“Oh, that's pleasant to know,” Emir said, “I was beginning to wonder if we would have a chance against it...”
Kaina slowed her pace, never taking her eyes off of the knight, but as she got closer, she noticed its head moving, as if it were watching them. Kaina stopped moving, and stared into the knight's eyes.
“It should leave us alone, right?” Kaina asked. “I have Zion's power, after all.”
“It might...” Melchior said, “unless...”
The knight suddenly lifted its sword off of the ground, years of dust and decay crumbling off of it as it did so, and it pointed the sword straight at Kaina. Its once empty eyes now glowed sickly green and stared down at them with murderous intent.
“...unless Azemar took control of it,” Melchior finished.
The knight lifted its sword in the air and with a slow, but powerful swing, it brought the sword down right in the middle of the group.
The party scattered to avoid the deadly bash, and as soon as the blade made contact, the entire ground trembled with such force that it nearly knocked Kaina off her feet. Kaina looked back as the knight began to lift the sword for another attack, and where its sword had been there was now a two foot deep gash in the stone floor.
Aldis turned to Kaina and said, “Kaina, you go on ahead while we deal with this monster. You mustn't allow Casimir to get to the last chamber!”
“I'll go too,” Tristan said. “I won't let you face them alone.”
Kaina knew that Tristan had just as much against Casimir as she did, so she nodded and darted towards the stairs. The knight noticed them and swung, hitting just below their position on the stairs and crumbling the area to bits. Kaina caught Tristan's arm before he fell backwards and then they hurried up the staircase just as they heard Froki get the knight's attention by shouting, “Let me show you what a real warrior can do, you brute!”
Chapter 30
Kaina and Tristan made their way through the corridor that began at the top of the stairs as the echoes of the fight behind them faded the further they went. A dim light indicated that someone waited just ahead, as did the voices that grew louder as they drew closer. She could see an opening soon after that, and what awaited inside nearly took her breath away.
They entered a room, one that was as large as the cavern in which Undercliff was built, and not a single speck of wall didn't have a book attached to it. There were shelves full of ancient tomes, lining the entire wall space from floor to ceiling, and there were platforms sitting in rows lined up together all around. As Kaina stepped up to examine one of them, she could see several scrolls and other artifacts, such as intricately designed tomes and even amulets encased in dusty glass.
“This is...amazing,” Kaina muttered.
Tristan stood next to her, then he placed a hand on her shoulder and gestured to the area near the corner of the room. Another hall came into view, and from where they were Kaina thought it sounded as though the voices they heard came from in there.
Kaina crept forward with Tristan following close behind her. The voices grew louder the closer they came to the hall, and as Kaina ventured further in, she could see another chamber full of books. Just beyond that was a platform with a sealed door, and standing in front of the door was their quarry.
“It's sealed,” Azemar said, grazing his hand over the stone door, “but I think that I can open it if I have time.”
“Make it quick,” Casimir said. “I don't trust for a moment that the rebels won't make it down here before long.”
“I think I should go and stand guard near the entrance, just in case,” Hugo said.
“No, I need you in here to protect Azemar while he opens the door to buy him as much time as possible in case someone comes down here,” Casimir said.
Kaina looked at Tristan and whispered, “We can't let them open that door.”
“We could take them by surprise,” Tristan said, “and hopefully interrupt whatever Azemar is doing.”
Kaina was about to speak again when she heard a voice say, “Who's there?”
They both turned to see Casimir staring at them, though they were enshrouded in shadows and not quite visible to the naked eye. Is it possible that he heard them?
“Show yourself!” Casimir shouted.
Kaina and Tristan exchanged a glance, braced themselves, and slowly emerged from the shadows.
When Casimir saw them, he didn't appear to be surprised. “I had a feeling that the Disciples wouldn't be able to contain the two of you. No matter, Hugo and I are more than capable of holding you off until Azemar opens that door.”
Kaina stepped forward. “Why? What else could be beyond that door besides all of the books of this library?”
Azemar met her gaze and said, “You little fool, do you really think that Roric and his descendants searched for this library for the sole purpose of destroying a few dusty old books? What Roric spent the rest of his life obsessing over is just beyond this door.”
Kaina's cheeks flashed red and she quickly retorted, “Tristan and I have no intention of allowing you to take whatever waits in there.”
Casimir drew his sword, brandished it, and said, “Then I am afraid that this is where your life ends. Such a pity, Kaina. You would have made an amazing queen.”
Fire blazed from Kaina's outstretched hands, and the air around her grew hot and breathless.
Tristan drew his sword, stepped forward, and said, “This goes much further back than just you and Kaina. This battle is between you and me, Casimir, and I intend to finish it tonight.”
Casimir met Tristan's gaze and said, “So be it.”
The brothers charged at each other and their blades met full force. The torrent of steel could only be outmatched by roaring thunder, and even then Kaina had no doubt the cosmos itself would envy the display. Their blades separated only to clash again seconds later as Casimir swung at Tristan, but the latter easily blocked.
Hugo drew his sword and charged at Tristan, but his sword burst into flames and flew out of his hand. The weapon crashed onto the floor and Hugo shifted his gaze to Kaina, her hands still glowing with red embers.
“Last I checked, Sir Hugo, it was dishonorable to attack a foe from behind,” Kaina remarked. “Not to mention that he has entered one on one contact with his sworn enemy. As a Crimson Knight, you should know better than to interfere.”
Hugo stared her down and said, “Well played, cousin. You, on the other hand, are more than capable of fighting me.”
He then snatched the sword, the blade still glowing from the heat, and charged for Kaina. She shot energy bolts at him to slow him down, and when he came within feet of her, she sprinted out of the way and returned fire.
“You can't run forever, Kaina,” Hugo taunted as he dodged another flame. “Sooner or later, you will have to face justice.”
Kaina straightened her stance. “I always thought you were delusional to think that you are the just one while you have destroyed the lives of so many others,” she paused, then out of no where she blurted out, “that's why your wife left with your son.”
Hugo stopped, as if he were trying to comprehend what she just said, then grew red in the face and shouted, “You're lying. Thea would never leave me.”
“I beg to differ,” Kaina replied. “The saddest part is that you didn't even notice they were gone when you returned to the manor.”
Hugo froze, but then he shook his head and retorted, “Your trickery won't work, Kaina! I will end you here and now.”
“You can kill me,” Kaina said, “but it won't bring your family back.”
Hugo howled with rage and swung at Kaina again, but she was ready. She cast another fire spell at him and it landed square in his chest. Though the majority of his body was protected by the thick metal of his armor, the metal melted on the surface and his hair, face, and eyebrows were singed. Hugo howled with pain as the smoke from his armor reddened his skin, causing him to lose his balance and stumble backwards. Kaina seized this opportu
nity to cast another energy spell at him, which also hit him square in the chest and sent him flying onto the floor. His head hit the wall with a sickening thud and the force of his landing caused an avalanche of books to come crashing down on top of him.
Although Kaina had no love her cousin, she feared for a moment that he might be dead when he didn't get up. She reached over to him, ignoring the sounds of battle between the two brothers, and began sifting through books to find him. She finally dug him out and placed a finger on his neck, then sighed with relief when she felt his pulse.
Kaina didn't want death on her hands, no matter if her enemy was trying to kill her or not. However, she couldn't have Hugo waking and attacking Tristan again, so she fished some of the rope that Tristan had given her from her pouch and bound Hugo's wrists and ankles together. She couldn't lift him, but she managed to push him to the side of the room to avoid him getting trampled by the brothers.
Kaina to turned her attention to Azemar, but just as she looked up, he had opened the door. He looked back at Casimir as though to alert him, but instead he darted into the now open doorway before anyone could notice him.
What is he up to? Kaina thought as she ran to the platform to follow him, but not before checking on Tristan to ensure that he could handle Casimir.
Tristan went on the defensive as Casimir charged at him. Neither appeared any worse than they were before their battle began, so Kaina could only hope that her friend would continue to hold his own long enough for her to deal with Azemar.
The originally sealed door led into yet another tunnel that sloped downward after several yards, then led to a pathway that spiraled downward like in a tower. Kaina cast her light spell so she could see in the pitch black, and she could soon see Azemar racing down further in, and she knew by his stance that he had a specific purpose in mind.
Kaina would have bet her books that that purpose involved betraying Casimir.
At one point, Azemar looked up when he heard someone else's footsteps, and he must have seen Kaina, for he then shouted, “You have no business down here, girl. You have no idea who or what you are dealing with.”
Kaina ignored his taunts, but they continued, “What did Aldis or Melchior tell you about this library? That the books were that of the secrets of magic or the last of the magic that Roric tried to destroy. Ha! The only thing Roric wanted to destroy was his own mortality, but in the end, it was the one fate he could never escape. The same tragic end befell his sons, and their sons, all the way down to the king and poor, Prince Casimir. They will all perish, as I will be the one to complete Roric's legacy. I will gain the power he never could.”
Kaina didn't know what he was talking about, but she refused to allow that to stop her. For all she knew, his taunts could have been just an effort to slow her down, but she wouldn't allow that to happen.
Kaina finally reached the bottom of the walkway and found yet another corridor. When she turned into that one, she caught a brief glimpse of Azemar watching for her in the dark. As soon as she came into view, he darted around the corner and ran off. Kaina followed, and when she turned the corner where she had just seen him, she saw something that took her breath away.
It was the room. The same room in her mind when she defeated Mareth. The same bottomless pit surrounded the room, and when she looked forward, she once again saw the platform with the altar and something sitting on it, but this time, she could clearly see what it was.
“There it is...just like I imagined it,” Azemar said.
The object that sat upon the altar was a book. The cover was black, and the pages, though were once parchment, now resemble the color of ash. The book almost looked corrupted in a way, as though a terrible illness had overtaken it. The state of this book reminded Kaina of that of a decomposing corpse, only it wasn't simply crumbling to dust or becoming part of the ground again. Instead, the book simply remained as a reminder of death.
Kaina marched forward as Azemar attempted to take the book, and when she was only a few feet away from him, she raised her hands and blazed fire once more, then said, “Don't make another move.”
Azemar stalled, then turned back to face her and said, “Dear girl, do you really think you can stand up to me, a master wizard? I've been studying and practicing magic longer than you've been alive.”
Kaina stood her ground. “If there is one thing I have learned in my short time learning magic, all the spells in the world only depend on a wizard's willpower, and I have no doubt that mine can overcome yours any day.”
Azemar took several steps closer to her, and said, “Do you have any idea what this book is?”
He circled her and continued, “This book contains the very power that Roric sought to conquer in his time, the one that started the war. Zion locked it away to keep him from finding it, and in his dying breath, he left Roric with a taunting reminder that he would never find what he wanted. You may have heard the reason that Roric never summoned the power he wanted simply because he had to get rid of all traces of magic before he could, but the sad, horrid truth is that it was stolen from him. I grew up hearing the tales of the power this book contained, and while each king of Ilesia after Roric wasted away obsessing over this book, I steadily rose into power, learned the ways of wizards, gained access to the secrets of Roric's children, and I now have the power I have searched for my entire life standing only feet away. Now tell me, Kaina, do you really think that your willpower can still overcome mine?”
“Maybe not,” Kaina admitted, “but I would rather fail because I tried instead of doing nothing.”
“A fair answer,” Azemar said, “though I regret to inform you that your efforts will be in vain.”
Azemar circled back around her so that he stood directly between her and the book.
Kaina readied herself and said, “We'll see about that.”
Tristan stepped sideways as Casimir's blade narrowly missed him by inches. He was stronger and faster than Tristan remembered, and the haunting memory of their training sessions that always ended with Casimir harming him somehow came flooding back.
“I've always been a better fighter than you,” Casimir taunted. “Even now that you're all grown up, you still have no chance of defeating me.”
Tristan fell to his knee, barely able to catch his breath. He half-expected Casimir to end his life while he was down, but his brother simply laughed and watched as he tried to stand.
Casimir was much too strong and fast for any normal fighter. While he knew that his father employed the finest blade instructors in Ilesia, no technique could possibly result in such a change. Tristan's only hope now was that his brother would, in his arrogance, make one mistake that could prove to be fatal.
Tristan stood once more and lifted his sword, the muscles in his arms screaming in protest, and said, “We are no longer in the castle training grounds, Casimir. We are locked in a real battle, and this time, I'm not afraid of what our father will do to me if I hurt you.”
Casimir flashed a cruel smile and said, “Things are about to get interesting.”
Casimir charged at Tristan again and though the latter could barely hold his own legs up, he held out his sword to block and braced for impact.
The second Tristan brought up his sword to meet his brother's, the clashing steel sent a jolt throughout his body and his knees buckled under the pressure. He nearly collapsed once again, but remained standing.
However, this didn't escape Casimir's notice. The prince laughed again and said, “Look at you, barely even standing! And you truly think you have a chance...”
Tristan pushed Casimir off of him, but the latter came back with another swing. Tristan met his blow and sparks flew from the point of impact between their two blades. His knuckles turned a sickly shade of wide as he struggled to maintain his grip.
“Tell me,” Casimir said as their eyes met, “what did you tell Kaina about me? Did you tell her I was so cruel to you, or that the Azure Riders are the better alternative?”
C
asimir brought up his boot and kicked Tristan in the gut. The latter lost his footing and fell onto his back, and the former charged at him again while he was still on the ground. Tristan rolled to the side just in time to avoid being impaled in the heart, but he wasn't quick enough to avoid the slash in his left arm.
Tristan grunted through the pain, but otherwise kept moving at all costs. Casimir was soon upon him again, that same, knowing smile he always had during their sparring sessions. Tristan met the blow once more, blood dripping down his arm. Through the sting of the wound opening further, he pushed back against Casimir's weight and managed to get him off.
Casimir paused, slightly dumbfounded, and said, “I'm impressed. When I bring your head back to Sunhaven, I'll be certain to tell father you fought well.”
Tristan felt a spark in his chest, no doubt the anger built up over the years finally coming forth, and he said, “The day I return to Sunhaven will be the day I put an end to you and Torald!”
Tristan roared and charged forward, further throwing Casimir off guard. The rush of the battle combined with the fury of Casimir's taunts over the years gave him enough strength to swing his sword without any heed to his wound, nor to his own weakness.
With Casimir now on the defensive, Tristan landed blow after blow, refusing to allow him to get a hit in, until his back touched the wall on the other side of the chamber. Casimir met every attack, but even he had his limits, and they both knew it. He also knew they if Casimir could do one thing, he could cheat.
That was why Tristan anticipated his brother's fist as he released his grip on his sword and shot it right for his head. He moved his head to the side just in time to avoid the blow, and then he snatched Casimir's arm before he could retract it. Tristan yanked it full force, sending Casimir tumbling to the ground.
Casimir's sword flew out of his grip, and when he attempted to crawl over to it, Tristan placed his boot on his back. He pressed down hard enough to lock him in place, but Casimir reached behind his back and grabbed hold of the younger brother's leg. He yanked on it and knocked Tristan onto his back, and in his own folly he too lost grip of his blade.
Kaina's Dawn (Kaina Saga Book 1) Page 30