by B. A. Scott
“Who can really be sure?” Kaven heard Kade mutter under her breath.
The group turned into another hallway, and Ayden led them into an indention, which housed a tomb marked with a crest Gabrel and Kaven did not recognize. Behind the stone coffin was a narrow door, the same color and texture as the wall around it, which Asos opened for the group. Ayden grabbed a torch from a nearby wall, and entered first. Gabrel knew he would have walked right past the door, had the Princess not directed them to it. It leads somewhere secret, he thought.
The door opened into a hidden passageway that looked as though it was carved into the earth with blunted tools, just high and wide enough for a single person to barely pass through comfortably. Without a word, Ayden led them into the darkness.
The tunnel ended at a small, circular room, monitored by two guards. Its low, domed ceiling was dark, but white-flamed torches lit the chamber well. Gabrel and Kaven spun in the center of the room, and noticed fourteen archways, spaced apart along the wall. Each was unique, and some were very strange. A few were fashioned from rock or stone. Others, from various metals, and even one from twisted, darkened tree bark. Within the archways, where one might have expected doors, were things of a most peculiar nature. Water, fire, rock, mirror and other strange substances filled most, while others boasted broken, damaged or destroyed elements.
“I give you the portal chamber of Caleton,” said Princess Ayden. “The secret to our passage this night.”
Gabrel and Kaven were so mesmerized by the spectacle around them that they didn’t realize they’d turned their backs to Kade, until they heard the ringing of her brandished sword.
They spun around, finding her filled with magic and pointing her blade straight at Gabrel’s heart.
“Kade, what are you doing?” Ayden asked.
“Finishing the job,” Gabrel said as Kaven stepped in front of him, drawing his own sword. Asos, Domini, Ayden and the chamber’s guards were so fearful and confused, they backed away cautiously, not knowing how to react.
“I knew we couldn’t trust you,” Kaven said. Kade’s blade shook within her grasp as tears pooled in her eyes.
“Move away, Kaven,” Gabrel said, to his brother’s surprise. “This ends now.”
“Gabrel, what?” Kaven asked.
“If she’s determined to do it, she’ll find a way,” Gabrel said. “Whether it’s here or a week from now, you can’t protect me forever. If it’s going to happen, I’d rather she look me in the eye than stab me in the back. I’m tired of waiting to die.”
“You’re not going to fight back?” Kaven exclaimed.
“Will someone tell me what the hell is going on?!” Ayden yelled.
“Gabrel, listen to me,” Kaven said, ignoring the Princess. “I know what you’re going through right now—about Adelyne’s death.”
“This isn’t about Adelyne,” Gabrel interrupted him. “This is about Kade and what she believes in her heart. Now, step away. Let this happen.”
“No!” Kaven refused. “If she wants you dead, she’ll have to go through me.”
“Do it,” Gabrel commanded. “It’s time for her to decide.”
“I’ll not watch you die,” Kaven said again. “Not after everything we’ve been through.”
“And I’ll not let you die for me,” Gabrel said. “Let me do the protecting for once. Put down your sword.”
Kaven’s anger slowly turned to acceptance. “Touch him,” he told Kade, “and I’ll kill you, if it’s the last thing I do.” He slowly stepped away.
“Well here you are, Kade,” Gabrel said. “This is it. You’ll never get a better chance.”
Kade took a step forward. The struggle within her heart escalated to an all-out war.
“I’m sorry, Gabrel,” she said, then gritted her teeth and filled her blade with Fury as a violent wind rushed all about her. It was the most frightening thing Gabrel had ever seen, but he stood calmly, waiting for the end.
Kaven subtly reared his blade back, seconds away from hurling it at the Enchantress.
In all the frenzy, Gabrel spoke to the Enchantress comfortingly. “Some fates cannot be changed,” he told her. “But some can. You have a choice.”
Kade yelled with anguish, preparing to strike. In an explosion of light and magic, she threw her sword to the floor, then dropped to her knees, sobbing.
The chamber fell silent as all stood tensely, afraid to approach her.
“I’m sorry, grandfather,” she uttered. “I can’t.”
The disappointment in Athiux’s mind made Kade nauseous. “You betray your people,” said his voice. “You betray me.”
“I know,” she thought back.
“Kade,” Gabrel interrupted her thoughts, kneeling beside her. “It’s alright.”
“I’m sorry, Gabrel,” Kade said. “I’m sorry we put you through so much.”
“I think you owe my brother the same apology.”
“He’ll never forgive me,” said Kade, “but Kaven, I beg of it.”
“Does someone mind telling me what just happened?” Ayden demanded. “Do half the people meant to protect me want to kill each other?”
“We had—a moral disagreement,” Gabrel said, helping Kade to her feet. “But now, I believe we see eye to eye.”
“Is he right, Kade?” Ayden asked. “I have enough to worry about, and don’t have the slightest reservations about leaving you two behind to settle your grievances.”
Kade nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes. “Yes,” she said.
“Good,” said Ayden, annoyed. “The last thing I need is to play mother to quarreling children. I will not tolerate this reckless—and dangerous—instability in my escort, is that clear?”
“It will not happen again,” said Kade. “I swear it.”
“Your Highness,” Asos said, directing the Princess to one of the archways.
“Yes,” Ayden said. “We’ve wasted enough time already.”
“The passage to Palthea. Blessed are the blind ones,” Domini read the inscription above the portal.
Kaven’s eyes never left the Enchantress, still wary of every move she made.
Domini pressed a palm to the hard red rock within the archway. It was as solid as any stone Gabrel had ever seen. But when the soldier closed his eyes, and leaned into the wall, his arm sank into it like the rock had turned to quicksand. Domini then walked straight through the red rock. Gabrel’s and Kaven’s eyes widened in disbelief as the portal consumed the soldier. When at last his body was fully submerged within the wall, the rock hardened once more.
“Kade, if you please,” Ayden motioned for the Enchantress to enter next. Kade closed her eyes, then walked forcefully into the portal as if she were shoving it with her shoulder.
“Your Highness,” said Asos.
Ayden turned to Gabrel and Kaven. “Just keep your eyes closed,” she told them. “And if you value your lives, dare not open them until you feel the cool night air upon your skin.” With that, the Princess entered the portal, and disappeared into the wall.
“After you, ambassadors,” Asos told the brothers. As Gabrel was closest, he stepped forward first.
“Have you done this before?” Gabrel asked Asos.
“Not here,” the soldier answered. “But hold your breath.”
“I’m going in on your heels, Gabrel,” said Kaven. “So don’t stop moving, else I’ll run full into your back.”
“Ok then,” Gabrel acknowledged his brother. He put his hand to the hard, red rock. “You ready?” he asked Kaven.
“Before we go,” Kaven spoke, “how did you know she wouldn’t go through with it?”
“I didn’t,” said Gabrel. “But she never seemed to have the heart for it. Do you still not see that?”
“I saw her damn near kill you, Gabe.”
“But she didn’t.”
“Just because she didn’t do it just now doesn’t mean she won’t try again.”
“After what just happened, I trust her, Kaven.”
“Then you’re a fool.”
“Ambassadors, we haven’t got all night,” Asos spoke urgently.
“Right,” Gabrel spoke, and nodded with determination. He took a deep breath, shut his eyes and pressed himself into the portal.
It felt like his entire body had been plunged into a well of thick, muddy water. Each step he took was like trying to sprint through a waist-deep pond with sand bags strapped to his shoulders—only with more difficulty.
The next step he took landed his boot on dead grass. As Gabrel’s body emerged from a tall, reddish-brown rock that jutted out from the earth, a firm hand caught a strap across his chest.
“It’s okay, Gabrel,” he heard Kade’s voice. “You can open your eyes now.” Gabrel let out the breath he had been holding since the portal chamber, and opened his watering eyes to see he was standing with the others on the outskirts of a dense forest. Around him, it looked as if twenty or so giant shards of rock had fallen into the wooded area from the heavens, and had rested in the pierced earth ever since.
Gabrel felt the weight of Kaven’s body come through the rock behind him. Gabrel turned and caught his brother, pulling him aside as Asos emerged soon after. Kaven’s eyes were still clamped shut.
“Easy, Kave,” Gabrel said. “We’re through.”
* * * * *
The clamor of battle soared high above Caleton as Vega, wounded on every limb, fought the Fated Ones with spear, sword and knife.
“Formation!” he called to his brethren, and more than twenty joined him as he led them into the thick of the swarm. But as he did, he noticed a formation of Fated Ones drawing nearer, attempting to soar high above the fighting. Vega immediately altered his course, and began ascending against the falling snow.
As the Aeroli and Fated soared higher and higher, more of each side joined their ranks, until hundreds were flying to meet hundreds. The two flocks pierced the dark grey storm clouds, and soared into a star-filled sky. At last, they met each other before the full moon. The Aeroli cut deep into the Fated. But the demons struck back with unrelenting force.
One of the Fated hurled a spear toward Vega’s heart, but the Aerolus beat his wings hard, lifting him into the air so that he could catch the spear in his taloned foot. He then flipped the weapon up to his hand, and threw it back at the creature who had dealt it, skewering the beast.
Vega then spun just in time to see two Fated before they crashed into him. Each dug sharp teeth and claws into his flesh. The three of them fell, a twisting heap of feather and darkened skin. They passed through the clouds, and traveled downward with great speed. Vega grabbed the Skull Dagger at his belt, and with a quick swipe, instantly slayed one of the Fated. But the other bit hard into his arm, and snatched the dagger from his hand. It then stabbed at the Aerolus’s heart, but Vega caught its wrist just before the blade could touch his skin.
As they fell, the Fated pressed harder, the dagger only an inch away from Vega’s chest. Out of the corner of his eye, Vega saw the ground approaching. If he didn’t escape the clutches of the Fated, he would surely die, whether upon impact, or by the touch of the dagger’s blade.
He knew his end would come soon if he could not break free, so he used all his strength to push the dagger away. And as he did, he saw, diving from the heavens, Athalusian, his fellow Aerolus, soaring toward him.
The Fated snarled in Vega’s face, and it twisted the blade so that it might cut the Aerolus’s wrist. Vega roared in the demon’s ear, knowing that even a scratch from the furentus would seal his fate. But just before the dagger could take his life, Athalusian collided with them, yanking the Fated away from Vega, who regained his ability to fly. Once his wings were filled with air, he sped toward Athalusian, who grasped the hand of the Fated that held the dagger, then plunged his beak into the creature’s eye socket.
The Aerolus took the dagger from the lifeless Fated, and let its body fall.
“I believe this is yours!” Athalusian called to Vega, handing him the Skull Dagger as the two flew past each other.
Vega took in the battle below. Daro’s army spread throughout the city and beyond. There were thousands who had not even entered the outermost wall.
“Merciful Creator,” said the Aerolus. “Save us from evil this night.”
* * * * *
Lord Daro stood before the gate at the innermost wall like a man eager to squash an irksome insect. The soldiers atop the walls fired arrows and slung spears down upon him and his demons. But with the lifting of his palm, the stone on which they stood was suddenly set ablaze with flames that burned their flesh with a wild, unconquerable ferocity.
Doniel and Athiux finally reached the bridge wall that led to the Fountain spire. The Sage paused before venturing to the tower, then spoke to Doniel.
“This is where I leave you,” he said.
“Thank you for fighting with us,” Doniel told him. “Lord knows we’d all have died much sooner if you had not come. But at least your daughter is safe. Rest assured, old friend, if I know my boys, they will watch her back.”
Athiux sneered. Then, a shuddering explosion shook the bridge wall, and when Athiux and Doniel looked to the inner wall, they saw that it had been blasted to pieces.
“The last gate of Caleton has been breached,” Doniel said. “To the tower, Athiux. You must hurry.”
Athiux looked him dead in the eye, a loathsome expression staining his face. “You did a terrible thing, Doniel, bringing him into this world.” said the Sage. “May all your sins be rectified this night.” Then, he turned and made for the fountain spire, leaving Doniel speechless.
He knows, Doniel realized.
“Captain Caladen!” a nearby voice startled him out of his daze. “What are your orders?”
Doniel looked to the fifty men who accompanied him. He tried to muster an ounce of courage, but when he glanced to the soldiers being overrun by Daro’s demons, fear consumed his heart. Below, the men on the walls were being slaughtered, and above, the Aeroli in the skies dwindled with every passing moment. The Fated had already begun circling the tower, like a dark, slowly spinning halo in the sky.
As Doniel watched more of Daro’s forces pour into the castle, he knew that the men, women and children who had taken refuge inside were meeting the same fate as the soldiers on the city walls.
“Captain?” the soldier pressed him once more. “They’ll come through those doors any moment now!”
“Even the Erygian Sage couldn’t challenge Daro,” Doniel finally managed to speak. “What chance do we have against the man who survived centuries in the Megalian Wastelands, a man who took the Adorcenn Tower for his own and broke through all the walls of Caleton in a single night? We are all going to die,” his words froze in the soldiers’ hearts. “Every last one of us.”
As if the screams and clamor of battle did not fill their ears enough, a deep, distant booming and rumbling grew louder and louder from the east. Beyond the walls of the city, beyond Daro’s army, there came the sound of a horn, the pounding of drums, and the roaring of thousands awaiting a charge into battle.
Dareic came to a halt, Treäbu at his side and Ralian and Dúmeru on his other. They stood at the front line of the Skaelar army—a deep green sea that covered the snowy plains east of Caleton.
Doniel’s head turned to the sound of the horn. When he saw the army, tears filled his eyes. Likewise, Athiux and King Mercer looked out upon the fields through the windows of the empty fountain chamber.
“The Skaelar,” said the King. “My god, they’ve come.”
“We made it,” said Dareic.
“Are we too late?” Treäbu asked.
“No, the city is not lost,” said Ralian. “The city is not lost!” he bellowed as he turned to the army behind him. “See before your very eyes the horror Daro has wrought! See the death he will bring to our homes, should he survive this night! The city burns, but the battle has not been decided. My brothers and sisters, WE SHALL DECIDE IT!”
The Skae
lar army roared, and Dareic yelled with them, raising his sword high into the air.
“Let no soulless thing escape our blades,” Ralian continued, turning to face the city once more. “Deal them death with every stroke. Let them know the courage of the Skaelar! Raise your hearts, defenders of Adoran! And send them all back to HELL!!!”
Ralian hacked his blade toward Daro’s armies, and burst into a mighty sprint, leading the saviors of Caleton full speed toward the city.
“Spear-bows!” Doniel ordered. “Half to the skies, and half I want aimed right at those doors!” The men atop half of the great contraptions aimed them at the door that Daro’s forces would soon emerge from.
Dareic ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He saw the ranks of Blessed and Primen solidifying, ready to receive the charge. From above, Fated swooped down, and lifted his fellow warriors into the air. Dareic didn’t think it possible to quicken his pace, but he did so. Then, he saw a wave of Aeroli soar in formation toward the wall of demons. They flew low, skimming the army, decapitating, skewering and roaring as they crushed skulls and gouged eyes with their mighty taloned feet. In all the commotion and frenzy the Aeroli had caused, the enemy’s front lines became a jumble of confusion and injury.
And it was in that moment that the Skaelar met them. Dareic and Treäbu tore a path through blackened flesh, sprinting and slicing their way toward the outer wall.
* * * * *
“Palthea,” said Asos as the group emerged from the trees, northeast of the dimly lit town.
“There’s the Crescus River,” Ayden told the group, pointing just past the buildings. “The port’s on the other side of town.”
“Palthea is swarming with demons,” said Domini, noticing silhouetted Fated Ones upon the rooftops, and Primen and Blessed spread throughout the streets. “We’ll have to circle around to the south. Step lightly, and dare not make a sound.”
* * * * *
Doniel’s hand trembled, shaking his ready sword as he and his soldiers awaited Daro’s emergence from the doors ahead.