The Legacy (The Darkness Within Saga Book 1)

by JD Franx

  “Yes, ma’am,” she answered.

  “Follow me, all of you. I want to speak to you in private.”

  With his last seconds of consciousness Kael knew he had been right. Though his blood boiled and his brain itched as it cooked, he could feel his magic slowly returning. It seemed to grow the more he suffered. It had grown considerably during the last half hour of torture. Dizziness overwhelmed him as he panted from the heat racing through his body. It was worth it; he and Lycori now had a chance at escape, regardless of how slim. Kael took that very thought with him into the blackness, a smile creeping onto his lips.

  As the crowded cell cleared out and the door rang with the slide of its lockbar, Lycori dragged her bruised body and their pail of drinking water over the filth caked floor to Kael and N’Ikyah. “Can you save him?” she gasped.

  “It is too early to tell. His body is so hot. Use the water. We must cool him, quickly. If he dies, I will have to graft my life force to his, but any energy we add will only fuel the magic until he cools.”

  Not stopping to think about her own injuries, Lycori scooped water from the pail with her hands and let it run through her fingers over Kael’s forehead, neck, and chest. His quaking body slowly started to calm as more and more water puddled on the cold floor around him.

  “If I have to graft my soul to his, you must keep him awake for at least an hour. My soul must pass into the afterlife before he sleeps or else my energy may call my soul back into his body. I have come to care for him, greatly, Lycori, and though I could live with it, I do not think he will want to share his mind with me. Do you understand?” Lycori nodded absent-mindedly as she continued trickling water over Kael’s body. N’Ikyah grabbed her arm in an effort to get her attention.

  “Lycori, do you understand?” she asked, more firmly.

  “Yes, I got it. An hour, at least, I will. I promise. How about you save him without having to do that, instead. Huh?” N’Ikyah offered a quick smile before returning her focus to Kael in order to do everything she could to save his life, including giving him hers, if need be.

  Arabella, Darthinia, and Ashea followed the Cardessa until she was in the elevated guardroom just before the prison cells. Verrysa followed along behind, saying nothing like always.

  “Stubborn little pissant,” the Cardessa mumbled as she entered the room and removed her heavy shawl. The wet damp of the cells was held back by the roaring fireplace in the corner. “Two months, Arabella. Tell me how he has resisted this long.”

  Arabella bowed to the Cardessa out of respect before answering. “I cannot begin to hazard a guess, Mistress. His strength of spirit is beyond incredible. He refuses to harm anyone in that cell no matter how much we twist and shatter his body or his mind, for that matter. The behaviour he is displaying is disgusting, yet strong. I don’t understand why he won’t embrace the true power of his magic. Already the death-flower’s vines have grown through a third of his body and every single vine is covered in barbed thorns. He should be well on his way.”

  The Cardessa sat down on the chair beside the table as she rubbed her temples with her left hand. There were more worries that demanded her attention elsewhere.

  Darthinia verified what the Cardessa had just been told. “With strength and resistance like his, Mistress, imagine the possibilities when he does return to us. But for now, no matter what we attempt, he holds out. It truly is remarkable.”

  “It has been five thousand years since the last matured DeathWizard,” said the Cardessa. “That is why I sent you three. Our records can only tell us so much and you three studied them for over a decade. Jasala had no Dead Sisters to help her and look what happened. She was dead before her second decade of life. Kael must see that we’re his best choice.”

  “He will, Mistress, given time,” Darthinia reassured her.

  “What about you, Verrysa? You’ve said nothing during my visit,” the Cardessa said to the third member of the ternion.

  “I’m still learning, Mistress. Being younger than most full Sisters, I prefer to watch and help where I can, but perhaps we resorted to torture too quickly.”

  “Other options were considered,” the Cardessa replied. “But had we used an elaborate ruse and peace and love to earn his trust, it would have quickly unravelled in the real world, Kael is as smart as he is stubborn. Breaking all he is and rebuilding him as he is supposed to be was the better decision.”

  “Of course, Mistress,” Verrysa said, bowing. “I have excellent teachers. He is strong, but we are stronger.”

  Closing her eyes to ease the pain in her head, the Cardessa added, “We shall see. I also thought that you might like to know, Arabella, that Yrlissa Blackmist is dead. The Broken Blades did it internally, so that part of our history is buried, finally.”

  “Good,” Arabella said, calmly, but her voice was laced with hatred.

  “I agree,” the Cardessa continued. “The Guardian Pact is extinct, a forgotten memory for the very few who even knew of their existence. With no Guardians left to kill a DeathWizard, nothing can stop us. Turning Kael is all that remains. Our side of the agreement with Sythrnax will have to be... amended once we succeed. I also thought you should know that Giddeon has decided to seek council from the DragonKin on Kael’s whereabouts. He hasn’t arrived there yet, but it will be only days now. We know they won’t physically help him. Unholy Garz’x knows, I wish they would. All our plans would be much simpler if they dropped that protective barrier over their islands. Sythrnax would have what he needs and we wouldn’t be tied to this deal with him that we may eventually have to revoke.”

  “Should we expect Giddeon and the others to make their way here, Mistress?” Darthinia asked.

  “Even if they do, Sythrnax has assured me that it’ll take an army to breach this mountain. Dwarven strongholds had few weaknesses apparently, and Arkum Zul only has two ways in, the gate at the mountain’s top and the waterway at the bottom that we’ve been using. No one alive beyond those here know how to find either entrances. You needn’t worry about it, so enough of things beyond here. From now on, let Kael sleep at night, darken the cells and then twist his mind as he sleeps. During the day persist with the pain to his body. If you can’t break his body, then shatter his mind. I don’t care which, just bring him back to the coven. That DeathWizard is in there. Find him. Arabella, I know you’ve been studying the Fae dream-casting spells, so try to make that work. We need him to follow his Legacy. I will tolerate no more failures. Voranna is begging me, daily, to take over here. You have thirty days to break his mind, his body, or both. Otherwise I will grant her request to relieve you of your command here.”

  Arabella forced a smile and bowed. Voranna Talavyr had been her main rival for decades, but ever since the fiasco with Yrlissa Blackmist in Ynasu it had gotten much worse. Arabella and her Sisters were accused of demonic witchcraft and had to be replaced by Voranna and her ternion, but then Voranna abandoned a Sister after death—a sin that harmed her standing. Even now, rumours floated around that Voranna was behind the demonic accusations in Ynasu, which would make her a traitor. The two women hated each other, but in recent years refused to let it interfere with the coven and its plans. Every Sister knew that one or the either would be the next Cardessa.

  As for the approval to try dream-casting, Arabella had waited many years for the official go ahead. She had spent her entire life studying mind control and illusion along with the powerful Fae communication and control techniques. Even though she had never actually discovered the secret or spelled a successful dreamcast, she would get closer by unrestricted experimentation on Kael. One of the many spells lost when the Fae died out, experiments to find the key to such a powerful magic was forbidden by all of Talohna’s magical oversights, including the Dead Sisters’ Cardessa.

  Until now.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Months have passed since Kael was taken right before our eyes. Everyone believes that the DragonKin can help us. But what has happened to him in the last tw
o months? I believe he is still alive. I hope that I would know if he died. We have been so close to each other our whole lives. We grew up only a quarter mile apart in the farming town of Rockton, South Dakota. We crawled together as babies, walked together as toddlers, played together as children, and got into mischief together as we fell in love as teenagers. We even left Rockton together to start our new life. I know he’s alive, I feel it. As strange as it sounds... I feel him.

  EXCERPT FROM EMBER TOLLEN’S JOURNAL,

  END-WINTER, 5025 PC

  WHITEWYRM OCEAN

  4 MILES OFF OF VER KARMOT

  The Sorana’s Song had been on the open ocean for three days and was nearly in visible range of BlackFang Harbour when the bad weather hit. Kiirein assured everyone that it was a normal occurrence. Everyone but Saleece. For reasons they didn’t know, the moment they had left WhiteVale Cove, Saleece had fallen gravely ill. The power-swelled waves crashing against the ship’s wooden hull and the pounding concussion of the lightning’s abrasive thunder as it ripped through the air made her sickness even worse. She spent the majority of the trip resting in the captain’s cabin, too sick to join the others. Yrlissa kept a close eye out for seizures, but so far there had been none.

  Both Kiirein and his mother, Sorana, stood at the bow of the schooner, casting age-old Elvehn calming spells. The spells were supposed to help suppress the storm, and though there was a noticeable difference, the storm still tossed the vessel and made sight of BlackFang Harbour impossible for more than a few seconds and only when they crested the monster waves. Giddeon joined the two Elvehn sorcerers at the front of the ship so he could lend them his power hours earlier, and all three were nearing exhaustion.

  A huge wave slammed into the side of the Sorana, causing it to lean dangerously close to the water on the far side. At what seemed like the very last possible second, the schooner righted itself just as it slipped through a protective umbrella of magic that surrounded the Dragon Isles.

  Sorana’s Song sailed towards the docks on water that was flat like a mirror even though there was a stiff sailing breeze keeping the sails filled. The DragonKin had spelled the islands thousands of years ago to make sure the volatile WhiteWyrm Ocean would never damage their home, and to keep out those who weren’t wanted. Everyone aboard sighed a deep breath of relief as both Kiirein and Sorana chuckled. Having made the trip many times before, they were well aware that the umbrella was so close.

  Ember stepped out of the small door that led from the sailor’s bunks, having spent the last few hours there as protection from the storm. At her first look at the DragonKin’s realm, her jaw dropped in wonder at the sheer magnitude of the monstrous island. Beyond the harbour she could see miles of flat land covered in waist-high grass that moved with the winds as if it were alive. Off in the horizon, the mountains shot up to staggering heights well past anything seen in her own plane of existence. They vanished into the cloud cover high in the sky before she could see the snow-capped tops. The water in the harbour was crystal-clear. When she looked over the ship’s railing she could see straight to the bottom. Numerous species of fish swam undisturbed below the keel. The shores beyond the harbour were layered in pristine white sand that carried the subtlest hint of cerulean blue, yet not a single person could be seen on the expansive beaches.

  Ember noticed Yrlissa and Max approach from her side while Saleece stepped from the door of the captain’s cabin. She looked even worse than before as she leaned heavily on Kasik for support.

  “It’s beautiful here,” Ember said. “Absolute paradise. It’s nothing like home is it, Max?”

  “Yeah, you can say that again. There’s a lot here you would never see back home.”

  Yrlissa looked at them both as she cleared her throat. “You see things here that are unique because our entire world was birthed by magic. It flows through this world like a strong breeze. It’s everywhere and it’s a part of every person and thing. Mountains like those don’t come to be without powerful magic to help create them. The DragonKin are creatures of pure magic, just like their ancestors, the Dragons. We call the real Dragons Behemoths, but they have been gone from our world for a very long time now. The last of them fell during a war, a long time ago.”

  Ember turned to look at Yrlissa. “What are they like? The DragonKin. Are they friendly?”

  “Friendly is not a word I would use. It has been many years since I was last here. They mostly keep to themselves and they do not like outsiders. They will trade with other countries but they never leave the islands and very, very, few are allowed here. They are more reclusive than Kasik’s people and more importantly… They kill trespassers on sight,” she said.

  “Great,” Ember replied, nervousness causing her voice to increase in pitch. “Let’s... ahem, hope we’re not trespassing then,” she said, clearing her throat.

  “The binding stones will make sure of that, Ember,” Giddeon said, as he walked down the stairs from the wheelhouse.

  As the ship slid closer to the docks, Ember couldn’t help but notice that instead of being made with wood like the docks at WhiteVale Cove, the DragonKin landings were carved out of island rock and extended far out into the ocean water on both sides of the harbour. Kasik, still helping Saleece, noticed her attention drawn to the second dock as they approached the shorter one closer to the harbour’s main beach.

  “You are curious about the second docks?”

  “Yes. Why so far out?”

  “As far as we know, they’re for the bigger boats and to keep the threat they pose farther out. The Lightfoot schooners are purposely designed for speed and ocean combat, while my people, the Northmen, as well as some other countries, have ships for transporting men and supplies during times of war. These vessels are much larger and heavier and need a deeper dock. Keeping them farther out from the mainland also reduces the risk of a couple ships dropping hundreds of men onto the island. The DragonKin don’t have the numbers that they and their Behemoth forefathers had and the shroud we passed through isn’t completely reliable—it may even fail some day. They rely on intelligence and superior magic to even the odds.”

  “I see. So in other words, you’re not sure,” she giggled, and walked away. A small grin curled the corner of Kasik’s mouth, Ember’s easy, light-hearted humour was infectious.

  The Sorana’s Song slipped into its designated spot as Kasik and Max tossed the mooring lines over the side where dock workers tied them off. Seven fierce-looking DragonKin warriors were waiting as Kiirein and Giddeon worked to lower the gangway so they could exit the ship. Ember couldn’t help but notice that each and every warrior had bright, colourful eyes with slitted irises similar to large lizards back home. Though their flesh was the same colour as her own, Ember quickly realized the gentle shimmering, scale-like effect their skin had when the sun hit it at the proper angle.

  Her attention quickly shifted to the powerful presence of the man who seemed to be the group’s leader. Stunning, emerald green tattoos covered his body anywhere there was exposed flesh. All the ink-work resembled fire and flames even though they were varying shades of green. As she stared, Yrlissa’s gentle voice drifted to her ears.

  “The leader is a Zephyr. A Pyro, by the looks of his markings.”

  “Zephyr?”

  “It’s the name given to their caste of magic users. He is a wizard unlike anything you’ve ever seen. Their magic is a lot different than a Human’s or the Elvehn, much more volatile and extremely dangerous,” Yrlissa whispered as she explained, having noticed Ember so focused on the waiting welcome party.

  “What about behind them? Who are they?” she asked, making sure not to point, but nodding towards the warriors standing behind the wizard, her voice soft so she wasn’t overheard.

  “Those men are from the warrior caste. They were born without magic. I think they are all Talons, the DragonKin’s heavy infantry. When a child is born without magic here they train to become mundane warriors. I’ve heard that they’re strong, fierce, and kill
without remorse.” Ember nodded, taking a closer look at the harbour’s guards.

  The hair colour of all seven men varied drastically. The tattooed wizard had long hair that hung loose to his mid-back and at first glance it looked jet black, but on closer inspection she could see that it had a blazing tint of neon blue weaved throughout. The other men were the same, but with short hair on all of them it was harder to tell. One had blonde hair with a shade of pink, while another had dark red, spiked hair with a shimmering purple blazing through it. The combinations varied and she found herself staring in wonder, again. For the first time since Kael was taken from her she found herself with a glimmer of hope. These amazing people had to be able to help, if anyone could. The loud slam of the gangway as it crashed to the docks brought her thoughts back to the boat.

  “Commander Zatassa, it’s good to see you again. You and your men have been well, I hope,” Kiirein said, as he walked to the end of the gangway to meet with the dock commander and his men. With no invitation, he remained standing on the plank.

  “Fine, Captain Lightfoot. Though your arrival here may change that. You’re not scheduled for delivery this day. I demand to know what brings your vessel to my harbour?” the commander said. It was apparent he wasn’t in the mood for idle excuses. Kiirein had told them they’d be walking on dangerous ground until they proved the validity of their presence on the DragonKin islands.