Kingdom of Shadows

by K M Reynolds

  “What happened the other day, for starters,” Charles suggested. “That seizure she had, that can’t be a good thing. I’ve tried to ignore it, but Addie, she’s not getting any better. I think we need a contingency plan.”

  “A contingency plan? Are you kidding me?” Adelaide scoffed. “We will wait right here until she wakes up and is well.”

  “And in the meantime, the kingdom is suffering,” Wynne interjected. “I’m sorry Princess, but I agree with your husband. We have become complacent here, and we need to refocus on our goals.”

  “Our goals can wait for her,” Adelaide snapped, thumping her fork down on the table. “She would wait for me, if the roles were reversed.”

  “Are you sure you don’t just have cold feet about taking over the kingdom?” Wynne pressed. “You have been here at the lake for nearly a year. You have learned much, but I see no desire to continue pursuing your destiny. Things have become stagnant.” She gestured to Adelaide’s growing stomach. “Especially since Malcolm has come into the picture.”

  Adelaide scoffed and rested her hands on her abdomen. “Excuse me? If anything, becoming a mother has given me more drive to do right, and to fix this broken kingdom.”

  “Has it though? Or has it simply given you the perfect excuse to hide here in the shadows of the jungle, avoiding responsibility?”

  “How dare you.” Adelaide’s eyes flashed and she stood. “You say I’m avoiding my responsibilities? What about you, hiding here in the jungle for decades, all because you are afraid!”

  Charles glanced helplessly between the women, shaking his head. “This isn’t what I wanted to talk about,” he muttered.

  “No, but it needed to be said!” Adelaide fumed. “If she’s so concerned about me not taking responsibility for the kingdom, she needs to also own up to her own lack of a moral stand all these years. She has no right to come at me like that.”

  Wynne sat silently in the face of Adelaide’s rebuttal, her fingers pressed together. Finally, she spoke. “You are right.”

  “I—what?” Adelaide was taken aback by Wynne’s sudden acquiescence. “I’m right?” She sank back into her chair, cocking her head to the side as Wynne spoke.

  “Yes. I’ve been hiding in the shadows for too long, as well. I initially fled for my life, but once the heat was off, I could have returned to the kingdom and tried to do good. But I stayed here, I got comfortable. Until you showed up, I had forgotten my purpose.”

  A distant howl floated through the air and Adelaide shivered. “I’ll never get used to that.”

  Wynne chuckled. “After a few decades you tune it out.”

  “But anyway,” Adelaide returned to the matter at hand, “you are right, too. The last thing I want to do is go into battle while carrying Malcolm.” She paused. “Maybe that’s an excuse, but I think it’s a pretty damn good one. I refuse to put my baby in danger when I can just wait a little longer, and then he can be out of harms way.”

  “I suppose that’s fair,” Wynne agreed. “It’s just throwing off our timetable by a few months.”

  “But truly,” Charles interjected, “we didn’t have time table. When we arrived, we had no idea how long we would be here, or how much training we would need.”

  “When you arrived, no. There was no concrete plan. But the next stage in this fight will involve recruiting an army loyal to you, ready to fight. Spring is coming to Northern Echaria now, and if we wait until Malcolm is born in the Fall, then we will have to wait until next Spring to recruit. No one would travel in Winter, and it will make it hard to assemble an army when the kingdom is busy with the harvest, and then with supplies being rationed.”

  Charles hummed deep in his chest, sitting back in his chair. “That makes sense.”

  “I was originally planning to move to the next step now, and spend the Spring and Summer building our forces.”

  “Where would we build these forces?” Adelaide wondered. “Surely Lord Bainbridge would cut us down where we stood if he got wind of our plan, and we can’t exactly house an army here.”

  Wynne smiled. “You are right, Princess. But I have the perfect place in mind. Have you ever heard of Dragonspire?”

  “The islands that are said to have been the home of dragons?” Adelaide’s eyes were wide and she leaned forward in her seat. As if in punctuation, another howl rang through the evening air, this one louder than the last.

  “My, the creatures are certainly active tonight,” Wynne observed. “But yes, the islands.”

  “Aren’t they abandoned?” Charles asked. “They’ve just been sitting empty for a hundred years, since the last of the dragons died off.”

  “Yes. Well, that’s the assumption, anyway.” Wynne’s eyes twinkled as she glanced between Adelaide and Charles. “Though I’m sure Geofmeron would describe the islands as anything but abandoned.”

  “Geofmeron?”

  “Yes, the sorcerer who lives there.” Wynne smiled and leaned forward, whispering, “an unusual name, I know. He has placed a cloaking spell on Dragonspire, so that all who observe it see only emptiness. Only by speaking the password and entering through the hidden gate can you see what truly lies on the islands.”

  “So, are you telling me that there is a whole chunk of Echaria that my father is blind to?” Charles asked. “He wouldn’t be able to find us there?”

  “But surely he would notice a migration of his subjects to a bunch of abandoned islands?” Adelaide chimed in. “He has spies everywhere.”

  “He does, and that’s why this will take some time. It will take months to gather our forces, which is why I wanted to start as soon as possible. We would start with those farthest away, and then move toward the islands with our recruitment. We would encourage them not to travel in large groups, but to stagger their trips so as not to draw attention. We also need some loyal soldiers to stay in their towns and villages and prepare them for the war. We don’t want to leave women and children defenseless when Lord Bainbridge realizes what we are doing. We want them to be protected.”

  “That makes sense,” Adelaide agreed. “I didn’t think about that.”

  “There’s a lot more that goes into this than you realize,” Wynne said softly. “This isn’t just about overthrowing a tyrant. It’s about doing it in a way that is practical and sustainable for the people. You can’t be a queen if all your subjects are dead.”

  The group sat silently, pondering Wynne’s words. Adelaide’s skin prickled as two more howls broke the silence, overlapping in mournful harmony.

  Wynne’s brow furrowed. “Something isn’t right.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean the creatures are coming closer and closer, and I’ve never heard them so active before. Usually I’ll get the occasional howl or two but this…” she shook her head. “It’s like they are talking.”

  “I thought Woodlyns were solitary creatures?”

  “They are. That’s why this is unusual.”

  As if in reply, a roaring screech filled the air, just outside the house. Wynne leapt to her feet and rushed to the door, flinging it wide. There, floating on silent wings in the air high above the yard, was an uuvern. It roared again, the rusty tone of its voice reverberating across the lake.

  Adelaide’s breath caught in her throat as she peered around Wynne at the large airborne animal. From the woods, a litany of howls and snarls arose, and she could make out slight movement in the shadows.

  “Adelaide, get your bow,” Wynne whispered. “Charles, get your sword.”

  They scurried to get their weapons, and when they returned, Adelaide gasped. Four uuverns now circled above the lake house, their large leathery wings flapping soundlessly. Wynne was still standing in the doorway, and across the yard, the bonfire had roared to life, illuminating the shadows at the edge of the jungle. Through the leaves, dozens of eyes glittered in the dancing glow of the fire.

  “It’s Thanaeron.” Wynne spoke through gritted teeth. “She knows we are here.”

&nb
sp; the battle of lake lemange

  W ynne stepped out into the yard, her hands glowing with bright purple light that crackled and snapped. Adelaide and Charles stepped out behind her, readying their weapons. The beasts in the jungle began to emerge from the shadows, an impressive army of fur and fangs. Overhead, the uuverns screeched, circling like vultures awaiting a meal.

  “Looks like two dozen Woodlyn , and the four Uuvern above,” Charles muttered, adjusting his grip on his sword.

  “And the Dagai in the trees behind them,” Wynne added, motioning to the rustling in the treetops. “Stay away from the tree line if you don’t want to be swallowed whole.”

  “By The Five,” Adelaide breathed, trembling. “All of this for the three of us?”

  “My father must really want us dead.”

  “Watch each others backs, and whatever you do, don’t give up. We must survive this.” Wynne looked gravely at her companions. “Are you ready?”

  “I have to be,” Adelaide replied, shifting her weight nervously.

  “Indeed.” Wynne turned her focus back to the monsters that steadily approached them. “Alright, you beasts!” she cried out. “Come and get us!”

  The creatures needed no further encouragement. With a barrage of snarls and growls they advanced, leaping toward the trio standing small but proud in the yard. Wynne easily took down three Woodlyns with crackling fireballs, and Adelaide’s arrow found its mark between the eyes of a fourth.

  “Duck!” Charles yelled as an Uuvern made a pass, its claws extended like razors. His sword made contact with the leathery wing, and the creature tumbled to the ground, roaring angrily. It whirled around, jaws snapping, long tail covered in razor sharp spikes crashing into the line of Woodlyns that steadily advanced, bowling them over. The wounded creatures howled and Adelaide quickly finished them off with arrows.

  “I’ve got this one,” Charles called out. “You two focus on those,” he motioned to the remaining Woodlyns that were pacing just out of reach of the uuvern’s deadly tail.

  Adelaide and Wynne danced and spun around the yard, dodging the attacks from above while focusing on wiping out the furry demons from a distance. They slung arrows and fireballs as quickly as they could, diminishing their foes one by one. Charles reappeared at their side, having finally slain the Uuvern. He was covered in blood, and Adelaide gasped.

  “Charles, you are hurt!”

  “No, it’s not my blood,” he quickly reassured her. “It almost got me though. Those bastards are tough! We need to figure out how to get rid of the others. I killed the landlocked one with a sword through the mouth, but that won’t work as long as they are airborne.”

  As he spoke, the largest Uuvern dipped out of the sky and tore into Adelaide’s shoulder, knocking her to the ground. She shrieked as white-hot pain ripped through her body, and her eyes rolled back in her head. She could hear Charles and Wynne fighting it off as she struggled to draw a full breath. After what felt like an eternity, she opened her eyes and struggled to her feet. Her right shoulder was mangled, and her bow lay on the ground, the string broken. Charles and Wynne had managed to kill the Uuvern that had attacked her, and they had beaten the line of Woodlyns back considerably.

  Adelaide opened her mouth to call out when the attack came. A lone Woodlyn had skirted the perimeter of the yard, floating through the shadows. It leapt at Adelaide with a howl and she spun to face it, her knees going weak. She felt herself screaming as the Woodlyn ’s claws shredded her abdomen, and darkness clouded her vision. Just before she lost consciousness, she saw the Woodlyn enveloped in a dark purple flame, and she heard her name through the din.

  Cambria sat upright in bed, gasping for air. She flailed her arms as she glanced around wildly, prepared to fend off any attack. None came. She blinked as she looked around, like a little bird emerging from its shell into the sunlight for the first time. She was back at Wynne’s, safe in her chamber. She didn’t have much time to reflect on this turn of events. Adelaide’s scream ripped through the air outside, and she leapt from the bed.

  She rushed through the empty house and into the yard just in time to see a large Woodlyn disembowel her best friend. “Adelaide! No!” Cambria screamed, her body vibrating with fear and fury. The Woodlyn exploded in a blaze of purple light as Cambria rushed to her fallen friend.

  “Addie, hold on! Hold on!” She reached Adelaide’s side and her knees buckled at the sight of her mangled body. “Wynne!” she cried out.

  When Wynne didn’t immediately respond, Cambria lifted her gaze from Adelaide’s ashen face. Her gaze bounced from the bodies of creatures strewn about the yard, to the last Uuvern circling overhead, finally coming to rest on Wynne and Charles battling the few remaining Woodlyns at the edge of the jungle.

  She clenched her fists, feeling the familiar tingle of magic spread through her body. She opened her mouth, letting her emotions out in a long, brokenhearted scream. The few creatures that still lived burst into flames, dropping where they stood. The Uuvern plummeted out of the sky, landing with a splash in the lake. Charles and Wynne whirled in sync, their eyes wide.

  “Cambria?”

  “Help her!” Cambria screamed. “Help Adelaide!”

  Charles dropped his sword and rushed to Adelaide’s side, with Wynne right behind him. He cradled her head in his lap as violet light poured from Wynne’s hands as she frantically stitched her back together.

  “Addie? Hold on my love, don’t give up,” he pleaded, tears pouring down his cheeks, mixing with the blood and dirt.

  Several minutes passed in tense silence as Wynne worked, putting Adelaide’s abdomen back together piece by piece. Finally, she sat back in the dirt, wiping away sweat and tears.

  “There. She will live. A few minutes more and she may have been too far gone for me to save.”

  Cambria drew a deep shuddering breath, emotions crashing over her one after the other with no release. She gazed at her best friend, lying there in a pool of her own blood, and her pulse slowly stopped roaring in her ears. Charles’ next words made her heart drop.

  “And Malcolm? What of our son?”

  The tears that spilled from Wynne’s eyes were answer enough, and Charles leapt to his feet, fists clenched at his side. He stood silently, facing away from them, his shoulders shaking with silent sobs. Cambria stood and softly approached him, resting a hand on his broad shoulder. He crumbled at her touch, dropping to his knees and burying his face into her dress. She stroked his hair, her own tears falling like rain as she sobbed. She sank to the ground and embraced him, grieving with him.

  She cried for his son, for Adelaide, for her mother and father. She cried for the home she had left behind, for the world that was now forever changed. She cried until she was empty, her eyes swollen, her head pounding.

  “Cambria, we have much to discuss.” Wynne’s voice was soft but firm.

  “Can it wait?” Cambria begged. “I don’t know how much more I am capable of today.”

  “It can wait until daylight,” Wynne agreed. “We all should rest. Let’s get Adelaide inside, and all get cleaned up.”

  They stood together and Wynne gently cast a spell that lifted Adelaide off the ground. She guided her inside, with Charles and Cambria shuffling along behind. The somber parade wound its way to Adelaide and Charles’ suite, and once Adelaide was clean and in bed, Charles turned to Wynne and Cambria.

  “You both can go, I’ll be here with her. I’ll call if I need anything.”

  Wynne embraced Charles before turning to leave. “I am so, so sorry about Malcolm,” she whispered. “You know I would have saved him if I could.”

  Charles nodded and swallowed hard, blinking back a fresh round of tears.

  Cambria followed Wynne’s lead, embracing Charles and placing a soft kiss on Adelaide’s forehead before retreating into the hallway. As the door shut behind her, a sickening thought crept into her mind. Is this all my fault?

  The walls of the chamber echoed with Thanaeron’s laughter as she march
ed into the room, her head held high. “We did it!” she cried triumphantly. “That Malcray pretender is no more, I made sure of it.

  “And the others?” Lord Bainbridge asked. “What of my son?”

  “They survived,” Thanaeron’s smile faltered as she spoke. “But they are going to need time to deal with their grief, and without the only Malcray heir, they have no claim to the throne. Their cause is now obsolete.”

  “I suppose I can take solace in that,” Lord Bainbridge agreed. “Without her, they have nothing but a runaway man and a disgruntled witch.”

  “Two witches,” Thanaeron corrected him. “Cambria woke up. That’s how they were able to survive. She killed the remaining beasts in a rage when she realized the Malcray girl had fallen.”

  “Then we do have a reason to be worried,” Lord Bainbridge growled. “We killed this girls parents, now we’ve killed her best friend. She is likely to come looking for revenge.”

  “Her magic is strong, Desmond, but I am stronger. Especially with all this grief coursing through her blood, there’s no way she could take me on.”

  “Well,” he sighed, “I hope you are right.”

  “I know I am,” she purred. “Now, let’s celebrate, because this truly is a victory for us.” She poured generous goblets of wine for each of them, taking a long sip from hers. “We won.”

  Adelaide opened her eyes, blinking away the haze of sleep that blurred them. She was in her own bed, in a clean nightgown. How is this possible? The last thing she remembered was the unforgiving claws of the Woodlyn . She lifted trembling hands and gingerly probed at her abdomen. There was no pain, but something was wrong. Something feels different, something isn’t right. The word came to her like a thunderbolt, slamming into awareness with no mercy. Empty.

  She gasped softly, her hands now clutching at her flat stomach. Empty. “Malcolm!” she cried out. It felt as though a stone was on her chest and she fought for air. “Malcolm!”

  Charles started awake in the chair and leapt to her side, grasping her hands in his own. “Sshhhh my love, breathe, please breathe,” he pleaded, not wanting to look her in the eye.