Legacy of Death: Revenge (Legacy of Dreams Book 2)

by Thomas J. L. Green

  “Then you will get used to it.”

  “How much more of this?” Raven asked, visibly tired. They spent the whole day running through caverns and killing everything they couldn’t avoid. A mountain of demon snakes, spiders, animated mushrooms, cavern people and various chimeras later, they finally reached a safe haven.

  “Two more days like this, then we climb up, then we run and hide in the deeper forests. With a bit of luck, we hit civilization sometime next week,” Lucas laid out.

  “Meh… having one arm unusable is more annoying than I thought it would be,” Raven sighed.

  “It’s not any better with two, trust me,” Zoey added.

  “Caverns suck, I know. Drink?” Lucas pulled a keg out of the Dream World.

  “What is that?” Zoey asked straight.

  “Homebrew.”

  “Are you trying to get me drunk?” Zoey raised her eyebrows.

  “Not you,” Lucas smirked, opened the keg and took a very long swig.

  “You usually take drugs when you go for a long Dream World job… what is this about?” she pried.

  “Gotta do something I don’t want to,” Lucas replied.

  “Before you knock yourself out, how about you conjure me some water so I can wash myself?” Zoey tried.

  A large blob of water appeared above her. She didn’t manage to dodge.

  “Very funny. Make it small bubbles and have them rain on me in a slow stream,” Zoey ordered.

  “Want a piece of lime with it?” Lucas remarked poisonously.

  “Don’t tell me you have lime,” Zoey returned.

  “I don’t. Have fun,” Lucas made the stream of water she requested.

  “Raven, how about you heat the water up for me?” she smiled at him sweetly. Raven focused for a second.

  “I said warm, not burning hot!” Zoey shouted after a second.

  Raven shook his head.

  “Better. It took some work, but you two can actually be a decent company. When you join your forces, at the very least,” Zoey evaluated happily.

  “Happy to be of service,” Lucas remarked poisonously.

  “You should be. Now, I’m not going to promise anything spectacular, but want to have some fun tonight?” Zoey smiled provocatively.

  Raven’s face turned red.

  “Raven… what did we do last night?”

  “I said I am taking no part in this,” Raven refused and went to the far side of the cavern to practice.

  “I made you my little bitch for the evening if that’s what you want to know so much. We can re-enact most of it tonight if you want a reminder,” Zoey offered innocently.

  “In few days… sure. Not tonight though,” Lucas shook his head.

  “Why in a few days? Why not tomorrow?” Zoey inquired.

  “I have work to do tonight.”

  Lucas plunged into his dream pocket once more. He quickly glanced over the map and straight up summoned the emergencies.

  Order’s holding out fine, zero emergencies at the fleet or at the eastern army. Only one. The one I don’t want to go to, but I have to. I owe her that much. I have no excuse.

  What do I wear?

  Lucas went to rummage through the clothes lying around his dream pocket.

  All my tunics are so messed up they are more like rags. Golden suit? No, that’s just weird. War armor? No, I wear that to kill things.

  I will need to make something… except that I suck at making clothes.

  After a while of trying, Lucas made a black copy of the golden suit.

  I really need to catch a tailor. Fuck tailors, I need to find Jean.

  When finished, Lucas opened up the gates of his dream pocket. What welcomed him was endless darkness. The Void. The dream pockets which represented memories and dreams of living beings were just dots in an ocean of blackness. He could see the pockets of Raven and Zoey. He resisted the temptation to go spy on Zoey through her dream pocket and dove into the darkness. He flew through the darkness until he reached his target. Dream pocket of Zerae Hellwind.

  Her defenses aren’t bad. Nothing spectacular, but not bad. Just… how desperate must she had been to give out her entry passphrase?

  He entered. The insides were barely decorated. An average bed next to what looked like a training ground.

  Beaten up training posts, half rusty practice swords, decaying grass… dark and gloomy. She’s asleep… and totally looks like a princess.

  What have I been doing?

  No… I can’t doubt myself now. But I can give her some nice dreams. At least for a while.

  Lucas leaned down and softly kissed her on the forehead.

  It’s time to breathe some life into this place.

  Lucas spread his arms. The grass went back to life. Bright green and alive. The mud turned into a well-arranged ground. The training posts, weapons, armors all twisted into looking better than when they were new. Soft sunshine filled the air, coupled with a fresh light breeze. Birds and small animals appeared. Cute and merry.

  That’s better. I should wake her up and get on with it. I really should.

  She needs better defenses. This isn’t nearly enough to stop someone who’s serious about getting in.

  Massive spires of darkness sprout around the dream pocket. Twisting, turning, brimming with power.

  This will take a while... I guess there is no harm in me watching sleep. At least for a bit.

  Lucas made a chair near her bed and sat down on it.

  Meh... there literally isn’t anything I can add to the defenses anymore. Plus, it’s been five hours already. I need to wake her up.

  Second layer identification… that’s what I can add. Someone might find out or guess her passphrase; then it will be useful. That will take an extra hour.

  He adjusted the defenses once more.

  Alright… time to wake her up.

  This place is kinda small, let’s improve it a little.

  Lucas warped space of the dream pocket to extend it, adding a hot spring, pond and a small forest. Lucas peered down at his reflection in the pond.

  I look like a vagabond. I really need to shave and arrange my hair.

  I so, so, so much do not want to do this.

  Fuck it!

  Lucas made the chair disappear and went to lie down on the grass. With a soft impulse, he woke Zerae.

  “What? Where… what?” Zerae sat up on her bed, holding the feather bed onto her to keep herself covered.

  “Sorry to interrupt, but business won’t wait. I’m here on behalf of the Holy Order of Palai. Name’s Lucas,” he announced gently.

  “Zerae… give me a bit to dress up,” she replied sharply.

  Her clothes, armor and coat all appeared on her in an instant.

  “How’d you do that? What… what have you done to my dream pocket?” she turned to him as she rose from the bed.

  “Your defenses were insufficient. These conversations need to stay private, so I took the liberty of improving them,” Lucas returned.

  “And the rest? Sunshine, fresh grass, pond, forest, chirping birds… kittens and baby bunnies? You call these defenses?”

  “These are to make my workplace more pleasant. If you could change the world around you with a mere thought, wouldn’t you?” Lucas contested.

  “Can you change it back?” she demanded.

  “Would you like me to?” he returned softly.

  Zerae narrowed her eyes. “What do you want, Lucas?”

  “There are two ways to use the amulet you were given to summon me. First is the one you did tonight, go to sleep while focusing on the Palai symbol and saying the incantation. With that one, I will come when I sleep… which is usually in the night. For contact during the day, you need to put your blood on the amulet, focus on the symbol with closed eyes and say the incantation. When you do that, I will know. Then I will knock myself out and come as soon as I can. That’s usually less than an hour. I never come uncalled,” Lucas laid out.

  “There is no way yo
u guys could set a system like this in the time since I came to the admiral,” Zerae observed.

  “Every soldier with five years of service gets the right to make the first summon. We call it emergency summon. The second one, day summon, is for commanders and higher ranks only,” Lucas revealed.

  “How the hell do you travel so far so fast?” Zerae realized.

  “I don’t go through bubbles; I glide through the Void,” Lucas replied.

  “Only demons can travel through the Void,” Zerae remarked.

  “I know,” Lucas made a spear appear in his hand. “Wanna have a round?”

  “A demon in the Palai order… not what I expected,” Zerae smirked and drew her blade.

  Lucas took a stance and Zerae attacked. “Why are you so open to me?”

  “We will be meeting relatively often in the close future; I figured you would be a bit more comfortable if you knew a bit about me,” Lucas stated.

  “It’s still kind of creepy,” Zerae smirked.

  “It always is.”

  “You can access all my memories from here, can’t you?”

  “Memories, imaginations, dreams, thoughts… all you ever thought of, heard and saw is accessible through this place. So yes, I do and I have no way to prove I haven’t looked at anything,” Lucas announced.

  “You’ve had this conversation a lot of times, haven’t you?” Zerae noted.

  “Thousands of times, literally.”

  “I understand the part that we will need to trust each other, at least up to a point. But why do you bother when you can verify anything I tell you by skimming through my memories?” Zerae asked after a while.

  “I really don’t like to do that,” Lucas admitted.

  “Why not?”

  “It takes the fun out of life, it takes forever and it’s very taxing.”

  “Hmph… so if you want us to get to know each other, why don’t you use your main dueling weapon?” she pried.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Your stance and footwork were made for a shorter weapon. One that’s also used for cutting. Something like a light long sword,” she evaluated after dozen more minutes of sparring. “Longsword balanced by the hilt, so you have a good tip control but can still cut when needed.”

  “I used to use a weapon like that,” Lucas admitted sadly.

  “Why not anymore?”

  “It reminds me of times I would wish to forget,” Lucas breathed.

  They sparred in silence for a long time.

  “Tell me… do you know how many Faye prisoners does the fleet have?” she asked. It took Zerae a lot of preparation because she knew the answer would hit her hard. Way too hard.

  “That’s a military secret,” Lucas refused.

  “I have the right to know,” Zerae demanded.

  “You do,” Lucas turned sad and serious, “Two hundred eleven. Half of them are in critical condition, but will most likely survive.”

  Zerae froze in place.

  God, I hate doing this. She’s like I just ripped out her heart.

  “I will go now. Good luck, War Leader,” Lucas made the spear disappear and turned to leave. Zerae sat down into the grass. He looked over his shoulder to see her once more before leaving. Seeing her huddled up on the grass broke his heart. “Sometimes the world takes a shit on our heads. All we can do is keep going.”

  “Before you go, could you please check on one of my friends? She’s a dreamwalker named Leena… I don’t know if you dreamwalkers have any way to track each other, but she went to meet Salazar and I’m afraid she may have overdone it. Please make sure she is alright.”

  “I shall see to it,” Lucas reassured her warmly and left.

  27

  Zerae

  Fifty-three dead warriors. Fifty fucking three.

  Zerae sat on the grass; she was holding a little bunny. A bunch of little kittens were swarming around her.

  Bunnies and kittens. Do I look like a little girl? Fucking Palai bastard. What the hell is he thinking?

  “Get off me you shitty little furballs!” she thundered. The kittens and bunnies ignored her.

  He littered my dream pocket with these sweet little invaders. I will fucking murder him!

  Anyway. I’ve got to wake up and get back to work.

  “Good dreams?” Astril whispered as she saw Zerae waking up.

  “I don’t know… I should feel bad. But I don’t. It’s strange,” Zerae mused.

  “Feeling like having a morning round?” Astril tried.

  “Yeah. In a bit. Just… no matter what happens in the future, try to make sure we capture any Palai soldiers we fight, rather than just kill them,” she replied. Astril kissed her passionately.

  “For you, always. The Palai Order made quite an impression, didn’t it?” Astril turned the discussion around after she detached.

  “They’ve got few hundred Faye just in the navy alone. Beatrice is a commander, one of our sisters is in the top leadership and their dreamwalker is a demon. A seriously powerful demon,” Zerae revealed.

  “Beatrice… now that’s a cave I haven’t visited in a very long time,” Astril mused.

  “You fucking whore. Get to work; we should be arriving at Stormshriek soon and don’t think I will be satisfied with a quick one,” Zerae commanded.

  “You sure know how to ask for it,” Astril chuckled and went in for Zerae’s neck.

  They entered Stormshriek and went to see the matron.

  Morale is the lowest I’ve ever seen. Not unexpected. Now I need to use this to bury Allicia and regain my position.

  “My daughter! I was so worried!” Mathilde jumped in to hug Allicia in a grand theatrical scene. “What happened?” she asked.

  “It all went fine. But Zerae got scared a shouted a retreat. It confused everyone and got us caught!” Allicia stated.

  SAY FUCKING WHAT?

  “OH, REALLY? We got pinned down in a trap because you two made a plan that didn’t work. I almost forgot to congratulate you on the record, War Leader. You lost two hundred and sixty-four warriors in a single mission. Never in the history of our race had that many Faye died within a single day!” Astril shouted.

  “Astril, stop!” Zerae whispered and hit her with her elbow.

  Astril ignored her and walked up.

  “It’s all true! It would have been fine if the cursed devil bitch didn’t start panicking!” Barria joined in.

  “Strong words from someone who can’t take a punch,” Astril smirked. “Tell me, Allicia, is this what you will tell the relatives of your friends who died there? That your plan was perfect, everything was under control and it was only because you couldn’t keep control of the warriors around you that we lost over half of our force? Look in the mirror, you piece of shit, this is your fault and yours alone!” Astril didn’t let up.

  How the fuck do I stop Astril? I can’t start shouting at her or attack her because that would be like admitting guilt. What the fuck do I do? If I join the fight, Mathilde will see it as me defying her and execute me as she promised. Is all I can do just stand, watch and pray Astril survives this?

  “Say that to my fucking face!” Barria stood up to Astril.

  “The mighty seven-star warrior wants to fight? Say, Barria, how about I punch you once. If you stay conscious, you can punch me as many times as you desire,” Astril tossed up poisonously.

  Astril, don’t! She will kill you! How the hell should I stop her? Think, Zerae, THINK!

  “Alright, you sniveling bitch. Punch me once, then I will fucking murder you,” Barria agreed.

  “War Leader, I would like you to ask you to bear witness to our agreement. In accordance with our law, we make a challenge. I get one free punch at Barria. If she stays conscious, she can punch me as many times as she desires,” Astril turned to Allicia.

  What the fuck are you doing? I will not be able to interfere if it’s official.

  “ASTRIL, DON’T!” Zerae shouted.

  Allicia made a victorious smile,
“I approve it. Commence the challenge.”

  The matron stepped back to sit down on her makeshift throne. She made a very satisfied smile.

  Astril and Barria faced each other.

  “Bring it, bitch!” Barria strengthened her body and stood in front of her. Astril took half a step back. Blue and yellow flames ignited all over her but disappeared in an instant.

  “Getting scared?” Barria taunted.

  *BOOOOOOM!* echoed through the hall. Cloud of blood filled the air. Barria’s headless body fell to the ground. Astril shook her hand to get off the blood.

  WHAT? I couldn’t even see it!

  “That makes it two hundred sixty-five warriors lost with zero enemies killed. All thanks to your brilliant leadership, War Leader. I salute you!” Astril made a mocking bow toward Allicia. “By the way, you have some brains on yourself.”

  “SEIZE HER!” Allicia thundered.

  Six warriors from Allicia’s personal guard drew their weapons and charged Astril. The first one teleported to her side. Astril jabbed at her neck with logic-defying speed. It broke it. The warrior collapsed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

  “Two sixty-six.” Astril ducked under a stab and launched a fluent uppercut. The impact echoed through the room as her fist dug deep into the warrior’s chest. She punched in her armor, it crushed her ribcage and exploded her heart.

  “Two sixty-seven.” As another warrior stepped in, Astril kicked her in the knee. It shattered. The warrior’s shout of pain was ended by a punch to the side of her head. Dull impact echoed through the hall as her skull caved in, it smashed her brain.

  “Two sixty-eight.” Two more warriors tried to get Astril from behind. She disappeared in front of their blades and instantly reappeared behind them. They spun. Astril caught and twisted their hands; she broke their wrists and elbows. She caught one’s head in hand and kicked her head with her knee. The skull shattered like a smashed apple. Astril whirled and turned the knee strike into a round-about kick. She hit the next warrior from the side. Astril’s leg crushed flesh and bones as it dug deep into the body. The warrior was dead before she hit the ground.

  “Two-seventy.” The last one tried to strike Astril with a bolt of lightning. Astril teleported next to her, caught her in the mouth and turned her head. *CRACK!* resonated through the room as her neck broke. The body fell to the ground while her mouth was still gaping and staring backward. All it took were seconds.