Endure Read Free

“No, we do not. We’re safe here.”
    “If what you’ve said is true, I appreciate what you’ve done for me. Really, I do, but I just managed to lose the last soul piece and get my best friend killed. If any of my friends are alive, I need to find them. I can’t…” I took a deep breath as pain spiralled up from my lower back. “I can’t do this without them…” I coughed and gagged as the dryness in my mouth became too much. I hunched over and with each cough, my body jerked, pulling apart the gashes on my back and sending breaches of discomfort up my spine.
    Riddley poured more water into my cup. I swallowed half of it in a single gulp. It pacified my throat, but did nothing for the pain. He crouched in front of me and I hated every ounce of sympathy his eyes showed, but I was in too much pain to try and act strong.
    “You’re going through an immense change, and you’re suffering the loss of a friend. I’m sorry for what’s happened, Chase, but it is not safe to venture out. Your friends will find us, but until they do, we must stay here.”
    “How do you know that?”
    “I contacted Marcus shortly before I found you. He was coming back from wherever in the gods’ names you were and he’ll come here to my cabin.”
    “What did he say? Is everyone okay?”
    “He did not respond. Marcus’s abilities do not allow for telepathic communication. Luckily for him, mine do, and I’m powerful enough to reach him cross-dimensionally.”
    “Have you tried again since?”
    “I cannot risk reaching out to him now. Most of my power is tied up with yours at the moment. It is…draining, to say the least. If I take any of it back to reach out to him…”
    “Boom…”
    “Indeed.”
    “So I’m supposed to sit here and wait?”
    “We don’t have any other options. Until the summoner arrives, you and I are attached at the hip, and I have no intention of leaving.”
    I questioned Riddley, but the moment I did, the memory of what Krulear said came rushing back.
    “The Fade is where lost souls are sent when they are unblessed by the gods by proper burial rights. It is where your summoner must call the spilled pieces of the old gods. The Fade is where she summons all her spirits from. Do this, have her bind those gods’ souls to you, and you become the Protector.”
    “Am I not already?”
    “No!” her voice was harsh and raspy. “You are anointed with the Mark, which gives you power, but you are not yet the full-blooded Protector. This is why you lack the gods’ blessing. It is why your body is collapsing against your magic.”
    “How do you know about that?” I asked.
    Riddley tapped the side of his head. “While I’m inside your mind, I know everything you know.”
    The thought of him getting intimate with my thoughts made me uncomfortable, but it wasn’t nearly as painful as I remembered. When he’d raided my thoughts at our meeting with the Circle, it felt like someone had dragged sandpaper across my brain.
    “How are you here? I mean, why? I don’t understand why you disappeared in the first place.”
    “I’m afraid that is not a short story.”
    “We’ve got nothing but time, so what’s the big deal?”
    “I suppose you’re right.” Riddley sighed and sat in the wooden chair. There was a long pause afterward and his eyes wandered the floor, as if he was trying to decide on what to tell me.
    “Why don’t you start at the beginning,” I said.
    Riddley pondered it for a moment before nodding. “All right then, that seems as good a place as any.” He cleared his throat and rubbed his hands back and forth over his legs. “For years, long before your exile, I had been haunted by dreams. Visions of your father filled my nights—memories returning to me that were supposed to remain hidden. You can only ignore that sort of thing for so long. Shortly after your exile, I decided to see for myself what these dreams were about. To accomplish this, I did something forbidden. I entered a