Hail to the Queen
The Last of the Sages III
By
Julius St. Clair
Copyright © 2013 by Julius St. Clair
All rights reserved. This story or any portion thereof
may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever
without the express written permission of the publisher
except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Also by Julius St. Clair:
The Deadly
Table of Contents:
Prologue
Chapter 1 – Exposed
Chapter 2 – Bloodline
Chapter 3 – Rebirth
Chapter 4 – The Kingdom of Zen-echelon
Chapter 5 – Monsters
Chapter 6 – Thorn
Chapter 7 – The Kingdom of Prattle
Chapter 8 – Irreconcilable Differences
Chapter 9 – And Then There Were Four…
Chapter 10 – Unfinished Business
Chapter 11 – Washed in Blood
Chapter 12 – Phoenix
Chapter 13 – The Second Fall
Chapter 14 – A New Era
Chapter 15 – 10 Minutes to Midnight
Chapter 16 – Full Circle
Chapter 17 – Sunset
Prologue:
She said she wanted to kiss the sky.
At first, he laughed, as many others did.
But then his laugh stopped short.
It was not because he found the phrase any less amusing.
It was simply the grave look on her face
And the glow of admiration in her eyes.
It was then he realized that she was completely and absolutely
Serious
Watching her clench her little fists
Her hair fighting to veil her gaze from the midnight sky
He permitted himself temporary reprieve from his duty
The grip on the hilt of his blade relaxed
For he wanted to see what she saw
If only to begin to fathom what she perceived -
Epiphany
His breath fluttered further away than any battle could ever take him
Never had he seen the sky through such meditation
Always taking for granted its majestic shine; its dazzling invitation to stare
Tranquility brushed his heart, desiring attention
His next breath carried his hand back to the hilt
As he understood her words now -
Clearly
Despite the turmoil, death, and relentless pain
The sky remained stoic, unchanged
Unlike her beloved countryside
Peace still resided in Paradise; hope not yet extinct
So at the fragile age of four
Just for being gorgeous, the sky deserved a
Kiss
Maybe you can someday he said
Whispering, despite their relative solitude
A nod and a smile violently melted his resolve
All it took for a monster to remember…
He once had a heart
A murderer now a protector, his life now…
Hers
Chapter 1 – Exposed
The Quietus crawled on all fours like a bloodhound, sniffing the smoldering crater yet paying little attention to what his nose picked up. Nearly a day had already passed and the ground was still hot from the dead Sage’s power, which was quite damaging to the nose. From what he figured, there was no need to sniff so close, especially since the fugitives they were looking for were nothing by comparison. She had been the real threat, and it didn’t matter if she had fought valiantly against his brethren…in the end, she fell as all who opposed the Quietus tended to do. There was no reason to think she had survived her kamikaze attack. So all that left was a large search party, wasting valuable resources and a considerable amount of time for what? A couple of young ones?
Sure they were tricky, but not dangerous. Just tricky. From what he heard, they had ran to the middle of the crater and then somehow vanished into thin air – which was just…impossible. No one left Quietus without a trace, not unless they were of Zen-echelon, and they most certainly were not of that mysterious place. No…they were just hiding somewhere close, trying not to breathe and using their Sage tricks to conceal their whereabouts. It was the only explanation to why none of the scouting teams had found a whiff of them within the Kingdom walls or in the Quietus forest. It was because they were still here, waiting, hoping for someone to save them.
No one would.
In the scuffle their King had been murdered. Somehow…their greatest warrior had fallen, and they needed answers. Witnesses said the young boy delivered the final blow, and so he had to be found no matter the cost. And since the crater was the origin of their disappearance, teams composed of the best trackers in the Kingdom were laboring tirelessly, day and night, searching the same spots over and over, looking for a sign, a clue, a…
The Quietus stopped and narrowed his eyes as his neck stretched upwards instinctively. He had run into a protrusion. A section of the ground that was raised just slightly higher than the rest of the crater floor. It was nothing really. Their crater was not known for its smooth exterior, but… now that he thought about it...he remembered that the dead Sage had leveled the floor with her power – which meant this patch of earth should have also been flattened.
The Quietus sniffed the dirt around it, bobbing his head up and down with each whiff. Finally, a faint scent caught his interest.
It was of a young Allayan male.
He tried to investigate further, to acquire more information, but as soon as he bent his head back down to the source, the scent vanished…just like the young Sages…
They’re still here. He thought, smiling devilishly. A few Quietus nearby noticed his eerie grin and gave him an inquisitive look. He nodded in their direction and they quietly crawled over to his location. Together, they began sniffing around and upon the raised ground, inch by inch, millimeter by millimeter…
* * * * *
Catherine sat on the small, wooden wharf, swinging her legs back and forth as she whistled a tune she had heard as a child but had long forgotten the lyrics. She closed her eyes and let the breeze brush past her cheeks like a whisper, her hair being buoyed gently as the wind brushed through it with its fingers and the toasty warmth of the sun made her skin feel like it was humming. It was so relaxing that she nearly forgot the situation at hand. That no matter how much beauty was in abundance, something ugly was always nearby, ready to dash in and taint it.
His wincing broke her trance and she turned her head in concern. She didn’t bother asking him what he needed. Each time she did, he assured her there was nothing. Catherine wasn’t used to this – sitting around and enjoying the ambience while someone she cared for was suffering just a few feet away. At least she could offer him comfort through her company.
“Hey, Girl,” James chuckled weakly through an agonizing face and gallons of sweat.
“Hey, tough guy,” Catherine said as she sat down next to him. She knew it distracted him, but it was the only way she knew to soothe him. He was sitting a few away from the dock’s edge, legs crossed and staring straight ahead towards the sun. Since it was part of his manifestation, she was sure staring into it wouldn’t cause his eyes any damage. Still, she couldn’t shake the thought that he was slowly going blind with how intense he was glaring at it.
“It’s getting harder to maintain this,” James’ voice cracked.
“What happened to three days?” Catherine asked, hoping she didn’t come off as sarcastic.
“Some
thing’s wrong,” he shuddered, bowing his head. His whole body was beginning to quiver and his muscles were beginning to freeze up.
“What if you don’t keep everything together? Just the ground for us to stand on? No water, no wharf, sand…nothing unnecessary?”
“But then you’ll have nothing to enjoy,” he said, looking at her out the corner of an eye.
“James, survival is the priority, and I’ve enjoyed this view for hours already. No reason to strain yourself any more than you have to. If this manifestation breaks, and we’re left to the mercy of the Quietus, we’ll be killed; the mission will be a failure.”
“Fine,” he muttered. Catherine let out a yelp in surprise as the wharf disappeared from underneath them, sending her falling a couple feet down into a blanket of sand that had not been there previously. James barely moved as he fell, keeping his concentration at the forefront. But when he landed, it was apparent that he was feeling better already. James sighed in relief and stood to his feet casually, the sweat drenching his clothes being the only evidence of his previous ordeal.
“Feel better?” Catherine asked, holding back a giggle. His shirt was drooping off him like it had been designed for a Langoran.
“Lots!” James exclaimed as he looked out towards what used to be the water. His countenance fell as Catherine saw the concern in his eyes. She turned and suddenly wished she had taken one last glance at the ocean before it disappeared.
It was completely gone, and in its place was an endless expanse, covered in flat, tan sand. In the far distance was the sun, barely peeking over the horizon and lighting their area. The previous beauty was nowhere to be found, and what remained was a strange and unnatural view, making the world look very alien.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t hold it longer,” James replied, but Catherine immediately turned to him and flashed him a smile.
“This is probably more my thing anyways,” she said. “All that beauty was making me feel all mushy and emotional inside.”
“Totally not like you,” James grinned. “You were actually scaring me a bit back there. You were enjoying it so much that I thought you were going to start making dresses out of the trees and washing yourself in the ocean because you felt icky.”
“You wish, you perv,” Catherine shook her head. “But seriously, are you sure you’re fine?”
“Definitely,” James replied. “At this rate, we can survive until the third day is over.”
“Maybe we won’t need that much time. Seeing you suffer like that…it really brought me back to reality…of what we should be doing.”
“Catherine, we have to wait here. Kyran will be looking for us.”
“But there’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to hold this place together, or that the Quietus won’t discover us. We have to start thinking proactively. I’m done sitting around.”
“Catherine…”
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for the reprieve. But now it’s time we get back to the task at hand – what we came here to do.”
“I’m not ready to go back out there.”
“And I’m not comfortable sitting here while Arimus and the others are fighting for their lives. If we can somehow get out of Quietus, perhaps we can rendezvous with the others. They would be heading to Prattle by now. We can intercept them at the Conun lodge.”
“There are Quietus everywhere. How do you propose we get past them?”
“You know…”
“No, Catherine,” James shook his head violently. “I won’t allow it.”
“And you’re in no place to be giving the Princess orders!”
“…what if I come up with an alternative?”
“Such as?”
“Do you remember what happened when I attacked the King of Quietus? I know it was kind of chaotic…”
“I remember Dominic holding me back, and your eidolon cracking,” she said low. She cleared her throat and continued. “Kyran was trying to break free from his grip.”
“Catherine…I’m half Quietus,” James admitted, staring directly into her eyes. He regretted saying the words, but it was the only way she would listen to his plan. He had to tell her the truth, no matter the consequence. Their lives depended on it.
“You look nothing like a Quietus,” Catherine said, her eyes steady onto his.
“I take after my father in looks,” James chuckled nervously. “But I’m serious…my mother, she’s a Quietus.”
“This doesn’t make any sense,” she said. “If a Quietus was in Allay, that would mean they can alter their appearance and their strength. And that would mean she was around during the age of the Sages. How would that be possible? How could she live under them undetected?”
“I don’t know,” James replied. “I can barely recall what she looked like, let alone what she was doing. I was a toddler.”
James refused to look away from the woman he loved, searching her face desperately for cracks in her rocky gaze, her contemplative demeanor. She was trying not to show her true feelings, and it was beginning to scare him. Suddenly, thoughts of Achan flashed through his mind, his best friend and confidant that had been killed not long ago. In all the turmoil, he had placed his death to the side, knowing that the enemy lurked at every corner and they needed to devote their full attention to living, not to mention the manifestation James was constantly updating with new shielding and invisibility, trying to keep the Quietus at bay. A single trace would be their undoing.
They had killed Achan so easily; even now it didn’t seem real. As if he was off with Kyran and Dominic, heading straight for Zen-echelon. But the way he had died…there was no point in denial. His friend was gone.
And yet, death was not what James feared most. As he had said, his life was on borrowed time ever since he saved Catherine from Kyran’s dangerous exam. No, he was thinking of something far worse…he feared that Catherine would lose interest in him. It wasn’t impossible.
It happened to Achan, back in Languor. He had confessed to the Princess that he had been a spy all along though he swore that he had no intention of betraying her. Catherine had forgiven him, but she was adamant in one stance: that they could never be a couple. Achan was heartbroken, but he understood, knowing that the Princess could never completely trust him again. He could not be her lover. He could not be her King…
And he had been so in love with her, that he actually put all his selfish desires aside to serve her while James, the other man in her life, still got into fights, joked around like a child and put his yearning for Catherine above the mission and the lives of his fellow bodyguards.
Achan, as he had said to himself many times before, was, and always would be the better man for Catherine, and the rightful King of Allay…but the moment Catherine learned of his secret, he was no longer a viable option.
Catherine was not a romantic, though this did not mean she was incapable of love or romance. All it meant was that she was a Princess and the future Queen of Allay first. The citizens of Allay were her priority, and she was willing to sacrifice happiness, her life, and even her very soul for them all. No one understood where such dedication came from. All they knew was that it was so deeply rooted within her that nothing short of death itself could remove the bond between her and Allay.
The moment James heard the dark voice within him speak, he knew this day could come. And at first it didn’t scare him – to tell her that he was a Quietus. But then Achan told him what had happened between them…
After that…he couldn’t do it…
He couldn’t bear the thought of her refusal. Her unrequited love. Sure, Achan had remained strong and fought by her side, but could he? She was all that mattered. Not even the mission came close by comparison. Why couldn’t Catherine see that she was his world? That Earth and Paradise could perish, but as long as she remained, all was as it should be?
What would happen if she…refused him as she did Achan?
Achan was a Langoran. He was a Quietus…but the deal-breaking sim
ilarity was still there:
They were not of Allay.
“James?” Catherine asked. “Is everything okay?”
James cleared his throat and straightened himself up, building up his resolve and pressing the dried sweat clothes against his skin. He had to be strong, if for no one else but himself. He had promised that he would mature and be the man that Catherine needed. No matter what that meant…
“I think if we find my mother,” James sighed, “we might be able to find sanctuary, maybe gain some insight into how to leave this Kingdom for good. She should be around here somewhere.”
“We’ll still have to fight.”
“But not as long. And you won’t have to use the stone more than what’s necessary.”
“Where would we even start?”
“The village under the dome. We’ll have to break through the entrance, of course, and I don’t remember much of what she looks like, but with my eidolon, I think I can find a match.”
“So…” Catherine’s voice trailed. “Is this what you meant earlier? Of how you can keep this manifestation up for days all of a sudden when it used to break in minutes?”
“Yes,” James closed his eyes. “It’s because I have two eidolons. Both representing a part of me. One is the Allayan side. A white sword. Then there’s the Quietus – a black one, but far more powerful than the other. When the King was about to break my Allayan eidolon, I released my Quietus blade and struck him down. I used that blade to call this place forward.”
“If your Quietus side is so strong, why were you struggling to keep this place together?”
“I’m not sure. It felt like…it was starting to sheathe itself. It’s almost like it has a mind of its own.”
“Then that doesn’t sound like it’s supposed to be a part of you,” Catherine said. “Something’s wrong. If it’s part of your soul, it wouldn’t be fighting back.”
“Either way, it’s in there for a reason.”
“So what are you using now? Your Allayan eidolon?”
“Unfortunately.”
Hail to the Queen (Sage Trilogy, Book 3) Page 1