Due to her and Gryffon’s visits into the city, along with the guard and the watch’s regular patrolling, most of the worst cases had already been brought to the great hall anyway. Those left in the city were ones whose lives would not be threatened by having to wait a few more hours. Plus, with the way that those who had been cured were singing Phoenix’s praises, the rumors that were bound to spread about her miraculous healing were likely to be even greater than the reality would have been.
This their advisors agreed to wholeheartedly, and Layna left it to them to arrange. She turned her attention to her baby girl. Her wonderful, healing, little baby girl. They had her all tucked away, and were about to lay down themselves, when the mirror shimmered, signaling Katya was trying to reach them.
Layna sighed, and dragged herself to her feet, touching the frame of the mirror to connect to the magic, allowing Katya to project herself on it.
“Did it work?” the woman asked, with a strange tone.
Layna smiled, “It did. Phoenix had to sacrifice her talent in order to do so, but the curse is currently being spread backwards now, healing the people it infected as it spreads.”
“Good,” Katya stated, obviously relieved, but less excited than Layna would have expected.
Layna yawned, unable to put a hand over her mouth fast enough to stop it. “Do you mind if we discuss the details in the morning, I’m exhausted,” she practically begged.
Katya sighed, “I have something else to tell you I’m afraid, and I don’t think it can wait until morning.” She took in Layna’s haggard state. “You might want to sit down for this...”
CHAPTER 13
Kali transported giddily to the ancient resting ground. Katya had reportedly gotten the Gwich’in stone and had only to ask for the powerstone from the Dena’ina. Since those dimwits had been traveling all over creation with her to convince the other tribes to give theirs up, she had no doubt that their stone would soon be added to the rest. And the powerstone pieces would release their bonds as soon as the last one was taken.
She stood on the edge of the sacred spot, her body reverberating with nervous tension. Everything was in place. Her eyes darted around to each of the protection stones around her. They were secure.
In the distance, she could see a black fog creeping across the land. It spread like a drop of blood in a glass of water, spilling out over the land. Storm clouds mimicked its movements above, threatening to unleash a torrent of wind and rain at any moment. She could practically taste the maelstrom in the air.
A deep rumbling sounded from far beneath the earth. The sandy ground danced to its vibrations, making rippling patterns across its surface.
YES!
It was beginning. She watched eagerly as the sand began to fall away, into a newly created void beneath its surface. More and more sand fell away, leaving a gaping hole in its center. The wind swirled around in the hole, dragging more and more earth from the edges into the abyss. It grew larger and larger until its cavernous expanse was great tree-lengths across.
The chaotic magic of the area complained, a massive thunderhead roaring to life above the intrusion to its land. Sparks of lightning momentarily blinded Kali. The first deafening clap of thunder made her almost leap out of her skin, and her very bones reverberated with its sound.
She giggled gleefully, her eyes glued to the center of the hole, blinking away blind spots from the bright lightning.
Then she saw them. One by one, the first of them made it to the surface. They looked around briefly, then surged out. Soon, they were pouring out of the earth at an alarming rate. Kali felt a moment of panic. The sight of them was horrible. Flesh was ripped and hanging off their bloodied bodies, many of them burning with eternal flames. Great ugly horns sprouted from their heads and grotesque sharpened teeth protruded from too-large mouths.
She trembled, her fear awakened by their emergence. They were indeed fearsome creatures. The Dark King had certainly succeeded in his mission to create the most horrible creatures in existence. And now they would be set back upon his children. Kali smiled, her confidence returning. Then she raised her arms in triumph, now the Lost Ones would really get what was coming to them.
Her moment was interrupted by a voice behind her. Without turning around she recognized it as the Dena’ina leader.
“What are you doing?” he asked, the surprise in his voice at her presence making her smile widen into an outright grin.
She turned around slowly to face him. And the leaders of the other tribes. She met each of their eyes with her smug smile. Slade was with them, and she glared at the traitor with hatred.
“Come now, we all know the legends: One day when the world is ready to rid itself of these evils once and for all, one will come asking for the stones not to use them, but to stop their use. And, if you dig a little farther, you’ll discover that what they meant is that the bloodbeasts that were imprisoned here will be released back into the world.”
“So that they might be cleansed from this earth forever.”
“Hah!” Kali sneered. “Except that it wasn’t the person of legend who set them free, but rather a course of events which I orchestrated which allowed it to happen. It was me who put these events into motion, not fate.”
“Why?”
“Why?” Kali asked incredulously. “You do not see it? They will finally accomplish what we have been trying to do! The very creations of the darkness themselves will be what rids the world of its taint.”
“How do you figure that?”
“They will automatically be drawn to their maker, to the spot where his body rests, in the very heart of the Lost Lands. From there, they will purge the world of his evil.”
“You mean of all human life! You think they will stop at the border?”
“Our spells will protect us,” Kali said, “Just as they always have. The bloodbeasts will not even know we exist and we can take them out one by one until we can finally reclaim the world without the Dark King.”
“The Dark King has been dead for a long time, Kali.”
“I know that,” she snapped, “But his evil lives on. I have spent my entire life trying to figure out how to finally eradicate him once and for all. He is a disease upon this land that must be cured.”
“And you think that releasing his creatures will do this?”
Kali humored their curiosity. “At first, I sought to gather the powerstones for myself simply to strengthen the curse against the Lost Ones and make everyone in the tribe see the need for it. But once I started researching the stones, I stumbled upon the legend. After months of trying to decipher its meaning, I finally realized that it spoke of the stones being the focal points for a spell which kept the dark beasts at bay. If they were to be removed, the portal would open. At first, I was appalled, until I realized the usefulness. Isn’t it a perfect solution? Those of the Dark King’s blood wiped out by creatures of his making. It’s poetic. It’s justice. Only us pure humans will be left upon the earth.”
The Dena’ina leader spoke up softly. “Our protections were tied in with the powerstones. The powerstones which were destroyed on this portal’s opening, they melded into one and its purpose has been served. They will not stop with the Lost Ones.”
“What?” Kali scrunched her brow in confusion. There had been nothing in the writings about that happening. “No matter, by the time they realize we are here, we will be ready for them. Once their goal is accomplished, we will have no further use for them.”
“But Katya is the one who we gave the stones to, like the legend says, she will stop them.”
“Ha!” Kali snorted. “Only by my intervention did that happen. I had been unable to convince the pathetic members of my tribe that we needed to take more drastic measures against the enemy, so I had to pretend to be helping the child while I spread the curse. Then, when I realized that I would never be able to take the stones from all the tribes, I had to devise a way for it to be done for me. That’s where Katya came in. She really
has been rather useful to me for how tainted she is. First she brought me the Bloodstone which allowed me to key the curse to the aura of the Dark King, then she made me see the folly of my original plan for the stones. Instead, I would use her to take them.”
“How do you figure that it was you who made her take them?”
Kali giggled maniacally. They still didn’t see it! “I went to the Lost Lands and I convinced the councilman Heinrich on the Treymayne Ieldran that only by finding the stones could the curse be broken! And then I suggested that he create his own stronghold of the creatures so that he could study them himself to make a cure. Of course, this was really so that even if by some miracle the Queen was able to come up with something that would stop it, or if everyone in the bubble simply died without it ever spreading farther, there would still be reason to find the stones. So you see, I instigated events. I forced fate’s hand along the way. It is only because of me that the stones were asked for. You gave them to ME! And I will cleanse the world of the Dark King’s taint, just as the legend said will happen. Just not the way you all thought.” She laughed again.
The expressions on their faces were simply priceless.
*
Katya felt horrible as she relayed the news to Layna and Gryffon. After the stone had been sent back to them in order to break the curse, the Dena’ina had told her about a legend that their people had. Apparently, it was said that someone would come asking for the stone which would unlock the last of the Dark King’s taint to finally be cleansed. This person was said to accomplish specific tasks – the tasks that Katya had succeeded in doing, with the help of her group, in order to obtain the stones. The Dena’ina leader had known all along, and he hadn’t mentioned the possibility of something terrible happening when the stones were removed.
The legend was apparently very vague and no one really knew what exactly it meant, but the Dena’ina leader had done a fair amount of research into each of the tribe’s interpretations and concluded that the removal of all five stones would trigger the opening of a portal. This portal, he guessed, would release the bloodbeasts that had been trapped in ancient times because they simply could not be dealt with then.
So Katya had the unfortunate task of delivering more bad news to her friends. At least the curse had been broken – that was a small consolation. Though it had been at a price. Princess Phoenix would find her reign that much harder without power to back her – the royal family was well-known for its powerful mages throughout history – but Katya was sure she’d manage. She had two parents who loved her more than anything in the world; Katya could see it in their eyes. And besides, it’d be pretty hard to top Layna’s hardships with her reign.
“The leaders have all gone to the ancient spot described in the legend to see if anything happens. We’re hoping that perhaps the interpretation is wrong.” She paused, and added meekly, “It’s probably nothing, just got a little stormy with all the power that was being thrown around. And besides, the legends say that it will only happen when we are ready to cleanse the world, so we must be able to handle them even if it does open something.”
Layna was staring at her with eyes puffy and black with lack of sleep, and the worry that had been erased not long ago was back in full force.
“I thought you should be warned. Just in case.”
“You had to tell us this right before we were about to get in bed?” Gryffon’s sour face appeared behind Layna’s.
“It’s pretty important,” Katya said defensively. She thought they’d want to be made aware right away.
“I hate bad news before bed,” he grumbled and shuffled out of her view.
“Thank you, Katya; it’s good that you warned us. We need to go to Treymayne tomorrow to begin the cure spreading in their outbreak, but please keep us informed if anything does happen.”
“Sure,” Katya mumbled, a little put out at Gryffon’s attitude.
When she broke the contact, she found Hunter watching her with an amused expression.
“He’s just exhausted and now they’ll probably be up even longer talking about and worrying about the possibility of another problem before it even becomes one.” He laid a hand on her shoulder. “That’s all.”
She let out a short puff of air. “You’re right, of course.” She wrapped her arms around him. “Have I told you that I only started being able to feel my emotions fully the last few years? Most of the time I think I’ve worked them out quite nicely, but every once in a while one throws me for a loop.”
Hunter laughed. “I think everyone has trouble handling their emotions at one point or another, Katya.”
She leaned in close to him and whispered in his ear, her breath hot against his cheek. “You know one emotion I’ve found comes really easily with you?”
He shifted his body against hers and she could tell she was getting it right.
“What’s that?” he asked, his voice lowering in pitch and taking on a husky tone.
Before she could answer, there was a loud crackling sound as magic was forced into submission to complete a transport spell. The Dena’ina leader suddenly appeared before them, followed by the Kanza, the Dakelh, the Gwich’in, and finally Slade – who the Myaamia had apparently chosen to act as their substitute leader – ironically, Katya thought. Grayson, the Elder who had really stepped into that position had decided that he needed to stay within the tribe to sort out their whole mess.
She removed her arms from around Hunter’s neck and glared at them all for having rudely interrupted her moment. Slade had a rather peculiar look on his face, and he looked away quickly when her eyes met his. Her glares were met by blank stares. They all seemed to be in shock.
“So, I take it something happened?” she prompted them when none seemed inclined to elaborate on what had put them all in such somber moods.
“I am saddened to say that I was correct in my thinking that the stones would release the ancient bloodbeasts upon the land.” The Dena’ina leader did not look at Katya, and as he spoke again he seemed almost to be speaking to himself. “Did she manipulate me into making you into the one of the legends?” He finally drew his gaze to meet hers.
“Who?” she asked, confused.
“Kali. When we went to the portal, she was already there, bragging that she was the one who started the events in motion. That because it was her that orchestrated the events, it would be her interpretation of the legend that would come to pass.”
“And just what is her interpretation of the events?” she asked warily.
“That the cleansing of the Dark King’s taint from the world means that the bloodbeasts will be set upon the Lost Ones to wipe them out. Not that we will destroy them as our ancestors could not.” He looked imploringly into her eyes. “Could I have made you into the chosen one of the legend? I knew all about them, had studied each of the tribes’ versions. I brought Petra knowing she would be invaluable; I pushed you to begin this journey in the first place. What if Kali is right and the legend is now going to wipe out all of humanity for my error?”
“I’ve never put much stock into legends,” Katya lied. Her own prophecy, that those she cherished would suffer until she found her other half had proved to be true. Then again, this had been delivered by the Oracle as the Word from the Three. Not some tribal superstition. Perhaps by helping to save the world once again and finally cleanse the world of the Dark King’s taint would help her fulfill the other half of her prophecy – that her soul was marred by evils, but could be saved. That her fate was tied with the world’s. Well, it certainly seemed to be that way again. “I don’t care what the legends may or may not say. We will stop the bloodbeasts. And I don’t see that there’s any reason I have to do it alone. Your legend might say that the one who takes the stones has to slay the beasts herself, but I’m no one of legend, and I want as many people with me as I can gather. Can I count on all of you?” she asked, sending a questioning look out to each of the tribe’s leaders.
None were overly eager to com
e forward to help her fight a horde of bloodbeasts newly released from a hundreds-of-years-old prison. Finally, it was Slade that stood forward.
“The Myaamia will fight with you,” he said firmly.
The Dena’ina leader followed his lead. “And the Dena’ina,” he stated, nodding his head. He seemed to be weighing the truth behind her words, and decided that it was their best hope of survival.
One by one, the other leaders came forward.
“Will we really be able to defeat them?” the Dakelh leader asked. “Even with the five tribes working together, there are only so many of us.”
Katya grinned at them. “You are forgetting all the people of the Lost Lands as you call them. They will be willing to come and help as well. We are all in this together.”
The leaders of the tribes all wore taken-aback expressions. Some were worse than others. The Kanza leader looked almost sick to his stomach at having to accept help from the Lost Ones. The Dakelh just looked thoughtful.
Katya was confident. With everyone against the bloodbeasts, how could they lose? “We should go scout the area and decide where best to take them would be. Do we know where Kali went?”
The Dena’ina leader shook his head. “She was well prepared for the beasts to attack her, so she had protection stones all around. And since we were taken by surprise that she was there at all, she escaped before we could subdue her.”
They transported back to the place that the leaders had witnessed the opening, from a hill far above where the great hole had opened in the ground. Katya’s confidence wavered slightly as she saw what was below them.
She raised an eyebrow. There were hundreds of beasts roaming the plain below. They ranged in sizes and took on shapes of every known creature and many unknown ones. At the moment, they seemed to be fighting amongst one another, and only a few were yet venturing beyond their crater of earth. The ones that were starting off were all going in the same direction, however. Towards Gelendan.
Light the Reign (The Forgotten: Book 3) Page 18