Smoke Rising: Book III

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Her words echo in my skull, and I think I feel it cracking. If you don't stay, you will be the cause of suffering.

"You're wrong." She has to be. "I can handle Nicholi."

"He has your magic now, which means he is probably looking for the spell. All he has to do is figure out that you're the key to casting it, not your powers. Then every human on this planet will be in danger, not just the ones that the Chancellor targets. Ella could die, Ana."

"But I won't let that happen. I will agree to perform the spell, but only after finding a way not to kill anyone." There has to be a way.

"What happens if the Chancellor becomes a Caster? There will be no stopping the terror that will follow. War will reach every corner of the world."

"Then I'll lie. I'll tell Nicholi I'll cast the spell as soon as he helps me kill the Chancellor, and then I'll tell him I can't do it. I'll tell him it's not working. That the connection is gone or the spell is wrong or something." I have the power. For once in my life, I'm the one who can call the shots.

As long as the people I care about are safe, I'm free.

"And what happens when he kills you for it?" Kills me for lying or kills me for not being able to give him what he wants, I'm not sure which she's talking about, but it doesn't matter.

"Then his only chance of casting the spell will be gone."

"Emery," the shadows disappear, and suddenly I'm back in her little treehouse, branches hanging above me through the ceiling. "You can't fix a world that has been broken for centuries."

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. "I have to try." I look at her, really look at her. Through her age and her wisdom, there is just a Caster woman who knows exactly what I'm feeling. It's written all over her expression. "You know I have to do this, Evelyn. Ever since they died... the world has kept spinning. The days and nights keep coming. But I'm still stuck in that room, watching my mother get shot in the head. I'm still standing above Luke's grave, feeling the world go cold as he's lowered into the ground. And I'll never leave that place, not when people are dying all around us and I can help them."

"Avenging their deaths won't bring them back."

"No, but it will save hundreds maybe thousands of people from suffering the same fate."

"And when he's gone, who will rule? Eli is no longer next in line."

I guess I never really thought about it. "Someone that cares about the people. Who won't imprison Casters or treat humans like play things. Someone just."

"And how will you make sure that happens?"

I say the first thing that pops into my head. "By having you rule."

She laughs, shaking her head. "I don't want to be a leader. I have a hard enough time helping lead Shadow Valley, and there are only a few hundred people here."

"Then we will cross that bridge when we come to it. All I know is that this world has seen too much war and death. It's time for it to end."

She gazes at me, her smile fading, but not disappearing. "I'm not going to stop you from going Emery, but I want you to know that you are incredibly brave and extremely stupid for wanting to leave this place."

I exhale. "I know."

I look out the window and see outside has begun to lighten.

"Time can move slower in the Shadow lands when revisiting memories," she explains, sensing my unspoken question. "What feels like minutes can be hours."

I duck my head out the window and look down across the way where a light flickers on in Eli's room.

"You can't tell Eli what I'm doing."

"Are you sure that's a smart move?"

I turn to face her. She may be wise, but she doesn't know Eli like do, not really. "If I tell him, he will try and go with me."

"He could protect you."

She wouldn't say that if she knew I killed him the last time he tried to follow me to meet the King of Europe. "He will be used against me. I need everyone I care about to stay here, where they are safe and I don't have to worry about them."

"He will wonder where you went."

"I broke up with him last night."

"Ah," she nods. "That's why he was in a mood." She sits down on the old wooden chair again and sighs. "I can keep the truth from him for a few days, but eventually he's going to catch on."

"And when he does you can't let him come for me. You have to do whatever it takes to keep him here."

She takes a deep breath, and nods. "I'll do what I can. But this place isn't a prison. It isn't designed to keep people in, as you know. If he really wants to leave, he'll find a way."

"If he comes for me, Nicholi will use him to get me to cast the spell." And I can't choose between him and all of humankind. I killed him once. I won't survive losing him again.

"Very well," she says, closing her eyes. "If he tries to come for you, I'll cast a spell and make him sleep. But he will have to wake up eventually, or he'll die. The longest he can go is two weeks. After that, magic will no longer be able to preserve him and I'll have to wake him."

I walk over to her and put my hands on her shoulders. "Thank you Evelyn."

She doesn't smile. "He'll never forgive me."

"But he'll be alive."

Slowly, she nods. "You must not let anyone distract you. They will only get in the way of what you need to do."

I gaze at the woman, waiting.

"Go be with your sister," she waves me away, and I agree, heading for the door. "This may be the last day you ever spend with her."

My hand stops on the door handle, and I turn around to look at her one last time. "I have to ask... why am I connected to her... why me?"

I don't have to say her name. Evelyn knows I'm talking about the first Caster.

"Honestly, child," she sighs, "I have absolutely no idea."