by K. T. Webb
The boy simply pulled her along as though her words were utterly foreign to his ears. Panic began to claw at her insides, desperate to escape from her at a moment’s notice. She would not leave her brother to fall victim to whatever dark magic permeated the air, but the thought of following him to the bitter end did not appeal to her either.
After a few more steps, they entered a cavern so large it was impossible to see how far it stretched. The black edges crept closer to them when the torch danced against their non-existent borders. In her gut, she knew the place was empty. But she also knew the possibility was genuine that whatever laid claim to the site would return.
A wind of unknown origin whipped around them, circling the cave with an angry howl. The torch Legacy carried was forcibly yanked from her hand; it extinguished as it flew away. They were plunged into deeper darkness than she had ever experienced in her life. Legacy pulled at her brother once more, desperate to draw him away from the danger. With all her energy focused on getting Noble to safety, she willed her body to channel the wild magic to provide her with the glow she needed so desperately.
A sound vibrated through her, filling her body until she felt the vibration in every cell of her being. Whatever they had found was not meant for their eyes. Noble stumbled back slightly at the forceful wind swirling around the cavern. That stumble was all it took to rouse him from his fugue state. He blinked against a combination of wind and confusion as he turned his gaze to Legacy. Now was her chance to take them both from the terrifying place they had found. Noble unexpectedly turned to her, burying his face in her waist. When she touched his head, Legacy discovered he was drenched in sweat and shaking violently.
“Noble! Follow me!” She called into his ear, desperate to soothe him over the roaring cyclone.
Legacy grasped his hand, turning her back on the evil place and sprinting down the tunnel that would lead them back to the main corridor. She felt little resistance from her brother at first, but the further she ran, the heavier his arm became. Unable to take any more chances with their safety, Legacy ignored her bruised and tired muscles to pull the young boy into her arms. They continued blindly through the blackened tunnels, hoping against hope she would find the way out.
“Legacy? Where are we?”
Legacy waited until she felt they had put enough distance between them and whatever they had stumbled upon before she slowed down. The roar behind them was a distant memory in the relative silence of the tunnel they now found themselves in. Legacy took a deep breath and set her brother on his own feet. Before she answered him, she took her time looking him over for any injuries or evidence of what left him in a trance. She found nothing. Other than the cold sweat that soaked his clothes, he was completely intact.
“Noble, what is the last thing you remember?”
He blinked a few times, trying desperately to think of something to say in response to the question. Noble only managed to sputter a few nonsensical words before he burst into tears. Legacy was taken aback by the outburst. Her brother had been a reasonably level-headed boy for his age; he rarely showed emotion other than the occasional laughter someone managed to coax out of him. Legacy pulled him into a gentle embrace.
“Shhh. Hey, everything will be okay. Are you hurt?” She looked him over once more, sure she had missed something the first time.
Noble shook his head, “No, nothing is hurt. I am scared. Where are we? It looks like a place out of my nightmares.”
His eyes darted around in the darkness. Legacy herself could not make out much of the details around them. She knew they were still in the underground labyrinth, but she was utterly lost as to how they would find their way back to the corridor where their father’s study was located. From what she could remember of following Noble, they should find a hall that led back to that corridor if they continued down the path they were on. Before they could keep going, Legacy would have to calm her brother.
“Noble, close your eyes, and listen to my voice. I am here, you are safe. Take a deep breath with me,” she demonstrated the process and smiled to herself when he copied her. “Good. Now open your eyes. We do not have time right now to determine how you wound up down here or what happened back there. Right now, the only thing we need to think about is finding our way out.”
Noble’s bottom lip trembled slightly, but he nodded his head once to tell her he understood. Once Legacy was satisfied he would be able to keep his emotions in check, she rose to her feet and took his hand in her own. Her body felt drained, weakened by whatever presence she had felt in the cavern behind them. Each step felt as though she was dragging something dead in her wake. Exhaustion was no excuse for not doing everything she could to ensure their safety.
As she pushed forward, certainty crept into her mind the way the tingling makes its way across an arm when it has been deprived of blood flow. There was no doubt, up ahead, an opening in the wall would lead them back down to the main corridor.
Legacy kept a firm grip on her brother’s hand. She wished she had enough strength to continue to emanate light, but at this point, she was struggling to keep her eyes open and stay conscious. The distance they had to travel seemed far longer than it had when she was searching the tunnels for Renata. A flicker of light ahead caught and held her attention. The dreamlike state her mind had slipped into caused her to stumble over her own feet as they closed the distance between the side tunnel and the main corridor.
“Legacy! Where have you been?” Renata’s panicked voice momentarily shook the Queen from her stupor.
Frail but firm arms encircled Legacy when she reached the corridor. Renata looked at her with an expression of relief and concern before turning her attention to Noble, “And what are you doing down here, young man?”
Noble shrugged, still gripping his older sister's hand. “The last thing I remember is reading in my room. I must have fallen asleep. Where are we?”
Renata looked to Legacy with a sense of urgency, “There is something I must show you. A young man was down here. I tried to follow him, but he disappeared again.”
“I also saw someone other than Noble down here. He ran away before I could see him clearly. I don’t know where he could have gone, but I have a feeling there are more passages throughout this place than we may ever know.”
“It was probably my friend, the one who used to bring me food. I told you about him. If you saw him, he probably hid from you. Father always told him not to be seen,” Noble echoed the words he had said before.
“Yes, you told us. The king said the boy had to stay hidden or else, but you never told us what Junius threatened the boy with,” Legacy tried to guide him to give more information.
“I never heard that part. But I know he was always scared. I never knew his name. He used to come to my room when I was little. He would stay with my mother and me while she sang to me. She would hold him sometimes, too,” Noble explained.
The young boy seemed to have recovered from the shock of finding himself in such a strange place. His tears were dry, leaving nothing but faded salty lines behind. Bright eyes were absorbing every detail of the underground corridor. Legacy could not help but wonder about the identity of the strange young boy. She decided she would have to find a way to get him to show himself. Somehow, she would get him out in the open and tell him he is finally free. Despite the fears gnawing at her, Legacy knew Noble had never been down there before. Or, the thought arrived unbiddenly, he had not been aware of his own presence on his previous travels. Chills rippled through her body.
As they climbed the stairs back to the castle, an overwhelming fear clawed at Legacy. Whatever they had encountered in that cavern, it was connected to the Shadow Mages. If the Shadow Mages were down in that place, the mysterious boy was in more danger than he had been when Junius was alive. The quiet hope beginning to grow in the hearts of Alderwood was going to be subjected to the darkness sooner than they thought.
After another night of shared nightmares with E
vander, Legacy found herself lost in quiet contemplation rather than focusing on the journal opened on the table in front of her. The twinge in her side reminded her every day that the mark was there, nagging her, working its way into her thoughts in a near-constant assault. Something about the images in her visions and those permanently etched on her body left the Queen with only one conclusion—death was coming.
With a grim understanding, Legacy thought back to the day Renata had performed the ritual that changed everything. The Oracle had been sure her destiny held great things because she was meant to sit upon the throne at Pallisaide. If only Renata had known how wrong she had it.
Legacy imagined herself back in her home at Kilgore. Frigid air danced across her skin, the slightly damp odor of the cave assaulted her senses, and the familiarity of her bedroom comforted her. Excitement coursed through her veins as she had eagerly accepted the swill that would give her visions while she slept. That very excitement disappeared the instant the visions began.
First, she saw Honor. At the time, she had no idea who the young girl was or how she would come to stand in the courtyard at Kilgore; but the instant connection was overwhelming. This girl was the missing piece. Whoever she turned out to be, she would be the reason Legacy became Queen. After only the briefest glimpse of her sister, she had been surrounded by a shroud of darkness terrifying sounds. Metal clanging against metal, screams of anguish, strangled sobs of despair; a fight . . . no, a battle raged on the other side of that incorporeal veil. Legacy could do nothing to help or stop the onslaught. She covered her ears with trembling hands, rocking back and forth as she cried.
Then, there was silence. Something soft and furry nudged Legacy’s arm, a wet nose gently pushed against her. Legacy opened her eyes. That had been the first time she laid eyes on Nikita. Of course, at the point in her life when she received her visions, she had no idea what a woldigo was. Initially, fear had gripped her at the sight of a large and potentially dangerous creature trying to get her attention. Her anxiety quickly faded to comfort as she made eye contact with an animal who seemed to possess impossible intelligence. This beast was safe, and it would be her ally. All too soon, Nikita had faded away, replaced by unfamiliar terrain.
Sitting in the room once occupied by the man who had launched this fate upon her, Legacy knew more than ever her life was in danger. And so, each time she relived the memory of her visions, she tried to absorb some new detail, some hint of where the forest could be located.
The trees were like nothing she had seen before, the overgrown flora told her this was a place mainly left untraveled by man and creature. It was a forgotten forest. Each vision brought the distinct feeling of searching for something important. Something was missing, and it was up to her to find it. It wasn’t until the first shared nightmare with Evander that she knew she was searching for Noble.
In the initial vision, the first indication she had of impending danger was the musky scent of smoke that accompanied the burning of wet things. Legacy remembered her confusion. Usually, moisture hindered the spread of fire. She had wondered how such a damp place could burn. The truth was revealed when she turned to see the flames rushing toward her. In mere seconds, an impossible fire enveloped everything around her leaving no escape. Brilliant blue darkened abruptly to darkest black in the center of each blaze. The fire seemed to devour everything it touched, leaving behind ashy husks where an enchanting forest once stood. The flames grew to a monstrous size, closing in on her with ease. The visions had ended with her lying on the ground as the fire prepared to take her, too.
Two weeks after her sixteenth birthday, she had removed the dressing to reveal the outline of those horrific flames, blackened remains of trees, and the small silhouette of a person standing in the middle of it all. It was the moment she was sure her fate was sealed. Her mark, her visions . . . they had not predicted a glorious destiny; they showed events that would lead to her fiery death.
The first shared dream offered a glimmer of hope. The visions had previously led her to believe she would die a horrible death, but the dreams had changed. If the time came when she faced the strange flames, she might survive with Evander by her side.
Nikita had not resurfaced in the nightmare since she was revealed as the leader of the Kingdom of Creatures. Legacy often wondered about the strange flash she saw on the woldigo’s side. It could not have been a reflection of the fire; the mark had a distinctive red hue as opposed to the black and blue raging around them. Renata encouraged her to put the thought aside. She tried to assure Legacy that, even though some of what they experienced was directly from her vision quest, the rest was part of a nightmare and nothing more.
Legacy pulled her thoughts back to the journal opened before her.
After the day she had found Noble in the tunnels, Legacy and Renata began piecing together the macabre story of King Junius. Much of what they learned made her stomach turn, but the Queen did her best to set aside her personal feelings for the sake of Alderwood.
Now, she sat with both Renata and Evander in the war room. Journals littered the table, stacked haphazardly here and there. Hanging on the wall directly in front of her was a reminder of the atrocious acts committed by the late King. It had begun as a list to help them keep track of the women he bedded and those he produced children with. It became a disturbing portrait of a twisted man. Renata stood studying the list.
“Okay, we know you were the first child to be born to the King. According to this, he actually married your mother. It was the only way she would give in to him,” Renata mused.
Legacy had discovered more than she thought she would about the woman who died with life growing inside her. King Junius had convinced her his feelings were more profound than physical attraction. At the age of seventeen, Legacy’s mother fell for the wooing he must have delivered; she would have had no reason to doubt his affections.
Legacy often found herself staring at the name of the woman who was the catalyst for ending the reign of King Junius. Elysia, daughter of Lord Mahuron of County Morgh. Their marriage was a secret. Junius was afraid he would look weak if his subjects thought he truly loved Elysia. He could not have that. Surprisingly, they were together for a few years before the young woman began to show signs of pregnancy. Other than his journal entries, which were clearly one-sided, there was no evidence he suspected she was pregnant until the day he poisoned her. Perhaps he felt writing it down would tip her off or give her a chance to run away. For whatever reason, Elysia must have known the child growing in her womb would not be welcomed by her husband.
“Legacy was the firstborn, but was Honor the second? Or were there some between them who never stood a chance?” Evander asked, not expecting an answer.
“From what I have read so far, Junius moved on to Laurel next. She had already been employed in the castle when Elysia was poisoned. He may have lured her in with counterfeit grief following the death of his wife,” Renata replied without looking up from the journal in her hand.
Legacy shook her head, “It makes no sense. He thought he had killed Elysia, my mother. He did not know about the child Laurel was carrying, if he had known, he would have killed her too. So, why start having more children on purpose?”
“Raise a King to kill the Queen,” Evander repeated the words they had found scrawled in later journals.
“Kill the Queen to end it all,” Legacy uttered the response Noble had given in a lifeless tone.
Evander was right. The answer was obvious. Based on the journals, somehow, Junius believed the only way to defeat the illegitimate child who would claim his throne was to raise his own heir. It was easy to deduce how his plan began; he already had a connection to the Shadow Mages. Like his father before him, he was no stranger to the darkness that came with the power he wielded. He viewed murder as a necessary sacrifice to ensure his place upon the throne.
Something began to shift in the journals when Legacy would have been around eight and Honor around six. Sud
denly, his writing became more erratic; it was the brief scrawling of a mad man. Junius was aging. Panic had set in. He wrote of his plans to ask the Shadow Mages for guidance. There had been other women during the time that elapsed between Laurel’s escape and the day he noticed his first gray hair, but none of them had fallen pregnant.
Legacy finally found an entry that made her realize her father had begun trying to create a son before he knew he had a daughter who would be destined to kill him.
They came to me in a dream. There is a child out there sapping the life from me. I have had so many women since Elysia that I cannot say which one would be responsible for this. The parasite that grew in Elysia’s womb perished with its mother; of that I am sure. My own lust has been my downfall. The Shadow Mages believe I must sire a new child—a son. This son will be responsible for my throne. He will end my life when the time is right. He will take the throne and carry on my legacy. Raise a King to kill the King.
I will be choosing multiple vessels to ensure the birth of a son. I cannot suffer a daughter to live, and only the firstborn son will be kept to take my place. The Shadow Mages have given me everything I could want, now I must do the same for them. My son will be as much theirs as he is mine.
A wry smile took over her features when she read the sentence her father had written without knowledge of her existence. He will take the throne and carry on my legacy. The man knew nothing of her then and knew nothing of her on the day of his death. Of course, he had not meant those words as anything more than a desperate man’s wish, but it made her a little smug, nonetheless. She re-read the last few sentences, letting realization dawn on her like a rolling fog. He did it on purpose. Legacy and Honor had been unplanned consequences of his lecherous behavior. No matter how she wanted to dismiss his crimes as a result of the Shadow Mages’ influence, she knew the truth. King Junius did not go along with their suggestions because they had control over him, he went along because he coveted the power given him in exchange for the terrible things he did.