by JD Franx
Kael stared at his feet with morbid fascination. Lifting his right foot off the dock, the mist rose with it. As he lowered his foot, the mist followed. Repeating it with the left foot got the same results. At a total loss, he pressed down on the flexible dock plank several times, but still no sound escaped the magic that muffled his feet. Lifting his right foot well up off the docks, he slammed it back down and still no noise. Knowing he had to figure this magic thing out soon, he shook his head and carried on. Understanding that his subconscious mind must have created it to protect him scared the crap out of him. With his conscious mind having only little success in controlling either of his two magic types, it was starting to become clear that conscious control wasn’t always needed. The use of magic kept getting more and more complex while at the same time, his understanding of it seemed to be less and less.
“Some all powerful DeathWizard I am,” Kael mumbled to himself, as he peeked over the side of the ship’s railing. His esoteric sight confirmed that there was no one on board and he was just about to call the others forward when he remembered what Kalmar said about the pendants and that Sythrnax’s men and some of the Orotaq wore them. Hopping over the rail without making a sound thanks to his muffled feet, he took his time searching the vessel for anyone still on board. Ten minutes later he leaned over the side and waved for the others to join him.
The ship was small compared to some of the massive galleons anchored out in the deeper waters of the bay. It had two masts, both were full of cloth sails that were lowered but not secured, giving the impression that the owners planned to ship out soon. Kael hoped the ship’s new crew would be long gone before that time came. Before being brought through the planetary bridge, he had little interest in sailing or boats of any kind. It was now obvious that it may be time to start learning. Lycori told him long ago, when he first arrived, that the only methods of travel in Talohna were by foot, horse, or ship. He grinned at the memories of Ember dragging him along on all those horseback riding vacations she loved so much, glad that at least those would eventually pay off. The thought warmed his soul for a moment and brought a larger smile to his face.
With everyone on board, Galen opened the door to the captain’s cabin located under the deck that the helm was on. He placed Kyah in the bed and checked her fever.
“Her body heat is really elevated, Kael. She passed out while we were waiting for you. I need to go help Kalmar get this ship out to sea. You’ll have to remove her clothes and cover her with damp rags or a blanket to try and cool her off. I’m sure she would rather it be you than me, anyway,” he said, smiling, as he saw the embarrassed look on Kael’s face. He bowed slightly and left, closing the door behind him. It seemed that formal wizards always nodded or bowed instead of saying good-bye or see ya later. Curious about it, Kael resolved himself to ask them about it later.
Both Galen and Kalmar were experienced hands when it came to sailing and with no sounds, they raised the sails and manoeuvred the stolen ship out of the bay without alerting any one to their presence. Once out in open water, Galen and Kalmar both cast spells that filled the sails with wind and increased their speed. Kael was caught off balance as he felt the tug of the wind against suddenly full sails from inside the captain’s cabin.
The cabin itself was spotless. With a bed on the far wall big enough for two, an armoire, and two night stands on each side of the bed, it was larger than Kael had originally thought. Close to twenty feet square, with dark, beautiful hardwood floors, there was also a small table with two chairs to the right of the door. The captain’s cabin was well-kept and orderly; Kael wondered for a second if it was Sythrnax’s personal ship and a smile crept onto his lips at the thought.
Taking a closer look around the room, Kael checked the standing dresser for clothes. It was full of clean, cloth sheets for the bed and an assortment of clothes that varied in size. A beautiful white outfit was hung on the inside of the door. It consisted of a hooded, sleeveless, white bodice and a clean, white skirt, all of which were made from the softest animal skin Kael had ever felt. After making sure they would fit her, he laid them on the night stand by Kyah, hoping she’d like them. Both of them were wearing nothing more than slave rags that smelled almost as bad as they looked. Seized by a coughing fit, Kyah retched, tossing her meagre stomach contents onto the floor beside the bed, but never regained consciousness. Kael forgot all about the clothes and rushed to the bed, knowing that he was going to have to get her out of clothes that were still damp from the river that afternoon.
Uncomfortable about having to remove her clothing without her consent, Kael felt her forehead to be sure her fever was as high as they thought. Of course, Galen was right; she was burning up, dangerously so. He removed the heavy Orotaq cloak along with the tattered, woollen shirt and skirt she wore. The act of trying to remove her clothing brought her awake just as Kael pulled off her dress bottom. She stared at his flushed red face with an evil smile.
“What is it you plan to do now that my clothes seem to have disappeared, Kael? I always knew you wanted to see me without my clothes on, but you could have just asked, handsome,” she teased, giggling at his embarrassment. Frowning, he interrupted her before she got too carried away.
“Don’t even think it. The wound Galen healed for you back in the cave is infected. It’s causing your fever. You’re delirious,” he said, his voice brisk. “If we don’t cool your body down, things will get worse for you. Fatally so even,” he warned, and then grabbed the clean sheets he found inside the armoire and soaked them in water from a pitcher on the table. As he wrung the excess water out, she shivered, crossing her arms across her chest to cover herself.
“You know, Kael, that is not what a girl likes to hear when lying naked on a bed with a blushing young man in the room. Besides, I am already cold from the air in here,” she pouted, pushing her lips out even farther in exaggeration as she looked for sympathy.
“Tough, sweetheart,” he snapped in mock anger, but smiled as he threw the cold, damp sheet across her bare body with a wet slap.
“Kael!” she shrieked. “Where did you get the water for this thing? The Ancient ice fields? It is beyond freezing. How long do I have to stay under here for?” she groaned, shivering so hard she shook the bed. A chuckle rose from Kael’s throat and he smiled even wider at the success of his revenge.
“Until I’m convinced your fever is gone, why?”
She gave him a nasty look. “Because being hot is a lot more fun than being cold, do you not agree? You had better be prepared to warm me up when this fever is gone,” she teased yet again, her teeth chattering and her eyes bright with fevered mischief.
Exhausted from the back and forth banter of her teasing the last couple of days, he finally had enough. “Are you ever gonna stop harassing me? We both know you’re not serious, so how about you just get some rest, okay?”
The impish smile that had danced across her face for the last few days evaporated, replaced by a scowl. “How do you know I am not serious? Do DeathWizards read minds now? I will stop when I feel like you are getting the hint. If you are too stupid to understand that, my dear, then that is your problem. I enjoy being with you, Kael. I am free, truly free, for the first time in my entire life. I want to enjoy it. All of it, even you. Why is that so hard for you to see?”
Surprised by her comments, Kael didn’t know what to say. The only woman he’d ever been with was Ember and she had been his entire life. Though he’d been very close to Lycori and he loved her dearly, she was only a friend, nothing more. He’d no idea that Kyah really felt that way about him and he’d no clue how he really felt about her. He did enjoy her witty teasing, but he didn’t think she’d been serious so he never thought about it. Most of his time had been spent thinking about how to stay alive.
Her calm voice brought him from his thoughts. “Now that I’m finished making a fool of myself… How about you come lay down here with me and get some sleep? If I have to shake while freezing the next few hours away, you can
at least keep me company, do you not think?”
“Fair enough,” he sighed. “But you’d better keep those freezing, shaking hands on your own side of the bed, got it?” he joked, trying to show her that she had been right.
“Ah,” she laughed. “No promises.”
He lay down beside her, earning himself a smile. “We are free, Kael, try to enjoy it,” she offered. “Life is too short.” There was nothing to worry about when it came to her cold hands, however, because her high fever took her back to sleep the moment she closed her eyes.
The ocean air was fresh and crisp as it blew through the two portholes above the bed. It cleared Kael’s tired mind and relaxed his sore, exhausted body as he lay there with nothing but his own thoughts to worry about. He felt at peace for the first time in almost five long months. He knew it likely wouldn’t last, but for now it felt good. It felt really, really, good.
Kael fell into a peaceful sleep for the first time in many months. He slept with the nightmare-free peace that comes from being completely free.
Where I come from, a small city called Sam’s Bay, USA, we value freedom more than anything else, but it is a freedom that our ancestors fought and won for us. I have come to realize recently that we have no idea what real freedom even is. After living through the last few months, I see now that I, like many others, have taken my freedom back home for granted. It was and is something I and many others have inherited. But here in this world, many are born and even sold into slavery every single day. Kyah is living proof of that. She told me once that she had been a slave from the very second her mother had been forced to conceive her. Very few people from my world could ever understand this. I understand this now. I understand it better than most ever will.
I no longer take my freedom for granted and I know what the real meaning of the word is. To be truly free you must be prepared to fight, to suffer, and if need be even die in order to keep it. The four of us have faced the raw power of evil and suffered the worst it could give us in return for our freedom. Now that we have earned it, I will make goddamn sure we keep it. I will never give up my freedom again. I would rather die. If this twisted, torturous world and everyone in it are so obsessed with taking my life from me, then they can come and get it. If I die, it will be on my feet, fighting and free. I understand this now, I understand it all too well.
EXCERPT FROM KAEL SYMES JOURNAL,
FOUND ON THE SHORES OF THE SEA OF STORMS.
DAYS OF LIGHT, 5025 PC
Chapter Forty-Seven
TAZAMMOR MOUNTAIN
Half way up the sloping south side of Tazammor Mountain were a series of caves that opened to the mountainside. From deep inside one of these caves, a noise shuffled in the dark depths. The sound of something being dragged along the dusty stone floor, the dull scrape of metal on stone, and stone against rock and dirt.
Fathoms deep, miles of maze-like tunnels spread out from these few openings to the surface. The battle half a mile from the cave openings had raged on for days. The Mahala had fought relentlessly against the Deep Earth’s newest killer. Outmatched against such ancient power they threw hordes of numbers against the Feared One.
One who listens to the darkness often sees more than those with perfect vision. The crunching and popping of bone. The hollow dripping of blood and the sound of flesh being rent from the body. Moans, cries, and the weeping terror of mortal wounds. The gagging stench of unnatural fear and the cloying aroma of desperate battle. And... Finally… Silence.
Such old power had never walked the Deep Earth before the past few weeks. The Mahala, the Deep’s most evolved and efficient killers, were no match for a predator that hadn’t walked Talohna’s soil for over twelve thousand years. But vast numbers of the desperate and the vengeful will always take their toll, even against such forgotten strength.
A shuffling noise approached the entrance to the very cave Kael had laid unconscious in only days before. The smell of his scent was strong, along with the others, but more importantly, unlike the others, she could still feel his power. His energy, magic from the home plane of her kind still flooded the caves. It tickled her nose and cleared the pounding fog from her mind. His scent was what she had followed to this cave and to her freedom. Feeding on the Mahala for so long had left her ill and weak, their tainted blood poison, even to immortals, though it left her much stronger than when she woke.
The Mahala warrior being dragged across the stone floor came back to consciousness with a squeal of terror and tried to twist from her grip in order to run far away from his captor. With lightning-like reflexes she turned, tearing into him with a savage hunger that she knew would only add to the gnawing agony that seeped into her bones, but would still fuel the strength she needed to escape into the surface world. The Mahalan scout clawed and fought until the last of its blood pumped onto the dirt of the dark cave.
With a painful wince, the Feared One stood, her body covered in cuts, bite marks, and puncture wounds, all received from the Mahala or their raw obsidian blades, one of the hardest of weapons for her kind to heal from. Turning towards the cave entrance, she stumbled twice and finally fell into the moonlight shining down from the clear night sky above her. She struggled back to her feet, the Sea of Storms filling her vision all the way to the horizon. A lone two-masted ship sailed through the calm waters of Flatwater Bay to her left with a speed that could only be powered by magic. She closed her eyes and focused on the ship below. Kael’s essence shone behind her eyes like a beacon of hope.
“Kael,” she sighed, dropping to her knees and opening her eyes, watching the ship head out into the treacherous waters of the infamous sea.
After waking in the complete darkness of the Deep, she had fought and killed her way to the surface, hounded by the Mahala the whole way. Never had she felt so tired and so sick. A single, silver-filled tear burned a shallow groove in her flesh as it trickled down her cheek. The thought of finally reaching the surface nearly overwhelming her.
Knowing she could do nothing to find Kael at the moment, the Feared One took a deep breath of fresh air and stared down the steep mountain. The RedMaw caverns held the remnants of her clan. Its leader, Salo, would be the only one who could help her. With the ancient clan-leader’s assistance, she would find Kael, but only after a certain witch ternion lay dead at her feet.
“Stupid witches,” Lycori Alatar muttered, as she wiped the silver tear from her cheek and carefully started picking her way down the mountain slope. “You can’t kill the DemonKind with silver. It merely wakes the demon.”
The End
Please enjoy a sneak peek of Chapter 1
from the upcoming 2nd book from the Darkness Within Saga.
Coming soon:
The Darkness Within Saga: Book 2 Blood of the Lost
CHAPTER ONE
NORTHERN ELLORYAN FOREST, ELLORYA
Desiree Star plunged head first into the stagnant, slow moving creek. Pulling her head from the noxious green slime, she gagged as the taste of rot filled her mouth. Realizing it came from the putrefying human corpse half submerged in the creek, her stomach rebelled, tossing nothing but bile from her empty stomach. A howl followed by the crash of something heavy racing through the forest behind her, spurred her back to her feet and straight into another desperate run.
Her legs ached, constantly throbbing and adding more agony to the pulsating thump behind her eyes from lack of sleep caused by over two full days of running and fighting. The apprentice assassin had known no fear until three days past. As the thought of what she witnessed bounced to the front of her mind, her legs trembled—making her stumble, cold fear flipped her stomach, but worse than either of those was the thought of being defenceless. The creatures chasing her were relentless, weres never gave up the hunt, but werewolves were so much worse. With both of Desiree's wooden dagger blades broken off inside of her, the massive alpha female still pursued her, the weapon's natural poison only slowing the great beast. It would be another hour before the blades grew back, she
guessed, the magic within the handles was efficient, but not perfect.
Another howl rolled across the valley behind her, bouncing off the mountain cliffs and dense brush, making it impossible to know exactly where the creature was. Desiree pushed harder, increasing her speed, dodging and slipping between the trees of the northern Elloryan Forest. Another howl, deeper than the female's, bounced off the rocks ahead of her and to the right. She stopped dead in her tracks. Holding her breath for a couple seconds, she could hear the female to her rear, racing through the forest. Darting to her left, Desiree leapt into a roll, running the moment her feet landed as a dark-pelted werewolf crashed into the tree behind her. The savage growl and exploding bark lent her more speed, but a second too late, as a blaze of silver hair slammed into her side, knocking her to the ground.
She lifted her arms to defend herself as the alpha female chomped down on her left wrist. Trained from the age of four to ignore pain, Desiree ground her teeth. Swallowing the tingle of fear creeping into her body, she smiled. Jamming her right thumb into the monster's mouth, she forced it under the tongue and pushed with everything she had. The werewolf gagged, letting go of her wrist and pulling back. The assassin shifted her weight, pushing her waist up. Throwing her right leg over her left, she grabbed the female by the neck and heaved both of their bodies to the left. The werewolf tripped on her legs, falling on its side and snapping its jaws. White teeth clicked, catching only air as Desiree mounted the creature, her good arm pressing down on the female's throat.