by Mary Duke
I could no longer contain my hatred for the woman standing before me. “ENOUGH. I will not listen to another word that spills from your cursed lips.”
Jadea squealed with excitement. “I was wondering when you were going to step up,” she said rubbing her hands together. “You see, there are very few laws I have to abide by as a reaper; one of the peskier ones is I can’t kill for fun. I have to be threatened.”
“Are you ready?” I asked Zavery.
“Ready if you are.”
“I’ve always wanted to try some of these,” I said muttering some of the curses I had found in my mother’s family grimoire.
Jadea stumbled backward, caught off guard by our power. Snapping her fingers, the elders returned to her one by one.
“You harvested your own friends?” Zavery questioned.
“They didn’t like my new approach,” she said winging her dark flames at us. “They tried to have me killed.”
“Too bad they didn’t succeed,” he said, gathering the dark orbs she had cast in the air and sending them back at her.
“What are you doing?” I said looking at Zavery, that’s dark magic.”
“I didn’t touch it. Relax, it was a trick Talin had taught me.”
Jadea fell onto the front of the vault, her breath taken away by her own magic.
I stepped closer, preparing to finish her.
“What are you doing?” Zavery shouted, jerking my shoulder backward.
“What I have to do,” I said turning back towards him. “If we don’t kill her, she’s going to kill us.”
“I can’t, my mom is still in there,” Zavery pleaded.
“From what you showed me, you are better off without her,” I replied, turning back to Jadea.
“She wasn’t always like that, she was under a lot of pressure from the council.” He tried to make excuses.
Just as I turned back to him, we were both knocked from our feet by a wall of power.
I was on my back and helpless. I was unable to open my eyes, and Jadea’s laughter rung in my ears.
“You fools should have taken the chance when it was there,” she spat.
I looked over at Zavery. His body lay motionless.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered to him, as I recited a verse I had never planned to use.
Every inch of my body electrified as Zavery’s soul entered my body and merged with mine.
The fuzziness cleared, and I blocked out Zavery’s racing mind as I rose to my feet.
“Impossible,” Jadea said, her eyes studying me.
“You must not be as powerful as you thought,” I said.
She looked down at Zavery. “Well, well, look who’s dabbling in dark magic now.”
“It’s for a good cause,” I said, releasing a wall of energy from my hands.
Jadea raised her hands and a black shield grew to protect her.
Time after time, no matter what I tried, nothing could penetrate her magic. I couldn’t fight her like this; there had to be another way. There had to be a way to weaken her.
“You know,” I said. “You never did say what Zavery’s role in this was. What could make you torture your own child?”
Jadea’s face narrowed. “I didn’t torture him, I trained him. When this is over, our people will need a proper King.”
Fire burned inside me, I could feel what Zavery felt, and his thoughts began to cloud my own.
“I guess we will find out what kind of King he will be,” I said, reaching through our memories and reminding myself what we were fighting for.
The energy that poured from my fingers, was unlike anything I had ever done. Standing there, I was caught in the moment; I lost all feeling and watched as Jadea’s magic failed her, and ours consumed her. In seconds, she was gone, and I fell to my knees, releasing Zavery.
Gasping for air, he rolled to his knees and crawled to my side. “Where. Is. She?” he said between gasps for breath.
I shook my head. I had no idea.
“Thank you,” Zavery said.
“For what?” I asked confused.
“Doing what I couldn’t.”
“I didn’t do it alone,” I reminded him, rising once again to my feet. “Now I don’t know about you, but I would love to know what’s on the other side of that door.”
“You read my mind,” he said joining me.
Together, with arms interlocked, we made our way to the vault.
Two handprints were embedded in the center of the door.
For a moment, our hands hovered over them, as the possibilities of what was behind it raced through our minds.
“One,” Zavery started to count.
“Two,” I continued.
“Three,” we said together, as we pressed our hands against the rock.
The door clicked and slowly slid open.
“Illiah,” I gasped, as the light flooded the vault revealing the one and only daughter of Illian, God of The Demons, in chains.
BODY
Book Two
PROLOGUE
“Who is that?” Zavery asked as the light filled the vault, revealing a woman suspended in chains in the center.
“Illiah,” I said, recognizing her face.
“Who is that?”
“Daughter of Illian, King of the Underworld, ruler of the Demons and Vampires.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me?” Zavery questioned, looking over at me.
I shook my head. “They did say whatever was in this vault would end the war…”
“So what, we’re going to walk out of here with this woman, and all will be forgiven?”
“She’s not just a woman, Zavery. She’s the one and only child of one of the most powerful Gods.”
“That I am,” Illiah spoke softly through cracked lips. “I am a Goddess, not a bargaining chip. Now free me from these chains.”
Zavery and I freed her legs, and I freed her arms as Zavery kept her from falling.
As soon as her feet reached the floor, she turned towards us and held her hands in front of her. “Where am I?” Illiah questioned. “And where is the bitch who locked me in here?”
“We don’t know exactly where we are,” I answered, “Nor do we know who was responsible for your capture.”
Illiah rolled her eyes. “I don’t have time for this,” she said bringing her hands together, but nothing happened. “Impossible,” she muttered, as she stormed outside and clicked her fingers together.
“What’s wrong?” I asked as I walked towards her.
Illiah grabbed a hold of my shoulders. “My magic,” she muttered before she collapsed.
Zavery and I exchanged glances, as he lifted her over his shoulder. “I don’t feel any magic.”
“Neither do I,” I said tracing my fingers over the palm of her hand.
“How do we get out of here?” Zavery asked.
“I don’t know where here is,” I replied. “But I suppose we could try the same way we got in?”
“Is that safe?”
“I don’t know… I don’t know how long we’ve been here. Time passes differently in all realms,” I replied. “But I don’t know of any other way.”
“Okay,” Zavery agreed hesitantly, as we made our way back to the stone door.
***
The answer was no. It was not safe. War still raged in Mahkana; the smell of fresh blood mixing with rotting corpses hung in the air.
The cries from a dragon pierced the sky overhead, and Emerald reached out to us.
“Follow the flames, we will get you,” she said.
Emerald, Kadance, and another dragon I didn’t recognize torched the street to our left, and as commanded we followed the flames.
“Can you carry her?” Zavery asked.
“I think so,” I said as he helped position her on my shoulder. “Why?”
Ignoring my question, he began throwing balls of energy into what remained of the buildings that surrounded us.
“Anytime now, Emerald!” he shoute
d as the dragons made another sweep of the street.
The blue dragon was the first to swoop down, picking both Illiah and me up with his talons, as Zavery protected his underbelly from the ground.
Once we were out of range, the dragon flew over Kadance and dropped us onto her back before he went back to recover Zavery.
CHAPTER ONE
The sun was just starting to lower, setting the sky ablaze in color, as we approached the mountain.
Illiah was still laid over the dragon in front of me, not having yet regained consciousness, though I tried a few times to wake her.
It had been a quiet journey back to the island. I had shut Kegan out completely. I wasn’t ready for that conversation yet. How much did he know that he wasn’t telling me, not only about the vault but about everything? The way he backed out when I needed him most was crushing; no explanation beforehand, no warning…
Kegan had been like my big brother nearly my whole life. Never once had he given me any reason to doubt him or question his intentions, but today he did, and it was soul crushing.
A crowd was gathered in the clearing when we landed, Itheus standing out front, watching.
“Are you sure he can’t see anything?” I asked Zavery.
“He is Ayana’s eyes,” he replied.
“Right,” I said, remembering that he had said that.
“Come,” Itheus said. “Let’s take her to my home, I have the supplies we will need.”
“Supplies?” I questioned.
Itheus laid his hand upon her forehead and slowly slid his fingers over her eyes. “There is still a connection here,” he said. “Whoever took her is still feeding on her energy. If we don’t sever the tie, I’m afraid she will die.”
A man I had never seen before carried Illiah up the mountain for us.
I couldn’t place where, but I knew I had seen him before. “Have we met?”
“A few times,” he answered, peering down at me from the corner of his eye.
I knew it, but where? I asked myself, studying the markings that twisted around his dark brown arms… “You’re a reaper, aren’t you?”
A grin spread across his face, and he nodded.
“Well, I like to put names and faces together,” I said. “Do you have a name?”
“Fabien Ryker,” he answered.
“You’re not much of a talker, are you?” I asked.
He shook his head.
“Fabin is a man of few words,” Itheus said wrapping his arm around my shoulders. “But he is a wise and fair man, as well as one of my oldest friends. Do not let his silence or appearance instil in you anything less.”
“Alright,” I said agreeing with Itheus. “Though I would still like to hear of when we’ve met,” I said to Fabien. This made the second time now in the last day that I have been told someone knows me, and I don’t know them. I prided myself with the fact that I never forgot a face.
When we reached Itheus’ home, the inside was already set up for us. The table had been cleared, candles were lit, and a mix of herbs filled the air.
“Lay her down here,” a small woman said as we entered, rushing Fabien.
“She is weak, Cilla,” Fabien said as he slowly laid her onto the table. “She doesn’t feel like my Illiah, she’s powerless.”
Cilla looked up at him and shook her head.
“Will you be able to tell me who did this?” he questioned.
She nodded. “Now please leave me to work. I will send for you if need be.”
“Come,” Itheus said shooing the three of us back out the door. “We have much to discuss.”
Behind his house he led us to a small crackling fire, where Kegan and Tork sat on log benches.
“Did you know that Illiah was inside the vault?” I asked Itheus.
“I did not, Sno,” he replied. “Ayana and I hadn’t a clue what was inside, we only knew it would be the key to ending this war.”
“It was my mother,” Zavery said without pulling his eyes from the fire.
Itheus looked him over. “The Queen?” he questioned. “I thought she died.”
“So, did I,” he responded. “I guess she was lost deeper in the dark magic than we thought.”
“Please explain,” Itheus urged.
Zavery looked to me, “Can you, please? I haven’t quite wrapped my head around it yet.”
“Jadea is the Queen, or the Queen is Jadea,” I started explaining. “And whoever that is, is now a sick and twisted, ridiculously powerful reaper, who is collecting souls and stealing their power.”Fabien snarked, “That’s impossible. Reapers have rules. Rules that cannot be broken.”
“Well, she’s found a way. We were there, we saw her toy with the soul of a friend we had lost just this morning.”
“Yes…” Itheus said. “Everything is starting to piece together now.”
Zavery looked to him. “Care to enlighten the rest of us?”
Itheus sat in silence for a few minutes piecing everything together. “Do you guys remember how I said this war started, how the elders brought back the body of a little girl named Liddy? The soul that brought her back was the Elder Josette’s; she was a wicked, wicked woman, one bound to the royal family in mysterious ways.
Illiah had to have known that Josette had returned to our realm, escaped the fate of death… When she died again, I have no doubt that Illiah would have been here herself to return her soul to the depths once again…
This would have given The Queen and the others the opportunity to trap her in the vault… but what I don’t get is why? What leverage would The Queen gain from becoming a reaper?” Itheus asked, looking at each of us.
“All she said is that it was for power,” I said. “She wanted to have power when she returned to her position as Queen.”
“She had power,” Zavery said. “I knew no one at the time that had more power than her; that was until you were born, Sno.”
“You and I were born with equal power,” I corrected him.
“Equal but opposite. Therefore, it was you who was the real threat to her crown.”
“What?” I recoiled, thinking we had settled this dispute.
“Our magic’s are not one in the same. I was born cursed. For many years, I was unable to control my magic, unable to control my temper…” Zavery shook his head. “You were perfect in her eyes. You were everything she needed to keep our family in power, I was nothing more than a thorn…”
“How were you cursed?” I asked Zavery.
Illiah walked around the house towards the fire pit where we sat. “The same way his mother was cursed,” she said. “The same way his family came to power.”
“Illiah,” Fabien said rushing to her side.
She ran her hand down his cheek but continued towards us. “Archer Blade,” Illiah said sitting across the fire from Zavery.
“My great, great grandfather,” Zavery replied looking up.
“Indeed. Do you know how he came into power?”
“He earned the right on the battlefield, then in the arena.”
“Aye,” Illiah said, agreeing with him. “Now how much do you know about Archer’s life before he became known?”
Zavery shook his head. Other than war stories, and the crowning, there had been no stories passed down of his grandfather.
“Archer Blade was a killer. He was a killer before he stepped onto the battlefields. He was twisted, sick, and thrived for the rush he got when he held someone’s life in his hands. His name was known among the reapers; hell, I even knew his name, because everywhere he went there was a trail of bodies that followed.” Illiah watched Zavery for any sign that he had heard this story before, but the blank expression on his face told her that this family secret had not been revealed.
“As with most killers, Archer got cocky, slipped up, and was caught. He had no way out, guards tracking him on every side.
“Quint Ryker, Fabien’s father, had followed Archer most of his life reaping the souls of the victims he had killed. He
knew there was no way Archer was going to make it out of these woods alive, and he wasn’t ready to give up his biggest supplier. This was when Quint made a deal.
“In exchange for one thousand souls, the cost of Quint’s freedom, he would not only help Archer escape these woods, but he’d also help him with what he wanted most.
“Archer wanted his name to be known. He wanted everyone in this realm to know of Archer Blade. In his mind, with fame came power, and with power came the ability to do as he pleased, no questions asked.
“This is exactly what happened. Archer and Quint struck a deal, and Quint made Archer an indestructible, unstoppable warrior. Archer marched through the battlefields, killing everyone and everything that stood in his way.
“And with every soul that Quint collected, his magic and his ego grew as well. This led Quint to become greedy, making deals with the big dogs in the Underworld, taking out loans that he only assumed he would be able to pay off, however…when Archer filled the quota, you could bet that his name was known all throughout this realm, and many others.
“The King at the time wanted only the best for his daughter, the heir to the throne. In his eyes, Archer had earned this position for all he had done to fight for the kingdom.
“Archer got everything he ever wanted. Everyone knew his name. As Prince of the strongest Kingdom in the realm, he had power. Archer also got something he didn’t expect to get in the deal.
“Selene, the King’s daughter. She was nothing like him. She was everything he wasn’t. Selene gave life to everything around her, her magic filled with hope, beauty, and love. She cured the sick desires that had driven his life. Because of her overwhelming energy, he no longer craved the feeling he got when he took someone’s life.
“Quint found himself stuck. The truth of what he had done was now known among the reapers, and my father was furious. 1000 years was added to Quint’s debt to my father, and all the ranks he had gained because of Archer were taken away. My father made sure that he would forever be a dog.” Illiah said looking to Fabien, a smirk spread across her face.
“Illiah,” Itheus said ignoring the crude remark. “How did you find yourself at the center of this?”
