Fallen Sepulchre

by J D Franx

  Kael struggled to control his anger when he understood the Ancients were already far out of reach. “What will they do after that?” he asked through clenched teeth.

  “After what?” Yrlissa asked. “After they establish themselves as Talohna’s living gods? I would imagine the Syddic Order and the Sect Priestesses will try to find a way to cross the Kasym safely. Once they do...”

  Kael shook his head. “Treach? You’re awful quiet.”

  Scratching his jaw, the newcomer winced. “Ancients. Ri’Tek. Matter not what you call them. For years of thousands, they had one goal: free what was taken from them by me and Niis.”

  Kael lifted his hand and muttered, “This.” Silver and purple magic blazed to life in his hands and turned on him, snapping and lashing like an angry viper. Banishing the volatile magic, he shook his head, again. “They want their magic back.”

  “All they care about,” Treach added.

  “Then, we need to find the Lost,” Kael said. “If anyone will know how to stop them—”

  “And to teach you to use yours,” Treach added. “Without mine, I cannot.”

  “Yeah.” Kael sighed. “So you said. We have to find them, which means we have to cross the Kasym one more time and without magic.”

  “I disagree—” Giddeon began, but Ember cut him off.

  “What a surprise,” she quipped.

  Kael turned, disgusted. “Let me guess? Talohna’s only ArchWizard thinks he has a better idea.”

  Giddeon stood his ground. “I know I’ve made mistakes, Kael, but this is different. We need to unite Talohna and convince them the threat is real. Look,” he said, gesturing across the sea. “Havarrow has at least three dozen longboats heading back to his ships for a second load.”

  Yrlissa shook her head. “I never imagined so many Ri’Tek would survive the far side of the Animus seals.”

  “You not see the full force of the Vascuul yet, either,” Treach added. “Kael see what they left of Dal Dagore. Dwarves had no chance. Vascuul travel underground to Tai Sa Neban.”

  “Through the Kasym?” Ember asked.

  Treach cocked his head to the side. “Vog tell Kael there is way through with magic. He do it. I not recommend you try jumping through Kasym, again,” he said, glaring at Kael.

  “Agreed,” Yrlissa said. “Jasala’s Sepulchre fell, Kael. The magic within the Kasym will be more volatile than ever. We can’t fight them without more numbers. Soldiers, warriors, wizards, even kings and queens... we need everyone who will listen. We need an army—a real army.”

  “Not this shit again,” Kael scoffed. “We've been over this. You will never unite these countries when most worship these bastards. Or worse, like in Cethos, where Queen Bale knows exactly who and what the Ancients are, but can’t do anything because ninety-nine percent of the population consider them their saviors.”

  “I can’t believe I am going to say this,” Yrlissa said, “but I agree with Giddeon.”

  Kael slapped his forehead. “Giddeon’s stupidity is not supposed to be contagious. What the hell is wrong with you two? Corynth burned for two days because of that thinking. Had Queen WhiteScale not arrived in time, I bet my life the Ri’Tek would have let Corynth burn instead of showing up to play the heroes by killing the so-called renegade Vascuul. They would have taken Eva either way. They only saved Corynth, so they could be heroes. The entire Elder and Wizard’s Councils along with all the nobility swallowed the Ancients’ charade hook, line, and sinker, Giddeon. You will never raise an army big enough in time without their support.”

  Ember gently touched Kael’s arm. “We have to try,” she told him. He could hear the determination in her voice. “It’ll take months to find a way into the Ancients’ Kingdom, and you have no idea where to look for the Lost.”

  Treach raised his right hand. “Not precisely accurate,” he said. “Kael know from time north. The Lost be found in northwest of Ancient Kingdom. Perhaps.”

  Kael frowned. He was starting to think the old god could read his mind.

  “What are you thinking, Kael?” Ember asked.

  “How long will Havarrow stay, Yrlissa?” he asked, still frowning.

  “Not long, I would expect,” she replied. “Only a fool would trust the Ri’Tek, and Dominique is no fool.”

  Kael chuckled. “No, he’s not, and the man does owe me a favor.”

  Yrlissa moved closer and took the length of braid hanging in front of his ear. “This is not yours,” she said, dumbfounded. Pulling the braid aside she leaned closer. “It’s threaded… a kreeda? Havarrow’s kreeda?”

  Kael nodded. “Yeah, it is.” He reached inside his travel pack and pulled out the scrimshaw charm Dominique had given him so many years ago. He handed it to Yrlissa. “I imagine Dominique will cool his sails at Rejtett Island after they leave. The islands location is on the back of the scrimshaw charm,” he said and pointed to the pirate’s fleet. “Go see if he’ll help us against the Ri’Tek. If you believe building an army is the answer, then at least start with the people who might agree to help us. Treach, Ember, and I will go look for the Lost.”

  Ember shook her head. “I can’t go with you, babe. If we’re going to build our army this way, then I know the first place to start.”

  “Of course,” Kael said, pushing his long hair from his eyes as Ember smiled. “Seifer Locke and Kyro Yorcali are sitting on the largest standing army in the northern half of Talohna.”

  “Elderblood wizard, gladiators, and Witch of White,” Treach said, nodding. “He owes you debt, too, Kael. Not refuse.”

  “Especially since Ember and Yrlissa saved his wife and returned her to him,” Kael said.

  “We are going to do this, then?” Giddeon asked, getting only nods. “Then, I will travel with you, Ember, if you don’t mind. I have an apology to offer a... friend... in Dasal.”

  Quiet up until that point, Lycori finally joined in the conversation. “You know I am with you,” she said as she stared at Kael.

  “Never a doubt,” he agreed. “Treach, I know you came with Ember this time, but are you sure you can travel with me when I jump?”

  “Worry not me. Demons not grab.”

  Kael snorted. “I was more worried about the Ether keeping your ass on the way through than actually hurting you. It is your home. I only use the underworld now to move during combat, and you wouldn’t be with me.” Kael laughed.

  For the first time in the weeks since they had met, Treach laughed, but for another reason. “Even so, your demons irrelevant. Ether hold no power over me like Talohna not hold you.”

  “I hope so, my friend. It has been nice having you along, especially now that your grasp of the common tongue is getting better.”

  “Take time,” Treach replied. “It be good be here. When we lock Ri’Tek magic away—not foresee nightmare they become. Even old god make mistake. We chance make right or die to try.”

  “Good enough then,” Kael said. “We have a plan, or at least the start of one. Let’s hope we have the time needed to complete it all. Thank you, all of you, for everything.”

  Getting a round of nods, he turned and walked to the far side of the towering stone pillars to look out at the ocean. It had been many years since he had trusted anyone that he had forgotten how good it felt. Sensing Ember behind him, he smiled.

  “You owe me a dance, handsome,” she said.

  He chuckled. “Those very words started this mess,” he said. “You realize that, right?”

  “Tinkers’ Bar, three years ago. Yes.”

  She slid her arm around his waist, and he sighed. “It’s been a lot longer for me. I’m sorry for being distant since...”

  “I know, babe,” she whispered, resting her head against his shoulder. “I just found you, and again, we have to go separate ways. Promise me it won’t end the same way this time.”

  “You know I can’t,” he told her. “But I can promise to do everything I can to get back alive.”

  “And I will do the same. But fo
r now, let’s go home. We haven’t stopped to rest since this all started—the glade where we found you, the fight at the Human seal, the past few weeks trying to find out when Havarrow would move, healing your throat after you jumped into my bed bleeding out, the race here... taking a day or two—or even ten—before we start will make no difference in time, but it will mean a world to us. I’ll also need that time to help you heal fully and to find a better solution to balance Reethor’s Ichor if we are going separate ways.”

  “Home.” He laughed, again. “Where is that? I never had a home here.”

  “My home will always be yours, Kael. Come with me to DormaSai. We will be safe there ,and I have begun building a life there. We can rebuild our life there.”

  “That sounds like Heaven—or Hell maybe.” He sighed.

  “Hell?” Ember asked.

  “The closest I got to a real heaven was in Hell—in the DreamScape. It was missing something, though.”

  “I don’t understand,” she replied. “The DreamScape is supposed to be perfect. What was missing?”

  “The real you,” he said, smiling. “Let’s go, love. We have several years, at least, before the chaos in Talohna begins.”

  A snap of stunning white light cut his words short, and a woman stepped from the Fae realm jump.

  “That is not true,” Kyr Meadow barked as the light faded behind her. “The Ancients are wreaking havoc in Vaenaria, now. We need you home, niece. The family Matriarchs have voted.”

  “On what?” Kael demanded.

  Kyr shot him a dirty look, and he knew her hatred of him was stronger than ever. “On the new leader of the Fae people… you, Ember.”

  “Holy shit,” Ember whispered.

  “That’s ridiculous,” Kael said. “Her magic is not even close to being mature.”

  “It matters not,” Kyr replied. “The Matriarchs were unanimous. Ember will assume the role of High Matriarch as her mother desired, and I will act as her advisor and mentor as my sister… as her mother should have been. We must leave now. The Fae Animus seal is located within Vaenaria’s main island. Ri’Tek wizards and warriors from the broken seal are attacking the main city from the inside. We are losing the city.”

  “What took so long?” Giddeon asked. “The Sepulchre fell weeks ago.”

  Kyr pinched her nose in frustration and sighed. “When Eva died and the Sepulchre magic failed, it forced Vaenaria back into phase with Talohna. We think it may have caused a delay in the seal’s opening.”

  “Or, is it possible the Ri’Tek remained hidden for two weeks while they recovered,” Kael offered. “If they are recon units, the moment they learned where they were and what happened, they would’ve gathered intel before they attacked.”

  Ember’s face went white. “If they have had three weeks of undetected reconnaissance in Vaenaria, the Fae are in serious trouble, Kael.”

  “We’ll come with you,” he offered.

  “By the grace of the Ladies, you will not!” Kyr snapped. “Even the High Matriarch cannot allow a Kai’Sar to enter the holy lands. Wife or not, it is forbidden.”

  “What are going to do? You need help,” he insisted.

  “That is why Ember must return with me, now,” Kyr stated. “Fae Matriarchs are born, not made. They think different from other Fae. She will have the answers we need—not magic that will destroy more than it will help.”

  Kael turned toward Ember and she kissed him. “I have to go, babe.”

  “I know, and I am very much not welcome there,” he said.

  “In time, I promise.” She kissed him, again, and added, “Go with Nekrosa and Sephi. Stay and rest until I get there, please?” He nodded. “I trust them with my life, Kael. So, can you. I will be there as soon as I possibly can.”

  She kissed him a third time and held it longer. It was real, and no nightmare magic swarmed his mind. As Treach coughed to politely interrupt, he smiled and released her

  “Go,” he told her. “I’ll jump to Ver Karmot and tell Shelaryx what’s happening, so she can send you help. From there, I’ll wait for you in Drae’Kahn.”

  She kissed him a fourth time. “We will drop everyone off,” she said and turned to gather those she had brought with her. He watched them leave and the vivid magic of the two jumps faded away. Only Treach and Lycori remained.

  “You did not tell her,” Treach said. “Wise?”

  “I don’t know,” Kael replied.

  “She will sense it sooner before later. Perhaps before we leave to find Vog,” Lycori suggested. “You should have told her that, too.”

  “I know,” Kael said, almost snapping. He took a breath and held up his hand as an apology. “How do I tell the only woman I’ve ever loved we are planning to ask a Mahalan scout—who by the way, is not a murderous frenzy killer like all the rest—to help us cross the Kasym by using his magic? But oh, yeah, it’s completely all right. Everything should be fine because I might be a god? How exactly do you two recommend I bring that up? What time do you two think is the right time to have that conversation with the Fae’s new High Matriarch?”

  “Good point,” Lycori replied and offered a slight bow of apology.

  Treach was a lot less tactful. “Know not, Kael,” he answered. “She need know. More now because who she is. Cannot keep such from allies.”

  “I know,” he said and shook his head.

  Treach clasped his shoulder. “The truth, always,” he said. “You... I... stand here, alive today because only gods survive death. That is truth, friend.”

  The End

  Epilogue

  NORTHERN ICE AND ROCK OCEAN

  ANCIENT KINGDOM

  “Are you sure, brother?” Shasta Trey asked quietly. Havarrow nodded and calmly pointed to the eleven other ships that sailed in their wake.

  “Get it done, first mate,” he said. “Only eight of our ships are equipped with cannons. We are beyond the spires of ice and rock, and the beasts have given up. We will reach land this time. I want the Ancients off my ships and then the easy winds out of here.”

  She nodded and left to speak with the flagman on their ship.

  Dominique frowned. The way through the spires had been easy—just like the last time—but the beasts had been far more aggressive as if something had thrown them into a fury long before his ships arrived. The ships’ cannons and Ancient wizards had made a world of difference in dealing with the magically deranged wildlife, and it allowed his ships to reach the edge of the deep water in a matter of minutes.

  “You did it, Captain,” Vikress Illara said as she approached the helm. “You brought my people home.”

  “Not all of them,” he answered.

  “Sythrnax willingly gave his life for his people. My brother was a hero, and those freed from the Fae seal will fight or sneak their way to the mainland eventually. The Fae seal held our counter intelligence, reconnaissance, and sabotage units. They might even annex a new set of islands to our lands. When you hear of them, you can offer to do the same as you have done for me—bring them home. From what we have been able to ascertain, those beyond the Dragon seal have been lost to us. The reptiles always were stubborn and conniving animals. Once we are whole, we will investigate why the Dragon seal did not open.”

  “I will have my crews on alert for news of your people,” he told her. “Wherever they may come from.”

  “I appreciate that, Captain. Have you given any thought to my proposal?”

  He shrugged and instantly recognized that she was vetting him in the same way he or his crew vetted a contact aboard a merchant ship.

  “My brother’s death frees you from the oath you had to kill him, does it not?” she asked. He nodded as she carried on, “I have already told you that had I been the one freed from the seal during the Cataclysm, I would not have followed the same path and made the same decisions he did. I meant your friend Kael no harm. I would like for our people to be allies.”

  “So, would I, Vikress,” he answered, offering a smile. “But I
haven’t changed my mind. For now, I must sail south to consolidate the Suns under my banner. Bauro had over sixty or seventy ships under his command. Even with the upgrades done on the first eight ships, I cannot hope to hold off an armada if they or another of your enemies should decide to come your way. If you want me to defend your waters, I need as many of those ships as I can get.”

  “Understandable,” she replied. “I admire a man who thinks with his brain and not his emotions.”

  Dominique chuckled. “I think with the chests of gold in my hold, Vikress. If the gold and gems flow steadily, I will gladly sail with your flag above mine.”

  “Ah…” The Vikress sighed and eyed him closely. Having been under worse scrutiny, he did not flinch. “The simplicity of a pirate’s loyalty—a gold coin. As you have already been, you will be paid well to patrol our seas, I promise you,” she added and seemed convinced of his sincerity. “Very well. Consolidate what forces you can and return. From what I can see of the landmass ahead of us, our old lands are mostly intact. However, they do seem to have shifted as if peeled apart from the middle like one eats a kona fruit. If so, several miles to the west you should see a river that you can follow inland until you find what is left of an old dam sight we created a dozen millennia ago. I will lead my people overland to the dam first. A detachment will remain there once we move on. They will send word to Tai Sa Neban upon your return, and hopefully, by that time we will have found a way for your ships to dock at our capitol city. Our kingdoms river system was once intricately convenient. I hope it has remained so.”

  “Fair enough, Vikress,” Dominique said. “Now, let’s get your people to land. Prepare the rowboats!” he yelled to his crew. His flagman signaled behind them to the other ships as their anchor plunged into the deep water. The other seven cannon heavy ships turned to the side and lined up bow to stern across the entrance to the deeply inset bay before them. Havarrow’s ship remained at the back of the line. The remaining four ships not outfitted with cannons dropped anchor behind the row of eight.

  “I will prepare my people, Captain,” the Vikress told him.

  Havarrow nodded and waved to Shasta. “My first mate will oversee the loading. Each boat will need two of my men and can fit twenty of yours, but we should still be able to offload all your people with two trips.”