The Twelve Stars

Chapter 17

"How long have we been gone?" Finn asked.

It was impossible to say. In response, I ran inside. What once stood as the Village Square of Kjode had now been burned to the ground, the surrounding buildings lay in ruins. There was only one explanation for who could have done this. My hands clenched into fists upon thought of my father. Footsteps sounded behind me.

"Callyk?" Finn asked. I knew he understood my fury when he laid a hand on my shoulder. "I'm so sorry," he said. Anger gave way to sadness. But I wiped the incoming tears away with the hem of my sleeve.

"It's not your fault," I told him. A loud squawk interrupted us. We looked up. A black bird sat perched on the scaffolding of a caved-in ceiling. To my realisation, it wasn't just any bird. "Huginn?" I asked.

She squawked again, ruffling her feathers. Finn followed my gaze. Then she took flight, aiming straight for Elder Harald's domicile at the end of the Village Square, and swooped in through the cased opening into his home. Curious, we followed her. Compared with the state of the village, I wasn't surprised at the destruction of Elder Harald's domicile once we stepped inside. The furniture had been reduced to rubble and ash, barely indistinguishable save for the dining table and the sturdy hearth of the fireplace.

Huginn squawked for a third time and we looked to where she was indicating with her beak. There on the ground, amidst the rubble, rested the burned disfigurement of an old man in his tattered garments. I rushed to him in horror. With his face visible through the destruction, I discerned him as Elder Harald. I crouched down. His eyes were closed as if in a deep slumber and yet I couldn't deny the truth of his demise.

"Elder Harald," I whispered. I couldn't help but feel sorrow and shame for what my existence had come to.

"It's not your fault either," Finn assured.

Ignoring him, I stood up and stared Huginn in the eyes. Up on the mantle, she stared back. "Is this why you brought us here?" I asked her. She merely blinked, unfazed by the sudden projection of my voice. "If you really want to help, tell me who did this-"

"Callyk, she's just a messenger. It's not her fault..." Finn attempted to calm me down by pinning my arms to my side. In answer, Huginn took flight back outside into the Village Square. It wasn't until I took note of the abrupt silence that I remembered Robyn and Thad. Finn saw the shift of anger to concern in my eyes. "Callyk?" he asked. I made for the cased opening.

"Something is wrong," I answered. "Robyn?" I asked. I stepped over the threshold. "Robyn..."

Green eyes met mine. Then I saw her situation and I understood her silent response. A few steps away from us, Robyn had been subdued with her own sword against her throat. Smoke filtered around her. Heavy clouds darkened the sky. Holding the sword stood her captor. "Thad?" I said.

"I did warn you," he replied. Finn came up next to me, standing to my right.

"Thad, just put the sword down-"

"I promised that I would do anything to stop the Dark Wielder!" he shouted. "You have a Prophecy, Callyk. And I can't allow it to come true. Not after what I have seen."

"Then fight me," I said. "But let Robyn go-"

"You think Robyn is innocent in all of this?" he suddenly asked. With his other arm around her, he pulled her closer to him. Robyn stumbled over her footing, terror in her eyes as brave as she was.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I'm surprised you haven't figured it out already," he scoffed. "Her ability to wield fire. She's a Wielder too-"

"But she doesn't have a ring," I countered. Annoyance showed in his green eyes through his actions which lacked patience.

"That's because she has to claim her's from Draupnir. It's where we all received our rings from. Odin himself!" He released his left hand from her arm momentarily to let the light illuminate his own ring for us to see. "And now that I have all three of you with me, oh, the King will be most affronted to learn that not one, but both of his sons are a Wielder." A grin formed on his lips.

"Both?" Robyn asked, confused. Thad pulled her closer to him.

"You didn't tell her?" he asked me.

"Tell me what-"

"Your little friend here who you thought you knew, hasn't told you everything. He and Finn? They're brothers, Robyn," he told her. Robyn's eyes widened. Distrust soon overcame surprise and she avoided eye contact with me completely after that.

"Robyn," I said. My attempt to console her was futile.

"Who are you, Callyk?" she asked. Tears began to well in her eyes. She was hurt. "Is that even your name? First you didn't trust me with your curse and now you didn't trust me with your true identity? What else aren't you telling me?"

Thad pretended to sympathise with her. "Hurts doesn't it?" he said.

"What does my father have in it for you?" Finn asked.

"Safety, first of all," he said. "And a favour. In return for helping me save Yggdrasil, I will help him find the rest of the Twelve."

"No, you can't!" Finn argued. "He will turn on you the first chance he gets-"

"The Nine Realms is collapsing," Thad resumed. "Our world needs order."

"Do you even know what his plan is once he has all Twelve of us?" Finn asked.

"Mortal affairs don't matter to me," Thad replied.

"Well it should," Finn informed. "Because that plan of his concerns you too."

Pent up fury had been churning inside of me from the moment Thad had revealed his deal to us with the King. It didn't matter to me how or when he had managed to make such a journey in the short time we had been together. Even if he was the Wielder of Time.

Before the incident in the Vault, I had only ever been able to affect a person's health with my curse. Not control shadows as Finn had been able to do. This time was different. With my power restored, I almost felt stronger. New found anger had unlocked my ability's potential. I raised my hands, subconsciously attempting a feat I had never done before. The ground churned beneath us. The clouds thickened and darkened, heeding my internal command to bring the shadows of the dead to life.

"Callyk?" Robyn's voice was the only thing that kept me tied to the earth. I tried to concentrate on her, to bring myself back. But it was too late. My power, now stronger than ever, had already won and was in complete control of me. I was simply its vessel.

Shadows continued to form around us. My mind was powerless, imprisoned in its own cage. A gleam in my eyes provoked Thad's fear as my true potential came to light. Darkness swirled in my hands and around my legs. This is exactly why I had never wanted to try and manifest darkness in its physical form. Control.

None of us could stop what happened next. Finn put up a shield of light to protect himself and Robyn just before my power could unleash itself from its growing mass of darkness that spiralled around me. When it could no longer be contained, I thrust out my hands. Shadows sprung forth. For a moment I thought I was going to win.

My hope was reduced when Thad suddenly vanished, dropping Robyn's sword and releasing her in the process. Confusion allowed me to gain a moment of control and drop my hands to vanquish the darkness I had reluctantly summoned. I stumbled from the toll of energy my power had drained of me, and fell onto my knees. I was going to pass out. Then a pair of boots appeared in front of me. I strained my head to look up. Thad's eyes met mine.

"Let me make this easier for you," he said. In one clean sweep, his raised fist came hurtling towards my face.