Whispers (Book 3 of Wielder series)

Chapter 3 - Broken

Darrel was sure the Phantom had cracked a rib or two. The kick he'd taken square in the chest had been fueled by an inhuman speed and strength that guaranteed maximum pain. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to move. It hurt to think.
   But that had little to do with the pain in his chest, and a lot to do with the words Alie had whispered before she'd unleashed her magic.
   I love you.
   She had never said them before. But Darrel had always known how she'd felt about him; she wasn't one to make her feelings unclear. He'd known when their relationship had shifted from acquaintances to friends, and from friends to something more. Though he had never officially asked her out, he knew that at some point, they had become a couple. He was hers, and she was his, and it had been that way for a while.
   But she had never said it out loud.
   In any other situation, Darrel would have joyfully enveloped her in his arms and kissed her senseless.
   But he knew she hadn't said it as a confession. She had said it as a goodbye.
   His chest tightened as emotion threatened to overwhelm him. As the Ultimate Wielder, Alie had the magic to get out of practically anything. She'd fought two of the most powerful Evil-turned people in the realm, and defeated both with barely a scratch to show for it. She'd taken on monsters as tall as buildings. She'd immobilized hundreds of soldiers in a matter of seconds. She could escape anything.
   Anything, except this. Whatever power Sole had put over her, it must have been powerful for her to believe she wouldn't get out of it alive.
   He grasped at his chest as a sob broke from him, turning his pain into excruciating agony. Groaning, he clenched his teeth. He hunched over, waiting for a reprieve long enough to breathe.
   When the pain finally eased enough for him to pull in a breath deeper than a sharp hiss, he swiped the back of his hand across his face. Hot streaks ran down his cheeks. He wasn't sure if the tears were a result of the pain, or of Alie's goodbye.
   Finally, he forced himself to lift his head and take in his surroundings. He knelt in a wood, far from the river. The moon shone brightly through the scattered trees. In one of them, an owl hooted. Snow coated the ground by at least a few inches. Old, muddied tracks wandered down a path toward a distinct blue circle glowing about ten feet away.
   His eyes widened. Alie's magic had transported him all the way to the world's portal, nearly a half day's walk away from their camp. She wasn't powerful enough to transport him to another world, so she had done the next best thing.
   His chest tightened again. He held his breath for a few moments, determined to ride out the wave of emotion until it no longer threatened to overtake him. "Always the hero," he muttered. "Looking out for everyone else."
   He stared at the large, glowing blue spot, and wondered how exactly he was going to make it there. If his ribs were actually broken, attempting to stand would be agony. Crawling would be agony. But he couldn't stay where he was. Even if Commander Sole hadn't ordered one of his Phantoms to come track him down, no one was coming to help him. He would have to go seek it out himself.
   And he did need help. He could use magic to ease away some of the pain, but he didn't have a healer's touch.
   If he remembered right, a little town waited for him on the other side of the portal. Most towns had a healer, if not a whole facility dedicated to the health of its citizens. If he could get up on his feet, he could walk there in a matter of minutes, even if he moved at the pace of a snail.
   He just had to get up.
   He held his breath and braced himself. Nothing about rising was going to be easy. He placed one hand on the ground in front of him, to give him some support. His fingers brushed something hard and cold.
   When he looked down, he realized it was the Ultimate.
   Darrel's hand shook as he reached for Alison's blade. It appeared dull under the moonlight, as if all the magic had drained out of it. It was as cold as the snow and surprisingly light. He gripped it tight.
   There was only one reason Alie would part with her blade. And it wasn't just that she thought she wouldn't survive her encounter with Sole. She wanted him to continue her mission, to help the worlds heal in the way only the Ultimate Wielder could do. She wanted him to carry on without her.
   He tried to imagine what that would be like. Wandering the worlds alone, facing the Evil in the numbers she faced, carrying the burden of spokesman for the Realm. Deciding what was right in situations where nothing was black and white. Holding the most powerful people in the realm accountable for their actions in a way that no one else in the Realm had the power to do.
   "I can't," he whispered into the night, his words as weak and frail as his broken body. "I... I can't. Not without you."
   Even if he could overcome his own emotional battle, the Ultimate would reject him. He curled his fingers tight around the sheathed blade. His cold fingers tingled with the faintest hints of the magic that lay within, and already it felt bristly and strange. The weapon didn't want to be in his hands. There was no way it would let him use it.
   But Alie wasn't the only one who could wield the Ultimate.
   Willy had been an Ultimate Wielder a millennium ago. After betraying the Realm and his oath to the Ultimate, magic had transformed him into a butterfly. He'd wandered the worlds senselessly until he accidentally became encased in crystal, and then his power had been exploited at the hands of others. Darrel had stolen the crystal from the palace in the hopes of making a quick fortune, but had soon after met Alie. She'd used the crystal's power in a last-ditch effort to save them from a giant Evil, and had inadvertently found and claimed the Ultimate.
   But Alie had freed Willy from the crystal, and once magic had been restored to the Realm, Willy had transformed back into a human. They had all left him behind at the palace in the capitol to act as an advisor to the new empress, Tyla Sykora.
   And even though he had once betrayed the weapon, the Ultimate still let Willy wield it.
   Darrel closed his eyes, shutting out the world around him so he could think. Getting the Ultimate to Willy was a no-brainer. The Ultimate would serve only Alie or Willy, and the Realm needed a Wielder. But once Willy had the Ultimate, what would happen? Would they just assume Alie was dead, and pick up her work where she had left off? Would he even want to?
   Alie had once told him that Willy had betrayed the Realm in an attempt to reverse time. He'd lost someone he loved, and couldn't bear to live without her. He'd tried to use magic to bring her back.
   If he'd been willing to do it once, maybe he'd be willing to do it again.
   Or, maybe not. Darrel pushed down the thrill that rose within him at the thought of seeking revenge. As much as he wanted Commander Sole to pay for everything he'd done, both to himself and to Alie, he knew that Alie would not want anyone seeking the commander out in a fight. Not unless it was absolutely necessary for the survival of the realm.
   And Willy's prior selfishness was the whole reason the Realm had been so close to the brink of collapse in the first place. Willy would never repeat his mistakes.
   Still, the need to make the commander pay burned like an inferno in Darrel's chest. He could only imagine the kinds of things that horrible man was planning to do to Alie. The unspeakable torture he would put her through; the way he would drag out her death to make it as painful and agonizing as humanly possible.
   Darrel opened his eyes. That was it. Commander Sole would drag on Alie's death. He'd prolong it for days, weeks, maybe even months, ensuring Alie endured the most pain she could before he finally took her life.
   Which meant that there was time to save her.
   He tried to rise. The pain in his chest bloomed into agony, stilling him with a hiss. He gripped the Ultimate hard, digging its end in the snow and dirt and using it as a support to rise. He nearly passed out from the pain, but somehow he got to his feet. He took a single step, willing himself to press forward. The Ultimate, thankfully, did not try to fight him as he degraded it to a walking stick.
   The portal felt a world away. He inched toward it, dragging his feet more than lifting them, to keep his body as still as possible. But he did keep moving. He had to. Every moment that passed was another moment Alie endured needless agony.
   He would save her. He had to. He didn't care how impossible a task it seemed. He didn't care if he had to fight the whole damn Realm to get to her. If it came to that, he would. Because there was no one he had ever known that he loved more than her.
   As the pain made him faint, he began to form a plan. He would see the healer for his broken ribs. He'd let her patch him up just enough to travel. He'd go back to the capitol to get Willy. Together, they'd track down Commander Sole, and then they'd raise hell itself to get Alie back.
   Repeating his plan over and over in his head, he shuffled onto the portal's cool glow and let its magic pull him under.