Blood of the Lost: The Darkness Within Saga: Book 2

by JD Franx

  “Perhaps,” the witch replied. “But we need your help and I thought it was time that Katarina came home.”

  “You thought?” Seifer exploded, stepping up to her. “What about what she wants? You don’t own her, no matter what a dead slaver says. You better start talking or that age-old argument about Elder Blood and White magic will be settled here, now.”

  “Do not threaten me, wizard,” Ella snapped. “I came here out of respect for you. You are the only right-minded, University-trained wizard alive. Don’t make me change my mind about you. There is more at stake here than the love between you two foolish mortals.”

  “She’s right, Seifer,” Kat said. “Please listen to her. We need your help.”

  Seifer shifted his eyes back to Ella. “No. It’ll be a cold day in the Ninth Hell before I help you. How dare you ask for my help? Get out of my city, Ella, before I have you burnt at the stake!”

  “You insolent little fool,” Ella barked, snapping her right hand out. Sizzling white magic leapt away.

  Seifer was ready. “Auka vardas,” he spat, the words to his spell finished first. Ella’s magic slammed into Seifer’s shield, and with a twist of his hand, bounced off, exploding into the barracks wall. A second spell followed immediately, and it shot away out the hole in the wall the moment it hit his shield. Two dozen guardsmen entered the barracks and surrounded Ella, half instantly trained their longbows on her.

  “Stop!” Kat screamed. “Both of you, stop! She didn’t come to fight, Seifer.”

  “Yet she attacked,” Seifer said. “Like she always does. I used to feel sorry for you, Ella. Giddeon screwed you over, the king, even BlackSpawn’s bastards. But you’ll never change. What you can’t get willingly, you take by force. Leave my city. Now.” Turning to Kat, he added, “You go, too. It’s clear you’re with her willingly.”

  “Seifer...”

  “Go, Kat,” he said, turning his back.

  “Seifer?”

  “What, Ella?” he barked, without turning around.

  “Help us and Kat can stay...”

  “Mistress, no,” Kat said.

  “She doesn’t want to stay, Ella...”

  “I do, Seifer. There’s more going on here than you know. We need to find the DeathWizard, and quickly.”

  “What?” Seifer said, not quite sure he heard properly. “What do you want with Kael?”

  “I would be very careful how you answer that question,” Kittrix said. Quiet and observant only to that point, Seifer’s apprentice rose to her feet.

  “Kael?” Kat asked. “You know him?”

  “He came through here several weeks back. He was the one Lircang tried to have killed. Kael stopped a pirate attack on the city at the same time. Giddeon got here two days after Kael left and his group went after them. What do you want with him?”

  Ella shook her head, the disbelief all over her face was a sight few saw.

  “Strange days indeed,” she said. “Kat told you there was more going on, Seifer. We were chasing after a crazy alchemist when I... felt Kael in distress. We broke off the hunt so we can find him and help.”

  Seifer snorted. “You’re not known for your helping hand, Ella.”

  “Perhaps, but when the power of a DeathWizard falls into the wrong hands this world will suffer. I won’t allow that to happen.”

  “Because that power is safer in your hands, right? Don’t screw me around, Ella. You want that power for yourself, and that means killing Kael. I won’t allow that to happen.”

  “I have no interest in killing Kael or taking...”

  Seifer whirled, stepping face to face with Ella. His voice held a dark edge. “Do not forget who was at your damn side the last time you took power like that. I saw what was left of Sylestia when you ripped her power from her, and she was here to help us.” His voice dropped even further as he took a deep breath. “You murdered an angel for her power, power you already had and you expect me to believe the same won’t happen to him? I know where Kael is, but I will never tell you, and I will never boost your magic so you can find him.” The barracks door opened, but Seifer didn’t dare take his eyes from Ella.

  “Then tell me,” Kat pleaded. “I swear to you we don’t want to harm him, Seifer. We don’t want his power. Ella told me that even she couldn’t control his magic. But someone else is after them...”

  “She’s right, Seifer,” Kyro Yorcali said, laughing. “And I’ll be happy to tell you who it is... Can’t believe I’m saying that. Didn’t this place get interesting while we were gone, eh, Niko?”

  DWARVEN MOUNTAINS

  The next night, with the sun just below the treeline, Giddeon’s group stopped travelling a bit earlier in the day. Ember’s condition had declined rapidly as the day wore on and Yrlissa was sick with the knowledge that she would likely pass from the living world by dawn. They all agreed to camp for the night and wait for her time to come, so they could do the proper ritual and send her soul to the higher planes of the after life.

  Max was visibly upset at not being able to help her and immediately went to scout for danger in the surrounding area. As the others prepared camp, Kasik approached the wagon.

  “Yrlissa, can I have a minute alone with her?” She nodded and hopped down. Giving him a hug, she left him alone with her. Not knowing what to say to the young woman who gave her life for him, Kasik stared down at Ember’s still body for several minutes.

  “Ember, my people believe that a person can hear what is said to them until their soul flees our realm for the afterlife. If you can hear me, then I want you to know that I wish you had let me die. You have this affect on people that changes the way we see things. Your life here in Talohna is... was... more important than mine could ever be. You shouldn’t have done what you did. But then I guess you wouldn’t be you. I promise you I will do what I can to keep Kael alive, even if it means protecting him from Giddeon.”

  A small blade appeared in his hand. Kasik cut a length of his hair and tied it to the red locks behind Ember’s right ear. “My Kreeda—my oath, my promise,” he said quietly. Measuring an equal length of Ember’s fiery red curls, he used the knife to cut her kreeda for himself.

  “Goodbye, Ember, and thank you. May the Valkyrie carry you to Paradise.” He felt Saleece slide her arm around his waist. Neither said a word as she braided Ember’s length of hair into Kasik’s on the opposite side as his father’s kreeda. She turned and he followed her back to where the others were preparing the campfire.

  Max stalked through the forest with barely a whisper of sound coming from his movements. He didn’t know whether he wanted to kill something or if he was going to be sick to his stomach. His promise to Kael that he would always take of Ember if something happened to him was eating him alive. Over the years, he had grown to love her like a sister, and his failure to protect her left him furious with himself.

  She would always be the first to jump in and help someone in need. She had been like that her whole life. He never suspected she could possess such staggering power and strength of will as to give her life for another. Even though he knew it wasn’t Kasik’s fault, Max had to try hard to suppress the urge to choke the life from the big Northman. Ember would have given Talohna a small bit of hope, whether it be the increased power of healing or just the single life here and there she herself might one day have saved. Like the little girl in Dasal, who now had a long life to look forward to, instead of a painful single year of agony and a frightful death. His mind boiled with anger and thoughts he could not control, and his lack of attention to his surroundings allowed someone to sneak up on him.

  Max stopped and took a deep breath, trying to clear the muddle in his head. A tear crept down his cheek as he thought about telling Kael that Ember was gone. The voice from behind him startled him for only a second.

  “She’s not dead yet, big man,” she said. The voice was calm and soft, with no hint of threat. On instinct, Max whirled around, an arrow already released from the powerful Orotaq bow. He watche
d as the black, razor tipped arrow easily sliced into the forehead of a beautiful young woman. To his surprise instead of falling, the woman merely dissipated like a wall of mist in the breeze, and stepped out of the darkening forest almost a dozen feet to his right.

  “Now, now. You seem a bit shaky tonight. Why would you want to kill someone who is here to help?”

  “What the hell?” he said. He stepped back and pulled one of his swords.

  “Please stay calm. It’s not like you’ve never seen illusion magic before. Now would you like our help or not?” she repeated. Refusing to put his weapons away, he rested on the balls of his feet, facing the woman.

  “If you wanted to help, why would you sneak up on someone and risk an attack?” he asked.

  “Because... I needed to know that you were alone. You travel with people my husband and I don’t like,” she said sternly. Smiling, Max suspected he knew exactly who this exotic woman with the strange loops of braided hair, was not fond of.

  He smiled wider. “Giddeon has that effect on people. You’ve earned a few minutes of my time as well as my attention... Miss.”

  “Oh, Miss is it? You learned some proper etiquette in your time away from our world haven’t you... Max,” she replied. He noticed the deliberate pause at the end of her sentence.

  Slightly puzzled, he shook his head. “Don’t know what you mean, but if you’ve come to help, I’m listening.”

  “Uh-huh.” She smiled. “My name is Sephi Kohl. I am the queen of DormaSai, my husband, Nekrosa, is watching our discussion from close enough to make you regret any stupid moves you may decide to attempt. Are we clear?”

  He nodded. “What do you want?”

  “DormaSai is the only land to survive intact after Jasala’s Cataclysm over five thousand years ago. Our country thrives on magic, and we have a library that was standing for countless millennia before the continents shattered. We know what is happening right now. We have access to written prophecies that the ArchWizard and Cortina’s chapel don’t. Giddeon Zirakus is a stupid, arrogant fool who refuses to listen to us because of the gifts we were granted by the gods.”

  “Oh, you mean that raising the dead and controlling people’s minds thing? Yeah, he’s way off-base there, isn’t he?” Max hardly believed what he was hearing.

  “I’m not here to debate magical ethics with you. If I were, you would lose,” she said, glaring at him dangerously. Max thought perhaps he should just shut up and listen. Giddeon had told him the king and queen of DormaSai commanded fearsome powers when it came to the magic of necromancy, and that they deserved to die. But Giddeon felt the same way about Kael, too.

  “Then why are you here? What do you want?” Max demanded, his patience at an end. Sephi put one hand up with her palm outward and nodded as she slowly slid her other hand inside the small pocket on the front of her dress. Pulling out a finger-sized black vial that sparkled from the rays of the setting sun that were still sliding between the trees, she offered it to him.

  “This is the last amount of High Brethren blood in existence. It has been in my country’s possession for thousands of years. It has a preservation spell on it that no one has been able to cast off the vial. It will cure any magical poison or disease, or so the records from that time tell us. Yet it will do nothing for a physical wound of any kind. We offer it to you freely, and all we ask in return is that when Giddeon and his group betray you, give us the chance to help you instead. We will continue to follow you, but you won’t see us or find us should you try, but if you want our help, we will be there when you need it. Fair enough?”

  Unsure of what to say, Max could only inquire about their motives. “Why? What’s in it for you?”

  Sephi stepped forward and handed him the vial. “I have already told you, Max. Our library has many ancient records. We know about the darkness within the earth. But we don’t know what it is or what it will do, but we know to start protecting ourselves against it. There are those who work to free this darkness. If Ember dies and there are no Fae in the world when whatever this is rises, we will have no chance of retaining our freedom. Everyone will die, or be forced to bend a knee and become slaves to whatever power rises.”

  Taking the vial and holding to the light, Max frowned. “What do I do with this?”

  “First and most important is to not let Giddeon know what you are doing. He will try to stop you. That being said, I do not expect you to trust my words without question. There is a very unique Elvehn assassin in your camp. She should be able to remove the preservation spell and verify this vial’s contents. If she can, then you must somehow get your young Fae to swallow as much as she can. The blood will not last long after it is opened—perhaps a half hour—but she must drink as much as possible. All of it would be better, understand?”

  Quickly putting the vial of High Brethren blood into a pocket he had Yrlissa sew to the inside of his leather shirt, he nodded. “Thank you for your help. I suspect we will be seeing you soon, won’t we?”

  Turning to leave, Sephi responded by looking back over her shoulder. “If Giddeon stays true to his ways, I believe we will be fighting by your side in a matter of days. Be safe, big man, and believe that I have given you the only means to save that young woman’s life.”

  “Wait, Sephi,” he called. “How did you know... everything?”

  She smiled at the same time as a huge black raven flew in and landed on her shoulder. “We have eyes where we need them,” she said looking at the bird. “This is the kind of mind control we practise. It helps us acquire knowledge we may need, not what Giddeon has told you.” The raven opened its mouth and cawed as if agreeing with her statement. The bird’s eyes held a human-like intelligence. “Go Max, and help her, for all our sakes. Please. The area around your camp is secure, return to her quickly,” she said softly. Max looked down briefly as he touched the vial in his pocket, when he looked back up only seconds later she and the raven were gone.

  Max worked his way back to camp and went straight to Yrlissa. She was at the wagon by Ember’s side.

  “Is she still alive?” he asked, slightly winded.

  “Yes, but it won’t be long. Two hours, less perhaps.”

  Chewing his bottom lip, he asked, “Do you know anything about the king and queen of DormaSai, Yrlissa?”

  Taken completely by surprise, she answered slowly. “Um, a little. Why would you ever ask about them?”

  Looking around to be sure no one was within earshot, he shook his head. “How about the Higher Brethren? Know anything about them?”

  Frowning with confusion, she replied, “Angels? Again, a little. Why? Necromancers and Higher Brethren are far from a good mix in any conversation, let alone one I happen to be having with you.”

  Checking over his shoulder once more, he whispered, “I just had a conversation with the queen of DormaSai, or at least that’s who she claimed to be.” Pulling the vial from his pocket, he handed it to her and continued. “She said that Giddeon will eventually betray us and that she and her husband would like to help us when he does. She gave me this and said it was High Brethren blood. She claims it will save Ember’s life, but only you could...”

  “Remove the preservation spell,” she interrupted.

  Shocked, he replied, “Yeah, that’s exactly what she said. How did you know?”

  “Because Max, she was right. I can sense the spell and the blood. I guess we have nothing to lose, do we?”

  “It doesn’t look like it,” he replied.

  “Did she tell you what to do with it?”

  “Yes,” he said, hopping into the back of the wagon. “Once you remove the spell, she said we have to get Ember to swallow as much of it as we can, preferably all of it.”

  With a quick look around, and seeing no one else nearby, Yrlissa held the vial in her hand and whispered.

  “Asravan moreina.”

  The black vial instantly glowed red but quickly faded to gold. Max gently eased Ember up off the bed of the wagon and held her on his
lap. Yrlissa joined him and gingerly pushed Ember’s head back as she poured the vial’s contents down her throat a little at a time. Ember coughed and sputtered, gagging several times, but soon the entire contents of the vial went down, not a single drop had spilled.

  “How long before something happens?” Max wondered.

  “If she is still alive at dawn, we’ll know it’s working. I’m going to lay down back here and rest with her, all right?” Yrlissa asked.

  Max nodded, exhausted. “I’ll keep watch. If she slips away, you let me know.”

  Yrlissa reached out and grabbed his hand. “She’ll make it, as long as they were telling the truth, and I believe they were.” Peering over to the campfire, she added, “I’m still not sure about Giddeon and the others though.”

  Max affectionately squeezed her hand. “No, neither am I, but I do believe we should be watching for betrayal,” he said. Letting go of her hand, he sat down against a tree, only a few feet from the wagon.

  When Max woke at dawn, he jumped up and looked in the back of the wagon and was surprised to see Ember’s chest still rising and falling steadily. She even appeared to have a bit more colour in her features.

  Yrlissa smiled and nodded at him. “I think it worked.” He returned her smile and went to help the others pack up the camp. Yrlissa called her recovery the miracle of being Fae. Max nearly snorted when Giddeon seemed to accept it as the truth. They were moving north once more an hour later. Ember was stronger, but had yet to regain consciousness.

  DASAL, FREE LANDS

  “What the Nine Hells do you know about this, Kyro Yorcali?” Seifer barked.

  “A lot. Kael is being hunted by a... creature... called Sythrnax. An Elloryan merchant and his noble uncle through marriage believe he’s a real, living Ancient, if you can believe they’re actually that stupid. Crazy idiots. Care to call a truce with the witch and step outside?”

  “You succeeded?” Ella said smiling. Kyro nodded.

  “This makes me feel so much better,” Seifer said, frowning. “Talohna’s most powerful witch working with its most corrupt criminals.”