Kaina's Dawn (Kaina Saga Book 1)

by Brittany Comeaux

  “What do you care about Casimir?” Kaina spat. “And you still haven't answered my first question. Who. Are. YOU?”

  There was dead silence save for that same chilling laugh, and soon another scene formed, but this one was different, unfamiliar. She was in a long, dark corridor with a high, stone arch ceiling and stone pillars on either side. There was no visible end or beginning, only darkness as far as her eyes could see.

  “I am either your greatest ally, or your worst enemy.”

  Kaina spun around when she caught movement at the left end of the corridor. She thought she would finally get the opportunity to face her mysterious visitor, but instead all she could see were black shapes of human-like figures. They multiplied every second until there were enough to completely fill the void from floor to ceiling.

  “In your case, I'm afraid it's the latter.”

  The figures charged for Kaina with their arms out, and it took everything she had to break her petrified trance and sprint down the other end of the dark corridor.

  “Something is wrong,” Rupa said.

  Kaina was in a deep sleep, and until just a few moments before, she hadn't moved an inch, but now, she was tossing and turning and muttering something under her breath.

  “What is it?” Tristan asked.

  “This shouldn't happen,” Rupa said, “she should remain still the entire time. Something is happening in the spiritual plane that is causing her great distress.”

  They all watched for a moment, and then as Kaina continued to fight, they suddenly witnessed black smoke envelope her body. They all jumped back when this happened, and that was when Kaina began to cry out.

  “No...leave me alone!” Kaina cried.

  Melchior approached her, then looked at Tristan and said, “It's worse than I feared...she's being possessed!”

  “Possessed?” Tristan asked. “By what?”

  Melchior's expression fell. “A demon.”

  Tristan's blood ran as cold as ice. “Casimir...I heard he dabbled with demons, but I never imagined it was true...”

  “If Prince Casimir has sent a demon after Kaina,” Melchior said, “then it may not be long before she and the book are within his grasp.”

  Tristan turned around and marched for the door.

  “Where are you going?” Melchior asked.

  Tristan turned back to him and said, “To find Casmir and make him undo this.”

  Tristan threw the door open and marched out into the underground city before Melchior had any chance to protest.

  Although Kaina managed to create more distance between herself and the black creatures, she could still hear their tormented wails and pattering steps echoing from somewhere behind her. She didn't dare look back nor slow down for fear that one wrong move would prove to be fatal. No matter how far she ran, however, there seemed to be no end to the ever-prevailing darkness.

  Relief flooded Kaina as soon as she spotted another corridor that intersected with the one she was in, and a spark of blue light gave her all the cause she needed to venture down there. Once inside, she saw the black creatures rush down the corridor, completely passing the detour as though they didn't even notice it. She could hear their wails die down the further down they went, and soon she couldn't hear a thing at all. That all changed when she heard a voice again, only this one was different.

  Do not rest yet, Kaina. You have escaped your pursuers for the time being, but your victory will not last for long.

  Kaina froze. She expected this to be another tormentor, but she found this new voice to be strangely familiar, and before long she remembered where she had heard it from.

  “Zion?” she asked.

  Indeed. You must not despair, Kaina. This is your mind. The darkness will only overtake you if you allow it.

  “What should I do?” Kaina asked.

  I cannot answer that. You have the ability to stop this, or else I would not be here with you. Everything you have done has been on your own. My power was only used when you willed it. You can defeat this evil and eject it from your mind with your own will. Do not forget this.

  Kaina nodded again, and she shut her eyes and felt the benevolent presence give her hope and courage, and then it faded, leaving her in an empty corridor. She turned around and saw the one she had just come from, and she could hear the creatures drawing closer. She turned to see the other end of the new corridor and saw that it opened into a new chamber, so she charged towards it as the wailing echoed behind her.

  Upon entering the new chamber, Kaina could see that it was similar to a large temple. A single walkway led over a gap in the floor, and when she dared to look down, she could see nothing but darkness in the endless pit. She looked ahead to see a round area the walkway led to, which was large enough to fit about a hundred people, but there was nothing guarding the edges, so anyone could simply fall off. Towards the back of the platform, a large pillar blended with the wall, and further down to the ground rested an altar, but for some reason, she could see nothing but a black mass obscuring whatever rested upon it.

  Kaina soon realized that she had reached a dead end. Panic rose inside of her, but she tried to remember what Zion had told her.

  The darkness will only overtake you if you allow it.

  Kaina took in a deep breath and stood in the middle of the floor, and turned to face the creatures as they poured into the chamber. There were dozens, then hundreds, then thousands as they multiplied and piled on top of each other, forming a wall of blackness in front of her. Thousands of arms reached out to grab her as the wall grew closer, blacker, colder.

  Kaina stared into the void, and with every ounce of her will, she said, “Get out.”

  On her command, the creatures shrieked and shrunk back, as if she had uttered the most foul thing they had ever heard. Their numbers soon diminished until there was only a single creature left. It was small, meek, and starving, and it only grew smaller and smaller until there was none of it left, and it vanished in a cloud of black smoke.

  Kaina stared at the spot where it vanished and said, “This is my mind, not yours.”

  She smiled with triumph until she heard a familiar, unsettling laugh.

  “If only it were that easy to get rid of my influence.”

  Kaina's body froze, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw black smoke materializing. This presence echoed with far more power than the mere creatures she had just faced and had no intention of letting her go.

  “Dear Kaina,” it said, “I always knew you would be a worthy opponent, but now your mind is mine.”

  Kaina focused her energies and willed herself free. She spun around and as she did so, she came face to face with a face she had dismissed as a mere illusion of her own fears. The face she had seen in the caves when running from the goblins in the Black Forest stood only inches from hers, grinning in the same way with glowing red eyes, white features, and black hair.

  “Who are you?” Kaina muttered.

  The demon's grin spread to lengths that weren't humanly possible as he said, “I am Mareth. At last we meet, Kaina Haventhorn.”

  Chapter 21

  The streets of Eldercliff were thankfully empty when Tristan climbed out of the sewer grate. He assumed most people had likely returned to their homes for the night, so the only witnesses he would have to worry would be the town guards. Tristan didn't think his brother would want to draw attention to himself or what he was doing in Eldercliff, so when he saw the guard approaching him as he turned the corner into an alley, he didn't think he would face any trouble.

  He was wrong.

  The guard spotted Tristan and held out his weapon. “Halt, citizen. We have a bulletin to be on the lookout for a criminal that matches your description. Show me your hands.”

  Tristan raised his hands, but had no intention of cooperating. “This is a misunderstanding. I'm certain you have the wrong man.”

  “I'll decide that at the guard station, after you've faced Prince Casimir,” the guard said. “Come wi
th me.”

  When the guard approached, Tristan made a quick movement and landed a punch right in the guard's stomach. He then delivered another hit to the back of the guard's neck, knocking him to the ground. He then dragged the incapacitated guard off to the side of the alley and where he wouldn't likely be found any time soon.

  He might have known that Casimir had concocted some ridiculous cover story of why he was chasing after two seemingly random people in Eldercliff. He did learn one thing from the guard, however: Casimir would likely be near the guard station. As dangerous and possibly foolish as it sounded, he was going to have to go there if he had any hope of finding Casimir.

  “...and once we bring Kaina back home, we'll make sure everything goes according to plan.”

  Tristan hid behind the corner and glanced around it, and that's when he saw three men, one of which he recognized as Sir Hugo, one of the Crimson Knights.

  “But Hugo, this city is huge,” a dark-haired man whined, and Tristan couldn't help but wonder how old this oaf was, “how are we going to find her in a city like this? And might I mention that it was you who dragged us out of that inn, and all because some shop owner told you she was coming here!”

  The third member of their party, a younger man who appeared to be about Tristan's age, said, “Not to mention the man she was seen traveling with.”

  Tristan froze.

  “We keep looking, plain and simple,” Hugo said. “Everyone in the kingdom has probably heard of Kaina's 'abduction' by now, so no one will suspect us if we simply say we heard rumors that she was here in the city. We get her and her companion, and then set him up to take the blame for her abduction. If we have to, we'll kill him to keep him from talking.”

  Tristan shook his head and chuckled under his breath. Hugo was dreaming if he thought he could kill him.

  “We aren't killing anyone unless it's absolutely necessary,” the youngest said, “otherwise Kaina will never cooperate.”

  “Kaina will do as she's told if she knows what's best for her,” Hugo spat. “Everything our family has built will crumble if she doesn't.”

  Hugo turned around in Tristan's direction, so he quickly moved back behind the wall to avoid being seen.

  “Let's get going,” he heard Hugo say.

  He then heard the sound of metal clanking together as Hugo walked his way, but fortunately he and Kaina's other relatives, as they seemed to be, followed close behind him. Once they were gone, Tristan moved away from the wall.

  If members of Kaina's family were there looking for her as well, he had no doubt that they would make it too risky to go after Casimir at this point. Tristan swallowed his pride, knowing he was no good to Kaina in the city prison, and made his way back to the sewer. One way or another, Tristan would get Kaina out of this.

  Though Mareth had no hold over Kaina, she still couldn't budge. It was the fear that struck her heart of looking a demon in the eyes that paralyzed her body, and this didn't escape his notice.

  “You are afraid,” he cooed, “don't deny it.”

  “I never intended to,” Kaina admitted, “but that fear won't stop me from getting rid of you.”

  “You little fool,” he laughed, “do you really think I'll be as easy to get rid of as those little weaklings of mine?”

  “If I can get rid of them, I can do the same to you,” Kaina said.

  Mareth raised his arms and the shadows plunged the entire room into darkness. Kaina watched helplessly as the light vanished and all she could see was the glow of Mareth's red eyes. Try as she might to will the shadows away, it was of no use.

  “Foolish girl,” Mareth said, “you are not the first to enter the spiritual plane and wrongly assume that you are able to tame shadows.”

  Kaina fell to her side when something grabbed her legs and pulled them out from under her. She landed with a hard thud against the stone floor, sending waves of pain all across her arm and ribs. She was certain she cried out in pain, but she couldn't hear anything except the whispering in her ears of a thousand different voices that were only amplified by Mareth's maniacal laughter.

  “Submit,” Mareth ordered.

  “Never,” Kaina hissed.

  At that point she felt her body being dragged by her legs closer to those red, penetrating eyes. She looked up and saw the eyes just inches from hers.

  “Mortals are always so stubborn,” Mareth said, “but in the end, they always submit.”

  Kaina shut her eyes to get those red, glowing orbs out of her mind, but she found herself unable to even blink. Mareth's hypnotic gaze seeped into her soul, sending chills through her blood. She could feel every inch of her body growing stiller and stiller until she couldn't feel a thing, not even the cold of Mareth's breath as it crept over her skin.

  “That's it...just a little longer,” Mareth purred. “Just give me your will and it will all be over.”

  Kaina's vision grew dark, her body unresponsive...

  The last to go would be her thoughts, and rather than give them up willingly, Kaina tried to think of the book. It was in her hands...perhaps not in this realm, but in the real world, the book was a part of her. Zion's words echoed through her mind once more.

  The darkness will only overtake you if you allow it.

  Kaina couldn't allow it. She wouldn't allow it. She envisioned a light in her mind, calm and blue like that of the book. A light that cast warmth wherever it was and banished the cold and dark around her. She imagined it hovering over Mareth and shining down upon him, banishing him into the darkest recesses of wherever it was he came from.

  That was when Kaina saw it.

  From behind the red eyes and the black mass surrounding him, a blue light began to fill the void. Mareth soon took notice and turned to look at it.

  “Wha-what are you doing? How are you doing that?” he shouted.

  As soon as he broke eye contact with her, Kaina could feel every part of her body again. She could move, blink, and breathe again. She looked up and saw exactly what she had envisioned in her mind, a blue flame hovering near the ceiling and casting light upon the demonic presence. Mareth tried to shield himself, but it was no use.

  “No, stop!” Mareth cried.

  Kaina willed the flame to lower itself upon Mareth, who shrieked in terror and attempted to flee from the piercing light. He cowered in the middle of the floor as the light came closer and closer to him until it was only inches above him, then in seeped into his body and vanished.

  Mareth screamed in agony as blue flames poured out of his eyes and mouth, then pierced his skin and everywhere else it could escape. His shadows vanished under the light and he was reduced to a small, skeletal frame of white skin and bone. Kaina rose to her feet and he looked at her in terror, the blue light in his eyes replaced by a solid, black mass. He attempted utter something, but nothing could escape his throat but a hollow gasp.

  Kaina stood over the naked, skeletal creature and said, “I told you, this is my mind.”

  She then bent down to Mareth, looked him in the eyes and said, “You tell your master that he won't get me or the book.”

  The creature curled up into a ball and then disappeared into a cloud of black ash, releasing the light back into the room, only this time, it was in several hundred pieces.

  The small remnants of the flame burst into all corners of the room, illuminating every inch of it in a beautiful warmth. Kaina smiled, as the ceiling reminded her of a clear night sky with millions of stars staring down at her waiting to be discovered.

  “It is done,” Zion said. “You have completed your test, Kaina Haventhorn, and for that, I deem you worthy.”

  Kaina closed her eyes as the light grew brighter and surrounded her in comforting warmth. Her mind became one with the power surrounding her, and she could feel knowledge pouring into her from some unknown source. She understood it now...she understood everything, and it would only be a matter of time before she wasn't alone.

  Kaina opened her eyes to see Melchior's astonished e
xpression staring down at her.

  “You did it...” he said, “you fought off the demon on your own. I've never seen such a feat accomplished by something who has never been to the spiritual plane.”

  Kaina looked around and she could see Rupa sitting nearby, looking just as shocked as Melchior.

  “The shadows were around you,” she said, “I thought for sure you would be taken, but then this...light surrounded you, and the shadows vanished.”

  Kaina sat up, thinking she would be groggy and dazed, but surprisingly she felt perfectly fine. Better than she had before, in fact. That was when Kaina noticed that someone was missing.

  Before Kaina could ask where he was, Tristan himself soon entered the room. Upon seeing Kaina, he stopped and stared wide-eyed at her.

  “Kaina, you're all right,” he said. “But how?”

  Kaina stood up, smiled, and said, “A demon gave me a bit of trouble, but it was nothing I couldn't handle.”

  Melchior met her gaze. “In all my years, I have never met an apprentice of magic who fended off a demonic possession on their first try. You are truly a gifted student of the arcane arts...”

  That was when Kaina remembered what Zion had said. “Zion...he said he deemed me worthy.”

  “Then, the book...” Melchior said.

  Kaina realized she was still holding it, so she held it face up in her hands, and as soon as she looked down at the gem. The gem glowed blue, much like the light she had created to defeat Mareth. It began to fade, and within seconds the clasp clicked and opened.

  “I can't believe it...it's open,” Kaina said incredulously.

  She immediately lifted the cover to read the contents, but what she found inside was not at all what she expected.

  The inside of the book was made of parchment as Kaina had expected, but the entire block was hollowed out to reveal a hidden compartment. Inside the compartment was a folded piece of parchment, and resting on top of it was a key.