Legacy Disowned - Book 2

Chapter 6 - Déjà Vu

"Sebastian! You gave me no choice. I had to follow you. Now please, leave the relic alone. We can find another way to help Anne."

"I'm sorry, Ominis, but I'm taking it."

Ominis could hear the desperate determination in his friend's voice, the same desperation he felt inside, but he had to fight it. The dark arts were not fit to save anyone, he couldn't let Sebastian make the same mistake he had. Mustering all the willpower he possessed he shot back, "Then I will put it back myself!"

"Hold on, both of you," Darling's voice rang through firmly, her footsteps carrying her between him and Sebastian. "Please, take a step back."

There was an agonisingly long silence before Sebastian finally exhaled sharply and said, "Fine, but Ominis knows I won't step back from a fight."

He heard Darling let out a sigh of relief before turning to him. "How much did you hear?'

"Everything," he said, trying to keep his voice steady. "I was glad to hear your apprehension to take the relic. We need to stand together...convince Sebastian this is wrong."

"I–" Darling hesitated. "I don't know if it is though...it does seem riskier than we realised, but I don't think it is that simple. We have no other leads on how to help Anne. We can't be sure another way even exists. I don't think there is any way he will give up this chance."

Ominis' heart clenched. The truth in her words was enough to make him feel like he was drowning. What if this was their only chance, and by forcing Sebastian to leave the relic he himself was sealing Anne's fate? But no, the last time he had turned to the dark arts as the only way out, he had lost the very thing he had been trying to protect. "I'm sorry, my mind is made up."

"You know you are like family to him?" Darling said, with a sudden quaver to her voice. "Are you really willing to throw that away over this?"

"I might be—"

"Ominis—"

"How could I choose to stand by and watch him do this?"

"Ominis—" Darling replied, her tone dropping to almost a whisper. A moment later he felt the warmth of her hand on his arm. "He isn't going to leave here without it. Not when it might be the only way..."

Ominis swallowed hard. "What are you suggesting then?"

"We let him take it, to research." She said firmly. "To find out how it works, but if it's too dark, too dangerous, then no more. We don't pursue it any further."

Ominis' heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest. "I feel that is what we agreed to in the scriptorium. I'm being taken for a fool."

She gently squeezed his arm. "Nobody is taking you for a fool. I just dont think this is as black and white as you think. We can't know this is the right or wrong decision until we know what it is we are dealing with. You know him, can't you trust him?"

He pulled free of her hand and began pacing. It was true, there really was no way to be sure. The last thing he wanted was to pass up what could be their only chance to help Anne, but what would this cost them? Why did it have to be so damn complicated? Why couldn't the answer be clear? His head felt like it was going to burst, desperately trying to find some definitive reason to choose one way or the other as he continued to pace. Feeling as though if he just kept moving somehow his head might clear.

"Fine." he said finally. "If I trust him on this. I'm trusting you too. The dark arts seem harmless until it's too late."

Even as he continued his pacing he could still feel the ghost of warmth from Darling's hand on his arm. He could almost feel Iris grounding him with her tiny hand as she had promised him that everything would be ok.