Fall of the Crystal Moon - E-Book

Just when I thought we'd won the battle and stopped the evil in this world from coming to fruition, Tiernan outsmarts us again.

The world doesn't know what kind of danger it's in and the only people that can stop it are me, Lex, and Tara. But where do we even start? And is it even possible at this point to win against this evil sorcerer that's cut us off at every turn?

I don't know. But I do know one thing. I will not give up and I will not let the power of the Crystal Eye fall into the hands of someone like Teirnan.

There's a final battle to be fought and I will lead the charge.

The fate of the world rest's on my shoulders.

One
Tiernan stood in front of them, dressed in black with the matching ruby crown on his head, having stepped out of a sheet of obsidian glass. He’d tried to do a similar trick before with a mirror in Emerald Deep, but this time, he’d succeeded. It wouldn’t matter if they shattered the glass now. The danger was already in front of them, in the flesh.
“Hello Dusk,” he said with a cocky grin, arms held at his sides. He turned to look back at the wall of obsidian glass. “That was much easier than I expected. That dragon should really have thought a bit more about security for this place beyond some illusory mist and a few humans with blow guns. It was hardly a challenge.”
Dusk was at a loss for words. All he could do was stare in horror at the man he’d spent so many months trying to escape. The mountain was supposed to be a safe haven, a place he could train or recuperate in peace. Before he could find his voice again, he felt Lex step up beside him and grab his hand, holding it tightly.
“Did you two finally make up, then?” Tiernan teased, cocking his head to the side. “I suppose it’s poetic at the very least. Together in the end. How sweet.”
“You’re pretty arrogant for a guy standing all alone at the top of a mountain,” Lex growled deep from within his chest. “It’s a long way down.”
Tiernan laughed, putting a hand on his belly. “Oh Alexander, you can’t be that naïve. You know I never come alone.” He looked between the pair of them. “And that I never do my own dirty work.”
Just then, as if on cue, Dusk heard the echoes of yells coming up from the inside of the volcano. He couldn’t make out what they were saying, but it didn’t sound good. He felt a creeping sense of dread creep up his spine like an ice-cold spider crawling across his skin. The caretakers were never armed. Even with their small amount of magic, they probably didn’t stand a chance. He glanced at Lex, exchanging a look of worry before turning his attention back to Tiernan.
“And I brought someone especially for you Alexander,” he chuckled, taking a step to the side of the glass. “Come through,” he waved, beckoning a shadowy figure forward that had appeared in the obsidian without anyone noticing.
The figure strode through confidently, not testing his passage beforehand like Tiernan had. He was cloaked with his hood up, much like the other Circle members always were, but something about his stature and demeanor was different from the others. For a moment he stood there, staring at the pair of them from under the lip of his hood. Then, slowly and deliberately, he reached up with well-manicured fingers to the edges of the fabric. Dusk noticed a large ruby ring on his right index finger that caught a glint of moonlight. It was heavy and golden, definitely not something a grunt of the Circle would wear.
As the hood fell to his shoulders, Dusk couldn’t help but gasp lightly. It was like he was looking at Lex, but more time worn with deeper lines. He noticed the jaw was a bit wider and the eyes weren’t blue, but brown. The man had well-kempt blond hair streaked with silver that was pulled back into a ponytail at the base of his neck. He wore a silver circlet with a single ruby in the center of his forehead. Before he even spoke, Dusk knew exactly who he was.
“Alexander,” the man said in a deep baritone voice like rich velvet. “Your mother and I have been quite worried about you.”
Lex was quiet, staring blankly at the man in front of him, his injured arm held close to his chest. Dusk leaned a little closer, wanting to protect him.
“It’s time you gave up this ridiculous charade and came home. You have a fiance to attend to and she’s growing impatient. I can’t force her to wait for you forever. You will pack your things immediately and return with me to Ronja,” he ordered.
The man spoke with an authority that struck a deep chord in Dusk’s psyche. It brought memories flooding back and he found himself instinctually wanting to comply out of a sense of self preservation. But nothing in the world could make him give up Lex’s hand. Somehow, even after all the years of abuse, he’d finally found something stronger to hold on to. A reason to fight. He squeezed Lex’s hand, letting him know he was there without uttering a word.
“Come,” his father insisted, holding out his hand. “Your mother is waiting at the chateau. You have a duty to attend to.”
There was a brief pause. “I’m not going,” Lex murmured, keeping his eyes locked on his father.
“Now Alexander!” he yelled, stomping his foot on the ground.
“No! I’m not going back home with you to marry a woman I don’t want! I found what I want out here and I’ll be damned if you ever force me back to that horrible place!” Lex gripped Dusk’s hand harder as he shouted. “What are you doing working with this asshole?” Lex cried. “Have you become so desperate and sunk so low? This man has been trying to kill us for months!”
“Ah-ah,” Tiernan clucked. “You recall incorrectly. If you think carefully, you’ll realize I’ve been trying to collect you for some time now. Your father is a personal friend of mine and I would never hurt his only son.”
“That is correct. I commissioned him to return you after you ran off. I needed someone I could trust to deliver you unharmed. No price is too large to get my son back where he belongs, in the home of his loving family.”
“I’ll never trust you again,” Lex spat, staring up at his father. “If you can trust a man like this, your judgment is more clouded than I thought possible. You’re not fit to serve as the head of the family or the lord of Ronja!”
“Think of your mother.” His tone suddenly changed to one of softness and concern without warning. “She’s been worried sick about you for months. You snuck off in the middle of the night with no hint as to where you were going. We were terrified something had happened to you or that you’d been kidnapped. She spent the first weeks sending anyone she could find out to search for you. Guards, servants, friends, the townspeople, anyone she could command or pay to go. After a while, she slipped into despair, thinking you’d been killed on the road.” Tears dripped from his eyes, but his expression was blank. Emotionless. “And then we were finally delivered some hope when Falgorin spotted you in Kinallin. I was on my way to Windshear Pass to collect you after word of your capture when you escaped yet again.
“I’d have made it further to follow you to Louring, but the Inahandrian soldiers cut me off. I couldn’t break through as they were burning down the villages. But we had renewed hope because Tiernan had already found you again.” He looked towards Tiernan with a look of genuine gratitude, the tears suddenly stopping. “He had a guide leading you through the dangers of Ditania on the way to bring you home to us at last.” Suddenly his head snapped back at Lex, his eyes narrowing. “But you’ve been childish and foolhardy every step of the way! Now it’s time for you to finally come home and do what is expected of you!”
“You’ll never change, will you?” Lex muttered. His head was hung low, blond hair draping around the sides of his face. “I hate you.”
“What did you say to me, boy?” his father raged, suddenly going red.
“I hate you!” Lex yelled back at him, tears streaking down his face.
The man in front of him seemed to snap and stepped forward, his arm reaching out to take hold of Lex. Dusk, without hesitation, felt the crystal on his chest warm as he formed a symbol in his mind. He let it flow out of his palm as he raised his hand up in front of him. A ripple spread through the air, enclosing him and Lex in a clear bubble of what looked like solid glass. Lord d'Ronja collided with it hard, causing him to stumble.
“You won’t be taking him anywhere,” Dusk growled through gritted teeth. He could feel Lex squeeze his hand beside him once more, but he didn’t break eye contact with his father. “Lex doesn’t want to live by your rules anymore. You'll be going home empty-handed.” His gaze shifted to Tiernan. “You both will.”
“Goodness me, this is amusing,” Tiernan chuckled as he watched Lex’s father bang his fist on the shield over and over again.
Dusk knew the shield would hold him back for now, but every time his fist collided with it, he could feel a tiny bit of energy sucked away from his body. It was just like the one he’d created on that stormy night west of Watersedge, although this one kept out more than just rain. But he knew he couldn’t keep it there forever. Eventually, it would weaken him too much to keep it going.
“Dusk, this is all very noble, but don’t you think we should call an end to this?” Tiernan folded his arms and leaned against the obsidian wall as if he had all the time in the world. “We both know that Tephyss won’t be saving you this time since you so foolishly lost control. You may have some interesting gifts, but you have so little power to expend without that dragon. Wouldn't it be easier to just turn yourselves over and be done with it?”
A roar echoed up from the inside of the volcano, causing Tiernan to startle. He nearly slipped and fell to the ground, catching himself at the last second. Dusk smiled in his direction, knowing what was coming.
“We aren’t going anywhere with you,” Dusk called back over the thump of wingbeats drawing nearer from deep within the mountain. “Looks like your lackeys couldn’t subdue the one thing that was a real threat to you.”
A jet of flame announced Lyra’s arrival as she burst from the inside of the volcano. Her roars rumbled deep in Dusk’s chest as he watched her loop upside down and land on all fours with her teeth bared in Tiernan’s direction. Smoke poured from her mouth as she kept her eyes locked on him, a growl rumbling in her chest.
“How dare you invade my home and kill my people,” she hissed, the sound echoing through Dusk’s mind. “You will pay dearly for your hubris.”
Dusk watched as two figures jumped down from her back, landing hard on the rock below. Tara and Nedarya had their weapons drawn and Dusk could make out his pack and bow slung across Tara’s shoulders. Nedarya held Lex’s sheathed rapier in her off hand, but stayed behind Tara and the massive greatsword aimed towards Tiernan’s heart. Both of them looked ready to skewer him at the slightest blink.
“You’re a real idiot for splitting up from the rest of your men,” Tara sneered, looking down her blade at him with a smile curling across her face. “I wonder if you’ll go down as easy as they always seem to.”
“I want to be the one to kill him,” Lyra breathed, her shoulders rocking back and forth like a cat about to pounce.
Lex’s father had stopped hitting the barrier and began to back away. Something about the sudden appearance of a massive red dragon brought him out of his frenzy. Dusk watched as the genuine fear slowly spread across his visage. He took a step further and tripped over a stone, falling to the ground in a heap, the sound of ripping fabric filling the air as his cloak shredded across the sharp obsidian spike. He looked to Tiernan for a moment, then back to Lex, but the flash of emotion melted away almost instantly. Expressionless once more, he started to push himself back to his feet.
Dusk took that moment to clench his palm shut with a flick, shattering the shield around him and Lex. Pulling on his hand, he led Lex over to the other two. They all took their weapons and readied them, standing shoulder to shoulder. Lyra had her teeth bared while Dusk had an arrow aimed for Tiernan’s left eye. The other three all had their swords pointed in his direction. They were ready for a showdown, and with a dragon on their side, Dusk didn’t see how they could lose.
Tiernan righted himself, brushed off his cloak, and began to clap slowly. “Impressive,” he chuckled, mocking them. “The five of you almost look like a legitimate threat.”
On the final clap, Tiernan pulled his hands apart with vigor, the fingers bent towards one another like claws. A complex series of silver threads, like a spider's web, formed between them. Lyra barely had time to cry out as she was slammed to the earth, thick bands of silver energy identical to the ones in Tiernan’s hands holding her down. She struggled and kicked, her tail flailing and striking at the cords. Managing to get one in her mouth, she bit down. A bright flash of lightning arced between her teeth and across her neck. She shook violently for a moment before falling still under the web of bonds. With a vicious grin, Tiernan flexed his hands downward and Lyra cried out in pain, the cords crushing her into the ground.
Instinctually, Dusk let an arrow fly. True to his aim, it headed straight for Tiernan’s left eye. With a mere wave of his hand, the arrow disintegrated in mid air, curling into smoke and dust in front of him. Tiernan kept his arm held up in front of him, the fabric of his sleeve falling to the elbow. There, Dusk could see deep scars running down his arm with strange lumps showing under the skin and a few crystalline spikes protruding out of it. Whatever he’d done to Nedarya paled in comparison to what he’d done to himself. Dusk felt his pulse quicken and his fingertips grew cold. The fight was far from over.