The Forgotten

by Marly Mathews

  Whether you like it or not, Mother Spratt, you will have to fight this time. There is no one left to protect you. We only have each other—if we don’t make a stand right now, this county will never be free, and we can’t rely on our King to send us aid.

  The Domnonee threat is very real—the King can hardly afford to send many warriors our way, he has to worry about protecting his borders, and rightfully so. His people in the border towns and villages come first. We won’t matter when the Domnonee threat escalates. So, in order to make sure we won’t have to live in terror much longer, we have to put Ulwyn down once and for all. He’s been lording over us for far too long. He’s a bloody little prick, and if I have my way, I am going to tear his world apart.”

  *****

  Admiration for Neri stirred within Lucan. He was definitely in love with her—she might think he was merely smitten but he was deeply in love. There was no turning back now, and he prayed that’s not what she wanted from him.

  Wolves mated for life and when they picked their mate, that commitment was as good as gold. He would never renege on it, she might—given her feline nature. Felines were known for being fickle. That thought scared the living shit out of him. He couldn’t do it—he couldn’t lose her. He’d lost so damn much already.

  He shot daggers from his eyes at Ryn. The bloody sod just couldn’t stay dead. He’d had enough with spirits returning from the Heavenly Otherworld. First the woman that had condemned him to decades of soul searing agony had come back and he’d dealt with that knowledge and made his peace with it. To be confronted with the very man who could take away the woman he loved, was a foe he couldn’t ever hope to win against.

  Neri would make her own choices. She was just that kind of woman, and it was the reason why he loved and admired her so damn much.

  “I’ll do it,” Mother Spratt’s soft voice pulled him out of his pitiable state.

  “Do what?” Lucan asked.

  “I’ll fight. I’ll do all that I can to bring a little bit of good old fashioned justice to Ulwyn. I will kill, if I must, and make my peace with it later.”

  He didn’t need to listen to any of their plans. He was on the warpath now. There was a slim chance he’d come out of what he planned to do alive—but then again, he would take all of Ulwyn’s men out with him.

  He’d been trained as a Knight Mage to uphold justice and order throughout the Kingdom. He’d also been trained as a killer—and right now, Glynneath Village needed the killer inside of him. This was his land. This was where he’d been born, where he’d grown up, first fallen in love, and found his way in life. He wasn’t going to let it become a dark and foul place where people had to continually live in fear.

  He was going to kill them all.

  He started reciting his incantation softly, so no one would notice until it was too late. Neri was his main concern. He’d be damned if he let her go in with her passions fired up, it would only get her killed.

  She was his mate. And wolves protected their mates at all costs.

  “Neri, stop him,” Ryn exclaimed, pointing at Lucan. “He’s casting a spell. He’s going to work his magic on you all so you can’t leave this Tavern!”

  Ryn was too late. The spell had been cast. It was done. They were all frozen in time. The spell would last for exactly two hours, and two hours was all that he needed to get the job done.

  “I love you, Neri,” he proclaimed. Her eyes were wild with fear and concern and yet, she couldn’t do anything. Her magic was no match for his. “You are safe now,” he whispered, as he left the Tavern that he’d been born in. He was born in this village, and he would die in this village.

  He walked to the Temple first and heard Ulwyn’s men laughing crazily as they danced around the burning building.

  “Hey, you little shits, look over here!” he said, hoping to gain their attention and make the hideous laughter stop.

  The three of them trained their eyes on him. Greedy need to continue their violent rampage glistened in their eyes.

  They walked toward them, banded together like the three little bullies that they were. He raised his hand and conjured three scarlet hued energy balls. Levitating them, he looked at them all one last time before he sent the energy balls hurtling toward them. The energy balls hit them and started to break them apart from the inside out.

  Their screams were equally heart wrenching. Had he given a flying fuck, the chilling sound would have affected him. As it was, he just wanted peace and order to be restored to his childhood home and the only way to do that was to terminate the vermin that had taken over the village and the county.

  He was done pretending to be nice. He wasn’t nice. He’d never been nice. He was a bloody bastard both from circumstance of birth and by attitude.

  The sky was overcast and there was a foreboding chill in the air. Attacking during the day was a feather in his cap. Wolf shifters were strongest when the moon was high in the sky, and while he wouldn’t be as strong in his wolf form, he would be wicked in his human Knight Mage form.

  “You are going to get yourself killed, man,” Ryn’s voice grated on his nerves.

  He turned and growled at the man. Part of his wolf was slipping out, he couldn’t contain it as his passions were heightened and rage flowed through his blood in unrelenting waves.

  He’d already killed three men, and he was just getting started.

  “Steady on there, wolf man. I’m just trying to tell you that there is no point in rushing to your death. If you die, you will be in my predicament. You will be forever separated from Neri. Your mate bond will be broken.”

  “You’d like that wouldn’t you,” he said. “Besides, how the hell did you break free of my incantation?”

  “I’m bloody well dead—the rules of this world don’t apply to me. See this sort of solid form? It’s temporary. I will be going to the great Hereafter when the sun sets, and nothing I can do will stop that from happening.”

  “You are lying. Stop spouting bullshit out of your mouth and finally talk some truth. If you think you can blatantly lie to a Knight Mage than you know absolutely nothing about us, besides, my wolf can smell your deceit.”

  “You are quite smarter than I originally gave you credit for,” Ryn said, grudging admiration flowing through his voice. “I thought you were all looks and no substance. Apparently, I was gravely mistaken. I miscalculated, and for that I am eternally sorry.”

  “Just spit it out already. What’s the catch behind you being here? There has to be some reason, and I want you to tell me what it is now.”

  “I am a Soul Guide. I’ve been doing my penance by guiding trapped souls to the Heavenly Otherworld, and I have a one hundred percent success rate. I was sent here for your father. If I do this last job with no hiccups than I just might be given the chance at another lifetime. They rather like me over there.”

  “I’m happy for you,” Lucan said, a snarky tone lacing his voice.

  That was it. He would lose Neri if Ryn succeeded. He could feel it in his bones. Even though Neri attempted to look unaffected by Ryn’s return he could see that it had shocked her and rocked her to very core.

  She was tempted to throw him over in favour of Ryn. Ryn had history with her. Lucan, on the other hand, had known her for a handful of time in comparison.

  How could he possibly compete against that?

  He felt like tearing men from limb to limb. He would relish the bloody battle that was ahead of him, he would savour every single moment of it. It would be the only way of satiating the frustration that bounced within him.

  He trudged toward Wythley Castle. He would be met by his father’s spirit. Was it true that the castle would work for him if he claimed it as his own?

  If so, the magical enchantments placed on it would literally puke out Ulwyn’s men and make his task all the more easier.

  He would claim his birthright. Right now, it seemed to be the only sensible thing to do. He doubted that Ava and Grifon would arrive in time with reinfo
rcements. So, there was basically no coming back from what he was about to undertake.

  “I never took you for a man that had a death wish, Lucan.”

  “You know absolutely nothing about me,” he growled again.

  The urge to shift was becoming almost too much to bear.

  “I know more than you think I know,” Ryn drawled. “I know that you play by the rules all the time and that sometimes that horribly honorable streak within you costs you more than you ever possibly live with. I know that your aptitude for magic is strong—but I also know that my Neri’s ability is fiercer than what you give her credit for.

  Before she married me she studied every magical text she could get her hands on. She even sought out tomes from Shardizar and Tamar. That’s how I first met her, she had her nose stuck firmly in a book. She might be delayed by your latest spell but trust me it won’t stop her. She will find a way around it, and she’ll charge to your rescue. That’s why I am here, I’m going to make sure you don’t get her killed with your stupidity.”

  “You need to shut the hell up,” Lucan snarled. He had the strong urge to pummel Ryn’s face in.

  Unfortunately, Ryn wasn’t the enemy. His enemy was far worse than the pampered pretty boy that stood in front of him.

  “You think you are going on a suicide mission. You know you’ll take out Ulwyn’s men when you go down. She will anticipate that fact and do whatever she has to in order to keep you from going to your death. She’ll risk it all and she just might damn herself in the process.”

  “I might be going to my death—then again, I’ve survived much worse. You talk as if I’m a brash young warrior. I’ve been through more shit than my youthful appearance might convey to people.”

  “You have been used to being invincible for far too long, Sir Lucan. Lady Red put that lovely little curse on you and basically made it impossible for you to die no matter how broken or battered your body became, it instantly knitted itself back together and you lived to fight another day. That will not happen in this case. If someone gives you a killing blow, you will stay dead.”

  “I realize that, Ryn.”

  Ryn snorted. He continued to walk alongside him as they approached the sentries that guarded the castle.

  Lucan reached out with his mage senses. There weren’t as many men in residence at the castle as he’d expected. Some of them must have been unwilling to comply with Ulwyn’s latest set of orders. Many didn’t like murder, they would kill in battle or in self-defence but they wouldn’t kill in cold blood.

  The sentries blew their horns to signal the rest inside of the castle. Instead of staying at their watchtowers, they climbed down and started running toward him, shifting halfway.

  He unsheathed his sword, and with it raised in one hand, he raised his other hand. He didn’t feel like using his shield today—that reckless urge could get him killed but he was going to take down as many shifters as he could before that happened. Should he kill them with magic, or do it the bloody way?

  They barked and howled and the one stopped while the other continued lunging at him. He raised his hand and activated his magic.

  Crackling crimson red magic surrounded the lunging wolf. He whimpered and his whimpers turned into screams, and then his body went limp. Lucan released him and he fell to the ground. As the life ebbed out of him, he shifted back into his human form.

  Lucan felt no pity for the man. He was probably one of the foul bastards who had murdered those in the Resistance and set fire to the Temple.

  Looking up, he met the gaze of the other sentry. Fear danced in his eyes. He could see exactly what he was up against. Those who were devoid of magic never quite believed the horror it could inflict until they saw it for themselves.

  “Well that was a little crazy looking. I like your style. I would help you, but I can’t really kill anyone unless I have to do it in order to free the soul I’m after. Your father isn’t anywhere in sight. That makes me think Ulwyn has him chained somehow. He never should have returned to these lands after he died. He came back because he had some foolish notion that he could stop the last earl from being poisoned. Instead, he came face to face with a dangerous user of the dark arts, and Ulwyn cursed him so he couldn’t leave.”

  “If I have my way, mate, you’ll die tonight. Take it like a man, and at least put up a bit of a fight,” Lucan remarked, addressing the sentry and ignoring Ryn. What Ryn said digested instead of him, and made his gut twist. His father had only ever cared about his legitimate line, why the hell should he be concerned with freeing him from his curse?

  He had no bloody reason to do it—the only reason he had was Neri. His father’s kindness to her when she’d needed him most was the only thing that would save his ass in Lucan’s estimation.

  “Fireballs,” Ryn said.

  Lucan thought he was just adding unnecessary exposition to their tense situation again when he glanced up and saw about a dozen fireballs reigning down toward them.

  “Holy shit,” Lucan muttered, erecting a magical shield around his body.

  The fireballs struck the ground and created yawning craters around him. He looked away as one of them took out the sentry he hadn’t dealt with.

  “I love fire,” Ryn said, coughing, “but I could do without the gross stench of burning flesh I never could quite grow accustomed to that smell.”

  Lucan looked to his side. Ryn was unscathed. So he’d either used his divinely sent powers to shield himself or in his state he couldn’t be affected by anything the mortal world could throw at him.

  “If he wants to see fire being fought with fire, he should see what my daughter can do. I hope she shows up soon to school that jackass in the art of magical fire. She’ll show him how the fire white magic conjures, can destroy the fire that dark magic conjures. It seems he’s become aware of the fact that the only two things that can kill my wife are water and fire. Anything else just puts her down but it won’t put her out, and I doubt they have the kind of Carn Brea steel blades that will kill our kind.”

  Lucan shuddered, thinking of the blades that the members of Red Riding Hood’s Order carried. All Hunters no matter their Order, were equipped with the blades forged from that kind of rare steel. They were fearsome and deadly.

  As Ryn said, he would have to be cautious when dealing with these assholes because they wielded weapons that would certainly send him to the Heavenly Otherworld.

  “As long as she can use her magic to protect herself like I just did, we shouldn’t have to worry. Besides, I’ll be done with all of them by the time she breaks free of my spell.”

  “Like I said, Lucan, you have dearly underestimated my wife’s abilities. She will break through your magic like it is child’s play. She might look small and unassuming to you but take it from me, she has a heart like the Goddess Rhiannon. She is a survivor—the question is, are you?”

  He snorted and continued moving toward the outer walls of the castle. Groaning at the slowness of his approach, he attempted to use his magic to transport himself past the walls so he would be inside the Inner Bailey of the castle. Searing pain hit him from the tip of his head down to his toes. He felt as if he was on fire!

  The son of a bitch, Ulwyn, had erected a dark shadow shield around the castle. He had done something to keep him from reaching the inside of the castle that had been built by his ancestors!

  How dare he do that! Lucan had had quite enough. He was done playing honourably. He was going to fucking make Ulwyn rue the day he was born! He was going to make sure he burned in the Dark Underworld for an eternity!

  He was going to show that little foul bastard that the tricks he knew where nothing compared to the magic that a Knight Mage wielded. Ulwyn was going to die a horrible death—one that Lucan would be more than happy to serve him!

  Chapter Seventeen

  “So, what’s your plan of action now, oh wise one?” Ryn asked, as they both surveyed the dark magic that now glimmered around the castle. His attempt to penetrate it had made
it visible to the naked eye.

  “Why don’t you become useful instead of being a Gods damn bloody annoyance?” he barked at Ryn. He was past his breaking point.

  “You’ve been out of the real world for a long time,” Ryn mused. “This world has changed, it’s evolved past what you recall. You’re part of the forgotten, lad. And while you try to play a courageous game, you are not as confidant as you make everyone think. You haven’t studied dark magic in some time, and while you don’t need to be a practitioner of the dark arts to understand how it works, you do need to study the dark craft in order to know the spells that either nullify their dark incantations or counter their curses. You are lacking in your knowledge, Sir Lucan.”

  “I might be part of the forgotten, but you’re part of the dearly departed. At least I have the ability to live to fight today.”

  “Oh, I can fight well enough. They never told me I couldn’t fight Ulwyn’s forces. And since Ulwyn stands in my way of freeing your father’s spirit, I’m pretty certain I could do whatever I wanted to breach that shield of his.”

  Reaching down into his boot, Lucan pulled out a dagger than had served him well during his many exploits before being cursed. The blade had belonged to Algernon before him, and was said to have been blessed by Princess Alby herself—who would die as a hero and later became Saint Alby. It was a treasured possession of his, and he’d been immensely grateful to find that Princess Ava’s family had saved all of their weapons after they’d been cursed.

  “Don’t worry, you won’t have to break a supernatural sweat. I am prepared for any contingency. This dagger will break that dark spell he’s put around the castle. I might not ever find it again but hell, it will be worth it just to see Ulwyn’s face when he realizes his shield was broken by such a small object.”

  He raised his hand and closed his eyes, mentally said a prayer, and then reopened them, and threw the dagger toward the shimmering shield. It struck it and as it hit it, it made a large booming noise akin to an explosion. The reverberating shockwave rippled toward them.