A Kingdom of Shadow

by Clara Johnson

  We were interrupted by a male voice humming behind Jonas.

  We both whirled around to see who it was. The man I’d been searching for was approaching us. He looked slightly cleaner than when I’d last seen him, but his face and hands were covered in fresh dirt that looked like ash. His home had burned down . . . did he just come from there?

  “Sir, I’m sorry to bother you, but you met me during the king’s last visit and—”

  “I remember, girl,” he said. He walked on, ignoring me. Jonas looked at me, questioning.

  “Sir, please. You were trying to warn me about the Darkness returning. I heard about your family and I know everyone says it was just a fire, but I think that you believe that it wasn’t just a fire. It was the Darkness that murdered your family,” I said.

  The man stopped and turned his ear to me, not saying a word.

  “Inferniwulves attacked my home. They killed my little brother. He was only ten years old. Not even a young man. He was sick, but he fought them until his last breath.” I took a deep breath, fighting to keep my voice even.

  The man faced me with a grave expression.

  “They killed him,” I repeated. “I know those monsters are part of the Darkness. Please . . . if there is anything you can tell me . . .” I couldn’t find the words anymore. All I could do was hope he would listen.

  The man walked up to me and took my hand. He gave me a small, comforting smile. His eyes weren’t of a stranger, but as a father—a man who knew my grief.

  “I know what you have lost, girl. I’m sorry, but all I can tell you is my story. Of how my own family died,” he said.

  “Please tell me your story, sir.” I stepped back beside Jonas. “We’re here to listen.”

  The man nodded and gestured us to sit down on the nearby log.

  “It was a nice day after a bad storm. Our fields were washed out and we spent the day trying to salvage what we could of the wheat. It was our livelihood, the wheat. I was the best wheat farmer in all of Elra. My wife Luelle was the love of my life. I met her when I was just a young man. She was too good for me, but she loved me anyway. I married her after I spent two years building our home. It was the best I could offer her. A home away from her family. She and I had difficulties in our first year having a child. When she started having that morning sickness, we knew we had succeeded. She gave birth to the most beautiful boy. Our son. We named him Daryll, after my father who passed away a couple months previous. He . . . he was six years old when he left his world. Too young. He was too young.”

  I took Jonas’s hand and he squeezes mine gently.

  “I loved my wife. I loved my son. I will always love them. I miss them, you understand. I haven’t seen them in years, but I can still remember their faces. I remember their faces when they were taken from me.”

  He swallowed and took a deep breath and I imagined the face of my brother when he was lying dead on the floor. I understood what horror this man suffered.

  “We had dinner. She made chicken with a fresh loaf of bread she just bought earlier at the market. We were about to go to bed for the night, but Luelle wanted me to check on the horses. I had to check the horses every night before bed, you see. Luelle was very fond of the horses and she wanted me to check on them every night before we went to bed so she would rest easy. I kissed Daryll goodnight and I went outside to the barn. The horses were quiet that night. Quieter than usual. Inside the barn, there was nothing but blood scattered across the floor. They were just gone—like something just snatched them up. When I ran outside . . . it was so dark. I couldn’t see a thing. I heard growls, but they weren’t like a dog’s growl. They were a deeper . . . evil.”

  His voice cracked and shook his head rapidly.

  “I went back to the house to find my family. The door was bashed in. I screamed over and over, but they didn’t answer me. I ran to the bedroom and found that the door was ripped from its hinges. There was a body. It was covered in blood. My wife . . . my wife was dead. Her body was ripped apart. Her eyes . . . they were wide open. My wife, the love of my life, the mother of my son was dead. I looked for our son, praying he didn’t share the same fate, but there was no sign of him. He should’ve been with her. She wouldn’t have left him alone.”

  Tears ran down my face. Jonas was gripping my hand tightly. His eyes filled with tears. I could only imagine . . . to lose the love of your life . . .

  “I couldn’t find him anywhere in the room. There was a loud crash in our kitchen. Whatever had murdered my wife was still in the house. All I could do was hope my son was still alive, and that whatever had killed my wife was lived as well so that I could have my vengeance.”

  “When I went to the kitchen, there was this . . . thing. I don’t know what it was. It was shaped like a human, but it stood there like it was part of the air itself. When it moved away from me, I grabbed one of the chairs and tossed it at the figure, but it vanished so quickly that the chair hit the wall instead. I grabbed a knife to defend myself and I felt something hit me in the back. It knocked me over and I hit my head on something. Everything was blurry, but I could see the thing standing above me. Its eyes were glowing blood red. I couldn’t see its face, but I saw what it was holding.”

  “It was my son. His body was pale, his neck broken. I screamed as it dropped him at my feet. I held his lifeless body. I held onto him, hoping he would wake up and I screamed at the thing, but it was gone. I carried my son’s body outside. I barely made it away from the house when I dropped to my knees. A light came from behind me. My home was on fire. The flames raised as high as the blackened sky. There was no part of it not engulfed in the flames. That was when I saw the figure again. It was no man and it wasn’t human. It looked at me and then it was gone. The night seemed to brighten. That cloudy shadow that covered my home was just gone like it was never there. All that remained was the fire, my life burning . . .”

  The man lowered his head. His cheeks were wet and I wanted nothing more than to hug him.

  “I lost everything I love that day and no one believed my story or of what I saw. That night . . . that was no human that took my family away from me. No man has the power to move like it was nothing more than the wind. I don’t know why it let me live. Maybe it wanted me to remember what had happened—to torture me. I don’t know.”

  What this man had seen, it sounded like something far worse than the inferniwulves that had attacked my home. This thing, whatever it was, didn’t sound like an animal. It sounded like a man who had possessed a conscious of what he was doing—not like an animal thriving on the killing instinct. It sounded . . . calculated. But what does this mean? What was the purpose of this?

  What was it if not an inferniwulf?

  I may have been the only person who understood what this man had gone through. To have everything taken from you. His life had been ripped away from him. Once a renounced wheat farmer, now he is labeled as nothing more than a homeless madman. Crazed by the grief over the loss of his family. I pitied him, but there was nothing I could say or do that could bring his family back. I was powerless to help him.

  The man patted my hand. “Thank you for listening to my story.” He grabbed his bag and turned to leave and it was then when I realized what I had to do.

  “Sir, I promise you this: I will avenge the death of your family. One way or another, I will find this thing you spoke of and kill it. I believe what you saw was the Darkness. I believe there was a reason they attacked your home. I will find it and I will kill it,” I promised.

  The man looked at my face and for a moment, there was hope in his eyes. I couldn’t bring back his family or his home, but maybe I could bring them justice. And give this man some peace.

  My own revenge grew hearing this man’s story as I gripped my hand into a fist and knelt before him, bowing my head. Thoughts of how many people have lost their lives to the Darkness weighed heavy on my shoulders. My purpose to find answers was stronger now and I would do everyt
hing possible to find them. Alone and without anyone’s help if need be.

  Then he simply walked away.

  ~ * ~

  Jonas and I headed back to Mightrun. The silence between us grew with each step. I supposed there was little to be said after such a tale. The words echoed in my mind as if they were whispering in my ear.

  I glanced at Jonas and he seemed as though he was contemplating his belief. He was raised to believe that the Darkness was nothing more than a story—a myth. The confusion on his face made me think that he no longer thought that. I wasn’t sure if he truly believed the man, but something was stuck on his mind.

  The sky was cloudy and it had gown chillier. This was the first time I’d been cold since I came here. Something in my stomach turned. I had a bad feeling but I brushed it off. The description of that thing had probably just spooked me. A human-like figure that moved through the air, but had glowing red eyes. It couldn’t have been a coincidence that the inferniwulves had them as well. The one inferniwulf had a gold ring in its eyes. It made sense that it was the alpha of the pack, but now I wasn’t so sure because there seemed to be bigger players at work besides demonic wolves. The connection seemed obvious, but there were still too many questions and not enough answers.

  Jonas suggested we return to the palace and I agreed without argument. As we approached the entrance to Mightrun, we heard screaming. We glanced at each other then broke into a run. We passed several people scurrying and running as if something was chasing them. Mothers pulled onto their children to get them inside of their homes and men were grabbing weapons from the blacksmith.

  We made it to the opposite side of town to see what was happening. My breath caught in my chest.

  A fog passed over the land, and the roars of what contained inside that it made it obvious of what was happening.

  The Darkness had come to Mightrun.

  We were under attack.

  CHAPTER 22

  Every part of me wanted to scream. Why were they here? How had they come here? How many were there? My mind raced, terrified. Iinferniwulves prowled in the distance, slow and steady. Their eyes glowing crimson red, ready to kill anything in their way. They halted as if they were waiting for a command to attack. I knew what they were planning to do and that was what scared me the most. All these people. We were all in grave danger.

  Jonas acted before me. He yelled at the people running towards us to go into the city. Guards surrounded us helping the families carry their children to the gate. Jonas was a natural leader and knew what to do. My ignorance weighed on me.

  A little girl was on the ground crying, ignored by the crowd and with no sign of her parents. I hurried to her and picked her up, looking for her mother. Between the people in the crowd, I saw a woman calling out and I carried the child towards her. The woman smiled in relief as I handed her child back to her. She thanked me before rushing to the gate.

  “We must seal the gates!” Jonas called out to the guards on the other side. They got into position. He put his hand on my shoulder.

  “You need to get to safety. Go join the others and I’ll come find you when all of this is over,” he ordered.

  I clenched my fists. My own safety was the least of my concerns. I am not a coward. I wasn’t going to run from these monsters.

  “Jonas, I’m not going to stay behind the gates while you run out there and get yourself killed!” I yelled.

  He ignored me and tried to force me through the gate.

  I braced myself on the wall and I whirled to face him. My brows furrowed.

  “I’m the only one here with any experience fighting these things. You need my help,” I snapped, gritting my teeth. Rage filled my blood. These monsters were not going to destroy more families. I wouldn’t let them. I’d die first.

  Jonas studied me for a moment. He glanced back for a moment before giving me a single nod, understanding. I was the only person here who had fought the inferniwulves before. I had killed two of them myself. I could help and this was one step of the many I would take to get my vengeance.

  A few guards stayed back to provide a second layer of defense for the citizens in case we failed. Jonas gave the order and the gates were sealed behind us. Five archers were stationed on the stone wall above us, knocking their arrows onto the string. Jonas handed me a bow and quiver, remembering my talents, then he asked me where were the inferniwulves most vulnerable. I told him that they were like normal wolves, vulnerable around the neck, but it was their speed that gave them the advantage.

  The men nodded then raised their shields and spears rushed to the bottom of the small hill. They formed a line across the inferniwulves’s path. I counted about twenty men. Twenty men besides Jonas and I to defend this city. No one was prepared for this. None of these men knew what they were facing. To them, these monsters were nothing more than a children’s story. Now, here they were about to face them in battle. I knew that under their helmets they were just as scared as I was, if not more.

  Jonas stayed back with two other guards waiting for the first strike. I readied my bow with an arrow behind them. Between myself and the other archers, we may be able to slow them down. The inferniwulves howled and ran towards us.

  With each passing second, I prayed to the Goddess to give us strength and courage. About fifteen in total of them emerged from the fog. Why there were so few of them? We outnumbered them, but something wasn’t right. If the Darkness wanted to take a hold of this city, it would’ve been logical that it would’ve brought an army. This was making less and less sense.

  Jonas called out to the archers, raising his sword. We pulled back on our strings, waiting for his command.

  Let their aim be true.

  “Loose!”

  I released my arrow along with the others. Some of them missed entirely. The others, including mine, hit a few of the inferniwulves, but it did little to slow them down. They didn’t even yelp to the pain they should’ve felt as it landed. I came to the conclusion that these may have been stronger than the ones I faced before. We immediately nocked our next arrows and loosed, doing everything we could to slow them down, but the inferniwulves managed to dodge most of them. They spread themselves out to gain a broader attack.

  The men held their ground and raised their spears upward. When the inferniwulves finally made contact, only three of them got caught in the spears, but even as they choked on their blood, they swung their claws before falling to the ground.

  Three down.

  The others leaped over the spears, their mouths gaping, ready to bite into their victims. Some of the men were knocked down, and they screamed as the beasts ripped into their bodies. Protecting themselves as much as they could with their shields, they dropped their spears and unsheathed their swords.

  The swords managed to do little damage—only making small cuts in their hides. I loosed another arrow at an inferniwulf that had pinned down one of the guards. I aimed for its eye, and got a howl of pain in return. There was so much chaos I couldn’t risk loosing my arrows repeatedly at them in case I hit one of the guards. The other archers followed my lead, taking careful aim, but most couldn’t get a clear target.

  The inferniwulves hide must have been stronger. The swords managed to do little damage. Only small cuts appeared on their bodies. I fired another arrow to an inferniwulf that pinned down one of the guards. I aimed for its neck. This time, it yelped in pain. It was so much chaos I couldn’t risk firing repeatedly at them. I would risk hitting one of the guards. The other archers followed me, taking careful aim, but most couldn’t find a clear target.

  Jonas and the other two guards were fighting off three of the inferniwulves that had broke through the battle. Thankfully, they also had shields, but Jonas wasn’t in his heavy armor, which made him more vulnerable than the rest of the guard. One clean hit would take him down.

  I fired at an inferniwulf attacking him. It cried out, and Jonas finished it off, removing its head from its body. It i
ncinerated to ash within seconds.

  Four down.

  Guards screamed. Five more were pinned down. I called out to the archers, telling them to aim for the inferniwulves on top of the trapped guards. Our combined effort weakened the, even managing to kill two of them.

  Six down.

  A woman screamed somewhere to my right, but I couldn’t pinpoint the source. I searched the surrounding area until the scream came again, and something moved towards the nearby stables. Someone must’ve not made it to the gate and decided to hide there, thinking it was safe. Fool! They’ll be killed!

  I ran as quickly as I could to the stable, following the screams. Two inferniwulves were trying to bash in a steel gate. Luckily, they didn’t see me at first. I took the element of surprise and released two shots back to back before they turned to face me. The arrows remained in their neck and shoulder, but the one moved as if the arrow wasn’t lodged into it. The other cried out in pain. I pulled out my daggers, standing ready.

  The first jumped, claws out, aiming for my face. I rolled to the side, dodging it. The other quickly rushed after me. I fell backward and kicked into its face. The attack surprised it enough to push it back a few feet. The first one attacked from my side and I leaped toward it and stabbed it where its neck met the shoulder. I pushed the dagger in as deep as I could and leaned my weight into the inferniwulf, pushing it to the ground.

  I had barely taken a breath before something tore right under my rib cage causing me to scream. Blood poured from the wound.

  Trying to will away the pain, I dodged the following attack and kicked the other inferniwulf in the face as hard as I could, stunning it. I moved to the steel gate, planning to trap it, but caught a glimpse of the source of the earlier screams. It was a woman, as I’d originally assumed, but there were three children with her. Her arms were around them, holding them as close to her as possible. Her brown skin was covered in blood. They’d managed to strike her at least once.