by Ben Alderson
The roar lit up the night, shaking the very world around me. Shadows of three figures moved within the tent, highlighted by the candle light within.
Throwing open the tents entrance I took in the scene before me. Emaline lay sprawled across the carpeted ground, dagger stabbed through her stomach. Illera, in lioness form, tossed her monstrous head from side to side as she shook the lump of flesh she held in her mouth.
By the time she spat it out I had already unleashed my own magick and aimed it at the figure. My air lifted him from the ground, causing the flame of candles to flash over its face.
Simian’s face.
Black smoke snaked from his eyeless sockets, matching the slithers of smoke which bled from his wounds instead of red blood. His veins, prominent and black, protruded from his skin. He snarled, full of dark power. His body was still in the grips of death, but that no longer mattered. Not when the Druid now controlled him.
“What a welcome.” Gordex’s voice seeped out from his puppet. “How grand it is to see you again, my boy. And here I was thinking it would have been sooner. But I did tell you that timing is key.”
Pure anger was my reaction. It exploded from me as I screamed towards Simian’s body. The tent ripped from the ground, leaving us all exposed to the night and sky. I no longer worried about Hadrian, Emaline or Illera. My focus was on Simian and the deranged power that riddled throughout him.
“How beautiful anger looks on you. It blossoms with such grace. I am proud—”
“Enough,” I cried, throwing my arms forward and with it my storm of power. It ripped sand from the ground beneath me and with a simple turn of my palms I directed it to spin in a vortex around us. It blocked out everyone else. I didn’t want them to see what I was to do.
“Where are you hiding, Druid?” I spat.
“When you seem so irritated towards me? Why would I divulge that information to you?”
I began to close my fist, which caused my control vortex to close in on us. It wouldn’t harm me. But Simian, it would scratch away at his remaining skin until he was nothing but bone and shadow.
“You are close. I know you are.” He couldn’t control his shadowbeings at a distance. He’d told me that himself back in Lilioira.
“And you are alert, as I have always told you.”
I screamed my frustration, bending my knees and thrusting my hands upwards. His compliments urged my anger on.
My mixed emotions caused the air to lift Simian’s body from the floor until he dangled inches above it. His emotionless face did not seem bothered because in death he would not feel this. But I knew Gordex was watching through his eyeless sockets. Let me show him exactly what the power he had given me could do.
“I often think about my Alina. She was a kind woman. She’d do anything to please me, anything. Then I think about you and your powers. How you revealed yourself to me that day in the throne room of Vulmar palace. What a dreary place that was. Do you remember how it felt when you killed her? Do you ever dream of the lingering strength that follows when taking a life—”
“Quiet,” I sneered, looking through my lashes as my air imprisoned the shadowbeing.
My winds picked up, mirroring my growing anxiety.
“I hungered for that power, and now I share in it with you. As I share in your Prince’s and Marthil’s. And soon, the final piece will fall into place.”
Gordex had always enjoyed sharing in his achievements, but this was sick. Warped and strange.
“You will never get to Emaline, I promise that.”
“Will I not? That promise is moments too late my boy,” Gordex said, his voice full of amusement as it slipped through Simian’s unmoving mouth.
A vision of Emaline on the floor beyond my vortex broke through my mind. The dagger. All at once I wanted to drop this power and check on her. I’d been blinded by Gordex’s presence that I pushed her to the back of my mind.
Gordex’s laugh brought me back from my mind. “You are a dream, my boy. So easily distracted.”
Then Simian’s body sagged, the black smoke disappearing all at once. Gordex was gone.
Taking a deep breath, I was able to push my anger down enough to lower my winds. I could see beyond at once at the many soldiers who stood around, weapons drawn and shifters ready.
I could not see Emaline or Illera, but Hadrian stood waiting with golden blood spilled across his hands and a face to match that shock that mine must have shown.
Simian’s body thumped to the ground, and out the corner of my eye I watched a handful of soldiers rush it. He would not be a bother now, but I would have his head removed in case of Gordex’s return.
“Where is she?” I asked Hadrian, still pushing my winds down. The silver strands that filled the air around me were pesky and unresponsive, revealing in their freedom for the moments they could.
“The dagger, Petal, it was the same one you and Emaline had pulled from Simian’s neck.”
“No,” I breathed, winds picking up with my anger once again. My knees almost gave way, the realization slamming into me.
“I had to remove it, but Emaline is still not responding.” It explained the gilded blood that dripped across his hands. Alorian blood. Emaline’s blood. “Nyah has been sent with her to keep check on her. I worry when she comes around, it will be too late. The gold would have tainted her.”
“Heart Magick,” I said, my words no more than a whisper. “Hers will be free.”
Hadrian closed his eyes and nodded, sighing in defeat.
“We’ve failed before it even began.”
Hadrian grabbed a hold of me, taking my shoulders in his large hands to calm me down. “Stop it, Zacriah.” His use of my full name shocked me into silence. “This is no one’s fault. We were not to know that Gordex could control a body from such a distance. Only with hindsight could we have stopped him.”
“You are wrong.” Tears of frustration and panic for Emaline slid down my checks. “Gordex is not far. He is here. It Is the only way he could control Simian.”
“Are you certain?”
I simply closed my eyes in response. From what I’d seen and heard whilst in Gordex’s presence, I knew the limits of his compulsion of the dead. He was here, and now he had Emaline we’d be seeing him in the flesh soon enough. That I was sure of.
EMALINE’S DARK SKIN was coated in a thick layer of sweat. Shadowed circles ringed her closed eyes below the four lines that had creased her forehead as she struggled with her pains.
Her agony was written in every wrinkle, mark and flutter of her lids. Her expression was one of pure horror.
Illera sat at the side of the cot, holding Emaline’s hand in both of hers. Occasionally she would release one hand, so she was free to dab the sweat from Emaline’s upper lip and forehead with the cool cloth the Morthi healers had provided on their short, brief visit. Even the King’s healers were not allowed to stay away from the city for long.
Someone had cut away at the material of her tunic to reveal her stomach which was now covered in layers of swab and material to stunt the flow of gold-tinged blood. We had been waiting for the return of a healer who was going to stitch the wound back together, but with each passing second, I was closer to helping myself.
“I can feel it trying to take over,” Emaline mumbled in her state of hysteria. She pulled a hand free which shook as she pointed above her stomach. “It feels cold inside. I am trying to fight it.”
I’d seen many civilians from my own home to know what deliria looked like. Emaline was in the rough fringes of it as we all looked down upon her.
“Shh,” Illera cooed beside her. Tears leaked from her eyes, dribbled down her cheeks which proceeded to fall to the ground in quick succession. “You need to get some sleep. Rest is going to help you, Emaline.”
“I’m scared.”
I clapped a hand over my mouth to stifle my cry.
Illera leaned forward and buried her head in Emaline’s chest. Her shoulders shook as more torrential sob
s took her over. Emaline tried to raise a hand to comfort Illera, but she winced at the movement and released a labored breath of pain.
“Will you stay with me? Will you keep me safe in the darkness?” Emaline whispered, face paling.
I bit down on my finger, trying not to cry myself. Hadrian pressed himself up behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist as we watched the two before us share in this desperate moment.
“What kind of question is that? I will be here to slay the monsters and vanquish the dark. Just make sure you stay with me because I might need saving as well.”
The corner of Emaline’s lip lifted. “Don’t fret. I am not going anywhere for long. I just need to sleep this off.”
I admired Emaline’s act of bravery. We knew she would pull through, for Gordex would not want her dead.
Perhaps that was why the Morthi healers were not helping as efficiently as they should have been. Maybe the King told them not to, to keep Gordex at bay for as long as possible. But I couldn’t just watch this. The bulbs in my breast pocket would help Emaline heal, but it was a double-edged sword. If she pulled through and her Heart Magick was free, then Gordex would come. But to have any luck at winning this fight we needed both Emaline’s mind and brawn.
“I am sick of waiting for someone to sweep in from Vcaros and help her.” I couldn’t hide my annoyance. Seeing someone, someone I cared about, in so much pain stirred me the wrong way. “Marthil left Forbian on the ship. That was how she was able to regain her strength, enough for her to break out. Here.” I pulled two bulbs for luck from my pocket and presented it to Illera who looked confused.
“What do you want me to do with that? I haven’t a clue how to make that edible.”
“Nor do I, but it is best she takes it in raw form than leave her to drown in her pain. She will heal quicker if she takes it,” I said.
“Tell me why you think I am going to let you feed that to her when you or I have no clue just how the herb will affect her in its raw form. You don’t know of the side effects, or dosage. No, we will wait for the proper healers to arrive.” Illera put her foot down on my idea, but I still had room to persist.
“Illera, listen. I know you are upset right now. I get it. But there is a possibility that this darkness she is mumbling about is Heart Magick. The longer we leave her to fight it, the weaker she will become, and the more likely it will take over. I strongly suggest we give this to her.”
I didn’t want to admit aloud that it was likely too late for Emaline.
Illera spared Emaline a glance, one full of pity and sadness. It was interesting how quick her iron wall could be replaced when she looked anywhere else, but the moment she looked to Emaline, she melted like fresh butter over a fire.
“Do you trust me, Illera? If I truly believed this would harm Emaline, I would never suggest it.”
Illera took a moment to respond. She furrowed her brows above her sad eyes and nodded, more like she gave up then agreed.
“I promise you, Zacriah, if you hurt her…”
Fadine did not need to finish her threat.
I reached out and touched her shoulder. “Trust in me as I trusted in you.”
She smiled weakly then stood so fast her stool almost toppled over. “I’m not watching.”
Illera walked herself to the corner of the room, where she stood with her arms crossed and knuckles in her mouth. I spared her a sympathetic glance but turned my attention to Emaline and the bulbs in my hand.
“Emaline, I am going to feed you something, and I want you to try your best to swallow it. Do you think you can do that for me?”
I waited for a nod of approval or her to audible agree but the very best I got was her closed eyes squinting as her dream scape held her captive.
“Hadrian, help me lift her head. I don’t want her choking.”
I focused on my shift, trying to capture it within my hand. My skin replaced with scales and nails elongated into sharp points. The rush of euphoria was heavy with this shift. My secondary form thrilled with being free for this moment.
With the added strength I placed the two juicy bulbs within my fist and clenched it tight. I was sure the entire camp could hear the noises that followed. The squelching of wet against dry. The loud crunches of the flowers petals which had dried slightly since I had picked them.
I could feel the Forbian juices dribbling amongst the lines of my palm, some even escaping and dripping on the floor no matter how hard I held my hand closed.
I lifted my fist slowly above Emaline’s mouth which was gray and blue. A splash of the juices fell and landed on her bottom lip in one fat droplet. Soon after her pink tongue lapped it up, her mouth opened slightly, expecting more.
I soon relaxed my fist enough for the juices to fall free into her waiting mouth. The purple juices mostly went in, except for the few drops that ran down the side of her cheeks and stained the white pillows with its intense color.
All that was left with the pulp of the bulbs and I didn’t want to give that to her. I had never eaten Forbian, only taken its juices so this would have to do. Even in the few moments that followed, I could see the rich color of her beautiful skin coming back to its once glory. Her cheeks flushed with life, and the dull tones of her lips faded back into the plush pinks they once were.
“That should be enough. We need to let her rest now, and she should start coming around soon enough. Illera, will you call for us when she wakes?” I asked.
Even from her distance I could see Illera roll her eyes. “If she wakes...”
“She will, in time,” I replied. “Call us if you need anything. I will come back and check on her soon enough, but I need to make sure we are prepared for anything in the meantime.”
Hadrian wrapped his arm around me and guided me towards the tents entrance just as Illera called back for me. “Zac, wait. Before you go I need something of you.”
“What is it?”
“If Marthil or Gordex come back, send someone for me. I have something I would like to tell them.”
I stared at her, unblinking, “There may be a line waiting for a conversation with them both.”
“So be it. I can wait and when it is my turn I will unleash everything I have to say… do to them.”
I was certain her skin rippled, teeth flashing sharp for a moment.
That was all she said before turning her attention to Emaline again.
Hadrian muttered in my ear as we walked into the cold nightly air beyond the tent, “Your quick thinking may have helped Emaline before it was too late. I am really proud of you.”
“Hold back your pride, it may be premature. We don’t know if it is too late.”
Hadrian clicked his tongue and looked into the dark sky, admiring the many stars and what would be hiding amongst them. “If Emaline’s Heart Magick was free already, then Gordex would be here. I have no doubt in my mind that he would not wait until she got back to full strength—”
“Wait. Say that again.”
“Gordex would be here already?”
“No, the part after that,” I said.
“He would not wait until Emaline was back to her full strength.”
“Why is he waiting? Why does he possibly need the Dragori at their full potential for his sick plans to work? If he just needed our magick for the ritual to work, then he could do it with us dead, sick and weak. But he wants us all alive. He needs us all for something, he needs more than our magick.”
One simple comment caused a chain reaction of other ideas to fall into place in my head.
“We need to gather what remains of the New Council before Emaline heals. Because when she does, I have no doubt that Gordex will be here, waiting and ready. And we need to be as well.”
THE AIR BETWEEN the New Council twanged with tension. It was so thick even the dullest of blades could’ve cut through it.
Hadrian had stepped back, allowing me to take control of the urgent topics. Which also gave me a say of who else joined. With Simian gone, the
council was unbalanced. Following Hadrian’s original intentions, I asked for Nyah to fill the spot as she was as much as shifter as Simian.
“Kell, will you tell us of Vcaros’s comments? We have not noticed an increase in numbers within our ranks which leads me to think we are not getting help sent anyway,” I said.
“That is what I believed until word of Paytric and his willing offer to help has reached the people. Warriors have been requested for you. They’ll be sent to us with haste. We should expect them before dawn.”
“That may be too late.” Hadrian splayed his hands on the oaken table and straightened his back. I could see just how tired he was. The entire council looked exhausted. How could we fight in such a state?
“Better late than never.” Fadine scoffed from her seat, her helmet resting on her armored lap. “What Hadrian means is ‘thank you’. Thank you for adding your numbers to ours. My men and woman will be thankful to have others next to them on the battle field.”
“Preciously,” Vianne said. “And what of Simian’s body? After what has happened, I have heard whispers that your soldiers do not want it near them in case the undead beast returns.”
“That will not happen. I have seen to it that Simian will no longer be a pawn for Gordex and his dark power. He has been taken care of.”
I turned to Hadrian whose amber eyes pierced the shadows he sat amongst. No one needed to ask more on Hadrian’s comments. There was only one way to prevent the shadowbeings from returning ever again.
“We must all be prepared for a strike at any moment. Gordex’s ability to control his shadowbeings is dependent on his distance from the dead. For him to control Simian would suggest that he is close by.” Even saying it aloud made the hairs on the back of my neck stand to attention. As if a cold breeze tickled my skin, haunting.
“How do we fight a shadow?” Nyah said, head bowed in defeat.
“With light.”
We all turned to the tent’s entrance as Emaline walked in, her arm wrapped around Illera’s shoulder who helped her in.
“Emaline, you should be resting.” I stood abruptly.