The Calling (The Andovia Chronicles Book 1) Read online

  Nyx could never go back to the tribe – they weren’t forgiving people. Darius was right about one thing: she had nowhere to go, but that didn’t mean she wanted to go anywhere with him either.

  “So how did you find me?” she demanded. “How did you even know about me?” Even if he was a Valeran, she didn’t care. She wouldn’t treat a slave master with respect — he deserved none.

  “You’ll have to ask my brother about that.” Darius shrugged.

  “And what happens to me when we get to these islands?” Nyx had heard of Andovia but didn’t know much about the place other than the fact it was the continent in the upper realm. She lived in the lower realm, and the upper realm had never been much of a concern for her. That was where the Archdruid and other wealthy people dwelled.

  Darius shrugged. “Again, it’s up to my brother to decide your fate. I am only the messenger who was sent to bring you back.”

  “What gives him the right to do that? I don’t live in Andovia. I’m not subject to your laws.” Her hands clenched into fists. “Nor did I do anything wrong last night. You were the ones chasing me, remember?”

  “Everyone in the lower realm is subject to the Archdruid’s laws, and you are also a fae.”

  Nyx scowled. “And you’re treating me like a slave.”

  “You are a criminal. If you wanted to keep whatever rights you thought you had, maybe you shouldn’t have committed murder.”

  Nyx opened her mouth to protest then closed it. What good would arguing do? Nothing she said would convince this druid of her innocence. One way or another, she would get away from him. She had been sold into slavery before and she would get her freedom no matter what.

  “You know I didn’t kill Traveller, so who did? Was it you or one of your friends?” she demanded. Her mind drifted back to the strange shadow creature she had seen. “Or was it that shadow that kept appearing?”

  “None of us killed that trader. Did you see the dark spirit?”

  Nyx hesitated. “I felt it, but I don’t think I saw it. Did you bring it there to find me?”

  Darius gave a harsh laugh. “No. Things are a lot more complicated than that. I am not surprised you sensed it with your powers. Too bad we lost it after it fled from the cave.”

  She stared at him, incredulous. “I don’t have powers. I’m cursed.” She had tried asking Harland about the curse a few times, but he had always said it was because she was an unholy thing.

  “Curses are meant to punish and inflict suffering. You don’t have any of that.”

  Good gods, she couldn’t stand this man. The more he spoke, the more she wanted to slap him. “You have no idea what it’s like to be at the mercy of people’s thoughts all the time,” she growled.

  Ranelle laughed. “I like this girl. Nyx, you should stay with us.”

  Darius scowled at her.

  Ranelle seemed nice enough, but Nyx didn’t know these people, nor would she trust them either.

  Nyx couldn’t fathom what the Archdruid’s son might want with her of all people. Maybe the man was soft in the head. What could he know about her anyway? She always kept to herself. It wasn’t like she went around telling people about her curse. People would think her insane or worse, despise her more than they already did.

  Her tribe had despised her and people from the neighbouring villages had given her a wide berth. Most of the tribes in this area were simple people who possessed only a spark of magic that allowed them to do basic spells.

  They didn’t welcome people who looked different from them, especially someone who had wings. Nyx had pointed ears once too but someone — probably Harland or Mama Habrid — had cut them off when she was a child. Now her ears looked rounded, and she had scars covered by her hair.

  Her heart clenched when they got to a small crossroads. There were no signs, but she knew this place well. Turning left led to the main road away from all the nearby villages and into the city.

  Harland had only taken her to the city a few times, but she had been too overwhelmed to pay much attention to anything. Too many minds, so much noise she had collapsed from the intensity of it. If he weren’t dead now, Harland would have taken her there today as he had planned. Her pickings from the surrounding villages hadn’t proven very fruitful recently, and he had insisted on going there to find richer coin purses. That was why she had gone out last night to see Traveller and get some of the Nilanda. The drug was a powerful sedative.

  Nyx had to get away and find an escape route. This might be her only chance. That damn wolf had stopped her earlier, but now it trailed along with Darius. She didn’t have any idea what the fae prince wanted with her nor did she want to find out.

  Ranelle chatted away, but Nyx was too busy looking around to pay attention to what she said.

  How would she get away?

  The druid had power, it rolled off him in waves of energy. The wolf terrified her and Ranelle… She stared at the young woman. What were those leathery wings of hers? Was she a demon? Or something else?

  Ranelle caught her staring. “Is everything alright?”

  “What…are you?” Nyx murmured.

  Ranelle laughed and tossed her long hair over her shoulder. “I’m a hybrid. Half-fae, half-wyvern.”

  “Wyvern?” Nyx gasped. She thought of the images of great scaled beasts she had seen on items sold by travelling merchants. Wyverns were just a legend; great fire breathers that ruled the skies and fought during the realm wars.

  “But wyverns aren’t real… are they?” Nyx looked Ranelle up and down, half expecting her to change into a scaly beast.

  Ranelle laughed. “Oh, we’re real. I’m just… unique. I can’t change into full wyvern form. I only have wings.” Her wings folded back, then disappeared.

  Nyx gasped. “How…?” She had never imagined someone’s wings could disappear. At times she had always wanted to be able to hide her wings so she wouldn’t stand out so much among humans.

  “I can pull them back into my body.” Ranelle shrugged.

  Darius and the wolf trudged ahead then turned right into a vast forest. Nyx didn’t know whether to be relieved by that or not. The druid had said it would block her powers, but she didn’t feel any different. Her curse still felt active, though she couldn’t hear anything from Ranelle or the druid himself. Would her influence work? She had tried it on the druid earlier, and he had somehow resisted her. She had never met anyone immune to her influence before. How was that possible?

  Even Harland hadn’t been able to resist. Not that it had done much good. Nyx hadn’t been able to use her influence to stop him from abusing her sisters. The man had a short temper, and the smallest things set him off.

  Nyx winced. Now Harland would never do anything again. Her gut clenched. She pushed those thoughts away. Nyx had to focus, she had to escape.

  Darius had magic. The wolf could no doubt rip her apart if it chose to. Ranelle – aside from her wings, what could she do?

  “Do you have power too?” Nyx asked and bit her lip. She needed to know what she was up against if she had any chance of escaping.

  “I can conjure fire.” A fireball formed in her hand. “Earth and fire are my talents. Watch.” She motioned with her hand, the tree branches they passed twisted and bent around each other.

  Nyx flinched. So Ranelle had powers, too. “Do you know what they are going to do with me? Am I going to be a slave to the Valeran brothers now?”

  Ranelle shook her head. “I don’t know, but Darius would never treat you like a slave. He despises slavery.”

  “What about his brother?”

  Ranelle bit her lip. “Gideon…can be difficult.”

  “Why does he want me?”

  “Because you’re a mind whisperer. Those were thought to be extinct.”

  “They must want me for something else or the druid wouldn’t have come all this way to find me. So, tell me what you know.” Nyx resisted the urge to reach out and use her influence on Ranelle. For all she knew it might not wor
k and she didn’t want to provoke the druid’s ire.

  Normally she never had to try and listen to anyone’s thoughts. They came to her whether she wanted to hear them or not. Reading the druid wouldn’t work. She had known that when she touched him earlier.

  “Ranelle, please, you have to tell me the truth.” Nyx gripped the other girl’s arm, and her power flared free. “I’m afraid.” What do the Valeran brothers want with me? What will they do? Power pulsed from her into Ranelle. “Tell me.”

  Curse it, she hadn’t even meant to use her influence.

  Ranelle became dazed. “They think… you’re part of the prophecy.”

  “What prophecy?” This was news to her. How could she be part of any prophecy?

  “This prophecy speaks of two chosen to defeat the darkness.” Ranelle fell under her gaze.

  “What will they do with me?”

  “Test your powers to see if you are the one the prophecy —”

  “No!” Darius yelled and bounded back towards them.

  Luc shot forward, knocking Nyx to the ground. She let out a cry of alarm as the wolf’s massive body slammed into her.

  “Rae?” Darius knelt at her side. “Are you alright?”

  The wolf growled, his hot breath on Nyx’s face as his amber eyes bore into her.

  Get off me! She screamed inside her mind. Energy reverberated through her skull, hitting the wolf. Luc howled, and his paws tightened on her chest. Get off! Get away from me! The band on Nyx’s wrist snapped off.

  A flash of Harland’s empty eyes went through her mind.

  Oh, gods, no!

  Harland.

  Had she really killed him?

  She did not want to be dragged off to some strange new world and be subjected to the gods only knew what. Nyx screamed out loud, letting her rage and her inner turmoil out. A blast of blinding energy hurtled the wolf away from her. Blood roared through her ears as energy reverberated around her like thunder without sound.

  Ranelle cried out and clutched at her head.

  Luc lay on the ground, writhing in agony.

  Darius winced and called out something to her, but she couldn’t hear him over the roaring in her ears.

  Harland appeared beside her. “Killer,” he taunted. “You killed me after everything I did for you.”

  “No!” More power flooded out of her like a dam overflowing and bursting.

  “Nyx!” Darius winced, his long hair flapping around his face. “Nyx, stop!”

  “Killer, you destroy everything around you.” Harland smiled. “You may have killed me, but I will never leave you. Never.”

  She couldn’t stop. The roaring in her ears grew to a crescendo.

  Luc rolled over, pawing at the ground.

  Nyx wanted to run. This was her chance to escape, yet she couldn’t move. Her limbs were heavy, and the roaring in her ears threatened to overwhelm her. Why had Harland come back? He was dead.

  “Oh, I’m real, girl.”

  “Nyx?” Darius’ hand clamped down on her arm. All at once, the roaring stopped, the world fell silent. Nyx gasped for breath and gulped in lungfuls of air. “Holy spirits,” Darius breathed.

  “What did you do?” Nyx asked him.

  “I stopped you. Blessed spirits, you could have killed them both!” He glared at her. “What were you thinking?”

  Nyx looked past Darius’ shoulder. Ranelle sat up, blood dripping from her nose and tears running down her cheeks. The wolf lay the ground, unconscious. Guilt formed a pit in Nyx’s stomach.

  “Please let me go. My sisters are all alone. I have to protect them.” Tears stung her eyes.

  Darius glanced down at the broken band. “That’s impossible. How did you…?” He sighed. “Nyx, I can’t let you go. You’re too dangerous for that. You’ve seen what your powers can do.” He motioned to Ranelle and the wolf. “Once we get to Andovia, I promise I’ll find someone to help you control this.” He gripped her hand. “Your powers are dangerous. You could have killed us all if I weren’t somehow immune to your magic.”

  “I just wanted to know the truth,” she hissed. “I never meant to hurt anyone. My curse can’t harm others… can it?”

  “I’m not sure what it can do, but it does have the potential to kill, like it did last night. Can you stand?” Nyx wobbled as he pulled her up. “I suppose things just became much more complicated.”

  Chapter 4

  After making sure Nyx had her powers under control, Darius turned his attention to his friends. “How do you feel?” he asked Ranelle.

  “My head hurts.” Ranelle wiped her bloody nose with the back of her sleeve. “I’m fine, though. I’m not enslaved.”

  “Enslaved?” Nyx peeked out from where she had sat back in the grass and buried her head in her hands. “What does that mean?”

  Darius cast his senses out then scanned Ranelle for any signs of damage. He found nothing. Lucien now lay human and naked on the ground.

  “It means you need to stop using your powers and learn more self-control. You can do a lot more than compel others.” He thanked the spirits neither of his friends had fallen under her control. If she had used the full force of her power and enslaved them, he would have had to kill Nyx to release them from her hold. Darius doubted she would be able to remove her influence by herself since she had so little control.

  Nyx gasped when she scrambled up. “Why isn’t he a wolf anymore? What did I do?”

  “He took the full force of your power,” Darius said without any kind of malice. “It must have forced his body to change back.”

  Ranelle sniffed and rose too. “Lucien is a lykae – a shapeshifter,” she explained to Nyx.

  “I’m…sorry. I never meant to hurt anyone,” Nyx moaned and shook her head. “This doesn’t make any sense. My influence always wears off. Always. I make people forget when I’ve used my curse on them.”

  “Don’t use your influence on anyone,” Darius warned.

  Nyx growled at him. “Are you going to start answering my questions then? Because using my so-called power seems to be the only way for me to get any answers.”

  Darius’ jaw tightened. “I don’t have all the answers you want. Some of them will have to wait until we see my brother.”

  “It’s alright. We know you can’t control it,” Ranelle said.

  “Luc?” Darius examined Lucien’s naked form. He didn’t sense or see any sign of injury. “Luc, can you hear me? Are you alright?”

  “How many times do I have to tell you not to call me Luc?” Lucien grumbled and groaned. “What did we do to provoke such an attack?”

  “Nothing. She can’t control her powers.” Ranelle crossed her arms and glowered at the naked man.

  “How do you feel?” Darius asked his friend.

  “Like I have fallen off a cliff.” Luc scrambled up. “Holy spirits, it was like being hit by a whirlwind full of lightning bolts.”

  Nyx stared at the ground, avoiding Darius’ gaze.

  Darius waved his hand, and a pile of clothing appeared. “Get dressed. We’ve been delayed long enough.”

  Darius wondered what he should do about Nyx. He could conjure another cuff, but her power would seep through it. Instead, he went over and took hold of her arm. “You had better stay close to me whilst we move.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “Afraid I’ll run off, druid?”

  “You had your chance to run before.”

  “I couldn’t, in case you hadn’t noticed.” She tugged at his arm. “I don’t need to be held hostage either.”

  “You used your powers to read Ranelle. Look what happened.”

  She flinched. “I didn’t mean to.”

  “I know that, which is why you need to learn to control your gift.”

  “Gift?” Nyx snorted. “How can you call that a gift? You have seen what a nightmare I am. Why would you want to let me near your brother?”

  “Andovia is the only place you can learn about who and what you are. No one in this realm understands you, do
they?” Nyx looked away, but that answered everything. “There’s more at stake than just you here. Things are happening in Andovia and…” Darius trailed off.

  “And what?”

  “It’s complicated.” Darius wondered how much he should tell her. Did it even concern her? She knew nothing about their lands.

  Once Lucien was dressed, the four of them trudged off. This part of the lower realm looked so barren in comparison to the lush greenery of Eldara. He would be glad to get home again and back to work.

  Darius kept Nyx close, although she refused to hold onto him. He would have to keep an eye on her in case she did try to make a run for it again. Once they reached a clearing in the woods, Darius could create and activate a transportation ring. It had to be precise or the magic wouldn’t work. Transport rings had limited capability and could only be used over shorter distances.

  “Are you tired?” Darius decided to break the awkward silence between them.

  Nyx narrowed her eyes. “Why?”

  “Because you used a lot of power earlier, and I’m guessing last night too.” Darius needed to know more about her power if he was going to help her. Hopefully his mentor, Ambrose, would know what to do to help her get her gift under control.

  “I don’t remember much about what happened last night,” she growled.

  Darius’ eyes widened. Was that because she didn’t want to remember? Or had something happened to make her forget? It seemed doubtful.

  “What is the prophecy about?”

  “How do you know about that?” Darius gaped at her then he shook his head. “That’s why you read Ranelle. Spirits, Nyx, you have no idea how dangerous you are. You can’t keep using your powers on anyone just to get what you want. Your magic is dangerous and puts innocent lives at risk.”