Shattering Dreams

by Catherine M Walker

  Yes, My Lord, sometimes we hear you, all of you, but it seems to come and go. Marcus had a look of deep concentration on his face; Alex turned his head to hide his smile.

  Alex glanced at Jess and Kyle. “We must be a little more careful about broadcasting. If we will do this, then we should go, now. Marcus, you’re with me. James, stay with Kyle—Megan, with Jess.”

  Then in a tight communication with both Jess and Kyle, he added for them alone, Let’s try not to lose them. I know that we can do this, just never done it before.

  Jess smiled and motioned for Megan to stand closer. Well it should be interesting.

  I don’t want to explain to your father how we lost his guards. Kyle chuckled and motioned for James to move closer.

  Alex noted that Marcus had moved closer to him without having to be told, then with a glance at both Kyle and Jess, he took a deep breath. Concentrating, he pulled in the Taint, expanding his reach to include Marcus as he transitioned them into the Veiled World. Alex gasped as the familiar washed-out grey he knew was transformed. Lines of power from all the different colours he’d noticed were visible. Realising that he was holding his breath, he exhaled. He checked that Marcus was still with him and grinned at his guard’s stunned expression. Glancing around, he saw both Jess and Kyle had also transitioned into the Veiled World with their charges in tow.

  At a slight widening of their eyes, he gathered he wasn’t alone in seeing the colourful power flows trailing all around them. Thinking about it, he watched, fascinated, as a path formed, with strands of the green energy but noticeable wisps of the silver-grey, blue and red intertwined.

  I take it you both see the different colours now as well? Any ideas why everything is so colourful? Not that I’m complaining, the old look was a little depressing.

  Alex concentrated to make sure he was talking to his friends only with that comment. He didn’t want their guards to panic, thinking anything was wrong and that things weren’t quite appearing as they normally did.

  Jess looked relieved. I’m glad it’s not just me. The elements, maybe? Earth, Wind, Fire and Water? Why is it our dead ancestors never show up when we have pertinent questions for them?

  Kyle nodded, thoughtful. That makes a weird sense I guess. Aaron described the veil sickness as, what was it? Drawing more of the power than we should have, burning through the channels in our mind that manipulate the Taint?

  This time Alex nodded. Yes, he said it was sooner than he’d like. So perhaps this would always happen, just circumstance caused it to happen sooner?

  Kyle grimaced. Why is it I feel like everyone knows more than we do and they are keeping secrets from us?

  Because they are? Alex shook his head and broadened his focus. Sorry to exclude you there, guys, we were discussing options. Stay close to us, I don’t quite know what would happen if you got separated from us. I’d hate to think of you all wandering around here, lost with no ability to get home again.

  Yes, Your Highness.

  Marcus moved a step closer, which made Alex smile and as the others’ mind voices whispered their understanding, he turned and, keeping careful track of them all, walked down the trail that had spun out ahead of him. Noting that Kyle was trailing at the rear, he breathed a small sigh of relief. It was less likely that they would lose one of them with Kyle keeping an eye out from behind.

  Alex grinned outright at the guards’ palpable relief as they emerged from the Veiled World to the real world once more. He frowned and looked around what appeared to be a cluster of small farms on the edge of a small forest. Small it might be, but there had been several reports that the Sundered Ones had appeared here. While the reports indicated that the Sundered were in the area, they did not show that anyone had been killed. That had drawn Alex’s interest in the first place; he wanted to know if it was an oversight in the report or if it was true. If true, it was odd in his experience, even if that experience was limited. He’d never heard of the Sundered coming into a habited area, encountering people and not killing them.

  Alex resisted the urge to pull up his hood as he approached the farmhouse. This time he was here as the Fourth, his crest on display, stitched onto his vest. Kyle kept his own hood drawn up, but that was his normal practice when he was in places he didn’t know. Jess followed his lead, although while her hood was on, it wasn’t pulled forward so it didn’t obscure her face. Both kept pace with him, one on either side, with the guards trailing behind them. He knew by the glow of light in the farmhouse that the farmer was still up. Frowning, Alex changed track and walked to the door and rapped on it.

  The door cracked open. The first thing Alex saw was a machete held in the firm, competent grip of a middle-aged, stocky man. Alex held his hands up, gesturing for the guards to stay put. He knew their first thought was to disarm him and have him face-down on the ground. He didn’t have to turn to see Kyle or Jess to know they had their hands on their own blades.

  “Peace, Farmer Caine, we mean you no ill will. It is Farmer Caine, correct?” Alex spoke, his voice low, and willed the man to calm down.

  “Yes. Who are you and what do you want, stranger?” The man was trying to seem strong yet his voice shook, unsettled to receive visitors at this time of night.

  “Be civil, man, His Highness Prince Alexander just has questions for you, then we will be on our way.” Marcus’ gravelly voice spoke up from behind Alex, a hint of threat in his tone.

  Farmer Caine’s eyes grew wide with shock as he took in Alex’s appearance with the Fourth’s crest on his vest. His hand flew up, touching his forehead then resting on his heart. Bowing, his blade clattered as it hit the floor of his cabin.

  “I’m sorry, Fourth, I didn’t recognise you.” The man seemed shaken to the core and kept his eyes on the ground.

  Alex sighed and glanced back at Marcus before turning back to the Farmer. “Please, Farmer Caine, I didn’t mean to startle you. I am just interested in a report you gave to the King regarding the Sundered you encountered. It’s unusual to survive such encounters.” Alex hoped his prompting would elicit answers and was regretting his impulse.

  “Yes, Fourth. I know it’s unusual, that’s why I reported it. I don’t know what else I can tell you. I heard my boy screaming, I looked up and saw him being held up by the thing. The Sundered threw his head back and screamed—started shaking my boy like he was a rag doll. I don’t quite know what came over me. I ran at him, yelling at him to drop my boy.” The man paused, his eyes flicking up to Alex’s before casting back down to the ground again. “I got right up to him and hacked at his arm. The Sundered stumbled back, there was anger in his eyes and he threw my boy aside to concentrate on me. The monster took a step toward me then. I can’t explain it, he stopped, seemed confused. Looked at his hands, then to my boy, back toward me. He said sorry, that he didn’t know what he was doing, then he ran toward the forest and disappeared.” The man’s voice appeared both awed and shocked at that last point and he stood there silently, waiting.

  “Your boy, is he here?” Kyle spoke up from Alex’s shoulder. His voice was soothing and he seemed to feel empathy for the man.

  Alex knew and Kyle likely did, too, before the man shook his head that the boy wasn’t present in the house.

  Farmer Caine’s eyes darted up to Kyle, and he licked his lips. “No, My Lord, my wife took my boy and our youngest to Callenhain to stay with her parents. It’s too dangerous with a Sundered around. I’ll finish things here, lock the place down and join them; it will be safer in the city.”

  Alex nodded. “Thank you, Farmer Caine, you’ve been a great help. We’ll have a look around but it is likely the Sundered is long gone. If it will give you peace of mind and you can be ready to travel tomorrow morning, you’d be welcome to travel in convoy with the progress; it will be a little safer for you in company, although I admit a little slower.”

  The farmer looked up, forgetting himself for a moment for the first time since he had learned who Alex was.

  “Thank you, Four
th. I appreciate the offer, I still have a few days’ worth of work, though. There is a group of us heading for the city, so there will be safety in numbers.”

  Alex nodded his thanks and excused himself, thinking it best not to push the point that if a group of Sundered would attack a large armed group, then a small group of farmers wouldn’t cause them to pause.

  They walked away from the farmhouse toward the forest. The light shining in the window almost seemed lonely in the surrounding darkness. Alex hoped the brave farmer survived to see his family again. As they walked, Alex hauled them into the half world, neither in the Veiled World or a part of the real world. It was a transitional place between both. The others maintained their silence as he ranged out with his mind, looking and listening for the broken ones he knew must be around—even if the one that the farmer had described was curled up in a bed in his home, petrified at what he was becoming.

  What the farmer had described was someone born with the Taint being overwhelmed by it. Still, there had been several reports from locals about attacks and those sounded like a group of Sundered had made their home nearby. If they followed the normal patterns, they would be in the forest somewhere. He felt both Kyle and Jess ranging out, conducting their own search of the area as well, so he concentrated on his own patch as they walked through the forest. The real world flickered as they walked, passing though trees and boulders like they weren’t there. He could tell that their guards were astounded even though they kept their eyes on Alex and stayed close.

  Jess paused. He could feel that her mind almost did a double take over an area again, then she turned, giving them a tight grin.

  Found a group. I think. It’s strange, they feel different. It’s like they’ve even made a shelter for themselves.

  Without further comment, Jess took the lead, pulling more power. Alex noted that it was more of the silvery grey colour as their pace increased, the flickering trees blurring as they moved through the forest to their destination. Then they paused on the outskirts of a makeshift camp. Alex could hear the whispering voices of the former men and women in the camp, disjointed, confused, suffering pain and anger. He almost groaned as the noise and feelings assaulted his brain before increasing his own shield on his mind and on Marcus. He trusted that Jess and Kyle were taking care of Megan and James since their pinched expressions had softened. Alex drew his sword, an action followed by both Kyle and Jess, mirroring him without having to think about it. Their guards drew their own swords with only a short pause, taking their lead from Alex, Jess and Kyle.

  All right, get ready. I’ll drop us in the camp, they will be alerted to our presence by the sudden pull of energy, so they are not likely to be surprised. There are eight of them here in the camp; I can sense that doesn’t mean that there are not more of them here. If it gets too dangerous, I will pull us out. Be warned, if they are strong in the Taint they can heal even what would be a mortal wound. Pierce the heart, or take the head, don’t just trust because they go down, they will die. They are no longer human.

  Alex looked from one grim face to another, reassured that they would follow his instructions. Then, taking one steadying breath, he pulled in power and drew all of them into the camp.

  Alex raised his sword as they appeared in the midst of the camp. It was like the Tainted world took a breath and paused, watching, waiting for what seemed like an eternity, yet in reality was only moments. Then, as still as the world was in that split second, the world around them erupted. The Sundered appearing around them, soft popping noises as they released their hold on the Taint to drop them around their attackers, while others chose the more pedestrian mode of charging out of their makeshift shelters. There was no hint of sanity that Alex could hear in their mental voices or demeanours.

  Alex drew his wandering attention back to the task at hand, although he noted that even if his mind had been wandering, his body hadn’t been—he’d blocked the blade of the Sundered One who faced off against him. This one had armour and a sword, even if everything was a little worse for wear, giving testament that either he’d stolen the gear of one of his victims or he’d had training before he’d succumbed to the Taint. Alex felt his world narrow to just him and the one he faced, trusting that his companions had their own battles in hand. Even though his world narrowed, there was a small part of his brain that seemed to track their progress, so he knew Marcus was in his own fight nearby using the Taint as a shield. He thrust at his attacker with power and with his sword. He also knew Kyle engaged two of the Sundered, his blades whirling in what would be considered a graceful dance if it wasn’t so deadly. Jess, in her part just as deadly, was taking down her opponent and wasting no time in heeding Alex’s warning. She dropped, withdrawing her hunting knife from her belt and shoved it up from the man’s abdomen, its long blade piercing his heart.

  Alex battled his own opponent and settled on the fact he’d been trained, even if he wasn’t trained all that well. Alex stepped to one side and parried, forcing the man’s arm up as he stumbled. With a feral grin, Alex withdrew one of the small pointed long daggers that Kyle had insisted he carry and lunged in, thrusting it through the gap in the man’s armour under his armpit. He withdrew it as his opponent stumbled back then, dropping the dagger, swung his sword two-handed, slicing through his neck, severing it from the body.

  Turning toward where he could still hear battle going on, Alex ran toward Jess, seeing two of the Sundered coming at her from behind as she battled the one in front of her. Alex screamed a warning then gathered the Taint, drawing in the green and silver-grey. Then, on instinct, he also gathered in the rarer wispy red and, willing it into a solid thing, thrust it at the Sundered.

  Despite himself, Alex froze for a moment as the Sundered staggered as if hit, then glowed. They opened their mouths and screamed in clear pain, frozen in agony. Alex didn’t have time to analyse what had happened; he launched himself at them and thrust his blade up through the abdomen, much as Jess had earlier, and pierced the man’s heart. Alex turned to tackle the second one but then paused as calm fell on the camp. Kyle had beaten him to it and Jess was dropping her own attacker.

  The world slowed down to its normal pace. The murmuring of the Tainted had ceased—it was like the world had gone into shock. The Sundered, at least, were dead.

  22

  The Watchers

  Ed watched the slaughter of the Sundered, shrouded by the veil, impressed at how well the group was working together. It had taken months and months of hard training for Kat, Cal and himself to form a tight fighting unit with their guards and that was in the days when those born with power didn’t live with a death sentence—in the days where possessing the power of the veil and being able to wield it was seen as an asset. It was not referred to as the ‘Taint’ like it was in this day and age. Then something went wrong and those born with the veil running through them started going truly mad.

  “They are doing well.” Ed looked over at his companions, who observed the scene below.

  Cal snorted. “So they should, they’ve spent enough time training together.”

  “Do you think they noticed that not all those in the camp they killed were Sundered?”

  Kat turned from her observation of the six down in the clearing to regard her friends. Without waiting for a reply, Kat transitioned into the camp after Alex and his friends had left to return to their own camp.

  Ed sighed and followed Kat, knowing Cal was following without having to check. Kat was always straight to the point; she was also correct, and he doubted they had noticed.

  Ed used his other sight to make sure that all in the camp were dead. Not that he needed to; Kat had already done so, it was like breathing for her after all these years to check for any threats. They needn’t have bothered, though; Alex and his crew had done a remarkable job for one of their first forays. Ed frowned, glancing around the creaky makeshift camp. This was a concern and out of character with all his experience with the broken ones. They did not make camps, makeshift o
r otherwise. They did not combine forces with those who were not of the broken.

  “This is not right, Ed, this should not have been.” Cal turned around, his arm sweeping, encompassing the dead bodies and the surrounding camp.

  Kat was kneeling down, examining a dead body of one that had been human, sprawled on the ground.

  “How did they commit this monstrosity? This new breed, they aren’t just broken ones. They really are the monsters humans think of, the Sundered ones. Ed, we need to investigate.” Kat stood looking at him.

  “But the young ones, this is not good timing.” Ed looked from Kat to Cal, thinking he’d get support, only to see his friend shake his head.

  “No, my friend, Kat is right. We need to sort this out. There have been too many of our kind breaking, and this?” He glanced around the broken camp. “Mixing with whoever the hell these people were? That shouldn’t have been possible; the broken ones should have killed the humans. We need to find out what is going on, something has changed. The children will be fine, they are doing alright on their own so far. It’s time they stood on their own for a space of time. Let them grow and learn, they won’t do that with us holding their hands and cleaning up for them.”

  Kat stood, nodding. “If things go wrong, we can help them pick themselves up and dust themselves off.”

  Cal grinned but there was little humour in him as he switched his gaze from one to the other of his lifelong friends.

  “As harsh as it sounds, Ed, you know there isn’t much we can do to help them until they start transition. This effort proves they are well able to defend themselves while we look into this.”

  Ed held his hands up, frustrated, yet conceding the point. “Alright, you are both right. We need to investigate and try to discover what is going on. The Broken sharing a camp with humans should not have been possible.”