Heir of Dragmoore- The Veiled Haven

by Jennifer Ann Schlag

  “Good. Then I shall return to Grecia. When the time comes, I shall return to Dragmoore and collect Kylie.”

  “What about this punishment that my daughter was supposed to receive?”

  “If the elves are destroyed, I will waive the punishment on Talen. After all, she’ll be a Master. I can’t risk a war with them. Are you going to let me out?”

  Gavin opens the cell.

  Felp walks past him and goes up the stairs.

  “You shouldn’t trust him,” a prisoner says.

  “I don’t trust him.”

  “He has the power of the sea witch queen on his side. She is the one who influences the Waking Ripple, not him. He is pretending to be important. The darkness that feeds her comes from it.”

  “Will the elves come back to life after Talen takes over Evervale?”

  “She will know what to do after she sees Morga.”

  “How do you know that?”

  The prisoner’s eyes glow purple.

  Gavin looks into the darkness of the cell.

  “Hello, Gavin.”

  Gavin backs up. “Cyrus.” He almost falls over himself. “You can’t be here.”

  “I’m not. I’m using this body as a vessel. Kill Felp. We want Grecia to fall. We don’t care who does it.”

  “No. I’m not listening to you.” Gavin runs up the stairs.

  Cyrus’s face fades and the prisoner falls down.

  Logan leads Desmond, Remy, Talen, and Kip to a fork in the road. “Straight ahead we go.”

  “There’s two ways we can go,” Remy says.

  “No. There’s one way. Straight ahead.”

  “If we were going to enter from the front of it, why did we go around?” Remy asks.

  “You better be careful how you talk to us. The dark path changes people,” Logan says. “How you enter it greatly affects how you leave it.”

  Talen turns to Kip. “You ready?”

  Kip refuses to answer her.

  If there was any other way to get into the Veiled Haven, Talen would be jumping at the chance. Alas, this is the only way. They must battle through their dark temptations. They must survive the dark path.

  “What created the dark path?” Talen asks.

  “The origin of the dark path began around the time the Veiled Haven was created. It’s an endless debate on what came first. What is known is that the Masters feed the dark path its darkness. They love intrigue, desire, and mayhem, and that is at the core of the dark path. To truly be broken, you must first find out what breaks you. The dark path does that. You will get everything you desire if you let the dark temptations enter you.”

  Talen is afraid that the dark path will see her desire for Desmond and use it to harm Remy.

  “Some have speculated that it is a dream world where you can’t escape. Others claim that the Masters imprison you and torture you with ancient magic. Some have even suggested that the Veiled Haven doesn’t exist and it is a myth meant to tempt the foolish. Either way, whatever waits on the other side of the dark path—the dark path is very real. Travelers often stay clear of this area as to not be tempted to step into it.”

  “You have been in there. You’ve been in the Veiled Haven. Tell us what it was like for you.” Talen is not stepping another foot forward until she gets her answer.

  Straight ahead is a long path that appears to enter complete darkness. There is a line of trees on either side that act like a barrier around the path.

  Talen shivers looking from side to side at the trees which are giving off a more ominous feeling than a path doused in darkness.

  “We can’t tell you, Talen. Everyone’s experience is different. And when you become a Master, you don’t need to enter the dark path anymore. The Veiled Haven will appear for you,” Desmond says.

  “Let’s get started,” Logan says. He walks on.

  Talen follows. Desmond pokes Remy in the back to prompt him to follow.

  Kylie walks up to Galaria sitting on her throne. “Sister.” Galaria invites her to sit down on the throne next to her.

  “Where are the elves? I didn’t see any upon my arrival.”

  “I have sent them deep into the Glistenberry Forest. You didn’t tell anyone that you left, did you?”

  “No.” Kylie sits down on the empty throne. “We could have ruled together.”

  “Two queens? That wouldn’t do.”

  “You would have rather had my husband rule beside you.”

  There’s a twinkle in Galaria’s eyes.

  “I hope Talen tears this place down soon.”

  “Oh, I know.” Galaria hugs her sister. “I have missed you.” She brings Galaria’s face before her. “It was me that asked Felp to bring you back. I assisted as much as I could.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you being dead makes your vision void. I need your vision to fall in line with mine. Of course, if you should die by one of our blades, then that will strengthen my vision.” Galaria pulls a glass dagger from behind her back and stabs Kylie in the stomach. “Now, sister, your vision will fail. I will be victorious.”

  Kylie falls out of the throne and onto the ground. Her blood spills down the steps leading out into the main part of the city.

  Galaria creates a portal with Grecia in the background. “Let’s see if you can put her back together now, Felp.” Galaria steps into the portal dragging her sister’s body behind her. The portal closes with a snap.

  Talen notices Logan is getting dimmer and dimmer because the path is getting darker. The trees are becoming obscured. She glances behind and sees Kip trailing behind Desmond. Remy moves up to walk beside her.

  Remy grabs her hand. Then he looks ahead and stops. He releases her hand. “Do you see that?”

  “What?”

  Desmond stops walking. His bottom lip trembles. Kip walks around Desmond and looks around the path in front of him.

  Suddenly, Talen sees something. “Mother?”

  “And it begins,” Desmond says.

  Remy stumbles a little at the sight coming towards him. “Father?”

  Talen holds back the tears as her mother stands before her. “I’ve missed you, Talen.”

  “This isn’t real. This isn’t what I desire,” Talen says.

  “My son, you haven’t completed your task. You haven’t killed her.”

  “I can’t kill her, Father. I love her. And she isn’t the enemy.”

  “You two were always inseparable as children. I should have known it’d come to this one day.”

  Remy is taken back into his memories that were once suppressed.

  His father used to chase him around the gardens in the back of the palace. Coming into this memory is a little girl. She looks similar to Talen. It is Talen. She joins the chase of the prince and she is the one that catches him. The three of them laugh while Gavin looks on clapping.

  The image changes. Remy is being scolded for trying to run away. He got scooped up by Desmond and some guards. He pleaded with his father to give him freedom. He was denied. Talen came to hang out with him and cheer him up. He cherished the friendship so much that he asked his father if he could keep Talen forever. He asked Talen to be his wife when they grew up and she cheerfully replied yes. Neither not really understanding what such a request was, he remembers now that he always had a special bond with Talen.

  But he had competition. Desmond was vying for Talen. And they always went on adventures in the forest. Remy always stayed behind because he was the future king. Remy started to lose interest in a lot of things. He spent more and more time in his tower. Like a locked away fairytale princess being kept a prisoner by an evil witch. As he got into his teenage years, he was made fun of for being a coward with the opposite sex and not wanting to learn the sword. He had no interest in finding a girl to fall in love with because he had his mind set on Talen. And he cared nothing for learning about fighting. He was seen as a failure of an heir. Not worthy to ever take the throne. Although he continued his friendship with Talen,
he was growing further apart from everyone else. His never acted upon those feelings for Talen.

  Tully threw a party for Talen and Remy’s sixteenth birthday since their birthdays weren’t far apart. It was during the party that Remy announced he’d marry his best friend when they got a little older. Both Tully and Gavin were skeptical about the prince’s feelings for Talen, but they seemed opened to the idea. With Tully and Gavin being the best of friends, they saw no reason their children shouldn’t be joined if they wished to be.

  Remy had to suffer Desmond yelling at him for announcing a future wedding without knowing Talen’s true feelings. Stating that he already had a claim on her heart and Remy was wasting his time. It caused a rift between the cousins.

  Remy comes out of his memory. Feeling a bit dizzy.

  Talen tries to wipe away the image of her mother. “You are not my mother.”

  “Ask it. If you want it, you shall have it,” a soft voice says.

  Each word has its own haunting after taste.

  She remembers the day it happened.

  She was inside the house sitting with her mother and talking about boys. Talen didn’t want to admit to liking Remy. She thought everyone would laugh at her for it. But her mother saw the love growing inside her. She also saw the love for Desmond. She encouraged Talen to follow her heart for there was only room for one of them.

  Then the warning bell rang out.

  It meant that one of the Wilderness beasts had come into the city. It was rare for one of them to attack the city knowing that the Hunters would kill them. If a sacred beast did come, and threatened people, it would be either chased off or killed. That was the only time killing one was acceptable.

  The front door busted open and in came her father. Gavin warned his family to remain inside no matter what they hear or see.

  A crashing sound came.

  Gavin went running off. He forgot to close the door. Kylie went to close the door, but when she heard a man screaming, she thought it was Gavin. She ran out. Talen ran after her.

  She heard the word: jaka-shoom. She had started reading about the sacred beasts and knew that a jaka-shoom was one of them. Number 7. They were frightening and the most vicious of the seven sacred beasts. Where dragons were known for being from Dragmoore, jaka-shooms were known for being from Yellen, another human city far into the west.

  Kylie froze on the spot. Talen wrapped her arms around her mother’s legs. She shut her eyes for most of it. Through the piercing screams and explosive sounds, she wanted to pretend it was a nightmare. Sometimes nightmares are real. She was suddenly separated from her mother. She was being dragged into the Wilderness. She pleaded for the beast to leave her alone. In a split second, it paused. Its grip on her loosened. That was when Desmond came riding over and fired off one of his black arrows. He had taken on the name Marksman to have a purpose since his line of succession was taken from him. It wounded the jaka-shoom enough to make it let go of her. Then it went for the only other person nearby. Kylie.

  Jaka-shooms liked women and children because their flesh is usually the softest. It’ll kill men but it won’t eat them.

  Kylie was pulled into the Wilderness. Her screams were muffled by the crunch of the jaka-shoom’s teeth. Gavin went screaming and yelling into the Wilderness, but it was too late. Kylie was torn to shreds. Talen saw it all happen. Desmond tried to shield her as best as he could but the horror was already imprinted on the child. For some reason, she didn’t hate the jaka-shoom. For a moment she bonded with it. She asked to be let go and it was prepared to do so. Whether or not it would have, she can’t be certain. Still, she got through to it. It was the first real taste of her communicating with a Wilderness beast without actually talking to one.

  When Talen would play with Remy and Desmond, she’d often talk to woodland animals. Mostly deer, rabbits, and wolves. For fun, she’d tell them to chase after the two princes. She never made the connection then that she could actually talk to animals. She figured it was pure coincidence that they listened. Until one day, when a wolf came too close and grabbed Remy.

  Talen yelled at the wolf to let him go. The wolf shouted back that it was hungry and that all the prey animals were gone. Talen told the wolf to wait a few more minutes until she could go steal some meat for it. She went into the abattoir and took out a rack of ribs that was supposed to be brought up to the palace. She carried it over her tiny shoulders until she got to the wolf. Thankfully the wolf hadn’t eaten Remy. She laid the ribs down and the wolf went to devouring them. She said she’d continue feeding him until the rabbits and deer returned.

  What she had with the woodland animals felt special to her. She didn’t want to share it with anyone. She pretended to be dumbfounded about the whole thing when Desmond confronted her about his suspicions.

  All of those memories of Talen and Remy playing together, along with Desmond were taken away when the elder mage cast his spell. They weren’t truly gone though. No one can take away a memory forever. Not even the Masters. But they can plant new memories through the temptations that you give into on the dark path.

  Talen comes out of her memories and remembers she is on the dark path.

  Talen and Remy look at each other.

  “They’re starting to realize the truth,” Logan says.

  “Talen, don’t give in to the temptation,” Desmond says.

  The dark path takes hold over Kip. Bringing him back to his beginning and his mother’s death.

  Kip was the last egg to hatch. His mother didn’t think he would ever come along. All of the other dragon mothers were teaching their babies about hunting, while Kip’s mother kept a close watch on her egg. Making sure the egg was kept warm at all times. Kip’s father was the leader of the dragons. It put his leadership in jeopardy. To not have his son or daughter hatched first. Deep down his mother knew that all things must come as they will. You can never force them. His father was too impatient.

  And then one day the egg hatched. His mother was overjoyed. His father was proud. Kip was larger than the other babies. That supported the claim that a strong leader was in the works. If the egg had not made it, another egg may not follow. Dragons didn’t produce children the way humans did. It took time. It took precise maneuvers. The moon affected the females’ cycle. The sun affected the males’ performance. Sunset was the ideal time to mate.

  Kip’s mother taught him about humans. She wanted to establish that humans are not the enemy, despite some of them being bad. He had to respect all living things but maintain his role in the cycle of life. She briefly spoke about the Masters and how they fit into the creation of life. How they can talk to any animal and ensure that all sacred animals are protected.

  Kip was rather rambunctious. Constantly pestering the other dragons. The only time he was obedient was when he was sleeping. That was when his father gave him the nickname Kip. Since kip meant nap. For the first few months of a dragon’s life their mother is the teacher for all things. The father takes over when it’s time for the infant to fly.

  When the tide turned on the dragons and the Duggs put them underground, Kip’s mother knew she had to save everyone. The Duggs administered their poison and kept them subdued. The infants weren’t poisoned. Seeing how helpless they were, they were left with their parents, but Kip’s mother knew the infants wouldn’t always be spared.

  Kip’s father knew his mate’s mind before she spoke the words. He disagreed with her wanting to escape. Reminded her of how dangerous it was. How he didn’t want to be separated from his child.

  When word got out that a mother dragon was looking to escape, Kip’s mother wondered how anyone could know. No one here spoke to dragons or could hear them speak. Then she saw the only person who could have heard them.

  A Master sat in the corner of the cave. He kept his face under a hooded robe but she knew it was a Master. He was speaking to her while speaking to the Duggs. Warning her to remain where she was or her baby would be killed. Feeling betrayed by a person who was me
ant to keep the sacred beasts safe, she became enraged. The Master instructed the Duggs to kill all of the mothers with infants. Kip’s father charged over to the Master. The chains on his legs stopped him before he could reach the hooded man. He begged the Master to show mercy. The Master instructed that Kip’s father be given more poison seeing that his size and vigor was fighting against the effects of the first dose.

  Kip’s mother also managed to fight against the poison. She broke free of her chains and crashed through the dirt wall at the back. She had Kip tight in her claws.

  She flew to the only place she felt she would be safe at.

  Upon landing at Dragmoore, she panicked. The farmers scattered. The sight of a dragon surprised them and they weren’t sure if they could trust it. She was hungry. The Duggs practically starved the dragons. She told Kip to hide somewhere. He ran to nearby bushes. She sniffed out Gavin. Then saw Talen. She could sense she was a Master even though Talen didn’t know it yet. The dragon was prepared to tell her. Tales of Gavin had reached her ears from afar. But then a man had grabbed Talen forcefully, causing her distress. She roared and let out a fireball. She and Talen touched. She could feel the bond between Talen and Kip. They hadn’t met and the bond was already there.

  The guards were coming. Talen told her to run away. She took flight and landed in the Wilderness. Kip darted across the farmland during the chaos. He hid in bushes near his mother.

  Gavin came into the Wilderness and tried talking to her. He didn’t possess the gift his daughter had. The guards never came. Another human did, however. He was dressed in black and he aimed a black arrow at her. Gavin was aiming an arrow of his own at her. He was being defensive. She didn’t blame him. They couldn’t relate to each other to show that neither meant no harm. Gavin knew that killing a dragon was the worst offence ever. He’d die for it. She sensed the pain of loss on him. After all these years, he still felt it. He fired his arrow off but he missed, on purpose. It was the black arrow that ended her life. She fell to the ground.

  Kip comes out of his memories and looks at Talen. The bond was already there. He can’t abandon her.