“Who are you?” Kiræ asked in confusion.
“Don’t you remember what Brean told us,” Tom replied quietly, “he’s a God.”
Malum nodded, “But I’m so much more than that.”
The twins stared at him in confusion for a few seconds then their eyes widened in shock, “You’re our father,” Kiræ whispered and Malum nodded again turning back to face Bælana who had remained frozen in shock.
“How did you find out about them?” she asked in a small voice.
Malum scoffed changing his usual calm exterior for one of anger, “I’m a God Bælana, I can sense my own kin!” He turned back to the twins, smiling once again, “I’ve waited a long time for this, I want you to come with me, I want to help you with your gifts.”
Bælana finally regained her composure and stomped towards them, the twins gripped one another tighter for protection but Bælana ignored them and slapped Malum.
“You could have told me they were the ones with magic!”
“I hinted there were others,” he replied calmly, “you simply looked in the wrong direction.”
Bælana pushed him roughly to one side and knelt before her children, “I’m so sorry,” she said in a gentle voice that Kiræ found unnerving. “If I’d known, I would never have left you.” Tom bristled. “Stay with me, I’ll take care of you, I’ll help you control your power.” She tried to take their hands but they pulled away and stepped back from her. Malum took a seat in a large chair and remained silent and watchful.
“We don’t need your help,” Tom spat grasping Kiræ’s hand even tighter.
“But I’m your mother!” Bælana said angrily, fists clenched.
“We already have a mother,” Kiræ said keeping her voice even, “someone who loves us and who’s raised us for twenty years.”
Bælana clenched her fists tighter and white sparks began to fly from them, then laughed harshly, “I always knew you’d be a disappointment,” she said walking a few steps away from them, “do you know what I felt when I looked at you both for the first time?” She smiled wickedly, “nothing, I looked at you and I knew you would be weak and I felt nothing, I should have just left you to die.”
“Then why didn’t you?!” Kiræ shouted, clenching her own fist.
“Because a part of me hoped I was wrong, I thought leaving you with that idiot,” she spat the word, “might drive you to find me, to join me, I was bitterly disappointed.”
“We’re far from weak!” Tom said angrily drawing himself up to his full height.
Bælana laughed again, “Just think about what you could have had,” she said opening her arms wide, “you could have ruled with me, we could have been a family. Instead you’ve chosen death, you’re no match for me, I’ve unlocked more power than you could dream of and that little parlour trick won’t stop me a second time.”
Chapter 36
Vala had used the distraction of the dragons to her advantage and had taken out a large number of the enemy. As far as she could tell, the dragons were on their side, for which she was grateful. She had lost several pieces of armour in the battle, choosing to discard the damaged ones and was already regretting that decision.
The mingual she was locked in battle with had managed to injure her leg as well as her shoulder. He was now desperately trying to hack away at her limbs and given that she already had one completely useless one he was nearly succeeding. Vala dropped to her knees as she tried desperately to stop his axe meeting her skull, then the pressure lifted and he burst into flames. She looked up at Callaghan’s smiling face as he helped her to her feet.
“Looks like you’ve seen better days,” he said nodding to her arm.
“I could say the same about you,” she replied looking at his broken and twisted armour and his bloodied uniform, he laughed, turned to leave, then stopped in his tracks.
“Cal what is it?” He dropped to his knees and she ran, stumbling to help him. She almost fell as she tried to catch him; it was then that she saw the sword. She saw the mingual responsible, ambling towards them and without thinking threw her axe at him, the mingual didn’t even have time to scream as the axe cleaved his skull in two and he burst into flames.
Vala looked down at Callaghan, who stared blackly back at her and felt tears roll down her face. She looked up as several more mingual warriors started towards her and got to her feet. She pulled the sword from Callaghan’s body, threw it at an advancing mingual and moved her friend’s body to the side of the road.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered closing his eyes. She picked up his sword and walked towards the mingual warriors feeling anger boil inside her.
Hazime had seen Callaghan fall and now watched as a badly injured Vala strode towards a large group of armed mingual.
“I think we should lend a hand before Vala does something stupid,” he said nudging Gary. They ran, along with Keolan and Tana to aid Vala as she practically butchered the mingual in grief and fury. Vala barely acknowledged the assistance they gave her, feeling her anger towards Bælana and the mingual take over her.
Vala ran her sword through a mingual warrior, pulled it as it caught fire and beheaded another who was trying to attack from behind. Hazime and the others neutralised any mingual Vala seemed to be unaware of, but seeing the look on her face they decided to keep their distance. It wasn’t until Keolan was knocked to the ground in front of her that she finally noticed them; she blinked hard as the mingual responsible burst into flames and stared at Keolan as he picked himself up.
“Keo?” she asked in disbelief, he nodded and she turned to look briefly at Tana, who was struggling against a large mingual warrior, before finally looking up towards the two dragons.
Her eyes widened, “Where are they?”
“They’re inside the castle,” Keolan replied hesitantly.
“Why?” she asked frantically, turning towards the castle.
“To try and stop her.”
The twins slammed into the wall and lost their grip on one another as Bælana manipulated air, she laughed as they struggled. Kiræ found it difficult to breathe but tried to inch her hand towards Tom’s and saw from the corner of her eye that he was trying to do the same. She put all her effort into moving her arm which felt like a lead weight; they just had to be in contact, no matter how little.
Bælana dropped one hand, but turned the palm upwards and a cluster of embers rose from it and began to dance and grow. Her other hand remained pointed at the twins but Kiræ felt the pressure against them lessen and she managed to grab Tom’s wrist.
Instantly they grabbed air and threw it towards Bælana, the force against them vanished and they fell in a bruised heap to the ground, Kiræ still clutched Tom’s wrist. Bælana looked momentarily surprised and lowered her other hand, concentrating instead on the growing fireball that was dancing just above her palm.
She hurled it towards them, they held their palms towards it and conjured water as they had done in the forest. Two powerful jets of water shot from their hands, instantly doused the large fireball and hit Bælana. She fell backwards and they lowered their hands as she got awkwardly to her feet, her hair and clothes dripping. Malum hid a smile though none of them noticed.
Bælana raised her hands again to use air against them but they anticipated and mimicked her actions; all three stood bracing themselves against an invisible force. Kiræ felt sweat run down her face and noticed Tom grunting under the strain, she looked at Bælana who seemed unaffected. She’s too strong, Kiræ thought, but continued to push against her mother’s powers. When she thought she would collapse her and Tom were thrown backwards, landing heavily on the ground. Kiræ raised herself up and saw Bælana had also been thrown back but had already picked herself up.
“You’re not as pathetic as I thought,” she said already beginning to conjure something else in the air above her palm, “but I think we all know you can’t match me in strength or ability.”
Kiræ watched as what looked like fire and rock began to tw
ist and meld together into a ball next to Bælana.
“You know earth is the strongest and most unpredictable of the elements,” Bælana said as the ball next to her continued to grow, “using it is the strongest form of attack, which is why I know you haven’t mastered it.” She smiled wickedly, watching as the twins made no attempt to counter her attack, they just helped each other to their feet and stared, defeated.
Kiræ felt Tom’s hand grasp hers and she turned towards him, trying to ignore the mounting fear inside her.
“I love you Tom.”
“I love you too Kiræ.”
The molten rock hurtled towards them. Kiræ fell to her knees as a shimmering bubble surrounded them while Tom threw himself around his sister. Tears ran down her face and she clutched her brother tightly not knowing what she would do without him.
There was a loud crackling and bright white sparks of lightening exploded from the twins. It shot through the protective barrier in all directions, impacting around the room; the molten rock exploded, furniture shattered, walls erupted into the room, tapestries scorched and sizzled. Kiræ thought she heard a twisted scream.
After several minutes Kiræ realised they weren’t dead and she risked opening her eyes. Tom was still shielding her and she could hear him breathing heavily; she pulled away from him and instantly felt weak. Tom looked at her and gave her a weary grin, she threw her arms round him again as she realised they were both okay.
Tom pulled away and they tried to get to her feet. Finding that their feet couldn’t yet be trusted they remained where they were. Kiræ peered around what was left and saw Bælana’s motionless body half buried beneath a pile of rubble, she sighed internally. Tom nudged her and she followed his gaze; Malum was watching them, his chair was intact and he appeared unharmed.
The twins tried again to get to their feet but both felt weak and their muscles screamed as they had after that first day of training. Malum rose from his seat and manoeuvred his way across the room towards them, his expression unreadable.
Kiræ felt Tom grab her hand again, “What do you want?” Tom croaked.
“For you both to come with me,” Malum replied in a tone that didn’t sound like a command.
Kiræ shook her head, instantly regretting it as her vision swam. “We’re not going anywhere with you,” she said feeling a wave of sickness wash over her.
“But you’re my children and you’re Gods,” Malum held out a hand for them, “you should be treated as such.”
“I don’t care what you say we are, we’re not going with you,” Tom said, managing to sound forceful, he rose unsteadily to his feet as if to threaten.
Malum smiled and withdrew his hand. “Sooner or later you’ll want answers, and then you’ll come looking for me,” he said, a familiar mischievous look in his eyes, “thankfully I’m a patient man.” His form shimmered and vanished. Tom sighed heavily and helped his sister to her feet; they leant heavily on one another as they made their way across the rubble strewn floor, towards the door. Kiræ took one last look at Bælana’s lifeless body, then followed her brother out into the surprisingly deserted corridor.
They walked slowly and carefully, both feeling very unsteady on their feet and unsure how they would now help with the rest of the battle. They managed to make it to the large castle doors without being confronted by their enemy. They looked at one another, took a deep breath and pushed open the large doors.
The mingual had gone, the snow was melted and the ground scorched, and they saw numerous warriors securing the city and assisting the wounded. The twins looked around in confusion and were brought back by a yell; they turned to see Vala trying to run towards them. She was bloodied, limping badly and her left arm was hanging out of a poorly made sling. She threw her good arm round them and hugged them tightly, as tears ran down her face.
“Where are the mingual?” Tom asked as Vala finally released them.
“They vanished,” Vala replied, “I suspect that has something to do with you two.”
“Bælana’s dead,” Kiræ confirmed and Vala hugged them again.
Their friends approached, smiling wearily and covered in blood. Aurora and Draogo were wearing blankets and not much else. Kiræ noticed someone was missing and her heart stopped.
“Where’s Tana?” she asked hesitantly.
“She was killed,” Keolan explained quietly, shaking his head, “just before the mingual vanished.” Kiræ felt fresh tears roll down her cheeks and fell to her knees in the snowy courtyard as exhaustion and grief finally took over.
Chapter 37
Weeks later, the twins were shovelling down warm stew when Vala walked into the kitchen, she raised an eyebrow at them and sat down; her left arm was still in a sling.
“When exactly did you learn to cook?” she asked, Tom grinned and Kiræ ladled some stew into a bowl for her.
“What did the healer say about your arm?” Tom asked through a mouthful of food.
“That I won’t ever have full mobility again,” she replied sighing, “what are you two going to do about your training?”
“We’re going to talk to Sir Nyme this afternoon,” Kiræ said pushing her bowl away, “we still want to complete it and become warriors,” Vala nodded and her eyes twinkled.
“How do you feel about retiring from the army?” Tom asked also pushing his bowl away.
“It was the right thing to do,” she smiled, “and now I can move onto something else.” The door opened and Alten walked in, he smiled, leant towards Vala and kissed her before leaning against the counter.
“How do you think Julen will cope leading the army?” Tom asked.
Vala laughed, “He was practically leading it for most of the war, he’s more than proved himself capable.”
“Things will be far easier for him now anyway,” Alten said, “with the new peace in the realm.”
“Have the other leaders decided what to do about Yutshan?” Kiræ asked grabbing an apple and taking a bite.
Alten shook his head, “There have been several discussions but no outcome, at the moment the few remaining citizens are living happily enough but it can’t stay that way, it’s too large an area to simply leave empty.”
“The problem is that none of the rulers really have the resources to rebuild,” Vala added.
“It doesn’t help that it was Bælana’s second base of operation,” Alten sighed, “I think some of the rulers are looking on it with suspicion.”
“I’m sure someone will figure something out,” Kiræ said with a smile.
Tom glanced outside, “We had better get going if we’re going to grovel to Sir Nyme with the others.” Vala smiled after them as they hurried from the building.
“Have you told them yet?” Alten asked and Vala shook her head.
“I thought it would be a nice surprise.”
Alten laughed, “It’s clear where they get their mischievous streak.”
“Are you saying you don’t want to see the looks on their faces when they restart training and realise I’m Sir Nyme’s new assistant?” she said wrapping her arms round him.
“I think I’d rather see the look on their faces when they realise you’ll be teaching them battle tactics!” Alten laughed again, drew Vala into an embrace and kissed her.
“Please Sir Nyme,” Kiræ begged, “we promise this time we’ll stay for the entire year.” The twins stood before their training master with Keolan and Aurora a few paces behind them. Sir Nyme looked at them sternly, as if contemplating their request.
“We’ll even put in extra hours to make up for what we’ve missed,” Tom said a little too eagerly.
“And we can help with the demonstrations,” Kiræ added hurriedly.
After making them wait for what felt like an age, Sir Nyme finally nodded his head in one single motion.
“You may return,” he said and the four of them relaxed, “but I want to see dedication and commitment!” They nodded feeling relieved and Sir Nyme smiled slyly before walking away.
“Why do I feel like he’s just manipulated us,” Keolan said as they heard a distant chuckle from the training master.
“Probably because he thinks he has,” Kiræ replied.
“He was always going to let us return wasn’t he,” Aurora said sighing.
“Of course,” Tom grinned.
“Then why did you tell him we would put in extra hours?” Keolan groaned.
“To make him think he had the power of course,” Tom replied, “come on, let’s grab Vala and find Sara and Brean.”
They found them as usual in the old library, he smiled in a fatherly way as they entered and gestured to the chairs in the centre of the room.
“I wondered how long it would take you to come and find me once you got back,” he said sitting behind Sara’s large desk.
“We were forced to rest,” Kiræ explained.
“Which means they slept almost non-stop for two weeks,” Keolan added grinning and Kiræ shot him a look.
“And I believe you are going to continue your training with Sir Nyme.”
The twins nodded and wondered how he knew, “We would really appreciate it if you would continue to train us,” Kiræ said hopefully.
Brean smiled and his eyes crinkled, “Nothing would make me happier my dear,” he said as the door opened and Draogo walked in and joined his father behind the desk.
“I thought it might be useful if I stuck around a bit longer to help you become more confident with your own power,” he said smiling at Aurora, who nodded.
“That reminds me,” Kiræ blurted out, “Brean, when Aurora and Draogo rescued us, we were being stalked by a…” she hesitated, not knowing how to finish.
“It was a krockonus,” Draogo said flatly.
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