by N. J. Cooper
“Karma? Since when did that bitch get involved in this? Kyla you don’t seriously think that’s what’s happening here, do you?” He asked seriously as she kept her eyes on her breakfast. Her blush betraying her. He dropped his cutlery and turned to her. “You are not being punished, Kyla. You haven’t done anything wrong. You haven’t hurt anyone. He has. He will answer to karma if it does decide to play a part in this destiny. You deserve the good side. Not damnation.” he insisted with a forceful tone that punctuated his words. Kyla looked down, annoying tears betraying her as they welled in her eyes.
“But I have hurt people, Wyatt. It’s been my decisions that have led us here. Sky is infected with death because I asked her to go into Byron’s mind. I asked her to open the door in there that let Onyx in. Tyrone died because I kept the falcon sword. Because Byron wanted to get back at me. You and Zarek were tortured because I let you get captured. I made those decisions. I made the stupid plans. If I had been one minute later when we brought Kalani through, the King wouldn’t have healed when he was stabbed. I deserve this. I deserve damnation.” Kyla bit, sniffling back the weakness of tears. Wyatt pulled her chair out and made her look at him.
“And what about the fact that Onyx was the one that chose to go into Sky’s mind and infect her? He could have left her alone; he made that decision not to. It was Byron’s choice to take us and to kill Tyrone. Everything that has happened is because Onyx and Byron are deciding to hurt people. They are choosing the path with the most pain. You are trying to stop that. Their actions are their own Kyla, don’t take responsibility for them.” Wyatt ordered. Kyla bit her lip before wrapping her arms around him. He hugged her tightly, kissing her hair with his hand at the back of her head.
“Thank you, Wyatt.” She whispered against him. Wyatt pulled back and wiped her tears away.
“Anytime. You know there are other ways to show your gratitude.” He winked at her with a lopsided grin that let her know he was teasing. She laughed lightly shaking her head.
“Of course, there are. Eat your food.” Kyla laughed as they pulled their chairs back in to eat. They were back to light-hearted joking for a full minute before being interrupted. The Queen waltzed in wearing a long, flowing white gown that trailed behind her, a diamond encrusted gold crown on her head with gold detailing over the upper half of her attire. Kyla quieted her laughter as Queen Lena’s tall, slender body approached with a tight-lipped, narrow face that showed all the disdain she held for Kyla. Elanor was closely following of course. The same expression matching the similar gown. They could be sisters with the way their bodies held the same intimidating elegance. Queen Lena sat in her throne that was only just smaller than the Kings at the head of the table, while Elanor sat next to her. Kyla and Wyatt kept eating nervously. Awkward silence filling the room with tension.
“Where are the King and Prince? It’s poor manners to arrive late to breakfast with guests. Even if the guests happen to have already started before their hosts have arrived.” the Queen sneered. Kyla clutched her fork tighter before clearing her throat.
“They are having a moment alone. Sorry for our manners, your Majesty. We’re not staying long.” Kyla replied rigidly, forcing the politeness into her statement. Suddenly not hungry, she pushed her plate away, Wyatt doing the same.
“Hmm. I see you have had some trouble healing from your last failure at stopping Onyx? You are no longer the Oracle then?” The Queen assumed as she stared at Kyla’s eyes that were meant to be purple. Elanor gasped and looked up to see the obvious change. Elanor put her head down as Kyla responded.
“A temporary change.” Kyla bit. The Queen’s already narrow, cat-like dark eyes, narrowed even further.
“I suppose that will change your plans significantly then? You said you aren’t staying long; I assume you are going to rectify the problem? Leading my son into another trap or possibly get him killed?” Queen Lena folded her pale arms so her long gold nails tapped against her bicep. Kyla slid her chair back and stood quickly, leaning over the table. Wyatt stood just as quickly and held her wrist so she couldn’t do anything that would get them killed for treason before they had even left. Kyla’s rage boiled against the guilt that ate at her resolve. Queen Lena always knew the exact right buttons to push, worried for her son or not, she was a bitch. Elanor stayed loyally silent through the exchange but her eyes widened as Kyla stood threateningly towards the Queen, who held a smug smile at having gotten under Kyla’s skin. Kyla took a calming breath then faced the Queen with a level glare.
“Your son is the Prince. He wants to help his people, even if it means putting himself in danger. That shows him for the strong noble person he is. Don’t turn that into something worthless by acting as if the choice isn’t his. We all know the risks of taking on someone like Onyx but we are willing to do it, so you can sit there on your throne, in your diamonds, never having to get your glittering heels dirty. We have sacrificed our blood to get to where we are, and we will keep doing it until Onyx is dead.” Kyla snapped angrily. Centaurs were growing nervous as they stepped closer slightly, but the Queen held up her hand with a smirk.
“As long as the blood you sacrifice isn’t your own, right? Is that how you work, Oracle? Will my son be the next Tyrone? This was meant to be your destiny, not his. Leave him out of it, while you try and fail time after time. From where I’m standing, you have sacrificed blood, people, friends just to achieve absolutely nothing. He is through to the human realm; you are weak, and he is targeting us still. Tell me how any of it is worth it?” The Queen spoke calmly. Too calmly. It rubbed Kyla the wrong way and she had to rely on Wyatt’s tightening grip on her wrist, not to respond violently to the provocation.
“Queen Lena. If I may…I was there when Tyrone was killed, when they were tortured. Kyla was the only reason we got out of there. She was the only one who could have gotten us out of the territory and alerted the centaurs where we were. I think Prince Zarek is safe with her, even if the idea of them together sickens me.” Elanor vouched before adding her personal insult at the end. Kyla raised her eyebrows at Elanor sticking up for her. Not by the last comment of course, Elanor hated interspecies coupling and Kyla was technically, not a sorceress. The Queen glared at Elanor, forcing the blonde to look away, shrinking back into her seat.
“Excuse me, I need to pack.” Kyla spun away, about to leave when Zarek stormed in, eyes red rimmed, anger clear in his eyes. And they were glaring at her. Kyla frowned at him. He had obviously been crying but he had let his anger override that tenfold. Kyla stopped in front of his fuming presence. He stared down at her, betrayal deep in his face.
“Zarek…” Kyla started but he quickly interrupted.
“You knew, didn’t you? About my father.” He growled through a clenched jaw. Kyla bit her lip, swallowing deeply. Did he have to confront her in front of everyone? She couldn’t explain everything, since no one else could know about the ‘realm powers’ that were draining his father’s life. She nodded slowly.
“I’m sorry.” She tried but he shook his head.
“You should leave.” he whispered dangerously. Kyla stepped back shocked.
“Zarek, he asked me not to tell you. What was I meant to do? Go against the King?” Kyla argued, hurt piercing her heart.
“You were meant to tell me that my father was dying!” He yelled in her face. Kyla stepped back as Wyatt gasped in time with Elanor. Kyla’s lips trembled.
“I’m sorry Zarek, please…” She tried but he was too angry. He pointed to the door.
“Leave.” he snapped.
“You’re not coming?” Kyla asked incredulously.
“No. I’m staying to look after my father. It might be the last few weeks I have with him.” Zarek’s voice cracked, revealing the true depth of his emotion. King Carrick came through then, his robes hunching his frail body. His cane supported him as he rested his hand on his sons’ shoulder that was a few feet above him.
“Son. That is not what we discussed. You must follow your
destiny as I follow mine. Otherwise it is for nothing. You have to go with her Zarek, you are a part of this.” The King persuaded. Zarek glared, staring into her eyes. Kyla tried to show him her remorse, but he wasn’t buying into it.
“Fine. We leave in fifteen minutes.” He ordered before turning away.
“Zarek I had no choice.” Kyla trembled, her heart breaking at the hurt he showed. She should have told him.
“I asked for her word, Son. I wanted to be the one to tell you. She was bound.” The King tried but he shook his head.
“Stop defending her, okay I get it. You guys are really close-but how many weeks in between telling her and me, Dad? I should have known first.” He bit. She tried to hold off the emotion that was constricting her oxygen, her chest aching.
“I am sorry, Zarek. I thought you would be upset if you found out from me and not your father. I was wrong. Excuse me.” Kyla’s voice broke as she left for her room.
~ 10 ~
Kyla’s tears were hot and continuous as she moved into the shower. Her heart took the brunt of Zarek’s reaction as the rest of her body succumbed to a numbness it could only compare to the paralytic power. She had completely blocked the Oracle from her mind so she couldn’t hear the ‘suck it up and leave already’ comments.
Kyla pulled on her white and gold realm gear that she always wore when she expected to be fighting. White leggings, gold trimming, a white leather jacket with a gold zip over a white shirt. Her white lace up boots were done up tightly before she pulled her long dark hair into a ponytail. Once she was finished dressing, her body moved on its own accord. She didn’t remember packing, or Wyatt coming in with a silent tension, to pack his own bag. She didn’t remember walking downstairs nor saying goodbye to the King. Kyla moved robotically into the camper, put her things in the storage cubby and stood at the window to watch Shemar and Orion connect themselves to the gold ropes. Her arms crossed over her chest as she looked blankly out. Emotion had cut itself from her, it hurt too much to let it in. Zarek didn’t look at her as he sat in the booth, his own face completely stoic. Wyatt came and stood next to her as they moved away from the mansion. The city stretched for at least five hours in every direction until it reached the borders for different areas. Five hours of awkward silence. Pain filled silence, that made her want to scream. But Zarek needed space and she didn’t want to see the betrayed look on his face if she pushed him. Kyla looked about the city, bustling with creatures, shops that she still had no idea of their meaning and more strange aromas that filtered in the air as they passed.
Kyla went over her notes and maps, circling where they had to go, including the Elders Cave that was where Zarek needed to go, to keep up with the façade of collecting the areas reports, and then the warehouse hidden in the trees of the third mountain. At least a day’s trip in the camper across rough terrain. Kyla needed a quicker way to that warehouse. If the giants really were involved with Byron, then she needed to get to his trail before they were able to tip him off-if they hadn’t already. The goblins were another story altogether. From what she had read, they didn’t care who was on the good or bad side, they just wanted to be a part of the best practical joke. Inconveniencing people, getting them into trouble and setting them up, had been the cause of a lot of the realms history for starting fights and wars. Fantastic. Top of the list: Avoid the goblins. Kyla had a lot of books for information, but she knew it wasn’t enough. She needed to talk to Zarek. He had been there before, and he knew the creatures they were going to be confronting. Kyla slid herself into the booth opposite him and laid out the map. Wyatt pushed his book on giants aside and looked over the map and where she had circled. Zarek glanced over too then looked back out the window, his expression unchanging.
“Zarek, do you know how long it is to get from the main mountain to Peak 3?” Kyla asked, trying to keep her voice from wavering. He visibly tensed before pulling the map over and analysing the route.
“In the camper, roughly five hours.” Zarek said dismissively before pushing the map back and looking back out the window, without even glancing towards her. Kyla bit her lip. It was harder than she had thought to talk to him as if nothing was hurting.
“And what about without the camper?” Kyla asked. He frowned towards her before looking back down.
“You won’t get through that any faster on foot. The giants will be on us, asking questions if we are outside this camper and the mountain isn’t exactly made for human sized feet. Rocks, mud, quicksand, trees. All in the pathway and all things that will make the distance longer.” Zarek informed. Kyla frowned.
“Then how is the camper going to get through?” Kyla frowned. He sighed.
“Orion and Shemar. They have abilities that can move things out of our way and jump over quicksand.” he stated.
“So, what if we only used the centaurs? We could get there in half the time if we rode on their backs and their scent would cover ours.” Kyla offered. Zarek shook his head.
“No.” Zarek denied. Wyatt looked at her with a shrug as they waited for his explanation which he didn’t give.
“Why not?” Kyla finally asked.
“Because we are not in our territory, Kyla. We can’t just do whatever we want, we have to respect their rules. Centaurs are only allowed in the territory when guarding, otherwise they can’t be here. If a giant saw us using a centaur for transport or unauthorized snooping, they could issue a justified death warrant on Orion and Shemar. So, no. We’re not using them for anything more than pulling this camper and guarding, as the paperwork states.” Zarek bit. Kyla sighed.
“Sorry I didn’t know that was a rule.” She cleared her throat then looked back over the map as Wyatt interrupted.
“Okay, so on that note, what happens if we get caught snooping around that warehouse without asking?” Wyatt asked with a nervous laugh.
“Nothing. It’s authorized. I choose whichever buildings or habitats I want to investigate. I can pick three in the giants territory and two in the goblins, as part of my inspections. We won’t be questioned as long as we stay with the camper, as it shows the Royals are here.” Zarek answered easily earning a breath of relief from Wyatt.
“Oh, so, they know we are coming for the reports and to investigate but they don’t know where exactly we are going to be going?” Wyatt questioned for clarification.
“Yes. I’ll pick the buildings when we are at the meeting. By the way, when we are there, don’t say anything. You’ll be seen as servants and silence will be expected. If you talk out of turn, the giants and goblins will become suspicious.” Zarek told. Wyatt and Kyla both nodded.
“So, this meeting will have Elders of the giant and goblin community, right?” Kyla checked. Zarek nodded once. “And you do this every month in every area?” She interrogated. Another nod. “Is there any way I can see those of the last few months, since Onyx has been out? Of every area? I want to see if there are any similarities between the vampire’s area, Mons and Inferis. If Byron and Onyx have contacts in those places, there has to be something in the records that would connect them. More deaths or crimes or something along those lines.” Kyla theorized.
“The records room is the only place to get that kind of information,” Zarek replied before standing up from the booth. “Excuse me.” he bit then left. Kyla sighed as she watched after Zarek’s tall frame. Wyatt’s comforting hand rested on her arm as he offered a sympathetic smile. Kyla gave a small smile back then looked back towards her map, trying to concentrate.
It was a couple of hours later when the Oracle stumbled from her room, holding her stomach as her pale frame clutched the sides of Kyla’s mind. Kyla leaned back in the booth, gasping as the Oracle’s weakened state became quickly apparent.
‘I’m receiving a vision. It’s not from the Djinn but he’s trying to block it. Help me.’ The Oracle breathed. Kyla winced as she moved back into her mind and connected as much as possible with her alter ego until their connection couldn’t get any further past the Djinn magic. It
had Kyla instantly dropping to her knees in pain, but she held on. Kyla’s mind held the Oracle as much as she could, while her body forced itself through the searing, blinding ache that filled it. She felt hands on her, warm hands that touched her skin, but they were distant through the pain. She knew it was either Wyatt or Zarek trying to get through to her, but she had to concentrate on giving the Oracle enough strength to receive the vision. Finally, her mind was taken from the camper into the vision she had tried so hard to receive.
It was pitch black. Terrifying. Kyla couldn’t see a thing as she swirled around to find some kind of light. Kyla checked the Oracle was with her. She was, but still weak. The vision had let her come through with only half the pain she normally carried but the Djinn’s poison was still clearly active, and Kyla was dreading finding out how it would affect her ability to not be hurt in her vision again. She stepped forward warily as a foul odour burnt through her nostrils, an odour she recognized as the giant’s stench, hope bursting inside her that she was being shown some area of Mons that would help them get what they needed. Well, not shown exactly, considering she couldn’t see a thing. Kyla reached her fingertips out, letting them crawl across the sharp edges of the rocks that jabbed her fingers harshly, as she moved forward through the darkness. Kyla’s eyes begun to water as her mind began to ache. She clutched it as the Oracle grimaced.
‘I’m sorry Kyla, I’m trying to hold him off, but the Djinn is pushing. He’s trying to see what we’re seeing and it’s making me weaker. If you get hurt while we’re here, I can’t protect you. You’ll wake up with the injuries, so whatever we are being shown, you need to find out fast. Keep walking forward and confront whatever it is.’ Oracle warned through laboured breaths. Kyla nodded and walked forward, trying to ignore the rising hysteria in her throat at the idea of walking in complete darkness, towards the unknown. Everywhere her fingers touched was just more rock until she bumped into a hard, slimy surface. Kyla squealed and jumped back just as a flame appeared beside her and a growl shuddered through the cave. Kyla stepped back with a fear that took over every nerve in her shivering body. She was about ready to demand out of the vision, when a huge angry face appeared in the glow of the flame. It opened its huge mouth that held gapped teeth, a drooling lip and a chubby freckled complexion. She was directly in front of a giant. His head was easily as big as her and his ginger hair was matted over his head while the giant’s angry eyes glared at her. Kyla held her hand out as she stepped back nervously. The giant stood, holding the flame torch in his clubbed hand as his full body rose to an unbelievable, intimidating height above her. His swollen, hair-dusted feet were chained to the stone wall. Water trickled down the centre of the tunnel type structure they were in and a storm grate sat behind the giant with a small hatch in it. Kyla squinted to read the writing on it but didn’t risk getting closer. It looked as if it said Inferis but before Kyla could confirm it, her body was hurled backwards through the tunnel to where she had come from, thanks to a giant on the warpath towards her again. Kyla cried out as her elbow shattered against the concrete of the tunnel. She got back on her feet just as the giant reached her again, grabbing her leg and throwing her back against the stone wall. Her head bled as her aching body fell back to the ground. Kyla coughed blood from her mouth, before summoning her blade and shoving it through the giants unsuspecting foot. He roared through the tunnel, before trudging backwards. He reached for Kyla again, but she was prepared for it. Swinging the immortal blade, Kyla brung the sharp weapon down on the giants arm, cutting it off at the wrist, jumping back as his hand landed with a splash in the water. Kyla lunged to grab the wood that held the flame, from the dismembered hand and stanced herself against the charging giant. He looked pissed. Blood poured from his wrist, but he didn’t seem bothered as he came for her. Kyla dodged his advance, sidestepping him so he fell to the ground. Kyla jumped onto the back of him and pushed the blade through his head. The giant whimpered before succumbing to death.