Valdjan Read online

  But he didn’t jump.

  He didn’t hurl himself over the edge as he heard his brother had.

  He simply took one step forward, feeling nothing catch his weight.

  And fell.

  Chapter Two

  Ithyll

  Ithyll couldn’t believe her eyes as she peered into the crystal.

  Nirhjar, king of the merpeople, was striding down the center of the river, showing no hesitation as he approached her magic shield. He paused for one moment and then he simply passed through it, a tiny ripple spreading outward from where he had touched it.

  She raised her hands, channeling her magic through the crystal to the shield, reinforcing it. Then she used a burst of magic to push Nirhjar back to the outside, hoping he would give up.

  He sank deeper into the water, pushing against her magic, trying to get in again.

  She didn’t want to stand there and reinforce the shield all day, and it was obvious he was somehow able to get through it.

  “I will have my audience with you, Elven Cave Guardian!” Nirhjar shouted at the shield, his voice booming up at her from the crystal. Then he turned in the opposite direction and disappeared into the water.

  Ithyll made a mental note to put a second, larger crystal on the shield when she got back to her cave. The shield spread outward for a league in each direction, and reinforcing it took a lot of energy.

  She shot a look up at Paradiso, her only friend since she’d taken over as Guardian of the Crystal Cave. “What am I supposed to do about this? I can’t just abandon the crystals I’ve been guarding for a thousand years.” She’d been through hell with those crystals just to keep them safe, so the idea that she would leave was simply ludicrous. Her only job was to protect them until a real protector came along—someone who would see their power was used wisely.

  Paradiso ruffled his pure white feathers and stood to his full height, which was at least a head above hers. To call him a bird was a gross understatement. Both had feathers, but the scale was off. Way off. His small face and golden beak sat atop a long, slender neck. His body was sleek and beautiful in the way birds have, and when outstretched, his wingspan would easily measure to twice his height. His long, thin legs graduated into delicate, golden clawed feet.

  His feathers were pure white except for the crown on top of his head, and the long feathers stretched many paces beyond his tail, all of which were tipped in gold.

  She didn’t know where he came from or what species he belonged to, but it was not for her lack of trying to figure it out. He’d been extremely adept at avoiding her questions when she asked about it.

  “King Nirhjar and his people know there is something inside this cave. They can feel the power, even if they don’t know exactly what is causing it. At the moment, he’s just requesting an audience with you, the village king, and the Renwyn queen. But you’re the easiest target because you’re here alone.” The bird clicked his beak unhappily. “In a few minutes, King Nirhjar will be searching the outside of your magic shield, trying to find a way in again. But I can tell you he isn’t going to stop there. The merpeople know about the Ardak invasion—though they witnessed it from the seas. They want a way to defend themselves, and they want the power of the crystals for themselves. You may have to leave if he becomes much more aggressive.”

  For Paradiso to suggest such a thing was unheard of. He’d been the one who offered her the “job” of Guardian of the Crystal Cave in the first place, telling her how important it was to protect the crystals. He’d helped her to defend the cave against outsiders numerous times, even saving her life once.

  The mermen, however, were different. They were incredibly determined. Nirhjar had first tried to negotiate with her for her source of power, but he didn’t know that she wasn’t free to give it, and wouldn’t even if she could. There was something dark about him, angry, and she’d seen enough of that in her long lifetime. She didn’t want to fuel more of it.

  She had gently turned him away and then decided to reinforce her shield of protection. “What could he possibly do other than threaten me physically? I’ve never seen any evidence that they have magic.”

  “Threatening you physically is enough,” Paradiso warned. “And don’t be fooled—all magical creatures have some type of magic.”

  “Well, I’ve never seen it. Other than their tails changing to legs on dry land, I’m not sure what they can do. I bet they only want the crystals so they can wear them as jewelry.” She grinned, attempting to diffuse the situation.

  The last time they’d fought, Paradiso had disappeared for a month. It was the longest month of her extremely long, extremely boring life.

  He scratched at the ground with one of his skinny feet. “Believe me, I don’t want this either. It’s very important to keep the crystals safe. Perhaps, I will ask Geeeroo for he—” Paradiso tilted his head to examine the cliff above them with one beady eye. “What is that?”

  Ithyll followed his gaze, drawing in a breath when she saw the body. “Another champion,” she whispered. It was a word she hadn’t spoken in a thousand years, yet had found herself using twice in three days.

  She watched him float down slowly, a blinking light at the back of his neck the only indication he was alive.

  Another cyborg.

  Alone they come, but alike they be.

  “Simban came for love. So this must be the one whose cause is true. After all this time, he’s finally here!” She jumped up to a higher boulder, excitement rising within her. But then she took a deep breath, forcing herself to quell it. “But we shouldn’t get too excited. He might not pass the tests.”

  “Yes, but he’ll be the first to try,” Paradiso replied.

  The cyborg landed gently on a large, flat boulder next to the river that ran through the bottom of the canyon. And then he didn’t move. He appeared to be asleep. He looked . . . strong. And fierce. His leather and metal armor was scuffed and battle-scarred, but the hilt of his sword gleamed between his shoulder blades.

  “You know, it’s funny. They aren’t at all what I expected,” she whispered.

  “Why not?”

  She shook her head, still staring at the cyborg. “I always assumed the champions would be elves.”

  “Does that matter?” Paradiso eyed her curiously.

  She thought about it. “Well, no. But the prophecy was elven, so I thought it would be an elf who passed the tests.” She shrugged. “But speaking in generalities, I suppose all races produce the same number of heroes. And with the mermen at our doorstep . . . I’m just glad to have him.” She clasped her hands together tightly. To be honest, before Simban had come she’d almost lost hope.

  “Don’t let him know that, though,” Paradiso cautioned. “The rules must be the same for him as any other.”

  She raised her chin. “I know my duty. I will only allow him to take the tests if he is worthy.”

  Paradiso stepped forward on his long, thin legs and brushed his beak against her cheek. “I know you’ll do what’s right. I must leave you now, but I’ll return as soon as I can.”

  “You’re going to miss all the excitement.” She was sorry to see him go but knew she had work to do with the champion here.

  “Then we’ll have something to talk about.” He spread his enormous wings and flapped several times, lifting higher with each movement. She watched him until he disappeared into the clouds above before turning her attention to the would-be champion.

  She’d been waiting a thousand years for this day, for the day someone would free her from the guardianship of the crystal cave.

  She tiptoed closer to him, taking in his still form. Simban had arrived fighting. Maybe this one was injured. She looked for wounds but saw none.

  Perhaps he was afraid of heights. If he was and jumped anyway, it would mean he had the determination of a hero.

  She wondered what his cause could be, which was a miracle in and of itself. It had been a thousand years since she was curious about anything.

/>   Is it the war with the Ardaks that Simban spoke of?

  She didn’t know if the crystals should be used for war. One of her tenets as Guardian of the Crystal Cave was to ensure the crystals would go to someone who would use them wisely. She didn’t want the mistakes of a thousand years ago to be repeated.

  I should have asked Paradiso for advice before he left.

  She stepped from rock to rock, moving around him in a slow circle and examining him from all angles. He was fair of face and form and about a head taller than the humans. He also had a mountain man’s legendary dark good looks. Perhaps this one was even more handsome than his brother.

  She wished he would wake, but he appeared to be far from consciousness. She waved her hand, her magic forming a cage around him. The cyborg lay peacefully inside the tiny prison, showing no indication that he was aware of his situation.

  When he woke, she would listen to what he had to say and determine whether his cause was true.

  First, she needed to reinforce her shield. She waved her hand, connecting with the magic to open the door of her cave, and then stepped inside.

  When she’d first arrived, the cave had seemed enormous. An extremely high ceiling, several smaller adjacent caves, and solid wall at the back with a lock, which she knew would lead to the chamber with the crystals. A lock even she couldn’t open without the key.

  She went straight to her box of crystals, setting another one into a small slot in the door concealing the crystals. It took a moment for the second crystal to connect, but then she could feel it double the magic of the shield.

  That should keep Nirhjar out for a while.

  When she’d agreed to become the guardian, she hadn’t really understood what that commitment meant, how long she would hold the post. Then the years stretched into decades, decades into centuries. The whole time, she was there without friends or family. Without anything but her crystals and her talking bird of paradise.

  She had practiced her magic, communed with the crystals, and learned to “speak” to them.

  But rather than being an honored guardian, over time, the position had turned into its own kind of prison. A pretty cage.

  She wanted to leave this place, to get back to her people, to see her friends again. Her parents had never come to Aurora, but others she’d known would still be there.

  Was it wrong that she was praying he would be the one to pass the tests?

  That she was hoping she could finally leave this place?

  She’d hoped that after Simban she would be free, but he’d only been the first. The crystals had told her that someone else would be coming. A man who fulfilled the second half of the prophecy.

  Please be that man, she asked him silently.

  The crystals need you.

  I need you.

  Chapter Three

  Valdjan

  Valdjan awoke to the sound of rushing water. He jumped up, patted his body to make sure he was still in one piece, and then threw his arms out, shouting with joy and laughter. “I’m not dead!” The words repeated in a series of repeating and ever-decreasing echoes. Then he realized he was standing on a boulder, surrounded by a cage, the river flowing beneath it. If something happened to the boulder, he would be swept downstream.

  “I’m guessing you don’t want to die,” a crisp feminine voice came from his left. “Although, you’re making enough noise to raise the dead.”

  He turned around to face her, welcoming the voice of another being. “It’s you! The beautiful scary elf!”

  Her eyebrows rose. “The beautiful scary elf?”

  “Well, those were Simban’s words,” he said hastily, the idea that he might have offended her finally penetrating his brain. He’d been hanging around other males way too much. “Sorry.”

  She took a few hops forward, lithely going from rock to rock as she approached his cage. Her long, pure white hair matched her skin, her eyes of liquid gold were exactly as his brother had described them. She was wearing a traditional elven dress like those he’d seen at the village, but hers was pure white and pooled around her body, hinting at her curves.

  Simban had been right and wrong—she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, but the elf wasn’t scary at all.

  There was a magic about her, ancient, powerful. He switched his oculars to infrared, and he could see it, almost like a halo about her. It was clear and bright, swirling softly, echoing her expression. Peaceful. Composed.

  It made him think that she wouldn’t use magic against him unless he forced her to.

  Valdjan hadn’t dealt with a woman since his wife passed away, and the elf’s blinding beauty bemused him. His mind drew a blank for a second before he remembered that flattery had usually solved any problems he’d had with Jessa. Of course, that flattery had been sincere. He’d loved her with all his heart.

  He fell to one knee before the elf just as she reached the cage. “My brother was wrong. Your magic might be powerful, but it isn’t frightening to me. As far as your beauty, I would almost call you an angel.”

  Her laugh was one of surprise and tinkled like bells in his ears. “I am the guardian of the Crystal Cave, and not from heaven, I’m afraid.” She caught his expression and shook her head. “Nor am I from the underworld. But if you are not here for the right reasons, I may be death to you as surely as I could be life.”

  She waved, and the spikes of rock his brother had warned him about appeared.

  “Yep, that was what I was afraid of,” he muttered. He still had difficulty believing he was alive.

  She crossed her arms, her golden eyes narrowing. “Why were you afraid? Do you not know why you are here?”

  Valdjan bowed his head formally. “Guardian of the Crystal Cave, I do indeed know why I’m here. I have come to take the tests. I hope that I am the one whose cause is true.”

  She tilted her head to the side. “You hope? Do you not know if your cause is true?”

  “I know that my cause is true, but I’m just surprised that I’m the one to have it. We all want to defeat the Ardaks, and other men were always the type to wage wars.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Then your cause is about war.”

  “No, my cause is about peace.” Valdjan sensed he was losing her approval and searched for the right words to appease her. “The Ardaks are bringing a war, but all we really want is to be left alone. I meant that other men were always the type to be heroes. But the Ardaks are coming, and the elves have said we need the power of the crystals in order to defeat—defend our planet.”

  Her lips pursed into a thin line, showing her displeasure. “So, you’ve come to seek power.”

  “No, not power exactly. I have no magic myself and could not use the crystals if I tried. I seek them to give the elves the ability to become . . . better.”

  “Better?”

  He didn’t answer, not wanting to dig the hole any deeper than it already was.

  She pushed her long, pure white hair over her shoulder. “In the end, it is not for me to judge your cause, only to decide if it is true. If it is, you may take the tests—and there you will be judged.”

  “What are the tests?”

  Her slender shoulders rose in a graceful shrug. “Even I do not know exactly what they are. But I know there are three, and each one requires you to find the answer to a puzzle within a time limit.”

  “How long is each test?”

  “That depends on how quickly you solve each puzzle. But the maximum time allotted is one solar rotation for each test.”

  Puzzles? Valdjan shook his head. He hadn’t thought about the actual tests beforehand, but they really had the wrong guy. He’d never been good at puzzles.

  He didn’t voice his concern, however. He was here, so he had to try, but the length of each test was a problem. “Three days is too long. The Ardaks will be here in five.”

  She raised one smooth eyebrow. “Then you will have to pass each test quickly, won’t you?”

  He studied her ethereall
y beautiful face. “What awaits me if I don’t pass?”

  “Death,” she said with finality, and there was certainty in her golden eyes.

  Chapter Four

  Ithyll

  Ithyll eyed Valdjan as he clenched the bars, wondering if he was aware that his knuckles were turning white. It was clear he was a warrior, his muscular body straight and tall. Yet his actions so far had not filled her with confidence. She had envisioned one who was driven with purpose, whose cause was deeply embedded in his heart. But Valdjan didn’t seem vested in gaining access to the crystals.

  He seemed to shake off his indecision. “I’m not going to fail. Just let me take the fucking tests.”

  “Fucking?” she asked. “I do not know this word.”

  Inexplicably, he turned a deep shade of red. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have cursed in your presence.”

  “So, it’s a curse word?”

  “Yes,” he admitted, wincing.

  She wondered at his hesitation. “What does it mean?”

  He cast a sideways glance and her and rubbed his chin. “Ah, it’s a crude word for mating.”

  Her eyes widened and she took a step back, putting her hands up in front of her. “I’m not sure what you know about the prophecy, but these aren’t that type of test.”

  “Huh? What type of test?”

  “They aren’t . . . mating tests.” She choked on the reply.

  His face flushed an even deeper red, and his eyes instinctively moved down her body.

  “Hey!” she said, snapping her fingers.

  Determinedly, he focused on her face. “I’m sorry. You’re just . . . so beautiful. And I didn’t mean it that way. The word is just an expression of anger. Like fucking Ardaks.”

  “Oh.” She tested it out. “Fucking. I like it. Perhaps if these Ardaks do attack, I’ll use it.”

  “Oh, I think we’ll all be using it.” His voice had a hard edge. “How do you know about them, anyway?”

  “Simban told me.” She gazed up at the sky. The sun was directly overhead. “Would you prefer some time to prepare? Or would you like to begin now?”