by L. Filloon
I feel her presence but when I open my eyes there is only a ghostly image of her before me. She is still in the water, and although her spirit self floats like a golden mist, I can see her clearly. The rain gently passes through her as if knowing she is there even if not in solid form. I glance at Tolan and just as I knew he would be, his face is still, eyes distant. I am pretty sure the others on the bridge are in the same state.
“My queen,” she greets, her voice calmly surrounding me with a sense of serenity. My tears disappear from my cheeks as the rain washes them aside.
“Do not cry, child. It was my time,” she says, her eyes softening.
“Who did this to you?” I am unable to hide my anger and my pain at such a devastating loss. Mirnuk’s words echo in my mind – the last of her kind. There are no more dragons in Velesi. Immediately, my thoughts are of Cessa.
Jarhan brings me back to the moment as she says, “In your heart you know who is responsible. He must be stopped, Lilianethia, daughter of Senestra. He will do his master’s bidding and destroy Velesi. Eirrell will be next.”
“How did he do this?” I ask quietly, as my rage begins to burn within the pit of my stomach.
“He poisoned the entire lake. Before I knew what was happening, the poison had already made its way into my body, stopping my heart within seconds.”
I clench my fist as the rage burns from within. Harlu.
“Be calm, my queen. You must stay in control if you wish to destroy your brother. But I must warn you, his heart grows with more evil as time passes. Remember, he was touched while Kolinest was a prisoner in the UnderRealm. Kolinest, by all means, is a demon.”
I have been trying to remember Kolinest is Ka’s brother. They seem to have the same abilities, same strengths and with Sema’s death, they both have no weakness. Am I Tharin’s weakness?
“This can’t be,” I say, shaking my head. “How can you be the last of your kind and be killed like this? I swear I will kill him.” I hold to that promise tightly.
She once again smiles softly. “No child, he will not die by your hand, but by another who loves you more than life itself.”
I stare at her, worried. “Please tell me that he’ll be okay. Tell me that Tharin won’t be hurt when he kills Harlu.”
She cocks her head to one side. “Yes, Lily, your betrothed will be unharmed by your brother.” She lifts her head, eyes closed as if she can actually feel the wind and rain against her face. When she looks back down at me she says, “Remember, once you have opened the doorway, give the key to the Unnamed Sidhe and do not let anyone through to Eirrell.”
I nod, but I have to ask. “What of Velesi? What’s going to happen to our realm?”
She smiles wistfully. “It is good to hear you claim Velesi as your own. You and the king will find a way to save your home and your people.”
“King?” I take a step forward. “Is King Thilthen dead, then?”
“I will meet him at the gateway on the other side, along with Lea’ith. He fights to linger for a few hours longer, to see his sons. But he doesn’t have much time, Lilianethia.”
“Will I see you again? Please tell me you’re not the last.”
She starts to shimmer, fading…
“This will be our last meeting, my queen. But fear not, a child, a result of your union with King Tharin, will bear the Dragon Seed and she will bring forth a new breed of dragons. This has been foretold in the ancient books of Eirrell.”
What?
“Be well, Lilianethia, daughter of Senestra, Queen of the Oak and Future Ruler of Velesi.” And with that, she is gone.
I reach out for her and without realizing it, I yell out, “Wait! What do you mean Dragon Seed? Who’s Dragon Seed?”
I feel an arm pull me back from out of the water. I turn to Tolan as he catches me up, his hand over my mouth and he zips us to one of the giant oak trees. Once he has us covered beneath the oak, he puts a finger to his lips and I nod. We wait quietly, listening beyond the sound of the rain and looking at the shadows, moving or not. He places a shield around us and when he gives me a hard look, I enhance the shield with my own will. Without thinking twice, I send a protective energy shield to the others on the bridge.
From within the shadowed tree line, five figures emerge. I recognize the first one, even through the darkness – Morlo. The others stay within the shadows and I am unable to see them clearly.
Beside me, Tolan hisses. I grab his lapel to force him to look at me.
“Demons,” he answers. We both return our attention back to the small group.
One of the figures steps into the moonlight and I cover my mouth, holding back my cry of shock. The demon looks like an ordinary man except for the metallic color of his skin that seems to gleam off the moonlight. His eyes burn blue as if from an internal flame locked behind thick glass orbs. He scans the area even as he steps up to speak with the orc.
“What is it, meat?” he demands with a voice thick and coarse as if he smoked all his life.
“Watch your tongue, Krino, or I will cut it out and feed it to my dogs,” retorts the orc, looking unafraid and baiting the demon on.
“If not for the master’s orders, I would kill you here and now, tear your flesh like a dog and spit you out for my brothers to chew on,” says Krino with a sneer.
From the group in the shadows another orc steps forward. This one is not dressed as an assassin like Morlo. He seems skittish and flinches when the demon reaches over his shoulder to scratch an itch. The second orc pulls his thick coat tightly around him, leaving his hood in place. When he looks up, I can see his face clearly, despite the rain. He could be Morlo’s brother they look so similar to each other.
“This isn’t getting us anywhere,” he interrupts.
He turns to Morlo. “You said they would be here.” He looks around him, hands up as he turns from side to side. “So, where are they?”
“They’ll be here,” snaps Morlo. “Harlu has taken care of the harbor; no one will come or go without being seen there. This is the only way into the city – they’ll be here.”
Krino spits at Morlo’s feet and then turns, waving the others over. Two more demons, smaller than Krino, move to join them. They look like ordinary men except one has a tail and a small horn sticking out from the back of its head; the other is short, stocky with blue skin. Not just any blue, but bright royal blue while his dull eyes are a deep yellow.
The one with the horn and tail speaks first. “What is the hold up, Krino? The rain hurts.”
Krino turns and growls. “Stop your whining, meat, or I will send you back to the UnderRealm without your innards.”
The smaller “meat” shrinks under Krino’s glare, but once Krino turns his back, the “meat” reaches for his blade. The blue demon stays his hand, shaking its head. It seems these two have a plan for Krino. Now is just not the time.
Krino turns to face Morlo and waits. Morlo looks at him suspiciously before saying, “You two,” he address the smaller demons, “take to the trees, spread out, but stay close. You,” he turns to other orc, “you keep a look out at the gates. First sign of them, you give us a signal.”
The second orc looks confused. “What kind of signal?”
“I don’t care. Jump in front of them and let them kill you. Your death cry will act as a signal.”
The second orc stomps off, coming toward our hiding place, grumbling to himself. Without a sound, Tolan snakes an arm around my waist and lifts us up to a second branch. We watch as the orc makes his way to the outside of the gate and hides behind a nearby tree. We turn back to Krino and Morlo.
“We’ll take the bridge. We can see from there if anyone approaches,” says Morlo, walking off, not caring if the demon follows.
I nervously catch Tolan’s hand and he quickly calms me with a look.
“Mellis,” he calls.
“Are you all right, cousin? Stay there and I’ll come back for you,” answers Mellis.
“No,” replies Tolan, catch
ing my eye. “Head for the tower, we’ll meet you at the garden.”
“Are you sure?” he asks hesitantly, not liking this plan.
I nod to Tolan, and he answers, “Yes, we’re sure. Now go, wait for us there.”
There’s a long pause before he answers. “All right, if you’re not there before dawn, I’m coming after you.”
Mellis disconnects before Tolan can reply. He looks at me and taps his shoulder. I quickly wrap my arms around them from behind and with one last look, Tolan takes off. I keep my eyes on the bridge as we move through the trees and I'm surprised to find we’re moving away from it.
I keep my thoughts to myself and allow Tolan to find our way back to the tower, trusting him to get us there safely. As we move deeper and deeper into the Kufftai woods, my thoughts are on Tharin and Alorn. I send a quick prayer to whoever is willing to listen to bring them back to me safely. With this thought a memory comes back to me, or was it a dream? A flash of a heated moment in Tharin’s arms, kissing him desperately and looking into his green eyes…green eyes…wait…
Oh. My. God. It wasn’t a dream. I remember now what he whispered before I passed out.
“I’m not Tharin.”
~ * ~
Chapter Eighteen
~ Tharin ~
We travel for another mile, following the call for help. Actually, it was more of a calling to arms; a horn blown in the low baritone similar to that of a sick moose. We reach an area where surrounding trees and brush have been leveled, and an ongoing skirmish plays out before us. Dead bodies of demon, goblins, orcs and ogre are scattered within a twenty feet diameter as more bodies are cut down and thrown aside. I watch Mareck and three of her brothers take on a cluster of demons closing in on their four-man circle of defense.
Without hesitation we dive into the melee working our way to where Mareck and her brothers have taken their stance. As we settle among her group, I set myself next to the warrior princess while defending against a spri, a dwarf-like goblin with no face and covered with bone spikes.
Mareck glances at me as she cuts a large demon in half. “It’s about time, prince. Where the hell are your men?”
“We’re it,” I yell back.
This little tidbit seems to enrage her as she cuts down two more foes. “Where’s Cessa?” she yells over her shoulder.
I kick at two more spris and take another’s head off. “With Lily.”
“You gave my cat to a human?” she roars and charges forward in a spinning motion, cutting down several attackers as she goes.
I follow suit, covering her back with Tazo blazing her own path.
“Technically, speaking,” I say as we end up back to back with only a handful of foes remaining. “Cessa is my cat. She is protecting the future queen of Velesi and my future wife.”
“Oh, for all that is ogre,” she huffs, battling through three more attackers. “Just marry the bitch and send Cessa to me. She’s no babysitter; she’s a hunter, a warrior, like me.”
“Watch how you address my queen, ogre. Velesi needs a strong queen to rule by my side,” I reply, taking another attacker down quickly and moving on to the next.
“Then you should be marrying me, lover,” laughs Mareck.
I join her laughter as the last of the demons go down. I look to Alorn; he and Mareck’s brothers are surrounded by dead bodies. Kunauk, the oldest of the three, kicks a lifeless demon hard, sending it flying into the jungle.
Without signal or word, we hit the ground running. We make our way through the trees, taking cover within the thick jungle. Once situated, we gather in a circle, with Alorn and Lu’ogu, the youngest brother, facing outward to keep watch.
“Why are you here?” I ask Mareck, getting to the point.
“Our father called me home. He told me that he has been challenged for his seat as ruler of the Ogre Nation by Maluk, his own son.” She looks at Kunauk and No’ego, the middle brother, before continuing. “When I arrived, Maluk had an army of ogres, trolls and orcs all at his bidding. Where, Prince Tharin, would he get such a force? The ogres I understand, but trolls and orcs fighting at his side? What does this mean?”
“They don’t follow your brother, Mareck; they follow the bidding of Kolinest,” I say quietly.
She sucks in a hard breath. “Kolinest? Is this an heir of the beast?”
“No,” I reply with a hard direct stare. “He is Kolinest, son of the First Sidhe, brother to King Kalinest, and he is alive, here and now. You know of the story, Mareck, as all in Velesi do; the brothers fought until Kalinest finally beat Kolinest, banishing him to the UnderRealm. Somehow he escaped and has been under the guise of a demon master named Eathos.”
“There was an elf who came to see our father a while back by the name of Eathos. Would he be the same you are talking about?” asks Kanauk.
“Can you describe him for me?”
“He was young but he was dressed in Sidhe uniform from the Oak Clan,” he describes, rubbing at his chin. “I remember his face; young and unscarred, but his eyes…when he looked directly at you, you started looking for somewhere else to be.”
I nod. “That’s him. But he was just a vessel. Once he was cornered Kolinest killed the boy whose body he used, and then disappeared. He could be anywhere or anyone.”
“What about these demons?” asks Mareck. “One minute we’re on our way to meet the other tribes to rally an army against Maluk and the next we’re hip deep in monsters. Something else about them...” she hesitates.
I finish her thought. “They attack relentlessly but somehow controlled. They’re under a strong hold by Kolinest, some kind of spell he has over the denizens of the UnderRealm.”
“So,” chimes in Lu’ogu without turning around. “We kill the demon master and the demon horde dies with him.”
I shake my head. “No, it will only break his hold on them. Most of these are mindless monsters with a need to hunt, kill and eat their prey. Once freed from Kolinest’s hold they won’t discriminate. Our only chance of ridding them or sending them back to the UnderRealm is to do it while they’re still under Kolinest’s spell. Right now it seems his goal is to rid all royal blood from Velesi, including the Ogre Nation.”
“Damn it,” swears Mareck, dropping to her knee. “If I knew this crap was happening I would have stayed in Vegas.”
She falls silent, thinking of her next move. After a long pause, she makes a decision and locks eyes with me. “So what’s the plan, prince?”
“How many of Maluk’s forces are ogres?” I ask.
“Just the ones that broke away from the Nation when he left,” she says. “Along with other deserters from the surrounding tribes; maybe close to forty-fifty. As for the orcs, a handful at the most, but there are a few with dark magic, enough to give King Mahl concern. Combined, I’d say he has an army of two hundred, maybe more. It’s not much compare to the Nation’s armies as a whole, but we were on our way to meet with the other tribe leaders when we were attacked. Who knows what each tribe is up against?”
“The ogres will follow Maluk,” I say. “But the others will only move on Kolinest’s command. Unfortunately for your eldest brother, he doesn’t know that. But once he does, it’ll be too late. By then Kolinest will have his army turn on him.”
Mareck and her brothers stare at me. It is Kanauk who speaks for them. “Maluk is a pain in all our asses and deserves a good thrashing, but he’s still our brother. What do we need to do to pull his dumbass out of the mess he’s in?”
“I’ll leave that up to you,” I reply. “You have to somehow convince him to ally himself and his men back with King Mahl. You’ll need to do it fast; even now Kolinest is probably trying to find a way to reopen the door to the UnderRealm.”
“So we have time, then?” asks No’ego.
This perplexes me and it shows on my face. Clearing her throat, Mareck adds, “We heard of the deaths of your uncle and cousin. Without a Summoner the demon master won’t be able to get the doors reopened. I’m surprised he
got the doorways opened this time.”
“Tharin,” calls Alorn, concern lacing his thought.
“I know. We need to get back to the tower,” I reply.
“What of the Ange?”
“We’ll worry about their location later, we need to get back. It was all a ruse; it wasn’t me Harlu was after, it was Tolan.”
We leave Mareck and her brothers to make their way back to their tribe. Alorn and I backtrack our way through the jungle at a quick pace, but cautiously. Instead of returning to the cave, we head straight for the tower, knowing the others are already on their way. Once we are in familiar territory, we speed toward the Kufftai woods but stop when we reached the wide path to the gates. Immediately we hit the trees, each perched on a branch one tree over from the other. There is a sense of wrongness in the air and the fear I have been keeping at bay threatens to boil over.
“What has happened here?” asks Alorn alarmed, uncharacteristic for the elf warrior.
“I don’t know, cousin. What do you sense?” I ask, sending out my own senses.
“Near the gates and several yards on either side,” he replies, his mind already on a plan of attack.
“An orc is at the gates, the other two are demons,” I report.
“Meet you in the middle.” Alorn takes off to the right.
I slip through the trees, making my way left of the gates and to the lone demon. It is a miknokk, distinguished by its blue skin and yellow eyes. It doesn’t have any abilities other than the mindless need to torture, kill and eat. If he wasn't under Kolinest’s hold, he would be tearing through the realm leaving a trail of carnage.
I sense the presence of others on the bridge as I near the miknokk. I will need to take this one out quickly and quietly. With speed and agility and a snap of its neck, the demon dies without uttering a sound. I help his lifeless body to the ground, taking another second to send out my senses one more time. I wait and listen until the night whispers back that all is safe and I then make my way back to the gates.