Zak swung the sword to strike Shane to have his made of ice meet with one of steel. Shane’s block against his strike instantly shattered his ice weapon he had created from his own magic, causing Zak to fall backwards to the ground. Shane was advancing on him with the steel in his direction when he heard RJ shout his name and rolled away. Darkness immediately covered Shane’s face as RJ ran towards them. Standing to his feet and reaching out towards his friend, he found himself gripping his own sword. He looked at RJ with a raised eyebrow and a smile.
“Figured you could use that,” RJ remarked.
“Thanks, my friend,” he replied quickly.
“Now I’m going to take out some of these blood suckers.”
He let out a slight laugh as RJ ran towards a group of Vampires ready to fight before turning back towards Shane. He watched as his once friend uncloaked himself so that he could be seen clearly again. It angered him more that Shane was trying to prevent being seen.
“You are a coward!” Zak spat in his direction.
“I am not the one fighting for a lost cause,” Shane declared.
“Our cause will never be lost as long as the Empress’s tyranny exists.”
Zak instinctively lifted his sword to block a blow from Shane. Their swords met in a loud crashing of steel. Zak was confident he could get the upper hand as he knew that Shane’s strength was never with a sword. He advanced on him and their meeting turned into a sequence of clamorous blows. Steel met steel as one would attack and the other would parry, causing Zak surprise at Shane’s newly acquired abilities with the weapon that had always seemed his weak spot. The back and forth of barrage between them was not going to end anytime soon. Zak already had sweat cascading down his face and he could see that Shane did as well. He knew very well that neither was going to give up easily. He just knew that he planned to be the one victorious.
“I’m better than you expected,” Shane remarked. “It’s obvious in your reaction.”
“I can still defeat you,” Zak practically growled.
Shane laughed again as he parried his opponent’s attack. Zak was not going to back down and he was not going to lose. He could not allow that. Treachery could not go without punishment, especially not when it is from someone who has been as close to the resistance’s inner circle as Shane had been. The anger in Zak had him advancing harder and harder, trying to force Shane to back down. A determination filled him completely as his next thrust knocked the sword from Shane’s hand.
“Give it up, Shane,” he practically commanded. “You know I’ve got you beat.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that, Zak,” Shane countered confidently.
“You’ve been disarmed.”
“Not for long.”
Before Zak could react he felt something strong grab him from behind, causing his grip on the hilt of his sword to loosen.
“Drop it boy!” the heavily accented, deep, male voice demanded.
Zak could tell by the accent and strength of the man that had a hold of him that it was a Vampire and likely an undead one. His suspicions were confirmed by the malevolent laugh that Shane was emitting. He was nearly frozen as the Vampire that held him pulled his arm close to his lips and bit down. He cried out as the pain seared through him and his sword slipped from his hands to the ground. A few short moments later, he felt the Vampire loosen his grip before his fell to his knees on the ground.
“Now, now, what element did your blood gift me with?” the Vampire questioned in a wicked tone.
“His element is water, Vílhelm,” Shane revealed. “Now go and let me finish what I came here to do.”
Zak looked up as Shane approached him. There was blood still spilling from the bite on his arm and he felt quite weak from the Vampire’s drinking of his blood. He did not have the strength to pick up his sword. His confidence had washed away with his vitality. He now expected the worst as he was now unable to fight back.
Addí had been successfully taking out living Vampire after living Vampire as she fought her way through the center of the village. She was even using her fire power with confidence to burn quite a few of them to ashes. No one had arrived from Corinthia to aide them yet but she was already seeing the skirmish turn back into their favor. At least that was how it all seemed until a loud scream turned her attention to the far side of the town. She instantly recognized the sound of Zak’s outcry. He was in pain, and she could feel it through him.
“Zak!” she yelled as she began to run towards him.
She kept her eyes focused on her brother as she saw him on his knees looking up at a figure whose face she could not see. It had been obscured from her view somehow but whoever it was meant to harm her brother more than he already was. He looked defeated to her eyes and it scared her. She sped up as much as she could to try to reach him but stopped dead in her tracks when she watched the shadowy figure plunge Zak’s own sword straight through his stomach.
A primal scream released from her lips without a thought as she dropped to her knees. Tears spilled from her eyes in disbelief as she watched her brother’s body fall back to the ground and the same figure that attacked him walked away. Her tears were blurring her vision as she begged for what she saw to not be real. She stood to her feet, hoping it was some cruel joke, and started to run towards Zak. He had to be ok. He just had to be.
She sat on the ground next to him and began to pull him into her arms. There had to be a way to save him. She could not let him die.
“Addí,” he croaked.
“You’re going to be ok, Zak,” she sobbed as she tried to smile.
“There’s no need to lie, little sis.”
“It’s not a lie. You’re not dying on me. I can save you.”
“No, Addí. You can’t save me.”
“Don’t say that! I can!”
She began to cry uncontrollably as his hand reached up and touched her face. He gave her a small smile before laying his hand in hers.
“I’m sorry, Addí,” he breathed as his life began to leave him.
“No!” she screamed as she watched his eyes close and death take her brother away.
There was no controlling her tears as she slumped over with her head touching Zak’s. This could not be real! Her brother could not really be gone.
Chapter Thirteen
RJ was busy helping John and Rínae push the Vampires into a retreat when he heard a scream he knew came from Addí. He could pick out the sound of her voice anywhere and by the sound of it, something was very wrong. He turned towards the direction of her voice and saw her laying over a body he knew was Zak’s. His instincts were telling him that something very bad had happened. His heart started pounding in anxiety and the thought of why he could see the siblings in the position they were in.
“John, something has happened!” he quickly exclaimed to the older Witch. “I have to go to Addí and Zak.”
“Run and I will be there as quickly as I can,” John responded, keeping his attention on continuing to push the Vampires back from the village.
RJ took off running without hesitation. He had to get to them. He had to know what happened. He could only silently pray that they were both alive as he moved as fast as he possibly could towards them. Neither of them had moved from the position he first saw them in, which he found greatly worrisome.
When he finally approached them he could hear the sound of Addí crying. He tried to walk towards her slowly so he did not scare her but he found it hard to slow his pace. He crouched down beside her and gently put an arm around her back.
“What happened, Addí?” he asked her quietly.
“He’s gone. I couldn’t save him,” she answered through her tears.
RJ was finding it very hard to believe what he was hearing. It could not be true! No, Zak was not dead! Zak was strong, brave, and very skilled with a sword. There was no way this was true. He tried to fight against the thought of it in his mind but he could not escape the sound of Addí’s tears. Slowly he reached his o
ther hand down towards his friend’s neck and pressed two fingers against the spot where he was sure to find a pulse. He could feel the tears start to form in his own eyes when he felt nothing. How did this happen?
“This isn’t your fault,” he spoke quietly as he tried to pull her closer to him.
“I should have been able to save him!” she practically yelled.
He wrapped his other arm around her and pulled her even closer. He loved her with everything in him but he could not take away this pain. He could not bring Zak back to life either. Her brother and his best friend had been cruelly taken from them both. As he tried to soothe her, he let his eyes scan down Zak’s body to see the sword sticking out of his stomach and the pool of blood around his torso. He tried to fight his own tears, knowing that Addí needed his strength right now but it was one of the hardest things he had ever attempted to do.
“I’m so sorry, my love,” he whispered into her hair as she continued to cry into his shoulder.
John followed RJ to where his two grandchildren were as soon as he and Rínae were certain that the Vampires were in a full retreat. He was thankful that they had not lost control over the village but concerned that they would return. He would have to speak to the Queen and the Witches’ Council regarding protection forces being placed here. As he began to approach the three young adults, he remember the scream he had heard coming from here. The sound of it was horrifying and indicated that something quite horrible had indeed happened. He looked closely at the three of them as he got closer and realized what that dreadful event was. It was evident when he saw Zak’s body with a sword protruding from his torso and blood pooled around him. His grandson was dead. He had to fight the tears that were trying to come out. Right now the last thing he could be was the grieving grandfather. He still had a promise to keep to Kélinae.
“We need to get you all home,” he quietly stated.
“How?” RJ questioned.
“You take care of Addí. I will carry Zak’s body.”
“And the portal?”
John turned around to see Rínae approaching with a look of concern on her face. It was evident that she had realized just what had happened to Zak.
“Rínae, will you open the portal for us?” John asked.
“Of course. I can accompany you if you need the help,” she answered.
“No, that will not be necessary. However, I do need you to get back to Ílkésarén as quickly as possible and speak with the Queen.”
“What is it that you need me to tell my aunt?”
“That I will return as fast as I can but when I do, I will need to speak to her in private. And I mean with her, not with Janélyn.”
“I will tell her, John. But, if I may ask, what is the reason?”
“That is between me and Résalyn. It will not be a pleasant conversation. You can tell her that much.”
“And your wife? Is there any message I should give her?”
“Tell her that my friend’s son has been killed and that I will be home soon. She will understand.”
“You are not making much sense, John, but I will do all that you ask.”
“I promise that you will understand in due time and thank you. For everything you did today and for what you are about to do for me.”
“It is not a problem. After all, we are practically family.”
He gave the Fae a slight smile that she returned before turning from him to open the portal. He watched as RJ stood up without letting go of Addí. He had pulled her to her feet but kept her tightly in his arms. He nodded to the young man before he walked to where he stood beside his grandson’s body. He took in a deep breath before bending down and picking him up, leaving the sword lodged in his torso.
“RJ, take Addí on through. I will be right behind you,” he requested.
He quietly watched as RJ stepped through the portal with Addí before following behind, keeping a tight hold on Zak’s body. As he stepped through into the basement of the Moore home, he found James and RJ’s father, Robert, awaiting them and sharing shocked expressions. The two men immediately came to his side and helped him carry Zak’s body to a nearby table. After they had carefully placed his grandson’s body there, they all looked at him expectantly waiting an explanation as to what happened to Zak.
“I know you want to know how this happened but I did not witness it,” John revealed.
“Who did? Did any of you?” James questioned.
“I did, Dad,” Addí sobbed. “I couldn’t save him and I don’t even know who did it.”
John could feel his heart sink lower and lower. He could tell by the look on James’s face that the same thing was happening to him.
“RJ, take Addí to her room and stay with her. Send Katie and your mom down here,” James quickly directed.
He watched as RJ offered the other man no complaint as he took Addí’s hand into his own and began to walk towards the stairs. They did not ascend them at a quick pace, making the grief in the both of them quite obvious to anyone who saw them. They were too young to have to deal with this. If only he could do something to change it. Unfortunately, no one has the power to return the dead to life.
The silence in the room was almost deafening. John was not sure what to say. His friend had lost a son just as he had lost a grandson. Zak may not have been biologically James’s son but it was apparent that he loved the boy as if he had been. If anything, it was more proof that choosing him and Katie was the best choice for both of the children his daughter had insisted on giving up. He felt torn inside between keeping his promise and telling them the truth.
It felt like hours had passed when Katie and Adelaide came walking down the stairs with matching worried looks on their faces. John could tell they had not been told what happened. How was he supposed to tell anyone else? How was he going to explain this to Résalyn, Kélinae, or even William? He was finding it hard enough to face James and Katie.
Katie covered her mouth with her hand as tears instantly fell from her eyes when she saw Zak’s body lying on the table. He watched as James went right to his wife and pulled her into his arms to attempt to comfort her. She loved Zak as if she had birthed him. He was just as much her son as he was Kélinae’s and he was watching a mother come face to face with having lost one of her children. It was breaking his heart.
“How did this happen?” Katie asked through her tears as she turned out of James’s arms to face John.
“We were all fighting, Katie. If I knew who did this, they would have been drug here to face you all. I did not know anything had happened to Zak until the bout was over,” John answered.
He watched as she wrung her hands unsure of what to do or say. She closed her eyes for a moment as if she was trying to keep some sort of composure.
“Did Addí see it happen?” she inquired.
“Unfortunately, she did,” John responded.
“Did you tell him what he met you to find out, John?”
He could hear the slight anger in Katie’s voice. He could not blame her for being anger in any capacity. Her son was now dead. She was going to be angry.
“Yes, he did. He died knowing the full truth of his birth parents,” John imparted.
“Tell me, John. I need to know the information my son died for!” Katie demanded as her voice raised angrily.
“That is not what took his life!” he yelled in response.
“Then how could this happen?”
He watched as Katie seemingly crumpled into James as she became unable to control her tears. John had never seen Katie appear to be so fragile as she wailed aloud. Zak had been her son that she had raised as her own since he was just over a year old. The loss was more hers than Kélinae’s because Katie had been the one to know all of who Zak was. She was the mother that watched him grow up and become the young man that only hours ago he was having a cup of ale with. The sound of her pain made hiding his even more difficult. He felt guilty for not revealing the truth when he was going to inform Résalyn o
f it. He just prayed that one day they would forgive him for keeping the truth they deserved to know from them.
“You have no idea how sorry I am for your loss. I wish I had known him better,” John lamented.
“Robert and I can handle what needs to be said to people here in Corinthia for you,” Adelaide offered.
“And the funeral arrangements,” Robert added.
“No, he won’t be buried here,” Katie sobbed through her tears. “He was born in Ilysia.”
“John, would you please arrange for us somewhere safe to lay our son to rest?” James asked quietly, the sound of tears almost as obvious in his voice as it was in Katie’s.
“I will talk to Queen Résalyn. She will likely provide a place on her lands,” John assured them.
“Thank you, friend. That would mean a great deal to us.”
“You are all Ilysian and seen as the Résalyn’s allies. That is enough for her to agree. I wish I could change what happened but none have ever had the power to change time.”
“That would be the most dangerous power of all.”
“Indeed. I will also do what I can to have those working with me to investigate the events that occurred in Tordéalín today. Finding out who did this is as important to me as it is to you. One day I will have to face both of his biological parents and explain this. His father will not be very forgiving.”
“And his mother?” Katie inquired through her tears.
“I could not say how she would react. She was willing to sacrifice raising them to keep them safe. The loss of her son is not something she will take lightly.”
“She birthed him but I raised him as my own. He was my only son and I cherished him. There is light missing from me now.”
John had to fight showing his own emotions even harder with her words. His friends were heartbroken and his own heart broke for them as much as it did for his own loss. It was going to be hard enough facing Résalyn with this news. How would he ever face his firstborn and tell her that he failed to save the life of her son? Wherever she was, he truly hoped she was safe and far away from the possibility of hearing of her son’s murder from anyone but him. William would be a different story. By helping Kélinae take their children away to give to an Ilysian family in Corinthia, he became an accomplice in the man’s eyes and received much of the now King’s anger. It was obvious William did not understand or possibly wish to understand the true motives behind what Kélinae did. Now here John stood in front of the couple he gave his own grandchildren to, internally conflicted on whether or not he truly could tell them the information he had kept from them about the children they loved as their own for seventeen years. Was it worth it to continue to keep it a secret now that he could see just how much pain James and Katie both were in from losing their son?
A Darkness Awakens Page 17