Splintered Fate

by ylugin

  “Alogrin.” Clyte answered him.

  “That explains the company.”

  “The company?” Clyte retorted.

  “I didn’t mean it in a bad way.”

  On the trip back to Alogrin, Lana and the others again remained silent. She felt that there was more that needed to be said. More that she needed to say, to find out but couldn’t, not in front of others. This was between her and Kirill Dukran.

  A part of her hated that Kirill had come here. The sudden heaviness she now felt in her chest due to his mere presence was unnerving. He had placed invisible shackles around her, and they were secured to him.

  * * *

  Lana’s hand shook ever so slightly while it hesitated mid air, hovering over the doorknob. Unable to bring herself to touch it, her eyes glared at the door as if she could tear the thing apart with one look. Her heart pounded while her body stood downright frozen.

  Feelings all jumbled together, she had no idea which would prevail once the door opened. She could feel Ardin’s silent presence beside her, watching her, but this she was going to do alone and he would not fight that. He would wait in the hall until she was finished.

  A guard in the hall soundlessly watched Lana as she finally turned the knob and pushed open the door. In the dimly lit room stood Kirill staring at a half filled wooden bookshelf. That was all Lana could make of the room before she took a step in and shut the door behind her. Her eyes met with his steel blue when he turned from the bookshelf to face her.

  Anger sped up her already racing heartbeat, pushing the rage through her veins. This was the emotion that would take precedence. In a swift clean motion Lana stepped towards Kirill, a hand blade forming in her palm. By the time she reached him the blade was solid and she could feel the weight of it in her hand. Lana shoved the Dukran back against the wall and brought the knife’s edge to his neck.

  Kirill stood, pressed against the wall, making no attempt to get away from her blade. His hands unnaturally stayed at his sides.

  “I should kill you.” Lana snarled through clenched teeth.

  “Probably.” He responded without a single move to defend himself.

  Lana stared into his eyes hard, she was not sure if he were ill. Kirill Dukran not fighting was something no one would ever believe. She pressed the blade to the flesh of his neck, a silent gesture telling him that this was not a game. She wanted to kill him, to rid the world of at least one brutal Dukran.

  Tightening her grasp on the blade, Lana’s knuckles were beginning to turn white from her grip on it. Her teeth were grinding together in a frustrating rage. A dark part of her beckoned her to do it, to end him, while another pleaded mercy. He had shown her mercy. He could have left her to die in that battle outside of Abder, but he didn’t.

  With a short scream she shoved her hand to the right, releasing the blade. It’s sharp edges met the hard wood of a table in the small room as it burrowed into the wood, splintering it before the blade vanished into nothing but silver dust. Lana stepped away from Kirill, turning away in an attempt to focus her feelings. The anger that she felt yearned for a release.

  “What more can you tell me of General Flynn and the other council members?” Lana asked when she turned back to face Kirill, attempting to focus herself.

  “The war between the Rami and Madonians is waging. Your General Flynn is smart. He attempts to not anger Arkhip, while still keeping your men safe. It’s difficult for him though for Arkhip pushes everyone to take dangerous risks, his anger and impatience only growing with time. But like I said Flynn is smart. He does not underestimate Arkhip and so will do whatever necessary in order to retain some form of control. You are lucky to have a General such as he at a time like this.

  As for the council, the Laderic brothers have fully fallen behind Arkhip. They support him with everything he may want. They are young and war hungry and Arkhip feeds them with the glory of war and power, teasing them with promises of power and control that he will never allow for them to have. The Sterlings somewhat resist like Flynn however they are very much involved in openly supporting Arkhip. I believe Elysia is in love with one of the Laderics because she does whatever necessary to make them happy and Cyra allows for it while wearing a scowl on her face.

  The Maddox’s are interesting. They provided the most hesitation to helping with the war against King Zakran. Ira and Lionel were not going to allow Arkhip use of their ships. They began strong, against Arkhip. But then for a short time Lionel vanished from the public eye, to return a couple weeks later looking haggard but in complete support of Arkhip. In the end he ended up giving Arkhip the ships that he wanted.”

  Lana felt a pit in her stomach. She knew there was a war that would break but this was much more than she expected. For Arkhip to have so much control, for none of the council to be against him, for him to be leading the attacks on King Zakran’s armies and have the use of even the Maddox’s ships. He had more control than Lana thought. She shuddered slightly at the sudden fear that she may not be able to over power his growing reach.

  Like a weed Arkhip grew, burrowing his poisonous roots into those around, sucking the nutrients and strength from all nearby in order to grow himself. Raising himself towards an ultimate control, as the ruler of all the Land.

  How did the others not see this, not realize that Arkhip Dukrans plans never intended for them to rise with him, that in the end he intended to be the only one on top? To succeed against him Lana would need more help, maybe even more than Alogrin would be able to provide her with, were they willing to.

  Green eyes stared into the distance in thought while she turned to face a stonewall. For Arkhip to succeed countless lives would have to be taken. The world she knew would be plunged into dark times, everyone would fall under the rule of an oppressive mad man. There would be no safe place left for people to run to. Lana would not let Arkhip get away with this, she would not let him devour all that she knew and loved.

  “I’m going to kill him.” Lana spoke about Arkhip in a calm clear voice.

  “No, you wont.” Kirill replied. She spun around to face Kirill, but he continued. “You wouldn't survive the attempt. Arkhip Dukran is more powerful than you can imagine.”

  “Then I will die trying.”

  There was a pause as the two of them stood there. The proximity to each other was uncomfortable and for a moment they both stared at inanimate objects instead of each other. Lana could clearly remember the last time they were like this, alone in a room together. They were children. It was right after her mother had died, before she learned of how dark her friend had become in her absence.

  If Kirill was going to be here in Alogrin, at least she could try and get some useful information from him.

  “What are they? Your father’s powers?”

  “He isn't my father.” His voice was stern.

  “Isn’t he?” Her eyes narrowed. Kirill did every disgusting thing his father asked of him. He was his father’s son, no matter what he said now.

  “Just because I am his son his does not mean…” Kirill’s words broke, as he let out a sigh. “Do you know how Arkhip became a member of the council?”

  Lana shrugged “He was related to-”

  “No.” Kirill cut her off. “He told everyone he was a distant cousin of the late family that ran the council in the city of Morgas. He was not. He was not related to them at all.”

  “So, how?”

  Kirill eyes glazed over as he fell into the memory. “This is one of my first clear memories of Arkhip Dukran. I saw what he could do, I saw him take on the small family and their little army, single handedly. The gore and the screams, I could smell the steel, the burning, and the blood. He alone massacred them all.” Kirill’s eyes found their way back to Lana Casteel. “It terrified me back then. It still terrifies me. His skills and abilities are greater than any I have ever seen.” Kirill seemed to shudder, lost in thought.

  “That’s not possible.” Lana replied in a whisper, unsure of what to thi
nk. She questioned if Kirill was making this up, but something about him seemed so honest.

  “He killed Earmon.”

  Lana’s head jerked towards Kirill at the name of her fathers Aorra. “How?”

  “Aorra’s are in a small way similar but still different then what Madonians can create, like that blade you just held. But they differ in that Aorra’s are truly alive. They are souls that bind with our own and our subconscious creates them. Normally when a Madonian creates something they need to hold on to it, to anchor it to the world. Think about it, the concentration required for you to hold a blade you create. But our Aorra’s stand on their own, effortless to their Madonian. That’s because in a way they are their own entity. They are threaded together by our strength combined with their own. My father has found a way to undo those threads.”

  Lana could only stare at Kirill, unable to speak. For some reason she believed him, yet had no reason to. There was something about him, he reminded her more now of the boy she used to know as a child instead of the monster he had grown up to be. Despite everything, she trusted his words.

  “Lana, he can turn an Aorra to dust.”

  “If he was this powerful he would control all the Lands by now.” She said, shaking her head, not wanting to believe him. If what he was telling her was true it would cost a lot more lives to take out Arkhip than Lana had thought, she wasn't even sure if it would be possible.

  “His strength has a limit. He cannot fight everyone at once. Your Rami friend is capable of sharing his strength with you, I saw it. Well Arkhip can take strength from a Rami in their death. I have seen him do it, and before you and your friend I used to think that his was the only way it was possible.”

  “How does he do it?”

  “He has to be close to them, which is why he likes to kill in close quarters. In the moments of a Rami’s death they release energy and Arkhip knows how to draw the energy to himself. Which is why this war is so good for him. After it ends he may have enough power to take out the few Madonians that can challenge him.”

  “Why are you telling me this? Why are you even here?”

  “I want to help you.”

  “Help?” Her eyes narrowed.

  “Help kill Arkhip.”

  “You said I would die trying.” Could he really be serious about wanting to kill his own father?

  “If you planned on doing it alone, you would. I could be a great asset.”

  Lana scoffed at that. After all this time, the countless attempts she had tried to get Kirill to see things her way and failed, now he wanted to help. Now that she no longer wanted anything to do with him. “How will you be able to help? Why are you doing this? Why should I even trust a thing you say?”

  “For years Arkhip has lied to me, he used me. He controlled me and I could not break that control until I learned of how truly dark his soul is. I thought he loved me… I have done things… Things that I regret. I have hurt many people. You were one of the few friends I had as a child, a true friend. You are the only one in my life who had ever showed me true kindness, even if it were when we were children. I do not know if you would ever be able to accept me as a friend again. But, I can at least help you in this. You have no reason to trust me, I know, but I hope that you can try.”

  Lana stared at the stonewall behind Kirill. Maintaining eye contact with Kirill Dukran, trying to see whether he seemed honest or not with every word he said was wearing on her. She had to look away, to peel her eyes from his steel hold.

  After a moment Lana turned and walked out of the room, without a word or look in his direction. Kirill let her leave without a single plea for his life or safety, without a single question of what was to happen to him here in Alogrin. He asked for nothing for himself, and Lana didn’t understand it. How a man like him could forfeit his power and security, forfeit his sword, blindly be lead into a city, only to then answer her questions without once even asking his own. This was not something she ever thought him capable of.

  Shutting the door, Lana locked it behind her and walked past the guard that was posted by Kirill’s comfortable cell. She walked down the hall and turned the corner, stopping once out of sight to regain composure. Her hands were trembling.

  Ardin neared her. She turned to her Aorra, knelt down and hugged him. With a touch she let him in, sharing with him what had gone on with Kirill while Ardin helped sooth her. He was a breath of air, her anchor.

  You believe him? Ardin asked when Lana finally released him from her grip.

  She sighed, staring at her gray eyed wolf.

  I don’t know…

  Chapter

  Sixteen

  The next week went by without any more surprises. Lana had not gone back to see Kirill again. She didn't want to. However, the persistent heaviness of his presence in Alogrin never left her. It dimmed the light she had felt while in this great city and she hated him for it.

  As time went on Lana had grown increasing frustrated by the Alogrins slow response to her request for assistance. They had not agreed to help nor had they ruled out the possibility of it, leaving Lana clutching to hope that they would eventually support her. In the mean time her frustration of Alogrins sloth like decision making forced her to begin thinking of trying to get help elsewhere.

  When Lana was young she was taught at Ucu. There she was taught by instructors who seemed to have a limitless knowledge. They knew of her lands, of the people, of history, of Madonian and Rami strengths and weaknesses. With such vast knowledge, Lana began thinking that perhaps the instructors could be of assistance in taking down Arkhip Dukran. At first she only discussed it with Ardin. Once she decided that this was indeed something she wanted to try she went to Kaiden.

  Thankfully Kaiden was eager to join her on this venture. They both had good experiences at Ucu and it was, after all, the place they had first met. None of this would have been happening without the school on the little moon.

  Lana and Kaiden had decided that they would try and go to the bridge, a temple on their land that is linked to the moon planet. The bridge could only be opened once a moon cycle. This was when the small moon lined up perfectly between the large moon and their planet. There was a window of several minutes that someone could be transported to and from Ucu, in two back-to-back days. The first day was always used to return current students and the second was to bring in the new ones. But now that war had begun, the instructors would not permit new students to enter the bridge and go the school.

  With no children being taken to Ucu during this moon cycle, Lana hoped that the instructors would at least allow them entrance, if for but a few minutes. She was desperate for their help, surely they would see the benefit in assisting her in taking down Arkhip.

  Lana did not ask for the council’s assistance in this matter for they did not know of the Ucu Instructors like she and Kaiden did. The only thing Lana wanted the Alogrinian council to help her with was the fight against Arkhip’s growing control of the lands. That is how Alogrin could help.

  The journey to the bridge would be done with Kaiden, it was not something Alogrin had to be troubled with. Those in Alogrin lived in their own safe bubble and doubtfully knew much about the instructors on the moon. They certainly never sent their young ones there. However, there was one evening Lana decided to ask Zorin for his opinion.

  Zorin believed that the Instructors were not of their lands and thus have no right to meddle in Madonian or Rami business. That when the Instructors first came they seemed to know more of the powers within Madonian and Rami people than the people themselves even knew. Zorin’s ancestors were the first to set up a treaty with the Instructors so they could train the children for one moon cycle. The instructors had promised to never meddle in the business of the lands.

  After the Great War the instructors set up a decree that they would not take children if war were to break out. This was their way to try and promote peace amongst the people of the lands. Even though the instructors had many rules to keep themselves from
being overly involved in the business of the lands, Zorin was certain of their meddling. He believed that they could not be trusted and more harm than good would come from Lana’s visit.

  After learning of Zorin’s distaste for the Instructors, Lana kept her plans between Ardin, Kaiden, and herself or so she assumed.

  “So what are your plans for the future, young Casteel?” Donn asked when he released her from his warm embrace.

  “Just trying to get help for a future for the Rami and Madonians, same as it has been.”

  “Is that so?” Donn asked, raising a white eyebrow.

  “Lana!!” Nadina called out as she and Alex ran to her. They were all meeting by the warm spring this morning. Lana had promised them that she would spend the entire day with them.

  “Yes, it is so.” Lana said to Donn, answering his questioning before turning to the approaching children. Lana tensed for the embrace as Nadina and Alex ran into her from each side. Wrapping her arms around the children, she clutched them to her tightly before releasing them.

  “Hey guys!” She smiled at the two beaming faces.

  “Well okay. But remember, some shouldn’t be trusted.” Donn replied to Lana, lowly over her shoulder.

  Lana gave Donn a sideways gaze. “What do you know?” She asked in wonder.

  Donn stood nearby with a mischievous grin underneath his white beard. He shrugged and then Nadina and Alex pulled Lana’s attention away.

  “Where is Kaiden?” Alex asked, eager to see the Rami who was now in a way a mentor. The two had grown incredibly close during their time in Alogrin. Kaiden was the one who helped Alex see the potential in his gifts and taught him how to use it for something he enjoyed. Becoming the best archer was Alex’s new dream and he had Kaiden to thank for it.

  “I’m not sure, I told him we were going to meet here this morning. He will probably be here soon.” Lana replied with a warm smile. “What would you guys like to do in the mean time?”