Book One: Beginnings

by Nicole Ashley Brown Segda

  Tom raises an eyebrow. “No offense, but despite your book knowledge, you are rather naïve.”

  Chase crosses his arms and answers his own question. “I know. Of course they realize this, but they cannot fathom giving up any portion of their power, despite the fact that this greed is a detriment to the well-being of the people and the kingdom for that matter. And I know that I shouldn’t be surprised in this, but that in itself worries me.” Another thought comes to mind. “With the death of the royal family, any claim on the crown of the high king that Laentus had was dissolved. So, what was the point in continuing the war?”

  “Over time, the reason for the war was reshaped from a quest for power to a fight for land. Instead of blood, war ran through their veins. The ancient kings thrived on it. For all intents and purposes, with Laentus’ connection to Lord Donovan obliterated, the king of Jewel was the rightful heir to the throne but he wasn’t recognized as such then and he isn’t known as such now.”

  Chase considers this but is still troubled. “Last night you said that you were a sailor back when the kingdoms were still united. Is it safe to assume that there was a short period within the last thirty years when a High King was recognized?”

  Tom nods. “Ah. You’re not as naïve as I thought. Still I wouldn’t say that assumptions would be safe, but you are correct in this reasoning. For a time, a very short time mind you, King James of Jewel was considered the High King but he abdicated in lieu of a threatening regeneration of the animosity between the kingdoms of Laentus and Jewel. His reign was during an abnormally long period of peace, and the people of Ilia sought out someone to lead them. The logical choice was King James, and we Ilians are logical people. Most of the time. Anyways, old habits die hard and war was beginning to rear its ugly head once again. Seeing to the needs of the people for once, the two war hawks put aside their weapons and instead shook hands. It is believed that his highness’ abdication is a condition as stated by the Dragon Treaty, but no one can be for sure. Now, all that remains of a once glorious united land is a dwindling confederacy, each kingdom having to handle this new threat from Sentra virtually by themselves.” Tom sniffs and shakes his head. “It’s ironic if you think about it. This new threat arising from where the problems that ignited the Lion Wars began.”

  Chase’s pace slackens as he processes this information. “The Dragon Treaty ended the Lion Wars….”

  Tom nudges Chase forward and continues, “Yes, but much suspicion surrounds what occurred on that fateful night that saw the conclusion of the Lion Wars. I’m not even sure of it myself, and I was there.” He involuntarily rubs his arms and shivers as a memory flashes before his eyes. “Those poor children. So many families were torn apart. It should have never come to that. Don’t get me wrong. I have the utmost respect for the kings and queens of Ilia, but they have a tendency to let the power go to their heads. And this time, the stakes were just too high. With great power comes great responsibility, and great sacrifice.” Tom contemplates for a moment and then continues, “But sometimes it’s not the power that drives a king, or a man for that matter, but fear.”

  Chase stares at Tom, who consciously keeps his eyes on the trail ahead of them. Chase walks half a step behind him, himself drawn into silence by his own fears. They continue along the path, neither one saying a word. What could be said? The distant yet undeniable ring of truth amplifies the portent of the statement. Images from his previous night’s dream dance in front of him, in particular a man—the man who was in the boat awaiting their arrival. Chase sighs but his exhalation is broken by a bewildered gasp. He grabs Tom’s arm, forcing the sailor to face him. “What did you say?”

  Tom glares back at Chase as if staring into the eyes of a madman. “Sometimes a man … is driven by fear.”

  Chase tightens his grip on Tom’s arm. “No! Before that … that night … you were there … you helped us escape!”

  * * *

  Lara lies on the soaked green grass of the hill on which the Sylvan cottage is situated. She stares up at the clouds that float overhead in the brilliant blue sky and smiles.

  “It feels so good to be home.”

  She turns her head to look at Kae who is quietly sitting on the grass beside her. Lara’s smile dissipates as she sees the solemn look on her sister’s face. She sighs and supports herself on her elbows.

  “If I hadn’t known better, I would say that perhaps you should get some rest, but being that you haven’t slept well since Chase left, I doubt that you would take that advice.”

  Kae continues to stare out across the field but her expression becomes more rigid. “If I hadn’t known better, I would say that you were inferring that what Chase has or has not done matters to me.”

  Lara sits up and wraps her arms around her knees. “Does it?”

  Kae turns to face Lara, the look on her face vicious yet helpless at the same time. “Of course not.” She closes her eyes and sets her jaw. “I just thought that … things … would be different.” She opens her eyes and stares out at the mountains in the horizon again. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”

  Lara wraps an arm around Kae’s shoulder and draws her into her embrace. She caresses her hair and whispers, “I know. I know. I miss them, too.” A single tear rolls down Kae’s face.

  Lara releases her embrace and she gingerly stands up. For a moment the wind seems to pick up speed, swirling around her in welcome. The moment ends but leaves her with a smile upon her face. She runs the rest of the way up the hill, stopping and turning for only a second in order to call to her sister. “Come on. Let’s go for a ride.”

  Kae looks up, drawn away from her reverie. She chases Lara to the stables, but she has already mounted a horse by the time Kae reaches them. She leans against the flank of one of the horses, trying to catch her breath. Lara darts off upon the horse, leaving Kae in a fit of carefree laughter. Kae swings her leg over the brown mare with ease, and then sets out to pursue her sister who is already halfway across the field.

  Lara leans forward clutching the gray mane of the white stallion, using shifts in her body position to guide the horse. She races across the plain, the hooves reverberating upon the lush land and the wind rushing past her, creating a playful rhythm of earth and sky and giving her a sense of freedom. She leans forward farther and the stallion understands this signal to run faster. Lara laughs in delight as the combined songs of the earth and the sky blend into one luxurious harmony. She rises up to a near sitting position, slowing the stallion to a brisk canter. The horse circles around, rearing its head and snorting as if in mimic of Lara’s laughter. Staring across the plain, she sees Kae coming and waves a hand.

  Kae smiles and lets her horse come to a stop beside Lara’s mount. She gracefully dismounts and strokes the black mane of the mare. The two horses take this opportunity to graze, their perked up ears the only indication that they are aware of their surroundings.

  Lara closes her eyes and lifts her arms in exultation. She inhales deeply and then lets out one long cry, the wind wrapping itself around her voice and carrying it across the land. The horses twitch their ears, but are otherwise unaffected by this display that they have become accustomed to whenever the woman with golden eyes takes them for a ride. With a sigh, she lets the cry die and then looks earnestly at her sister.

  Kae matches Lara’s gaze and fervently shakes her head. “Un-uhnn. I have no mind to be screaming my problems to the world.”

  Lara furrows her brow in mock consternation, the smile evident in her glowing golden eyes. “What do you mean?”

  Kae laughs. “You know perfectly well what I mean, Lara.”

  A mischievous grin creeps across Lara’s face. “I am swifter on foot and faster on a horse, as well. I guess that when things go by so quickly, focusing on the details instead of the panoramic view in front of me tends to slow me down. I still see them but in the long run, they just aren’t as important.” She jumps off the horse onto the ground. “Experience should not shape our attitude. It only se
rves as a lesson, and we must learn from it lest we forget what is most important in life.”

  Kae crosses her arms in contemplation. “And what would that be?”

  Lara’s eyes dance with a fire that Kae has never seen before. “To live it.”

  Kae laughs. “Perhaps, but I don’t see the point in….”

  “Exactly. There is no point. It just serves as a way to release pent-up emotion.”

  Kae looks around and sighs, “You won’t tell anyone, will you?”

  Lara’s hands fly to her chest, feigning apprehension. “And admit that I do the very same thing? Of course not.”

  Kae closes her eyes and turns so that she is facing the wind. She opens her mouth, but then closes it again. She turns to her sister as if looking for some kind of assurance but is only met with the calm stare of her black mare. A white flash is darting towards the horizon. She hadn’t even heard the hoofbeats of the horse as it galloped away, as if the mare had flown the distance. Kae smiles, appreciating the solitude that Lara had given her. Gathering her courage, she takes a deep breath and then expels it in one melodious burst. Her voice grows, sound flowing from deep within her on a rising current of emotion. The tumultuous waves washing away her pain, a pain that she had not even realized had been there in the first place. The waves recede, disappearing into a sea of tranquility.

  With her eyes still closed and mouth still open, sound no longer coming from it, she begins to twirl. Dancing to some tune that only she can hear. The sweetness of it restores her and she feels at peace, but the moment is shattered by an overwhelming sense of doom. The sweet song has changed to a baleful cry, getting fainter as she strains to hear it. With urgency, she mounts her horse and races back towards the Sylvan cottage.

  * * *

  Ashe folds up the tent in which they had taken shelter during the previous night’s rainstorm and secures it with a length of sinew. He sets the bundle down next to the rest of their belongings and then paces towards the river to replenish the dwindling supply of water in his jug. He takes a seat next to Cole who is slowly turning the spit from which hangs a wild boar that Ashe had flushed from the forest earlier that morning. The hot coals nestled in a cooking pit burn red despite the fact that the fire has long since died down. Ashe takes a drink from his water jug and wipes his mouth. “Some storm last night, huh? I’m glad that we found those stones,” he pats the log on which they sit, “because the wood around here is far too wet to even produce tendrils of smoke.”

  Cole turns the stones, using a branch as a poker. He stares at the coals and sighs, “Yeah.”

  Ashe leans forward and puts his hands together. “What’s wrong?”

  “It is just unnerving to know that we are being watched. This entire situation just seems wrong. I have an uneasy feeling about this war.” He puts down the poker and looks at Ashe. “I am not sure that we should go to Nesthra.”

  Ashe sighs, “To tell you the truth neither am I, but we really don’t have a choice. This may not be our war at the moment, but if we don’t finish this in Nesthra, it will eventually consume all of Ilia.”

  Cole snorts. “You talk as if our involvement in this war will really change its outcome.”

  Ashe rises and douses the coals with water. “I don’t claim to know the future; it’s just that trying to help makes more difference than doing nothing.” He removes the pig from the spit and carefully slices it. He sets out a portion for Cole and for himself and then places the remainder of the meat in a waterproof pouch. They eat their breakfast in silence and then continue on their way towards the rendezvous point in Cape Terna.

  Cole stops suddenly, turning his head to survey the surrounding forest.

  Noting Cole’s abrupt pause, Ashe examines each shadow cast by the thick patches of undergrowth, seeing nothing. He turns to Cole to urge him ahead but finds the man’s gaze intent on a certain area behind some silver-specked foliage. Upon closer evaluation, Ashe realizes that what he had thought to be some sort of flower are two yellow eyes. The rest of the body begins to fill in, a shaggy silver coat replacing what he had thought to be leaves. The wolf makes no move towards either man save to step from the shadows that had been its hiding place.

  Ashe’s voice cracks with wariness. “Seems we have found our stalker.”

  Cole tightens his jaw. “Then why do I still feel as if we are walking into a trap?”

  * * *

  Jessica paces down the hallway and shudders as if an imagined wind has just swept through the house. She runs her hands up and down her arms and shakes her head as if dispelling some chilling notion. Instead of joining Maria and Joel in the kitchen, she returns to her room and crawls into bed. She shivers once more and pulls the blankets closer around her body. Her breathing becomes shallow and her head begins to pound as startling images dance before her eyes. The view of her room begins to swirl into a blinding mass of spiraling color, until the room is gone altogether. She feels her body being pulled into the void and a pain races through her as if every nerve in her body is tingling with sensation. A light appears at the end of what had at first appeared to be a tunnel into oblivion. Its gravitational force becomes stronger as she nears it. She can feel her entire body wrenching, as if the very atoms of her entire being are struggling to separate and to leave her as some forgotten amorphous entity. She reaches the end of the tunnel. The searing heat and blinding light rend her body rigid. The light flashes and it is over.

  She is back in her room, her body writhing and her fingers clutching the sides of her bed. Her eyes are wide open but unseeing for the moment. Her body ceases convulsing but she lies still, frozen with fear. A sense of deep foreboding haunts her thoughts but her sobbing eventually recedes into a series of hiccups. When her vision clears, she sees the worried faces of Joel and Maria peering down at her. She tries to sit up but her strength fails her. She feebly reaches out and Joel cups her hand between his. He kneels beside her as Maria moves to the other side of the bed and begins dabbing Jessica’s sweat-beaded brow with a damp cloth. Jessica opens her mouth to speak but finds her throat to be dry and useless.

  Joel rises and sits on the edge of the bed. He lifts Jessica’s weary body and cradles her in his arms. He caresses her back and gently kisses the top of her head. Closing her eyes, Jessica weeps.

  Maria partially closes the door as she leaves the room, giving Jessica and Joel some privacy. She finds Lara and Kae in the hallway staring at her, frightened.

  Lara is the first to speak. “We heard screaming….”

  Kae continues, “Is everything all right?”

  Maria’s face is flustered, unsure of the answer to the question. She and Joel had been in the kitchen when they heard moaning coming from Jessica’s room. Without a word they were out of their chairs and making a mad dash towards the room that Kae shares with Jessica. They found Jessica on her bed, her face contorted in unimaginable pain and her chest heaving erratically. Seeing her like that, inexpressible fear seized her heart, paralyzing her. And then she began to scream, a blood-curdling cry that shattered her already dwindling resolve. And all she could do was stand there, frozen in fear.

  Then Joel took charge rushing to Jessica’s side, securing her thrashing body and raising his voice in a desperate effort to reach her. Maria watched as a light filled the room and began to grow, her mouth gaping open as she saw Joel to be its source. His eyes were closed and he seemed unaware of the power that was emanating from his body. Both he and Jessica cried out and the light spilled across the room, the energy rushing through Maria and leaving her breathless. She closed her hazel eyes and waited for the sizzling warmth to be gone, praying that the light will not take her with it. The sensation passed and she opened her eyes. Joel was standing over Jessica, drained but determined to appear strong when she would finally awake. She crossed over to the bed, the claws of fear still clutching her heart. A breath of relief had escaped her mouth when Jessica came around. Thank God that Jessica is alive, but she could just as easily have been dead. So
is everything all right? She looks back at the room from whence she came and then turns to face Lara and Kae.

  “I don’t understand it, so how can I possibly determine whether or not everything is all right? One moment she is fine, then on her deathbed the next. She is alive but shaken, and I can’t help but feel that this is not the last time that something like this will happen.” She covers her face with her hands, the red tresses of her hair falling forward like a crimson wave of despair. “And I have no idea of how to stop it.”

  The door to the room opens and Joel steps out. He pulls the door shut and looks at the three women in the hall. He wipes his brow and puts his hands behind his neck, bringing his elbows together before him. “She’s resting, now.” He leans against the door and slides down to the floor. “I think she’ll be fine, but I’ll remain close just in case.”

  Lara smiles. “Seems that you are her own personal protector now.”

  Joel looks up at her and returns her smile. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  Tom stares into Chase’s troubled blue eyes, his own sapphire irises filled with suspicion and a seriousness that counteracts his normally casual countenance. The skin of his arm beneath Chase’s grip gradually grows warmer with each breath, the warmth of his body seeming to flow towards that one spot. A chill passes over him, only surpassed by the intense heat of Chase’s hands threatening to draw his very essence from this corporeal cage of blood and bones. Slowly Chase removes his hand, taking the burning sensation away with it. Tom takes a breath as his body temperature returns to normal, all the while keeping his gaze fixed on Chase.

  A moment passes before anyone speaks. The sounds of the forest around them seemingly dulled as in acquiescence to some tacit request for silence. Tom speaks with a slow firmness.