Legacy First Trilogy Box Set: Books 1-3 of the Legacy Series

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Legacy First Trilogy Box Set: Books 1-3 of the Legacy Series Page 62

by Ryan Attard


  When I had first come to the island, on this strange otherworldly plane, my magic was acting up in a weird way. I felt wrong at first. I guess stepping into a different universe tends to haywire your system a little. What I didn't take into consideration however was the fact that I had spent more than two weeks on this place, hunting and living just like one of the monsters here. In that time, my magic had stabilized and was now better than ever. The whole espionage mission to the library, discovering their secrets and now talking to Legolas whilst knowing it was a losing battle, brought out a whole load of emotions and when you're a wizard, that's fuel for the fire.

  The arrow I had fired had been loaded with magic and I hadn't even realized. No wonder it had gone off like a freaking ballistic missile, completely rendering two Sentinels useless and sending both me and Legolas flying. And as with every non-magical weapon I ever used, the bow literally disintegrated in my hands, splintering into a million pieces and sending what remained of the bowstring flying into the night sky.

  I smacked my head against the library door and shook myself from a bout of dizziness. Legolas and the surrounding Vensir were recovering as well. I saw Legolas' spear gleaming against the small fire that burned from the remains of the Sentinels. Clouds of smoke covered my field of vision as I carefully got up. I was used to the chaos of battle and had a decision to make. Sure, I could ambush Legolas and the Vensir and attack them. I would win easily.

  Or I could run towards Central and hope to activate some sort of portal. I didn't want to hurt these people. I understood what it feels like to be oppressed by a higher power and I really just wanted to help these guys. Central was the problem here, not the Vensir themselves. And the first rule of problem-solving is to eliminate the source of said problem. So, taking advantage of the smoke screen, I found my feet and bolted towards the titanic obelisk.

  Chapter 27

  Hurting Vensir was out of the question. Hurting Sentinels, that was a different story altogether. It occurred to me that no one in the Citadel had seen Djinn in action, so I felt compelled to give them a proper demonstration.

  I made a run towards the Central obelisk, cutting a swathe through any Sentinel that stood in my way. Arcs of azure marked the trail of my blade as it cut through silver steel. Some of the Vensir had found the will to stand their ground, which made me either kick them away or duck and dodge their attacks. Either way, these guys weren't warriors and even an entire army of Vensir couldn't match a pissed-off wizard on a mission.

  I hopped over stalls and benches, rolling over obstacles parkour style until finally I could see the base of the giant obelisk. It was huge. Let me put it in perspective: the entire thing was built like Cleopatra's Needle and constructed from neat rectangular stone, white as an archangel's wings. Every one of those rectangular stones was about as tall as I was—the entire construct was so tall I couldn't see the tip. Just a large white tower that disappeared into the night sky.

  I felt magic coming from that thing. Not the spikes and bursts I had felt when faced with Vensir and Wild. This thing was a tsunami of magic: energy flooding from it permeated the very air. Every breath I took felt heavier, richer, and I could feel pinpricks on my skin as static energy crackled in the atmosphere. I felt the thickness of the energy, in itself a barrier, that made every step towards Central heavier than the last.

  As if that wasn't enough to stop any sane person, a legion of Sentinels stood on guard, pikes at the ready. The moment I entered their field of vision, their eyes glowed and energy ran through their weapons. Their collective mechanical voice echoed like a sound blast through the night air.

  "Central must be protected."

  I stood my ground, sword at the ready, blue wisps of energy coming out of the blade.

  "Listen up, motherfuckers," I yelled back. "I intend to go back home, and if anyone has something to say about that, you're more than welcome to go blow yourself."

  The Sentinels weren't impressed. They shot forwards towards me. "Central must be protected."

  "Protect this."

  I poured everything I had into that energy wave. All the frustration I had slowly building up inside of me, from the moment I had attempted to open the portal in the middle of the ocean, to the sleepless night I spent scared of the monsters lurking beneath me. The tireless days of hunting and ending up here with the Vensir, in a strange land with some seriously brainwashed people. I poured in every moment I missed my family, my apprentice, my talking cat, my mission back home.

  Energy exploded from Djinn, expanding it into a gargantuan blade. I swung the blade around and projected all that power towards the approaching slew of robots. The azure arc cut through them as if they were made of butter, disintegrating them on the spot. Even those few who were not hit were still knocked back, smashing into other robots in a pile of scrap metal. The energy blade kept its course until it hit Central and left a deep groove in the stone.

  "What have you done?"

  The High Council Vensir, the old guy who had had my stuff and who had passed my judgment, stood far enough so as not to be hit by Central's energy but still close enough so I could see the population of Vensir and Sentinels behind him.

  "That is home of our God King. How dare you?" He didn't even wait for my answer. He turned to the people behind him and yelled, "All warrior Vensir and Sentinels, go forwards. Eliminate the threat to Central and the Citadel."

  Squads of warrior Vensir, wielding spears and various other weapons roared and ran uphill, towards me. Their Sentinels, easy over fifty of them, overtook the running Vensir and showed up first, pikes at the ready, green lightning crackling menacingly.

  I didn't even bother taking them head on. Instead I turned tail and ran—towards the obelisk. The Vensir were having a tough time walking straight and the closer they came to Central, the harder it became for them to even stand. Central's magic was too much for them. Soon the first of them began fainting and collapsing. When the last ones decided to pick their comrades and pull back, that's when I turned the fight to the Sentinels.

  I leapt towards the first one, embedding Djinn inside its head. Three of them shoved their pikes at my back, but I ducked and extracted my gun. A blast of crimson magic sent them flying away in pieces. I rolled, avoiding a fourth jab and, still keeping my momentum, I swung with Djinn, its blade now elongated to three times its usual size. I grabbed one Sentinel, stuck Djinn inside it and used it as a shield to bash against five other robots. I channeled magic inside my blade, elongating it until the glowing blue blade skewered all the robots. Letting go of the spell, I pulled my regular-sized weapon out and turned to face the rest.

  That's when I slipped on the pikes beneath my feet and stumbled against the pristine white stone of the obelisk. The moment I made contact with Central, the world spun and a million lightning bolts went off inside my head. I felt a monstrous presence inside this monument, the same one I felt when probing underwater for a portal, but on a vastly larger magnitude. It was as if the entire universe that this island inhabited was assaulting me and I had to fight not to lose myself in that sea of hate, rage, sorrow, pleasure, pain, pride and envy.

  I managed to tear myself off the monument and felt a dozen pikes strike my chest with so much force I was sent tumbling on the ground. I didn't even register the pain. The sheer power that I had mentally linked with had utterly paralyzed my entire system. For a few seconds all there was in my head was a soup of darkness and confusion, until slowly I began compartmentalizing the information.

  I regained full use of my limbs just in time to avoid another onslaught and fought the Sentinels off with another blast of azure energy. Slowly, I stood up and looked at the obelisk. It all made sense now—the voices, the universe, the sheer power.

  I knew exactly who that was. I knew exactly what this universe was. And none of it was good news.

  "Envy."

  I looked around me, taking in the night sky, the trees that kept going until the horizon, where I could see the faint coastline.
I saw every star, every cloud, every blade of grass for what it really was.

  This entire island—no, this entire plane—was the Sin of Envy.

  And as I stood there, with despair threatening to overtake every last thought process I had left in my head, I heard a voice—a voice that belonged to the darkness within me, the cursed powers that had plagued me since birth. And that voice was now screaming at the top of its metaphysical lungs.

  Destroy the obelisk.

  Without stopping to think of the consequence or form an actual plan, I thrust my short sword forwards. Using every ounce of my body weight, I let out a feral cry and sank Djinn's blade into Central. Darkness exploded from within my body and channeled destructive powers into my blade, and cracks deep enough to envelop an entire human being snaked up the obelisk.

  I felt the Sin inside scream in pain and anger, its roar shaking the land, popping the air and further darkening the skies. Then I heard every monster I had ever encountered on the island stir into life and move, intent of finding and destroying me.

  The night of the Verdurous Moon had been brought to life. And in that moment of darkness, both literally and mentally, I looked up at the skies. Thick and vicious clouds parted to reveal a jade-green moon, and bifurcating the moon was an iridescent yellow slit, turning the moon into an eye, just like a cat's.

  Just like a demon's.

  I stood helpless as the eye inside the moon slowly shifted from side to side until it was gazing in my direction, making eye contact with me. I felt singled out as the entire universe's hatred and bloodlust were aimed directly at me.

  I didn't even have time to panic. Shadows beyond the Citadel stirred to life and I felt the Sin moving towards the Citadel, coming for its residents. Thousands of Wild and other terrible creatures, all under Envy's control, were already inside the Citadel. I looked at the Vensir who were blissfully oblivious to their impending doom.

  "Run!"

  Chapter 28

  The Citadel's outer wall never stood a chance. A massive shadowy form manifested behind the outer wall of the Citadel and swung savagely downwards, obliterating the stone fortification. That was just the vanguard. Behind it I could see other lurking blobs of darkness, moving about like titanic zombies, slowly inching towards the obelisk.

  In the dark they were formless but I could tell the Wild had finally succeeded in breeching the city walls. The Vensir just stood there, huddling closer and closer, as they watched a horde of Wild rampage. The monsters trampled over the piazza market stalls and benches. They knocked over houses and small buildings, all in their frenzy to reach Central. Worse yet, the Sentinels that had been engineered to defend the Vensir were mostly in pieces, thanks to me.

  That was the thought that prompted me into action: the simple mantra in my life that said, “keep the promises you make and don't hurt anyone who doesn't deserve it.” I was the one who had destroyed the Sentinels, thereby leaving the Vensir helpless. The elves were dumb, sure, but they were still good guys. They had welcomed me, they had sheltered me and all their bullshit came from the so-called God King of theirs. Which turned out to be a Sin.

  If anyone could help them now, it was me.

  I leapt and took to the air. My power, in the form of shadows surrounding my body, propelled me from the ground and over a small group of warrior Vensir who were pulling their comrades aside. I spun in the air and landed two feet away from the first Wild. Djinn's blade glowed and I sliced upwards. The monster fell dead. I extended my hand towards another Wild, sending a scything blade of shadows at it. The monster fell and I noticed something strange.

  When I had fought the Wild before, the dynamic of the battle had been different. Those guys were fast, strong and had those black bones that were damn near impossible to cut unless I put some juice behind my swings. And even then, I had felt the density and hardness of those bones.

  These guys had none of that. They were slow, walked with a lumbering pace and cutting through them reminded me of the same feeling I got when I set up that training exercise for Abi, cutting through fallen tree branches.

  The moon, still in its creepy-eye mode, shed some light on the situation. Instead of the shaggy Big-Foot-esque monsters I expected, I saw giant trees looming over me. Their leaves and branches were wrung onto others', giving the impression that a large canopy of forest loomed over the sky. Their thicker branches were used as arms with which they swiped at me. They made sounds like the straining of old wood and the creaking of furniture. They looked like something out of a Tolkien novel—walking, talking, pissed-off trees.

  I ducked under a few more branches and made short work of the first one that loomed over me at well over fifteen feet. And that's when reinforcements showed up. Shaggy, snarling, black-boned reinforcements.

  A dozen Wild weaved through the living trees, silent as ninjas, and would have taken me by surprise were it not for my enhanced senses.

  I threw a spell at one, caught him in the chest and sent him flying against a tree. A second one leapt over me and instinctively I threw my hands up in defense. A fist of shadows punched into the Wild's chest, stopping him short of taking my head off and throwing him against the ground where a walking tree accidentally stepped on him.

  I blocked another Wild's swipe but failed to see the tree branch as it crashed into me. I was sent flying nearly ten feet away from the battlefield and landed next the Vensir.

  "Run!" I yelled at them. "Or help. But do something."

  That seemed to jar them into life. Technicians ran to the Sentinels, either activating the salvageable ones or trying to fix the ones that needed fixing. Two dozen warrior Vensir picked up their weapons and formed something resembling a formation. In their lead was Legolas, and he was the one shaking the least. Together, elf, machine and wizard threw themselves at the onslaught of Wild and living trees.

  The Citadel soon became a clusterfuck of debris, snarling Wild, scrapped Sentinels and tenacious Vensir. I found myself getting more and more immersed in my fight against the trees. Vensir and Wild were equally matched in terms of not getting hurt. Sure the latter had all the muscle, but both had that black-bone skeleton, which meant neither could actually kill the other. Of course, that didn't stop the Vensir from getting their asses handed to them.

  I took the trees head on, and it felt good. I don't know if I was slowly becoming a sociopath or maybe it was the feral, primal nature of my curse making me feel all weird, but right at that very second, covered in shadows, I felt omnipotent. Crushing my enemy like that was almost addicting.

  The tree monsters became more intense in their retaliation. I found myself entangled in one of them. Shadows rose from my body to cut a swathe through the branches. The tree latched on tighter. I felt myself being squeezed, my limbs crushed and a rising pressure in my head as if it might explode with the slightest of touches.

  And then a voice, soft, sweet and gentle, with a hint of urgency, permeated through my brain.

  Peace, Warlock. We are not the enemy.

  I shifted my head as best I could, trying to figure out where the voice had come from. The trees had no distinctive mouths or anything that could produce a sound and no one other than me could use magic. I've heard of practitioners like Druids, who use Greenspeak—the language of nature—to converse with trees, plants, even animals. But that was a dead art. In the age of cell phones no one gave half a crap about talking to a plant. Not unless you were growing marijuana in the back yard anyway.

  But that voice had to have come from somewhere. Before I could wrap my head around it, the voice echoed again inside my skull.

  Warlock, you have a greater mission than fighting tonight. I hold the answer to your return. Come to me.

  Now that I heard it a second time I began noticing certain details about the voice. It was definitely feminine and exhibited all the signs of emotion. Human emotion.

  "Who are you?" I whispered, as I stopped my struggling.

  I am just like you, Warlock. And I have been waiting fo
r you. Come with us and we will cease our conflict tonight.

  "Okay," I said.

  Immediately I felt the air shift. Trees began slithering away, gliding through the soil. The Wild retreated into the darkness once more and seemed to forget their wrath. Only the Sin's demonic eye on the green moon above remained transfixed on me, raining down malice and hatred. But it felt distant, as if Envy was sitting back, waiting for the right time to strike again. And to be honest, that scared me even more. I can deal with a rampaging monster. But a demon with the power to sniff out lives, waiting for something—that took me to new levels of nervous.

  Still, knowing that there was more going on tonight than a simple attack, I allowed myself to be carried off into the night with a tree as my transport. Everything felt off: monsters were not behaving like monsters. The Sin, the darkest and foulest of demonic entities, had yet to make a direct assault on the guy who had destroyed its direct feed to this place's population. And now I was hearing some chick's voice in my head. So I opted to stay put and let myself be taken away. I needed answers, now more than ever. It wasn't a matter of just going home now; I had a Sin to defeat.

  My curse powers were still active and the shadows clung to my body like a second skin. As I touched the tree that was carrying me, I once more felt the connection with the mysterious person on the other side.

  "Are you… human?" I asked, already knowing the answer. There was a long pause before the voice answered back.

  Yes.

  Chapter 29

  There was a war raging inside my head, a struggle between reason and instinct.

  Reason told me that I had to sit tight. No one likes being carried to the god-knows-where to confront someone—or something—that could control a whole bunch of giant walking trees. I learnt very quickly that nothing on this island went my way. Every iota of information, every clue I'd ever gotten, came from fighting for it. So maybe this was a fight too—a fight where I didn't have to fight. A fight against myself.

 

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