Page 16 of Shadows of the Lost Relic (Vanguard of the Ancients #1)

Chapter 16

Lyra

T he days following our return from the forge were a blur of exhaustion and uncertainty. My body still ached from the wounds I had sustained, and I spent most of my time in a state of restless recovery. Even though Evan had saved me from death, the Vanguard healers had insisted I spend a couple of days in the infirmary so they could make sure I was okay. Being on bedrest made me feel like my skin was itching, and I couldn’t wait to get out of there.

Caspian had been by my side constantly, his guilt palpable even as he tried to put on a brave face. His presence was a steady anchor in the storm of fear and confusion that had followed our encounter with the Shadowborn. But he had changed. Not obviously, but in small, subtle ways. A shadow had fallen over him, and no matter how much I tried to reach out, it lingered just beyond my grasp.

It wasn’t until I was well enough to leave the infirmary that I really noticed how much our time in the forge had changed him. He was quieter, more withdrawn, and there was a tension in his movements that hadn’t been there before. I caught him staring at the hammer he had forged with a mix of awe and dread, as if he were both proud of it and terrified of what it symbolized.

We hadn’t spoken much about what had happened in the forge. There hadn’t been time, not with everything that had happened afterward. I was a little reluctant to relive one of the most fear-addled times in my recent life, but now the immediate danger had passed, I could see the toll our mission had taken on him. The hammer was more than just a tool or a weapon; it was a burden, one that was weighing heavily on him.

I found him in the workshop one afternoon, hunched over the hammer. Like maybe if he stared at it intensely enough, he would begin to understand it. The forge’s energy had left a mark on the metal; a faint, pulsing glow that shifted and changed with the light. Caspian’s fingers traced the patterns etched into the metal, his brow furrowed in concentration.

“Caspian,” I murmured, stepping into the room. I didn’t want to interrupt his work, but we needed to talk. We couldn’t keep putting it off, or it would never happen. And as appealing as that sounded, it didn’t help either of us.

He looked up, his expression softening when he saw me, but the shadow in his eyes remained. “Lyra. How are you feeling?”

“Better,” I replied, though the truth was more complicated than that. Physically, I was healed, but the emotional wounds were still raw. “What about you?”

He hesitated, his gaze drifting back to the hammer. “I don’t know. Everything feels off. I can’t explain it, but it’s like the forge’s power is still inside me, like it didn’t all go into the hammer.”

I moved closer, my heart sinking as I saw the exhaustion etched into his features. “What do you mean? How do you feel?”

He shook his head, frustration clear in his voice. “I’m carrying this weight, this… pressure. I can feel the power of the forge in my blood, in my bones. It’s… overwhelming.”

My hand came to rest on his arm, wanting to offer him what comfort I could. He comforted me when I needed it. “Caspian, you’re not alone in this. We’ll figure it out together.”

He met my gaze, and for a moment, I saw the fear that he was trying so hard to hide. “What if I can’t control it, Lyra? What if it’s too much?”

“We’ll find a way,” I said firmly, though inside, I was just as scared. I had felt only a small part of the forge’s power, and I was lucky Evan’s magic had healed the burns on my arms. I couldn’t imagine carrying it inside me. “You’re stronger than you think. We’ll work through this, one step at a time.”

He nodded, though I could see the doubt lingering in his eyes. He was trying to be brave, but the weight of the forge’s power was taking its toll. I could feel it in the air around him, a subtle shift that made my skin prickle. The hammer was dangerous in a way that went beyond its physical form. It had bound itself to Caspian, and I wasn’t sure that was a good thing.

Over the next few days, the changes in Caspian became more pronounced. He was restless, unable to sit still for long, and there was constant tension in his movements. His temper, usually entirely absent, flared up at the smallest provocations. He would catch himself and apologize quickly, but I could see him struggling. The forge’s power was eating away at him, and I didn’t know how to stop it.

The others noticed it, too. Kane, always so quick to laugh and joke, became more subdued around Caspian, sensing the danger simmering beneath the surface. I was surprised he wasn’t trying to provoke Caspian, but maybe Kane was smarter than he liked to act.

Theo kept his distance, his sharp eyes watching Caspian closely, though he said nothing.

And Evan… Evan was quiet, his thoughts hidden behind that calm, composed exterior. I needed to talk to him as well, but there hadn’t been time. Between trying to track down the Shadowborn, trying to decipher the hammer and the Amulet, and trying to keep an eye on Caspian, it felt like I didn’t have time for anything else.

One evening, as we sat together studying ancient texts, I finally voiced the concern that had been gnawing at me since we returned from the forge.

“We need to talk about what’s happening to Caspian,” I said, my voice cutting through the comfortable silence that had settled over the room.

Caspian stiffened beside me, but he didn’t protest. He knew as well as I did that something was wrong, and ignoring it would not make it go away. We had promised to do things together. The only way we could face the prophecy was together, and the only way he was going to get past this was with our help.

Theo was the first to speak, his voice calm but laced with concern. “The forge’s power is ancient, older than most of the artifacts we’ve encountered. Caspian, you’ve already felt it—you know it left part of itself inside you, and that’s affecting you now.”

Caspian didn’t flinch at Theo’s words. He had admitted it to me in a rare moment of vulnerability. The forge had marked him, its power embedding itself within him like a thorn in his soul. Now, hearing Theo say it out loud in front of everyone only seemed to make the reality of it all the more suffocating.

“I know it did,” Caspian replied, his voice strained with the effort to stay composed. “I can feel it every second of the day. There’s a fire inside me that I can’t put out, no matter what I do. It’s burning through me.”

Evan’s gaze was intense as he leaned forward, speaking softly, but with a sense of urgency. “The forge’s power didn’t just transfer into the hammer. The part that was left in you, it’s changing you, and not for the better.”

Caspian’s expression darkened, his hands clenching into fists on the table. “I know it’s changing me, Evan. I can feel myself slipping, losing control. What am I supposed to do about it? How do I control something that’s already inside me? I can’t undo what I did, and we need the hammer. Even with it, the Shadowborn nearly killed Lyra. I’m not going to risk that happening again. No matter the cost, the mission comes first.”

I reached out, placing a hand over one of his fists, feeling the tension coiled in his muscles. Hearing him say the mission came first, it sounded like it was a line he was hiding behind. “We’ll figure it out,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “You’re not in this alone. We’ll find a way to help you. No one is sacrificing themselves for the cause.”

Kane, who had been unusually quiet, finally spoke up, his tone serious. “We need to be careful. If the forge’s power is corrupting Caspian, we have to find a way to counter it before it gets worse. We can’t just sit around and wait for him to go dark-side.”

The word ‘corrupting’ hung in the air like a dark cloud, and I could see the impact it had on Caspian. His jaw tightened, and for a moment, I thought he might snap at Kane. But then the anger drained from his body, leaving him looking more exhausted and defeated than ever.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered, rubbing a hand over his face, as if trying to wipe away the weight of the situation. “I just… I don’t know what to do. It’s like I’m fighting a battle inside myself every second, and I’m losing. I don’t know how much longer I can keep going. Or what is going to happen when I do lose.”

I tightened my grip on his hand, trying to offer what little comfort I could. “We’ll figure it out together, Caspian. You’re strong enough to get through this, and we’re going to help you find a way. I’m not sure corruption is the right word to use.” It was hard not to glare at Kane. He had been offering what he thought was a way to rouse us to action. “The forge was Hephaestus’. It’s a part of Caspian’s lineage. It wouldn’t be trying to ruin him.”

Caspian nodded, though I could see the doubt still lingering in his eyes. The forge’s power was a burden he hadn’t asked for, but it was one he had to bear, and I was determined to help him carry it. But deep down, I was just as terrified as he was. How could we fight a part of him without damaging the rest of him?

The discussion wasn’t getting us anywhere, and it wasn’t long before the triplets peeled off on their own, leaving me and Caspian sitting at the table with a heap of texts and parchments scattered around us. We were ignoring them, just sitting in the silence, my hand still resting on his fist.

“We will get through this Caspian.” They were words that I would come back to over and over again, words we took to sleep and clung to in our dreams.

As the days passed, it became painfully clear that the situation was growing more dire. The changes in Caspian were becoming more obvious and frequent, becoming the new normal rather than moments of unusual activity. His mood became more volatile; he would snap at the others for no reason, his temper flaring up over the smallest things. There were still moments when he seemed like the Caspian I knew—calm, thoughtful, and compassionate—but those moments were becoming fewer and farther between.

He spent most of his time in his workshop. The place was a mess, not in its usual controlled chaos, but actual untidiness. There were broken components lying around from when he had lost patience with them. It became so bad that I tried to keep him out of there as much as I could, not wanting him to damage anything he cared about that he couldn’t fix later.

The boys had banished him from the library. There were too many delicate texts, and his bursts of anger were now accompanied by outbursts of fire. It came through his hands and had singed some of the furniture. The library staff complained about it any time someone came within earshot of them. We were running out of things to do to keep him occupied.

One afternoon, while we were in the training room, Caspian lost control completely. We were sparring, trying to keep our skills sharp and hoping the physical activity would wear him out a little. Maybe burn off the energy, let the fire die down enough for him to regain some of his self-control. If we were lucky, it would tire him out enough to let him get a good night’s sleep. The bags under his eyes were dark, and getting darker every day. He spent the first half of the session stalking up and down the sidelines, grumbling in a mix of Greek and English that made it difficult to understand what he was angry about.

We had been changing partners every few rounds. It kept things from getting boring, and made sure we didn’t get too used to fighting each other. It helped keep us fresh, making sure we were constantly adapting to the fights.

Kane had taken on Caspian first, but the fight had been over quickly. His fight with Evan had lasted much longer. There was often talk of Evan being the most skilled fighter of the triplets. I had believed them, but it was different to see it in person. When we fought our way out of the temple with the Amulet, there had been too much going on to really appreciate his skill. Where Caspian was relying on power and anger, Evan used skill, deflecting blows, and taking strikes where he could.

There had been an argument when it came my time to be paired against Caspian. Evan and Theo both quietly cautioned me that I didn’t need to spar with him, that I was still recovering from what had happened at the forge. Kane had flat out told me not to step out into the practice ring. I knew Caspian, though. I knew he was still fighting against the power that was trying to control him, but I knew he wouldn’t hurt me.

I was the least skilled of the five of us, but my time with the Vanguard had sharpened my skills considerably. I didn’t draw daggers, but chose a quarterstaff from the rack of weapons. Being sure Caspian wouldn’t hurt me didn’t mean I wanted to take needless risks. It was a much better idea to keep some distance between the two of us where I could.

The first rounds of sparring went quickly. Blows traded back and forth, testing each other out. I could tell he was taking it easy on me, but I was glad of that. Not just because it meant he wasn’t hurting me, but because it meant I was right. My Caspian was still in there, still fighting to be with us.

When he took a large haymaker-style swing at me, I got a lucky blow in against his ribs. I was about to apologize when he snapped. He came at me with a ferocity that took me completely off guard, his strikes faster and harder than anything I had seen from him before.

“Caspian, stop!” I shouted, trying to reach him through the haze of whatever was driving him, but he didn’t seem to hear me. His eyes were wild, his face twisted with a mix of anger and something more primal that frightened me.

I barely blocked his next strike, the force of it sending me stumbling back. My heart pounded in my chest as I realized it wasn’t just a sparring match anymore. Caspian was out of control, and he was going to hurt someone if he didn’t stop. He was going to hurt me, and he wouldn’t forgive himself for that.

“Caspian!” I tried again, this time with more force, but he was too far gone. The power of the forge was pulsing around him, making the air feel thick and heavy with heat, and I could see that he was losing the battle to control it.

Just as I thought he was going to land a blow I couldn’t block, Kane and Theo were there in the ring with us, pulling him back with a force that almost threw all of them off balance. Caspian struggled against them, his eyes still wild, but they held him firm, refusing to let him go.

“Calm down, Caspian!” Theo barked, his voice sharp. “This isn’t you. You need to get a grip.”

It took a few seconds, but when Evan stepped in front of him, blocking me from sight, the wild look in Caspian’s eyes finally began to fade. His body went slack, and he slumped in their grip, his breathing ragged. Kane and Theo released him, though they stayed close, ready to step in again if necessary.

Caspian’s lowered his gaze to the floor. Even without being able to see it, I knew it was full of fear. Fear of what he had done, fear of what he might do.

“I… I’m sorry,” he choked out, his voice hoarse. “I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s okay,” I said quickly, though I wasn’t sure if that was true. “You weren’t yourself.”

He shook his head, his expression tortured. “But I was. That was me, Lyra. That’s what I’m becoming.”

“We won’t let that happen,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “We’ll find a way to stop it.”

But even as I said the words, I could feel the weight of doubt pressing down on me. The forge’s power had changed Caspian, twisting him into a darker, more dangerous person. And I didn’t know how to stop it.

We were all surprised when Kane was the one who asked, “What about the ritual Lyra found?”

With everything that had been going on, I had forgotten about the scroll with the ritual. The prophecy was still in my mind, but the details had been swallowed up in the pressure of everything else.

Caspian looked from Kane to me, then to Theo. “Do you think it will work?”

A thoughtful look crossed Theo’s face. “Lyra is the only one who can read it. She said it was a ritual to awaken the power of our lineages. Maybe that’s what you need. If the power of the forge is consuming you, maybe Hephaestus can keep it in check.

It was worth a shot. At this point, anything was worth a shot.