by J D Franx
“The Ancients are not gods.” Duchess Vakaran sighed. She slumped to the floor, and Kael watched as all the fight had left her body.”
“No, they are not,” he said, glancing over his shoulder to Corleya, but she was gone. Panicking, he quickly searched for her, but she was nowhere in sight. “Alia!” he whispered. “You see where Corleya went?”
The mercenary shook her head and gasped as she pointed below.
“Grand Duke Sheering.” Corleya’s voice echoed off the meeting hall walls all the way back to Kael and Alia.
“Ah, shit,” Kael muttered and slipped around the gargoyle to Alia. “Get as close as you can to her but stay hidden for now.”
“Agreed.” She hesitated before moving.
“You’ll know it when it happens,” he said. She nodded and left while Kael watched the nightmare unfolding below him.
“You will stand down and surrender my father’s throne. As heir to the Cethosian monarchy, I demand it,” Corleya ordered.
Duke Sheering laughed. “You look like a street rat, young one. I think you will be executed for entering the palace proper without royal consent.”
“You know full well who I am, Sheering,” Corleya persisted. “Your coup and Duchess Vakaran’s rebellion are both irrelevant. I am alive, and I am home. It matters not what either of you believe.”
The self-declared king smiled at what could only be his second Pillar. The Wizard nodded to the shadows, and a man dressed in black leather armor, hood, and mask slid through the dark toward Corleya. From what Kael knew, it had to be the Hunter, Sheering’s Fifth Pillar of Rule. Lycori told him that the Hunter’s black mask was the mark of the royal assassins.
“Shit.” Kael cursed a second time while the Hunter closed on the Princess. The man moved almost as fast as he could. Kael readied himself to act when Corleya rubbed her neck and turned toward the Hunter as if she sensed him. The Hunter froze at the edge of the darkening shadows. Kael recognized the magic and knew it gave the Hunter extra cover, like Sephi had done for him in Dasal so long ago.
The stone gargoyle under Kael’s hand shivered, and he turned toward it slowly. The statue’s eye blinked, and it dawned on him what King Bale meant when he said I made them stir once.
Corleya turned back toward King Sheering and the Hunter moved. Kael followed, immediately vanishing in a cloud of black and knowing he would be too late. He stepped through the black and wrapped his arms around Corleya. The Hunter’s blade entered his back instead hers. The crack of Alia’s whip hit his ears, and he heard the Hunter grunt. Corleya whirled and grabbed him in her arms.
“Kael!”
“The gargoyles,” he hissed as his legs gave out. Already, Sheering’s Knight was headed their way. “The Citadel’s magic are the gargoyles. Call them to help you.”
Corleya looked to the second-floor terrace and then back to him. He nodded, and she closed her eyes.
Kael dragged himself aside, letting Alia step in to engage the Knight. Stretching, he grasped the knife in his back and pulled. It snapped in his shoulder, leaving him holding the all too familiar hilt—complete with broken blade.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” he muttered to himself. Dropping the hilt, he reached back, again, and managed to dig his finger into the wound far enough to hook one of the barbed edges. Pouring magical strength into his hand, he screamed and tore the broken blade free.
“Too close, goddammit.” He cursed as the wooden blade fell from his trembling fingers. “Goddamn dirty assassins.” A flash caught his attention, and in his peripheral vision, he saw the Hunter struggling on the floor while he choked to death in the wraps of Alia’s whip. He grinned at the bastard’s predicament, but quickly shifted his attention to the young mercenary. With only one whip, he knew she would never stay ahead of the Knight, and he was right. She was forced to back-peddle toward Kael as she defended against each stroke of the Knight’s sword.
It quickly did not matter, and he chuckled as a massive stone claw appeared over the terrace railing. The stone claw cracked apart to reveal shining black skin. Corleya opened her eyes and beamed. Gargoyles all across the Cascade Citadel awoke with one goal in mind: to replace the blood of a Bale to the throne and to keep her there. The magic flowing from the castle into Corleya made him dizzy—or it could have been the loss of blood and Broken Blade toxin, he was not sure. Either way, the Princess was pulling massive amounts of magic from the castle itself.
A dozen black and gray gargoyles dropped to the hall floor. Two landed on the Knight and pummeled the first Pillar. Kael snorted. The two monsters behaved like massive gorillas from Earth, and they fought the same way as they hammered the Knight into the floor with heavy black fists until only a bloody pile of flattened plate armor remained. Black gargoyles rushed the throne and set upon the Duke and his wizard. Both were torn to shreds in the time it took for Kael to blink through the haze working its way over his eyes. Corleya’s voice boomed out, cutting through his fog-riddled mind. He did not doubt for a second that every person in the castle could hear her.
“Lay down your weapons and surrender or they will continue to kill. I am Corleya Bale, daughter of King Joran Bale. My father is dead, and I am the rightful ruler of Cethos.”
The guards in the meeting hall obeyed instantly, and Kael could sense only a handful of holdouts throughout the room. All were mercenaries, and each of them died in a matter of seconds.
“Kael.” Corleya gasped as she ran to his side. “Why didn’t your armor stop his blade?”
He held up the broken wooden blade. “Seems Sheering’s Hunter was a Broken Blade assassin.”
“Will you heal?” she asked.
He shrugged, too exhausted to answer.
“Perhaps I can help,” a young woman said as she approached. “I was to be the new Priestess. Let me help you.”
Kael nodded as his consciousness fluttered. “The King...” he began, but finally gave up as darkness took over.
ROYAL RESIDENCE WING
CASCADE CITADEL
Kael awoke in a bed far more comfortable than any he could remember. The luxury was short-lived as he opened his eyes and saw a dozen hooded wizards circled the bed. Magic flowed from their hands and enveloped his body and the bed underneath him.
“Wizard’s Council. Shit.” He groaned and lay back, too exhausted to fight them.
“Yes, Kael,” a voice croaked. The voice had a familiar edge to it. “These are the senior members of Talohna’s Wizard Council. All are master wizards. Please, do not fight them. It is for your own good.”
“Where’s Corleya?” he barked.
“That would be Queen Bale, Kael. You are a guest in her castle. I suggest you use a modicum of a respect.”
“Guest?” Kael snorted as he glanced at the wizards around him. Considering he was weak and utterly exhausted, he guessed they were suppressing him and his magic somehow.
“Yes. You are a guest. When you are back on your feet, I will take you to her. You have my promise.”
Kael scoffed. “The word of any wizard from this country is worthless.”
“How about the word of an old friend?” the voice said while he stepped between two of the wizards. He lowered his hood and smiled.
“Galen!” Kael gasped. “I thought you were dead.”
“And I, you.”
“What about Kalmar? Did he make it, too?”
“Yes,” Galen laughed. “We made it together. Took us a long time to get home.”
“Where is he? I’ll have to see him before I leave.”
“You won’t,” Galen replied. “He’s in southern Yusat with the bulk of the royal army. They were watching the peace border from the Wildlanders threatening war. Queen Bale has since called them home.”
“Yeah… sorry about that,” Kael said as he winced.
“As am I, and I imagine Queen Bale is as well,” Galen added.
“Wow,” he said. “Guess we all screwed up. You and Kalmar?”
Galen nodde
d. “We had to... ah... defend ourselves.” His voice dropped as he glanced over his shoulder. “Stole some horses, killed a chief’s son... took a spear to the throat...” Galen croaked and coughed, again. His finger trailed along a nasty but aged scar.
“Holy shit,” Kael whispered. “Your voice? That what happened?”
Galen sighed as he sank to the chair beside Kael’s bed. “No. Not so funny enough… that’s from the same as you. Though, there weren’t two dozen wizards and a Priestess around when I got the blade.” Kael frowned, confused. It prompted Galen to pull his robe to the side at his neck. A familiar but very fresh scar marred the opposite side of his throat. Involuntarily, Kael reached for his own as his old friend continued. “I was in court when Sheering made his move on King Bale. Broken Blade assassins took out every Pillar and wizard present.” Galen touched his scar, again. “When King Bale’s wizard fell, I turned my head the second before a wooden blade entered my neck. Because of that, it missed my spine, but between the blade’s toxin and the damage to my throat... well, our new Priestess says Lady Lykke kept me alive.”
“Wait,” Kael said. “New Priestess? How long have I been out?”
“Three days,” Galen answered. “These wizards and the Priestess have been shifting in and out to remove the toxin from your body. Every time we got ahead of it and stopped, it grew in strength and you would fall deeper into a coma. The Priestess said the poison should be purged from your system by morning. It’s strange. It’s almost as if it were designed specifically to kill you or your kind. They cleared it from my system in just an hour. If King Bale’s old Priestess didn’t have the knowledge of lost magic she had, we would have died. No one would have even realized the wooden blades carry a toxin—it is a bit unnecessary if you ask me. Apparently, King Bale had a reason to speak with his Priestess about it years ago and she passed it along to all potential candidates for our new queen.”
“Fate, maybe, huh?” Kael asked as he laughed.
“I doubt the Ladies of Fate weave so deeply that they pull every single person’s strings, but maybe a nudge?”
Galen smiled, and Kael relaxed for the first time in longer than he could remember.
“I am sorry for the scare when you woke. With what we have been hearing, I had to be sure that you… well, that you were still the you I knew,” Galen said as his cheeks flushed.
“Probably a good call,” Kael muttered. “Cause I’m not.”
“I imagine not. Feel well enough to catch me up?”
“Of course. Once your wizards are done, yeah?”
Galen nodded. “Of course. We shall talk in the morning,” he said. He got up to leave but stopped. “Kael?”
“Yeah?”
“Would you ask the DragonKin about Giddeon, Saleece, and Kasik, if I asked you to?”
“I promised King Bale I would before he died, so, yes,” he replied. He could see Galen wanted to ask him something. He already knew the question, so he shook his head. “I won’t promise you anything, Galen. I can’t. If I get my hands on Giddeon.”
“I understand, Kael. I do. I know he drove you right into Sythrnax. What we went through at Arkum Zul...” Tears welled up in his eyes, and Kael had to look away. “I understand. We will need them. Giddeon, too. Try to see that far ahead.”
“You know that Kyah was a Dead Sister?” he asked.
“Heard rumors for a while now, yeah,” Galen said, wiping at his eyes.
“I have a hard time seeing that far ahead, Galen,” he stated. “It seems like every time I do, those I trust the most reveal their true selves—in a bad way. Giddeon will answer my questions one day and so will Sythrnax. What happens beyond that? I really don’t care. Loyalty seems to be a forgotten concept in Talohna.”
Galen offered his hand, and Kael took it. “Not for everyone. I will never hold that against you,” his old friend said. “You will never have to worry where my loyalty lies. It will never change.”
“I know,” Kael said and shook Galen’s hand. “Now, let me get some rest so we can catch up in the morning, yeah?”
The wizard nodded and left as a young boy entered his room to change Kael’s water jug. The boy offered him another pillow, and he nodded while the young servant slid it behind his head. As the boy bent under the bed to check the chamber pot, Kael relaxed and closed his eyes from utter exhaustion.
He was asleep before the boy left his room.
ABANDONED WAREHOUSE
GUTTERTOWN, CORYNTH
“Did you get it?” the old man snarled as Tanner rushed into the abandoned warehouse. He quickly closed his mouth when the terrifying woman walked in behind him. She had escorted Tanner to the castle and helped him get the servant job.
“Of course, he got it,” Merethyl snapped. “It was a simple task.”
“The boy has returned?” Ghul said.
Tanner nodded and slowly approached both men. He pulled a black crystal from inside his new servant uniform and handed it the Ghul.
“You both may leave. But, Merethyl, stay nearby and let me know when our friends arrive in the city,” Ghul ordered. Tanner watched them leave. He relaxed as the woman closed the door behind her, but nearly lost control of his bowels when the Ghul looked down on him.
“Come,” he said, leading him into the back room where Kenna lay motionless on a wooden table. “We will try and help your sister.”
“She looks dead,” Tanner said. His voice trembled, and he wiped tears from his eyes.
The Ghul glanced over his shoulder with his frightening purple eyes and nodded. Tanner had to clench his butt cheeks even tighter.
“She is on the cusp of life,” the Ghul answered. “I know of only one way to save her, young one.”
“Please,” he begged. “She is all I have left.”
“She will feel agony unlike any in her life, and she may still die. If she survives, she may be changed. I have never done this before. Would you like me to proceed?”
Tanner nodded. “Please… I cannot...”
“I understand,” the Ghul said. “Now come, help me tie her down so she will not hurt herself when the magic begins to work.”
Tanner nodded again and grabbed the strap by Kenna’s chest. “I am sorry, sister,” he said and settled the strap across her chest. “I need you to get better, so we can leave this city someday.” He pulled the strap through the buckle, securing her to the table as the Ghul finished her feet and hands.
“Stand back, young one,” the creature ordered and eased Tanner backward until he came up against the wall.
Tanner’s stomach leapt into this throat as the Ghul drew a wicked hooked dagger from his belt. He took a step forward as the creature placed the knife to his sister’s belly, but he quickly stopped as the Ghul cut open Kenna’s shirt and exposed her upper body. The Ghul set the black stone Tanner had stolen from the injured man in the castle onto Kenna’s chest.
“Remember,” the Ghul said. “Do not interrupt the magic—no matter how much your sister screams or what happens. Understand?”
Too terrified to answer, Tanner nodded.
“Then, we shall begin.”
The Ghul chanted, and Tanner stared in utter horror as long black tendrils of magic grew from the dark crystal on his sister’s chest. Like the fronds on the small dragon lizards outside of the city, the black tendrils moved back and forth. The Ghul’s chanting increased in speed as the dark tentacles plunged into Kenna’s chest. Tanner slapped both hands to his mouth to avoid crying out while her body jerked and thrashed.
“Help me hold her down, boy!” the Ghul snapped. “Hurry.”
Tanner jumped forward and grabbed his sister’s arms, pressing his body to hers.
“Watch the magic, dosa!” the Ghul barked and dragged Tanner off his sister by his hair. “Just hold her arms.”
“I am sorry!” he cried out as Kenna’s body continued to spasm.
“This isn’t right. What did you do with the stone?” the Ghul snarled.
“Nothing,” he
wailed. Tanner jumped back as several silver spikes leapt from the stone and plunged into Kenna. “Help her please!”
“Impossible…” Ghul whispered. He stepped back as a silver-scaled serpent slid from the stone but remained a part of the dark crystal. “It cannot be...” He grabbed Tanner by the neck and lifted from the ground. “The man you took this stone from! Who was he? What did he look like? A name! Did you get a name?”
“No, no,” Tanner begged. “Please—”
The Ghul tossed him to the floor and spun back to Kenna but got too close. The silver serpent lashed out and struck him on the cheek as a detonation exploded outside. The door out in the warehouse opened, and moments later, Merethyl rushed into the small room.
“They’re here!” she said. “You have to gain control of them or this will not work.”
The Ghul growled. “Stay here with him and stay away from the girl until the process is complete. I’ll be back once I calm the Vascuul.” He turned and ran from the room. The last thing Tanner saw of him was his long robes as they disappeared out the door.
“Intriguing,” Merethyl whispered as the silver serpent lashed at her. She stepped forward for a closer look, but Tanner grasped her hand.
“Stay away,” he pleaded.
Merethyl smacked him to the floor. “Do not touch me, cretin! Do you even know what is happening here? I doubt your pathetic little mind could even begin to comprehend it.”
Tanner grabbed his face and struggled not to sob. “He is healing her!”
The door out in the warehouse opened again. “Merethyl?” Magkahn Droverson yelled.
“Here, Mags,” Merethyl answered.
A mousy haired woman entered the room and smiled. “The attack has begun. The Queen is already pulling back her forces to guard the marketplace.”
“Good,” Merethyl replied.
“I will not let you take her,” Tanner said and stood, ready to protect his sister.
“You pathetic little piece of slim-rot. The Ghul is creating a new life from within the wasted life owned by your sister. A new species of Vascuul, created by using the most powerful dark magic to ever exist. She will belong to my guild.”