by Guy Antibes
“I’ve removed his block on me. Now let’s see if I can do the same for you.”
She took a deep breath and threw out a tendril towards Lurini. Closing her eyes, she could sense the man. As she brushed the tendril over Lurini, she sensed the same kind of haze that had surrounded her. The effect reminded her of Rullon’s spell to hide her sword. Lurini’s magic powers seemed to have been coated with similar magic to keep his talent inside.
Bellia used a mental brush to softly scrub the spell away. As she worked, flashes and sparkles lit the dark room. When she finished, she found she could add to the uncovered power within Lurini. She opened her eyes after the haze lifted.
“Try something now,” Bellia said.
Lurini stood with his mouth open, looking at Bellia’s stubbed fingers. “You shouldn’t be able to do that.” He shook his fingers in long-unused codes and created a ball of light. “A simple spell to test my powers.” The light showed him grinning from ear to ear.
He thrust the codes towards the ball and it turned colors. A few more codes and the light turned into the body of a woman. Lurini laughed and threw his fingers at the light, cloaking them in darkness once again.
“Perhaps we aren’t toothless, after all,” Bellia said. “What do you think I can do with my kind of magic to save us?”
“See if you can coat me with that magic shield.”
Bellia drew her power again and, using the brush concept, this time she thought of painting a barrier over Lurini.
“Try to make your light.”
Lurini shook his fingers. “My magic’s has departed from these recently-talented fingers.”
Bellia took his coating off. “Let me try to do it quicker. I was brushing it off. This time I’m going to try to visualize a net.
Lurini made a ball of light to verify his powers returned. “Do your worst.”
“It just might be.” Bellia clamped her lips. She could feel her powers diminishing. The lines drew into the central point and Bellia projected a net falling over Lurini. “Try again.”
Lurini couldn’t make his light.
“Okay, this is my last restoration. I’m getting physically tired from all of this magic.”
Lurini’s powers returned.
“Your father and mother didn’t have this kind of power,” Lurini said. “They could have stopped my men and me if they did.”
“Perhaps. Now I think I somehow let the forces center in my mind without thought. I’m controlling what I do better when I don’t worry about losing the power.”
“You have a unique talent in the world. I’m glad you’re on my side.”
“Whose side am I on? My powers didn’t help Ulu.” Bellia could feel a sob when she mentioned her friend.
Bellia sat in silence for a while and then let Lurini entertain her, describing his doggy adventures. She could see how Fillia was enchanted by the wizard’s stories. The laughter helped to lessen the pain of loss and of letting her friend and Trill, Ulu’s father, down. She couldn’t shake off the tragedy of Ulu’s death.
The door opened and a guard looked down into their dungeon. “It is time you met the King.”
She thought of Ulu and his fighting frenzy and when the right circumstance arose to avenge the little man’s life, Bellia committed to the same focus that Ulu used.
~~~
Chapter Thirty-Four
A Devastating Development
~
Eight guards escorted the two prisoners up worn stone stairs and corridors bathed in darkness. Torches lit up circles of dripping walls and slime like tiny beacons in the night. Lurini hung his head down in a defeated posture and Bellia followed his lead.
They came up where a weak watery sunlight lit an ornate corridor. Even the feeble light made her close her eyes for a moment until they adjusted to the brighter light. After walking forever, the guards finally stopped in front of two large doors.
One of the front guards knocked. The door opened and they were marched into a modestly-sized audience room. King Cressian sat on a richly carved chair, three steps above the rest in the little throne room. Bellia could see the family resemblance. Her father and brothers shared similar facial features. None of it defined Bellia’s face or figure.
“You accompanied Fillia to her old house. I know who Bellia is, but who are you?” Shibito said peering at Lurini. “Wait. You’re Lurini, aren’t you? Who turned you back into a human?”
“Count Crotho pissed on me in a drunken stupor. That was all it took, a cure just like the curse.”
Shibito’s eyes glared and then the wizard shrugged off his shock. “Enjoy wearing human flesh for just a bit longer. This time we will do something more permanent and you can join your family in the underworld as your flesh burns off your bones. Better yet, we can help you see it all burn before you finally leave us.” His dark cruelty astounded Bellia.
“And you? Bellia, who traveled with the strange little man with the flashing blue eyes? He was a guardian from Helevat. It took me all night to research those eyes.”
“Ulu was a wonderful man and a friend.” Bellia could feel her eyes water again, but the time wasn’t quite right to cry.
Shibito fondled Bellia’s short sword. “I marvel that you have traveled so far. You gave King Rollack this long knife and the Roanokan wizard used it.” Shibito said with a slight measure of respect. ‘You have eluded our search for much too long, but now I have you in my control.” Shibito smiled. “You have powerful friends. Few wizards could remove Lurini’s curse.”
Lurini looked at Bellia with raised eyebrows.
“Didn’t know you had your eye on this wench, Lurini. Perhaps we can cast the same spell on you both. It will save time and effort.” Shibito looked at the King and laughed.
King Cressian spoke with an ugly smile on his face. “Lurini. You once performed a noble service for us. Now Shibito will give you your final reward.”
“And what reward should you receive for killing my wife and stepchild? The day will come.”
“Perhaps it will be today,” Bellia said calmly, although she felt anything but calm. “I have something to show you.” Bellia pulled the Griannan amulet out from her hidden pouch in her belt and showed it to the King. “I am Bellia, daughter of Norlian, the brother you killed. You ordered Lurini to kill my family. This amulet invalidates your claim to the Griannan throne.”
King Cressian opened his mouth, but Lurini interrupted. “I know she is who she said she is. I thought all were killed, but we didn’t know Norlian had a third child. She was in the village when I kidnapped her mother. I can verify that she speaks the truth and the amulet will prove her claim.”
While Lurini talked, Bellia threw off the spell net that obscured their power and threw a similar net over Shibito.
“Kill them now, Shibito,” the King commanded. “I don’t want to hear any more of their gibberish.”
The wizard made his codes and threw his spell at Lurini. Nothing happened. Lurini fidgeted with his hands and threw a spell of his own at Shibito, making the Kokotan itch all over.
The King stood up and called his guards to kill both of them. The guards hesitated, looking at the powerful Shibito writhe in agony, scratching furiously at his body. Bellia grabbed her short sword from floor where it dropped from the hands of the distracted wizard and faced the guards as Lurini immobilized the King.
The guards advanced and Bellia began to cut a swath through the men, igniting her own fighting frenzy in sympathy of Ulu. They weren’t very competent fighters and she defeated them quickly and without remorse. They heard fighting in the hallway outside, culminating in Karan kicking the door open. He stopped in shock, seeing the wizard in agony and the King frozen like a statue by the throne and the guards all dead or bleeding heavily.
Lurini picked up a guard’s sword. “Permit me.” He plunged his sword into the King and then into Shibito. “So that he may never bother anyone again.” Lurini punched many codes and threw the final one at Shibito, who burst into
flame and seconds later his body collapsed into ashes on the floor, while he still clawed at his skin. He left the King motionless, with blood pooling at his feet.
“That’s what happened to my parents.” Bellia said shivering and looking at the ashes of Shibito and then at Lurini. She closed her eyes and threw a net back over Lurini.
Lurini tried to make a light and failed. He hung his head. “It’s nothing I don’t deserve. Your family died instantly, by the way. At least I don’t have to bark for my breakfast.” He gave a sly little laugh filled with irony.
Bellia slapped him on his back. “You understand why I’ll not release you.”
The man nodded and put his hand on Bellia’s arm. “I deserve much worse from you.” He bowed. “You gave me the opportunity to be the one to take revenge. I could ask for nothing more.”
Fillia and Corl entered the room escorted by two of Karan’s men. Lurini ran to Fillia and hugged her. She hugged him back.
“And I introduce you to the woman who is soon to be Queen Bellia,” Lurini said.
Bellia walked over to her friends. “A little formality first. There is a spell written around the amulet. When it’s activated, the amulet causes the form of a crown to glow over the heads of those in line to the throne.”
“Lurini, I’m going to give you your power back one more time. I warn you, I think I can break any spell you can try.”
Lurini gulped and nodded his head. “You should know by now that I’m not the man to harm you.”
Bellia looked at the ash pile that once was Shibito and took a deep breath before releasing Lurini. The wizard examined the back of the coin and then punched the code. The amulet glowed but no crown appeared above Bellia’s head.
She gasped in shock. She could think of only one answer that would suffice. Norlian wasn’t her real father. Her brothers were step-brothers. Was that why Norlian left Grianna? Her mind reeled. She had to push these thoughts away from this critical moment.
Bellia gasped at the crowns that appeared over Fillia and Corl’s heads.
“Corlian is your full name right?” Bellia said, her stomach flipping at the turn of events.
The boy nodded. Bellia struggled with her thoughts. She wasn’t a Queen after all. Her quest had just been completed without taking the throne at the end. Was that what she really wanted? Bellia realized that she had no concept of what to do when she had finished in Grian. She wouldn’t have known what to do as Queen and was surprised to find that a great relief.
“Our old house was warded against our return,” Fillia said. “My father was named Pestian, Cressian’s cousin. We left long before he ascended to the throne when my father argued one too many times with his uncle. When I was born, the kingdom was crumbling and father had the foresight to hide my existence. I came back to our house as the daughter of our new cook. Corl,” she put her arm around the boy, “is my son by my dead husband, the former mayor of the village where you found me. We’ve been in hiding these long years. I will abdicate if I have to. My son shall be the new king.”
“Ah ha!” Karan said. “King Cressian must have suspected you were alive if he had Shibito place the spell. You walked into a trap.”
If Bellia hadn’t volunteered to escort Fillia, Ulu would be standing next to her. Bellia sighed and then put the amulet over Corlian’s head and the crown glowed even brighter. “Long live the new King of Grianna!”
Everyone in the room repeated Bellia’s pledge. She stepped back and let the moment seep in. Was this what all of the nudges were about? To crown the rightful King of Grianna? It felt good to help Fillia and Corlian and it looked like Lurini might become part of the royal family the way Fillia looked at the wizard.
She stepped back and released the spell Lurini cast on the former King. Cressian’s body collapsed to the floor. And this was worth Ulu’s death? She didn’t know that her ultimate revenge would feel like ashes in her mouth.
A man Bellia had never met walked into the room, ignoring her. Evidently he led the revolt. The man knelt in front of Corlian, and then the others knelt.
Bellia sat on one of the chairs and looked out of the window, numb from the completion of her quest. What had she really accomplished? Bellia wanted to feel exultant, but why did she have to feel so defeated and sad? These were not her people, after all. Rullon said her mother had come from the north. But Bellia was conceived while her mother was married to Norlian her stepfather. It was nearly too much. The shock of it all, along with the spell casting, left Bellia with little strength. She looked on at the celebration in the hall feeling like an empty husk.
Karan sat down next to her. “And you have thought all this time that you were in line to the throne?”
“I guess. I really didn’t think about being Queen. I came here because I felt I had to. King Cressian was responsible for my family’s death. I know my mother gave birth to me. We looked a lot alike. Right now she’s in an urn in my house.” She put her hands to her face.
Her head shot up. “Lurini, can you revive any person who has died?”
The wizard’s joyful face turned grim. “No. They need to have the talent.”
“But Ulu’s eyes glowed when he went into his frenzy.” She hoped against hope.
Lurini shrugged. “We can but try. Do we know where his body lies?”
“It’s where he fell in the old house. It took us a day, but when we found Ulu’s body in the house of Pestian, we couldn’t wait to move against the King,” Karan said.
~
The house still stood, bathed in spiderwebs with the windows opaque from years of neglect. Ulu’s body had begun to smell by the time Bellia, Karan, Lurini and some of Karan’s men arrived. The little man lay in a pool of dried blood, but he still looked like he slept on the floor.
“I’ve never raised anyone,” Lurini said. Bellia could hear the fear in his voice.
“Do you know the spell?”
He nodded. “It is taught in tandem to the spell that burns.” Lurini put his hands out and started punching codes with his fingers. “Rise!”
Ulu’s body shook violently as a mist covered his body. When the mist dissipated, Ulu’s skin showed a pinkish hue and lay still. Lurini walked up to the little body and poked his finger into the man’s back.
Ulu blinked and slowly sat up. “I need food and water. I am famished.” He shook his head and looked at the dried blood around him. “Oh, I’ve been leaking.” He clutched at some of the wounds in his body.
Bellia laughed with relief and couldn’t feel more elated as she helped her companion up. “Lurini saved you. The wizard knocked us out with a spell and they…” She could barely see the little man as sheets of tears covered her eyes. “…and they thrust their swords.”
She put her arms around Ulu and cried. Cried for his resurrection, cried that her journey had ended and cried just to cry.
“Can we go home now?” Ulu smiled. “After I get some food in me and the holes patched up. I think I still leak a bit,” he sang.
“First food, and then we’ll find a healer to help close your wounds. We will travel to Togolath and then hopefully Rullon can transport you to Helevat. I’d hate to try it myself,” Bellia sang back and smiled. “You still have wounds you must recover from.”
“Can’t we return through the plains?”
“I’m not sure where I’m going, but not to Helevat. Not right now, anyway.”
The group left the house in considerably better spirits than when they arrived.
~
Eating in a dining room at the palace, Karan looked at Bellia from the side with a crooked smile. That look seemed to have released some of the depression that overcame her once the elation from Ulu’s resurrection faded. Traveling through Grianna had raised her expectations. She hadn’t quite gotten over her shock at not being her father’s daughter.
“The Kokotan wizard was responsible for so many deaths of my army friends. He’s gone and the King is gone. Lurini even ran them through—not me.”
“But he said you did it together.”
“I thought I’d be doing it with Ulu. But, yes, Lurini and I did it. We won because they wanted to gloat, especially Shibito. It was their downfall.”
“So what will you do now?” Karan said.
“I’m not needed here. I’m not a Griannan and wouldn’t know the first thing about helping Fillia and Corlian restore the country. It’s back to Togolath and talk to Rullon. Ulu told you about him?”
Karan nodded. “What about my suggestion for us to just go away? My duty is done here, too. There are more than enough of us to help advise Corlian make a better Grianna.”
“If Rullon thinks I can transport all the way to Testia, perhaps...” She turned and looked Karan in the eye. “How would you like to spend some time in a house fifty feet above a desert floor?”
She grinned with sudden enthusiasm and grabbed Karan’s upper arm and kissed him on the cheek.
“It sounds good to me.” He pulled Bellia closer and gave her a real kiss.
~The End ~
A Bit About Guy
With a lifelong passion for speculative fiction, Guy Antibes found that he rather enjoyed writing fantasy as well as reading it. So a career was born and Guy anxiously engaged in adding his own flavor of writing to the world. Guy lives in the western part of the United States and is happily married with enough children to meet or exceed the human replacement rate.
You can contact Guy at his website: www.guyantibes.com.
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Books by Guy Antibes
The Power Bearer
How Norra obtained the power and the extraordinary lengths she went through to rid herself of it.
What’s a girl to do when all of the wizards in her world are after her? She runs. But this girl runs towards the source of her power, not away from it. Along the way she picks up, among others, a wizard, a ghost, a highwaywoman and a sentient cloud. Through thick and thin, they help Norra towards her goal of finding a solution in a far off land that no one in her world has even heard of.
