He shook it off as he came to Ruel’s manor. Once inside, he looked for Ruel and found him in the library in the middle of a discussion with Rebekah. They both fell silent as Onyx walked in. Ruel raised a brow expectantly but Onyx grinned at Rebekah instead. “Hey, Rebekah? Have you been working on that portal magic of yours?”
Rebekah crossed her arms. “What do you want, Onyx? You only ever talk to me when you want something now.”
Onyx brushed off her retort. It was probably true enough. He only put up with her because Ruel loved her and she was good for Ruel. “Niyx wants to know if it’s possible for you to make a portal to somewhere he shows you in order to help him rescue the Night Creatures and bring them to safety.”
“If he can show me where they are, I can do even better than that. I can make portals to wherever they are and make them a magical beacon that boosts his magic so they can find him,” Rebekah said with a satisfied smirk.
“She’s been practicing,” Ruel laughed when Onyx gave her a stunned look of disbelief.
“Let me go change into my witch clothes. I’d hate to ruin these nice Queenly ones,” Rebekah said as she sashayed her way out of the room.
Onyx watched her go then looked back at Ruel. “Aren’t you sick of her yet?”
“She’s not that bad you know. You two should work it out. And no, you can’t kill her.” Ruel snorted and went back to looking through his papers on the table.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
They chose the biggest open room in Niyx’s ice fortress. It took some help from Demi for Niyx to show Rebekah where to make the portals but in the end, they had twenty different ones scattered through the world, and they were all laced with his magic calling his people to them. That had been the easy part. The hard part was figuring out how to protect both the portals and the Night Creatures fleeing into them. A lot of them were in parts of the world where Night Creatures were hunted monsters.
Demi’s magic proved useful again. He walked through each of the portals and summoned a giant illusion of a dragon outside each of the portals. They would be invisible to the Night Creatures, but any living creatures wandering into the area would see the dragon and, hopefully, decide it was a bad place to be.
It took a few days for the Night Creatures to come but when they did, it was like a flood. All sorts of creatures came crawling, limping, leaping through the portals. Ghouls, zombies, vampires, shades, wraiths, ghosts. When they entered Niyx’s castle, they were in a panic, scared, hunted. The moment they arrived, a peace settled on them that they had likely not known since they’d been alive. Their gratitude was clear, and not one hesitated to pledge allegiance to their new king.
Niyx met each one in person, took their name, made an effort to listen to their story. Even when they came flooding in like the tide. They were all escorted to their own rooms within the fortress which expanded as needed. Niyx found that, the more that came in, the more useful skills they brought from their past lives as the living. Blacksmiths, armorsmiths, magic users that could weave barriers or protection spells. And they were all eager to be useful, to help build this kingdom.
Kiril came to stand next to him as the latest group left. Nial babbled in her arms. “You are a good king, Niyx. Kind, noble. You fight for what you believe is right. It will be a difficult road for our people to find acceptance in a world that has always thought of them as monsters.”
“Perhaps some of them are,” Niyx said, watching the Night Creatures go about their business of building their homes and restoring their dreams. “But we will do our best to show that no more of us are than are bad in any other race,” He said, then trailed off as Onyx walked into the room with Callistra and Raijin behind him. He bared his fangs in displeasure, but Kiril put a hand on his arm to quiet him.
Onyx led them up to Niyx and bowed his head to his twin. “Niyx, Kiril. Raijin has something he would like to say.”
Raijin was once again wearing the armor of the Templars and so was his daughter. Niyx couldn’t help but scowl at them. Raijin bowed his head, regret filling his face. “King Niyx, I have come to apologize. I was maddened by the corrupt power of the dragon that flowed through me, but that is no excuse. I lost my family in an attack by Night Creatures, so I blamed all of your kind. I realize you must see me in a similar light after I attacked you for no reason when you were a child. I want you to know that I am deeply sorry. I don’t expect your forgiveness, but I have come to offer my service to you as liaison between your people and mine. If you will have me.”
Niyx considered the haggard man before him, recognizing the weight of age and duty that Raijin bore on his shoulders. He glanced at Callistra, who was giving him a pleading look, then looked to Kiril. Kiril just tilted her head. Clearly it was his decision alone. Perhaps she trusted him to make the right one. The fight with Raijin had been the only grudge he’d ever really held, and he had held it for many years, but he found it easier to let it go than he expected. “If you believe you can be a fair liason, that is all I ask of you.”
“I will do my best to learn and understand, King Niyx. As the entire world must do now. Your kind has been mistreated for so long that it will take time for the elves to understand that and to see that we also abused dragon kind. We want to make amends, and I hope to be able to lead them to that place. Thank you,” Raijin said, bowing low to Niyx.
“I will show him to Gravel,” Kiril said coolly, mentioning Niyx’s new gargoyle servant who had replaced Riven.
“I appreciate it, Queen Kiril,” Raijin said with another bow, then followed her out of the room.
“Thank you,” Callistra murmured, also bowing to Niyx. “I’ve been appointed overseer of the previously corrupted Templars so that we can root out any further corruption or zealotry. King Ruel sends his best wishes for a long and peaceful treaty between our people.”
Niyx nodded and smirked as he glanced at his twin before speaking to Callistra, “Thank you, Callistra. Hopefully, the association between our people will be more peaceful than your relationship with my twin.” He turned on his heel, his back to them, and left them standing there staring after him in shock as he walked away to get back to business.
He heard them start murmuring to each other behind him and found it amusing. Perhaps this woman could handle his twin. Niyx didn’t envy her the job, but he did hope they worked it out eventually. He sighed at the thought. It might take longer than the peace of the world. How interesting that all of this had started with the breaking of a treaty. He would have to remember the weight that an agreement could hold.
THE END
About The Author
Samantha Kroese is the author of seven published Dark Fantasy novels including the best-selling Fading Lights Trilogy. She has also written Restless Dreams of Darkness, Regret, and Ladykiller. She loves to write dark tales about hope surviving against impossible odds and brings a refreshing perspective to the genre. From a young age, her goal has been to write stories that will shine the light of hope for those living in the abyss. She has been writing fiction for nearly thirty years, ran a fantasy writer’s critique circle for fifteen years, and has edited works for other authors. She has completed writing dozens of fantasy novels and created thousands of detailed characters. She hopes to be able to present most of them to her reading public in due course.
In addition to writing, she is an avid horse lover and an animal rescue advocate, often speaking out for horse rescue and feral cat causes. She writes from the frozen tundra of Minnesota where she lives with her Arabian stallion, that she is convinced is really a unicorn, and her army of delightful rescued cat minions.
You can find her online at the following web addresses:
Author website: https://vnvstables.wixsite.com/authorsnkroese
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorKroese
Coming Soon:
If you enjoyed Niyx watch for these dark fantasy/horror titles by best-selling author Samantha Kroese being released in 2021:
The Darkest Sword
(Spring 2021)
Sephyrn
Assassins of Dakaal, book 4
(Summer 2021)
Cursed Song
(Summer/Fall 2021)
Niyx Page 13
