Marie Harte - The Fire Within

“And you, Arim,” Ravyn said softly. “Your power is perhaps the strongest of us all.”

Darius stared suspiciously from his mother to the sorcerer. Her tone was unnervingly loving.

She smiled and placed a hand on Arim’s arm, earning an unwilling growl from Darius and a glare from Marcus and Cadmus. But what she said next stunned Darius into quiet. She stared into Arim’s face. “My brother forgets himself.”

Darius’ jaw dropped. He had to force himself to blink, then turned to see if his brothers had heard what he had. They too looked stunned, even Aerolus who rarely showed his emotions.

“Your brother!” Darius stared from the royal sorcerer to his mother. “You said you had no family save Father and us. What, by the Light’s form, is going on?” Confusion turned his frustration into temper, and he had to fight to keep from breaking something.

“I’m sorry, Darius, but I’m trying to tell you what I can in the brief time we have left.” His mother walked to him and reached up to stroke his cheek. “Because of the real possibility you and your brothers might die if you stay here, you have to leave Tanselm. At least if something happens to me or Arim, you four hold the power necessary to save our land.”

“But only if you succeed in the task ahead,” Arim added.

Darius stared at the sorcerer, unable to resist comparing the large man to his mother. Both possessed dark hair and golden skin, not uncommon throughout the kingdom. But upon closer scrutiny, he saw the same high cheekbones, the same strong, piercing stare from almond-shaped eyes, facial similarities that until now he’d never noticed.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell all of you sooner,” his mother said, nodding towards Arim. “But my past is complicated, and I always thought there’d be more time. You four are our only hope. You must go and find the future.”

“The future?” Cadmus asked, incredulous, his eyes passing from Ravyn to Arim in alarm. “There may be no future for Tanselm, Mother. How can you ask us to leave in this time of crisis? To desert our people and you?”

“She isn’t asking you,” Arim said in a forbidding tone. “She’s telling you to go. Your mother and I have foreseen the need for this passage for quite some time. We know you better than you know yourselves.”

Darius’ eyes narrowed. “Foreseen the need? You knew the Netharat would come.” Arim did not respond. “You’re sending us to another world to find a weapon with which to fight, aren’t you?” Arim was a commanding sorcerer, never cowardly or without a plan. “Something powerful no doubt.”

Cadmus shook his head. “We have plenty of magic here in Tanselm. Why should we leave it for another world? And it may not even be open. ’Sin Garu has blocked all other passages to energised planes.”

“He does not know of this world’s existence,” Arim answered, “thanks to your mother’s keen spellcasting. The importance of this plane cannot be denied. It is there you’ll find the key to Tanselm’s future.”

“What is it then?” Darius asked, his voice laced with frustration. “This isn’t the time for cryptic riddles, Uncle .” Arim’s expression grew darker but Darius blundered on, uncaring. “Tell us what to seek and we shall find it.”

“Women,” his mother answered succinctly, her lips pursed. “Had you four listened to me years ago and sought wives, you might already have averted this near-catastrophe.”

“Or suffered the same fate as the slain in the other kingdoms.” Arim spoke quietly as he scattered dark ash on the floor.

“Perhaps,” she agreed, tiredly. “But all the same, we are running out of time. You must find your affai , and quickly.”

“Our affai ?” Marcus blinked, his shock mirroring Darius’ own. “You want us to seek brides? Now ?”

At least Darius wasn’t the only one having a hard time believing any of this to be real. The kingdom was in danger of falling, their people perilously close to annihilation, and Arim and his mother wanted them to find brides?

“With the four corners of Tanselm empty, each of you will need to fill the void left behind by your uncles and father.” Arim crossed his muscular arms over his chest, his stance unmoving. He seemed ageless, his eyes bright and his skin translucent amidst the magical lights flickering in the room. “Your father earned the kingship because he and your mother were blessed with you four identical sons, mirror images of the power and grace of the Storm Lords.

“Now each of you must find a bride, a woman of courage and faith, a woman able to face the challenges Tanselm presents. One of you will father four identical sons to continue the future of our people. Unless you find your affai , life in Tanselm as we know it will end.”

Darius cursed and shook his head. “We can’t find heart mates in another plane, Arim. What promise do we have that this other realm possesses the magic we have? No, we must stay and find a bride from one of our own, to ensure the continued line of strength for the Storm Lords.”

His brothers nodded, all but Aerolus who stood still, watching everyone carefully.

His mother’s eyes burned, both with tears and anger. “Then you should have found a bride here years ago, when The Season was ripe. But no. All four of you avoided betrothal like the plague.” She laughed bitterly. “And now a plague infests our world. The time has come. I know the possibilities that await you in this foreign world.”

Her eyes glowed, a not so subtle reminder that Queen Ravyn had power in her own right. “Your affai await you. But there is more to your search than finding the one to birth the Royal Four. Each of you needs the strength and power that only your affai can give you. Only with their aid can we rebuild a land strong enough to withstand the evil that constantly threatens.”

“Then give us a Knowing Crystal,” Aerolus said, surprising Darius that he would agree to leave Tanselm in such crisis.

“They have all been destroyed,” Arim answered. “You will have to rely on your judgement, on your hearts. Love abounds everywhere and is in the least likely places.” His expression took on a strange cast, one Darius found curiously regretful. “I have faith you will find those you need to aid us in this cause. And there you will also find that the blood of your mother runs strong in you.”

He stared at all four of them, lingering on Darius last. “You must not fail us.” He began chanting, and the ash on the floor spread into a dark void staining the area beneath the brothers’ feet.

“Wait!” Events were unfolding far too quickly to suit Darius. He needed time to absorb what he’d been told, time to understand. His temper soared when he realised Arim continued to cast the spell, ignoring him. “Dammit, Sorcerer! I can’t leave with the Netharat breathing down our necks. At least give us time to throw them back through the gateway.”

“I agree,” Marcus said.

“And I,” Cadmus added.

Aerolus said nothing, merely stared at Arim.

In the midst of their rebellion, their mother suddenly smiled, a mysterious grin that made her look years younger. She lifted her hands and bolts of lightning crackled from her fingertips, a sight they’d never before seen from the gentle Queen of the West. “I will miss you all. Remember to look deep within yourselves to find your inner powers, beyond that which you think you know. And bring back our salvation.”

She smiled through tears and pressed her hands to her heart. “My love is with you. Don’t let us down. Find your affai .”

“No.” Darius turned to leave, shooting a firebolt at the oak door barring their exit. Rage suffused him that he would be denied the opportunity to avenge his father and the Storm Lords. He literally saw red, his anger growing by the second. “I’m not going—” he growled before the world faded to black.