“The staff,” Maveryck said. “It reacted with its reflection in the ice, didn’t it?”
“Yes.” I crossed my arms in an attempt to generate warmth. “But what does that mean? What happened?”
“It must have opened a portal to Earth Kingdom. Since we’re both alive, we have the staff, and the creature is gone, it seems we were successful in our quest.”
“Successful? I disagree. I would never wear such a thing unless it was against my will.” I picked at the gauzy fabric. What an impractical piece of clothing.
The cold air helped to clear my head, and the dizziness began to dissipate. Maveryck stood, leaning against the staff as he walked toward me.
“We should get off this mountain and try to make it back to the Wult inn while there’s some daylight left. After that, I intend to find out what happened to our lost companions.”
“I agree.” I still felt unsettled at the prospect of losing my memories, but there was nothing I could do about it.
Maveryck reached his hand out toward me, and I stared up at him. Wind whipped snow particles around him, shimmering like tiny diamonds as they stuck to his skin. A powerful sense of longing stirred inside me as his gaze met mine, confusing me. I pushed the feeling aside and grabbed his hand, but when my skin touched his, the powerful, almost painful feeling of longing washed over me again.
After I stood, he didn’t release my hand as I’d expected. Instead, he only stared at me, his expression mirroring my confusion. Despite the snow, heat welled inside me, and I forced myself to catch my breath.
What had happened in Earth Kingdom?
Had I fallen for Maveryck? The thought seemed ludicrous on every level possible. He wasn’t my type. He was cold, emotionless, and horrible in a fight. Besides, I’d sworn never to fall in love again. But as we descended the mountain, the air grew warmer, and as it did, the shell covering my heart melted the tiniest bit.
Perhaps this wasn’t the end.
This was the beginning.
Deathbringer
Marked by death from the beginning—she will come in flame and ash, wielding the fire gifted to her of her fathers. She will cross worlds and mend the rift. She will bring death to the unbelievers, life to those marked by the ancient one. Her life will bring death, for she is the Deathbringer.
-Lucretian, First Druid of Faythander
Chapter 1
Fate sucks.
Why? Here’s a great example—I’m fated to destroy the world. There was this big prophecy about a person who would wield fire and come in flame and ash to kill everyone. And that person is apparently me.
Why me? Good question. I’ve never been given a straight answer. But if all goes as planned, I will change the course of an asteroid headed for our planet and then proceed to destroy the world. Yes, it’s all doom and gloom and very literally the-sky-is-falling madness, and I have nothing else to say on the matter except this…
Fate sucks.
“You’re saying there’s no way to stop the asteroid?” I asked Dr. Jackson.
“I’m saying it would take billions of dollars and technology that’s never been tested, so yes, I’m saying there’s no way to stop it.”
I slumped in my chair as I stared at the computer screen. Four months ago, I’d been at the mercy of an ancient goddess as she’d used my powers to set an asteroid on a collision course for Earth. I’d tried to find a way to stop the stupid rock with magic, but no luck. My second choice was science. Surely NASA could stop a little space rock, right? Wrong. But I wasn’t giving up just yet.
“But what if every country came together and pooled their money and resources? Would it be possible then?” I asked.
Dr. Jackson scratched his stubble-covered chin. I was sure he must have been debating my sanity. I’d been pestering him for months about meeting with him. I imagined he’d finally agreed to meet with me just to get me off his back.
“Assuming you could miraculously get the world’s countries to work together, as well as pool their money and resources together, and then launch some sort of missile that would alter the course of a massive asteroid, then it might be possible. But that’s assuming you could even convince them that 511 D is a threat to Earth. And it isn’t,” he said.
“That’s not true. You said two of the computer models showed it could collide with Earth.”
“Two scenarios out of hundreds,” he said. “And that’s only assuming something alters its trajectory.”
Something or someone. Someone like me. But if I told him I would be the one to change its course, my sanity status would plummet. Well, more than it already had.
“Look,” he said. “I realize an asteroid headed for Earth can make you feel uncomfortable, but honestly, this isn’t worth panicking over. You have nothing to worry about.”
I studied the computer. Hundreds of blue lines crossed the screen between the green dot representing Earth, indicating the space rock would clear the planet’s orbit and go happily on its way out into oblivion, but two red lines showed it headed straight for Earth.
“How long until it reaches our orbit?”
“I can’t say for sure. Calculating its speed is a bit tricky since we’re not even sure what made the asteroid go rogue in the first place. My best guess is around two weeks.”
“Two weeks? But it only left the asteroid belt four months ago. Do asteroids usually move that fast?”
He cocked his head. “How do you know when it left the asteroid belt? Nobody knows that.”
“Oh, well…” I hated scrambling for answers—hated lying even more. “I’ve got an interest in the asteroid belt, that’s all. My mom gave
