Paladin Rising (The Paladin's Curse Book 1)

by Kristell Carnie

  Chapter Nineteen

  We stand there, staring up into the darkened windows of my childhood home. The hurt from losing my father and then my mother, comes crashing back, hitting my chest with full force as I breathe in the lavender scented air I grew up with.

  Zaneth is motionless beside me, his back rigid as he strains to hear any possible dangers lurking around each shadowy corner.

  The street is as empty and quiet as it always is. That’s the thing about living in suburbia, nothing much happens to cause a commotion. I hope today doesn’t change that notion.

  Zaneth pulls a small leather bag from his waist, sprinkling a fine purple powder in his hand before throwing it at the portal which brought us here.

  “What’s that?” I whisper, as I notice the edges of the portal growing dimmer until the whole thing caves in on itself.

  “It deactivates teleportation portals. Leaving them open is too dangerous, anything could wander in or out and create havoc in both worlds,” he whispers, obviously not liking taking the risk of speaking out here in the open.

  I take my first step towards the house, noticing how dark it is inside. Where is everyone? Have they all gone out? Are they enjoying themselves so much without me around that they don’t bother coming home at night anymore?

  Zaneth shoots me a look as I climb up the creaking steps. What? Does he truly think that the Zantronians are just loitering around the corner ready to pounce? They certainly aren’t quiet creatures; heaving around all that bulk doesn’t give them the edge they need to be silent stalkers. If they were here already, we would be dead, no need to be quiet to do that.

  I rummage around under the large pot plant on the corner of the porch until my fingertips brush against the cold metal of a key. I inwardly thank my mother for always misplacing her keys and needing to hide a spare one just so we could get back into the house; her forgetfulness has turned out to be helpful after all.

  The key slides into the lock easily, making no sound as I turn the handle and swing open the door, allowing the soft moonlight to seep into the darkened entrance.

  I can feel Zaneth’s breath on the top of my head as he peers above me, searching for any possible threat, so I scoot out of the way, closing the door behind us and wait several seconds for my eyes to adjust to the darkness.

  I don’t dare turn on a light. When Mum and William eventually return home they would freak out if the lights were on, probably sending Mum into a total panic.

  Instead I feel my way forward, using memory to guide me and allowing me to search the rooms one by one without bumping into anything.

  The house is just as I remembered it. Nothing’s changed, in fact, it’s exactly as it was before William moved in. Where has his stupid ‘man’s chair’ gone? Where are the nauseatingly happy photos of Mum, William and his kids all huddled together like one big blissful family?

  I come to a standstill when I see the photo that had been put away, stuffed into a draw like a piece of garbage and shattering my heart for good, now returned to its original spot. The one where Dad, Mum and I had been out camping; sitting around the campfire, roasting marshmallows, laughing at some lame joke Dad had told, having an absolute blast. Our last photo together before Dad got sick.

  With shaking hands I pull it out of the frame, tucking it into my back pocket. I refuse to ever leave it behind again. No matter how silly it is, it means so much to me. My family has always meant everything to me.

  My head snaps up at the sound of a creak in the bedroom above us. Zaneth automatically puts his finger to his lips and then motions for me to get behind him, his stealth skills reaching top gear as we creep up the stairs towards the unknown sound.

  I feel every beat of my heart in my throat as I try to remain calm, ignoring the shadows which distort my vision and try to fill my mind with overdramatic possibilities of what we will find. Just as we reach the landing I hear it, the small, delicate cough that I know all too well.

  “Mum?” I yell, shooting around Zaneth and darting towards my old bedroom.

  Swinging open the door, I flick on the light, momentarily blinding myself as well as my poor mother who’s curled up into a ball on my little bed.

  Shock wars with hesitant disbelief as she struggles to process what is happening, her almost crazy eyes darting from me to Zaneth and back again.

  Her chestnut brown hair is rumpled, falling around her thinning face, and her once smooth, glowing skin has completely lost its lustre, being replaced with worry lines that have aged her more than I could have anticipated.

  “Mum,” I say gently, waiting for her to piece together what is going on.

  “Rayna?” her voice, thick from sleep, cracks as if she hasn’t spoken in months.

  She leaps out of bed, throwing the blankets into a heap on the floor before reaching me, her frail hands grabbing my shoulders and pulling me to her with more force than I thought possible.

  “Rayna,” she sobs so noisily I can barely make out her words. “Rayna, my baby, you’re here, you’ve come home.”

  She pulls back, pressing her hands to my cheeks, her eyes running across my face taking in every tiny detail before drawing me close to her again and peppering my forehead with kisses.

  “Mum,” I try to pull back, to give myself some space to breathe, but she refuses to relinquish her grasp.

  “My baby, you’ve come home, you’re safe. I’ve been so worried, so lost without you.”

  Suddenly it’s not Mum holding me to her, it’s me holding her up as the burst of energy that surged through her is depleted and she crumbles to the floor, dragging me down with her.

  She wraps me up in her frail arms, tears streaming down her face as she begs.

  “Please forgive me, Rayna, please.” A little hiccup escapes her trembling lips. “I was wrong letting you go. I should never have allowed William into my life. You are all that’s important to me. You and your dad were my life and without him nothing made sense and I panicked. I clung to William when I should have been with you. I failed you. I failed the most important person in the world and then you were gone, and the police said you were kidnapped and that you were probably dead and I couldn’t live, I couldn’t breathe without you, Rayna. I should never have let you go. You are my baby. Please forgive me, please, Rayna, please forgive me.”

  I lose it then, right at that moment. All my pent up hurt, fear and abandonment issues bursting free until matching tears spill from my eyes, my breath coming out in little gasps as the words I longed to hear are repeated over and over again while Mum squeezes me hard, rocking us both back and forth on my bedroom floor, all the while Zaneth stands there, his widened eyes glued to us, not knowing what to do in this surreal situation.

  Nothing else matters now that I have Mum back. We are a family again, she’s all I need. I didn’t realise just how greatly I missed her, and I sink deeper into her embrace, relishing her warmth and comfort.

  It seems all too soon that Zaneth interrupts our precious moment, dragging me back into the present and taking away my new found happiness.

  “Rayna, we have to go.”

  Mum finally looks up, taking in Zaneth’s hulking form, her body going rigid as she starts hysterically babbling.

  “You are not taking my daughter anywhere. She’s home, where she belongs. I’m not losing her again.”

  The woman I remembered bursts free, the mum I grew up with, the strong independent fierce woman I always tried to imitate, springs at Zaneth, not caring that he is five times her size.

  With a renewed energy she pushes me behind her as she lunges at him, her tiny fists curled into balls as she repeatedly pounds on his chest, her face contorted into a raging madwoman, all the while screaming at the top of her lungs.

  “You’re not taking my baby! You’re not having her! Get out, get out of my house and leave her alone!”

  Zaneth glances at me still sitting dumbfounded on the floor, Mum’s pitiful attack bouncing off of his solid chest like a mosquito on a bear.


  “Rayna, do you want to do something about this?” he grunts as his patience finally starts wearing thin.

  If our lives weren’t in such dire circumstances I might have just continued sitting there, watching the hilarity of it all. Instead I try to reach Mum, to bring her back from whichever mental place she has reached this time.

  “Mum, stop!” I grab her arm, only to have her pull out of my grasp and keep hitting Zaneth. “He’s my friend, Mum, he’s here to help us.”

  In one quick motion, Zaneth grabs Mum’s hands, twisting her body effortlessly until her back rests against his chest, wrapping her up in his arms so tightly she can barely breathe.

  “Listen to your daughter and this will go a lot easier,” he whispers into her ear, softer and gentler than I have ever seen him.

  I shake my head, not needing to overanalyse Zaneth’s many hidden layers right at this point in time. Standing directly in front of her, I say the only thing I can think of that might get Mum to cooperate.

  “Mum, I’m in danger.”

  Her eyes hone in on me, clarity finally chasing away the madness. Zaneth loosens his grasp but still maintains a firm grip on her frail body.

  “The police were right, I was kidnapped. I managed to get away but the …… people who took me are here, they want me back and they are willing to hurt you to get to me.” I leave out the part that the people are actually bloodthirsty monsters who want to torture me before eating my body parts – I don’t think she is mentally stable enough just yet to handle that much information.

  “This is my friend Zaneth. He’s here to help us, to get us some place safe where these people can’t get me. Do you understand?” I feel mean for talking to my mother like she’s an idiot but if you saw the psychotic gleam in her eyes then you would too.

  She nods, a quick sharp shake that assures me she’s not going to go all ninja style on Zaneth again. Slowly he releases her, and she scurries out of his embrace to stand at my side.

  “What do we have to do?” her voice is clear and in control. She’s got a purpose now, one she won’t fail at.

  “All we have to do is go outside and we can get to safety.” I reach out, clasping her hand in mine, giving her a reassuring smile, hoping that she can’t feel the little tremble that has started working its way through my body.

  Zaneth leads the way back through the darkened house, not worrying now about being silent anymore. I think he saw the panic in my eyes the moment I felt it, the fire blazing through my veins announcing their arrival.

  We are too late, I know we are out of time but I’ve still got to try. I can’t tell how close they are, just that they are near enough to activate the bracelets warning system, which in turn activates me.

  This time, before I see the tiny blue lights twisting over my skin, I feel them, like the soft tip of a feather being brushed tenderly along the contours of my body. They are comforting, soothing the scorching pain that tries to trigger my talons. It’s like my body is experimenting with fire and ice, both twisting together, butting heads, each trying to control the other, and neither wanting to coexist.

  “Jesus, Rayna, what’s happening to your skin?” Mum’s panicked voice doesn’t slow me down; instead it pushes me to go faster.

  “Not really a good time to explain that right now, Mum.”

  Zaneth’s throws open the front door and takes two steps out into the night before he comes to a standstill. His weapons are in his hands before I can blink, but they are useless against what stands in front of us.

  Garvien smirks, his handsome human-looking face far more sinister than any Zantronian expression could ever be.

  “Hello, Rayna.”

  Chapter Twenty

  “Well isn’t this a pleasant surprise?” Garvien stands flanked by seven other ‘human appearing’ Zantronians.

  “And here I was thinking that I could have some fun with your delightful mother before I got to enjoy the tantalising main course of you, Rayna.”

  My skin crawls under his sickeningly predatory gaze and I have to stop myself from vomiting all over my shoes – after all, a weak and feeble human isn’t exactly the look I’m trying to portray right now.

  We are greatly outnumbered and even though they may be smaller in structure, while in their deceptive human form, than Zaneth’s obvious hulking strength, I know we have no way of outfighting them.

  Unfortunately Mum doesn’t see it that way. The same fierce protectiveness of a mother bear comes boiling to the surface, her face twisted into pure hate at she spits towards the creatures that are threatening her baby.

  “You pathetic piece of scum.” Faster than lightening she is in front of Garvien, shoulders held back, fists balled into little weapons. “Don’t you ever threaten my child! Get off of my property before I call the police, you indignant little worm!”

  Garvien throws his head back, his deep slimy laughter echoing through the air, and I know things are about to turn bad. Zaneth steps towards Mum, trying to pull her back before she gets hurt, but Garvien gets to her first.

  “Oh isn’t she delightful!” Garvien smirks. “Let’s knock that out of her shall we?”

  With that simple comment, he lifts his hand, his fist flying through the air and connecting with Mum’s delicate face with full impact, sending her head snapping back with a sickening crunch.

  A low moan escapes her bleeding lips as she crumbles to the ground, landing in a heap on the path.

  “Mum!” I reach for her motionless body, rolling her over into my arms and cradling her head. Her eyes are foggy, uncomprehending what has just occurred, but at least she’s still conscious and not dead like I feared.

  My heart slows right down, almost stopping completely as my hardened gaze meets Garvien. For a long moment he just stands there, the smile which plagued his face dissolving from his lips as his eyes narrow, taking in my changed demeanour.

  The coolness of the entwining blue lines shimmer before dulling completely. It seems my anger has won out over the protective healing powers that the lines seem to control. With the fear no longer urging me to run and hide, I instead draw on all of the hate these disgusting creatures ignite deep within my soul, I summon on the very thing that seems to sustain them, rage.

  Now I need the bracelets curse, I want the talons to protrude from my fingernails so I can drive them deep into Garvien’s eyes before ripping his eyeballs out. Nothing would give me more satisfaction than being the reason he takes his last breath.

  Garvien’s death will be my dying resolution.

  Until then there’s no way I can protect Mum while I’m on the ground, cradling her in my arms, so I drag her back, gently laying her head down and wiping blood from her lips before I stand and step forward, guarding her body with the only weapon I’ve got. Me.

  “You wanted me, Garvien, so here I am.” My icy tone indicates none of the fear which filled me merely minutes ago.

  I no longer care what he does to me, I already know what to expect, what level of torture I will endure and the suffering that will ultimately end in my demise, and yet I still don’t care. I only want one thing - my mother’s safety.

  Because of me, Blay has acted irrationally and nearly paid with his life because of it. Prytora has endured increased attacks, striking fear into their already anxious lives. Karadese has suffered in an emotional private hell purely from meeting me, and now Mum’s fate lies in my hands, and I swear I will stop at nothing to protect her.

  This ends now. With me.

  There is no point in trying to deceive Garvien, he’s seen what I’m capable of when I was purely human, how I was willing to fight until my last bitter breath just for my own sanity and a tiny slice of revenge, he knows what to expect from the human me.

  I can only hope he doesn’t know what I’m capable of now, with the bracelet firmly embedded into my flesh, of how far I’m willing to go to ensure the safety of those who matter to me, and more importantly of what this bracelet allows me to do. And I hope he find
s that out the hard way.

  I get straight to the point, ignoring the agitation rising in Zaneth’s face, his cutting glare as the promise slips from my lips.

  “You want me, Garvien, just me. You didn’t come all this way, go to all of this trouble, just to find my mother. So take me, do whatever the hell it is you want with me. Be the big bad monster that you think you are, but leave my mother alone.” I take a step forward, staring into those intense brown eyes, and for a split second, his chiselled jaw and high cheekbones all framed by chocolate-brown hair, spark a minuscule recognition I can’t quite decipher right now.

  “Where’s the fun in that, Rayna.” The cocky smile I want to slash right off of his face returns, double fold. “We both know how much I like my fun, don’t we?”

  “Just take what you want and leave.” I huff, exasperated by his endless turbulent games.

  “My, my, my, what to do?” He raises a finger to his lips, tapping continuously as if he’s thinking through a dilemma.

  “I don’t know what the hell you’re playing at, Rayna,” Zaneth growls between gritted teeth, his muscles tight as he holds his swords at the ready, waiting for any opportunity to get us out of here. Every now and again he glances down at Mum, a worried look haunting his eyes.

  “But knock it off, you are not going anywhere with him, don’t even think I’ll let that happen.”

  Garvien glares at Zaneth as if he’s nothing more than crap on the bottom of his expensive shoes. We all know Zaneth doesn’t stand a chance against all eight of them, but Garvien also knows that Zaneth’s a Prytorian, and they don’t go down without one hell of a fight, which unfortunately also means Mum will get caught in the crossfire and her chances of surviving the fight that’s about to unfold are slim to none.

  I need to convince Zaneth to let me go, to take Mum to Prytora and heal her, to forget about me and the oath that he swore to protect me.

  “Zaneth,” I turn my back on Garvien, as if he’s nothing more than a pesky fly, my full attention on the man I need to persuade.