Shadow of The Marked: Divine Series

by J. G. Maltos

  The crystal! I quickly pat the inside of my boot and feel the crystal. My shoulders fall in relief. At least have that.

  Burning wounds cover my hands from the crystal. I lean in closer and see the remaining black-like coloring in my veins. I look around and I start to feel my heart rate increase by the second. I take large breaths and place a hand over my chest. I need to control myself and focus if I ever want to escape.

  I can hear the guards on the other side of the door. I fall to my knees and sit on the cold floor. Concentrate. I tell myself. I place my hand against the concrete floor and close my eyes. I let the silence of the cells soothe me into a place of peace. I had always hated the quiet of the cell but right now it’s the one thing keeping me sane. My hands begin to sting. I swallow large breaths as I try to fully connect with my abilities, any one of them.

  Maybe I can connect with my Earth abilities to manipulate the metal bars. I take one more large breath and feel a loud snap at the back of my head. It doesn’t hurt but it’s not comfortable. I snap my eyes open and look at my surroundings. My eyes narrow as I try to focus on the metal bars, but nothing happens. Why won’t it work! I get up in anger and stand in front of the metal door. I raise my hand and place it lightly over the lock, hoping against hope that the proximity could spark something in my body.

  I gasp as my hand falls through the lock, never feeling a thing. I lift my hand in front of me and I can barely make out the silhouette of my body. I can feel the contents in my stomach looking for a way out. I cover my mouth as I try to not lose my head. I reach for the door and my hand passes the full bar. I snap my arm back in fear that my body could go back to normal at any second and trap me between the metal.

  I brace myself before crossing the bars. Relief floods me once I’m on the other side and realize exactly what Aries had meant. There was weightlessness to my step, now. The cold chill of the cell no longer licks my arm. I don’t feel hot or cold. I’m not sure I feel anything at all now, besides a constant pull that was like being submerged underwater. I just wanted to let myself fall into it and never come out.

  I waste no time and exit the cell. I see two lightning guards speaking with each other. I turn away from them and start walking towards the hall.

  “Why are we here anyway? She can’t even use her abilities.” One of the guards asked. I stop dead in my tracks. I turn around and move towards the darkest part of the hall.

  The guard next to him rolls his blue eyes, “We don’t know that for certain. Rumor has it she may be more powerful than we all thought. Plus, I hear they are making more of the serum as we speak,” He shakes his head in disbelief, “The serum her parents created.”

  “Wow! I cannot believe her parents created that serum for her.” The guard shakes his body as if the mere thought of the serum repulsed him. My breath gets stuck in my throat. They couldn’t. They wouldn't do that to me. I think back to all the signs that pointed to my strange abilities. The black particles in my bloodstream that Physician Xenio collected, the veils found in the infirmary with my name, all those images came to mind. “Imagine, having your ability suppressed and for years at that.”

  My chest tightens at their words. “Her parents were scared of her. That is why they created that serum and now Elite Zara has her little hands on it,” he shakes his head. “Elite Zara straight away lost it after losing her daughter.”

  “Yeah, she did. She even thinks Princess Althea knows the whereabouts of the Shadow Crystal.” The black-haired guard chuckles, “She spent years looking for King Tellus but she only ended up killing him after she found him.” My heart stops.

  “I heard about that,” The blue-eyed guard crosses his arms, “Elite Zara went rampage around the castle for days after his passing. Elite Helena was upset when she found out what Elite Zara had done to her beloved crush.”

  The other Lightning guard shakes his head, “Can you imagine being so in love with someone that you would betray your own best friend. If that is love then I don’t want it.” My heart feels as if it’s being ripped in two. Elite Helena was part of the fall of the Earth Kingdom. She betrayed my family. I trusted her. Tears trail down my cheeks as the guards continue their conversation.

  “You would need to find someone to love you first,” The blue-eyed Lightning guard leans against the stone wall, “I even heard she tried to get close to the Princess when she was hiding there. Imagine how cold-hearted you have to be to offer your shoulder to cry on, to the daughter of the people you helped kill.”

  The guard shakes his head, “I don’t care much for the Princess but I don’t think anyone should be played that way. That is just plain cruel.” He kicks a pebble on the floor with his boot, sending it tumbling straight to me. I freeze hoping they can’t see me. Neither of the guards makes any signs that they notice me and I release a large breath.

  I narrow my eyes at the guards once more as they continue to talk. “I heard Elite Zara is this close to bringing back the Shadow Kingdom.”

  “Ha! Another rumor she created to make herself look stronger than all the other kingdoms.” The guard starts picking his nails, “They should just kill Princess Althea, we will rule the realm and we continue to use the Earth Kingdom abilities and life will go on.”

  “No! I was told Elite Zara found the remaining information on how to bring the Shadow Kingdom back, and that Princess Althea is the key. That is why they haven’t killed her,” he explains.

  “The key to what? She is just a young girl with a messed up life.” The black hair guard scoffs. I lean my head forward at his words.

  “No!” He says and looks around. When he knows no one will listen he looks at the blue-eyed guard, “ The one barring all elements would restore balance in blood and life.”

  The black hair guard narrows, “All the elements, like the--”

  The blue eye guard nods with a small smile, “Like a Divine.”

  “They think Princess Althea is a Divine?” He asks skeptically.

  “Yes! Why do you think her parents created that serum to dormant her abilities? Only a Divine can have more than one power.”

  “The Divine hasn’t been seen or heard of since the destruction of the Shadow crystal, and Divine Umbra with it,” he states.

  “Not seen but not gone. There are six divines; one for each ability. What if they have been waiting for the sixth Divine, the Shadow Divine,” he says back with such enthusiasm the other guard takes a step away from him. My eyes widen and I look down at my clear hand. That can’t be true. I bite my cheek. But why would my parents create the serum if I was becoming something they were afraid of.

  The black hair guards barked out a laugh causing me to jump. “You do know how stupid that sounds right. A Divine? Really!” He continues to laugh, “Who even told you this nonsense anyway?” The guard moves to the other side of the cell door entrance.

  The blue-eyed guard crosses his arms in annoyance, “You are laughing now, but just wait. She got a lead on where the Shadow crystal is hidden.”

  “How do you know so much?” The guard asks as if reading my mind.

  The guard squares his shoulders, “Lady Gertrude Vaniette, she is Elite Zara chambermaid. She and I have become very acquainted,” he chuckles.

  I had been so stupid to trust Elite Helena. I trusted her and she betrayed me. I wipe away my tears in anger. My own family feared me, and they created a serum that would take away my abilities. Elite Zara found the serum and used it to have full control of me. She wanted power over my kingdom and the Shadow Kingdom. My hands start to shake from anger.

  “Who’s there?” The blue-eyed guard yells.

  I freeze where I hide in the shadows. Can they see me? I raise my hand and the weightlessness is gone. I am a few feet away. I can run and get a few sprints ahead before they use their lightning. Anything is better than staying in the cells. I close my eyes and take a large breath. I touch my mother's necklace that still hangs against my chest. Please, let me survive this. Without a second thought, I sprint o
ut of the shadows and run down the hall.

  “Come back!” They yell as they see me run. I run as fast as my legs will carry me down the hall. My feet falter slightly as I try to slow down to turn a corner. I can hear the electric current buzzing next to my head as I turn. A loud crack rings next to my ear. I turn my head quickly, missing the lightning bolt by a hair. I stop slightly from the shock but quickly recover and continue running.

  The hall quickly ends and I enter a room where four lightning guards are sitting on a table and eating. My breathing comes in gasps as I take in the guards in front of me. Shit. They all stare at me in confusion. I try not to make any sudden movements, afraid I will get shredded with their bolts in seconds. I see the door on the other side of the room. I will get out of here. I promise myself.

  I call my abilities forward and only my Earth abilities flow green through my veins. I feel the concrete deep within my bones. Every single grain of stone calls to me, waiting for my command. Two guards rise slowly but I quickly raise my hand and use my abilities to cave the ceiling right above them.

  A gust of dirt clouds the room and I use it to my advantage. Two more guards shoot lightning at me but I am quicker and duck out of the way. I run towards one guard and kick him in the chest. He falls backward onto the floor. I call my ability and use the metal in his clothes that decorate his uniform to move at my will. They move around his neck and I tighten at my command.

  The guard's eyes widen as he tries to remove the metal. Sweat drips from my face as I continue to tighten the metal. A whip wraps around my neck and pulls me backward with a single hard yank. The other guard smiles down at me. He thinks he has me but he is wrong. I will show them who they created. I use the concrete that has fallen around us and has it build around his legs and torso. He sends a shock traveling up the rope. I yell out in pain but I manage to throw a piece of broken concrete to his head, knocking him out.

  I stand up but my legs wobble from exhaustion. I walk slowly to the door and unlock the door. I hear footsteps behind me and turn to find two more guards. I don’t think I have enough energy to take on two more guards. I raise my hand slowly and take a step away from the door.

  “Nobody is coming to find you this time. You are nobody,” The black hair guard yells, igniting his abilities that dance between his fingers.

  Before I can respond, the door behind me swings open and I catch sight of platinum white hair. “That is where you are wrong,” Davina walks in with fire in her eyes, “She is our hope,” Is the last thing she says before the fire in her veins lights up the room.

  I turn to look at Davina. “You came for me,” I gasp out.

  She gives me a tired smile. “You are not an easy person to find.” A loud ringing sounds within the kingdom, “Let's go! The others are already fighting!” I nod and run behind her. She jumps onto a white horse and I jump on behind her. Davina pulls the horse forward and we are off. I throw one glance behind me and see the cells catching a flame.

  I am Princess Althea Thierah, Princess of The Realm, Ruler of The Earth Kingdom, and I am a fighter.

  We near the line of battle and rush in. Davina quickly jumps off the horse and I follow suit. Aesir fights near the water edge. The General of the War fleet is back with Rowan fighting at his side. His sword cuts down everyone in his path. He catches my eyes from across the field. His face is one of relief as nods in my direction.

  Our exchange is short as a lightning guard runs toward me. I smirk and lift an arm as a shard of stone lifts from the ground blocking the bolt of lightning. I use the dust of the stone and slide under, hoping it would block me from sight. Once I'm under, I jump up and place my palm on his armor. I cave it in toward his heart. A gurgling cry escapes his lips and I jump off of him.

  I turn to my left and Aries’ shadows surround him. He can only manifest five complete shadows at him, so he creates another one as they fall around him. He has at least seven guards closing in on him. Some fall as his shadows pierce through their hearts or slice through their abdomen.

  Another guard collides with me, sending me sliding through the dirt. I roll a few times and try to collect my breath as I get up. A lightning bolt connects with my right arm. My arm muscles tighten at the wave of electric current moving through my arm.

  He runs toward me again. I squat down and place my good palm against the floor. I feel the vibration of his feet nearing me. Weeds sprout in front of me and once I know he is close enough. I spring them forward and wrap them around his neck and arms.

  The weeds move at my command and sharply move back into the ground taking the guard with him.

  I hear a screech as I catch a guard capturing Davina near the waters. She tries to spring her fire, but water is thrown at her, extinguishing her flames. They spring a coil of lightning and wrap it around her neck. She claws and thrashes against the binding. I ran towards her to help. I pant and move around the other Rising fighters and the Lightning Guards.

  I collide with the guard that has the binding on Divina’s neck and tumbles to the side. Davina uses the moment to lift herself and dries her arms. Her fire immediately lights up. Her smile darkens as her eyes zero on the other guard.

  I duck from a punch the guard throws at me but in my effort to evade his swing, his other arm grips the back of my neck. He forces my head back and his other hand goes for the dagger that hangs on his belt. He swings and nicks a cut on my upper arm. I screech but quickly grip his arm that holds me in place and bend down, throwing my knee up and bending down to hear a satisfying crunch as his bone dislocates.

  “Thanks!” Davina runs to me breathless.

  “You save me. I save you.” I waive it off. Sweat has already dampened my clothes and makes it uncomfortable to move, but that is the least of my worries. I look around trying to find Aesir and Rowan through the bodies of people fighting.

  Davina's worried voice catches my attention. “Zemirah!” She points to the girl surrounded by guards.

  “Let’s go!” I yell.

  We run at full speed to help Zee. She is throwing everything she can at them, but it's not enough.

  Davina's face turns one of rage as one of the lightning guards hits Zee square in the chest. Her arm drops to her side instantly. Davina’s pace quickens making it hard for me to catch up. During the run, Davina's hands light up and she throws a flare onto the guard who struck Zee. With a lift of her hand, the guard is engulfed in flames.

  I stop in my tracks as I see the guard quickly falling onto the floor.

  Davina throws herself in front of Zee blocking a strike from another guard.

  I rush toward Zee. “Are you okay?” I ask between pants.

  Zee winces as she grips her hand. “I can’t feel my arm.”

  I look around frantically. Davina is still fighting two guards. She is fighting one hand to hand while keeping an eye on the second one, throwing her abilities as fast as she can. I gasp in amazement at how she uses her rage to save Zee.

  I look down at Zee's arms and it is covered in blood. I rip the hem of my shirt and clean her wound. It’s deep and I can see parts of skin I shouldn’t be able to see.

  “How bad is it?” she asks.

  I try to smile at her. “You’ll be fine. Let me wrap it.” I rip a large portion of her shirt to cover her upper arm.

  She cries out as the cloth touches her skin. She turns her head over to empty her stomach.

  I use her distraction to tighten the cloth causing another gurgling cry to escape her lips. Then I look up from her hand and I see Davina rushing toward us, her face splattered with blood. Her ice-blue eyes shine bright with worry and guilt as she takes in Zee's wrapped arm.

  “I didn’t get to you fast enough,” She pants.

  Zee wipes her mouth and shakes her head. “I was stupid enough to think I could take all four of them on.”

  “She needs to go back to the ship. We need to help take the wounded back!” I tell Davina.

  She nods in agreement. We need to save as many as we can.
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  Davina grips Zee's and pulls her up. She drips her good arm across her neck for support.

  I scan our surroundings, trying to find the safest way around through the chaos. I barely distinguish Aesir through the wave of bodies. He is fighting next to Rowan. They both are covered in sweat and blood but appear to be in good standings.

  We decided to keep near the edge of the water, which seems to be the safest way towards the boats. I catch light from the sky, but keep running. We are near the boat when a bolt of lightning lights up the sky making everything bright. The light dances between the clouds getting brighter and brighter.

  “This does not feel good,” I point out.

  Davina looks up at the sky. “They are building up!” she yells.

  I don’t understand what she says but follow quickly with her pace. “Clear away from the lighting guards! Now!” she yells in panic, but only her cries are heard from those closest to us.

  “Step away from the Guards! Everyone!” I try to yell, but my voice only gets swallowed by the battle. I look up again, the eerie light within the dark clouds moves quicker. A large spark ignites the dark sky like a bolt of lightning peaks through the clouds.

  “Getaway!” I yell as loud and my throat can muster. The lighting zips past my head toward the middle of the battle. I quickly turn my head and cover my ears for the impact.

  A large crackle echoes through the battlefield. I feel the large vibration of the earth shift under my feet. I fall over as the wave of energy from the lightning moves through me.

  Zee clashes into the water with Davina.

  I try to catch my breath as I try to stand up. My feet feel like jello as the ringing in my ears builds.