“Sometimes the soul knows better than the mind, anaiah.”
Please, let that be true.
A blend of Connor and Raiden looked at her when he stepped back.His lips pulled into the hint of a smile, his eyes serious, steady confidence pouring from him.Without another word he walked away, stepping through the dark veil and into Hannelore’s clutches.
Chapter 35
Theshadowedcavernthrummedwith power.Light emanated only from the dark walls.The room heated as energy pulsed around him.Connor had no doubt that Daya was correct in her assertion that the mountain could kill him.
Kneeling, he unwrapped the ancient armor and laid it on the ground.A peace offering, he hoped.
A threatening lash of power wrapped around him.Not yours.
Though he knew it was likely only in his mind, the voice seemed to shake straight out of the earth itself.Then again… maybe it wasn’t just in his mind.
Not mine.Connor agreed quickly.My ancestors safeguarded it, but I cannot return it to its rightful place—to Moriah.So I’m entrusting it to you instead.
The energy lessened to a low rumble and a feeling of gratitude emanated for a moment.What do you want?
I…Connor’s confidence wavered as the power in the cavern pushed at him.More questioning than threatening, it still shoved at him harshly.You asked me once what I was willing to give.I’m ready to answer.
Do not need you.
Images of Daya and Veda, even the hawks pressed into his mind as well as the mountain itself.It was true.The family of guardians didn’t need him, though he desperately wanted that.Wanted to protect them.
Resolve bolstered him and he clenched his jaw.
Yes, you do,he thought forcefully at the presence.But I don’t want to be your guardian.
The pile of armor at his knees sparked blindingly for an instant before winking out.The cavern filling with oppressive darkness once more.
A protector,Hannelore assessed.
Yes,Connor responded.
A man he’d had never met materialized in his mind.Pale hair and bright eyes of the deep north shone brightly.Furs cloaked a body covered in the mineral laden armor.A sword with a hilt of the same stone was strapped to his back.Gedeon of Moriah.
Moriah’s shield,Hannelore agreed.Willing to give as he did?
A myriad of images played through his mind of Gedeon’s life and eventual death.Connor fought to match the images to the question Hannelore posed.
I am willing to live and die as a protector, yes.
Power lapped around him in restless consideration.
The world is dangerous.Unsteady,Connor pressed.Many seek to destroy magic.And the people of the earth who wield it.My mother was a blade.I am a shield.Your shield, if you’ll have me.Their shield.
Connor pressed the same images of Daya, Veda, and the hawks back to Hannelore but added more.Opal, Neka.Marin, Sarai, and all the children who’d come through the refugee program.The stone healing space in the valley outside the chamber.The lookout ridge on the mountain he loved.Even the crumbled fortress further beyond.
A sense of agreement and triumph surrounded him.Then come.Test your true essence.
The energy that had been holding him still, keeping him on his knees while the mountain judged him, released suddenly and sent him crashing to the ground.He caught himself with his hands and quickly rose.
Turbulent energy began to swirl around the room, concentrating into a dark wall in front of him.The lights around him sparked brighter in his peripheral vision.With a steadying breath, he stepped through the veil of shadows.
For an instant, his magic flickered with a single sensation.Home.Then the shadows swirled in a vortex of wind and swept his magic away.
It left him in a rush, stripped away from his soul as his life essence began to untwine.Fire blazed over every bit of his body, burning away who he once was.Every shred of his being, from his clothing to the blood in his veins disappearing.Sensation overwhelmed him as he was consumed by the power and shadows.
