The Fallen One Read online

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, place, and incidents are either a product of my imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishment, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  The publisher nor author does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.

  Copyright © 2014 Lexy Wolfe

  All rights reserved

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  Other Books by Lexy Wolfe

  The Sundered Lands Saga

  The Raging One

  The Knowing One

  The Timeless One

  The Fallen One

  Dedication

  To all the authors who inspired me to start writing,

  To my friends who have believed in me and cheered me on to fulfill my dreams,

  To my children who still regard me as SuperMom, and tell me I am even on those days I am not feeling so super,

  And most importantly, to my beloved husband, who has believed in me and supported me for all of our more than twenty years together,

  Thank you.

  Chapter 1

  Wearing only tattered, blood spattered trousers, Edai Magus Nolyn leaned back in the chair, spine stiff as he gritted his teeth in silence. One of the servants cleaned the gashes that crisscrossed his chest and arms with meticulous care. Once done, the servant stepped aside while Se'edai Magus Ellis himself approached, resting his hands over the wounds. Nolyn bit back a shout of pain, back arching and fists clenching in tendon-popping tension as the older man spoke in a low voice. The gashes began to knit closed, leaving ugly, purple marks under the marred flesh.

  The moment the spell ended, Nolyn sagged back, panting. He could not help but offer a weak smile when Zoe all but threw herself into his lap. The girl clung to him. "I'm fine," he assured in a weak voice. He winced and moved one of her arms up a bit where she pressed against tender flesh. "It was just a few scratches."

  The senior mage arched an eyebrow. "A few scratches? You are a master of understatement, Nolyn." Ellis gestured for the servants to leave the tray for the evening meal on the table and depart. "Thank you. I will attend to matters." They hesitated, trading uncertain looks at the breech in etiquette. He barked, "Out!" making them scurry in momentary panic. With a word and gesture, the door slammed shut behind them and the locking bar fell into place. "You would think the world was ending when I feel like tending to myself. Like it was a crime against humanity itself for me to pour my own tea."

  "It is the breech in social protocol that bothers them." Nolyn half opened his eyes to look at the other man. "I think they know you intend to serve me. I'm the lowest ranking person in this room, so I should be serving the both of you."

  "And if you even think about it, I will smack you silly. You are not in any shape to be doing anything," Ellis replied in stern tones as he moved to place settings for three at the table.

  As Ellis reached for the food to begin serving, Nolyn sighed, closing his eyes again, stroking Zoe's hair. "Before you bother, I'm not hungry."

  Zoe released the man and put her hands on her hips. "You must eat to get strong and heal. You always tell your people to take care of themselves after being injured. The great mother knows you do," she added, touching one of the metallic curls on her cheeks meaningfully. "And what is good for the goose is good for the gander. So you have to eat, you stubborn gander."

  Both men chuckled at the young Voice of the Oracle's scolding rant. Ellis returned with a plain tunic from the wardrobe, offering the replacement for the destroyed one to Nolyn. "Weren't you a silly goose yesterday?"

  "I am working through all the fauna." Nolyn winced when Zoe swatted his injured shoulder, smiling as she leaned over to kiss the dreadful bruise. He carefully shrugged into the shirt and sagged back in the chair with a heavy sigh. Zoe took his right hand and pressed his palm against her cheek. The rough, star-shaped scar, the physical proof of the soul bond he had forged with Illaini Magus Ash in their youth, pulsed against her skin. He rubbed his thumb against her temple. "Ash is fine. I am sure the others are also."

  "Don't lie to me," Zoe scolded in a quiet voice. "The great mother knows when you're lying. She tells me. She won't tell me what is happening to anyone at Fortress, but She knows you know it is not good there and I am not a baby. You are worried and distracted and that is why you got hurt so bad this time and I don't want to lose you and neither does She. It makes me afraid to imagine losing you. And when I see that I nearly did lose you, it makes me even more scared and I'm not supposed to be afraid because I'm Her mortal servant and I should be stronger because everyone expects me to be strong but I'm not when I almost lose a friend."

  Nolyn opened his mouth, then shut it again with a sight when he met Ellis's understanding gaze that mirrored Zoe's worry. "You are right, Zoe. I'm sorry. I am worried about all of them, too." He lifted his hand from her cheek, looking at the star-shaped scar that pulsed of its own volition. "I know Ash is alive. He was hurting for a few days, but given the expected backlash from that portal spell, it wasn't surprising." He closed his eyes, letting his hand drop to the arm of the chair, palm up. "What is happening to him right now, I have no idea. I haven't been able to get any decent sleep for days now."

  "Until you heal up and your head clears, I do not want you going out on patrol." Ellis brought a glass of brandy and put it in Nolyn's hand, holding it until the man's fingers curled firmly around it. "No arguments this time."

  "Someone has to cover for—" Nolyn began, wincing when Ellis hit the top of the table, making everything on it jump.

  "Ysai is not in power anymore. I will be damned if I carry on her nonsense about the Illaini Magus or whomever being the only person who can possibly raise a hand to try to protect anyone!" Ellis's azure blue eyes flashed with annoyance. "We made do without Ash before. Forenta will survive until you've recovered. All mages have a duty to Forenta and Her people. We are not blessed with the gifts we have just to play court while one or two people risk their lives. Your duty right now is to recuperate from your injuries, and you need food to do that."

  Nolyn grimaced, holding still as Ellis spoke sharp words of magic. His chair lifted up and floated over to the table, then settled gently to the floo. The Se'edai Magus prepared a plate of food and sat it before the younger man. "And don't think you can out-stubborn me. You could not when you were a ward of the Avarians. You'll not now, even if you are my council second."

  "Explains where Ash gets his stubbornness from," Nolyn muttered, grimacing as he shifted in the chair to sit upright. He picked up a roll, taking a half-hearted bite from it. "He could out-stubborn you and Bennu." About to open his mouth to say something more, Nolyn cried out in pain, dropping the roll and grabbing his right hand, fingers spasming.

  Ellis moved to Nolyn's side, hand on his shoulder. "What is it?" he asked in a low voice. He paused, glancing over at Zoe, drawing Nolyn's pain-hazed eyes to look at her as well, both forgetting everything as the girl sat ramrod straight, staring at nothing.

  "Ash is mad," Zoe said in a tiny voice. She turned sightless eyes towards them. Blinking several times, her gaze focused on them again. "Really mad at the Knowing One. I-I'm scared, Ellis. Why would Ash be so mad at the great mother?" She wrapped her arms around Ellis as he comforted her.

  Looking at his right hand, Nolyn focused on banishing the phantom pains that echoed from his spirit brother Ash Avarian. As the overwhelming rage subsided to a tangle of emotions that melting into weary resignation, the Edai Magus releasing the breath he held. "I'm trying, Ash. I am trying to make sure you do not need to worry about Forenta. But I'm not strong enough a
lone." Curling his fingers closed over the scar in his hand and dropping his forehead against it. With lingering ache and exhaustion, he whispered fervently, "I wish I had someone here to help me with all of this. I do not know how long I can keep this up." To himself, he murmured, "I am tired of being alone."

  Chapter 2

  A single lamp glowed from the middle of the table, a large bull of a man sat scribing notes when a quiet knock drew his attention up. The pale blue metallic mark on his cheek gleamed in the lamplight. "Enter," he called, blotting the ink dry and closing the journal as a tall Vodani man entered.

  "You wished to speak to me, Dulain Tyrsan?"

  Tyrsan rose, waving to another chair at the table. "Please, have a seat, Valerian. You have a taste for southern whiskey if I remember correctly?"

  The dusky-skinned man arched an eyebrow. "Yes, Dulain. Is there a special occasion I am unaware of for such a treat?"

  Tyrsan smiled to himself as he poured. "You do not think the return of the Dusvet and his group of masters turned students is occasion enough?" He turned back and sat the two tumblers down before settling into his chair again. Leaning forward, he turned the lamp up brighter.

  Valerian waved one hand dismissively to the reasoning. "Forgive me, Dulain, but you are not a man known for casual social interaction. Every meeting has a purpose with you." Taking the tumbler, he held it dangling from his fingertips, making the golden liquid swirl, his gaze thoughtful. "It cannot be to chastise me and exact some punishment. Wandering Guardians of Time are permitted at least seven years of down time between journeys beyond Her territory's borders. Given I am between journeys, I have been dutifully keeping out of trouble. So, I do not believe I have done anything to warrant punishment." Without moving his head, he raised his eyes to stare at Tyrsan. "I have been back a mere five years and I could remain up to two more without giving up my wanderer status."

  Tyrsan leaned back in his chair, relaxing as he rested his fingers around the top of his own tumbler. "Of course you haven't done anything wrong, Valerian. Nor has anyone accused you of such, before you ask. Besides Dremmen, but I ignore his pointless dithering most of the time." Taking a sip of his drink, he asked, "How long has it been since you've been to the Forenten territory?"

  The Vodani man's cup was just about to touch his lip the moment Tyrsan asked the question. He blinked at the unexpected question, then narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Officially? About one hundred twenty years ago when I was a Unsvet traveling with my mentor shortly after I earned my color. By the time my journeys would have taken me back, that ridiculous request from the Se'edai Magus before Ysai Oberlain demanded no Guardian cross the Forentan border without invitation."

  "Yes, I remember. You were rather perturbed." The Vodani man snorted at the Dulain's understatement. "And what about since then?"

  Valerian drummed his fingers on the table with his free hand, toying with the glass of brandy. "I have crossed over the borders now and then briefly since then, chasing after the occasional time shifter. But I have never entered their settlements. I have documented all my journeys without censorship. You know all of this already." He took a sip, then pointed out blandly, "You are also not one to ask questions you already know the answers to or could not otherwise find out with ease, Dulain. What is this about?"

  "As you pointed out, I have a purpose. Do indulge me." Valerian inclined his head, indicating he waited for Tyrsan to continue. "I remember you having a keen fascination with Forenta. You grilled Jaison's student Ophilia for days after she first arrived."

  "My interest in Forenta is personal. You are the one who ordered us to respect Forentan sovereignty, Dulain. Their requests or invitations for our presence came less and less until some fifty years ago when they forbid us entry at all. That girl was the first one to come to us in decades. I wanted news." Valerian narrowed his eyes at the other man. "I told you then I thought it was inane to withhold our presence, no matter what that old bat on their mage council wanted."

  "And I will be the first to admit that was in error. I should have pushed back and insisted Guardians have free access to all corners of the forest lands, but that is also the past." Tyrsan waited for Valerian's temper to subside before continuing. "I want you to go to Forenta. The Dusvet has informed me there has been a significant power shift and that Fortress would be welcome. He expects the new Se'edai Magus had sent a messenger to make a formal request for our presence again within the borders. However, given the season, the roads are all but impassable, no matter how determined the messenger."

  "You don't want to wait to get a Guardian back in Forenta," Valerian observed, his tones bland.

  "No, I do not. The Dusvet said that Illaini Magus Ash Avarian, whom he brought back with him, needed to contend with temporal shifters alone. Succeeding by accident more than by design. I believe that what he had encountered and managed to contend with by himself is only a fraction of what infests Forenta. That is too much for someone untrained and unblessed by the Timeless One to have manage alone. We cannot leave Forenta without even his meager, untrained temporal abilities to guard the people and land."

  Tyrsan rose, walking to the window to gaze out over the main courtyard of the mountainside home of Sanctuary. "I want to be able to reassure both Illaini that they need not worry about their homeland so they may focus on their training here." The larger man fixed the other with a hard look. "And you're one of the few who can traverse the worst terrain even during the worst of winter and travel quickly if you put your mind to it."

  "And someone who is willing to ignore the currently accepted sovereignty rule, waltz up to their council and introduce myself. Without waiting for the formal invitation that won't get here until late spring or early summer at best." Valerian smirked a bit. "May I say, I like how you think, Dulain. And that it is about damned time you—"

  Annoyance colored Tyrsan's expression briefly. "Do not test my patience." Valerian held up both hands in submission, his demeanor mollifying Tyrsan's irritation. "Our mistress specifically suggested you. She likes you for your resourcefulness in finding ways to manage temporal shifters with a minimal use of temporal energy. She feels your techniques would be useful to the mages of Forenta to allow them more self sufficiency."

  "Ah, yes." Finishing his drink, he sat the cup down again. "I would be happy to go to Forenta. It is helpful to have our mistress's blessings. While I do enjoy these little chats from time to time with you, I would rather not have it include any reprimands. I look forward to continuing my suspended observations of the Forentan culture."

  Tyrsan rolled his eyes. "Do not torment them too much. Jabbing their pride will do little to mend the rifts that had grown between the mages and the Guardians."

  Valerian fixed Tyrsan with his own annoyed expression. "Give me a little credit, Dulain. My interest in the Forentan culture is simple curiosity, not malicious. Despite the past century of animosity between us, I still admire them. I have no interest in disrupting them." He looked towards the window, thoughtful. "I can head out tomorrow."

  "If you wish, though if you want, speak with the Dusvet's students before you depart, so you know what you might expect. Oh, and look for a Nolyn Lirai. The Dusvet says that Adept Ash worries for him."

  Valerian blinked. "Someone could tell a Forentan had 'lesser' emotions? That's unusual."

  The Dulain smirked a bit. "Quite. So he must be important, at least to Illaini Magus Ash. I'd rather be able to tell the Illani Magus that we mitigated the impact of his absence from Forenta with complete honesty. So, please do as I ask without being difficult. I've enough having to deal with Bella's antics these days."

  The Vodani man turned his keen gaze on Tyrsan, studying him intently. "You still have hair. Though you are cutting it shorter. I assume to keep from pulling it out?" He held his hands up again when Tyrsan arched an eyebrow at him. "Don't hit me!"

  Tyrsan smirked. "I will take it under advisement."

  Chapter 3

  Distant volcanoes looming over the Des
anti desert belched acrid smoke, staining the evening sky with grey smudges, the sunlight turning brilliant oranges and reds as it filtered through the haze. A slight female figure carefully navigated the steep inclines around many sharp-edged boulders, tugging free gauzy, cream-colored garments that fluttered in the breeze. Straightening, the figure paused to look back the way she had come, slender hands lifting her face-covering veil and draping it back.

  In the valley below, the na'Citali tribe roused from the day's somnolence to begin the evening's routine tasks. The large oasis was one where they often took refuge during their normal migratory path. Rich green contrasted with the lighter colors of the desert sand, the colorful streamers of the tribe's tents fluttering in the evening breezes.

  The tawny-brown eyed young woman turned away from her tribe. She continued deeper into the foothills of the mountains until she reached a tall, sheltered spire of rust-colored stone. Approaching the spire, she knelt by it, resting her palms and forehead against the rock. "A'tyrna Ulan Nyla," she whispered. "Wake up, Nyla. I am here."

  The stillness of the evening air turned to a gusting wind that whipped around the woman. Kiya! There you are! Your return to this place is so late this season, I worried I lost you to the land's wrath.

  "Forgive me for not being here at the usual time. The season has been drier than usual. The Alanis Su'alin chose to take us on the longer path with more oases on our return to the Citadel." Kiya raised her eyes to the spire, a vivid, true gold color illuminated by the last rays of the setting sun. "I have missed you, my friend."

  A ghostly image of a young woman emerged from the rock spire to kneel by Kiya. Her eyes were bright turquoise, her hair dark save for streaks of blond and red running through it. Concern infused her expression as she reached out to caress Kiya's cheek with ghostly fingers. You are so sad. What has happened?