The Outskirts: The Rogue Knight (Jace x OC) BOOK 2

The Rogue Knight: 23

I stood at the brink of a clear pool, surrounded by diverse crystals streaked with luminous color. In the distance rose the pearl-and-platinum extravagance of Trillian's palace. It was beautiful.
Not far away, Mira faced a tall adolescent girl in traveling clothes who I recognized from our first trial. It was Honor.
Mira beamed up at her sister. Her hair was shorter again, and her clothes were no longer fancy. Honor looked bewildered.
"Mira?" Honor finally managed. "It can't be."
"I came to find you," Mira said, throwing her arms around her sister. Honor was a full head taller than her younger sibling
Rather than enjoy the hug, Honor looked around angrily. "Trillian! Is this another of your tricks?"
"No, Honor, it's really me," Mira insisted. "I came to find you with some friends. We just won your freedom."
A silver bird landed near them and became Hina. "It is true, Honor. This is indeed your sister, and all of you are now free to go."
Honor gazed down at her sister, hands on her shoulders. "Mira?" she said, her voice a little choked. "Is that really you? It's been so long! You look the same."
"So do you," Mira said, still beaming. "It's been forever."
Honor pulled her sister close in a tight embrace.
"I can't breathe," Mira croaked after a long moment.
Laughing, Honor let her go, and Mira stepped back. "You're still flimsy!"
"You still don't know your own strength."
"Wait a minute," Honor said suspiciously. "I was just in a contest trying to win my freedom."
"You almost killed me," Mira said.
Honor covered her mouth. "That was you?"
"What was your contest?" Mira asked.
"There were three scenarios," Honor said. "First, I had to stop Father from abducting us. Then I had to prevent three rabbits from eating plants. At the end, I had to stop three horse thieves."
Mira hit her forehead with the heel of her hand. "You were always the attacker!"
"I've been chasing you this whole time?" Honor asked, appalled.
"Me and two of my friends," Mira said. "Jace and Kendal."
"Oh, Mira, I'm so sorry." Honor looked over at me, then her eyes found Jace, and lingered there longer than necessary. "I didn't know."
"People try to kill me all the time," Jace said.
I felt slightly uncomfortable. Was Honor going to be like Amanda?
"It wasn't your fault," Mira soothed.
Honor sighed. "I'm a fool. I expected trickery, but nothing like this."
"You looked like Owandell to us," Mira said. "If I was really sharp, I might have guessed it. He never carried a sword. He wasn't the type to get his hands dirty."
"You three must have been the captured traitors," Honor said. "You looked like Father, Owandell, and Serbus to me. We were both duped. We went up against one another through altered versions of the same scenario. Mira, I had no idea."
"You had to stop us all three times to get free?" Mira asked.
"I had to kill the three of you," Honor said. "Trillian told me it would be difficult. But I couldn't pass up a chance to escape."
"We were looking for you," Mira said. "We knew you wouldn't be in your true form. All we had to do was find you, touch you, and say your name. But we only got three guesses—one in each place. I didn't think about you being the enemy until right at the end, when you asked me to yield."
"Were you about to pick that horse instead?" Honor asked incredulously.
"It kept apart from the others," Mira said. "That seemed kind of like you—doing your own thing. But as I got close, it just didn't feel right. Something told me to wait until the last second, in case I made a better discovery. Asking me to yield was something you would do, but it didn't seem like something a monster would do."
"I shouldn't have done it," Honor said. "Not if I played his game the right way. Killing you was my ticket out of here. It just seemed harsh to kill a trespasser. You hadn't stolen a horse yet. None of you tried to fight me. I felt like a bully. No, worse, a murderer. I knew you were probably just some fabrication, and I knew you might disappear again before my blow connected, but I still couldn't feel right about striking you down without offering you a chance to surrender."
I moved over to stand by Jace. We stayed off to the side, close enough to hear everything, but not wanting to intrude.
Honor glanced at us. "Thanks for coming for me. Look at you. You're just kids."
"What are you?" Jace asked. "A wise old grandmother?"
"I meant no offense," Honor assured him.
"You looked like a monster to us," I said. "Could you tell?"
Honor shook her head. "I felt like myself the whole time."
"How well did you know the maze?" Jace asked.
"Not well," Honor said. "I only knew I had to protect the horses at the center. You three looked like little goblins."
"Congratulations on winning your freedom," Hina said, stepping closer to Mira and Honor. "I am to escort you to the gate. Before you go, Trillian asked me to pass along a parting gift."
"I don't want anything from him," Honor said.
"Nevertheless, it is yours," Hina replied, opening a carved wooden box. A tiny sphere of light emerged.
"What is that?" Mira asked.
"I thought Trillian's power couldn't reach beyond this domain," Honor said.
"This is Spark," Hina explained. "Trillian did not craft this figment. Callista did. The Grand Shaper rested here for a time before going into hiding. She left several figments with her former master. This one can lead you to her."
"Greetings," Spark chirped in a tiny voice.
"After all this time, Trillian wants to guide me to Callista?" Honor exclaimed. "I came to this part of Elloweer looking for her. But then Trillian captured me. He never said a word about helping me find the Grand Shaper."
"My master knows your mind," Hina said. "Lately, he has learned more about the fiend Morgassa. He wants her stopped, and he doesn't believe you'll have a chance without help from the Grand Shaper. It's in his interest as well as yours."
"If he knows where she is, why not just tell me?" Honor asked.
"She has hidden herself deep within Fog Lake," Hina said.
"Finding her on your own would be quite a feat."
"Your problems are solved!" Spark cheered. "I'm your new leader!"
"You can guide us to Callista?" Honor asked.
"Easily," Spark replied. "Fog Lake is less than a day from here. With me as your leader, you can't go wrong."
"Showing us how to get there doesn't make you the leader," Jace corrected.
"It does if you're following me," Spark squeaked.
"Tell Trillian we accept the gift," Honor said. "Will you show us out?"
Within minutes, we were back on the extremely red road. The splendid coach awaited. There was room for four. Hina rode her horse.
I looked at the flashy palace receding behind them. Mira caught Honor up about their fight with Carnag and the danger of the shapecrafters.
"I knew nothing about shapecrafters," Honor said. "Reggie had suspicions about Morgassa's power being linked to mine. We hoped Callista might aid us."
"We saw Reggie at Blackmont Castle," Mira said.
"He's alive?" Honor exclaimed. "I saw him cut down by members of Trillian's Red Guard."
"He lost his legs," Mira said. "But he survived."
The coach halted at the end of the road before the open gate. Only blackness was visible beyond.
One of Trillian's guards held a saddled horse near the open gates. He handed Honor the reins when she approached. "Hi, General," she said, patting the horse's neck. "Have they treated you right?" Without a word to the guard or a glance at Hina, Honor led the steed into the perfect darkness. Spark followed, then me, Mira and Jace.
I stepped through in time to see Skye pick up Mira in an embrace and twirl her around.
"I shouldn't have doubted," Skye was saying. "I didn't expect to see you again!"
Dalton and Cole came up to me and gave me a hug, then patted Jace on the back.
"Good job, guys!" Cole said. "You found her! What a relief!"
"We were making rescue plans," Twitch said. "Not very hopeful ones."
"We weren't all faithless," Minimus asserted. "Given the chance, I might have taught that torivor some manners."
"It was a close call," Mira said. "The contest was toy. But we won in the end."
Skye went down on one knee and bowed her head to Honor. "Your Highness," she said.
Twitch started to kneel and bow as well, which looked interesting since his legs folded the other way.
"Rise," Honor said. "No bows or curtseys, please. I appreciate the gesture, but we're far from court."
Twitch straightened and Skye stood up.
"I mean to counsel with Callista," Honor said. "This figment, Spark, will show us the way. How many of you intend to join me?"
"I do," Mira said.
"I'm with Mira," Jace said.
Dalton sidled close to me and Cole. "Are we in?" he asked softly.
"We'd be on our own without Mira," I said. "Besides, who knows how a Grand Shaper might be able to help us? Maybe that's who Trillian meant when he said someone with enough power could get us home."
"Your right," Cole said and Dalton nodded.
"We're coming," I announced.
Everyone else agreed.
"Then we'll ride until nightfall," Honor said. "Our guide predicts we will arrive in less than a day."
"We surely can," Spark chirped. "Just rely on your fearless leader."
"I thank you all for coming to my rescue," Honor said, mounting her horse. "I made a grave misstep getting caught by Trillian. You saved me from my folly. I'm indebted."
"We're just happy you're all right," Mira said.
I noticed how naturally Honor assumed command of the group. Her presence made it feel like they had been leaderless until now, but I wasn't sure I liked it. She rode at the front near Spark and chose a good spot for them to camp as the light failed.
"I'll watch over you tonight," Minimus volunteered.
"Nonsense," Honor said. "We'll share that duty. You must sleep sometime."
"Actually, my lady, I require very little rest," Minimus said. "Watching through the night is a simple matter for me. I would not endanger you with empty boasts."
"I'll keep watch too," Spark offered. "I don't sleep either. And I see all directions at once. A good leader keeps an eye on his flock."
"We'll be well guarded," Honor said.
"Our enemies will run screaming," Jace joked. "Nobody would tangle with a little dot of light."
"Mighty infernos begin with a spark," Spark cautioned.
"Can you become an inferno?" Jace asked.
"I can alert the dwarf," Spark said sheepishly.
"Then he can unleash an inferno indeed!" Minimus said stoutly.
"I'll cloak us in an illusion as well," Skye said. "We should rest undisturbed."
As I laid down next to Jace, I gazed up at the foreign sky. Two dim moons shared weak light. Stars and galaxies clogged the firmament like luminous dust.
"This reminds me of the night on the roof." Jace said softly.
I smiled. "That was the first time we actually talked."
"That's when you realized how awesome I am." He said with a lopsided smirk.
"Oh shut up." I said.
"Don't even deny it. You know you love me."
I rolled my eyes, trying to cover the truth in that statement. "More like I know how annoying you are."
He snorted. "If you say so."
I rolled my eyes again. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight."