The Druids' Legacy

by Trenna McMullin

  The maid caught up to them. She had drawn a dagger and held it nonchalantly at her side, shifting it so the point was inches from Jace’s hand on the cart.

  “Let them go or you lose your fingers,” Lauryn murmured in a low voice.

  Jace dropped the handles of the cart as though it had stung him.

  “Wait!” Ky’ara said urgently, looking around and thanking her lucky stars that there was no one else in sight. “He’s helping us!”

  Joran jumped out of the cart and grabbed Lauryn’s hand, making her drop the dagger in surprise. “How on earth did you get here?” he asked, pulling her further into the shadows of the passageway they had entered.

  “I was about to ask you the same question!” She whispered fiercely, looking by turns relieved and irritated.

  “Ky’ara portaled us—we’re rescuing Taren before Iregh can get back and help the Destroyer,” Joran said, “I left you a note…”

  “You’re too late for that—We got here by diving through the portal my father created to bring himself back here,” Lauryn said grimly.

  “We? Who else is with you?” Ky’ara asked, just as Joran exclaimed “Dove through a portal!”

  Lauryn looked at him and shuddered, “It was every bit as terrifying as you would think. Sukylar and Norika are with me—she’s the one who was crazy enough to try to go after Iregh, we were trying to stop her and it just sucked us in.”

  Jace looked down the hall nervously. “I don’t mean to rush you all, but someone could come at any minute, and I don’t know how I’m going to explain that my prisoners are chatting with the palace help.”

  Lauryn looked back the way she had come. “He’s right, the halls I just came from seem to be fairly well frequented. Here.” She pulled out the strip of canvas holding her hair back and wrapped it around Joran’s hands, tucking in the ends snuggly and gently pushing him in front of Jace. Then she gave the handles of the cart to Ky’ara and gathered a few cabbages into her arms.

  “There, now we look like we’re taking a delivery.”

  “But the kitchens are that way,” Jace protested.

  Lauryn shrugged, “Anyone with eyes could tell these two weren’t really unconscious in there, and people in palaces order all kinds of strange things up to their rooms. If we have confidence, no one will question us. You walk a little ways behind so it doesn’t really look like we’re together. And you two keep your heads down, people might recognize you.”

  After a hurried discussion about where to go, they started off again, this time with Lauryn in the lead. They weaved their way through the halls, heading deeper into the palace. A few people gave them some strange looks, but for the most part the servants just gave them a wide berth, and the officials were too busy to be bothered with them. Once, Ky’ara had a moment of panic when she looked up and saw Perrin, the Council’s old doorman, head straight toward them. She ducked her head quickly and hurried past, telling herself he wouldn’t recognize her as the grubby servant pushing a cart. Any minute she expected to hear a shout of alarm, but it never came, and they continued into an increasingly deserted wing of the palace without incident.

  * * * * *

  Calistra watched with bated breath as the Shaari and their dragons made preparations for their spell. This had to work. They’d mustered the camp as swiftly as they could manage, packing food, medical supplies, and extra munitions into five large carts—one to accompany each unit—and assembling the soldiers in attack formation. Amischel’s trainees were assembled in the front, each with a supply of arrows strapped to their back and a bow in hand. The mages had gathered together—bickering and debating the technical aspects of how this spell would work or fail—until she had split them up and sent them in pairs to each unit, with assignments to shield and attack in turns. She kept a small group with her to handle any bigger magicks they might need, and left a pair of her strongest defensive mages to guard what remained of their camp.

  Almost three quarters of the camp was coming along, the other part consisting primarily of mothers and young children, with a few old or seriously wounded soldiers who had opted to stay. They would be left almost completely defenseless. Calistra just prayed the soldiers the King had undoubtedly sent against them weren’t close yet. She didn’t know if the dragons would be able or willing to transport them back here again, or even if there would be anyone to bring back. This was it. They were going to throw everything they had against the Capitol and hope they bought Ky’ara enough time to finish this. If the girl failed...well, Calistra figured she probably wouldn’t survive to feel the guilt of leaving these people with few supplies and even less protection.

  “Is everything ready?” She asked Asara as the Shaari commander approached. The woman nodded.

  “They are ready to begin. If there is anything else you want to bring with us, make sure it is within the circle, or it will be left behind.”

  Calistra nodded, murmuring a quick spell that allowed her to survey the scene from a point far above where she actually stood. She rarely used it, since it was impossible to shield and drew attention their way, but at this point that hardly mattered. The dragons hovered in a wide circle, surrounding the assembled units, with Amischel in the very center mounted on a stallion and Irakyll hovering directly overhead. The supply wagons and contingent of healers were in the back, the hastily assembled battering ram in the front, flanked by the archers and followed by the mounted scouts with Silas at their head. The Shaari rode just behind them, spread across the center and down the sides of the rest of the formation, in case any instructions regarding the spell needed to be issued.

  She wished they had another day to plan, a week to prepare, even just a few more hours to test the spell discreetly and verify that it would work as expected. But they didn’t, and every second they wasted was another moment Ky’ara might be caught or killed. Calistra ended the spell and gave Asara the signal to proceed.

  The descendants of the druids and their allies had hidden in the shadows for centuries, plotting and preparing for this moment. Their march on the Kingdom had ended that secrecy, and they had gathered the support of many of the people. But this, this was the final step. She could feel it. Now was the moment to fulfill their purpose. Whether their legacy would be one of triumph or failure would soon be decided.

  Asara flung her arms up.

  As one, the dragons stretched their wings wide and thrummed, the sound passing through all within the circle. Calistra felt it in her very bones, felt it build within her, felt it shaking apart every particle of her being.

  And then the world disappeared.

  Chapter 21: Discovery

  Norika opened her eyes slowly. Even this small motion sent a twinge of pain through her already pounding skull. Sukylar sat nearby, his arm rested casually on the bench next to her while he perused a thin black book. He glanced over and moved his arm, realizing that she was awake. She wished he hadn’t, there was something comforting about having it there.

  “What’s that?” she asked, trying to distract herself from the confusing thought.

  “I’m not sure,” Sukylar frowned, “Lauryn shoved it at me before going to find some food. It looks like a diary or notebook of some kind. But I don’t recognize the language.”

  Nori sat up with a groan. Her head did not like being upright again. She buried her face in her hands for a moment, then rubbed her temples and focused on the book he held. “Let me take a look.”

  He wordlessly held out the slim volume, his eyes never leaving her face. There was a surprising amount of worry in their depths. She ignored the confused welter of thoughts that this initiated, and turned her attention to the book.

  “It’s written in Elysian,” she said.

  Sukylar frowned. “I know some Elysian, and that looks nothing like it.”

  Norika glared at him, wincing as the expression sent another twinge of pain through her head. “Really, you’re going to argue that point with me?”

  Sukylar reached for the book
and she waved him off irritably.

  “It’s an older style of characters,” Norika explained shortly, “They only use it for ceremonial things now, mostly. A couple centuries ago someone came up with the simplified versions we use today.”

  Sukylar pulled his hand back. “Can you read it?”

  “I’m working on it,” Norika said, the page swimming a little in front of her eyes, “I’m not sure if my memory is wrong or if it’s just gibberish, but as far as I can tell it says ‘If I open this bright I can invite night influence.’ And then a bunch of numbers and math equations.”

  Sukylar turned this over in his head for a moment. “I don’t know what that means...See what you can get from the rest of it.”

  Norika nodded faintly, trying to move her head as little as possible, and started to leaf through the book. She had just finished deciphering the inscription in the front when the door opened.

  Sukylar jumped to his feet, drawing his swords in the blink of an eye.

  “Light, watch those things, will you?” Lauryn said in a harsh whisper, dropping three cabbages on the bench next to Norika and turning to help navigate an unwieldy cart into the room. Sukylar raised an eyebrow as Ky’ara, Joran, and a familiar looking soldier entered behind it. “You found more than just food.”

  Lauryn snorted, “I don’t think it had much to do with me. A coincidence this big can only be due to Ky’ara’s influence.”

  “One of these days something is going to happen just because, and everyone’s still going to give me credit for it,” Ky’ara grumbled good naturedly.

  “The big question then is Why?” Joran said, “I mean, how, specifically, does you being here help us?”

  “I think I know,” Norika said, holding up the little black book, “This book Lauryn stole? It’s a grimoire—a diary of spells—it belonged to Ekzhad the Destroyer.”

  * * * * *

  Calistra heard nothing but the thrumming in her ears. She opened her eyes, which had been shut almost involuntarily by the vibrations that seemed to both hold her together and tear her apart. She didn’t know how long they’d been closed, but in the moment they opened she caught a quick glimpse of mist and shadows. Points of light floated far in the distance. The thrum changed, and with a faint popping sound, they were there.

  The walls of Coledria stretched in front of her. Her people fell to their knees, disoriented by the sudden shift.

  Asara turned to look at her and dropped her arms. Amischel slumped over her horse’s neck, panting. The dragons flocked back to their partners, many seeming to wilt with fatigue. Already they could hear shouts of alarm from the battlements. Her people regained their feet, and the captains looked back at her for direction. Calistra raised her staff high above her head, and her voice boomed out across the distance.

  “We come in the name of the people of Erythaenia, the descendants of their guardians, the druids of old. The King and his court must answer for their crimes against this land. Surrender your weapons and open the gates, and we will spare your lives.”

  There was a moment of silence, and then a volley of arrows rained down on them in response. Calistra swept her staff to the side, deflecting the arrows with a wave of energy. She planted her feet and summoned a piercing light from the purple jewel at its top. It struck the battlements and shook the whole wall, leaving a large crack from top to bottom. Her captains took the signal and began hastily barking orders. The battering ram rolled forward ponderously, heading for the gates.

  Calistra leaned on her staff, trying to catch her breath. Perhaps it had been foolish, to use such a dramatic spell to signal their attack. But it certainly made for a good show, and after all, that was what they were here for. They likely wouldn’t be able to take the city, and they’d probably kill a number of innocent civilians in the attempt, but if it bought Ky’ara the time she needed, it would be worth it.

  * * * * *

  Ky’ara sat next to Norika, trying to decipher some of the text in the book. She was fairly confident the first piece Nori had translated was evidence that Ekzhad had indeed intended to lure the Darkness back to himself using the crystal. Substituting a few similar words could make the sentence ‘If I access the Light I can draw the Darkness [to me]’. She was going through the rest of that passage word by word with Norika to determine how she might be able to do the same thing. If she could somehow capture the Darkness within the crystal, maybe the two powers would cancel each other out. Maybe there was a way out of this without having to sacrifice herself.

  A resounding boom shook the building, showering them with dust and knocking Jace and Lauryn off their feet.

  “What was that?” Lauryn asked, standing and brushing herself off.

  “I’d better go look,” Sukylar said grimly, “It sounded serious.”

  “No, I’ll go. I’m still in disguise,” Lauryn said, beating him to the door and darting out into the hallway.

  Ky’ara sighed in frustration and got to her feet. “We don’t have time for this, I don’t know what that was, but if we get discovered here I could lose any chance of finding Taren before we confront Il’esandra.”

  “At least wait until she gets back,” Joran suggested, laying a hand on her arm. “We need to know what we’re walking into. Who knows, maybe Iregh got mad at the Destroyer and the two of them are fighting right now.”

  Ky’ara snorted. “Somehow I doubt that,” she grumbled, but she settled back next to Norika and continued untangling her translations into useful information.

  Some time later, Lauryn slipped back into the room, looking a bit perplexed.

  “Did you find the source?” Sukylar asked.

  She nodded. “You’re never going to believe it...Calistra and the entire rebellion are here. They’ve attacked the city.”

  Sukylar looked taken aback. Ky’ara felt a momentary thrill of excitement—if Calistra could secure the city, they’d have a safe place to escape to after defeating the Destroyer. Just as quickly, her excitement faded as she realized that there was little to no chance that the Organization had any hope of actually breaching the walls, let alone gaining control of the city. They were outnumbered three to one by the capital’s garrison, and that was without including the men who guarded the palace. Calistra knew that. Which meant that this attack was likely intended only as a diversion to help Ky’ara.

  The level of responsibility this put on her shoulders weighed on her heavily. There were hundreds of people out there risking their lives to give her the best chance they could. She had to succeed, or she had as good as killed them herself. Joran’s hand on her shoulder jolted her out of her thoughts.

  “They’re choosing to risk their lives, don’t blame yourself.”

  Ky’ara nodded, taking her emotions and channeling them into a firm resolve to do whatever she could to make their sacrifice worth it. She stood up and looked at Jace. “Come on, let’s go find where they took Taren.”

  Joran jumped to his feet. “You’re sure you aren’t rushing into this? What if there is something more in that book?”

  “I’ve learned enough to maybe have a fighting chance. The Darkness...I don’t think it was created when the crystal was, I think it’s what was left when the Light was trapped inside. The two parts want to be whole again, so if I can lure the Darkness to the crystal…”

  “Maybe they’ll recombine? But hasn’t the Darkness grown? What if it just overpowers the crystal and comes for you?” Joran asked skeptically.

  Ky’ara hesitated only a moment. “I think Amischel was right, I just have to trust that the crystal will do what is necessary.” Maybe that’s where I come in, my death compensates for the difference in the powers. Ky’ara shunted away the thought. With this new information, it seemed less likely that her death would be required to win. Maybe her magic alone was enough to compensate for the difference in power.

  “What if Iregh tries to interfere?” Sukylar asked, standing and checking his weapons.

  “That’s what Joran is for,” K
y’ara said.

  “I’m coming too,” Lauryn said, taking off the maid’s apron and digging in her pack for a long hunting knife, which she tucked into the back of her belt.

  Norika tried to get up, and groaned as a wave of dizziness overcame her.

  “You stay here,” Sukylar said gruffly, “You need rest.”

  “We can’t leave her here alone like this,” Ky’ara said worriedly, “Lauryn, you should stay with her.”

  Lauryn protested. Ky’ara cut her short, “You know more about healing than anyone else, and Joran needs Sukylar to watch his back if he gets into it with Iregh.”

  She didn’t mention that she’d had a growing suspicion that Lauryn might fit the profile of someone the Darkness could inhabit. She’d shown signs of unawakened magic, and she definitely had enough repressed anger to make a prime target. Part of her even wondered if Lauryn’s appearance here had not been caused by her own mysterious ability to twist things in her favor, but instead been engineered by the Destroyer herself. The Queen’s pregnancy wouldn’t be complete for another two months, and something told Ky’ara the Darkness was impatient to move on. Why would it transition to a helpless newborn when it could use a surly adolescent with untapped magical potential and a chip on her shoulder?

  Ky’ara was drawn back to the current debate by Joran’s elbow digging into her side.

  ‘Are you even listening to a word she has to say? She has a point, he is her father, and her being with us may give us a slight advantage.’

  “Sorry Lauryn, but it’s precisely because he’s your father that it’s probably better if you stay as far away as possible. Besides, you know more about magic than any of us, you can help Norika see if there is any more useful information in that book.”

  Lauryn pursed her lips angrily and stomped over to the corner. Joran gave her an apologetic shrug and dropped his pack on the floor, rifling through it for a moment and tucking a few odds and ends into his pockets.