Journey of a Betrayed Hero- Volume 2

by Brandon Varnell

  Jacob closed his eyes as bitter memories surged through his mind. He could still feel the blindfold blocking his vision, the ropes digging into his skin. He could remember how the drug running through his body had affected his concentration and kept him from using Linked Energy Manipulation. More than that, the feeling of burning hot branding irons searing his skin, of flails gouging out chunks of flesh, still sometimes caused him to feel phantom pain.

  “I see that talking to you won’t do any good,” Alice said at last.

  “Glad to know we’re on the same page.”

  Alice gritted her teeth. Behind him, Jacob heard Listy’s dress ruffling. It was getting closer.

  “Since you wish to be uncooperative, then I only have one question that I wish to ask you,” Alice said.

  “And that is?”

  “Reports indicate that you have been traveling with a girl from the Dark Clan; where is she?”

  Jacob smiled. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I haven’t been traveling with anyone.”

  “One of my paladins claims to have seen you with two people.” Alice glared at him. “An older woman with unusual hair and eye color, and a young girl around our age with pink eyes. Where are they?”

  “The day I tell you any more secrets is the day that this world becomes consigned to oblivion,” Jacob said.

  “Fine,” Alice whispered. “In that case, you leave me no choice. Jacob, you have been charged with treason and sentenced to life imprisonment.” She signaled the guards standing at the door. They hesitated for a moment, but soon marched up on either side of him. “T… take him away.”

  The two guards tried to grab his arms, but Jacob yanked them out of their grip. “I can walk by myself, thanks.”

  Without looking back at Alice, Jacob turned around and marched out of the room. He let the two guards lead him down to the dungeon. He was amused to notice how much distance they kept from him, as if they were afraid of angering him. They also seemed hesitant. The guards were probably conflicted about sending a hero to prison.

  There was a dungeon located beneath Avant Heim. Dark and cold, dank and gross, the dungeon presented such a stark contrast to the castle that it was almost funny. Mold grew along the walls. Water leaked from cracks between the stones. The cell bars were rusted and old. They cracked as one of the guards opened them.

  Jacob was directed into a jail cell, which was closed and locked behind him. The two guards squirmed as if uncomfortable at what they were doing.

  “We’re, um, sorry about this… sir.”

  “Very sorry.”

  “It’s fine.” Jacob shrugged. “You two are just doing your job.”

  That didn’t seem to reassure them, but he wasn’t really concerned. Moving over to the bed, which could only loosely be defined as a bed, Jacob sat down and leaned his back against the wall. He allowed his head to slump back as he closed his eyes.

  “That could have gone better,” he admitted into the silence.

  The silence said nothing in return.

  ***

  Enyo lay in bed with Fellis. There was only one bed, so they had to share, but that was okay. She and Fellis had been sharing beds since she was a child.

  Fellis seemed to be asleep; her breathing was even, and her chest rose and fell as she lay on her back. Enyo was wide awake. She hadn’t been able to sleep. Perhaps it was because of what they were doing tomorrow, or maybe it was because she was worried about Jacob. However, her eyes refused to shut.

  “Thinking about your boyfriend?” asked Fellis.

  Enyo nearly squealed. After she calmed her racing heart, she tossed Fellis, whose lips had quirked into an amused expression, a glare.

  “That wasn’t very nice, and Jacob isn’t my boyfriend.”

  “You mean he isn’t your boyfriend yet,” Fellis corrected. “It’s only a matter of time before something happens. Maybe once you two are in his world, maybe sooner. He’s already admitted that he likes you. That should be good enough for you to call him your boyfriend.”

  “Can we please talk about something else?” Enyo asked. She didn’t enjoy talking about her love life, especially because she knew it would lead to this woman teasing her about how she finally had her “hero.”

  “Fine, then how about this: Are you sure we should be helping these people with their problem?”

  Frowning, Enyo asked, “Why wouldn’t we?”

  “Sorry, let me rephrase that; are you sure we have enough time to spend helping these people?” Fellis didn’t give her a chance to speak before continuing. “We have no idea where Jacob is, we don’t know what the Dark Council is plotting, and there’s a good chance that the knights are still after us. I hate to say it, but we can’t afford to spend too much time helping people we’ve only just met.”

  “Speaking of the Dark Council, didn’t you tell me and Jacob that they had seven champions?” asked Enyo. “To the best of my knowledge, we only fought six.”

  “Given that Lust showed up on her own, I am beginning to suspect she did not have a champion,” Fellis said. “I never learned who she chose, so I just assumed she was being secretive. Now stop avoiding my question. Do you really think we have time to help these people?”

  Enyo was silent for a moment. It wasn’t because she didn’t have an answer, but rather, she was trying to figure out the best words to express herself.

  “Do you remember when I was younger and would constantly tell you that I was going to marry the hero one day?”

  A fond smile lit Fellis’s face. “How could I forget? You were like that even before Jacob had been summoned to this world.”

  Feeling the heat creeping across her face, Enyo continued. “A-anyway, when I first decided to marry the hero, it wasn’t because I wanted to marry him, but because heroes are legendary figures who save people. Throughout history, heroes are the ones who go on adventures, fight evil, and rescue people from tyranny. When I said I would marry the hero, it was because I wanted to be one of those legendary figures who rescued others.”

  Enyo raised her hand and looked at the ceiling visible between her fingers. She could make out strange lines and patterns along the worn-out wood.

  “This is my chance to be a hero like Jacob is,” Enyo continued. “So far, all I’ve done is follow Jacob as we journey. We’ve helped a few people here and there, but we haven’t done anything truly heroic, but I have the chance to do that right now. I’m not going to let it slip by.”

  Maybe it was selfish of her, to want something like this when there was so much at stake. However, Enyo didn’t want to deny herself this chance.

  “What about Jacob?” Fellis asked.

  “There’s no way Jacob is in trouble,” Enyo said, full of confidence. “He’s stronger than anyone else I know. He beat my father, who was hailed as the strongest Dark Lord to have been born in the last five hundred years. Someone like him would never be killed off by anything or anyone.”

  “Heh? You have such amazing confidence in your boyfriend—sorry, I meant your future husband.”

  In the face of her former maid’s words and teasing smile, Enyo could do nothing but hide beneath the covers.

  “Shut up,” she mumbled, trying to ignore the heat surging through her cheeks.

  She wasn’t very successful.

  ***

  It was early in the morning when Enyo and Fellis set out. Using the directions given to them by the village chief, they wandered across a vast grassland, toward the forest where all the women of the village had disappeared into.

  The area they were in was actually a valley, Enyo had learned. When she and Fellis had been swept away by the river at the bottom of that ravine, it had taken them to this valley set between several hills and mountains. It was an isolated area, which explained why none of the men had recognized her.

  There hadn’t been a single wanted poster in that village.

  As they crested a hill, a large mass of trees came into view, spanning out for what appeared to be sev
eral dozen kilometers. Giant trees twelve to twenty times taller than her loomed in the distance. It wasn’t even close to the Phantasma Forest, but having grown up in the darklands, it still felt large to her.

  “That must be the forest that the necromancer is hiding out in,” Fellis said.

  “Are we sure it’s a necromancer?” asked Enyo. “There are other things it could be.”

  “Such as?”

  “A serial killer who killed all the women but never properly cremated them.”

  “I hope that’s not the case. It’ll make our job a lot harder.”

  Enyo conceded her former servant’s point. If it was a serial killer, then it meant all of the women weren’t brought back via dark magic, but the curse. If it was the curse, then it also meant they would need to find and kill each undead. However, if it was a necromancer, then all they needed to do was kill the one who brought them back. They could also allow the villagers to properly cremate their loved ones, provided they had a priest capable of sanctifying the corpses.

  The trees were a lot larger than Enyo had first realized. There might not have been as much mileage here as there had been in the Phantasma Forest, but the trees were far larger. They were massive, towering over her like giants. Roots jutted from the ground, each one larger than she was, creating a twisting network that reminded her of a maze. She’d never seen anything quite like it.

  “Well,” Fellis said, patting her whip. “Let’s head inside. The village chief said there are supposed to be ruins in the center of this forest. That’s supposedly where most of the women have been seen.”

  “We should still keep our guard up,” Enyo said. “There’s no telling where those women might be. If they are being controlled by a necromancer, then there’s a chance we could be ambushed.”

  To be on the safe side, Enyo unsheathed her daggers as they wandered into the forest. She was immediately assaulted by the sounds of forest life. Birds cawed, crickets chirped, and the sound of rustling and growls echoed all around her. The forest floor was littered with twigs and leaves, which crunched underneath their feet.

  “This place… is really creepy,” Enyo muttered.

  “You’re the one who wanted to come here.”

  “I know that! And I wouldn’t have changed my mind even after knowing this. I was just saying that it’s creepy.”

  “This place is enough to give someone the chills, I agree.”

  Enyo was thankful to Fellis for talking to her. It helped ease the tension she felt. Her shoulders became more relaxed, and her muscles felt more limber, which was good, as she needed to remain loose and flexible to get the most out of her body.

  A new sound alerted her to the presence of something else; the sound reminded her of something being dragged along the ground.

  “Fellis?”

  “I hear it. Something is coming.”

  She appeared from around one of the large roots. It was a woman with glossy black hair and a thicker than average body. Her arms were strong and her legs had a lot of muscle. She must have been someone who had spent her whole life working in the fields. Lumps had formed on pallid skin, and spots had appeared in her eyes, which had become entirely white and milky.

  “This is an undead?” Enyo asked, repulsed.

  “Yep.” Fellis pulled out her whip. “Get ready. There are two more behind her.”

  Indeed, with the woman were two other women wandering toward them. Enyo only had a moment to be shocked. Then the woman in front, followed by the women in back, lunged at her and Fellis.

  Enyo leapt back and put some distance between them. At the same time, she channeled dark magic into her daggers. As they were infused with dark black flames, she lashed out, sending a dark energy blade at the first woman. It cut into the female’s flesh. Coagulated blood sprayed across the ground. This didn’t stop the woman, who lunged at Enyo again.

  “Aim for their heads!” Fellie said as she wrapped her whip around one of the undead’s necks and pulled. There was a sickening popping out. The head came off with a disgusting amount of ease, as if the woman’s body had been decomposed so much it could no longer hold itself together. Thick, black blood oozed from the severed stump. The body slowly fell to the ground.

  Enyo, wanting to end this quickly, channeled more dark magic into her blade. She swung it at the first woman. A large black crescent like Jacob’s attack was launched from her blade. It slashed into the woman’s neck, which split apart like an overripe fruit. As her head left her shoulders, the woman crumpled to the ground, and there she remained.

  There was only one more woman to take care of. Enyo spun around to face her last foe—only to see that Fellis already had the undead well in hand. A flick of her wrist and the whip shot out. The tip slashed into the undead’s throat, tearing it apart. Enyo thought she could actually hear the sound of the undead’s bones being cracked. It looked like the whip had even severed her spinal column. With her head barely attached to her shoulders, the woman, a young female with long blonde hair, fell backwards with a dull thud.

  “Let’s keep going,” Fellis said.

  “Yeah…” Enyo stared forlornly at the women they’d been forced to kill. “We should hurry up and free these women, so they can rest in peace.”

  Fellis placed a hand on Enyo’s shoulder. “Are you sure you’re up for this? You know that we might be forced to fight more undead.”

  “I know… I still want to help. Even if it’s just freeing these women from the shackles of Aemon’s Curse, I want to do something for them.”

  “I understand.” Fellis removed her hand and gestured for Enyo, who followed her as they left the scene of the battle. “At least now we know that they’re being controlled by a necromancer. That attack was way too coordinated to be a couple of regular undead.”

  Enyo nodded, but she didn’t say anything. With a sigh, Fellis took the lead as they trekked through the forest. The two of them wandered around, over, and under roots, and journeyed through organic tunnels made of wood. There were no more attacks, which Enyo was grateful for. It was her hope that she and Fellis could kill the necromancer without having to kill any more of the women.

  One of the many “root tunnels” that they traveled through eventually opened up to reveal a cliff. It was only a short drop. Down below was what appeared to be the remnants to an ancient civilization. It wasn’t a village, however, but a maze with a large wall that would keep most people from being able to climb it. In the center of the maze was a building made of old, tan stone. Enyo thought it looked like a temple.

  “I guess this is our destination,” she said.

  “Probably,” Fellis replied. “I doubt there are many other places like this located inside of this forest.”

  “Then let’s go. I won’t let whoever’s controlling these women remain in control any longer.”

  Climbing down from the ledge was not difficult. The vines along the cliff face allowed her and Fellis to scale down to the bottom.

  With the maze now before them, Enyo felt a strange sense of apprehension. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it. However, dread welled up in the pit of her stomach, like if she stepped into that maze, she would never come back out.

  “This will be our last chance to turn back,” Fellis warned. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  Enyo squared her shoulders. “I’m sure.”

  “Okay.” Fellis let out a slow breath, and Enyo realized that she was nervous, too. “Then let’s go before I can change my own mind.”

  Screwing up their courage, she and Fellis traveled through the entrance. Their feet tapped against a stone floor instead of gravel. The passage they walked through was pretty wide. If they were ambushed, Enyo felt confident that she and Fellis would have enough room to maneuver around in. Even so, she hoped they didn’t end up engaged in combat with those undead.

  As if life was trying to screw with her, upon turning the next corner, they ran into several undead. No, not several undead—at least one hundred unde
ad. Milky white eyes stared at them. Although those eyes were blank, emotionless, Enyo thought she found a primal hunger burning within them.

  “Enyo?”

  “Yes?”

  “I think we should run.”

  “I agree.”

  Enyo and Fellis spun around and ran back the way they’d come. The undead lunged after them, scrambling over each other as if eager to taste their flesh. They burst around the corner like a horde and chased after the two of them with the ravenousness of starving trolls.

  Her heart pounded in her chest as they turned a corner, only to find more undead coming from the other direction. She and Fellis turned down the only lateral passage there. They raced down the enclosed space, which branched off into several more directions that they were forced to choose at random. Sweat had broken out on her forehead. Raspy breathing escaped her parted lips. It wasn’t from exertion, but from the exhilaration of having her life placed in jeopardy. The simple joy she felt at being placed in a situation that could kill her caused some bloodlust to rise up within her, though this feeling also made her feel guilty.

  “F-Fellis…” she gasped, feeling her mind cloud over. She wanted to fight. She wanted to feel the ecstasy of battle, to bask in the blood of her enemies.

  “This way,” Fellis said, grabbing Enyo by the forearm and pulling her along.

  They went into another lateral passage, which branched out several more times. There didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to the makeup of this maze. Enyo couldn’t even comprehend why it had been created in the first place.

  It was getting harder for her to breath. She could feel her mind slipping into a haze of bloodlust. Enyo tried to fight it, tried to ignore it, tried to push it to the back of her head, to lock it away where it wouldn’t make her do something she’d regret. She couldn’t. The harder she tried, the stronger her bloodlust became, until it was an overwhelming force fueled by the side of her that she hated the most.