Andred sighed, closing his eyes for a long moment. “It’s time. I can’t resist the thirst much longer.” He looked at Halbert. “Will you look after Rian?”

“I will,” Halbert said.

Andred frowned hard. “I’m ready.” The words came out quiet.

Now that the moment had come, Rian wanted even more not to lose his father, but there was no way other than his father feeding on and killing people. Rian reached out to Trivius again, not knowing what to do.

“I will guide you through the ritual,” Trivius said in his mind, his voice surprisingly gentle.

Rian let the magic of the Speaker of the Dead come to the surface, the red light burning in his bones but not cracking them. He knew this wasn’t the full strength of his magic. Trivius told Rian the words, which spoke themselves once he began, much like the ritual to close the way into the Bone Garden. Andred collapsed to the ground as his soul moved on to the true land of the dead. Rian felt ragged and more exhausted than ever, and it wasn’t just from using his magic. The red light faded from his bones and Trivius pulled back again.

Eiva joined them, hugging Rian tightly. “I’m sorry, Rian,” she whispered.

Eiva helped Rian and Halbert bury Andred. When it was over, Rian and Halbert stayed in the graveyard, sitting near their usual tree. Rian wasn’t ready to let the ground pull him under, despite being entirely exhausted.

“You should rest,” Halbert said. “The ritual must have drained you.”

“Soon,” Rian said. “Not yet.”

Halbert stood, not moving for a moment, staring down at Rian. “Don’t let Trivius make you someone else. It is your choice whether you use your magic. Don’t forget that.”

Rian looked up at Halbert, almost seeing the empty sockets of his skull in the darkness of his hood. Rian didn’t know what to say. His magic felt so much a part of him when he called on it. He was the Speaker of the Dead, and he always had been. That meant he was the Speaker of Trivius.

Halbert turned away. He took his cloak off and lay on the ground, then the dirt pulled him under. Rian stayed on the surface until rain began to fall, then he let the ground pull him under. As soon as he was under, he awoke standing before Trivius’s skull in the Bone Garden.

“You will have remembered by now,” Trivius said. “You led my knights against the Sancta. Dion was destroyed by the magic Quidvis gave him, or he would have been had you not freed him. Quidvis and the gods sealed me and my knights away here in the Bone Garden, sealing the way. Your soul escaped when your original body was destroyed. Frona had become pregnant after I gave you magic, but before the magic fully took hold. You managed one last ritual, so that your soul would remain in this world. Rian of Fen was born dead, which gave you the chance to fully return to Ivrua.” He said nothing more, as though waiting.

Rian did remember, but the memories weren’t his. He didn’t mention having heard Ruari’s voice, still uncertain of what was going on.

“The voices of the dead are your priests,” Rian said. “That’s why they’re out of Mortua’s reach.” It was in Ruari’s memories.

The fiery light in the sockets of Trivius’s skull flared brighter, as though he was excited. “Yes, they are. The true land of the dead is mostly empty, other than my priests. Though now all the souls Mortua kept in her Sanctum are there as well. As are Andred and Arwel.”

Rian had hoped that last was true, but he hadn’t dared ask.

“Mortua took the souls from the true land of the dead when I was sealed away,” Trivius said, “but she could not reach my priests. As for Arwel, his soul was freed and went to the true land of the dead when he forced me back into the Bone Garden. I know you have wanted to know this, yet you did not ask. You feared it was not so, didn’t you? You feared his soul was destroyed.”

Rian nodded. There was no point in denying it.

“In time, you will accept that you are Ruari,” Trivius said. “Then you will free me.”

Rian said nothing. In the morning, he returned to the surface of the graveyard and put his cloak on, pulling the hood up. He heard Halbert behind him and turned to face him just as he raised his own hood.

“What did Trivius say?” Halbert asked.

How had he known Trivius had spoken?

“He thinks I was born dead,” Rian said. “Ruari did a ritual that allowed him to take my body. Trivius really does believe I’m Ruari.” He hesitated. “Arwel’s soul made it to the true land of the dead when he helped me seal Trivius back into the Bone Garden.”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“Good,” Halbert said. “He’ll be with your parents there.”

Eiva came through the archway into the graveyard. The three of them helped the Ectu with the last of the preparations. The army would leave for Acra in the morning. Rian was helping Leaf repair the straps on a few cuirasses when an Ectu joined them. He was the one who’d been watching Rian before.

“I’m Pine, from Derwen,” he said. “I don’t believe we’ve met yet.”

Rian hesitated, then told the Ectu his name.

Pine looked a little older than Leaf, and being a full Ectu, he was a little shorter. He said nothing more. Why had he introduced himself now, after watching for so long? Pine stayed close through the entire day, but didn’t speak again. Rian, Halbert, and Eiva returned to the graveyard at sunset.

“Ransey will be leaving tonight?” Eiva asked.

“He said he would,” Halbert said with a sigh.

“What would Mortua do if he stayed, if he turned away from her?” Rian asked.

“Nothing good,” Eiva said.

Just after sunset, someone entered the graveyard. At first Rian tensed when he saw the tan cloak and armor of a Sancta Knight, but the cloak and clothes were bloodied and torn. Ransey had put his uniform back on, despite its sorry state. Rian, Halbert, and Eiva stood from where they’d been sitting by their usual tree.

“Are you going to stay?” Eiva asked.

There was a deep sadness in Ransey’s strange eyes, a hopelessness like none Rian had seen before. Ransey drew his sword, but he looked reluctant. He struck at Eiva fast, too fast for any of them to move, but his blade stopped inches from her neck.

Ransey was shaking. He pulled his sword back, taking a stumbling step back. “I can’t do it.” His raspy voice sounded strained. “Mortua demanded I end you because of your magic, the magic of the Raven Witch, and your alliance with Halbert and Rian. She wanted me to prove my loyalty and resolve, but I can’t do it.” He made an odd, choking sound. Was he crying?

Halbert took a step closer to him.

Ransey fell to the ground suddenly. Rian felt a terrible presence all around them. Mortua was there, and he knew why she had come. Rian hurried over to Ransey, kneeling beside him. He put his hands on Ransey’s shoulders.

“You dare defy me!” Mortua’s voice was an unpleasant pressure in his ears, her voice speaking directly into his mind.

Ransey’s eyes were closed. He was barely breathing, but it wasn’t too late to stop Mortua from killing him. Not yet. She was trying to take Ransey’s soul to her Sanctum. Red light flared to life in Rian’s bones, but they didn’t crack. Now that he was focusing on it, he could clearly feel Mortua’s presence trying to take Ransey’s soul.

The feeling became stronger, then he saw it, the dark, twisted thing that was Ransey’s soul. He saw Mortua as well. She was a translucent woman of bright gray, too bright to look at directly. Rian pushed against Mortua’s grasp on Ransey’s soul as hard as he could. He knew what to do, even though he’d never done it before.

Ruari had done this before, had wrested Dion’s soul from Mortua’s grasp. This didn’t happen how that had. Ransey wasn’t dead, his soul not ready for the land of the dead. Rian wrested Ransey’s soul from Mortua’s grasp. As he did, he felt something break loose inside of him. The part of Trivius inside of him slipped away. Rian felt it return to the Bone Garden, then he didn’t feel it anymore. Ransey’s soul sank back into his body.

Mortua looked directly at Rian, her gaze an intense burning all over him. “Ruari,” she snarled.

Rian felt something inside of him, but it hid swiftly. Ruari was still there, but why had he hidden from Trivius? Ransey breathed in sharply, getting to his feet so quickly he almost fell over. He moved away from Mortua, but wasn’t looking at her. Could he see her? Rian stood as well. Mortua shrieked, becoming so bright Rian had to look away from her again.

“Then you will live,” Mortua said. “You will have eternity as what you’ve become.” The vision of her and the terrible weight of her presence vanished.

The red light faded from Rian’s bones and he collapsed onto the ground, feeling as though all energy had left him. The energy of burial ground was already flowing into him. Ransey was running away, quickly out of sight in the darkness of the graveyard.

“What happened?” Eiva asked, staring in the direction Ransey had gone.

They hadn’t heard Mortua?

“Mortua tried to take Ransey’s soul to her Sanctum,” Rian managed to say. “I stopped her, but she said he would live for eternity as what he’s become.”

After a moment, Rian could stand again. Halbert helped him to his feet.

Eiva shivered. “He wanted to turn away from her, but she wouldn’t let him.”

“She doesn’t have his soul,” Halbert said. “And he’s still out there. Perhaps we will come across him again.” He sounded hopeful.

Was there anything they could do to help Ransey if they did come across him again? Rain came down lightly, but Eiva was shivering hard. She left for the inn.

“The part of Trivius in me returned to the Bone Garden, to the rest of him,” Rian said. “Ruari is still in me.”

With Halbert’s hood down, Rian could see Halbert was staring at him. “Has he said anything?”

“No,” Rian said. “I don’t know why he would hide from Trivius.”

Ruari continued to say nothing.