The Tcher corpses started to burn away. But the fear never left. More ships started to erupt in fire. It was the only solution to stopping the dead from overtaking the ships. The fire began to spread.
The ships were too close together. One ship would catch on fire and then the next. Before long, the entire Tcher Islands were surrounded by a ring of fire.
Aul finally let go of his corpse army. His body singed from the fire on the ocean surface. He breathed in the warm night air. Not one Tcher soldier made it on to the island.
Farrah’s sleep was disrupted because of the alarms. For a second she felt a fear she had not experienced since childhood. Memories of soldiers raiding her room came rushing back to her. It was the same thoughts when the Capitol was being attacked by the avadons. She did not know what they were. Only one face was recognizable in her memories. A young Alexus stood by the door. He was angry. Then there was nothing.
Farrah forced herself back to the present. The island was being invaded. She needed to move. Out the window she could see soldiers racing back and forth. The Tcher guards were preparing to defend the citadel. Out in the distance the ocean was beginning to burn. Fire was consuming the area.
Farrah rushed out of her bedroom. She had to find her grandfather. He was the only one that could protect her.
The hallways of the citadel were empty. Every Tcher soldier had hurried out to the battlefield to defend their home. Heric’s walk to Aldrin’s chambers was quiet and slow. The pain had left his body. His only feeling was pressure in his skull. It no longer hurt. It was only pressure.
The chamber doors were ahead of him. He recognized them from years ago. Heric made a trip to the Tcher Islands as a young boy. His father wanted him to meet Aldrin. That was years ago, but nothing had changed.
The doors opened easy enough. There were no guards to stop him. He limped in to Aldrin’s quarters. The room was one giant grand circle. It covered the entire floor of the citadel. Tall windows overlooked the entire island from every direction. He could see the fire circling the island.
Across the room, Aldrin sat on his throne. His frail body looked weaker than ever. The wrinkles drooped around his cheek bones. His skin was yellow. Bloodshot eyes looked back at Heric.
“What have you done?” Aldrin grumbled. “You have destroyed my home. You have taken everything away from me. My son is gone. My granddaughter was nearly killed by your people. The Caning family is a plague on this world.”
Heric did not listen to the old man’s ramblings. He stepped forward inch by inch. His sword was heavy in his hand. It slid across the floor. The metal scraping on the floor echoed around the room.
“My world would have stood the test of time,” continued Aldrin. “I would have ruled with my decedents into eternity. Now, I am cursed to watch the Canings continue to rule what is rightfully mine. I will wait. I will watch you die, Heric Caning. I will watch your children die, and your grandchildren. They will forget your names. Eluan will disappear from the history books. Then I will rule again. I will start over. I have all the time in the world.”
Heric stood over Aldrin on his throne. He was out of breath. His heart raced. Every gasp for air was a struggle. There was no more time for talk.
Heric raised his sword. He drove his blade into Aldrin’s chest. Aldrin squirmed in pain. He gagged on the blood that was rushing out of his mouth. The sword twisted in his body. The old man tried to pull the sword out, but he only sliced his hands open. Heric and Aldrin looked at each other. Their silence was an understanding.
“Heric! No!” Farrah screamed out. She was standing at the doorway. Heric and Aldrin turned to look at her.
Aldrin reached out for his granddaughter. His bloody hand waited for an embrace. Then his hand dropped. Aldrin the Ageless had taken his last breath. He went still; his dead body looking upon his dynasty.
Heric stood there stunned. He could not believe his eyes. His body started to grow weak. He could no longer control his movements.
“Abigail?” he whispered.
Then he collapsed. His body hit hard to the ground. There was no life left in him as he succumbed to the pain in his head.
The two rulers of the known world lay motionless in the throne room. Farrah fell to her knees. She cried for her fallen grandfather, the man that had rescued her from pain and despair. She also mourned for her fallen lover. He had promised to always protect her. Heric had failed.
Chapter 63
The island burned. The tides brought the fire to the shoreline. The forest just beyond the beach offered more fuel for the flames. By the next day the island would burn into the ocean. The sea would erase any trace of the once powerful warworld.
Eluan soldiers were already starting to retreat back to the ocean. There were boats waiting for them for the extraction. The Tcher soldiers were dead or would soon be.
Seres had fought his way to the citadel. He would not return without Aldrin, dead or alive. He and his men charged through the hallways. The fires had not reached the citadel yet. They were still safe for the moment.
Then Genom came around the corner. He was a bloody mess. His hair stood out caked in other’s blood. Bruises and cuts covered his entire body. He stood in between Seres and Aldrin’s chambers.
Seres rushed forward. He left his soldiers behind. There would be nothing stopping him from getting to Aldrin. He was the man that almost cut Seres’ head off.
“Finish him,” Seres ordered his men. Genom watched as the determined Eluan soldier rushed down the hallway. The Tcher Elite Guard struck out his sword, but Seres sidestepped the attack. Genom was slower than usual and exhausted. Seres did not stop. He kept running for the open door of the master’s chambers.
Seres burst into the room. It was quiet. He looked over. Aldrin sat on his throne. With a closer look, Seres saw that Aldrin was dead. The Ageless was a bloody mess. He had been pierced through the heart.
Seres loathed his situation. He wanted nothing more than to strike Aldrin down himself. He envisioned slaying the master of Tcher for years.
His rage swung his sword. The blade cut right through Aldrin’s neck. The head fell off the body. It tumbled to the floor leaving a bloody trail behind it.
The rest of Seres’ men came into the room. Genom had fallen to their numbers.
The Eluan soldiers stood in awe. Francesco de Seres stood triumphant by the throne. He held the head of Aldrin high in his hand.
“The Ageless is dead,” said Seres. The men cheered for their commander. It appeared as if he had done something nobody else had ever done. He defied the claims of Aldrin himself. Francesco de Seres became the End of Ages.
Down on the ground, Abigail braced Heric as they walked. Old feelings rushed to the surface when Heric said her name. She could not leave him to die.
The fire was spreading quickly all around them. Heric was nearly unconscious. His words were slurred. He could hardly walk. Abigail had to hold much of his weight. His eyes had rolled to the back of his head several times.
Despite all that, Heric still tried to fight. His arm bounced when they needed to go another direction. He led Abigail through the island to his destination.
She was confused when she saw the door. It was connected to nothing, but Heric was determined to get to it. The two of them collapsed in front of the structure.
Abigail was exhausted. “It’s going to be okay. It’s going to be okay,” she said repeatedly.
She stared at the door. It was just a door. She opened it. There were just the fires of Tcher on the other side. She feared Heric had led them to their deaths.
Then his hand started to grab for the bottle strapped to his belt. His hand would not work. He could not grab hold of the bottle.
Abigail steadied him. She grabbed his hand to give him something to hold on to. Their embrace comforted her. She started to cry all over again. Her tears fell to their hands.
“You didn’t come for me,” she said. “Where were you? I needed you.”
She to
ok the bottle from Heric’s belt. Once she popped the cork she could smell the Tamor Blood. It was the strongest drink she had ever encountered. The smell alone sunk into her nose. She felt the familiar tingle run through her body.
She looked back at the door. “Nikali, what did you do?” She realized the door must lead somewhere. Nikali was using arcan. He was more powerful than she had ever seen him back at Cylo Forest. He was expanding his abilities.
Abigail thought about Heric’s strategies. If the door led somewhere then Heric would know where. Heric was at the beach on the mainland sending his troops over. The door had to be nearby.
Abigail took a deep breath. The fires raged closer. She chugged the Tamor Blood down. The entire bottle was gone in seconds. She kept her thoughts on the beach as she reached for the door.
The sensation in her body grew. Every inch of her tingled. She wanted to jump out of her own skin. The door opened. There was a rush of cold air.
Then her mind split in half. All she could see was red. Then nothing.
Chapter 64
The war was over. Tcher had fallen. Seres and his men were on their way back to the mainland. His men never stopped cheering for him. He was Francesco de Seres the End of Ages. He kept the head of Aldrin in a bag nearby. That was his spoil of war.
When they arrived the word began to spread about his amazing accomplishment. Before Seres did anything else he put the head on a stick. As he walked through the beach he presented the head of Aldrin to all who would see.
Seres approached several of the other commanders in the Emperor’s tent. He did not salute. Today, he was the most decorated soldier.
Nikali returned from his camp to see the celebration. Off to the side, Falon sat alone. He was tied up and blindfolded.
“I want to see the Emperor,” said Seres. “I have a prize for him.” He waved his stick in triumph. “Has he arrived yet?”
“Emperor Caning arrived several hours ago,” said one of the commanders. “He is unconscious, near death.”
“What?” Seres said. “What happened? Who arrived with him? I want to speak with them.”
“We do not know,” said the commander. “He arrived back through the door. A woman dragged him through.”
“Then I want to speak with her,” said Seres. “Our Emperor is dying. We need to get to the bottom of this.”
“She is gone. When they saw the Emperor all the attention went to him. She slipped out. We assumed it was one of Nikali’s legion.”
“The Red Cast stayed on the mainland with me,” Nikali threw out.
“What did she look like? We will find her,” said Seres.
“I don’t know. She had orange eyes. That is all I can remember,” said the commander.
Both Falon and Nikali brought their heads up to attention. Nikali scrambled. He rushed out of the tent to fruitlessly look around. There was no sign of the girl with orange eyes.
Falon smiled. He had gotten his wish.
Chapter 65
The Capitol was in shambles, both physically and politically. Emperor Heric Caning laid in his bed in a coma. He was not responding to any treatments. His breathing was light, but their emperor was alive. The question remained. Who would lead the empire?
The Royal Council quarreled in the council room. The three seats at the head of the table were empty. Heric was bed ridden. His confidant, Forman, was in prison. The third seat no longer belonged to anybody, as Nikali had been abandoned.
The council members argued over which course of action to take. Many of them wanted to take control of the council. They could help lead the empire in this time of need, until the emperor was ready to come back.
“We must free the Empress,” said Quaet. “She is the only royal left that can rule.”
“Empress Marina will never rule,” argued an older member of the council. “That shall never be allowed.”
“Heric does not have any decedents,” said Quaet. “She is fit to rule. Emperor Cyrus saw her as potential. She has ruled across the canyon. She can do so here as well.”
“We can ask for aid from the Louson Kingdom,” said a member. “They will help their princess by helping us. The Capitol is destroyed. The rest of the Empire has been cut at the knees. They are the only ones that can help us.”
“Heric would never stand for that. As the Royal Council, we can rule until Heric is fit.”
“How long will that be?”
“We need a permanent solution.”
Their talking got so loud they never heard the door open. The footsteps were deafened under the arguing. It wasn’t until the man was at the throne that the Royal Council hushed.
It was stunned silence as Nikali Caning II leaned back in the throne, making himself comfortable. The son of Emperor Nikali Caning, the man known as the could-have-been-future-emperor was finally taking his place at the throne of the Eluan Empire.
Nikali twisted his head until his body was contorted. He looked at the Royal Council nearly upside down.
“All hail the Emperor.”
***
THE FALL CONTINUES
in
Eluan Falls
The Second Coming
Find updates from Dane G. Kroll
www.facebook.com/danegkroll
or
@DaneGKroll
Eluan Falls: The Tides of Utter Undoing Page 27