by D L Colon
Noryad is back in the same scene and Raphael has killed Coral. He hears a voice in his head asking: Can you go on without her? Or will your grief consume you until you cease living?
Noryad knows that he can’t go one without Coral, but he also knows he has a duty to fulfill before he can join her.
Noryad jumps to his feet and runs toward Coral just as Raphael releases her. Noryad grabs her before she hits the floor and, with tears running down his face, he looks into her eyes and kisses her soft lips one last time before connecting with her mentally: Go, my love. I set you free, my heart belongs to no other and my body will only belong to you. I will see you on the other side when the time comes.
Noryad’s eyes fill with rage and turn red, showing his Behemoth blood. He lays Coral’s lifeless body on his throne and turns to face Raphael. He doesn’t say anything as every member of Behemoth unconsciously gets up, their eyes glowing red.
Noryad says to all of them, and himself: I shall show no mercy because you have shown me none. I will kill you over and over again. I have the power to bring you back to life just to kill you again. I shall use the strongest of all magic.
He uses Nightfall to make a cut on his hand and then he drenches the sword in his blood. After the offering is made Nightfall’s mystical voice fills the room: An offering has been made. The soul of one for the soul of another is what you seek. I shall grant you the power you seek, Noryad King, but first you must grant me retribution and give me the soul you seek.
When the voice fades Noryad runs toward Raphael, and moving faster than he thought possible, he makes several different cuts on Raphael’s body. Every member of Behemoth does the same because their bodies are being controlled by Noryad. They keep cutting Raphael until Raphael dies. Noryad is going to revive him, so he can kill him again, when Coral’s soul stops him.
“Let it go, my love.”
Noryad stops and realization is evident on his face as he starts crying. For the next few days Noryad is alone, dwelling on the death of his Coral. He has lost the reason to live, but he made a vow to protect those who can’t so he continues to live. He has had a funeral for all the deaths in the war and has made sure to send his condolences to each family. He sees himself in the future and knows that his Kingdom has prospered. He also sees that he has ruled without a Queen by his side. His hair has turned gray and he knows death is upon him. He embraces what is to come, knowing he will be with his beloved Coral once more and his eyes get the same spark they held in his younger days. As he slips into his peaceful death his eyes slowly open and he sees that he is on his bed in the Castle of the Kingdom of Death.
Darius looks at him and says, “Trial number three is officially over.”
“Yes, but I had to pay a huge price for it.”
Chapter 70
Darius is with Noryad, waiting for him to get ready. When he doesn’t move from the bed Darius says to him, “Get up, son. You have to be coroneted today before you leave and you leave today.”
Noryad gets up and follows Darius to the Throne Room. Once they’re there Darius says, “We have to go and get the armor.”
The moment Noryad steps into each hall he feels a strong magic calling him from each of the rooms they pass as they head toward the room of the sword. Once they arrive at the sword room Darius says, “You will see the stone is back in its original form. All you have to do is place the sword back into the stone and leave the room. As you leave the room the armor will attach itself to you piece by piece and I will give you the crown personally.”
Noryad takes a deep breath, nods and opens the door. He walks in, puts the sword back in its place, and starts to leave the room. As he slowly leaves the room the armor starts attaching itself to his body. First the greaves, then the chainmail, the waist, the gauntlets, and everything else. Just as he reaches the door the chest plate affixes itself in place. Once he’s in the hall his body is encased in solid black armor. On the back is a mirror image of the Phoenix that is on his back and on the front is a dragon that is identical to the one on his forearm.
Noryad looks at the armor and whistles in amazement. Darius smiles at his reaction and says, “Congratulations, Noryad King, first bearer of the Armor of Kings. Now follow me.”
Noryad follows Darius to the end of another hallway and on a stand in the middle of a circular room sits a crown of red and black. Noryad looks at it intently and asks, “Why those two colors?”
“The crown was created using rare to find red and black gold. The black gold symbolizes death and the red symbolizes blood. They are hardly compatible for this, but the creator of it died making it and it’s one of a kind.” Noryad is in awe of the crown but he kneels and Darius picks up the crown and says, “I, Darius, First Necromancer of the King Lineage, hereby grant the Crown of Death to Noryad King, King of Death. Noryad, you are hereby officially the King of Death. Now I shall tell you the spell I was reading. The name of it is Soul Healing and it means you use a part of your own soul to heal the soul of another. If you are willing to pay the price here are the words.”
Noryad feels a rush of magic as the words are engraved into his mind. Once they are there Darius looks at Noryad and says, “I shall grant you the answer to one question, all you have to do is ask. It can be anything except something about the trials.”
Noryad thinks for a moment then says, “I have a simple question. “How long have I been here and has the war started?”
Darius chuckles and says, “That’s two questions, but I shall answer both. You have been here for two weeks in island time and the war already started. It isn’t going well for your side.”
Noryad yells, “Shit!” and starts running toward the door.
When he reaches the door Darius stops him and says, “Remember son, you are ready, but are you ready to continue living without your loved one?”
“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”
“I’ll be watching, Noryad King, and waiting for that answer.”
Noryad opens the door and goes back down the road to his body, but he sees that many souls are going to the river of the dead and he thinks to himself: I better get back fast.
When he returns he sees that his body is in his room and Charlotte is there taking care of him. He makes Charlotte fall asleep for a few seconds as he returns to his body. The moment he returns to his body he feels foreign in it, but he knows that’s because of the time he has been out of it. He feels Charlotte starting to stir and he slowly opens his eyes. He turns his head and looks toward her, causing her to jump and a look of surprise to form on her face.
“Water,” he whispers in a raspy voice and she jumps up and gets him a glass of water. His throat is so dry that he drinks it down without pausing for a breath and hands the empty glass back to her. She jumps up and fixes him more.
After he takes a couple more glasses of water he is finally able to talk. “Can you help me sit up?” he asks her.
Charlotte puts her arm under him and helps him sit on the edge of the bed. Once seated he starts to move his hands and feet, getting back the motion of his body. After making sure everything works he stands and starts slowly walking around the room. After a few minutes he looks at Charlotte and asks, “Are we at war?”
“Yes, milord,” she answers then goes on to add, “we have been for two weeks now.”
He is sickened by this news, but quickly pulls himself together and asks, “How is my Coral?”
Charlotte looks at him with a grim expression on her face and answers, “She has had hardly any sleep these past two weeks and she has lost weight due to not eating well since they have been on the battlefield.”
Fury fills him, but he remains expressionless as he addresses Charlotte again. “Thank you Charlotte. I need to get a shower and I will be back with you. Don’t go anywhere.”
Noryad disappears into the bathroom and jumps into a cold shower. As he’s washing himself fury overtakes him and he punches the wall. He didn’t think it would happen this fast, or that
he would be gone this long. Coral has suffered through worry that he wouldn’t come back and lack of food because they did not have time to prepare properly.
After he’s finished he dries himself with his powers and puts on jeans and a t-shirt. He is wondering how to get the Armor of Kings to come to him when he hears Darius in his mind: You must summon the Armor, my liege.
Noryad says thanks and leaves the bathroom. Once in his room he puts on his socks and combat boots then looks at Charlotte and says, “Give me your hand. We are leaving.”
Charlotte looks confused and asks, “Leaving for where, milord?”
“We are going to the battlefield,” he answers and they disappear in a flash of black light.
Chapter 71
For the past two weeks Coral has been worried to death about Noryad, but right after he left Albert appeared to wage war on the castle. Every warrior was ready, like they have been expecting a surprise and they were ready for it. Each member of Behemoth has been working nonstop to help those who needed additional training and every time a warrior was sent that they trained, fewer casualties have been reported.
The same cannot be said for Albert’s army. He brought many warriors with him, but he didn’t expect to find resistance here. Coral has lost her appetite and isn’t sleeping well. Her lack of sleep and lack of food is starting get noticeable to them so they have forced her to sleep and eat something while one of them watches over Noryad, but she can’t sleep because she doesn’t know if he is alive or dead. Even though she doesn’t feel their connection, she knows deep in her heart that he is alive.
The war has been going well to this point, but they are now showing the sign of needing fresh warriors. They have lost many of their own due to fatigue and Albert’s group is larger in numbers. He is slowly approaching her position, but she knows the members of Behemoth will defend her and as long as she remains with one of them she won’t need to be afraid of anything happening to her. Everything is going well on their side until she feels a rush of magic coming from the castle. She feels her connection to Noryad snap back in place and her body comes back alive as her magic surrounds her.
Trez, Merlin, Xandar and his men, Christina and Bryan turn to face Coral because they have seen a light come into the room when there isn’t supposed to be any. Bryan opens his mouth in amazement as he says, “Coral, your body is glowing.”
Coral snaps at him in irritation, “Stop playing around Bryan, this isn’t the time to be playing some kind of joke.”
Xandar clears his throat and asks, “Milady, have you looked at your body?”
Coral looks at herself and sees that her body really is glowing and shock registers on her face. Before she can say anything a flash of black light fills the room and in the middle of the room Noryad is kneeling in front of Coral and Charlotte runs to Xandar arms.
Noryad looks up with a mischievous smile and says, “I’m back everyone”
Coral collapses into his arms, unconscious from the shock of his sudden appearance.
A few hours later
Noryad is talking with Merlin, Xandar and the rest of them, explaining to them what happened when he disappeared and giving some orders. His father is there, too, listening to what he’s saying when Coral regains consciousness. As she slowly opens her eyes she sees Noryad in front of her, his deep, hazel eyes looking at her.
She slowly raises her hand and Noryad grabs it. She smiles as tears roll down her cheeks. Between sobs she manages to say, “You have returned to me, my love.”
“Yes, Mi Diosa, I returned to you, but it is only for a short time. I have half of what I went to look for. After this we have to get the Guild leaders and everyone from the Lost City here for the War that Raphael is going to bring to our Castle. I came to see you, my love, before I leave again to claim the sword.” Noryad kisses Coral’s lips, and says, “Te amo, Mi Diosa. I promise to return to you soon.” Then he rises and disappears in a flash of black light.
Chapter 72
Merlin, Xandar and the rest are there talking with Coral. Coral looks around the room and asks, “Have any of you seen Megan?” Concern for the young warrior, and her new found friend, evident in her voice. Megan just recently joined them, but she quickly found her place in the castle as they all worried over Noryad.
They look at her and Xandar answers, “No. She said she was going to fight, but we are waiting for her to comeback.”
Coral takes a deep breath and evaluates her body before speaking again, “I’m feeling better now, but does anyone know what that armor was that Noryad was wearing?”
All of them stop to think for a moment, but they are as clueless as she is. Bruce answers, “We don’t know, Milady, but I am sure we will hear news of that soon.”
Just as the words leave his mouth Megan comes running in. “Goddess, we need everyone outside, including you. Albert has a powerful sorceress attacking our troops and it’s getting pretty bad.”
Merlin uses his power to sense the sorceress and gasps in astonishment. “This cannot be. She is supposed to be dead.”
Everyone in the room turns to face him and Coral asks, “Who is attacking us?”
Merlin looks at them with a deadly expression, which sends a chill down everyone’s spine, and utters only one name, “Morgana.”
******
Noryad appears at the catacombs and he feels the magic of the strong sorceress. He turns around, looks toward the castle and whispers, “Merlin, I leave it in your hands. I will be back as soon as I can.”
He summons Nohar and Nohar instantly appears and asks, “Yes, Milord?”
“Why aren’t the souls helping fight this war?”
Nohar drops his head and says, “Because we cannot come unless you summon us.”
Noryad thinks about this for a moment. “I am sorry, my friend. I didn’t even think about that.” Then he sends his thoughts into the River of Death: Hear me, my fallen warriors from times long ago. It is I, Noryad King, and I summon you to serve the crown, not for my own gain, but for the safety of those in my Kingdom. War has come to my Kingdom, one that can’t go on much longer because we have another one approaching, and that other is from the one who brought this Kingdom to the ground. I shall grant you all the power to fight like you did in life. Help me protect our Kingdom.
One of the warriors responds: And what shall we gain in return for serving you, milord?
Noryad smiles, knowing this would come, and answers: I shall grant you your rest, the one you all have been denied for so long. One that I know all of you deserve. Serve for these two wars and your rest is granted.
Noryad hears the voice of the warrior answer back: it shall be done, Milord.
Noryad breaks the connection to the souls and turns to face the two guardians. “Will you stand against your King?” He asks them in a commanding voice.
They drop to their knees in reverence to their King and Noryad walks straight into the catacombs, but before he leaves them he turns around and says, “Don’t let anyone in. When I come out you will be going with me to the battlefield.”
The Guardians say in unison, “Yes, Milord.”
Noryad smiles as he continues walking into the catacombs, not knowing what’s waiting for him.
Chapter 73
Coral, Megan, Xandar, Merlin, and the rest of the group are running to their positions. Coral and Megan head to the front lines while the rest go to lead a unit. Merlin steps up on Coral’s right and they can all feel the power radiating off the sorceress. She’s using just enough power to induce fear in everyone as she walks toward them with Albert.
Morgana is beautiful with her long dark hair, blue eyes as deep as the sea and creamy white skin. She is dressed in a long, flowing black gown, the one legend says she started wearing once she retained a better position within the magical community.
Morgana and Albert stop in front of Coral and Merlin and there’s an uncomfortable silence. Morgana is the first to speak, “Hello, my love, it seems the years haven’t changed
that strong will you have about you. Being closed in that magical prison you left me in was a long, cold and lonely time for me. I missed you so much, Merlin.” She pokes out her bottom lip in a pout as she stretches her hand out to touch Merlin’s face.
Merlin takes a step back to prevent her from touching him and says, “I did what I had to do to protect the Kingdom from you. I like that I still have an effect on you.” He pauses and looks pointedly at her dress. “You know how much I loved seeing you in that dress, but you wanted something I couldn’t let pass. Something you still hate me for.”
Morgana fills with a barely controlled rage, but she manages to control her tone as she says, “You locked me in a prison, you old magician. I wanted power and you took it away from me, but that’s something I can get now once we destroy this so called Goddess.” She sneers and points at Coral. Megan starts to say something, but Coral stops her, which makes Morgana smile devilishly and say, “That’s right. Keep her in check if she wants to remain alive or she will regret it.”
Coral is watching Morgana intently as she says to Megan, “Let it go for now. This isn’t the moment to fight her.” Then Coral turns to face Albert, “What do want, Albert Rose?”
Albert flashes his charming smile and says, “I’m here to tell you, my love, that all I want is to help you and make you mine. Once you do what I want you will never have to face any threat from anyone again.”
Coral laughs loudly at his words and says, “I am sorry to disappoint you, but I already belong to someone, and that someone is far stronger than both of you.”
Annoyance crosses Albert’s face as he looks from left to right before focusing on Coral again, “Well, if he is so almighty then why don’t I see him here?”
Seeing the reaction of nervousness come across Coral’s face Albert says, “That’s what I thought. He isn’t here to protect his own people.”
