Struggling to catch my breath, I fought my way to my feet as the jungle fell silent. I turned to see not only John watching me, but most of the village warriors as well. I dismissed Kastem, not wanting to take any chances of losing control.
"So that just happened." John's eyes were wide. I couldn't tell if it was fear or awe.Cheers erupted from the men and women behind him as they rushed forward to surround me. Soun clapped me hard on the back, shaking my whole frame and bringing to my attention a whole set of bruises that I hadn't realized I'd gained."Well done," he exclaimed, his excitement almost overbearing. I managed a smile in response.John let the impromptu celebration engulf me, but I felt his eyes trailing us as the group began to pull me back into the covering of the woods. I managed to free myself from the singing and cheering group as they started towards their village. Waiting, I brought up the rear, not wanting to be the center of attention.I escaped from the festivities as soon as I could without drawing attention, which took a while since the head of the village kept introducing me to his daughters. Finally, after mentioning something to Tamner, the parade of eligible women stopped.I slipped past the front line of huts and walked around to Tamner's, my mind still full of what John had told me about the plants. I shivered despite the heat. To be able to feel my power, my talent, but not be able to use it. For most necromancers that would just be torture, but for me? To have it build and build -it would literally kill me.The fire was barely burning in Tamner's hut. Poe still lay on his pallet of furs. His skin didn't look as pale or sickly as when I last saw him in the early hours of the morning. His breathing was even and stronger as well.Poking the fire back to life, I added another log before pulling my bag closer to search through it. I was looking for the Reinhardt book I'd brought with me.
I woke up the next morning with a blinding headache. Sitting, I found myself in the middle of the village. Others were scattered around as if they'd fallen asleep in the middle of the party..John was sprawled not ten feet away, his snores echoing in the quiet morning. I forced myself to my feet and walked down to the river. I sat on the river bank and splashed cool water on my face. It didn't ease the pain in my head completely, but it did help. The sun was glaringly bright off the water, so I closed my eyes against it. Sleep threatened to roll me under again, but I fought it. Instead, I sought comfort in meditation. My talent was restored from yesterday's fight, and it itched to be used.I calmed my thoughts, focusing on the exercises Poe taught me. Those days in the Vault felt like they were years ago-My eyes shot open.The Vault had brought me here the first time, not Poe. Could there be another place like it?I rushed back to Tamner's hut, ba
I avoided Tamner's hut most of the day. Poe had made it clear that he wouldn't talk about trying John's way of getting home any further. Which made absolutely no sense to me at all. Wasn't getting home and warning the others of what the Witches were planning more important than some side effect that 'might' happen? What was he afraid of me seeing?The villagers were starting to clean up, some moving slower than others. I pitched in and helped, picking up abandoned rough-cut cups and lost items, before moving on to help pack supplies for the refugees that would be returning to their village over the next few days.Soun and I met with the other warriors in the training clearing late that afternoon, stretching and doing easy drills. John even joined us, surprising me when he easily tossed Suon into the dirt multiple times.By the time we'd eaten the evening meal with the rest of the village and made it back to Tamner's, the stars were well and bright above us. I fo
"Close your eyes and clear your minds," John said softly.I fell into the meditation easily, breathing in the humid afternoon air and fighting to keep my emotions in check."Ezra, focus on your connection with Poe. Reach for him with your power and mind."Doing as John said, I focused on Poe's presence beside me. I remembered the first time I felt the weight of his power. The time I saw him standing in the Vault. I remembered playing games with him as a kid. Extending a metaphysical hand, I reached for Poe, inviting him into my mind. A drop of his power reached for me in a similar fashion, and when our powers met, the sensation was different from anything else I've ever felt before.Images flashed through my mind, like thinking about old memories except they weren't mine. I saw people I didn't recognize in places that looked vaguely familiar. I remembered the feeling of holding my children close, even though I didn't have any. I remembered fighting to my
I stumbled out of the portal, catching myself with the staff Suon had gifted me with a gasp. Feeling very tired and drained, despite how ready I'd felt on the other side, I tried not to collapse. John fell to the grass next to me with a soft thud and a groan. We'd come through in one of the pastures, just as Poe and I had pictured it in my mind. The sun was bright overhead and the early summer heat was already building.In the distance I could see people running towards us, and one of them was Avery. Her excitement and anxiety filtering through the connection made her hard to miss.We need to close the portal. Poe's voice sounded strained in my mind. I turned my attention to the portal as John picked himself up. The task of closing the link between the two worlds was much easier than it was to create. The summoning circles closed in on themselves, folding over and over in their intricate patterns until there was nothing left."Ezra!"I turned as Avery sla
"Sit, I'll fix you something," Avery said."We could fix it ourselves," I said, moving to grab a plate.Avery glared at me and pointed at the table. "Sit. You look like you're about to fall over."I took a seat at the kitchen table as Avery opened the fridge. John sat next to me."What happened that night after you got away from the warehouse?" I asked her.She paused her search in the fridge and glanced back at me. "I wanted to go back, and find you but Poe had already created a portal and Liam pulled me through before I got to say two words."I sighed, relief and release of tension that I didn't know I'd been holding on to left. "I'm just glad you made it out of there."She came over and wrapped her arms around me. "I'm the one who should be saying that." Avery kissed the top of my head."Perhaps I should leave the two of you alone to catch up." John said and started to rise from his seat.Avery straighten. "Oh no, don
Poe called out weakly from his perch on the stable's roof as we made our way out the door. We didn't make it far before I spotted Liam in the courtyard talking with Collen. They glared at John as we passed by and broke off their conversation. Liam followed us into the stable."Ezra!"I turned and John paused beside me."Dad told me you'd returned. I didn't believe him when he said you were friends with a witch." Liam's hostility caught me off-guard, though I shouldn't have been surprised. He'd hated witches ever since he learned what they'd done to the Families."John saved my life, multiple times, and I've no doubt that he'd do it again. I don't care what side he's from."Liam pointed violently at John. "But you brought him here! He could be a spy! "I wouldn't put it past a witch to double cross us." Liam spat on the ground."I don't even know where 'here' is," John mumbled as he shifted behind me."Liam
Dad and Lyssa turned to leave, disappearing through the trees. Avery paused only a moment to squeeze my hand. "I'll find Thea. Meet you back here?"I kissed her. "Sure."Following her to the tree line of the grove, I stood next to John as she left."Who's Thea?" he asked."Avery's younger sister. She'll be Head of the Manser Family one day, once she's old enough. She has the strongest gift of Sight that any Necromancer has had in centuries." I smiled, remembering what she'd said only a few months ago. Finding my power and being betrothed to Avery, it was all her doing. "I owe her quite a lot."John looked back over my shoulder. "Is he going to be ok?"I turned to follow his gaze. Poe had sat back on the ground again, resting against the altar with his eyes shut, his breathing labored. He even looked a little pale in the growing darkness.