by J. B. Jenn
Querra made quick work of the demons once the woman fell silent. When it was finished, she turned toward the odd woman. As she stared at her, Querra didn’t understand the sorrow she had for the demons. They were monsters who killed without thought.
“Please tell me who you are,” Querra said. “I’d like to know who to thank for saving our lives.”
“It was the least we could do. You are needed for the future of Hartland,” the woman said, meeting her gaze. “We are the Tharroh. My name is Irissa Thresh.” Querra watched as they disappeared, all but Irissa. “Hartland is changing. You need to be prepared for it.” She, too, disappeared.
Querra helped Eiden to his feet. He was so pale and weak. “Who were they? Why did they choose to save us?”
Querra was silent for a moment. “She said the Relentless would be needed.” She looked back in the direction of the Tharroh for a moment. “It doesn’t matter at the moment. I’m more concerned about you. You’ve lost a lot of blood. Camp is still at least a day away.”
Eiden gave her a small smile. “I’ll be fine. I have you at my side.”
Querra shook her head.
Rosha
Her eyes fluttered open. The air was warm. Blinking several times, she came to realize she was laying on something soft. Glancing over, she saw a small woman dabbing her forehead with a wet, cool cloth. She tried to sit up, but someone prevented her from doing so. She glanced at the person, wishing her vision would clear. It took several moments for her to see it was Trester.
“Where are we?”
“The Northern Gardens Palace.” He studied her for a moment. His eyes seemed emotionless. Rosha hated not knowing what he was thinking. “You passed out. We assumed the lack of water and exhaustion was what did it to you.” He fell silent again. His eyes seemed to probe hers for a further explanation. “As we traveled to the palace, you kept muttering something about Hartland being in more danger than it knows. You also mentioned something about demons. We could make out very little of what you were saying. The parts we did are troubling. Care to explain?”
Rosha stared at him, wondering precisely what he had heard her say. His curiosity was reassuring. It meant she hadn’t revealed too much. At least, her identity wasn’t compromised. If it had been, she was certain Trester would have had her locked away, recognizing her instantly. Even if they had locked her away, it wouldn’t have kept her from leaving.
“Have you spoken with anyone yet?” she asked.
“The king was here briefly. He also heard some of your rantings. It seemed to trouble him greatly. I think he understood more of it than I did.”
Rosha looked at the entirety of the room. It was a simple place. There were a few wooden chairs, the divan she lay on, a plain, brown rug, and a fireplace.
She looked back to Trester who was now staring out of the only window in the room. At least, he was no longer staring at her, waiting for answers. She wondered why he hadn’t insisted she give him something meaningful.
Trester had a thoughtful look on his thin, narrow face. She imagined he was wondering if King Maik knew who he was. And, if the man did, he probably also wondered if they’d force him to become King of Cascade.
There was one thing for certain, she couldn’t allow him to become king. She’d had so many chances to end his life and ensure their victory. Yet, she hadn’t taken a single one. She knew she was curious about him and the power he possessed. She wanted to take it from him, but she was playing a risky game. She’d been playing the game since she first met Mercea. Since then she had taken too many risks.
“How long do you think they’ll make us wait?”
Trester glanced at her. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know or you don’t care?”
“Choose one. It doesn’t matter.”
“Sooner or later you’re going to have to make the decision, Trester. You can’t run from it forever.”
He turned his tortured, brilliant blue eyes on her. “I don’t even know if my family is dead or alive. Perhaps we should wait until then.”
Maik
He had visited with one of the two new arrivals earlier in the day. As he had turned away to allow them to rest, the woman had started muttering about Hartland. She had said it was in more danger than it knew. She had talked about demons spreading across the land to unite it under one person.
Maik had stood there, pale faced, staring at her, wondering what she knew. Did she know about Urian? Was it possible she was behind the attack? He had no idea and he wouldn’t know until he had the chance to speak with her.
There was one thing for certain. He wasn’t going to visit the Seeress without Janessa. He hoped she wouldn’t find his presence an intrusion after what had happened after their shared kiss. He gave a soft smile remembering the way her lips felt against his. He wished she knew with a certainty she wanted to be with him. There was never a doubt in his heart.
He walked across the hall and tapped on her door. When she opened it and smiled at him, his heart swelled. He wanted to do nothing more than to enter the room, close the door, and have his way with her. He envisioned tearing off her white button down blouse. Maik shook his head and cleared his throat.
“I find myself in need of you. I’m sorry I cannot give you as much time as you desire.”
“Oh?” She tilted her head to the side.
“We have two new arrivals. They are from Carthoda. One of them seems to be a Seeress who’s running from King Barend. I’m not entirely certain about her. Earlier this morning, in her unconscious state, she was muttering about Hartland being in danger and about demons. The other is a man who helped her escape. They may have some answers we don’t. Join me in questioning them.”
“Lead the way.” As she followed him down the hall, she remained at his side. “I do have a question before we meet with them.” He turned toward her. “Why do you want me along?”
“I find myself in need of your opinion.”
“In need of? You can’t form your own?” She gave a small laugh. It made Maik smile.
“I like to know what you’re thinking. It helps me evaluate the situation more… more fairly. Two opinions are better than one.”
The guards in front of the door where the two were held, bowed to him and opened the door. As they entered, Janessa froze, staring wide-eyed at the man.
“Trester?”
Casman
They were just outside of another small town in Carthoda. Just as the last town, it appeared empty. He hoped there was someone inside the town who could tell him what was happening. Just one person.
Casman shook his head. “It doesn’t make sense,” he muttered before looking to Gys and Vef. “Spread out. Search for anything and everything. If we find nothing here, we continue on to the next town and the next. After that, we’ll return and report the missing people from the villages.” He scanned the buildings as he fought back his rising fear.
He entered one of the stores near the center of town. It was one of those quaint stores he wasn’t certain how it remained in business and fed its owners. There was nothing inside of it to remotely interest him. One of the display cases held glass beads of assorted colors. Yet another case had colorful yarn. He found necklaces, jewels, rings, and fine clothing elsewhere in the store.
There was a door in the back of the building. He pushed it open, did a quick glance of the room and turned away. Just as he did, he heard it. Just barely. It was the frightened whimper of someone. Casman stood still, searching the room. Whoever it belonged to he didn’t want to scare further.
“Don’t be frightened,” he said. “I’m a man from Yul. I won’t hurt you. We’re here looking for answers. There have been some strange things happening. My king, King Zavad, sent me here to help us prepare for whatever’s occurring. Something is horribly wrong. We need to know what it is.”
Silence met him. As much as he wanted to search for the person, he knew it wasn’t a good idea.
“Please,” he tried aga
in. “My name is Casman Thalen. I’m armed, but if it’d make you more comfortable, I can lay my sword and dagger on the floor. All I wish is to talk with you. I don’t want to have to search for you, but I will. We need answers. Right now, you seem to be the only one who might have them.”
He heard a creaking. There was a door that was part of the wall in the right hand corner of the room moving. He could see a pair of eyes peering out at him. Casman remained where he was, refusing to take his eyes from her. There was blood smeared across her face. Blood covered the entire front of her shirt. Her brown hair was wild.
“Are you hurt? I can have Gys, one of my men, look you over. If need be, he can stitch you up.”
“That won’t be necessary. The blood isn’t mine,” she whispered. Her eyes darted about the room as if something from the walls would spring out and kill her. “It’s not safe here. You should order your men out of town. They know you’re here. You and your men will be slaughtered.”
“What do you mean slaughtered? There’s no one here.”
“Leave before it’s too late!”
From the fear in her eyes, alone, he knew she was right. “Follow me.” Once outside, he gave a sharp whistle. Vef and Gys hurried to him. “We have to leave right now. We’re in danger.”
As they darted to the edge of town, a lone man, wearing all black appeared. His eyes were distant, uncaring. Casman shuddered. The woman beside him let off a high-pitched scream. She pointed a delicate, shaking finger at him.
“That’s him. We’ll all be killed!” She clutched his arm. “Please. Don’t let him turn us into those monsters. Please, kill me now.”
Casman looked to the man. “We have no war with you. Just let us leave and no one has to die here.”
The man raised a closed fist in the air. Casman’s heart lurched to a stop as he watched the man’s hand burst open. Hideous creatures appeared out of nowhere all around them. He grabbed his sword, uncertain if it’d hurt any of them. The woman screamed again, falling to her knees, weeping into her blood covered hands.
He swung his sword as one of the creatures slithered over to him on a massive tail. When it lunged at him, baring its sharp teeth, two layers of them, it took everything in Casman not to shrink away. He met the monster’s dark orange eyes and swung. It didn’t feel real as his sword connected just below the beast’s round head. Green ooze spurted everywhere as the head went flying. A drop of the ooze touched his hand, burning it. The pain was unbelievable.
“Damn it!” Casman yelled, shaking his hand, looking down at the hole in it. “They can be killed, but don’t let its blood touch you!”
The next moments passed in a blur. His sword cut down several of the monsters. Horns flew in every direction. Arms landed on the ground beside him. His men were cut down, but Casman kept hacking through them, refusing to give up. He had to escape. This was what King Zavad needed to know.
A hand closed around his wrist. He jerked away and spun about, planning to put a dagger in a creature’s head. He stopped inches away from the woman’s head.
“We have to leave. NOW.”
She pulled him through the opening he had created and led him through the streets. There were strange noises behind them, but he didn’t dare look back. The two of them ran throughout the night, stumbling several times in their exhaustion.
As the sun came up over the horizon, casting the sky in a dark purple, Casman still didn’t want to stop. All he could think about was how his men lie dead back in some unknown village for reasons he couldn’t fathom. Carthoda was a bigger threat than any of them could have imagined or dreamed of.
“What were those things?” Casman asked, sitting on the ground.
“Demons.”
“Where did they come from?”
She scoffed at him. “It’s not obvious?”
“If it was obvious, I wouldn’t be asking. Just answer the question.”
The woman was silent for a long time. “Those demons used to be people. King Barend has gathered people from villages and has turned them into monsters. Some turn into demons. Some turn into a mixture of them. Some die. I was fortunate. I’m not certain how they didn’t find me, but I’ll always be grateful they didn’t.”
A grim look came over him. It explained everything. Now that he knew what was happening, he had an obligation to make it back to Lovic and report his findings. Casman rose. They couldn’t rest for long, not with a chance of those things following them.
“Come on. You’ll be safer with me.
“Where are we going?”
“Lovic.”
Gray
The palace was in sight. He had never felt so relieved to see the city sprawled out around it. After seeing the monster who had attacked Ogden, he had thought he’d never see this place again. He had found his unit and reported his findings to them. They had stared at him with earnest when he had begun. By the time he had finished, looks of horror were plastered across their faces.
He had left his patrol behind to continue their duties. They were to stay near the Yul and Cascade border and report anything odd. If they could prevent it, they were not to engage the enemy.
As he entered the town, the normal sounds of day to day activity fell deaf to his ears. He was focused on reaching the palace, worried for their way of life. Worried they would all die in the days to come.
He entered the gray stone palace with white corners on all the edges. In the entry hall, he found one of King Zavad’s messengers. The boy looked as if he was already running a message somewhere, but he stopped him. Whatever the boy was doing could wait until after King Zavad was informed of his arrival. The boy looked to him. It was a look of annoyance at first, but turned to respect once he saw who it was.
“Inform his Majesty I need an audience with him immediately.”
“Of course.” The boy darted up the stairs.
Gray headed toward the throne room, sitting to the right of the entrance. As he sat down on the steps leading up to the throne, he wished some of the people back in Cascade had come with him. They could verify everything he was about to say, some of which seemed impossible to believe.
“You wished to speak with me?” Zavad asked from the doorway. Gray nodded, rose, and bowed. “What did you find with your scouts? Where are they?”
“I wasn’t with my group.”
Zavad frowned. “Perhaps you should explain yourself.”
“I went to Kenokel. What I saw there…” Gray trailed off. He remembered watching Ogden fly through the air and land against a building. He closed his eyes, trying to shut out the image and the feeling of cowardice. “Yul is in trouble, your Majesty.”
“Why were you in Kenokel?” Gray looked down. Zavad sighed. “Answer me, Gray.”
“I found Ogden on his way and decided to join him.”
“Were you asked?”
“No. I followed him despite his orders not to.” Zavad gave him a grim look but didn’t speak again. “I know I should have never disobeyed him. I was angry that… It doesn’t matter why I was angry. What matters is I was there and could come back to report what I saw. Ogden was killed by the monster who destroyed the city. He made me promise to return. He made me leave him.” His voice had become desperate. Gray swallowed, trying to calm himself. “Ogden stood no chance against the creature, but despite what others who survived the destruction of the city say, Ogden hurt it. These people claim none of Cascade’s soldiers could hurt it, but I know what I saw. Ogden made it bleed.”
Zavad remained silent, studying him. When the king cleared his throat, Gray’s eyes went to him. He was curious as to what his king would say. Curious as to what would happen to him for disobeying Ogden, and in essence, the king. Gray took in a deep breath, preparing himself for the worst.
“You’re dismissed.”
“Your Majesty?”
“I don’t know what to do with you yet. You disobeyed a direct order from a man who outranks you and receives his orders from me. You are probably the reason he
died. It’s best I don’t see you for a few days while I decide what shall be done with you.”
Gray bowed and left.
Janessa
“Trester?” Her heart thundered in her ears. When the man met her eyes, she knew at once it was her brother. She rushed into his arms. He didn’t hug her in return. Janessa met his eyes with tears in her own. “You have no idea how relieved I am to see you. I thought everyone was dead.”
“Yes, wouldn’t that be convenient for you.” His voice was harsh. So were his eyes. And then, it hit him. He stared at her, blinking. “What? Everyone? Father? Jakom? Kalom?” Janessa nodded as tears streamed down her face. “What happened?”
She sucked in a deep breath, trying to control her emotions. “I wasn’t there when it happened, but Kenokel was destroyed by a demon named Urian.” She blinked back more tears. “Father sent ahead a unit to stop me from entering the city. From what Galtrand has told me, our brothers rode out to meet the threat head on. That was before anyone knew it couldn’t be hurt. We know how to hurt it now, but as of yet, we don’t have the person with us.
“That’s all you know?” he whispered. His mouth twitched. “It’s not much.”
Janessa reached out to her brother. He pulled away from her. She lowered her eyes, wondering what she had expected. They barely knew one another. When he was forced to leave, she’d only been a child. They shared blood, but they were strangers.
“We were hoping the two of you could enlighten us as to what’s happening,” Maik interjected. Janessa watched the King of the Desert turn his attention toward the woman. “In fact, it seems you may know more than the rest of us. We need all the information we can get if we hope to fight this head on. We can’t fail. If we do, Hartland will be changed forever. You said as much yourself.”
The middle-aged woman said nothing for several moments. “I’m sorry, your Majesty,” she sighed. She shook her head. “Those ramblings were just that. Ramblings. I remember nothing of what I said.”