Chapter 72. SURPRISE!

"Everly, please don't rush in blindly," Fenn begged as Everly donned her armor hurriedly and prepared to step through a gate in the tower that would take her to Anders, where Lyona dwelt.

"Shut up," Everly said after pulling her cloak over her shoulders. "I don't need to hear a damn thing from you right now."

"Everly, don't be stupid. This is what I tried to warn you about! It's an ambush! Your betrayer wants you to rush in recklessly."

"Then tell me who it is," Everly said, turning sharply to face her. "Who turned on me? How are they doing this? More importantly, WHY didn't you warn me sooner?"

"Everly, I don't know who it is," Fenn said. "It's hard to describe, I can't see the future, I can only interpret it. I don't know the specifics of what's to come, only the shape. I know you're facing true betrayal. I know that you're in genuine danger, but I don't know any more than that."

"Then how do you know that this is a part of it?" Everly asked her.

"I don't, I just know that this feels wrong," Fenn said.

"So, in other words, you're useless! Big help, Fenn. Thanks so much."

"Everly, I'm trying to protect you…"

"And you've failed miserably!" Everly shouted at her. "Go back to paradise, choir girl. Go sing some hymns and hosannas with the rest of the ignorant cherubs and let the living sort their out their own shit!"

"Fine," Fenn whispered. "I hope you succeed for your mother's sake," she said in parting as she began to fade from sight.

"Hope is for the rabble, Fenn. I don't need it," Everly said as she willed a gateway into existence and stepped through it.

__

Before her, Everly saw Anders burning. Her childhood home, the place where she had spent so many happy years with Lyona, dreaming of the future to come. Of adventures and misdeeds, and idle fantasies. Long afternoons she'd spent alone wandering the woods, and the evenings she'd shared with her mother.

It was a good life. Quiet and joyful. Until the moment she saw it being destroyed, Everly had never realized just how much she'd loved this place. Anders had once been her home. Now it was gone.

All because of her.

But wait…that was exactly the wrong sort of mentality, wasn't it? How was any of this her fault? She wasn't the one who'd lit the torch. She wasn't the one who'd put all the villagers to the sword. She wasn't the one who had taken Lyona. Some other force was at play here. An outside party whose actions she hadn't directed. They were the ones responsible for this outrage, not her. She was the one who'd been wronged here!

What had she ever done to deserve something like this?

"Mother!" Everly yelled as she ran through the burning streets, ignoring the bodies of so many people she'd known. "Mother!" she called out again, as she reached her family home, relieved to see it untouched by the fires that raged throughout Anders.

Everly smashed the door open and stepped into the den. A cozy room, where she'd spent so many idle days reading and playing games with her uncle Tybalt and her cousin Ald.

Why was this happening?

"Mother, are you here?" Everly shouted as she raced to her mother's bedroom and found it empty. Undetered, she ran back downstairs to Lyona's personal office and pushed the door open. This time, although the room was dark and still, Everly sensed another presence.

"Mom?" Everly said in voice heavy with uncertainty.

"Close," a woman's gentle voice replied. "Close, but not quite."

A match was struck and applied to a lamp on the desk, revealing the pale, beautiful face of a redhaired woman dressed in simple forester's garments. The woman sat at Lyona's desk with perfect stillness, motionlessly gazing directly at Everly with unblinking pale eyes.

"You must be Everly," the intruder said. "What a lovely face you have. A perfect blending of the two people I have loved and hated more than anyone else in recent memory. It's haunting in a way. It's as though you were crafted by the gods themselves to mock me. I really don't know how to feel about that."

"I don't care about your issues," Everly said bluntly. "Give me my mother."

"I care who you are, Everly," the woman resplied. "I care very much. You've taken away the ones that I love, and you've raised havoc across the kingdom I've spent centuries nurturing and defending. Why have you done these awful things, I wonder? What joy could you possibly derive from hurting so many people?"

"I don't have to explain myself to anyone," Everly told her. "Tell me where my mother is! Do it now, or the next to suffer will be you."

"You're just like Marcis," the woman said sadly. "How is that possible? Are these inherited traits? You've had nothing to do with each other for most of your life, but you're just as unprincipled and selfish as he is. Is this an example of nature over nurture?"

"I have principles," Everly insisted. "There are lines I choose not to cross."

"But family clearly isn't one of them," the woman snorted. "Tell me how it felt when you crushed your brother's head between your hands. When you pulled his cousin's heart from her chest with your bare hand. How did it feel revel in murder?"

"You're her, aren't you?" Everly said as realization came to her. "You're Anne, my father's first wife."

"Yes, I am," Anne said with a sight nod. "Would you please answer my question?"

"How did it feel to kill your worthless son?" Everly asked as she stepped closer to the other woman and loomed over her. "You really want to know?"

"I do," Anne whispered.

"Well, Anne. I'll be honest. It felt like apple pie at a picnic," Everly sneered. "It was amazing, and my deepest regret was that I could only do it once. Listening to Aiden die while his skull cracked beneath my fingers was a joy. A joy I'll gladly repeat with you, if you don't tell me where my mother is at once," she warned.

"Just like your father," Anne repeated softly to herself.

"WHERE IS MY MOTHER—" Everly began to shout when another quieter voice cut her off.

"Everly," wept Lyona. "Everly, you've killed people?"

Everly spun around in confusion. At first, she was elated to see that her mother was alive and unharmed. But that feeling of relief was slowly replaced with a growing sensation of dread when she realized that her mother had heard every word that she'd said.

"Mom?" she said, as she desperately tried to think of a way to explain her words.

"They're all dead," Lyona said numbly. "Everyone in the village is dead. Anne said it was a justified reprisal. She said you've butchered your way across the countryside. She said you were a monster. Everly, it isn't true, is it? Everly, you haven't done the things she says you have, have you?"

"I've never told a lie, Lyona," Anne said to her. "Not once in my life and especially not to you. Everly isn't human. She's a nightmarish aberration. A terror of the old world; something that has no right to exist in this age. You know of what I speak."

"No," Lyona whimpered.

"I'm afraid so," Anne said softly. "Everly, there was a time when I would have simply killed Lyona, if only to offer you a small sampling of the misery I've felt, since the day I learned of what you did to my loved ones. But your mother once bravely rebuked me for extending my punishments to the innocent. She taught me that no one should ever die for the sins of their family. Over time, I came to realize the truth of her words and have adjusted my behavior accordingly."

"You still killed everyone in the village!" Everly said heatedly."

"I did," Anne agreed. "But what choice did I have other than to purge this place? You murdered and replaced Samuel Bellweather with an inhuman replicant. An act you could have repeated with anyone else you've encountered during your long stay in this village. I know about Alec of the eastern temple."

"You know about who?" Everly asked her.

"My informant masked our presence from your earth elemental servant," Anne said. "We've retrieved him and have him hidden away. His recovery will take a while. The poor man's trauma was extreme, but I've vowed to do everything I can to help him."

"Wow," Everly said bitterly. "Wow, wow, wow. You're really spilling the tea on everything I've done, aren't you Anne? You really had to go out of your way to make me look bad in front of my mom, didn't you?"

"I just wanted her to understand the necessity of what I must now do," Anne said as she rose from her chair.

"She won't remember any of this," Everly said confidently. "I'm going to kill you and rearrange her memories. We'll say it was an attack by bandits and I luckily managed to arrive in time to save her."

"Everly," Lyona said in a pleading tone. Then she grew limp and fell, but before she hit the floor, Everly caught her and gently laid her down.

"Relax, mom. This was all a meaningless nightmare. Soon enough, you're going to be proud of me again," Everly assured the sleeping woman.

"As for you, witch," Everly said she turned to face Anne. "Now, you get to learn who you've been messing with—"

Anne's slap sent Everly smashing through the sturdy brick wall of her home like a human missile. As Everly crashed outside onto the lawn, Anne followed her out through the opening she'd made. As Everly struggled to get to her feet, Anne threw a punch that connected painfully with her midsection forcing the air from her lungs.

As Everly sagged and fell forward, Anne stepped into her personal space, gripped her hair tightly and pulled her head back to stare intensely into her eyes.

"You were saying?" she asked the girl.

Everly grinned wickedly at the older woman. "Well, look at that! Looks like Grannie Annie came to play."

Annie smashed her forehead into Everly's nose. Then she launched the girl into the air and sent her smashing through a neighbor's fence.

"You're powerful, Everly. I can feel it," Anne said in a conversational tone as she followed after her. "But it's plain to me that you've never really been challenged before, have you? Too many easy victories can lead to overconfidence. And overconfidence has been the downfall of many a proud warrior."

In response, Everly summoned her sword to her hand and slashed wildly at Anne's midsection, intending to catch her off guard. Instead, Anne avoided the blow by kicking upwards with her right leg. Everly's great sword was so wide that it allowed Anne to easily connect with the ball of her foot against the flat of the blade to knock it out of her hands. Before Everly could recover, Anne next kicked her in the face and sent her flying backward once more.

"Your sword's width is a pointless display of ego," Anne said disdainfully. "Being able to wield such a thing is no display of expertise. To a true master, it's a childishly ostentatious toy."

"Shut up," Everly growled.

"Why don't you make me?" Anne wondered. "You're so powerful. You tower over the world with the confident gait of a giant. You're a monarch. An empress. The empress! It should be the easiest thing in the world to silence me."

"You think I can't!" Everly shouted.

"Little girl, I dare you to try," Anne said to her.

Everly seethed at Anne's confident expression. Holding out her hand, she recalled her sword and soon gripped it once more. Then she settled into a deep stance while holding her weapon with both hands, waiting for Anne to attack.

Anne smiled at Everly, then began clenching her fingernails tightly into the palms of both hands while squeezing forcefully. Blood began dripping from each wound, a thick red surge of it that quickly shaped itself into the form of two crimson-colored swords, both of which Anne now wielded.

Then, she ran towards Everly, who met her charge with a mighty swing of her own, her weapon clashing against Anne's blades with all the power she could muster.

"You have an interesting form," Anne said as they fought. "It appears to be a variant of the Imperial style. A highly personalized one, as well. I wonder who taught you?"

"None of your business," said Everly.

"I like to keep track of the variants of the styles I've created," Anne informed her.

"The style you created?" Everly asked in confusion.

"Indeed. I founded the top three schools of swordsmanship that are widely practiced throughout the kingdom and its neighboring countries," Anne said casually. "Didn't you know? I was the original maiden of the holy blade. I've never been defeated in a duel."

"There's a first time for everything, grandma," Everly said as she brought her heavy sword down at Anne's skull, only for both of Anne's swords to stop it mid-swing by catching it in an x-crossed block.

"I agree, Everly. I learn new things every day," said Anne. "I'm actually looking forward to the moment when I'll finally experience defeat. Because on that day, I'll finally be able to set aside my many burdens."

Anne's foot lashed out in a sweep that knocked Everly's feet from beneath her. As Everly landed painfully on her back, Anne jumped forcefully onto the flat of Everly's sword, using her weight to push the weapon down and hold Everly in place long enough for her to drive her twin swords through both of younger woman's shoulders, pinning her to the earth.

"It doesn't appear that day has arrived, however," Anne lamented.

Everly couldn't respond. The pain she was now experiencing made it impossible for her to form words.

Anne nodded in sympathy. Then she lifted Everly's massive sword and carefully examined it. "What a ridiculous thing," she said scornfully. "Like something out of a fable. There really is such a thing as having too much style over substance, Everly."

Having said that, she turned the blade over and plunged it into Everly's midsection.

Now, Everly began to howl in anguish.

"It's frustrating, I know," Annie said as knelt beside the helpless girl. "We…carry within our hearts these vivid fantasies of who we wish to be. Sometimes we even convince ourselves that those fantasies are who we truly are. But when our weaknesses are exposed and we have nothing left to show for our dreams except disappointment and humiliation, that can be a humbling moment."

Anne stared blankly at Everly's shuddering form. A red haze was beginning to overtake her vision as she stared at Everly's throat, mesmerized by the rapid throbbing of the artery beneath its skin.

"I hate what I'm about to do to you," she whispered into the girl's ear. "But I'm so grateful that this is a moment we'll both experience together. I wonder if your father really loves you. I hope that he does."

"Fuck you," Everly said defiantly. "Fuck. You."

Anne smiled, amused by the girl's defiance.

"I want to see if something within your father breaks when he sees what's become of you, the same way that I broke when I saw what you did to Aiden and Fenneth. I realize this is nothing but petty vengeance, Everly. I know the dead can't hear me. But I don't care. You hurt my family and now you'll die for it. It's what you deserve."

Anne brought her lips to Everly's throat and kissed it tenderly. Then she opened her mouth and prepared to sink her teeth into Everly's neck, anticipating the taste of the warm blood that would soon surge forth onto her tongue.

Suddenly a boot lashed out and caught Anne across her face, knocking her away from her victim. Anne quickly returned to her feet, infuriated by the interference. Then she stared in surprise at the one now standing between herself and Everly.

"Dearest, if it's me you're feeling upset with, I wish you'd say so. It doesn't feel quite right to take it out on the children," Count Marcis Van Balsar said with an infuriating smirk.

"Marcis…how did you get here?" Annie asked him with a brittle voice.

"I really have no idea," Marcis said. "There I was, sitting alone at home, preparing to enjoy my evening meal, when a glowing doorway popped up in the middle of my study. Out from which sprang one of Everly's little duplicates, who began begging me for my assistance."

"Which one?" Anne asked darkly.

"Oh, I can hardly tell them apart. Nev, or Bev, or something to that effect. She was quite panicked. Although they could feel her pain, something was preventing Everly's team from rushing to her side. Even dear old Louie couldn't intervene. Their next best solution was to send me of all people."

He turned to examine Everly and clucked his tongue. "And I can see why. Your blood still has that nasty effect on mages, I see." He coughed abruptly, and then spat in disgust. "And I also see that you've been discreetly saturating the air with it. Quite unsporting, dear."

"I'm not here to play games, husband," Anne said. "I'm here to pass judgement. You will not interfere with my vengeance."

"And yet, here I am," Marcis said chirpily. "Funny how that works, yes?"

"That girl killed our child. She killed Fenneth as well."

"Yeeeeah, what a scamp," Marcis chuckled.

"I am not amused," Anne seethed.

"I didn't think you would be," he said.

Marcis knelt beside Everly and began pulling the swords out of her.

"Marcis," Anne hissed.

"At least let me speak to her before you kill us both, Anne. It's a small thing I ask, isn't it?"

Anne said nothing but glared silently at them both.

Marcis gently laid his hand on his daughter's forehead and sighed.

Hey, Everly. Not having a very good night, are you, sweetie?

Everly groaned and tried to say something in response, but Marcis hushed her, before continuing to project his thoughts.

I wish you hadn't come here in such a huff, kid. I could have warned you that Anne would be a terrible match for you. She's a vampire, which I'm positive you've already figured out. An extremely old one, too. It's not a well-known fact, my angel, but her kind are capable of negating magic through their blood. Like rubber defying electricity. Combine that cheat with her great experience in battle and…well, I guess you've already feeling the results for yourself.

Everly moaned angrily in response.

Listen, Angel, Marcis continued. I can draw power from Anne's emotions, but the second I try to use it against her, she'll tear me apart. That's why instead I'm projecting the power into you. Can you feel it?

…yes, Everly managed to say to him.

Good, Marcis said, pleased. Use it to open another one of those gateways. It's the only way out.

…Dad, Everly said to him, now feeling genuinely touched. Oh, dad, are you really going to sacrifice yourself so that I can escape?

Uh, what? Marcis asked with genuine confusion. Sweetie, please don't be stupid. Just make a gate large enough for us both.

What about mother?

Everly! cut in another voice. Everly, it's me, Bev! Listen, as long as you stay focused and in control, I can gate in and grab Lyona, okay? Leave it to me!

Sounds like we have a plan, Marcis said.

"What are you doing?" Anne asked warily. "What are you plotting?"

Oh, fuck-sticks, I really hope you're both prepared, Marcis said with a rising panic that he managed to keep off his face.

I am. I am, Everly said. Whenever you're ready.

Great, great, Marcis said. Well, in that case, "HOW ABOUT NOW?" he suddenly shouted as he grabbed one of Anne's swords and sent it spinning towards her head.

Anne dodged the surprise attack easily but was enraged by the attempt on her life. "Marcis, you BASTARD!" she yelled before leaping at him with murder in her eyes.

"Everly forced me do it, I'm a victim of circumstances!" he squealed in response.

A bare second before her fingers reached his throat, a gateway opened beneath his feet, sending him and Everly tumbling into the memory palace, to safety.

"Ohhhh, Marcis, that was a close one," he muttered to himself before collapsing to the ground in relief. "By the gods, I need to stop flicking dragons on their nostrils."

"So brave, daddy. So very, very brave," Everly said sarcastically.

"Shut up, you love me," replied her father.

A moment later another gateway split open, and Beverly came racing in, bearing Lyona in her arms. "I got her! I got her!" she shouted excitedly. "I told you I could do it."

"Why, so you did," Marcis said proudly.

Lyona slowly stirred awake and looked around her surroundings in confusion. Then she noticed Marcis smiling at her.

"Marcis?" she said.

"Hey," he replied. "It's been a while, hasn't it? You look good."

"Thanks?" she said.

"Just calling it like I see it," he said smugly.

"Where is everybody?" Everly asked as she crawled painfully to her feet.

"Carter and Nev are still in the capital," Bev said as she scratched her head. "Grail is at the border, leading raids against the forts. And the elementals are…well, they're kind of bugging out. Like something's been interfering with them, somehow."

"The traitor," Everly said grimly.

"There's a traitor?" Bev asked in alarm.

"Um, am I safe here?" Marcis asked in a semi-serious manner.

"Wait," said Everly suddenly. "Where's Cleverly at?"

"You named one of your mirror-selves Cleverly?" Marcis asked his daughter with a raised eyebrow.

"Dad, there aren't a lot of words that rhyme with my name, okay?" Everly said defensively while they began searching for the missing duplicate.

"Uh, found her," Bev called out a few minutes later. "Oh, man, this isn't good..."

In the meeting hall, hanging above the table, was poor Cleverly.

She was dead, with a spear thrust through her throat, pinning her to the wall.

"Well, shit," said Everly. "There goes my four horsemen motif, huh?"

The others silently agreed.