The Legacy (The Darkness Within Saga Book 1)

by JD Franx

  Only one of the meeting rooms appeared to be occupied. Yrlissa spun to the left, stopping in the doorway. She recognized Pok Skal immediately as he explained the plans for their latest assignment to his crew. Having given Pok the contract the day before, Yrlissa nodded her approval as she pointed to the detailed drawings tacked to the wall. Pok bowed, smiling, so she stepped back into the hall, continuing on her way. The corridors were a sight to behold, and always made her feel at home. The lofty exposed-rafter ceilings and walls decorated with carvings and commissioned paintings of the guild’s long history brought back dozens of memories as Yrlissa passed by.

  At the far end of the sprawling compound, the council chamber usually sat empty. Consisting of two Sister and two Brother Blades, all elected for life, the council handled all administrative duties and decided which contracts were accepted. Councillors were most often elected later in life, or when permanent injuries prevented them from being effective killers, and as such, most were no longer active assassins.

  Arriving at the council chamber, Yrlissa pressed her left hand to the carved metal plate on the wall beside the doorway. The tattoo etched on her left palm activated the magical panel, and the doors swung open.

  Entering the circular room, she glanced towards the raised four-seat podium on the far wall, a stone’s throw away from where she entered. The council members were already seated. Her peripheral vision noticed the empty main floor seating around the outer edges; the meeting would be private, between her and the council only. Checking the six white marble pillars encircling the floor for hidden assassins, she smirked, knowing her name wouldn’t be joining the tens of thousands of dead Blades already carved into the pillars.

  Her boots clicking on the emblazoned hardwood floor, Yrlissa lowered her cowl in the ceremonial display of respect and approached the podium, but remained quiet. High Commander or not, she could speak only when the council addressed her.

  The Council Speaker, Falcon Yorsair, wasted no time getting started. “It has come to our attention, Commander Blackmist, that you completed an unsanctioned mark against one of the city’s underworld families. We would like to give you the chance to explain why. Why would you act without speaking to the council first? You’ve put the guild in an uncomfortable position now.”

  Yrlissa liked Falcon. He was the only Human in the guild who never saw a difference between his race and hers. Always there for her, just as his father had been; his presence alone helped to settle any minor concerns she had about the council’s intent.

  Calm and confident, she replied. “If you’re speaking about Rath Gasette, then I needed no sanction. The corpse was responsible for the death of our sister. A crippled sister who’d been granted permanent leave because of her loyalty and exemplary service, even after her injuries. Granted permanent leave guarantees her safety. I’d trained her myself from a child of four years. My only regret is that I couldn’t kill the pervert twice.”

  “Insolence!” hissed Merethyl Bellas, slamming her fist on the podium table. Hatred radiated off the woman like a physical presence. The feeling mutual, Yrlissa smirked. The most senior and unofficial head of the council didn’t stop there. “Do not presume to tell us what your duties are. Every one on this council was placed here for the betterment of the guild. Whether you like it or not, we have an agreement with the Talo Family that grants them certain exemptions.” The outburst shook Yrlissa. She didn’t understand. Any harm done to a Blade demanded vengeance; there were no exceptions, and certainly no exemptions.

  “Ma’am.” She bowed, struggling to withhold her own anger after the councilwoman’s disrespectful tirade. “A sister was raped and murdered. As senior councillor you should have sanctioned the order to kill Rath immediately, not waited…” She stopped herself, trying desperately to maintain the required respect.

  Merethyl’s eyes flashed with fury, but Magkahn Droverson was the first to answer. “Corla was no longer an active Blade, Yrlissa. We were handling the issue before you interfered. Our bylaws state that all action against the underworld families is to be approved by the council. You know this, and yet you acted alone.”

  Confused, Yrlissa persisted. “Secondary bylaws, yes. But our first and most important mandate states: secrecy, for the protection of the guild, always. Our second mandate: loyalty, for the protection of our own, always. Rath Gasette was a grunt with no close relations and absolutely no blood shared with any of Corynth’s criminal families. We have always acted without sanction if the offender is not in the ruling hierarchy or a close relation. Even that much is merely a courtesy when the offence is against a Blade, as this was. It doesn’t matter that she was retired. Her safety was guaranteed. If you don’t show the other guild members that their lives will be protected or in the least, avenged, how long will it be before this guild falls apart at your hands? Rath Gasette raped Corla and beat her to death. She was defenceless because she’d been paralysed while executing an unsanctioned, personal contract for you, Merethyl; one that she completed successfully and then dragged herself back here with a hand-and-a-half obsidian blade through her spine and no use of her legs. A contract you refuse to this very day to reveal the details of. I thought you would have a little more loyalty to your own kind, but it’s become clear. You’re a hypocrite who believes she can manipulate Blade doctrine to her own ends.”

  “Is that so?” Merethyl said, calming visibly.

  Alarm bells rang in Yrlissa’s mind. Merethyl was just as hot tempered as she was, but remained unnervingly relaxed after her initial outburst. But Yrlissa could bite her tongue no longer. Corla’s loyalty had been to the guild, right to the very end. Rath had beaten her to death because she’d refused to tell him where her husband had gotten the money from for their protection payment to the Talo family.

  “You cannot order an assassin to complete a contract without making the details available to that assassin’s commander. Either you tell me why you refused to avenge Corla or step down. That is Broken Blade doctrine!” Yrlissa barked, finally losing her temper.

  “A council vote supersedes Blade doctrine, Yrlissa.” Merethyl said, as she sat back, smiling with a sinister calm that prickled the fine hairs behind Yrlissa’s pointed ears. Before any of the other councillors could react to Yrlissa’s charges, a burst of air sounded from behind her, followed instantly by a sharp sting in the back of her neck.

  Shocked, she slapped her neck, grabbing a feathered dart from her flesh. Pulling it through her hair, she stared at the bloody tip. Too late, she realized a High Commander was, in fact, susceptible to error.

  “Traitorous shit,” she hissed as her tongue went numb. Collapsing as her legs folded, her head hit the floor, hard.

  Falcon Yorsair exploded from his seat, both his hands wrapped around his daggers. “How dare you, Merethyl! You cannot execute a first-year Duster, let alone a Commander, without—”

  “Without majority votes from the Guild Council,” Merethyl interrupted, her voice still calm. “I’m fully aware of that and I assure you I have them. It is why you weren’t notified. I didn’t need your vote and I certainly didn’t need you warning her about it. Your pathetic, old-man crush is just as disturbing as your father’s was.”

  Falcon looked from one fellow councillor to the next, hoping for help, but their unwavering gazes made it clear, it was a fight he wouldn’t win. The guild’s rules would protect him from Merethyl, but nothing could be done to save Yrlissa. With a final pained glance at her lifeless body, he turned to leave. He didn’t need to see her killer to know who it was; that debt would be settled on another day; her killer had no official guild protection. Slamming the door shut behind him, Falcon never looked back.

  Down on the council room floor a shimmer of light, similar to waves of heat rising from hot desert sands, emerged from the shadow cast by the right granite pillar behind where Yrlissa had stood. The iridescent movement coalesced into the solid form of Savis Ephemeral. A freelance killer, Savis was one of the few descendants of the ancient elder
bloodlines who had managed to retain their magical gifts the gods had granted their ancestors. The Ephemeral bloodline was all but extinct, having mostly been put to death for treachery some four thousand years ago, when they sided with a young DeathWizard against the kingdom.

  Savis bent to check his target, feeling no heart beat, he stood to his full six feet and stroked his neatly pointed goatee, as startling, pale-blue eyes looked up at the remaining council members. Though true invisibility had been bred out long ago, his family affinity was as close as one could get. The ability to bend light made him undetectable in shadow, while in direct sunlight he appeared as a ripple in the atmosphere, but assassins didn’t work by the light of day. Only the council knew of Savis, and only Merethyl knew that his loyalty really lay with her alone.

  While the council understood their meeting with Yrlissa might come to this, it gave them no pleasure, and it was with heavy hearts that they recorded the ugly proceedings in their minutes.

  Merethyl Bellas gave the council’s final command for the day. “Get rid of the body,” she ordered. Savis smiled and bowed. With two of the gravediggers newest helpers on Savis’ payroll the assassin could get rid of the body immediately, even during daylight hours. Nobody bothered to even look the gravediggers way when they hauled bodies across the city. Grabbing a handful of Yrlissa’s copper tresses, he dragged her from the room, unseen, using the same door Falcon exited through.

  Merethyl’s voice followed him out the door. “And make damn sure that body is never found.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Today was my thirty-fourth birthday. My family and I celebrated after learning I passed the adept exams and trials with honours. Thirty years I have lived here in Corynth, yet I still look as I did at eighteen. Why haven’t I aged in sixteen years? I am not Elvehn, nor is my earth-bond strong enough to suspend ageing; slow it, yes, but not completely stop. Only the true magical races like the Fae or the Ancients never aged, but they have been extinct for many millennia. What does that make me?

  SALEECE ZIRAKUS’ PERSONAL JOURNAL

  5025 PC

  CORYNTH

  Giddeon had to wait a day for answers that only his daughter could supply. He hadn’t expected to survive the rift spell, nor to find that two strangers had come through it somehow. The power Saleece had unleashed would have been a phenomenal display for a master wizard, let alone a young adept. He was gravely concerned to say the least.

  The newcomers had yet to regain consciousness, but his daughter was on her way to his study. With the help of Kasik and the palace guard, they had brought all three to Giddeon’s mansion, where a quick check revealed the man was not his son. He had no idea where Kael may have landed, but hopefully it was far from those who wanted him.

  He looked up as Saleece entered, and rose to hug her. “Gods, you scared me.”

  “I’m sorry, Father,” she whispered. “I’ve disappointed you.”

  He put a hand on each of her cheeks. “How could you think that? I’m not disappointed. I just don’t understand.”

  “I wasn’t fast enough. Kael was already out of reach when you broke through, so I cast a disruption spell to throw him off course. I can’t even guess where he might have come out, but he’s not with whoever wanted him. I sensed that he had already tapped his power and was using it to drag those other two into the bridge with him. I managed to redirect them here through your rift. I don’t know how, Father, but I get the strangest feelings sometimes, almost like memories. This was one of those times. One of these two, maybe both, will be able to help us.” Her voice broke as she added, “I used some of my power to support you. With everything that has happened, I couldn’t let you die.”

  Giddeon held her tight, not knowing what to say.

  Sighing a breath of relief, she hugged him back. Giddeon knew the thought of killing her brother, or anyone for that matter, had preyed on her conscience of late, her sigh of relief eased his own concerns for her mental well-being. “I don’t know who was the one I felt compelled to save,” she said. “There is something different about them. I can’t see into either of them with my inner sight.”

  “Then let’s go have a look. Perhaps I’ll sense something,” Giddeon said, leading the way up the stairs.

  The second floor of Giddeon’s mansion consisted of spare bedchambers for visiting friends and dignitaries. The two newcomers had been given rooms there, with a guard posted at each. Giddeon and Saleece stopped at the girl’s room first so he could see if he noticed anything strange about her. He nodded to the guard as they entered.

  Looking down at the girl with blazing red hair, he realized for the first time she appeared to be close to his son’s age. Freckles dotted her delicate features, and when he knelt beside her bed to gently lift her eyelids, eyes of rich emerald gazed unconsciously up at him. If he didn’t know better, he would have guessed she was Elvehn, but her round ears told a different story.

  Closing his eyes, he let his inner sight drift into her body. Before long, he knew he wouldn’t find anything. As with Saleece all those years ago, he sensed nothing of her heritage.

  With a groan he got to his feet. A crash rocked the hallway. Giddeon rushed to the door and swung it open to find the hardwood door of the room opposite lay in splinters. Two guards writhed against the wall to one side of the doorway, boots twitching two feet above the floor. A huge man—naked as the day he was born, as his and the woman’s clothes had been taken for laundering—gripped each guard by the throat.

  “Where’s Ember?” he roared. “What have you done with Kael? If you’ve hurt either one of them—”

  “Halda!” Giddeon barked.

  The two guards slid down the wall as the man toppled, unable to move his arms or legs. The weak electrical spell was usually used as a distraction. Giddeon was shocked at how hard the spell hit the man, every muscle was locked as mild electricity crawled across the man’s body. His mouth, however, remained unaffected. “What the fuck did you do to me?” he roared. “Let me go, old man. Tell me where Kael and Ember are, or I’ll tear this goddamned place down. You can’t hold me forever!”

  His strength was incredible; the energy Giddeon had recovered in the past day was dwindling fast as he strained to keep the distraction spell active. But the man’s mention of Kael’s name meant he might have information they needed.

  Giddeon crouched beside him. Struggling to keep his spell active, a wave of vertigo washed over his mind. “If... If you think it possible to remain quiet for a few minutes, we will answer your questions and explain some things you need to know. Fair enough?” Without waiting for an answer, Giddeon looked up at one of the guards. “His clothes should be ready. Get them, please.” The guard stalked off, rubbing his bruised neck.

  The red-haired woman appeared in her doorway, holding a sheet around her naked body as she leaned on the frame to steady herself. “Max—what did these people do to you? Where’s Kael?” She glanced up and down the hallway, the confusion on her face shading into panic. “Where are we, Max? What happened?”

  Looking like she was about to lose consciousness again, she stumbled, but Saleece caught her before she could fall, trickling a little magic into her body to give her some strength. “My name is Saleece, and this is my father’s house. Please, try to relax,” she said, leading the woman back to her bed to sit down.

  Giddeon stayed to talk with the man. “You’re Max, then? I’m Giddeon. The young woman with your friend is my daughter. If you promise to calm down, I’ll release the spell that holds you and we can talk.”

  “Spell, huh?” Max snorted. “Where I come from, the only thing that can take a guy down like this is a Taser.”

  “I’m well aware that technology is the driving factor where you come from,” said Giddeon, nodding.

  Max stared. Pragmatic as ever, he frowned. “So, what—the driving factor here is magic?”

  “It is. Welcome to Talohna, Max.”

  Minutes later the guard returned and Max, freed of the spell, dres
sed quickly. The woman, Ember, had regained some of her colour, agreeing to join him and Giddeon in the study, where Giddeon explained to them how and why they had been brought here. It didn’t take long for Max to grasp, but Ember was full of questions. “Why would anyone want us here? We know nothing about this place.”

  Giddeon decided there was no sense hiding what he knew. They were here now, and perhaps could even help. “Neither of you were the target of the bridge,” he said. “Kael was. He was born here, in Corynth, twenty years ago during a Black Sun—a phenomenon that endowed him with a very powerful form of magic.”

  “That can’t be true.” Ember kneaded her temples, as if struggling to understand. “Magic doesn’t exist.”

  “Not in your dimension. But the laws of nature are very different here.” To demonstrate, Giddeon lifted his right hand, whispering. “Kveysa.” A small ball of lightning appeared in his right hand. “You must understand, all different kinds of creatures can manipulate the earth’s power. Humans, Elvehn, DragonKin, and even some animals, insects, and plants can use magic to defend themselves, though it’s rare.”

  “Sounds like a dangerous place,” she murmured, clearly overwhelmed.

  “It can be for those not raised here,” he allowed. “You both must learn as quickly as possible. Magic is everywhere; it’s complex and can be deadly to a non-user or a novice. Wizards are the most common magic users. We manipulate the earth’s raw energy, which is drawn through a bond that we form when we are old enough—usually in our teen years. We call this connection a cruus. At the university, wizards learn a millennia-old language called VosHain. This language allows us to release the earth’s energy into the world in the form of magic.”