Page 2 of Acolyte (Tempris #2)

Aneirin didn’t speak for several long moments. His fingers drummed against his thigh as the lightning flickered, a low rumble of thunder quickly following. Carin found herself taking a step back as she felt the aether around him begin to ripple.

Finally, Aneirin rose from his seat and began to circle the panting shadow mage, still kneeling in a patch of blood-soaked hay.

“Now that ,” Aneirin mused, “is a very different story than the one you originally told me. ”

Even the storm raging outside quieted, holding its breath as the predator homed in on its prey.

“So, if I am to understand you correctly,” Aneirin went on, “the first time mage to appear in over two centuries stumbled into your post like a gift from above, and instead of trying to woo her, instead of using charm and tact to play on her sympathies—you attacked her; you attempted to rape her; and then, worst of all, you lost her.” Aneirin ticked off each sin on those bony, too-pale fingers.

Vaughn rasped, “But Sire—”

“Shut him up!”

Carin flinched at the snarled command, quickly tightening her grip on the spell.

Vaughn whimpered, and then quieted.

Aneirin clenched and unclenched his fists. His attention flicked to Carin. “Tell me—how long have I been planning this assault?”

“Two and a half centuries,” Carin mumbled hoarsely.

Although the war had been raging quietly in the background for far, far longer.

Their master—or rather the thing inside him—was old.

Older than the oldest immortals, older than she could even begin to fathom.

He had been planning his revenge, plotting to bring down the heavens, since before time began.

“Yes,” Aneirin crooned with an almost imperceptible nod of his head.

“Two and a half centuries since we lost our last time mage. Two and a half centuries since we forfeited what would’ve been complete control of Tempris.

It has taken two and a half centuries to regroup, to build our army, to choose our moment. ”

With a sweep of his cloak, Aneirin crouched, tucking a finger underneath the shadow mage’s chin and forcing his eyes up.

“Vaughn,” he said, almost gentle. Vaughn started to shake in earnest. “I have no need for sentient stupidity. So, I’m going to give you one chance.

One chance to tell me something—anything—that might convince me not to turn you into one of my puppets.

Tell me, Carin.” Another flash of those teeth.

“Would you recommend ascension to our friend here?”

Carin clamped her lips together and shook her head.

Even after a year, she could still feel that gaping hole in her anima, where a piece of her soul had been carved out, the wound left to fester.

She had never wanted to come to Tempris, to join this cause.

She had only been at the tavern that night because Asher had dared her, said that she was too prim to ever step foot in a common bar.

But Aneirin, who had called himself something different back then, had found her and made his offer. And when she refused, he had taken away her ability to say no. He had turned her into one of his ascended, that piece of her soul passed around to his cronies like a leash.

“I didn’t think so,” Aneirin said, then turned back to Vaughn. “With that in mind—what have you to say in your defense?”

Carin loosened her hold on the spell, just enough for him to speak. Vaughn gulped in a breath. “I think I know where she went,” he said in a rush. “I lost her at the old palace. There was a portal. Inside the gates. And then Breena—”

“Breena?” Aneirin asked.

Vaughn nodded. “Yes, Sire. Breena Venwraith.”

“I was told she died. ”

“I have reason to believe that she bound her anima inside the enchantments concealing the girl’s magic.”

“Why would she do that?” Aneirin asked. “Why would she protect a time mage? Breena Venwraith was assigned to protect the High Lord of Water. It was not her mission to search for the Time Shard.”

Vaughn began to tremble, and once more, Carin felt a tug of resistance. She twisted her claws deeper, and the shadow mage groaned. “Her daughter.” A pained gasp. “The time mage was the child of Breena Venwraith. Corinna—though I suspect that is not what the girl is known by now.

“I lost them at the gates of the palace when Breena opened a portal. I fought, Sire. I tried to recover the girl, but Breena… she summoned fairy fire. She used the spirits of the dead to steal the girl away.”

Vaughn whimpered as the hand gripping his chin moved to his neck.

“I am very disappointed, Vaughn.” The hand began to tighten. “So very disappointed.”

“We just need to lure the girl out.” There were tears in Vaughn’s eyes now, streaking the blood on his face. “There has to be something she cares about. Something we can use to draw her out of hiding. We just have to figure out what that is.”

That sagging hood tilted, as though considering the proposal, and the fog of dead air, suffocating in its emptiness, quaked. Carin took another step back when she felt that hollow void brush against her.

“We don’t even know who this girl is,” Aneirin said. “How are we supposed to gather information on a person without a reliable name? ”

“Please,” Vaughn begged. Carin could feel his fear through the hold she still had on his mind. “There was a transmission. The girl managed to contact Ryme on the relay system. Vale’s outpost was destroyed, but Ryme may still have a recording. We might be able to find something to identify her.”

Aneirin clicked his tongue. “That’s not good enough.”

“There’s more!” Vaughn sobbed as the smell of urine permeated the air. “Please. Please wait, there’s more. When the enchantment matrix containing her magic shattered, she went somewhere. She projected her anima.”

Aneirin released his hold on Vaughn’s neck. “Who was the anchor?”

“A boy,” Vaughn panted. “I was still trying to work my way free of her magic at the time, so I couldn’t follow properly. But I saw a flash. It was a boy pulling her through.”

“Would you recognize him?”

Vaughn nodded eagerly. “Without a doubt. And if we get the boy, the time mage will follow. I’m sure she’ll come for him.”

Aneirin’s fingers still hovered over the shadow mage’s neck while he deliberated. After a long moment, he said, “You have made things far more difficult than they needed to be. However” —he rose— “for the moment, you are still more valuable to me as you are.”

Aneirin gave a slight nod as he straightened his cloak, and Carin released the spell. Vaughn slumped to the floor, wheezing as he sucked in gasps of air .

“Well then,” Aneirin said, idly picking at the sleeve of his coat. “I guess this means we’re off to Ryme.”

“We, Sire?” Vaughn shoved Carin away as soon as she cut his bindings.

“Yes,” Aneirin replied. “I want this time mage, and since you can no longer be trusted to act on your own, I will be seeing this matter through personally.”

Aneirin jerked his head, and Carin bowed, grateful for the chance to leave. As she heaved open the barn door and stepped out into the darkness and rain, she sent up a silent prayer to the Shards. For the time mage. For this island. For the home she’d left behind.

But not for her. After the things she’d done, it would be a mercy to join the dead.