The Last Light Series Omnibus One: - The Dreamer and the Deceiver - All Things Eternal - Ode to the King: A Superhero Epic Fantasy Collection (The Last Light Collection Book 1)

by Alex Villavasso

  “Arius, stop it. Listen to yourself!”

  “See this as my final act of kindness on your behalf. After this moment, I no longer see you as family.”

  “Arius!”

  “After I walk ten steps away from my current position, use your right hand to break the fingers of your left, one by one.”

  “Arius, please!”

  “After that, you will be free to do whatever you wish. But do note that the next time I see you, I won’t hesitate to kill you. I’m going now. You can take father’s sword as well as the other supplies at this camp. The guard is looking for you, not me.” Arius turned his back to his brother and began to walk away from him, ignoring Emil’s pleas for forgiveness that grew more desperate with every step that he took. After the tenth step, Emil’s hand shakily moved towards his pointer finger.

  “No...no...no!” Emil yelled hysterically as he tried his best to override the commands that were issued to his body. “You can’t do this to me! Make it stop! Arius!” His right hand gripped his finger and began to slowly pull back on it, momentarily stopping at the point of tension before thrusting backwards. Writhing in pain, Emil let out a scream that echoed through the forest as he watched his right hand move towards his next finger. “Ahh!” His hand pushed back on his middle finger in the same fashion, snapping the bone back and tearing the ends that attached it to his knuckle. “Arius! Stop! Please!” Emil wailed as he called out to his brother.

  Arius stopped momentarily and looked upon his brother who was now exhausted and drained from the pain. His left hand wearily shook as it hung rigid from his body, extended with two of his fingers bent out of proportion. “Please, Arius...” Emil whispered softly. “I’ve learned. I’m sorry.”

  “No, you haven’t.” A rush of purple briefly flooded Arius’s irises as he forced Emil to break his next finger. “If I let down my guard, you’ll kill me the moment you’re able. We both know that.” Arius looked on with no emotion as his brother bellowed against the rainfall, unmoved as if the rain dulled his connection to the outside world. “If you value your life, don’t come after me,” he said between his brother’s screams. “You and I both know that I can do much worse than this.” A sharp crack emitted from Emil’s hand as another finger broke. “So don’t stand in my way.”

  “Gah!!!”

  “This was only a lesson, Emil... A foreshadowing of what is to come if you defy me ever again. We were once family, but you severed the bonds that held us together.”

  “Ahhhh!”

  The last of Emil’s fingers broke, releasing the hold Arius held over him. His body fell forward, causing him to fall face first into the ground, broken and beaten. His body thrashed as he tried to subdue the pain that coursed through his body. In a mix of rage, frustration, and agony, Emil grew sick and vomited on the leaves beside him. He incoherently moaned to his brother who had turned away from him, leaving him to fend for himself in the woods alone.

  In a world that would soon be plunged into darkness, he knew he would one day have to stand against his brother as the last light.

  THE END

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  The Dreamer and the Deceiver

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  The Last Light Book Two: All Things Eternal

  Alex Villavasso

  Copyright 2017, Alex Villavasso

  All rights reserved

  This novel and omnibus is a work of fiction and is a product of the author’s imagination.

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  Prologue: Don’t You Remember?

  “Emil, you’re always out here, I swear. It’s like there’s no point in you even having your own room in the house!” He watched the quiet reflection of the stars that shimmered up above and then he turned his gaze. Her warm smile shined brighter than the sun to him, bringing warmth even in the cold of the night.

  “Yeah, you know how I am. I’m used to the outdoors. It’s nice out here. It’s quiet.” Emil flashed a gentle smile at Serenity before returning his gaze to the stars up above. Drawn to the same sight, Serenity tilted her head towards the atmosphere and watched the twilight glimmer from above.

  “Wow... It really is nice, Emil. Room for one more?”

  “Sure, make yourself at home.” Emil scooted his body over to the side, allowing Serenity to lie beside him on the same bed of flowers where he was accustomed to spending his down time. Serenity laughed as the yellow petals tickled her nose with the passing breeze before she parted her bright red hair that blew onto her face. For some time the two of them watched the sky above and reflected in silence, until Serenity softly spoke to Emil.

  “Hey, give me your hand.” Across the bed of flowers, her hand extended towards Emil’s, open and willing to receive his bare palm on top of hers. “Don’t be shy...come on. Perfect.” Her hand grasped his as she moved in closer to him, laying her head on top of his chest. “I never got to tell you before, but thank you for what you did back there with Hugo. Thank you for saving us, Emil. And...thank you for looking for us. I knew you wouldn’t quit, no matter what.”

  “I—”

  “You’ve always loved me, right? You always loved all of us. That’s why you risked everything, huh? I appreciate everything you’ve done for us...done for me, but you have to let me go, Emil. I’m dead.”

  “Serenity, what are you talking about? You’re right here! We’re in the garden. I can touch you. I can feel you. You’re right here!”

  “You and I both know it’s not true. I died, Nerai is gone. You’ve got to let go. I know it hurts...but you have to let go. I know you remember. The fire, Silvia, your brother. This isn’t real, Emil. Look, it’s all fading away.”

  Serenity pointed up to the heavens, sectioning out a vortex that stirred amidst the cosmos. The hand that she had extended up to the sky slowly began to corrode, turning black before breaking off and transcending into the night sky.

  “Forget about me, Emil. How can you be great when all of your energy is wasted crying over me?” The words that came from his reflection of her were pure, earnest—a true notion from his own soul, struggling to move on.

  Emil pulled her hand from out of the sky as he clutched her body close to his. “I can’t! Serenity, I can’t! Not just yet!”

  “If you love me, you’ll let me go.”

  The vortex that swirled overhead grew more violent as Emil refused to let go of Serenity. The ground around him began to tremble as the terrain and its surrounding began to decompose into dark matter, further fueling the storm. Flashes of lighting blazed across the sky and the winds grew more turbulent. The dark void grew closer. A stream of yellow petals swept past his face
and twisted as they clung to the sky, caught in the eye of the swirling vortex. Between his arms, he felt her when she began to slowly corrode away. Her soft skin grew hard, her warm body grew cold. He watched her as she silently awaited her fate. With the last of her strength, Serenity placed the palm of her hand on Emil’s face and wiped the tears from his eyes with her thumb.

  “Don’t cry. Don’t be afraid. Be strong. I love you.” As she spoke her final words, Emil watched the light within her fade from her eyes, accompanying her soul as it drifted away into the darkness.

  Chapter 1: A New Dawn

  “Emil, are you ready?” A steady hand shook Emil as he lay in the bedroom designated to him in Omari’s church. The room was ragged and decrepit, worn from years of use without the proper upkeep. Peeling paint and squeaky boards comprised the majority of the lot, and not much was left to the imagination when it came to Emil’s bed. It wasn’t much, but it was miles better than sleeping underneath the stars, vulnerable to the elements. Emil sprung up in a panic and wiped the cold sweat that lingered on his brow. His blond hair moistly stuck to the back of his neck as he took time to adjust to his surroundings. The rays of the incoming dawn contrasted the darkness that had already begun its departure. For a second, he thought he saw her, Serenity, but he quickly realized he was alone. In the haze of his new reality, Emil groggily responded, still caught between the waking world and that of his dreams, leaving him stunned in a paradox of his own creation.

  “Yeah...yeah, I’m good to go, Omari,” Emil said as he squinted his deep blue eyes to buffer the incoming light. “Is it dawn already?”

  “I’m afraid so,” Omari said as he hovered over Emil’s bedside and took note of his clammy complexion. “Are you okay?”

  Emil sluggishly rose from his bed and pulled on a tan tunic that contrasted his grey pants before answering Omari’s question. “I’m fine. Just didn’t sleep too well.”

  Omari heard his words but wasn’t convinced by Emil’s demeanor. On some days, he could see the fire burning bright within him. On others, his presence was that of a muddled flame. It had been three months since they’d met and thus roughly three months since Emil had lost everything. In past conversations, Emil rarely talked about what troubled him, but through their time together, Omari began to understand the depths of the pain that Emil kept well-guarded.

  “Before I woke you, you were mumbling something in your sleep,” Omari said as he examined Emil with a wrinkled brow. “Are you sure you’re ready?”

  Emil was already on the other side of the room, overlooking the city of Everrmore from the giant glass pane his hand rested on. “I’m sure,” he said as he turned his attention away from the city. “It was just a dream...that’s all.” Emil led his fingertips slowly along the surface of the window before joining Omari, who waited at the edge of his room, locked in a battle in his own mind. “Are you okay?” Emil asked as he squared up with his ally, placing his hand firmly on Omari’s shoulder. Omari was quiet, focused, determined, and dedicated. It was clear that he hadn’t slept much the night before and rightfully so. There was always something brewing.

  “I’ll live,” Omari said as a quick smirk found its way across his face. “Thanks for asking. I just want everything to go well today.”

  “As well as it can for what we are about to do,” Emil added.

  “Precisely.” Omari closed his eyes and a sudden burst of wind filled the room and compressed in on itself. In an instant, Omari and Emil were transported to a plain surrounded by trees, seemly isolated from the rest of the world.

  “Today, we spar without the use of our abilities,” Omari said as Emil released his hold on his shirt. “You lack finesse in hand-to-hand combat and use your speed and aura to compensate for your lack of experience. If you aim only to strengthen your strong points and neglect your weak points, the gap between them will never cease its growth.”

  Emil nodded at the insight of Omari’s words and walked to his usual spot to wait for the session to begin. Up until this point, Omari had been training Emil in hand-to-hand combat but allowed the mutual use of their powers during combat. Though Emil’s abilities gave him a favorable match up against Omari, Omari still managed to maintain the advantage with his superior speed and tactical genius, despite the fact that Emil usually trained by himself before their morning session.

  “You can stop there!” Omari called out before exhaling the cool air purified by the surrounding foliage. “There’s no point in moving so far back when we are limiting ourselves. Running is so impractical...at least for me.” A chuckle escaped from his mouth as he involuntarily cracked a smile. Emil caught Omari’s joke but remained unresponsive. Instead, he sunk his body low to the earth, readying himself for combat.

  Through his previous weeks of training, Emil quickly realized that Omari was not an opponent to take lightly. Because Omari lacked range, he adapted quickly. He excelled in the art of hand-to-hand combat, was second-to-none at exploiting weaknesses and deception, and executed brutal pin-point attacks. Omari operated methodically. Systematically breaking down his opponents while displaying the upmost sense of flexibility in his approach. In their past bouts, often times Emil would have been dead if Omari would have followed through with his actions. The rigged gauntlets he usually wore when combined with his ability to teleport was a devastating combo. The threat of facing an attack from any angle or direction added immense pressure to his opponents—a factor that often shifted momentum in his favor. Extreme focus was needed when dealing with Omari. In a real fight, a moment’s lack of judgment could mean death.

  “Now, let us begin,” Omari said before sinking into his battle stance.

  Emil studied Omari’s movements and positioning as Omari slowly crept forward. Omari’s guard was relaxed—emphasizing his focus on striking and mobility rather than defense. Though their frames were of comparable size, Omari’s body moved more nimble than his own. Omari’s specialty was fighting inside his opponent’s guard and utilizing their blind spots to his advantage, therefore it was only appropriate that he made the first move.

  As Omari inched closer, Emil backed away, keeping his guard firm.

  Omari dashed in and launched a side kick that disrupted Emil’s defenses. Emil blocked Omari’s left kick with his forearm, but Omari’s strength was more than enough to displace his guard. Emil’s forearm dully ached as it shifted with the inertia of the crushing blow. Though he suffered damage, it wasn’t nearly as lethal as it would have been if Omari’s leg had hit its intended target—Emil’s ribs. Still in pain, Emil blindly fired back with a right straight that only hit air.

  He’s inside my guard!

  Emil’s revelation was correct, but came a fraction of a second too late. Emil’s eyes widened as a crushing knee grinded itself deep into his solar plexus, forcing him to violently expel the air he held in his lungs. Emil retaliated with an uppercut but it, too, failed to connect.

  “Too wide,” Omari said as he followed up with a quaking shot to Emil’s ribs. Emil stumbled back and regained his composure as he realigned his guard. The pressure was adding up. Their bout had just begun, and Emil already had what felt like two craters lodged into his midsection, sucking the life from him. With every breath, they burned. Just as Omari had instructed him to do in the past, he continued to maintain his deep, controlled breathing. “Keep your guard tight, or it’ll happen again. Your straight was lousy. You gave me an opening. Make sure they’re quick and concise.”

  Emil silently agreed as he mentally prepared himself for another round. As he predicted, Omari was the first to go on the offensive, aiming to inflict more damage before Emil could fully recover.

  With blazing speed, Omari dashed in and unleashed a flurry of punches. Emil tightened his guard and nimbly parried the punches he couldn’t avoid with speed alone until the opportunity finally presented itself for the perfect strike.

  There!

  Omari had swung wide and left himself vulnerable.

  Emil gathered his str
ength and returned fire with a cross of his own, but his delivery was derailed by Omari’s fist. Emil’s head jutted back as his face collided with Omari’s cross-counter.

  Damn it! Emil felt himself slipping as his head sluggishly drifted forward. He was stunned, involuntarily forced into a dream-like state and unable to react to Omari’s follow up that drove him to the ground.

  “Sometimes what you think is an opening, is a trap. It was a feint,” Omari said as he hovered over Emil’s sprawled body.

  “If I were faster, I would have hit you first...I had a chance,” Emil said from below.

  “It’s better to calculate the risk rather than dive in head first. Once we confront Legion, we won’t know the extent of the enemies’ power. Everyone’s ability as far we know is unique. The opening acts of combat should only be to test your opponent and come up with an effective strategy.” Omari extended his hand to Emil and hoisted him back up to his feet as he continued to speak. “Suppose if Silvia went another route with her attack and fought you straight on. If you would have fought her, and she exposed you to her poison directly through combat, you would have been dead. In an all-out assault, she would have most likely fought you on equal terms before ambushing you with her beast. Without prior knowledge of the opponent, there’d be no way to know she was capable of such an attack and therefore you’d be open. Coupled with fatigue and her poison, you would have no chance. What I’m trying to say is b—”

  “Be careful, I know,” Emil said after wiping away the stream of blood that flowed from his nose.

  “Your choices scream louder than your thoughts. There’s a lot more at stake now. I presume your brother no longer wants you captured, but instead killed for taking the lives of two of his own.”

  “Yeah. If Hugo and Silvia were holding back, it couldn’t have been much...both of them nearly killed me.”

  “In our last battle we lucked out. Compared to his forces, we are minute...but he now knows that we are a threat. New threats are presumed to be more lethal than the previous by default, no matter the opponent. With the four of us, a loss on our side is far more detrimental when compared to a loss from your brother’s.”