by Brad Carsten
The other two syphers opened themselves to Gaharah, but Kaylyn cast two more threads and all three of them were thrown up against the wall. They threw up feeble shields, but Kaylyn’s power consumed them like paper put to a flame. For a moment their bodies glowed, before exploding in a shower of dust.
Auralis screamed, and Kaylyn lifted her into the air. Was this the demon who had haunted her dreams as a child?
Kaylyn drew more power and more and more. The ceiling began to tremble. Rock and brick tore loose from the walls, and that along with broken bits of furniture, swirled around the room. Abruptly they slatted into place, forming a staircase up to Auralis. Kaylyn took her time walking towards her.
“You killed my father.” The scepter turned slowly. “You hung him up on the wall like an animal.” At that her voice cracked. “I loved him.”
Auralis’ mouth hung open in surprise at the sudden turn of events, but she quickly shut it again, and her scowl returned, deeper than before. “He didn't love you,” she sneered. “Kaylyn, the unlovable girl, locked in the palace because nobody wanted you.”
The words should have torn her apart, but like Auralis’ power they couldn't touch her. “You're wrong.” She thought about Liam and joy bubbled up inside. “I’m no longer that eight-year-old child.” She had a man outside that would have faced Auralis on his own to save her. She was loved. Light’s mercy, she was loved.
“You think you've won?” Auralis spat. “You’ll never close the gateway. Nightspawn will continue pouring in. Your precious kingdom will be overrun, and you will never see anyone else from your cursed line sitting on the throne.”
“I don’t need to close the gateway. I just need it blocked.” The scepter shot across the room, piercing through the woman’s chest. Her eyes jerked wide open, and she was thrown back into the wall. Kaylyn walked across the swirling bridge of bricks and wood, drawing the amulet out from around her neck.
Auralis’ eyes had rolled back into her head and blood bubbled out of her mouth.
Kaylyn kissed the amulet. It had protected her father, and may it now protect the kingdom. She pressed it to the gushing wound in Auralis chest. “You coveted the pendant so much, you'd destroy a child, you'd destroy the kingdom to get it. Well now you can have it.” Kaylyn hung the pendant around the woman's neck. “Like Grubbert the warden, you can carry it forever.”
The gateway began to shift. Through it, Kaylyn could see a line of soldiers fighting to keep the nightspawn at bay.
One of them broke away from the others and made his way back towards the gate. He looked tired, but there was life in his eyes.
“Kael!” She ran to the gate and this time there were no barriers to stop them. “Kael. It's you. It's really you.” Kael swept her up in his arms.
“Look at you. Every time I see you, I marvel at how much you've grown. You're a woman now. A lot of time has passed in your world.” He smiled at her fondly.
“Far too much.”
“But at least I got to see you growing up. That's all I wanted. Kaylyn I'm so, so proud of you.”
“Oh Kael, you kept me strong. You gave me a reason to keep going. Just knowing that I could find you when I needed to.” Tears ran down her cheeks. “I miss you so much.”
“And I you, little sister. Knowing that you were safe gave me the strength to keep fighting.”
The gate was getting smaller but there was still so much to say.
“My duty here is done,” Kael said. “We’ll meet again in the next life.”
“No, no, no,” Kaylyn cried, as the power wrenched him back. “Kael. Don't go. Don’t go.”
The gate dissolved, a blue glow surrounded him, and then he too faded. The last thing she saw was his rugged face, beaming with pride.
Prince Kael and his men could find their peace at last. The Kingdom would know their story and honor them.
The hundred knights were there to protect the king from the nightspawn, and to protect the kingdom, but they didn't need to protect Auralis. Kaylyn wondered what would happen to her now, trapped halfway between this world and the other, where her soul was vulnerable but her body wasn't. As evil as she was, Kaylyn regretted having to do that, but the woman had brought this on herself. There was no other way.
Kaylyn broke the chains around her father’s wrists, and floated him over to the bed. That and the throne were the only pieces of furniture still left in the room. Kaylyn laid him down gently on the covers, and knelt beside him. “You loved mother so dearly, you chose her above the kingdom. People say it’s the greatest love story ever told, but I finally see that your love never ended there.” Tears spilled onto her cheeks. “You were willing to bring a sypher into your home because you loved me just as much. You put me above the kingdom. I can see that now. My king, my father, my only regret was that I couldn't see it while you were still alive.” She buried her head in his robes. “Daddy, I miss you so, so much, it feels like my heart might break in two, but I’m glad that you didn't get to see your kingdom falling apart. You lived a full life, you took the kingdom from a golden age into something far greater, and you knew true happiness.” She smoothed his hair back and kissed his forehead. The skin was as soft as it had been ten years prior. “I don't know where you are, but I hope you've found your peace. Things are looking up for me. I'm happy.” She thought about that for a moment and realised she could no longer feel that ever-present knot in her stomach. “I've learned to control Gaharah, and I've found a man that I love. You'd like him. He’s brave, and he’s smart, and he’s loyal to the throne, and most of all, he loves me, and I him.” She smiled. “I guess that's something else you and I have in common. We were given a choice between duty and love and we chose love, and I wouldn't have that any other way.”
***
The floor shook as creatures as large as cursed bulls charged through the nightspawn. Most of the men had lost their spears and had drawn their swords, and the nightspawn kept coming.
The knights held them back, but their defense was balanced on a knife’s edge where one wrong move, one knight falling, would bring it all crashing down. They may not have been tired after fighting in the alley, but now more than one gasped for air.
Liam kept hitting the barrier. That was the only way out of this, but his sword hadn't made a dent.
He couldn't feel anything coming from the room ahead and then the flow of Gaharah exploded, hitting him like a hammer to the chest. There were rivers of it, that seemed to go on forever. The walls trembled, and dust trickled down from the ceiling, and then there was nothing. He had to force his mind off of what that could mean or he'd lose his courage, and so he hit the barrier harder and faster until his arms burned, but he couldn't stop. He’d lost Tarla, he wouldn't lose Kaylyn as well.
A figure formed in the passage and the barrier disappeared. It took Liam a moment to realise it was Kaylyn and his heart leapt. She raised her hands and the passage lit up. Heat washed into them, and the knights scrambled back shielding their faces.
Creatures howled and the stench of burning flesh filled the air, and then the passage was quiet. The knights got carefully to their feet, taking in the devastation before them.
Kaylyn teetered on the spot, having drawn so much power, and Liam ran to catch her. She looked at him, under half closed eyelids, and she touched his cheek gently and smiled that beautiful smile. “It's over,” she said. “They can't get through anymore.” With that, her strength gave in and Liam drew her into his arms.
Many of the knights had doubled over to catch their breath, while others were tying off wounds. Sir Garrett lay on the floor half panting, half laughing.
Sir Irwin was in bad shape, propped up against the wall, his thin mustache barely visible beneath the black crusted blood on his face. He couldn't do much in the battle, but even he was grinning.
Sir Exalon was walking through the charred corpses putting a blade through any of the nightspawn that were still moving. From the look he'd given Kaylyn, he may have been trying to put some
distance between them.
They'd all have to leave soon, but Liam held Kaylyn close for a time, thinking of the journey they had taken to get here and what still lay ahead.
There was still a lot to do. Nightspawn would have to be hunted down and killed, and then they'd have to start the daunting task of rebuilding the kingdom, while those in charge had to figure out what to do about the throne. There was a man out there who had been selected for the task, but whether Prince Thomwyn would hand over power now that Dunlyn was moving, remained to be seen, but for now it was over.
He didn't know where they would go from here—whether he'd go back to running a farm, or find something else to fill his days with. Whatever it was, he'd keep as far away from the capital, and as far out of the Kingdom's reach as possible.
But none of that really mattered though. For the first time in his life, what he did with his days, wasn't as important as who he did it with, and with Kaylyn at his side, his future was no longer uncertain.
The End.