Legacy of the Necromancer [Legacy, BK1 - Completed]

Chapter 2:3

Liam woke me late in the afternoon, as the sun sank below the tree line on the mountain. He set a plate of food and a bottle of water down on my desk and left as quietly as he'd come in.

After letting Poe out my little window to find some food for himself, I ate dinner alone in my room, hardly tasting the food. I forced it down knowing I would need the strength later. Sleeping the little I did had helped, but my mind still spun with the story that Dad had told me. If I really wasn't a Stanwood, then why was I found in the Vault? Why would the Great Ones bring me to my mother and father?

I closed my eyes trying to force the never ending stream of questions out of my mind. I needed to focus on the test. Dad was right. If I wasn't a Stanwood, I really shouldn't take it. What if we went up there and the Vault refused to open for me? Or worse, it opened but nothing happened.

It was eight in the evening when I finally went downstairs. Everyone sat in the living room, all but Evelynn and Thea bundled up for the hike to the vault. They wished me luck before heading up to the spare guest room.

I pulled my heavy jacket out of the hall closet and slipped into it. It still smelled like the herbs in the garden, reminding me of the quiet mornings that I'd go out with mom to look after the plants.

"Are you ready?" My father came to stand near me in the hall, the others not far behind him.

I nodded and we turned for the door, stepping out on to the porch and into the freezing night air. We trudged through the newly fallen snow, following the well-worn trail to the Stanwood family graveyard. The walk brought back memories of the last time we'd walked as a family out there for Liam's test all those years ago.

I remembered how scared I was back then, fearing that Liam wouldn't come back, or worse, that he wouldn't pass. Anxiety swarmed around inside me, imagining a thousand 'what-ifs'. It was my turn now and there was a very good chance that I wasn't coming back.

Avery glanced back at me from where she walked ahead, her hair bouncing like threads of moonlight in the darkness. I could do this, I would do this. Avery was my soul mate. I knew that from the countless letters, from the way it felt to hold her in my arms. It didn't matter if she believed in me or not. What mattered was that she was safe and and happy. I would do this to ensure that.

We'd reached the gate to the graveyard. The group stopped around me as Father pulled out his keys and unlocked the gate. Usually, we were the only people out here, but the occasional hiker had wandered up here before and triggered the guardian spirits that protected the Vault. To say it didn't end well would be putting it mildly.

We filed in, and Dad locked the gate behind us. There wasn't much difference between graveyard and the forest behind us. The sky was still partially blocked by the tall trees, the ground was still covered with today's snow. What was different, was the way the air felt. Or so my Father used to tell me. The air supposedly hummed with the essence of our ancestors, and left a tingling feeling along the skin of any Talented that entered our hallowed ground. I couldn't count the number of times I'd walked out here, hoping that I would feel something, anything.

Poe circled the air above us and swooped in to land on my shoulder. He shifted, ruffling his feathers in a way that told me he was nervous.

We followed the others to stand in front of the Vault. It was dug into the side of the mountain, showing only the marble front through the bare branches of the bushes that framed it. Everyone turned to me. The eagerness on Nathan's face couldn't have been hidden, and Avery wouldn't look me in the eyes.

Mom clung to me, displacing Poe to one of the bushes so she could sob into my jacket. I hugged her tightly in return. My father's hand clapped down on my free shoulder.

"I'm proud of you," he said, softly. "You may not have our family's Talent, but your courage, strength, and compassion marks you as one of us."

He pulled Mom away from me, and Liam nodded at me from the back of the group. Poe returned to my shoulder and nipped at my ear.

"Surely, you're not going to allow him to take that bird in with him," Nathan sneered, glancing at my father.

Dad fixed him with a steady gaze. "That bird is a Stanwood familiar, and since this test is Stanwood business, his presence is acceptable. You're here as a witness only, so any further concerns you may have tonight, Ackland, should be kept to yourself."

Nathan crossed his arms against his chest and turned his glare towards me. Lyssa rolled her eyes, and gave me a smile.

"Good luck, Ezra."

"Thank you, Mrs. Amerson." My voice only shook a little. My heart raced as I walked over to stand in front of the door to the vault. I could do this. I took a step forward.

"Ezra, wait!" Avery's voice wavered as she stepped out of the group. I turned to see tears glimmering on the edges of her eyes. "I shouldn't have said that earlier. I'm sorry. I-"

I reached out, pulling her into my arms.

"Ezra."

The way she spoke my name, it was all I needed to know that she felt the same way about me. Afraid that this may be the last time I would have to hold her, I kissed her, there in front of our families and against all of our traditions. There was more than one gasp that echoed through the night air. Normally, this wouldn't have happened until our wedding. But there was a very good chance that day was never going to come now.

"You don't have to do this," she whispered.

"I know."

She hesitated, I think because she didn't want to repeat our fight. I waited for her to make up her mind, nervous with everyone's eyes on us.

"Just follow your instinct," she finally said. "You do have power, hidden somewhere in that hard head of yours."

"Ezra, it's time." My father's voice called, and a new calm fell over me. I may be walking to my death, but I was doing it for Avery. And that was all I needed to know.

I stepped up to the vault and, after a quick glance back at everyone, laid my hand on its cold, smooth surface. It warmed instantly at my touch, almost as if the stone itself was alive. The door moved, forcing me to step back as it swung open on its own.

A little flood of relief ran through me. One obstical down, two more to go. I could only dream that they would be as easy.

Forcing one foot after another, I tried not to think about the last time I saw the door open, and Liam stumble out. The inside was pitch black, the only light came from the sliver of moon that shone through the doorway, creating a triangle of light on the floor.

As soon as I cleared the threshold, the door eased shut on its own, leaving me in complete darkness.