Relics and Runes Anthology

by Heather Marie Adkins

  “Right here?”

  “We don’t discriminate. Our bodies are our own.”

  Andrea quickly takes off her shirt.

  “What is that covering your breasts?”

  “It’s called a bra.”

  “Take it off.”

  Andrea undoes the back and the bra falls off. She covers her breasts as best as she can. The female trainer takes down Andrea’s hands and slides the corset over her chest. She goes in the back and starts lacing it up.

  “It will not be too tight and they are actually very comfortable. We can’t have floppy breasts.”

  “Hence the bra.”

  The male trainer hands Andrea a jacket and poncho.

  “Take down her pants.”

  Andrea’s eyes widen.

  The male trainer takes down Andrea’s jeans. He looks up at her. “Interesting under garments.”

  Andrea remembers she put on a thong. No matter where she was born, she has fit in well with her other land. And she has enjoyed the many pretty and sexy things it offers. “Thanks.”

  “It doesn’t cover much.” He slides on the leather pants.

  Andrea finds them comfortable.

  “You can wait to put on the jacket and poncho. We need to get you trained up first.”

  Andrea slides on the boots.

  The female trainer puts two daggers in Andrea’s hands. “Attack me.”

  “You don’t have a weapon.”

  “Attack me.”

  Andrea swings the daggers forward. The female trainer moves to the side. She knocks the daggers out of Andrea’s hands. She smacks Andrea on the back of the head. Andrea picks up the daggers and swings again. Misses. The trainer hits Andrea harder on the back of the head. Andrea swings one dagger. Clips the tassel on the trainer’s left cuff. The trainer smiles. She kicks at Andrea’s legs, bringing her down to the ground. The trainer leaps onto her.

  “You need to be prepared for anything.” The trainer pulls a dagger from her back and presses it against Andrea’s throat. “What will you do?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Think. If someone has a dagger to your throat and hesitates to kill you, what advantage do you have?” the male trainer says.

  Andrea is finding it hard to think when she looks death in the face. Even though the trainer won’t kill her, she has to imagine that this isn’t the trainer. This is someone who wants to kill her and can. She looks the female trainer over. She is wearing a necklace with a round silver pendant. She grabs the necklace and wraps it around her hand. It tightens around the female trainer’s neck, causing her to choke. The trainer lets up. Andrea pushes the trainer off her. Gets to her feet.

  “Well done,” the male trainer says.

  The female trainer spits and massages her neck. “That’s not bad. But what if I wasn’t wearing this?” She takes off the necklace and hands it to her fellow trainer. “What will you use to choke me?”

  The female trainer leaps for Andrea. They go down. The trainer looks down. Andrea has a dagger to her throat. “I will just have my dagger at your throat instead.”

  “You have to remember that your enemy is going for the kill shot. Not everyone plays with their prey. Although it’s rare that anyone aims for your throat, mostly it’s your chest or stomach because you can’t see them coming. Always remember that if you choose to go for their throat, they are aiming elsewhere. If Linus was here, I’d pair you up with him. He can show you tricks that we can’t. But we are giving you the quick training.” She helps Andrea up.

  “I think that’s it for now,” the male trainer says.

  “But I haven’t got time to stop. I need to get back.”

  A darkness comes over the kingdom. The recruits ready themselves for a fight. The trainers prepare.

  “Andrea, go inside your castle,” the female trainer says.

  “Whatever is coming, I won’t be safe in there. I’d rather stay here with you.”

  “Stay close to us,” the male trainer says.

  The darkness inches over the training area.

  “Even in the dark, you can succeed. You must learn to see through the darkness,” the female trainer says.

  “But it’s pitch black.”

  “A good assassin will cut through the dark with their eyes,” the male trainer says.

  Andrea rubs against what she thinks is one of her trainers. “I shall try.”

  “Will you?” a childlike voice says.

  Andrea freaks out. She steps away. She feels around for her daggers. She takes them out.

  Fighting erupts inside the darkness.

  Andrea can hear her trainers breathing. The sounds of their daggers cutting into flesh, clashing with something. Not a weapon. A ball of flames appear and Andrea gets a glimpse of what is attacking. All she sees is a mouth full of teeth. Then blackness again. More cutting into flesh. A child’s scream. Andrea’s legs are pulled out from under her. She is dragged across the ground. She takes a dagger and stabs the ground. Whatever is dragging her, lets go.

  “How am I supposed to see in the dark?”

  She calms her mind. Calms her senses. She hears a breath. She slices through the darkness. There’s another breath and then nothing. Her heart races, not knowing who she just stabbed. The darkness becomes lighter.

  Her trainers turn her around.

  “Well done, Andrea,” the male trainer says.

  Andrea stares down at the attackers. “They look like children.”

  “They are children. Children of the Scarlet Vale,” the female trainer says.

  “Jegorgon is definitely not wasting time in recruiting from the other vales.”

  “I killed a child.”

  “No, you didn’t. I mean you did, but these children are the soldiers of the Scarlet Vale. They use the children to appear innocent to trick their enemies,” the female trainer says.

  The male trainer pats Andrea’s back. “You did what you had to. Don’t look at them as anything but your enemy. They would have killed you.”

  The female trainer motions for him to stop talking. Andrea cries a little. She has to make herself like stone. She has made her first kill. Not even one full day of training and she has killed someone. A child. An evil child, but still a child. There’s so much she doesn’t know about the other vales. If she had, she’d know what could be sent to kill her.

  The fountain erupts with fire and ice. It reflects against Emily’s light brown eyes. She takes a deep breath. She’s never had to go against magic users before.

  Coming from the flames and ice are three women. The fire and ice is sucked into the hands of the women.

  Emily’s eyes widen.

  The three women walk towards the house.

  Emily takes cover inside a shed. “Think. What can their weakness be?”

  Abbey shows Wesley the cave. He dreads being in this forest again. “It looks the same as I remember,” he says.

  “I have made sure that no one goes in there.”

  “Wait out here. Yell if you see anything or you feel like something is not right.”

  “You want me to yell now?”

  He grins. He goes into the cave.

  Abbey wraps her arms around herself.

  Wesley finds the cave to be just as dark and ominous as when he was a kid. He feels around the walls. He wonders if it is laid out exactly the same as before. He smacks into something solid.

  “Need a light?”

  “Who is that?”

  “You might remember me as the one with the lighter. Name is Jack.”

  Flames.

  “Hey.”

  “I remember you, kid. Well, you’re not a kid anymore.”

  “What are you doing in here?”

  “I’ve been coming here for a few days. Ever since the cave appeared. I kept seeing these things coming in and out of the forest, so I decided to check it out. I saw them go into the cave.”

  “What did they look like?”

  “It was always dark. I don’t k
now. But I always get to this point and can’t go any further.” Jack shines the lighter in front of them. It’s clear. There’s nothing.

  “I can see the back of the cave.”

  “Yeah, but you can’t get to it. There’s something blocking the path. Kind of like how we had to eat through that jelly wall when were younger.”

  “Honey. It was honey. I don’t think this is honey now.”

  Jack moves the lighter around. “I have sat here for hours and nothing comes out of it.”

  Wesley feels around it. “What can be solid and see-through at the same time?”

  “Glass.”

  “Ah. He is a clever little bastard.”

  “Who is?”

  “Someone that I hope you never meet.” Wesley is inspired. “Jack, I need you to do me a favor. I am not allowed to enter this place. But, seeing that bastard has joined the two lands, you will be able to.”

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “Break the glass.”

  “With like my fist?”

  “No. Look around. Anything should break it.”

  Wesley and Jack look around. Jack grabs a small limb. “Will this do?”

  Wesley looks it over. “Try it. You have to hit hard and dead center.”

  Jack hands the lighter to Wesley. Jack gets a good grip on the limb. “It’s a bit heavy.”

  Wesley shines the lighter around to make sure they are at the center. “This should be it. Swing.”

  Jack raises the limb over his head and brings it forward with as much force as he can put in. The limb smacks into the glass wall. Nothing.

  “Try again. Harder.”

  “Why can’t you do it?”

  “I am not allowed in the Vale. Not any vale.”

  Jack swings again. A tiny crack.

  “Keep going.”

  Jack swings again. Another crack, bigger.

  “Hit it again and give it all you got.”

  Jack swings again, putting all his body weight into it. The limb crashes through the glass wall. Jack sees through to the other side. “What the hell?”

  Wesley looks in.

  Jack looks at his reflection on a thousand or a million shards of glass. “This is freaky.”

  “This can’t be a vale. How could a vale be opened inside this land?”

  “Dude, are you like an alien?”

  “No. I’m a fairy prince. At least I was.”

  Jack almost leans against the opened vale.

  “Careful.”

  Jack takes back his lighter. There is enough light coming from inside that they can see well enough without the lighter. “You’re a fairy prince?”

  Wesley wishes he could explain things to Jack.

  Noah comes before Thomas and Arianna. “Why can’t you lift the ban on your son?”

  “This comes from higher than us,” Thomas says.

  “We need him.”

  “How is he?” Arianna asks.

  “He is going to defend the other land the only way he knows how. The only way he can without his wings.”

  Grole whispers to Thomas.

  “I know that you’ve come here to help. You are not allowed to bring anything back with you. Our son is on his own.”

  Noah gives Grole an evil look. “Is that your final judgment?”

  Grole whispers to Arianna.

  “Noah, you are a very loyal noble of the fairy kingdom. It is the decision of the fairy council that you remain here.”

  “I’d rather rip off my wings than stay here.”

  “Don’t be so stupid,” Grole says.

  “Wesley, your prince and heir is in the other land. I am his only friend in both places. I will choose to be where he is.”

  “It is decided. Noah, you shall remain here,” Thomas says.

  “Guards!” Arianna calls out.

  Guards come in and await orders.

  “Noah is to be taken to the dungeon. Temporarily,” Thomas says.

  Noah draws his sword and his wings pop open. He puts the sword to his one wing.

  The king and queen gasp.

  “I will do it.”

  A guard grabs the sword and takes hold of Noah.

  Grole bows to the king and queen. They bow their heads. He leaves the court. Follows the guard down into the dungeon.

  Noah is thrown into one of the glass cages.

  “Now you won’t be helping anyone.”

  Noah bangs on the glass, cursing at the council leader, but can’t be heard.

  Grole turns to a guard. “Execute him in the morning. That should be enough time for Jegorgon to finish his quest.”

  Emily comes out of the shed. A trail of burned and frozen ground up to the house. “Great.” She runs up the steps, puts her back against the outside of the house. “Okay.” She kicks open the back door. She has her daggers pointed forward and ready. She snakes along the wall until she hears a crash in the dining room. She moves quickly from one side of the hallway to the next.

  The three women toss around the chairs.

  “Where is it?” the woman with red hair asks.

  “I knew we should have searched Kell first,” the woman with black hair says.

  “Sisters, they brought it with them,” the woman with rainbow colored hair says.

  Emily takes a deep breath, then enters the room. “Which one of you wants to feel my blade first?”

  “Assassin,” the black-haired beauty says. She licks her lips. “I love assassin blood.”

  “Wait,” the rainbow-haired sister says. “She is close to the princess. I can smell her. We can use this one.”

  A chair flies at Emily, smashing into pieces behind her.

  The three sisters fly over to Emily and hover in front of her. Emily dives in. She hits the floor. The sisters reappear behind her. Emily dives again. The sisters walk along the ceiling.

  “Tell us where the quill is and maybe we won’t kill you,” the rainbow-haired sister says.

  Emily spins the dagger on her finger. “I don’t think so.” She flings the dagger and catches the red-haired sister off guard. Red blood spills down. “Ah, so you can be hurt.”

  The other two sisters dive bomb Emily. She rolls out of the way and throws a dagger. It hits the black-haired sister. Black blood flies out of her arm.

  “Enough!” the rainbow-haired sister says. She bursts into flames and ice. The other two sisters fly into the flames and ice. They all disappear.

  “At least they can bleed. If they can bleed, that means they can die.”

  Clapping.

  Emily prepares to fight.

  Goblins flood the room. Jegorgon enters. “The assassin. Shouldn’t you be a handmaiden?”

  “I prefer the assassin clothing.”

  “Do you know where the quill is?”

  “Actually I have no idea what you’re talking about. Whatever relics or trinkets that any royal has or goblin, or other beast, is none of my concern.”

  He looks intensely at her daggers. “What about your daggers? May I see them?”

  “No.”

  “It’s a shame. They remind me of my own.”

  “These are daggers fit for an assassin. Did you kill an assassin? What are you doing back? We saw you leave.”

  “I got a tip that the sisters came over. Can’t allow them to get in the way. Where is your brother in arms?” He sniffs the air. “You’re worried about him. Assassins aren’t supposed to show fear or concern. He is a distraction for you. Do you like him?”

  “No. And that’s none of your business. Assassins are less about conversation and more about action. Let’s have at it, goblin king.”

  Jegorgon lifts his hand. Emily is lifted off the floor and brought to him. He forces her daggers to drop to the floor. “I have a message for you to give to Wesley. If he wants his wings back, all he has to do is give me Andrea.”

  Emily struggles to talk. “You’ve tried that multiple times and failed.”

  “Oh, no. I succeeded on my last attempt. Andre
a knows what I mean. Now I am waiting for her to give herself completely. Wesley can help with that.”

  Emily is released and drops to the floor. Her leg screams out in pain. Jegorgon hovers over her. “You will deliver my message?”

  Emily fights through the pain. Reaches for her daggers.

  “Uh-uh, I will keep these.” The daggers fly to his hands.

  “You aren’t going to win.”

  “Who said this was about winning? Winning implies that a reward waits at the end. No, little assassin, this isn’t about winning.”

  Jegorgon signals to the goblins to leave. They proceed him. He walks out of the dining room and the hallway catches fire.

  Emily gets up and limps. She looks around the room. The windows. She limps to the windows. Grabs an unbroken chair and swings. The glass breaks. She jumps up and climbs out. She falls and hurts her leg even more.

  Andrea comes out to the armory that houses all the daggers for the assassins’ guild. A crunch sound alerts her. She pulls her daggers out.

  “Princess?” Linus says. He looks her over with confusion. “You are training to become an assassin?”

  “I came back to find something powerful to fight against the evil forces that Jegorgon has brought to the other land.”

  “Is Emily okay?”

  “I guess so.”

  “I came back for a similar reason. Actually I came back for these.” He moves around her and opens a chest under all the daggers. He takes out a small glass bottle filled with vomit colored liquid.

  “What is that?”

  “Poison. Extracted from a rare flower that grows at the foot of the core of the Vale.”

  “Does it incapacitate or kill?”

  “Depends on how much is used.”

  “How do you plan to get the goblin king to ingest all of it?”

  “He doesn’t have to. And it won’t kill him. He’s immune to death. But it will diminish his powers.”

  “Wait. You said he’s immune to death?”

  “He has two out of the four relics that the Vale created.”

  “The pearl. The fountain.” There is a question that is puzzling her. “How did you get here?”

  “Gresha used the last bit of magic she could spare.”

  Andrea searches herself. “I left it in my jeans. The trainer took my old clothes.”