Legends of Marithia: Book 3 - Talonsphere
Page 20
Raehar processed what that all meant. The thought of committing those crimes made him wince. Aside from rape, he had certainly committed many acts of murder and theft. This was his new life, and he wasn’t about to mess it up. He looked Nathalia in the eyes and spoke with conviction. “I’ll never break yer rules.”
Nathalia turned to Jasmine. “I want you both to follow me inside to my chamber. The rest of you will carry on with your duties.”
The accompanying mermaids nodded and dispersed as Jasmine pulled him toward their marching leader. They followed the turquoise wall and avoided many mermaids marching in their direction. There was no ceiling. They turned the corner and two heavily armoured mermaids watched him closely as he approached the wooden door. Sparkling jewels were used in the door to create an image in Nathalia’s likeness. Raehar’s eyes widened at the sight of the jewels, but he quickly looked away in disinterest. He wasn’t sure if they would mistake his admiration for a theft waiting to happen.
The mermaids sneered at him and bared their fangs.
“He is not a prisoner. Raehar is with me. Open the doors.”
The guards looked to each other and hesitated for a moment before they nodded, pulling the doors open. Raehar smiled at them as they entered her chamber. A wave of warmth washes over him as they walked down a short corridor and the reflection of water danced along the walls. The door shut hard behind them.
They emerged inside the chamber. There was a large circular pool of steaming water surrounded by a few wooden tables with what looked to be sea plants. There were no chairs in the room, but in one corner was a large smoothened stone, covered in seaweed. He guessed that must be where they slept.
“Please, join us,” Nathalia said, indicating the water.
Nathalia placed her trident beside the pool, took off her armour with surprising ease and dove in.
Raehar looked to Jasmine, and turned back to Nathalia to speak. Before he had a chance to say anything, Jasmine grabbed him by the wrist and spoke softly. “Worry not for embarrassment as you will become part of our family. To swim with Nathalia is a great honour among us. She means to welcome you.”
Raehar nodded and couldn’t shake the hesitation of undressing in front of them. He watched as Nathalia emerged from the pool, sitting on what must be a shallow section around the edges. The lights inside her chamber reflected off her scales. He looked a little to the right of her as he saw her bare breasts in his vision. She looked at him, smiled, and nodded toward the pool. “Please, come in.”
He began to disrobe, and it was as if butterflies fluttered in his stomach. He knew he was nervous and tried to cover it up by what he was used to using, his words.
“So, yer not concerned about anyone seeing us in ‘ere?”
Jasmine dove into the pool with grace. He barely heard her or saw a splash.
Nathalia looked toward the cavern roof far above them. “You mean up there? You may have noticed that none of us have wings. Who or what do you expect to see us in here?”
His clothes dropped to a pile on the floor and he grinned as he stepped into the pool to see that they were both staring at him. His voice rose as he spoke, the warm water soothing his skin.
“I see yer right, so what can ye tell me about this place? It’s certainly not what I expected.”
“What was it that you were expecting?” Nathalia said.
“I didn’t know what to expect. But this place is something else. Ye know, I couldn’t help but notice that there be no other men ‘ere.”
Nathalia smiled and raised an eyebrow. “Yes, as you noticed, that is the case.”
“So, how do ye, you know, make more mermaids?”
“We have our ways. Enough about that. Why don’t you tell us about you and what it is that you plan on doing for us in Alyanti?”
Raehar swallowed hard and searched his mind for answers. He didn’t even know what he was capable of doing for them. Thoughts crossed his mind and he quickly calmed himself before he reacted in the clear water. Such a response would not be a great answer. There was going to be little use for his skills of piracy. His mind came up blank.
“I’ve been wondering the same thing. Ye have any ideas?” he said.
“I have yet to assess your abilities. You know who and what we are, but not why we are here. Our purpose in this place.”
“Aye.”
Raehar felt the brush of water over his body as the mermaid’s tails moved. The tips of their tails emerged into the air and displayed gorgeous scales the colour of blue skies and flourishing summer grass.
“You can see that Alyanti is an old city and one that we have taken the responsibility to restore and maintain. After all, it is our home. I cannot tell you how the first of us were made, but I can tell you that many of us were born. What is important is that we have masters that left us with detailed scrolls of instructions. We guard the entrance to their realm with our lives and await the one they described to us to arrive. Once the one born of dragon’s blood comes and proves themselves worthy of entrance to Daessar, then we can be free of this burden.”
He suddenly understood why mermaids were disappointed with his appearance. “Where do I fit in?”
“We shall see. Make sure you do not interfere with our sworn duties and that includes Jasmine, do I make myself clear?”
Raehar nodded and enjoyed the warmth of the water. “Aye.”
Nathalia smiled and relaxed her shoulders. Raehar was finally safe and found a new home. He considered what this new start meant for him, and he couldn’t help wondering who it was that they were truly waiting for. For a reason he couldn’t explain, he had a bad feeling that this newfound peace would not last.
A warm summer’s breeze blew over him as he stepped through the portal and emerged in his dark tower. He drew a deep Marithian breath, hearing the march of his remaining army of skeletal warriors behind him. He narrowed his eyes and listened, wondering why he didn’t hear any activity inside the tower. Shindar marched out of the portal room, shoving open doors as he headed to the one place he knew that she’d be awaiting him: the throne room.
This day had been anticipated for too long for him to remember. His loud footsteps echoed down the halls and empty rooms, and the rhythmic steps were accompanied by rumbles from what must have been overhead storm clouds, a common effect of gathered dark energy. He peered out the open windows as he passed, seeing that the Marithia he had once stepped into was not the same as he once remembered it.
He stopped in his tracks, panting and short of breath. Raising his blood-soaked hands to his face, he reached out to shoot lightning into the walls. The resulting shards were minuscule and ran up the sleek black walls with barely any impact.
Damn those monks. They knew what I would do and didn’t tell me my magic would be depleted. I am also tiring easier. Fucking Bastards, he thought.
Snarling, he punched the wall with his armour-covered fists and shattered stone bricks into small pieces. It appeared that although his magic was weakened, his body was as strong as ever. That was enough for now, even with his stamina affected,
He continued his march to the throne room and saw its ajar door. Brightening in anticipation, he pushed the doors open only to be greeted by a stench and sight of decayed bodies chained to the walls. He couldn’t understand it. Kassina was always able to communicate with him. He approached the throne and breathed through his mouth. “Kassina, where have you gone?”
He ran his fingers over the throne’s surface and brought them to his face. They were covered in dust. It must have been quite some time since she had been here. The halls filled with the sound of his army emerging through the portal. The puzzle of Kassina’s disappearance bothered him. She wouldn’t have fled and left their tower unguarded.
Disappointment and dread washed over him as if a cold ocean’s wave had hit him. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. His entry to Marithia was to be a day of celebration for them both.
His heavily armoured elite warriors ma
rched past the door. They had their orders and the tower would be secured.
Good to see something is going as planned.
Whoever had taken Kassina away from him would regret it. He turned and stepped onto a partially decayed woman’s head and applied his full weight. The feeling of it crushing in his boot was a welcomed pleasure. He had an army to direct and a war to win.
Leaving gruesome footsteps behind him, he charged down the tower’s corridors and the warriors parted to let him pass. He was sick of towers and confinement. Time was not to be wasted and he knew his demon army awaited him in Crondor.
He checked his peripherals as he marched onward and the army kept up with him. There was nothing left for him in the tower. Grimacing under his black helm, he powered on unaffected. It mattered no longer what he had here, but what he would have. Yes, his power would send fear into Marithia once again.
He descended the few levels remaining to reach the ground floor with ease, stopping short of the main doors as he saw the bright light beaming through the centre gap. He cocked his head slightly and wondered if he could push the boundaries. With so much power in the Blood Red Moon, it was entirely possible that the sun had finally been affected and that his enemies had so much more to fear. It was a milestone in the prophecy that he knew they must have passed.
Removing an armoured glove, he clenched his dark veined fist before reaching into the light. He touched the warm light and braced himself for the slightest hint of pain. He knew that his soul had darkened with the many things he had done, and the dark magic he had embraced, but he cared not. An encounter with sunlight would usually mean death for demons. He enjoyed the warmth and smiled to reveal his sharp teeth as he shoved the doors open. He raised his arms out wide and laughed as his skeleton warriors shrieked in a bath of sunlight. Their excited crackling communications warmed his ears.
Shindar drew his black sword, the crimson symbols on its surface retaining a feint glow. He swung it overhead and pointed forward to Crondor. His army responded behind him and the ground shook as they filed out of the gate to follow his long shadow. He didn’t want to stretch his magic and hoped that it would improve over time, so he marched over the smallest cracks in the lowlands.
Focusing his energy, he hoped that the ability to connect to the chosen ones was still intact.
Kassina, I have returned to Marithia and will meet you at Crondor.
With no answer, he hoped that he would find her, and soon.
Chapter 17 : Unlikely Heroes
“The lands have changed, and the energies of demons have intensified. I have seen it in the orb, but can feel it in the air. The powers of darkness are growing.
Marithians have reason to fear the growing shadows; those who not only walk among them, but ones whose hearts are even darker.”
(Yuski - Demon Hunter)
The hunger clawed at her stomach and each step grew harder to take. Adela hadn’t realised that leaving Grenlees would mean abandoning security and plentiful food. She didn’t regret leaving the island, but certainly had no idea that this would be her new life. This wasn’t the adventure she was seeking, even if it was a distant family reunion.
Kassina walked in the bright sun, remaining safe underneath her vampiric armour. Adela imagined it to be ridiculously hot inside that armour, but then wondered if she was affected by heat. Waking to the queen of the underworld watching over you was a bizarre experience. What could have been a case of awakening to a nightmare had actually given her peace.
It had been a long evening and Adela never imagined she’d enjoy the hunt. She had no bloodlust in her heart, but it was the intrigue of it all that got her excited. Her personal window into the lives of vampires. Once Kassina had found her victim, however, that intrigue turned to a shade of horror. Kassina’s victim pleaded for his life, but she couldn’t look away as Kassina fed.
Funny how the man didn’t believe the word of a vampire, when Kassina had told him he would live.
She knew that they wouldn’t die, or at least she hoped that Kassina would keep her promise. They fled the farm once they were done, so she had no idea if the man survived. His body twitched in the fields, the last she looked. She wanted to go back to check, but there was no good opportunity. Kassina appeared to be revived since the feeding and was radiating a warmth that Adela hadn’t thought possible.
Maybe it’s because we are each other’s lifeline, Adela thought.
“Hey, where’s your mind at? We need to get to Crondor, so keep up with me,” Kassina said.
So much for the warmth and understanding.
Adela stood with her hands on her hips and wiped the sweat from her brow. She always hated sweat’s stickiness. More than anything, she needed a bath. “I’m starving and this heat is killing me.”
At least if we encounter enemies, I can kill them with my stink.
“You think that you’re hot? Try wearing this armour and you’ll find out what hot feels like. Come on, we get to one of their abandoned houses and I can take this stuff off.”
Mystery solved.
“So thirsty...” Adela said.
Kassina stretched out, her voice muffled under her dark helm. “Alright, we will find water and should manage some food.”
Adela brightened and kept walking.
“You know we’re not far at all from water, so you can cool down in no time. That won’t help me much though,” Kassina said.
“So much for the glamour of being a vampire then,” Adela said.
“Glamour? There’s nothing glamorous about being like this.”
Adela turned to the west and pointed at the dark tower on the horizon, with fangs on its peak, the base of its structure concealed behind a line of trees. “Maybe not, but that was your home wasn’t it?”
Kassina nodded and increased her speed. “Once. Not anymore.”
“That’s a heck of a home for the life of the ordinary.”
Kassina laughed. “I suppose you have a point. Being who I am had its perks. I really do miss my powers, and the many slaves I had at my disposal.”
Adela imagined what it was like to have slaves and take advantage of them as it pleased her. The thought was a wicked temptation, but she would never do that to someone. She thought back to how Niesha had been chained up in Grenlees and her heart sank.
Am I any different? I could never leave the island and did as everyone expected me to. Until now.
“When you reigned, would you leave?”
“Not until Shindar commanded me to.”
“Doesn’t sound like freedom to me. Being stuck on my island was like being caged.”
They adjusted direction to north-east and she heard a flowing river in the distance. Her heart raced as she imagined gulping down fresh water.
“I didn’t think of it like that, at the time. We’re just about there now,” Kassina said.
Adela spoke through a dry mouth. “All I ever wanted was freedom.”
“Ironic how we’re now tied to each other, right?” Kassina said.
“As mad as it might sound, this is the closest to free I’ve been. Everything’s new and we can go wherever we please. You know, both of us were stuck in a place we wanted to get out of. I wonder how different we were from slaves.”
Kassina turned to stare at her through blackened glass. “You’re much smarter than you look.”
Adela chuckled, then thought Kassina could mean that she looked stupid. She decided not to push her luck with a witty reply.
They neared the mouth of Tr’arch River and a surge of energy ran through Adela. She ran to the water, cupping it in her dry hands and gulping it down. The cool water was like a magical elixir. Easing herself back to her feet, her stomach growled a complaint again. She turned to see a large farmland beside them, to the west.
“Feel better? Let’s get to the farm. I can get some shade and we can find you some food,” Kassina said.
Wiping her mouth with her palms, she followed Kassina toward the nearby home.
“Don’t move a muscle,” Kassina said, the dark tone in her voice sending chills down Adela’s spine.
Adela’s heart raced and she wondered about this soul bonding, and how it affected them. She didn’t know why they had stopped and was about to ask when she saw a group of men emerging from the house. She was not from Marithia, but she knew vagabonds when she saw them. They approached with weapons drawn, bearing what looked to be pilfered armour, as none of the pieces matched. One of them was far too confident in his steps to be a rogue thief. The men circled around them, the leader keeping his distance.
Their leader’s pearly smile contrasted his narrowed eyes. “Look what we have here, boys. The young one looks mighty tasty, probably still unbroken too. All we have to do is deal with that one.”
Kassina spoke with words as cold as ice. “You have no idea what you’re getting yourselves into, maggots.”
“Kassina. Help me,” Adela said, seeing the men closing in on her.
The men reeled back and their leader laughed. “Kassina? Her? I think not. What would the queen of the underworld be doing here with this little girl? And in the middle of a hot day, at a farm. Nice try, but we’re not so stupid.”
Kassina pulled two daggers and passed them back to Adela. The cold steel was reassuring within Adela’s grip. Kassina then eased out both of her swords. “I will give you all one chance to leave now before I take your lives. Believe me, it won’t be difficult. You won’t even get close enough to her to lay a single finger.”
Adela’s eyes darted around to the men and watched their faces contort. They muttered among themselves. The thought of them raping her was one she couldn’t bear. She had never been with a man before, and this was certainly not what she had in mind for her first time.
“Enough! Kill this wench already and then we can take our turns with the little one.”