by K.N. Lee
“Lilae! Anic!” Risa shouted from behind a mud formed structure that stored food underground.
Lilae glanced at her. She was silent. Her cheeks were red and stinging as fury built within her. A horse stomped by and she stabbed her dagger in the leg of the horseman. With a mighty yank of the daggers handle, she brought him down to the ground. She was on his back so quick that he hadn’t a chance to catch his breath. She grabbed his head and lifted it from the dirt. She slit his throat.
Lilae eyed his sword and then to her dagger. Her dagger was her weapon of choice, but, she could do so much more damage with a sword. She tucked her dagger into her boot and drew the sword from its scabbard. It was heavy in her grasp and cool to the touch. The ring of steel was like music to her ears.
She ran a finger along the blade and closed her eyes. The cold steel was somehow soothing to the heat she felt within her. Lilae sliced through the air and got used to the feel of its hilt. The sword became one with her. She rested the blade against her shoulder and stood tall.
She glared at the soldiers around her. Lilae was ready to rip those men to shreds. She saw that few of the royal soldiers were still alive, while most of their bodies littered the dirt road. She shook her head. Amateurs, she thought. They were trying their hardest to fight the foreigners off. They were doing a horrible job.
“Anic, take my sisters and hide.” She couldn’t risk him getting hurt.
“My sword hand is injured, but I will protect you with all of my strength.”
“My sisters, Anic! Protect them.” With a nod, he ran towards the twins. Then he paused.
“What about you Lilae? What are you doing?”
Lilae ignored him. She walked right into the chaos.
Focus activated.
Evasion ready.
The men seemed as her Accuracy changed her vision. The power within begged to be released. Dust encircled her as she entered the battle. Her eyes squinted to keep out the dirt. It was a hot day, and she was ready to stop hiding.
Lilae was ready to make a scene.
She glanced back at Risa and Jaiza once more and tightened her grip on the sword’s hilt. When she turned back towards the fight, men were already reaching for her, ready to simply collect her like the other girls.
Lilae shocked them all when she ducked beneath their hands, knelt onto the ground, and started taking them down, one by one. Her muscles were ingrained with moves that she had practiced for years. She shrugged one off to clash steel with another soldier. Her long legs kicked a soldier in the chest and she crushed his throat with her boot, while swinging an arm to make a fatal gash in another’s head.
She didn’t care. Villagers watched in horror and shock. She wanted them dead. She wanted their blood. Every spray fueled her.
Risa and Jaiza saw her in action and felt the blood drain from their faces. This is what it was all for. This is why they trained every day. They looked to each other and spoke a multitude with just one look. They ignored Anic’s calls to them to run.
Jaiza stood first, and Risa followed. Jaiza weaved through the crowd and Risa did the same. Risa and Jaiza had to obtain their weapons from fallen soldiers and entered the crowd with such vigor that more of the villagers began to slow down their running to watch in awe as the girls made a stand. Risa was a marvel. She was quick. Her face was one of stone as she made a path for her sister.
The three girls were fighting side by side to eliminate the threat. The remaining Parthan soldiers finally saw their chance to make a dent in the swarms of intruders.
Lilae barely noticed that they had joined her. She fought as though in a daze. The blood stained her face like never before. It calmed her. It quenched the blood lust that had been building for as long as she could remember. Her ears were hot. Her face was hot. Every part of her body throbbed as she killed.
She sliced through soldiers two at a time, so quick that they were stunned by her skill. She sidestepped the charging of one soldier. As he ran past her, she sunk the blade into his wrist, slicing his hand off. He screamed and wept as he held his bleeding arm to his chest. His eyes regarded her in bewilderment.
The soldiers never expected such a resistance. The scene urged the other village folk to try and defend themselves as well.
Lukas and his fighters arrived and tried their best to help. They had only been in Lowen’s Edge for a few months, and Pirin had already taught them valuable moves that helped refine their fighting styles.
Lilae could have gone for hours, with her eyes closed, when she heard Risa scream out in pain. She broke free from her trance and saw that Risa had suffered a stab wound to her belly. A soldier stood over her, his body…flickering.
Evasion.
These were not normal soldiers.
Lilae’s eyes widened and she kicked the man who she had been fighting in the jaw as forceful as her body would allow. Blood spurted into the air as his head was knocked back. He fell to the ground and she rushed to her sister.
Jaiza was surrounded. She couldn’t keep the men from closing in on her.
“Risa! Jaiza!” Lilae heard Pirin call to them. He shot an arrow at the soldier above Risa.
Yes, Lilae smiled. Lilae was relieved that he was finally there.
Pirin could have never of guessed that his venture to hunt would return to a massacre of their quiet village. He had his bow and arrows ready and began to take down anyone that was in his path.
He made eye contact with Lilae. “Lilae! Get them out of here. Go!”
Seven men fell to his arrows before he was out and he then took to the dirt path with his waist knife and pure, brute, strength. Pirin plowed through the crowd with the grimmest look Lilae had ever seen on his face. His chest heaved as he breathed in the thick hot air and he put his mind in focus. It was the very day that he had been preparing for. When his entire family would have to finally face real danger and fight back. There was no more running.
As Pirin killed one with his knife, he grabbed the fallen man’s sword in one fluid motion. The soldiers toppled over as he went through, punching their jaws and cutting their limbs off. He was a machine of strength and would never grow weary.
Pirin was a master at battle, and they recognized that immediately. It was quite a scene watching him effortlessly make his way through the fight to his daughters. The soldiers ran at him, and he cut them down as if they were children running at him with wooden swords. They didn't have a chance against the former captain of the Aurorian palace guard.
By then, the men had summoned their forces and the four of them and royal soldiers became outnumbered by the dozens. Lilae saw another group of soldiers enter the town square. One was cloaked, and didn’t run towards the fight like the others did. While she fought, she noticed something strange about their leader.
He calmly surveyed the calamity in the crowd and their eyes met. Lilae took pause when she saw his face in the shadows of his black cloak’s hood. His head tilted as he looked at her and she was sure she saw a smile stretch across his face. Lilae’s heart pounded nearly out of her chest when she saw his gaze go from her, to Pirin.
Lilae gasped, sensing that he was not like the others. She began to run towards him when he darted towards Pirin.
She blinked.
He was so fast that all she saw was the dust that he left behind. Her eyes tried to catch up as he swept through the crowd, almost completely unseen while the man left dead bodies in his trail. Lilae tried to catch up with him, to kill him, but it was too late.
“Pirin look out!” Lilae shouted as loud as she could over the noise, but to her own ears it sounded like little more than a whisper. She started to run.
The leader was upon Pirin too fast and with a wave of his hand she watched him produce a glowing dagger that stabbed Pirin in the back. The blade went through his chest. Lilae’s mouth opened to scream again, but her voice was stuck in the pit of her stomach like a lump of coal.
She gulped through the sharp pain in her throat, the tears sprouting wi
thout restraint. The man who slew the only father she knew had vanished and her eyes caught those of Pirin’s. His eyes were locked on hers, and then to his true daughters as he fell to his knees in shock.
With a scream of anguish, something happened. Her body seemed to dash in flashes towards Pirin. The wind swept through her hair and her eyes were dried out by the speed at which she moved. She was upon him so quickly that she nearly crashed into him. She caught Pirin in her arms and Jaiza ran over to meet them. Anic held Risa back as she screamed. She clutched her wound and tried to wrench free from his arms.
Lilae’s face drained of all color as she looked down at Pirin’s stab wound. She felt the tears drip and furiously wiped them off. She couldn’t let Pirin see her cry, not now, but they kept falling. She moaned. Jaiza cried as well.
Pirin grabbed them by the backs of their heads and pulled them into him. “I love you girls. Never forget it.” He coughed.
Lilae and Jaiza nodded. Pirin wiped Jaiza’s tears and his eyes met Lilae’s. He looked worried. He knew he was dying.
“Lilae.” His voice came out hoarse. “You need to know.”
Lilae leaned in closer. “What is it father?”
Pirin smiled weakly. “That’s it Lilae. I am your father. You always knew.”
Lilae and Jaiza shared a look. Lilae faked a smile. “I know. You’re like a father to me. You’re the only father I’ve ever known.” She tried to keep her voice steady.
Pirin grabbed the back of her neck and looked into her eyes. He was serious. “I am your real father Lilae. You are my blood. You are my daughter. Your mother,” he coughed. “Is queen of the Black Throne. I loved her before she was forced to marry the king.”
“Father?” Jaiza made a face of confusion as she listened.
He shook his head. “Forgive me, Jaiza. It’s up to you now…to protect your sisters.”
Jaiza nodded and closed her eyes. The soldiers were closing in. The noise intensified and Lilae knew they were coming for her.
Pirin held tight to the back of Lilae’s head. The blood began to come from his mouth but his eyes were full of eagerness. There was something important he needed to say. “Lilae listen. You don’t have to…” He was caught off by an arrow that went through his head.
Lilae stared at the pointed end of the arrow piercing through Pirin’s forehead in stunned silence.
Jaiza screamed.
Something snapped within Lilae’s mind as Pirin’s body slumped in her arms.
“No!” she growled in disbelief. She beat the ground with her fist. She stared at Pirin’s lifeless body. She felt such grief that it left her paralyzed. That was, until a soldier took a jab at her with his sword.
With a feral cry Lilae caught the swords blade in her hands and yanked the sword from him. Her hand bled profusely as she took the hilt and rammed it into his mouth with all of her might. He choked and reached for her and she took a wild swing with the back of her hand. Bones crushed in his face and he fell over. She stomped his face and heard a crunching sound.
She looked up. She couldn’t breathe. Her face grew hot and she felt her voice trapped in her throat as she swallowed back a flood of tears. Pirin’s lifeless body lay at her feet. Jaiza cried over him in anguish.
Lilae’s heart was broken. Everything was gone. She screamed, so loud that groups of fighters turned to stare at her. She felt her blood boil as she beheld the death and carnage all around her. Those streets were once clean. Blood and dirt covered everything now.
Her eyes were wild with grief and changed from the brightest green to black. Everyone stopped everything as the sky darkened to the color of blood and Lilae looked into the sky as though she pleaded for something. Her heart pounded.
She felt delirious. Her father was dead. He had been her real father all along and they had taken him away.
“I want him back!” She screamed to the sky. Bring him back! Lilae felt the tears freely spilling down her cheeks, but she was no longer there. No one could have known what they were unleashing from the girl that stood in the center of the town.
Everyone’s eyes looked up at the sky as it began to turn red. The air grew hot. They began to slowly back away as sparks and lights began to dance in the sky. Balls of fire fell from the sky like rain and everyone ducked in fear. Villagers and soldiers alike began to run in every direction to avoid being hit by falling balls of fire. There was a roar of cries of pain, no longer from fighting, but from people being burnt alive.
The scene was of utter chaos and destruction, even more than from what the imperial soldiers had caused.
Anic called for Jaiza to run as he tried to drag Risa from her place on the ground. No one was safe. As Risa, Jaiza, and Anic ran faster for the forests boundaries, Lilae turned to face the rushing horsemen. There were grim looks on their sun scorched faces. She met the eyes of the closest horseman with a more sinister look of her own. They had ruined her entire existence. She refused to let them get away with it.
She soon became very sensitive to everything around her; she could feel the vibration on the ground from the horses loud trampling. Everything became too loud in Lilae's ears and she felt slightly dizzy. Her blood nearly boiled. She tried to control that sensation, harness it.
Lilae didn’t hear the screams, just faint whispers from afar as the ground became smothered in flames, surrounding her.
“No Lilae. Not now! Now here…” The Winds pleaded with her. They sounded miserable.
“Why not? Whoever you are…why didn’t you save him? Why have you forsaken me?” Lilae ignored their pleas, shoving them to the back of her mind. She felt no pain as the fire began to lick at her feet and cover her. Her body began to lift from the ground and she smiled with relief. Tears dripped from her face. It was as though she was meant to fly. Her bare feet nearly left the ground when something snatched her from the sky.
Chains clamped around her as though from an invisible hand. Lilae hadn’t a chance to see what had done such a thing before her head hit the ground. The fire was immediately extinguished and the sky began to turn blue once more. Her head spun as she lied on her back. The sun was bright in her eyes.
“Lilae!” She heard Anic’s frantic yell for her. She shook her head groggily; she was losing her grip on consciousness.
“Anic,” she called weakly.
The sun’s rays were suddenly blocked by the man in a cloak. He stood over her, then knelt down.
“Now,” he whispered down at her. “I’ve finally got you.”
Lilae couldn’t see his face through her blurred vision. Her head pounded with pain. With her last moment of lucidity she heard Anic yell once more. Then she heard Risa and Jaiza’s blood curdling screams.
Part Two
Chapter 25
Lilae woke up feeling as though she’d been drowning and desperately needed air. Pitch black welcomed her, and she was wet. She realized that she was sitting in a puddle and could hear water dripping near her head. Her face was wet and itchy, and there was a terrible smell invading her nostrils.
She felt the fear rise when she couldn’t decipher where she was. She was cold and disoriented. Her stomach was empty and had a deep ache. She felt as though she’d been out for days. Her head hurt. Her hand had been sliced and it hurt as well. Lilae heard faint crying come from somewhere close to her.
“Hello?” she whispered. Her voice cracked painfully. She tried to clear it only to make it worse. She grimaced at the pain and stared into the darkness. She strained to see ahead of her. All that she could see was black. The air was foul and scarce. She hugged her arms to ward off the cold.
Eventually, Lilae’s eyes slightly adjusted to the darkness. The swinging torch in the distance provided a small beam of light.
The weeping continued without reply.
“Who's there?” Her voice was raspy now. Then there was the sound of men, coming down a flight of stairs. She crawled backwards to hide, her back pressed against a cold wet wall of some sort.
The crying
stopped. Whoever had been crying sensed the danger as well.
Lilae clutched her chest and tried to suppress the anxiety that made her heart beat too quickly. She heard them approaching her, yet she still couldn’t see them. She stopped breathing, for fear they would hear her.
The ground moved and she slid over to the left side. She instantly realized that she was on some kind of ship. Lilae gasped when her face fell against what felt like cold bars. She felt frantically all around her and realized that she was in a cage. She tried to stand and it was helpless, the cage boxed her in. She froze in a crouched stance when a flood of light nearly blinded her.
“Lord Dragnor,” he called to the other man who was searching the darkness for something. “That’s the one,” he pointed out, standing before her.
She tried to shield her eyes and see who it was that spoke, but the light was too bright in her face. She wondered what the source of the light was; she’d never seen a candle or anything produce such brightness.
He reached through the bars and grabbed her jaw, tilting her head to get a better look. She felt fear first, then rage. She wanted to rip out his eyes. Her jaw clenched and he noticed.
“Wait at the door,” Dragnor said to the soldier.
“Yes sir,” he said and returned to the staircase in which they came from.
Her face was released and she moved away from the light. It followed her.
“What are you called?” Dragnor locked eyes with her. When she didn’t respond he broke the gaze and stepped back. “What is your name? Or are you deaf?”
“Who are you?” Lilae snapped back, but she realized what he was. A Shadow Elf.
The light began to slowly dim, giving her a better look at Dragnor. He was very thin and long, with perfect posture. She noticed that the light was coming from the palm of his hand. Her eyes met his as he paused from looking her over.
“Who I am is of no concern. All you need to know is that your life will be cut very short if you don't do as I tell you.” Dragnor bent down to her level on the floor.