by D L Colon
Chapter 14
Once Noryad is alone inside the gate he sees an ethereal form of himself and he can’t help thinking that it’s the representation of his powers in this state, but he notices that behind the ethereal form is where his real problem lies. There is a wall, a big wall, and the form is getting closer to the wall. The closer the form gets the harder it is too continue forward. It feels like he is trudging through water and the closer he gets to the wall, the deeper the water is. When the ethereal form finally reaches the wall and touches it, it instantly crumbles causing a sea of power to run through his body. Noryad can’t do anything to stop the current running through him, it’s too strong and he is being sucked in by the amazingly raw and uncontrollable power running through him. Suddenly he hears the voice of his father in his mind: Absorb your power son. Take back control of it.
Noryad tries to absorb his Necromancy power, but he is failing. The Necromancy is denying him control and is fighting him. He continues fighting with everything inside him because he is not a quitter and giving up is not an option, when he suddenly feels Coral’s hand on his physical body. The sensation of feeling her touch his body on the nether plane is too much and his power reacts to the intrusion, sending Coral flying back. Noryad, now more determined than ever to take control once and for all, stretches his hand to his sides and screams. The sea currents start to retreat, letting themselves be absorbed through his hands. His body shakes as the power is absorbed into his soul. Once the powers are back inside of him, he slowly lowers his arms and looks around. Everything seems clearer now and he can feel the powers pulsating within him. He turns and walks to the gate, which opens instantly, and walks out. He continues his way back to his body and once he is back he loses consciousness, his body, and spirit, are too exhausted.
Few hours later
While his body is resting Noryad’s mind is running wild. It is showing him what happened at the gate and he can’t help but recall that moment at the Guild when he used his power and made that amazing crater on the training ground. He thought he was using that same amount of power and once the staff-sword touched the ground he felt like something was let loose inside of him and his power went wild. He has to make sure that doesn’t happen again. He will control his heritage, find the Sword of Kings, and find out more about the Armor of Kings. Once he knows what he must do his mind grows quiet, letting him fall into a deep, healing sleep.
Few hours later
Upon fully regaining consciousness he realizes that he is in his bed and Coral is beside him.
Merlin sees him trying to get up stops him. “Don’t get up. You need to rest. Can you tell me what happened within the gate?”
Noryad lays back against the pillows and sighs deeply before answering. “I remember opening the gate and it closing behind me, locking you out. There was an ethereal form of myself in front of a big wall and when it touched the wall the wall crumbled. After that all I can remember is fighting for control, but it was hard since I have never touched my necromancy power and it was fighting me. I finally managed to make it accept my heritage and let me claim it. After that I returned to my body and lost consciousness, why?”
“Because you sent Coral flying back when she touched you and the souls of the dead were there, making it impossible to approach you. We had to wait until you were back in your body before we could even get close to you, but your powers shook the church and us inside of it. Rest now and tomorrow we will start your necromancy training.”
Merlin leaves the room and Noryad caresses Coral’s hair, causing her to wake up rubbing her hair. She looks at him and smiles, making Noryad smile back at her, “Go to your room Goddess. I am okay.”
Coral gets up and looks at Noryad. “You had us worried today, Noryad King.” She says then she leans down and kisses him, catching him off guard. She breaks the kiss after too short a time and heads to her room. Noryad closes his eyes and drifts into a peaceful sleep filled with dreams of his Goddess.
Chapter 15
Blake is watching how everything is going and he notices that the souls of the dead are hanging around the church. He has been capturing them and has managed to take five as a test and was able to do so without having to cause a commotion. One he caught was called Liand, the wife of the Commander of the Elite guard, but he decided to leave her visible to keep attracting souls so he could capture them and forcefully make the King come for him. The one time he tried entering the catacombs there was someone strong inside and he could feel their killing intent through his bones. Whoever is inside he wouldn’t be able to capture them to his benefits, if he tries the soul may invade his body and force him out. He hadn’t heard anything about it ever happening but he has the feeling this soul could do it, so he had to make sure to remain far away from the catacombs.
Now, after some time, he has over twenty souls of the dead; some were family, some are guards, but none of them has been high enough in rank to satisfy Albert, until now. He found the mother of the King, Urlah. Who would have thought that the King Family would have remained to see their youngest son rise? They were watching him from afar when he caught sight of her. She had a sad look on her face and longed to go to her son. While the others were able to escape him she didn’t fight him, knowing it was too late for her.
He is suddenly pulled from his thoughts by the earth shaking with a tremendous power coming from the church. He looks up and sees Noryad being carried, unconscious, to his room. He smiles, his time has come. As he moves to approach Noryad’s room he sees Coral coming out of it, so he decides to wait for a while. Once it is clear he uses his powers to put a note on Noryad’s side of the door, then he leaves to deliver the news to Albert.
****
Albert, who is sitting on the seat beside the throne of the Goddess of Fate, sees Blake when he comes in. He’s annoyed at Blake because he has repeatedly been delivering the same boring reports, but this time he sees that Blake is smiling. He decides to listen to what he has to say before following his instincts and having Blake killed for defiance of orders. “Blake, what news do you bring for me?”
“Well Albert, first I have captured the soul of Queen Urlah. Then I took a step to ensure Noryad King knows who I have by putting a message on his door. In completely unrelated news, your soon-to-be wife is getting a little too close to Noryad King. If you still wish to marry her I suggest you do something about it, but it is not my place to talk. That is all I have for you.” Blake says before he turns around and leaves as quickly as he came.
Albert is furious at this turn of events. He hits Coral’s throne and screams, “THAT BITCH! She is going to pay for this. How dare she be with another man, and worse, one of such low status! It is time I visit her.”
As his rant ceases, one of the servants he always fucks when he needs a release walks in saying, “Milord, the food is ready.”
He ignores her words and forcibly pins her against the wall. “I am hungry, but not for food. I am going to devour you.” And he takes her with him to his room.
Bryan, having heard the conversations between Albert and Blake, and then between Albert and the servant, decides it is time to go and warn Coral about this. He disappears, using the magic Coral has blessed him with, and heads to the Caribbean.
******
Instead of going straight back to the castle, Blake decides to explore the land. He is wandering about when he comes across a haggard looking man walking alone. He is heading in the direction of the castle. Blake stops him and asks, “Where are you headed?”
“I have no idea.” The man answers. “I found this unusual sword washed up on the beach and since I touched it I have been wandering in this direction without even knowing where I’m going.”
Blake grins and thinks to himself, there’s something inside that sword leading this vagrant toward the castle. I wonder what it is? “Sir, do you mind if I take a look at the sword?”
The man unquestionably hands the sword to Blake and Blake instantly feels like his hand is att
ached to an invisible rope. He feels an almost unavoidable pull toward the castle. When the man totally releases the sword, Blake takes out his short knife and slices the man’s throat from ear to ear.
“Now let us see if you can defeat me Noryad King.” Blake says aloud and with a menacing laugh he transports himself back to the castle.
Chapter 16
Midnight
Bryan arrives at the Castle and is banging on Coral’s door. Coral heads to open the door, irritated at whoever is banging on it. As soon she sees Bryan she immediately knows something has happened. “What happened, Bryan? Why are you here?”
“May I come in please? What I’m about to tell you cannot be said in this hall. We don’t know who is watching us.”
Coral looks up and down the hall before she shrugs her shoulders, “Sure, come in.”
Bryan enters and Coral closes the door behind him, sealing it with her powers so no one can hear the conversation. After the door is sealed she turns to Bryan with a serious expression on her face, “Now, care to tell me what happened that was so drastic you couldn’t wait until morning to tell me?”
“Coral you have been followed here by Blake on orders by Albert. He knows you have been getting close to Noryad and he isn’t happy about it. He is going to be coming here after he is finished fucking his servant bitch and you need to be ready for whatever approaches. Noryad needs to know about Albert before Albert tells him and fucks things up.”
Coral, shocked by what Bryan just told her, doesn’t know what to do. She still hasn’t found her fated mate and she’s developing feelings for Noryad. If she ever hopes to get closer to him this will ruin everything. She has no idea what she’s going to do to keep things as they are. “Thank you my friend. I will take care of everything. Please keep me updated on what Albert is doing.”
Bryan nods his head, kisses her cheek and disappears. Once he is gone she sighs deeply, it seems it’s time to tell Noryad. She’s scared of what this could cause, afraid that she may lose him. She throws herself on the bed, worried about what’s going to happen in a just few hours.
Morning
Noryad wakes up from a restless sleep, the call of the sword is getting stronger and it’s interfering with his sleep time. After a shower, he gets dressed in his war royalty outfit, which consists of black, magic-resistant chainmail, light gauntlets and greaves, magic-resistant black leather pants, a black leather vest, a grey shirt with the emblem of a red dragon on the chest and a black leather belt. Once he is fully dressed, with his staff-sword in hand, he is ready to leave. As he approaches the door he sees a note pinned to the inside of it. The note reads; I have the Soul of your Mother, Queen Urlah.
He rips the note from the door and burns it in his hands as he heads out, slamming the door behind him and making Coral jump as she exits her room. She sees Noryad and uncertainty attacks her as she smiles shyly at him. “Morning Noryad, nice clothes. What are they?”
Noryad looks at Coral and motions for her to walk with him. “Thank you, Coral. These are war royalty clothes I designed and Brock made for me a few years ago. The emblem is my family`s emblem and I always have it with me.”
They continue walking for a couple of minutes before Coral speaks again. “I have to talk to you about something later today.”
“Why don’t we do it now? I have time before my training starts.”
When they are near the church, where Noryad is supposed to meet with Merlin before they start his necromancer training, Coral hears a voice saying, “Coral, my love, I have missed you so much that I came to see you.”
Merlin, who was in front of the church waiting for them, walks toward them while Coral and Noryad turn around. Coral is irritated to see that Albert is the one who called her and he is heading toward them. Fear, shock and helplessness take control of her, not because Albert is here, but because she is worried about Noryad’s reaction. She doesn’t know how to react to Albert showing up here and Noryad is watching the entire situation with a blank face, a King’s face, not missing a detail. This wasn’t supposed to happen so fast, she isn’t ready to face this now and she didn’t see it coming.
Albert reaches them and immediately wraps his arms around Coral’s waist and gives her a kiss on the cheek. “Miss me, honey?”
Coral is surprised by his question, but before she can respond Albert looks at Noryad, trying to make him feel inferior, and says, “Oh, forgive me. I didn’t see you there. I saw my beautiful Coral and forgot about everything else. Let me introduce myself. I am Albert Rose, Coral’s future husband and consort.” When he stretches his hand toward Noryad, Noryad grips it, giving it a firm shake and uses his powers to see if what Albert is saying is a lie.
When he finds out it isn’t he hides his emotions and looks at them both with a blank face, “Congratulations Albert Rose and Coral on your engagement. I wish you all the best.” Then he turns around to face Merlin, “Let’s go. We have to train.”
As they head toward the church Albert whispers in Coral`s ear, “Did you think I wouldn’t find out about this, bitch? You are mine and I will ensure it remains that way. You may have more power than me, but I hold all the power over you. I will destroy whatever you have with Noryad, even if it means killing him. If you want him to stay alive then make sure you stay away from him.”
With that being said Albert leaves Coral there and disappears, reappearing a moment later on his throne. After sitting there for a minute he calls Blake telepathically, “Kill Noryad King, today! I want him out of the picture. I will make sure Coral remains MINE!”
He cuts communication before Blake can respond.
Chapter 17
Noryad’s emotions are in turmoil as he walks to the church and away from the Goddess who has helped him so much and has changed his life, but destroyed any hope he had. He continues walking away as pain starts to overtake him. Not wanting anyone to see the depth of his hurt, he hides his emotions behind the blank face of the King. Watching everything around him, he makes it into the church with Merlin. Once inside Merlin turns to him with a sad expression and says, “I am sorry that this happened to you, my son. Let`s train and make you forget everything that just happened. We know that you got your knowledge as a necromancer from you father, now show me what he showed you.”
Noryad pushes the pain of betrayal aside and moves into a battle stance. Once in position he starts to murmur quietly; Come to life, those who have the will to fight and defend your King. He once again requires your services, souls of the dead.
Suddenly Noryad and Merlin see a large number of souls appear in front of Noryad, kneeling in reverence to their King. The one directly in front of him addresses him telepathically; who summons the souls long forgotten with time? The ones whose war was lost a long time ago? The ones who want to go to rest?
Noryad answers aloud, “I am Noryad King, the last remaining member of the King family who perished years ago. It is I who summons you.”
The souls test Noryad’s linage to see if he is telling the truth and upon discovering that he is the soul speaks to him again; I am James, Captain of the Elite guard of King Tyrone, founder of the King Family, and we will serve his descendant until our time to rest is granted, if you ever need help just call upon us and we will serve. After he finishes this thought the souls disappear, as if they were never there.
******
Merlin hears the conversation between Noryad and James and is impressed by the amount of souls who have answered Noryad’s call. A beginning necromancer should not be able to call upon that many souls at once. Noryad has the potential to be the greatest necromancer of all time and he is showing it. When he looks at the door he sees Coral standing there, shock in her eyes at what just happened. Merlin looks at her for a moment before turning his attention back to Noryad. “How do you feel boy?”
“I’m good,” he answers with a deadly expression on his face, “but let’s see something else.” He gives his staff-sword to Merlin and he focuses his power on creating a sword
that cuts flesh. He can summon dead bodies, animate corpses, make flying swords and make the souls visible and able to attack. The souls seek justice and he will grant them that.
The more he trains the more he learn about his powers, and the more he wants to develop them. He has already learned that he can anchor the soul of a dead person to the physical plain if the person has the desire to live, but it’s only for a short period of time and he hopes it never comes to that. Lost in his thoughts, he turns around and finds Coral looking at him with regret and sadness in her eyes. He quickly looks at Merlin and says, “I’m going to my room,” and he walks toward the exit Coral is blocking.
“Noryad hear me out, please.” She pleads with him.
Noryad looks at her, hurt and betrayal evident in his eyes. “For what? So you can keep lying to me? I hate people who aren’t honest to me, Coral, and you definitely weren’t honest with me. Don’t talk to me until you are ready to tell me the truth. I don’t have time for you today however, I have more important things to do.” Noryad brushes past her as he heads out of the church and to his room to rest for a while. He needs to clear his head and not let what happened stop him from fulfilling his mission. He will train and control his power.
Once he is in the castle Nohar approaches him. “Milord, I need to talk to you.”
“Not now, Nohar, I’m busy,” he answers and continues to walk toward his room as Nohar disappears with a forlorn look on his face. Noryad enters his room, sits on the floor and concentrates on the Guild. After a few tries he is finally able to see the Guild and he notices that it is under attack at the game so he decides to see who is on gate patrol. When he sees that Blaze is at the gate, he pays attention to him. He watches the entire battle until Blaze loses consciousness and is taken to the infirmary. Dr. Dana Stone is the head healer so he contacts her through the magic ear piece he had Coral give her and he gives her a message. “Dr. Stone, I am Mr. King and I need you to deliver a message for me to everyone who will be in Blaze’s room in two days.”