Oreya draws one of her cassiterite daggers and quickly slashes through the ropes. The orb crashes to the ground and shatters like ice. I try to stand but I can barely move, the orb has rendered me completely useless.

“I can’t hold them for long!” Arthin shouts. Her hand trembles in the air as a few of the Herrings begin to break free of whatever magic she’s using on them. Camus growls ferociously, but Iofin’s ferocious snarl meets it. She edges forward, positioning herself between Arthin and Camus.

“Jules!” Rhian says tugging me backward. “We need to get through the veil.”

I don’t move. I can’t take my eyes from Darius who’s still slumped over among the pack of snarling Herrings. Camus breaks free of Arthin’s hold, draws his sword and runs at us but Iofin’s already pounced. Camus slashes at her, but she somersaults over him, digs her nails into his shoulder, and snarls as she bites down on his shoulder. He grabs her snow-white hair and throws her against the nearest tree. The snow falls from its limbs as she makes impact and doesn’t move. The ground quakes as two more Herrings shake themselves from Arthin’s mental stronghold and charge toward Oreya, Rhian and me.

“Make a line!” Oreya commands.

The four other soldiers flank her as I shakily rise to my feet and push Rhian back toward the veil. “Rhian, you have to go. Take Xavier and the veiler. Warn the others and get them to safety.”

Xavier comes to our side with the veiler. “I can help fight,” he says.

I quickly shake my head. “I don’t trust you. But there is a way you can help me.” I don’t wait for him to reply before I take his hand and his magic. I draw out just enough to do what I’d been planning since I first met the Herrings. Once I have what I need, I push Xavier away without giving him a second glance.

“Jules, I can’t leave you!” Rhian protests.

Metal on metal sounds from behind us. “You have to, Rhian!” I push him into the hands of the veiler. “Go now!” I take one last look at him before rounding on the battle before me.

Despite the fights waging around him, Camus is not drawn into any of them. Instead, he stands in the middle waiting. When I draw Erique’s sword from its hilt, I know that Camus has been waiting for me. Darius lies just inches from his feet and Camus doesn’t miss the almost invisible flicker in my gaze. His mouth breaks into a grotesque grin as he unsheathes a small dagger and brings it to Darius’s slumped body.

“For my kin,” he says as he stabs Darius in the side.

Everything around me falls away and all I know is an endless blind rage that seizes my body. Xavier’s magic blossoms in my blood and now I understand why he ruled over Northpoint, why he never carried a weapon. I charge past the Herrings, past my own kin who battle them and run straight for Camus. He rises from Darius, pulls another dagger from his belt and lunges for me, but it’s too late. I slam my hands onto his chest and let Xavier’s electricity rip through my fingertips and tear into Camus’s flesh. He drops his sword and with his dying breath says something that makes my magic stop altogether.

“Thank you,” he breathes as his body falls to the ground.

The battle around us stops. The Herrings that are still alive take pause and stare at Camus’s lifeless vessel. Several of them drop their weapons, and those that don’t let them hang loosely in their hands. All bear the look of defeat and hopelessness before they turn and flee into the surrounding forest. I look to Oreya who’s as stunned as I am.

“What in the Fade just happened?” I say aloud.

The answer arrives on rolling thunder that breaks through the sky. The cassiterite bracelet burns red hot on my wrist as it replaces its strength again. Red lightning fills the air. The scene before me is all too familiar. He’s coming.

“Oreya!” I yell. She’s to me in an instant. “You’ve got to get them out of here now.”

Two of the soldiers hold Iofin between them. She looks dazed but otherwise unharmed.

I rush to Arthin and Darius who’s just regaining consciousness. I dig into his belt and remove the transference stone.

“Arthin, there’s a young girl named Gabrielle in Northpoint, she has the other stone.” I pull her close to me and whisper. “Whoever is coming doesn’t know about Stirlast, Arthin.” I pull back. “Get them there.” The lighting cracks behind us, drawing nearer. To her credit, Arthin doesn’t argue. Oreya bends down and picks up Darius who hangs limply from her arms. “Get him to a healer.” I say to her.

Oreya nods, “Ay Juliane Faren.” And with that, she jogs away.

I round on Arthin once again. “If it’s me he’s after, then he’ll never stop searching.” I look down at the transference stone and the edges of the marking on my wrist that peak out from under my sleeve. “Tell him I’m sorry, Arthin. Tell him that he’s safer without me.”

She takes my hand as the sky darkens even more. “You know he’ll come searching for you.” She pulls up my sleeve to reveal the markings on my wrist and gasps. “I’d never thought I’d meet another pairing.” Pain laces her words. “Darius will replace you again, just as he has in every life before.”

My heart breaks as I step away from her. “I know,” I choke out. “But if I can end this before any more harm comes to Lanel, then what choice do I have?”

“I know, Jules.” She lets go of my hand and brings her palms together over her heart. “Mire bless you, daughter of Faren.”

I look down at the transference stone and say aloud the one place in Lanel I’d hope to never see.

“Fairvale.”

The clearing drops away, and I stand in a long corridor of a great hall. Large urns brandishing golden flames line the otherwise darkened room. It’s eerily quiet here, reminding me of the woods just before I came to meet the Herrings for the first time. All of the windows are covered in thick, midnight tapestries as if light itself is not welcome in this place.

“I’ve been waiting for you.” The voice sounds from the opposite side of the corridor where the stranger sits in an oversized chair.

He doesn’t wait for my reply before he slips from the chair and slowly walks toward me. Maybe my veil hasn’t fully allowed me to see him as I do now, because as approaches my breath catches. His beauty is striking. The etched line of his lips curves upward into a sultry smile that rekindles whatever’s left of the magic in my blood. His golden eyes starkly contrast to his dark skin, giving the impression that they’re glowing. And again, that part of me that’s been buried and hidden beneath my veil yearns for him. Despite my nightmares I’d had of him, the man before me seems anything but deadly.

“Not what you were expecting?” His voice is molten.

My anger and fear give way to curiosity as I take a step closer. And just as in the tunnels beneath the Twin Frontiers Post, I feel as if I’m not completely in control of myself.

“Who are you and how do you know me?” He takes a step closer looking up at me through his thick eyelashes. When he takes another step forward it’s as if the tether between us tightens. It’s like the feeling I have when I’m near Darius, only ten times stronger. My feet move of their own accord until I’m standing no more than an arm’s length away from the alluring stranger. The pulling sensation wraps around my lower back and snakes its way down my legs edging me closer still.

“I’ve known you for an eternity.” His eyes flare with emotion. Again, I feel the prodding in my head as if someone is trying to break through my shield and I do my best to picture the ocean but all I can see is this man. “You’ve never hidden your thoughts from me, not of your own free will at least.” Something dark flashes in his eyes and for just a moment, they flare red before settling back to gold.

“Who are you?” I ask again. Something nudges at the back of my mind, and when I breathe again, there’s the familiar scent of evergreen in the air. It’s Darius’s scent. He’s come for me.

Jules. His voice drifts into my head.

The stranger before me growls and finally closes the distance between us. He places one arm around my waist and traces my jawline with the tips of his fingers. The magic flowing between us is exhilarating, and my body slackens at his touch. I press into him, and his guttural growl hums quietly in my ear. The magical tether tightens around us as I tilt my head back into his fingertip that have found their way to the base of my neck. The air around us shimmers with a radiant, golden light.

His breath catches in my ear, shallow and hungry. “Remember,” he whispers.

I nearly fall backward as his magic sears my skin, pierces my shield, and tunnels its way straight into my soul.

We’re entangled, losing ourselves to each other’s touch. Our bodies replace a gentle rhythm and as we replace our pleasure, golden light bursts around us. I fall into his arms, and we stay like that until morning hidden from those that forbid our union.

My hands wield a burning sword. In front of me, magic unfurls in spirals of blue and green. There’s a cry from behind me, and from over my shoulder, I see an endless parade of soldiers running. My heart swells, and I repeat their battle cry.

There’s so much blood, so much pain. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. They’d promised us peaceful talks, but the bodies of my kin lie unmoving before me as far as I could see.

He stands by my side. “They’ll never know mercy,” he says. “And all this for magic?” I’ve never known so much loss.

He falls to his knees across a room full of robed figures. I want to run to him, want to comfort him, but my body is bound tightly to a post. I summon my magic, but it fizzles out as it touches my bounds. One of the robed figures steps from the crowd. I know his face. The magic within me screams, but all I can do is spit at him. He removes his hood. His smile is my smile. His silver hair my own.

“Father,” I cry.

His words hold no love. “You are no daughter of mine.” He turns and faces the crowd. “For the crime of treason, torture, and murder the punishment is banishment.” The stranger’s scream is deafening, endless sorrow. Father pivots to face me. “I relinquish you from this realm.” His hands dance in the air, their movements all too familiar. My punishment hasn’t existed until now. They were waiting to use it to stop us, to stop the rebellion. “May you never know light…”

His words fade into the background as I lock eyes with the stranger. “I will replace you,” he says. He squares his shoulders; his golden eyes burn red with rage.

It’s almost over; I can feel the pieces of my soul falling away. My vision begins to spin as my body lightens.

Father is now touching my forehead as he says the last of the council’s verdict. “I cast you into the Fade for all eternity.”

My eyes focus on the last thing they’ll see in this world.

“Anam Cara,” I whisper to the stranger before darkness consumes me.

I stagger backwards. The halls of Fairvale surround me once again. My fingernails dig into the polished floor where I’ve fallen onto my knees. I push myself up, my knees threaten to buckle, but I force myself to stand. When I look into his eyes, I already know the answer.

“Say it,” I whisper. “Say your name.”

His eyes soften with a combination of love, remorse, sadness, and longing. “I’ve been known by many names.” He closes the gap between us, and when he takes my hand the part of me that no longer lies dormant beneath the veil welcomes his touch. Part of me has longed for this moment for five hundred years. “But you once called me Gethin Stone.”

I am split and the part of me that is still Juliane Faren raged against him until he had no choice but to put me in this cell. His magic broke down the rest of my veil and now, the other person that shared this vessel was fighting to break free. Niall was right, the memories, my past, my soul, they don’t just belong to me. One half of me is Juliane Faren, the other half is a nameless woman who whispers to me now, as if she’s sitting in this cell by my side.

You’re not strong enough to fight him for much longer. She dances like a shadow around me. Just how long do you think this body of yours can house us both? She laughs.

“Shut up!” I scream, swiping at her and turning around in the cell in search of where she may appear next. When I whip my head back around to the cell door, a man stands on the other side watching me. The stranger inside of me knows that it’s Gethin, but he looks different than before. His black hair is cropped close to his head, and his beady eyes paired with dull, rigid skill make him look like something of a spider. This must be Morren Blackthorne. He possesses none of the grace or beauty of his sisters.

“You’ll have to forgive my appearance.” I keep trying to shield my thoughts but there’s no use, his power is exponential, and the veil protecting me is gone. “I can only look as you once knew me for a short time in this realm.” He gestures to himself. “So this is the vessel I’m forced to wear in the meantime.” His words are laced with disgust.

“What did you to me?” I ask.

“As you’ve already come to know, your soul isn’t entirely your own.” He looks down at me pitifully. Where there was once compassion, there’s now only contempt. Gethin wanted nothing to do with Julianne Faren; he only wanted the part of me that belonged to her. “Before they captured us, we made certain to ensure that the Faren Primary would know the pain we had felt, so we placed a curse their bloodline. We spliced the soul of the next born kin of the Faren Primary to the soul you feel trying to break free from you.” His smile is devastatingly sinister.

“Why?” She rallies against my efforts to keep her at bay. She’s strong but I am stronger, for the moment.

For a moment, he appears as Gethin Stone and the effect is instantaneous. My body lurches forward and my hand reaches to him.

“Stop!” I scream.

He chuckles and fades back into Blackthorne. “If you let her out, I’m sure she’d tell you all about who she is,” he pauses, “and who you are.”

“I’d rather rot in the Fade,” I say resolutely.

When he sees the hard determination in my eyes, his smile disappears. He straightens and smooths back Blackthorne’s oily black hair. “After I returned to this realm, it became clear to me that no one knew the true history of the Parallels.”

“Because you destroyed it!” I snarl.

“Tsk, tsk, daughter of Faren, now you can do better than that.” He pulls a stool in front of the cell and sits. “If we let you live, I hope you come to know the truth about your bloodline.” He closes his eyes and tilts his head ever so slightly to the side as if listening for something. Another smile breaks over his face. “But your kin are on their way, so we haven’t the time for bedtime stories just yet. He rises. “I’ll leave you with this question to ponder while I destroy your kin as your bloodline did to mine. Didn’t you ever wonder why there are only four Primaries when there are five Parallels?” And with that, he rises and leaves me in the dark.