by K.N. Lee
“Where are you taking them?” Delia asked, wariness in her eyes as she held Liam’s gaze.
The warnings—they shouted at him from inside. Liam was torn. He had to save Lilae. He’d already lost enough. There was no way that he was going to let the Goddess of Law take her away from him.
Litha shot Delia a glare. “It is none of your concern. I strive to keep the balance in all of the worlds.”
“Liam,” Delia said, the color in her cheeks draining. “Fight with everything you have.”
Liam froze. He sucked in a breath as Delia reach into her cloak and pulled out a long, red bone. With a few indistinguishable words, she tossed it before her.
He tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword and his eyes followed the bone as it flew through the air. It spun and sparked, and landed as a man.
A skeleton man.
Garion stood to his full, towering height as a black substance trailed along his red bones, fusing to them until he looked like a shining statue. To Liam, it looked like the skeleton was dressed in armor.
“Garion,” Delia said through clenched teeth. “Grow and save Lilae.”
“That was incredibly unwise,” Litha snarled and tossed the blue orb into the sky.
The morning sky went purple, and the veins in Litha’s face became pronounced as she roared.
“You could have let this meeting go on peacefully. Instead, you bring your pathetic reanimated man. Alas, you prefer death and destruction. I will play along.”
A loud whistle emanated from her full lips, and with it, she summoned bat-like creatures the size of humans from the sky.
Hundreds of them.
“KILL THEM ALL!”
Vaugner sighed as the creatures let out loud roars, their waxy black wings outstretching the span of their wiry black arms, before running toward Liam and the others.
“And I thought today was going to be a good day,” Vaugner said, his eyes going black. “Here goes.”
Vaugner raised his arms toward the sky as though he lifted something very heavy. The tension in his face and neck convinced Liam that he did indeed lift something, yet his eyes couldn’t make it out.
The sounds of running from inside the castle came to Liam, vexing him as he sliced through the first two creatures that reached him. Black blood spurted into the air, splashing Liam’s face.
Liam stumbled backward as glanced back toward the strange sounds and beheld the most horrific scene he’d ever witnessed.
Skeletons—dead men and women ran from the catacombs of castle like a stampede, pushing Mia from her hiding spot. She screamed and crawled away from their ranks to hide beneath one of the benches.
Litha’s face turned bright red as she watched the ground shake and rumble as more skeleton men shot from the beneath them, their bones all fused with the same black substance that covered Garion’s.
Vaugner shot Litha a look. “Best to leave now,” he warned her with a wink, and his body morphed from that of a man, to a black mass that shot through the city, targeting Litha’s companions.
Delia followed suit, shifting from her human form to her Elder form, nothing more than black smoke that dispersed like a storm cloud.
Liam feared that Litha was not here to keep order as she’d claimed.
Litha’s smile faded as she watched the Elder’s fly through the city, tearing through the army of beasts as if they were pieces of parchment tossed into a fire.
If only there weren’t so many, Liam might have believed they actually had a chance against the Goddess of Law.
Garion grew just as Delia had commanded. His legs widened and stretched upward, all the while his arms and body morphed to match the dimensions of his new height.
The sheriff faced the giant skeleton, and like two nightmarish beings, they squared off against one another.
Garion slammed his fist into the side of the sheriff’s face, causing him to drop Lilae’s body, sending her flying to the ground.
Liam panicked. “No!”
“Don’t hurt the girl,” Litha shouted, her voice booming through the city, making Liam wince. “We need her.”
The sheriff reached for Lilae, but Garion caught her instead, using his armored foot to kick the giant in the chest. A loud yell came from the sheriff as he fell to the ground with a crash of stone beneath him.
He slid into one of the buildings, stones falling all around him, exposing goblins inside their homes. The goblins screamed and ran toward the back where they were safe from the battle outside.
Liam started to run for Lilae, when Litha shot black light from the palms of her hands. He gasped and swung his sword full circle, squeezing his eyes shut as the light from his body multiplied outward, to create a barrier between him and her power.
“Mai! Ayoki! Rowe!” he called to them, making sure they were close enough to be protected by his Shield.
The Shadow Elves ran to him, as did Rowe, and Liam completed the air shield to encircle them all with a sharp ring of steel.
Relief flooded him as the Shield stood between them and her dark power. He wiped sweat from his forehead, and the black light shot through the Shield, effortlessly, whistling like a bird in the wind.
Liam swallowed. His Shield dissipated and left them all vulnerable to her power.
Litha cackled then. Her shoulders shook. “Funny. Very funny,” she said. “Now, about those dead bodies I mentioned earlier.”
Throat dry, Liam looked back at his friends, and told them the only thing he could think of.
“Run.”
“DO NOT RUN NOW,” Litha said, her voice seeming to invade their minds. “We were just starting to have fun.”
Delia appeared beside Liam. “I will get Lilae. Get the others inside the castle,” she lowered her voice, her eyes darting to Litha’s dark spawn. “We will Gate as soon as everyone is inside.”
The whistle of Litha’s power shook the ground, and Delia lifted her staff, the light intensifying as she concentrated her Elder powers on them. Every creature in direct view of her staff froze midair, as if something held them in place.
They didn’t move, or fall, and Liam couldn’t wrap his mind around how that was even possible. As he watched the skeleton army Vaugner had summoned fight against the other creatures, he realized there was so much he would never understand.
He nodded. “We will see you inside.”
Delia spun and shifted back into her true form.
Liam watched her head toward Lilae.
Creatures flew around the square, and Liam did his best to fight them off. He grunted as the talons pierced his shoulders and pulled him back. The pain shocked him, yet he didn’t have time to think about it.
Liam raised his sword to the sky, calling forth the lightning that begged to be unleashed. The thunder that proceeded his lightning roared over the chaos below as electric threads shot down and onto the creature that gripped Liam.
The smell of burnt flesh filled Liam’s nose as he rode the lightning down to the ground, his sword ready for whatever was next.
Rowe ushered Ayoki toward the castle, grabbing any creature that was in his way and tearing them in half with his bare hands.
Litha’s black rope of power sizzled through the air like an arrow set ablaze. It chased Rowe and Ayoki.
“Hurry,” Liam shouted, his sword impaling another creature into the ground.
He used his foot to wedge his sword from its body and glanced over his shoulder to see Mai scramble from her hiding spot and led the way toward the front doors of the castle’s keep.
Liam saw the lights heading straight for the others and called out. “Watch out,” he yelled, running toward them.
Rowe cried out in pain.
Like a punch to the gut, Liam was left breathless. He skidded to a stop, his eyes widened in utter shock as Litha’s fire wrapped around Rowe and yanked him to the ground, burning through his clothes and skin.
Liam’s face turned red. “No!”
Litha appeared before Liam, her n
ostrils flared. “Should have listened to me,” she whispered, and pulled the black lights along like a rope, Rowe’s body being flung into the dark sky as if he were weightless.
“Let him go,” Liam pleaded, his voice breaking as he watched his best friend in the entire world suffer. “I will do whatever you ask.”
“Too late,” Litha hissed and sent Rowe higher into the sky, the cords of power wrapping and tightening around his body, melting through his skin until they reached bone.
Rowe’s cries turned Liam’s blood cold. He ran his sword into Litha’s body, desperate to stop her.
Teeth bared, he ran her through, and yet she only smiled as her body floated through the sword and Liam until she rematerialized behind him.
Liam’s eyes rose to Rowe, knowing that he couldn’t survive this kind of threat. Tears burned his eyes as memories of their time in the Order filled him. Rowe had saved his life more than once and had been the most loyal friend he could have ever dreamed of.
“Please,” Liam whispered, the tears streaming down his face.
If Rowe died, Liam knew that he would be forever changed. He balled up his fist and closed his eyes, his heart pounding in his chest as his worst fears were being realized.
“Please,” he repeated.
KAVIEN HELD ONTO LILAE as he waved his hands along the stone walls of his cursed prison. “If we can find a way to unlock this door, I can escape and send you back to the present.”
Lilae breathed in, her eyes examining the dark gray stone. She nodded, glancing at Kavien as she tapped her lips. “If you think it’s truly possible.”
“I do,” Kavien said with a nod. “The mind is a powerful thing. It can beat the curse that seeps through my body.” He lowered his eyes, his brows furrowing. “I won’t have to waste another minute waiting for Sona to cure me.”
“Sona?” Lilae asked, stepping away from Kavien.
Kavien pursed his lips as he looked down at Lilae. “You know who I served, Lilae.”
Lilae continued to back away from Kavien. “I do. I also know that she tried to kill The Storm.” She pushed hair out of her eyes, as she narrowed them at Kavien’s face.
“Tried?” Kavien asked. “You’re saying that she didn’t succeed?”
Appalled, Lilae wrenched free from Kavien’s grasp around her shoulder. “Right. I am saying that,” she said. “He is alive.”
Kavien sighed.
Lilae’s cheeks reddened. “Did you bring me here to help free you so you can come after those that I love? Do you plan to kill me?”
Kavien’s eyes widened as he shot a look at her. “What nonsense, Lilae. Why would I ever try to kill you?”
“We are enemies,” Lilae said into the darkness that grew the farther she backed away from Kavien. “We’ve always been enemies.”
She suddenly felt very foolish. How could she expect Kavien to do anything but what Wexcyn ordered him to do? If she helped him, he would only turn around and wage war on her and her friends.
“You are not my enemy. I told you that I wanted to escape the entire war with you. Why can’t you understand that?”
Lilae tensed at his voice as it rose from soft to terse frustration. Memories of his quick temper returned.
“You said love, Lilae,” Kavien said, his brows rising. His eyes turned cold as he stared at her.
Pain began to seep back into Lilae’s flesh, creeping onto her like an itch she couldn’t scratch because it went so deep. She looked down at her hands, watching them flicker between transparent to solid.
She didn’t look him in the eyes. “Yes,” she said. “I love him.” Speaking the words aloud gave them even more weight, enough to erase any doubts Lilae had about her true feelings.
“Who?”
Lilae embraced the pain. She needed to ride it back to her present self, away from this prison.
Away from Kavien.
“The Storm,” she whispered as her eyes met Kavien’s. Startled by the disappointment in his eyes, she shook her head at him, mouthing the words ‘I’m sorry,’ and faded away.
A BRIGHT LIGHT BLINDED LIAM.
The pain of losing his greatest friend left him numb as he shielded his eyes, backing away from whatever new terror Litha to join the battle.
He fought to keep his eyes open to face it, and found himself gasping as Rowe’s body was carried down to the ground by someone Liam never thought he would see again.
He fell to his knees, his face wet with tears.
Nani appeared inside the light, her wings glittering in the sunlight that now shone through the bright blue sky, Litha’s darkness dissipating.
Nani knelt over Rowe, and held his face in her hands. His Tryan glow brightened as did her body as she healed him with her fairy power.
Rowe reached up and pulled her down into a hug that made Nani smile. When she stood, she ignored Litha and flew over to Lilae and Delia.
Liam watched Litha as her eyes followed Nani. His heart soared at seeing Lilae stir under Nani’s power.
The fairy god simply had to touch Lilae to awaken her. Lilae gasped for air, as if she’d been drowning. When she realized Nani had saved her, she also hugged her. Nani helped Lilae to her feet, her eyes locking with Litha’s as she did so.
“Go to them,” Nani said.
Lilae, nodding, ran straight to Liam with a mixture of joy and relief on her face.
Lilae crashed into Liam, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him before everyone.
Litha laughed, clapping her hands, and Lilae let go to turn to her.
“Who is she?” Lilae asked him, finally surveying the battle scene all around them.
Liam frowned at Litha, wondering what could possibly be so funny.
“Hello there, little god,” Litha said as her shoulders shook with laughter. “I am very pleased to meet you.”
Nani didn’t return the smile. In her radiant glow, she approached Litha. “Leave,” she said, holding a weakened Rowe in her arms. “Now.”
Litha smoothed her dress and scanned the destruction around her. “Of course,” she said. “It seems one of the most important Laws has been broken. Now, I have work to do.”
Delia appeared beside Liam, helping him to his feet. “No, Litha,” she said. “Don’t do it. You don’t know what this will do to our world.”
Litha shrugged. “I do not care. I only execute the rules, and your fairy Ancient has broken the most important one by interfering. The rules strictly state that none of the Ancients shall enter the realm of the mortals in times of war. And what do we have here? An Ancient.”
“You planned this,” Delia said, pointing to Litha’s face.
“I did no such thing,” Litha said. “Why should I care who wins this petty war?”
Liam began to follow what was happening, and held Lilae in his arms.
“I think you do care,” Delia said. “Somehow, you have a stake in who wins the war, and I have a feeling I know which Ancient that is.”
“Oh,” Litha said, feigning innocence. “Interesting theory.”
Litha summoned the orb once again and with a blast of light, she, her sheriff, and the remaining creatures vanished.
Lilae clutched Liam, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“I saw what they’ve planned,” she said.
Liam’s brows furrowed as he looked into her green eyes. “What is it?”
“Wexcyn,” Lilae said, breathing in a deep breath. “Litha is going to free him.”
ARIA LICKED HER DRY LIPS. Days without food or water had left her weak. She pulled her knees into her chest as she pressed her back against the cold, damp wall of the Orenian palace dungeons.
The wails of the other prisoners were her nightly lullaby, not that she could tell day from night anymore. The tiny cell was absent of any windows. Not even the door had a window or bars.
Complete and utter darkness smothered Aria like a blanket.
And the mice were her only company. How they had entered the room was a mystery, f
or not even Yoska could make his way to her.
She opened her eyes to the pitch before her and groaned as her stomach grumbled. She doubted that anyone would bring her food or water besides the cup of cold oat porridge that the guard set onto her floor once a night.
She flinched once the door to her cell was opened, letting in a small ray of light that still hurt her eyes.
“Time to face the executioner,” one of the men who waited outside said as two guards entered the cell.
“Dear Ancients,” Aria prayed. “This can’t be the end. You cannot let this happen.”
There was no reply, and Aria refused to break her composure as the two guards grabbed her by her arms.
Though her face was free of emotion, her insides were a storm of rage, sorrow, and fear. She never imagined dying in such a way. Cyden’s teaching were coming in handy now as she kept calm in the face of death.
She just wished she’d heeded his warnings and that of her mother. As they walked her from the dungeons to the doors that led outside, Aria turned off her ability to hear the thoughts of those around her. She couldn’t stomach the horrid thoughts her people had about her. With her power, Sona had turned everyone against her.
In mere days.
Aria shuddered to think of what the woman could do with more time.
At least I tried, Aria thought as she faced the audience of her people who had come to watch her beheading.
Completely withdrawn from the situation, Aria focused on the stone walls of her palace. The large blocks were perfectly stacked and were still shiny, even though the sea air had buffed it with its salty air for centuries. She counted those stones—anything to keep her mind off the sharp ax the executioner held.
Aria couldn’t look at her people, yet she did find one in particular she would meet head on. Her eyes met those of Sona’s as she stood on the balcony in a painted white chair, her hands folded on the railing before her.
“Wait,” Sona yelled from above.
“Yes, Queen Sonalese,” Captain Strongbow called.
“Don’t forget to cut off her hair first,” Sona said.