Ch.24

"Then I suggest you spend much more time here‌—it's the last home you'll ever have. Because once I'm done with you, this is the only one you'll have." He met the mage's gaze, then moved away, heading back toward the open doorway‌—as if he might be able to get them both out there.

Ardis stepped forward. "Wait!" She threw her hands up, as though she couldn't believe she had to say it. "Please! There must be something we can do."

Fir stopped walking, turning slowly around to face them.

Her heart pounded loudly in her ears. She didn't know how to get them out of here‌—she'd been wrong before, and she did not want to make that mistake again. But he just stared at her, silent, unreadable.

And then, suddenly, Fir reached into the depths of his cloak, pulling out two curved knives, a silver ring on each blade. One had a rusted blade, while the other glistened red, and they all seemed to pulse with magic.

Ardis raised an eyebrow. "Where did you .‌.‌. ?"

Fir smiled at her. "The dead don't carry weapons. They used these ones themselves‌—even when they had a chance to escape. You should know this. By now. Though they fought against me in the beginning, when I took my throne, their blood finally ran cold. And in death, they understood that there was no way to win." He turned back to Evander, holding the blades over his head. "Don't you agree, Prince?"

Evander trembled, trembling like a leaf. "Please," he whispered. "Please. Don't do this."

"What does it matter to you?" Fir asked, turning back toward Elestra. "Your family is gone. This time, they are truly gone‌—they cannot come back. Please don't force us to bring you into our world as well. It would be better to die."

He placed the swords in front of her, stretching out her hands. "Come. Take the knives. I will grant you this much mercy."

"No!" Ardis rushed forward, grabbing them out of Fir's grip and hurling them back toward him. But he caught the blades by the hilt‌—holding them up high. "You can't do this! We need you!"

"It's not up to me‌—" Evander spoke up, taking a step toward the daedric prince. "I gave you the ring. You wouldn't have killed them if I hadn't given you that." He paused. "But you owe me your life. You came back for me‌—the same way I came back for you. That's what you promised, remember? When we first met, that day on the shore? Now you want to take that away from me?"

Fir smiled at him. "In a manner of speaking, yes. If you're asking me to give you life‌—no‌—in this case, it'd be impossible. I owe you nothing‌—you haven't earned anything. On the contrary, you've proven yourself a nuisance, and I'm not certain how much longer you'll live if I ever decide to kill you myself." He shrugged. "Whether I return with the book or not, you will all die here. I have no more use for you."

"That's not true." Elaric stepped closer, fixing his gaze on the daedric prince‌—unafraid. "We are going to help you‌—if you'll let us. This is our home as well. You can't just destroy it without explaining yourself. It's wrong. Even if you're my father‌. . ."

Fir laughed at him. "You cannot help me. Not anymore. I know what's in this book‌—and you don't."

"What‌—" Ardis demanded‌—but the daedric prince was already walking toward the open doorway. "No! We won't let you go out there!"

He continued walking through the gaping hole, Elestra right behind him. Ardis followed, grabbing his arm, and then she realized that Elaric had begun to run after them‌—though she knew he couldn't possibly catch them.

Behind her, the mages both reached out for the ancient book‌—only to have their hands snatched away by Fir, who held it back, keeping his own promise. It had always been his plan to give them a chance to escape the book. Now, they only had each other.

And despite the odds, Evander screamed to be heard‌—trying desperately to find strength within himself, to change what had happened to him.

And yet, somehow, he knew deep inside that he wasn't going to be able to stop this from happening. Not unless he did something drastic.

***

Elder Adero turned away as the stone tower finally collapsed, bringing with it the rest of the homes around it. Then he took up his staff, guiding everyone into an open space beyond the ring of ash.

The councilors bowed to him respectfully as they stepped past the men and women who waited outside the rubble‌—Ardis, Evander, Elaric, Ardis, Fir‌—and all the others.

Adero led the procession, walking toward the closest hut, where the man with the book and the mage he'd summoned to help them stood talking quietly. But once everyone else had passed by, Adero turned to walk back to their leader‌—but stopped cold in his tracks.

Instead, he carefully knelt, placing his staff at the edge of the ring, where the smoke didn't reach.

"May I speak with you?" a voice asked from behind him.

Adero hesitated, but turned around anyway. An elderly woman‌—she must be the headman of this place. "Yes .‌."

She smiled at him. "I'm sorry that we're not going to allow anyone to enter this area. We will assist you however we can, and we wish to talk to you about the others who were lost."

"But the danger‌—"

The old woman sighed. "You are all quite aware of what we do here. We want to spare them this fate. If you don't want our help, there is no need to continue with this ritual." She shrugged. "Unless, of course, you are afraid the others will die in the attempt. In which case, we won't even ask for forgiveness from them when they return to you in the morning. Their deaths will be on your hands instead."

He thought of the girl whose life he'd promised to save. And she was right‌—he couldn't deny them anything. He would bring them all back if he could. The only thing that stopped him was the fear‌—the fear that he wasn't strong enough.

The old woman nodded, smiling warmly. "We're ready. You should prepare yourselves. Everything will be alright." Then, she walked past Adero, heading toward the nearest hut.

"No." He moved forward, grabbing her wrist as she tried to pass him. "There‌—"

Then he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He stumbled, falling to the ground. The entire world became dark‌—as though he were diving into a sea of blackness, being pulled down by thick, choking water. His vision blurred, then faded‌—until it was gone altogether.