With a forceful blow he brought down the blade that swooshed through the air, halting beneath Eva’s chin, the tip gazing at her and reflecting the sunlight into the center of her pupil.
“It was not I who ordered the death of your mother. It was Lord Sekah. Or the Dark Queen, as so many call her.” Having subdued Eva, Ian dropped the tip of his blade off to the side, sad eyes following the shimmering of the sunlight. “Lord Sekah is not the monster you people believe her to be,” he said, eyes still hovering in a pitiful haze.
Eva breathed heavily through her teeth, chest swelling and teeth still glaring. Not afraid of the blade, she said, “That savage has killed droves of people with the breath of her demands. If I were to rescue her, it would be to kill her myself!”
Ian drifted his gaze slowly over to meet hers, still looking as somber as before. The breeze rustled the grass about his boots and lifted his vest gently as it got caught underneath, brushing against his lightly sweated skin. “Then what would make you so different?” he asked. “Lord Sekah has ordered the deaths of droves, as you say, and yet you have requested the death of one.”
“I am nothing like her!” Eva growled, smacking the flat of the falchion away with her forearm.
The blade drifted to the side, and Ian did not bother forcing it at her again. “You are correct,” he said solemnly. “You are worse.”
Surprised by his words, Eva did not retort as harshly as she would have liked. She was stunned. How could Ian have considered her to be worse than the Dark Queen? He didn’t even know her. He had only met her and spoken with her but for a few days. “Is it wrong to end the tyranny of a blood-thirsty despot?” she asked, meekly.
Ian chuckled, retreating from his daze. He slid his sword back into its scabbard and adjusted his belt. “It is not wrong to ask for justice, but to take on the role of the vindicator, well I cannot say that I much agree to that.”
Eva was quiet for a moment, still taking in Ian’s polished accent. “Then how am I worse?”
“You kill for revenge.” Ian clenched his teeth and started back to the west, away from the Black Lands. “She kills for love.”
Eva jumped to her feet, shaking off the fear that she once had from the sword that stared into her visage. “She tried to kill you, and you would risk your life for her!”
Ian stopped, hand rested on the hilt of his falchion. His head turned first and then the rest of him. “She would do anything to please him – her father, that is.”
Eva’s face scrunched together, confused. Was the king really so evil that he would allow his daughter to decapitate an entire kingdom to earn his affection? Then a thought slithered into her bones as she remembered. The king was her father also. The same hot, wicked blood flowed through her veins.
Every breath that she took was because of him. She couldn’t deny it, unless it was all lies, but why would Jahn have lied about that? What gain would he have in creating a story so sinister and so cruel?
Eva kept her eyes on Ian who was now cutting his way through the thicket. The wind rushed against her face, tossing her hair upwards. She clenched her fists and started to call out to him, to stop him, to go with him. Then a chill rumbled from her head to her wrists. I will never spare the life of the one who killed my mother.
She pushed out a hard breath between her partly opened lips and stormed east towards the Black Lands, forgetting that she was hungry and not caring about the squirrel that she had now let get away. She needed to get rid of this curse, no matter what it cost her, and she certainly wasn’t going to sacrifice her life to save the woman who had threatened her with the sharp side of her blade.
Pushing her way through the high grass and the towering trees with swirling, deformed trunks that had been twisted in the winds, Eva tried to forget about what Ian had said to her, how he had accused of her being more wicked than the Dark Queen.
The more that she tried to tear through the accusation, the more it formed in her mind, its pieces coming together like meticulously woven threads, linking Ian’s reasons to her logic. Eva had not wanted revenge, though. She had told herself that before. She had believed that. She hadn’t wanted to kill the Dark Queen, only that the queen would be stopped, and the only way for the queen to stop would be for her to die.
With that, Eva halted on the toe of her boot, frozen still by her own heart’s frigidness. Ian was right. She had wanted revenge. It didn’t matter that she had wanted that revenge to come by some other means. All that mattered was that she wanted the queen to be dead, and mixed with that desire was Eva’s hatred for the woman who had slaughtered her mother, the same woman whose army had taken her father also.
The threads of her reason all came together. The sun seemed dimmer, and the trees felt taller, and Eva…she felt smaller – weaker even. The Dark Queen was evil, but to wish her dead, to hope that her grave was cold, that was a justice that Eva was not prepared to issue.
She shuddered, thinking herself to be more like her sister than she had once believed. The reality that Eva would have ordered the queen’s death just as easily as the queen had ordered the death of Eva’s mother jarred her mind, and she nearly jerked from the jolt of the revelation.
All her life Eva had wanted to be like her brother Edward. She wanted his charm, his vigor, his power, and nobility. But never did she think that she would indeed be like her sibling, though not the sibling whom she longed to imitate. She had the darkness of Lord Sekah within her, the darkness that was only fitting for her father, the king.
Snapping out of her logic, she faded back into reality. She could hear a few distant birds chirping in the trees. The sun was hot against her skin; the afternoon humidity was starting to settle in. But she couldn’t go back to Ian, not now. She had already made her decision, and it comforted her to know that she was able to overcome her own evil, though she did not feel compelled to do anything about it.
Eva stepped forward up the trail, still intent on escaping to the Black Lands, her heels snapping twigs in two. With one loud snap underfoot, she paused, heart thumping like the fierce gallop of a warhorse.
In front of her, she saw dozens of light-dissenting silhouettes, each of them sniffing the air in unison. Eva didn’t dare to move, but her eyes followed the beasts as they climbed the trees, scraping off bark that seemed to disappear into their jaws after some vicious crunching.
She wanted to retreat, to step back, and to leave the way she had come. But they would hear her. Their heads seemed to be focused right on her, and she didn’t move, knowing that they couldn’t see her, or that was at least what Ian had said. She prayed to the gods that he was right.
One beast in its dissented form crept up near her, rustling in the leaves and the grass by her feet. Its head came up to her waist, and she could feel the heat from its body on her thighs even through the sleek. She tried not to breathe as the beast sniffed in her direction, easing its wide nose up from her ankles to her knees. Did it know she was there? Could it smell her? It couldn’t have, or it might have torn her to shreds.
Without continuing in its curiosity, the Dissenter thudded a few steps to her side, still sniffing. Eva kept her eyes on the beast, mouth open as she slowly drew in deep breaths without making a sound. Her tongue became dry from the air that she channeled through her lips, but she was afraid to breathe through her nostrils, not wanting some arbitrary dust particle to lodge itself in her nose and force her to sneeze.
Then it happened. The creature near her leg expelled itself from its dissented phase. The reflected light ebbed away as the creature’s natural color flowed over its body like sparkling water, starting at its head and ending at its claws.
It turned its head to look at her. Its eyes were a bright green much like the skin of a mountain apple. It had wrinkles above its thick nose, which was more like an enormous toenail with nostrils at the bottom. Its fangs reached up to its cheeks, and its beard was like finger-length stubble, though it had a thick, spiky mane that traveled down its spine. It’s leather
y pelt was pink and tight, and its hands and feet were webbed, having fat, rough claws protruding from the ends that were as sharp as a lion’s.
It opened its jaws, and a thick line of saliva dangled in a line from its teeth as the spit shifted in the wind. Eva’s eyes pried themselves open wide. She couldn’t swallow nor could she move. Then the creature made its gargling growl. “Er-er-errrr…”
Dozens of Dissenters climbed their way out of the camouflage, each having the same features as the one that had given her away. Eva listened in her head for the whispers. None came except for her own voice. Run.
Even before her legs heard her thoughts, they had already chosen to obey. She rushed through the thick grass, flailing the branches of the overhanging trees out of her face. The gargling growls echoed behind her in a ferocious chorus. She could hear their footsteps thudding into the soft soil, galloping. Overhead, leaves rustled to the ground, spiraling off the limbs as some of the Dissenters chased her from above.
Not like this, she panicked as she sprinted away. Panting, she listened for the whispers, but they were gone. Where was the Beast? Where was Ian or Wolf or Stasis or Jahn for that matter?
“Help!” she shouted. But no one came. The gargles got closer and the trail narrowed. From the corner of her eye to the left, she could see where the hill declined down to the creek in the gully.
In front of her, a Dissenter dropped from the trees. Snarling, it swiped at her, missing. Without thinking, Eva shoved her heel into its shoulder, but it was unfazed. The Dissenters gained on her. She glanced back at their fiery jade eyes, and she leapt down the hill, tumbling, clawing, and flipping as she slid down, splashing in the water when she landed.
She looked up the hill, orange hair drenched from the dirty creek water. Her eyes caught hold of dozens more Dissenters, uncloaking themselves on the hillside from where she had falling.
“Er-er-errrr!” Echoes of their voices ricocheted off the trees.
She was surrounded, their snarls rumbling in her belly as they crept towards her. Eva grabbed her pendant, backing up slowly as her boots sloshed in the water. This is how it would end. She would be food to these beasts, merely just flesh dangling between their teeth.
Her eyes threatened to give way to a seizure, and she longed for it, but it did not come. Palms sweating against the cold metal of the silver pendant, Eva whimpered, tears leaking from her eyes. She waited for the light, the Teardrop of the Moon – the voice of the Beast to grumble on the wind. There was nothing, only the violent mutters of the creatures who stalked her. She fell to her knees. Water splashed up.
Her gaze connected directly with the Dissenter that was closest to her. The beast’s paws kicked up water from the creek as it eased towards her. With its muscled front leg, it grabbed her thigh, claws digging into the skin, and it ripped through the sleek.
Blood oozed out over her leg, seeming to intoxicate the flesh-eaters. Droves more stomped towards, green eyes flickering in the few rays of sunlight that melted through the threes.
Another Dissenter crept up behind her. She could feel its hot breath fuming the nape of her neck. She closed her eyes, waiting for its fangs to sink into her.
Suddenly there came a loud whistle from atop the hill! The hot breath of the Dissenter faded quickly away as its eyes jerked upwards. Before the beast could release the growl in its neck, a fiery arrow thunked into its brain, fizzling out the gargle and charring its deep, scarlet blood as it bubbled out.
“Er-er-errrr!” The beasts hollered and screamed.
The Dissenter, whose claws drilled into Eva’s thigh, released her and charged up the hill in a gallop of rage. More fiery arrows whistled through the sky, slicing through the flesh of the beasts, scorching them.
“Eva, go!”
Eva slung her eyes up to the archer. It was Ian! A line of fire burned at his feet, and he dipped each arrow into the blaze, launching it at the beasts.
Eva scrambled to her feet, splashing water and mud from the creek. She whipped her head back and forth, looking for an escape. Then a voice spoke to her softly. It wasn’t the whispers. It was her own. The strong are as bold as lions.
She closed her eyes, then opened them again. The beasts stormed up the hill, growling and clawing. Her fingers lightly touched the hilt of her dagger. She listened for the whispers that had abandoned her, but she didn’t care. They still did not come.
She slipped the dagger from its scabbard, hand loosely gripping the handle. Her eyes locked onto a creature not far from her. She pulled her arm back, just as gracefully as when she was going to strike the squirrel. In a motion as smooth as flowing water, she hurled the dagger at the creature, and it dug into its furry spine. Its arms flailed outwards, and it toppled forward, scraping and pawing at the ground, tearing through the dead leaves and twigs that lay underneath its dying corpse.
Eva ran to the downed beast, snatched out her dagger as its gooey blood dripped off the tip. Her savagery caught the attention of a nearby Dissenter. It pounded its fists into the dirt, swinging its legs around to stop itself from barreling up the hill any further as its fists remained lodged in ground.
Forcing its claws into the ground, it sprang forward, swiping and growling at Eva. She ducked her head and drove the tip of her blade into the soft side of its chin, tossing the creature to the ground.
“Eva! What are you doing! Get out of here!” Ian demanded.
Eva ignored his demands and bounded up the hill, grabbing the trunks of the twisted trees so that she would not slide back down into the gully. Ian had run out of arrows, and he struck out his blade, metallic sound shimmering deep into the valley.
Like a skilled swordsman, he whirled the blade in circles about either side of his body, picking up momentum and hacking into the beasts that charged at him. With just as much force, he jerked the blade from their skulls and continued sundering the beasts’ limbs as they charged him. “Eva! You have to leave, now!”
Hoards more of the beasts warped from their dissented faze, gargling. The leaves poured down from the trees like a torrential downpour from the skies. Branches cracked and snapped as the beasts sprang down from above.
Eva made it to the top of the hill, slaying a few more of the Dissenters on her way. The creatures circled about the two of them, green eyes lighting. Eva grabbed her charm again, filling the engraving of the eagle in her palm.
Now, she thought. A growl fiercer than that of the beasts warbled through the skies, just beneath the trees. A golden light sprang into the clouds, separating them, and then a massive blast erupted onto the ground. The Beast had come, spiked ears pointing to the gods with its fangs clamping down as it breathed.
Attack. Drool dripped from the Beast’s lips, down to its black, leathery chest. Its claws nearly scraped against the ground as it stood, waiting for the Dissenters to make their move.
A bold Dissenter sprang at Eva, and the Beast caught its tender body in both its hands, shredding through its tiny torso with its fangs. Then it tossed the body to the side. The Dissenters went to a berserker rage, hollering and snarling. They dove onto the Beast, slicing into its flesh with their claws and teeth.
The Beast fought them back, slicing through their weak-skinned armor with its teeth and talons, but the massive numbers of the creatures were too many. They raided the Beast, shredding its limbs from its body.
“Eva, we must go, now, while they’re focused on the Beast!” Ian yelled in a hushed whisper.
Eva peered into his eyes. “We can’t leave him.”
“If we don’t, then we’ll both be dead!” Ian yanked her arm, dragging her to the west as the Dissenters mangled the Beast’s body.
Eva glanced back as the Beast was being devoured, wondering if she had been freed from the curse by the herd of Dissenters. But something deep within the pit of her belly told her the contrary.
CHAPTER 25
THE DISSENT
Eva rushed along, following swiftly behind Ian as they forced their way through the thick bosc
age of junipers and the tall grass that swept against their legs. Her thoughts would not venture away from the Beast that had gotten brutally mauled by the Dissenters.
The two of them had since lost the narrow trail, and they were following their instincts as they headed west. Dead leaves scraped up into air as her feet scurried across the ground, and the heat of the warm spring day seemed to be more of an obstacle for her to keep moving.
Ian pulled her hand, almost dragging her along, but she didn’t contest it. She needed to get away, to save herself from being devoured. Ian had saved her life, and she owed him for it, but at that moment, she could barely keep her thoughts straight. They scattered in all directions, thinking of the Dissenters, of the Beast, and of Jahn and the others.
Interrupting her thinking, Ian spoke to her, though it seemed like what he was saying should have been a question. “You are helping me rescue, Lord Sekah,” he said.
Eva didn’t refuse, though in her heart she knew that she should have. The queen had been the cause of her anxiety for years, and to be forced to save her life seemed like a mockery from the gods. But Ian was right. To condemn the queen to her death would make Eva no better than the queen herself. Though somewhere in her heart, she didn't care about that, or at least she would have wished that she didn’t.
“Why do we need to save her?” Eva asked, struggling to keep up.
Ian’s metal leggings clinked against each other as he rushed through the hills and weeds, but then he paused, whipping around at Eva’s question and staring at her with his beautiful brown eyes. Sweat streams leaked down his head, matting his hair together more than when she had first seen him earlier that day.
“Commander Dreyshore intends to take her position,” he replied, tossing his eyes back and forth to meet Eva’s.
The Girl with the Scar (Dark Connection Saga Book 1) Page 25