by Bri Sailor
“Who’s there?” she shouted menacingly.
Someone responded with more sounds of softly crying. The princess gripped her sword tightly as she followed the sobs. It could be Lusha trying to reel her into a trap, she thought. She followed the sound towards a pile of large boulders along the side of the cave. The princess took a deep breath as she stealthily peered around them. There huddled in a tiny dirty mass was a little girl. Her knees were pulled up as she sobbed into them. Her chestnut brown hair was a mess. She could hardly be more than six years old.
“It’s alright.” she smiled softly as she sheathed her sword. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
The little girl sniffed and looked at Atreyis. Her eyes were blue like hers!
“You better hide too.” said the little girl quietly. “Before she comes back.”
Atreyis slipped between the boulders and sat down next to the girl.
“Who?” she asked softly.
“The bad lady.” replied the girl. “She tries to hurt me. Her dark eyes are scary.”
Atreyis looked around. They were the only two souls in the cave. She looked back at the little girl with sympathetic eyes.
“What did she do?”
The girl sniffed and wiped her eyes. “She killed them, and now I am all alone.”
Atreyis brushed the girl’s hair out of her face. “Who did she kill?”
“Father. Mother. Grandmother. My brother. They are all dead because she wanted me. But I don’t want to go with her!”
Atreyis hugged the girl close. “I’m so sorry, little one. I won’t let her hurt you anymore.”
The girl hugged the princess tight. Atreyis smiled softly.
“You know, you kind of remind me of myself when I was a little girl. We could be twins!”
The girl leaned back and wiped her face. “Really?”
The princess looked at her and smiled. “Yep. I worried about losing my family too. I still do in fact.”
“Is the bad lady after them too?” asked the wide-eyed girl.
Atreyis looked at her feet. “Unfortunately, yes. But I have been keeping them safe.”
“Really?” asked the girl excitedly. “How? Can you teach me?”
The princess smiled softly. “You can start by believing in yourself. Even when no one else believes, as long as you believe in yourself, you can do anything. There will be times when your faith will falter, but never give up. That’s how I became one of the best warriors around.”
“You are?” the girl’s eye sparkled.
Atreyis chuckled. “Well, I’m pretty good. My best friend is better. She saved my life once. And now it’s my turn to save hers.”
The girl sat up. “How did she save you?”
The princess thought a moment before meeting those eager blue eyes again.
“My friend saved me from myself by showing me the strength I had within me all along. And now it’s my turn to show her that love it real and it’s been with her all her life. Her father. Her mother. Her grandmother. And now all of her friends. Their love is always with her. Just like your family is with you. She was never truly alone. The same evil that took her family closed off her heart. It knew if she were ever to be able to fully access it, she would be unstoppable.” Atreyis smiled proudly. “Like me.”
The girl smiled with excitement and awe. “You’re powerful too?”
“Very.”
“So powerful you can defeat the bad lady?”
The princess looked at the girl assuredly. “She can’t, won’t, hurt you or anyone else ever again.”
The girl leapt into Atreyis’ arms and hugged her tight. The princess hugged her back. Suddenly, an evil, wicked laugh echoed in the cave. The little girl turned deathly white.
“She’s b-back.” she whispered.
Atreyis grabbed her arms tightly and looked her square in the eye. “I will protect you. I promise! Stay here!”
The princess crept out of the shadows and looked around. Nothing.
“Show yourself witch!” she yelled. “I’ll finish you once and for all!”
The princess drew her sword and twirled it around. Lusha’s evil voice echoed in the expanse.
“You couldn’t kill me the first time and now your souls are mine while your corpses rot on the hilltop. I am untouchable!”
“Show yourself witch!” shouted Atreyis once more, her neck veins bulging.
“Here I am!”
Lusha suddenly materialized nose to nose with the princess. Atreyis swung for her but the witch quickly disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
“Just as pathetic as before!” cackled the witch all around her.
“Fight me!” screamed the princess.
Lusha materialized once again and stood caressing the black crystal.
“I must admit.” she mused. “When my Lord brought me here after I challenged him, I thought I was done for.”
She manifested two glowing energy orbs in her hands.
“But He is trapped inside this crystal prison and I am now stronger than ever!”
The witch hurled the orbs at Atreyis who quickly jumped out of the way. They exploded on the wall and sent debris falling from the ceiling. The princess stood up and snarled.
“I will stop you no matter what!” She launched herself at the witch. Lusha vanished in smoke once more. The princess screamed in frustration. The witch laughed.
“I can see now why I wasn’t allowed to leave this place quite yet. I must end your pathetic existence once and for all. Then I will escape this place and return to your world as a god. I shall rule over all of the realms!”
Lusha appeared again. She was pale and her dark eyes were hollow as if she were dead. The princess faltered a moment. The witch didn’t appear present. Behind her eyes was an abyss of emptiness. Atreyis caught herself as she lunged for the witch. Lusha merely laughed again and vanished. The princess was at her boiling point. In a fit of rage she swung her sword and connected hard with the black crystal. It instantly responded with an explosion of light that sent her flying into the tock wall and knocking her out. Lusha appeared at the princess’s feet and laughed manically.
“Pathetic mortal!”
She moved to throw another spell at the girl when flames shot out of the dark and enveloped her. The witch screeched in pain. From behind the boulder appeared the little girl. Her hands had transformed into claws and her eyes burned blue. The pint-sized dragon breathed her fiery fury at the witch. Lusha shrieked and fell back.
“I don’t understand! This is not happening! I am invincible!”
Atreyis came around and sat up. The girl continued to spit white-hot flames. The princess took her shot. She jumped through the flames, with her sword raised over her head, and landed on the witch, driving her crystal sword through her heart. The witch let out a final shriek as her body turned to black smoke. The black crystal glowed a moment and sucked in the smoke. Nothing remained of the witch. All that was left was scorch marks and crumbling and melted rock. The young girl returned to her human form and looked at the princess hopefully.
“I believed.” she said simply.
Atreyis fell to her knees and hugged the girl. They both smiled. The girl’s body suddenly turned into a solid white light and absorbed into the princess. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them they were burning a bright blue once more. She stood up. The cave began to glow. She turned around and all the color drained from her face. Where Lusha had been there was now a being made out of a sickly yellow light standing. Before the princess could move the being was sucked into the crystal. The ground began to quake and a low groan echoed in the cave. The black crystal glowed with a sinister energy. Fear and dread filled the princess. She knew it was too good to be true that the witch was dead. She bolted for the entrance. A beam of light shot out of the crystal onto the wall behind it and a glowing archway appeared. Thousands of furious wings flapping filled the cave entrance. Atreyis dove out of the way just in time. Mälgrav had sudden
ly burst through the gateway surrounded by lava and had flown in and were flying through the portal the crystal had created. Atreyis wrapped her black wings around her as camouflage. After a few minutes the last of the fliers went through the portal and it let out a low groan again. The ground quaked even more and large chunks of rocks fell from the ceiling. Atreyis rolled out of the way and looked on in fear as the only means of escape was buried under falling rock. The princess dodged falling rocks. The quaking continued as the mountain began to split in half. There! The princess could just make out a sliver of light near the top of the cave. She took a chance and leapt into the air.
Her wings beat furiously as she weaved through the falling debris. The light grew brighter and wider as the mountain continued to split. Atreyis flew with everything she had and exploded out of the crumbling mountain into the red sky above. She turned and watched in horror as the mountain completely split in half. Mild relief washed over her as the black crystal fell into the bottomless chasm that formed in the mountain’s remains and the portal collapsed.
“It’s over.” Atreyis breathed in relief.
She flew towards the gateway where Ky had been. As she neared she could see that this is where the demons had come from. The princess stared in horror as an unfathomable number of demons poured out of the gateway.
Chapter 31
Ky continued to fly around in circles for what felt like years as she searched for the gateway. The ceaseless rain had her drenched to the bone and lightning flashed all around her. In a fit of frustration she let out a roar and a blast of fire.
“Damn this accursed place!” she roared.
She flew past the destroyed white fortress once more and her eyes burned red. Ky thought about landing when a formation caught her eye. The demon leagues were marching. The warrior flew up higher into the clouds to make sure that she wouldn’t be seen. She followed the seemingly never ending trail of demons. Anger boiled in her veins. Somehow this had to be Lusha’s doing. She didn’t know how, but it had to be her. Eventually, the line of demons came to an end. There. Finally. She found the gateway. The warrior smiled wildly and fell from the stormy skies. Before the demons could react she tucked her wings and flew through the gateway.
The warrior welcomed the heat and bright orange light of the lakes and rivers of lava. It was a hot relief from the nearly frozen waters of that hell hole. She flew high into the sky and took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
“Ky!” came a shout in the distance.
Ky opened her eyes. Her heart swelled when she saw Atreyis flying towards her.
“Atreyis!” she yelled back.
Both were in tears as they reunited. The princess crashed into the warrior and they fell from the sky as they embraced. Before they crashed to the ground they broke their kiss and flew.
Ky smiled and held up the sword. “Found it.”
Atreyis smiled back through the tears. “I never doubted you.”
The warrior shook her head. “You’ll never guess who had it.”
Atreyis stopped her. “Tell me on the way. We need to get back to Cora! She is the only way we are going to get out of here! Come on!”
The princess flew off in the direction of the palace. The warrior followed.
“It was Saebic! He had transformed into a Mälgrav and was planning on attacking Lusha. He wanted revenge for what she had done to him.”
Atreyis snorted in disgust. “Well he won’t get his chance. I’ve already dealt with her.” She pointed to the mountain.
Ky was in shock. “You…how…the mountain!”
The princess didn’t even look. “When I killed Lusha there was a black crystal within that absorbed her. When it did it destroyed the entire mountain and opened up a portal for the demons to escape out of.”
Ky’s eyes burned. “What of the crystal?”
“Lost in a bottomless chasm.” replied Atreyis simply.
“Let us hope.” said Ky. “Where’s Cora?”
Atreyis pointed in the direction of the palace. “There! Where that light is! We found the Goddess!”
Ky looked at her blankly. “The Goddess?”
“Yes!” exclaimed Atreyis. “She was encased in a crystal pyramid! It was unlike anything I have ever seen!”
The light that they had been flying towards dimmed and turned into a dim glow. The princess and the warrior gently lighted onto the top of the palace where Cora had been. Atreyis froze in place. Cora was nowhere to been seen. In her place was a being made of pure white light and an iridescent aura.
“Cora?” asked a suddenly timid Atreyis.
“Fear not, my child, Cora is safe.” said the being. “We have become one. And now the time has come for you to return. The Darkness has spread. You must purge this darkness once and for all.”
The light faded and Cora remained. Her tattoos were now solid white as was her hair. Her eyes were a bright silver.
“Cora!” exclaimed the princess and the warrior.
The goddess smiled warmly. “Atreyis. Ky. You have been through so much in your lives. It is all coming to an end soon. I love you both so much.”
Atreyis hugged Cora. “I love you too. And I thank you for all the gifts that you have bestowed upon us.”
She stepped back and Ky hugged her as well. “Thank you. I know I haven’t exactly shown it over the years, but thank you for everything.”
Cora hugged her tight. “It’s alright.”
The goddess stepped back and looked them over.
“Now it’s time. You must return and rid your world of this evil. Darkness no longer has a place in your lives. It’s time for you to realize who you truly are.”
Ky and Atreyis felt an unnatural heat start at their feet. It was warm and comforting and powerful. They looked down in amazement as a silver light started at their toes and slowly made its way up their bodies. The two stared into each other’s eyes with unbridled love and excitement as the silver light completely enveloped them.
Chapter 32
Nya paced in the empty temple. How long had they been gone now? Weeks? Months? She was losing track of time. Every moment they didn’t return was another moment that Lusha and Béloneras could. Her pacing suddenly ceased as she felt an odd mixture of peace and excitement wash over her.
“By the Goddess!” she gasped in amazement. “What are you doing Cora?”
A voice suddenly carried on the wind.
“Fly!”
Nya looked around for the source but there was on one there. The voice came again.
“Fly! Fly! They need you, Nya. Go to them!”
“Cora?!” shouted the Keeper.
“Go!” said the voice. “Quickly! They are coming! Evil is coming!”
Nya could feel something deep within her. Before she knew it she was running barefoot through the temple and raced outside. Her back felt like it was stretching and suddenly she was sky bound. She looked over her shoulder in amazement at her magenta ruby wings. A huge smile spread ear to ear as she raced through the skies following the direction her soul was telling her to go.
#
Ehren, Riker, Vex, Túmos, Rússe, Joslette, Doan, Kova, Drax, Toran and Arainya looked on in sheet horror as a black cloud quickly rose from out of the Black Rock Mountains and was coming towards them. It moved with unnatural speed. As it drew close the sounds of thousands of shrieks, screams, and roars filled the sky.
“It’s begun.” said Ehren solemnly.
#
Nya pushed herself to her limit. Her wings beat furiously as she cut through the skies.
“It’s coming.” said a voice in her head not her own. “Joslette knows. The priests. I have warned them. Hurry. You must unite the priests!”