Laars smiled and wiped off the drips of juice that had spilled on his suit. “See you around, traitor.”
A frowning Hiromy stood before him. “Ignore him. I’m the one who is talking to you right now.”
Falcon forced his attention to Hiromy. “Yes?”
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Falcon remained quiet.
She brought her hands to her hips. “I asked you a question.”
“I was going anywhere that wasn’t here,” said Falcon thickly. “You heard your dad. He doesn’t believe the Suteckh are planning to attack Ladria. I failed at convincing him. What other reason do I have to be here?”
Hiromy’s eyes became glossy. “So that’s why you invited me? You used me to get close to my dad?”
“No. It’s not like that.”
“That’s exactly how it is! I thought you were different. But you’re just like everyone else. You just want to use me for your own personal reasons.” A tear escaped her eye.
“I’m so sorry, Hiromy,” said Falcon, feeling like the biggest lowlife in the world. “But there are bigger things at stake than you and me right now.”
Hiromy stared into his eyes. “Just go.”
“Fine. I’ll go.” He walked around the shaky Hiromy and toward the double doors.
Suddenly there was a loud gasp behind Hiromy. Falcon looked just in time to see Laars spill his drink on Faith’s dress. He then leaned over in her ear and whispered something to her as he took hold of her hand.
Faith pulled her hand back.
“Let’s go,” insisted Laars.
“I said no.”
Laars’ gang stood behind him, grinning.
“Bitch,” sneered Laars. “Any other girl would kill to be in my private quarters.”
Falcon’s insides burned with anger. He marched up to Laars and punched him on the jaw.
Laars staggered back. Before he could fall, Falcon picked him up over his shoulder and slammed him through a table. Pieces of drumsticks, cake, and blueberries took to the air. A second later they landed on the pristine tile, scattering across the floor.
The music stopped. Everyone in the room froze.
“How dare you touch me!” raged Laars. Blood dripped from his lower lip.
“Don’t you ever call her that again!”
“Wow, what a bloody hero,” said Laars, picking himself up. “Coming to the aid of everyone. Well, where were you when your brother murdered the council, including my grandfather? Where were you when your best friend betrayed you and went on a killing spree?”
Falcon stood shocked. How did Laars know so many details about Lao?
“That’s right,” said Laars, noticing the surprise in Falcon’s face. “Everyone knows that your friend joined the Suteckh. I knew he was trash. Just like you.”
Falcon grabbed Laars by the shirt. “You better watch your mouth.”
“Enough,” boomed the emperor. “Falcon Hyatt. You will leave my palace at once. I have had more than enough of your childish antics.”
“Excuse me, sir—”
“Falcon,” said Hiromy, standing beside the emperor. Her eyes were still glassy, but the tears had been wiped away. “You heard my dad. Get out of here.”
Falcon let go of Laars, who now had a satisfied grin on his lips. He took a look at all the disapproving glances around him and turned toward the door.
“Wait for me, Falcon,” Faith called.
Falcon stood confused as Faith walked over to Laars.
Laars seemed just as confused as Falcon.
Faith bent her knees in a curtsy. “Thank you for the night, Laars.” There was no remorse or sarcasm in her voice. “Please tell your grandmother goodbye for me.”
That’s when Falcon saw something he’d never seen before. Laars’ smug grin had disappeared. A frown formed on his face as he faced the floor.
If Falcon didn’t know any better, he would have sworn that Laars was actually ashamed of himself.
CHAPTER 9
A cold chill travelled through the air as both water wielders walked across the stone floor. Their footsteps echoed loudly.
The sign that hung above the butcher shop squeaked loudly as the wind beat against it.
Chonsey’s eyes darted from the sign to the dark alley. “You hear that? I think someone’s following us.”
“Relax, said Aya. “No one is following us.”
“Y…yes,” Chonsey stuttered. “I’m sure no one is.” His eyes continued to wander. “But maybe we should hurry. Walking around the city at midnight is not safe.”
“We’ll be at your home in a few minutes.”
Chonsey rubbed his hands together. “We shouldn’t have stayed so long at the dance.”
Aya’s frustration rose. “Chonsey. Relax.”
Chonsey remained quiet as they moved past the council chambers, in front of the gargoyle statues, and under the pine trees of the training fields.
“So what are you planning to do now that Emperor Romus didn’t listen?” asked Chonsey.
“I don’t know,” said Aya. “I’ll have to talk with Falcon tomorrow and see if we can figure something out.”
“I could talk to my dad,” said Chonsey. “He is the general of the army, after all. Maybe I could get him to listen.”
“I doubt it. No offense, but your father is very hardheaded.”
Chonsey stared down at the ground as he walked. “No offense taken. You’re right. He can be quite stubborn.”
“He’s a good man, though,” said Aya, worried that she might have hurt her friend’s feelings. “He just wants the best for you.”
“More like he wants me to be just like him. But I can’t. I’m a disappointment to him. I can see it in his face every day.”
She stopped in front of the mansion she called home. “Don’t worry about living up to his expectations. Live up to yours and you’ll be fine.”
“Thanks,” said Chonsey. “Well, you’re home now. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Aya wasn’t listening. Instead she stared at the mansion from behind the black gates.
“What’s wrong?” asked Chonsey.
“All the lights are off.”
“Your father and mother are at the dance, are they not? It’s natural that the lights would be off.”
“No. My mother fell ill. She stayed at home resting. There’s something wrong. She always has a candle lit at night.”
“Maybe she just forgot,” said Chonsey.
A sensation of dread traveled down her spine. “No, that’s impossible. She has lit a candle every night since I was a little girl.”
Aya opened the gate and marched inside. Chonsey followed. She tried to run as fast as she could, but the front yard was gigantic, and her dress slowed her down.
“She’s probably just out—” A strange choking sound cut him off.
Aya stopped dead in her tracks.
“What was that?” Chonsey asked, his voice shaky. “It sounded like it came from the back of the mansion.”
“That’s where the servant cabins are.” She took off toward the back.
“We should head back and find the royal guard,” said Chonsey.
“You go back if you want. I’m not.” She turned the corner and her heart stopped. Two unmoving guards lay on the ground. Their eyes were rolled back. A dark slime burrowed out of their mouths.
“Aren’t those your parents’ personal guards?” asked Chonsey.
“This can’t be,” said Aya, recognizing Linius and Kerone. She leaned down and inspected the slime.
“What is it?” asked Chonsey.
She rubbed the thick black liquid between her fingers. A putrid stench caused her nose to wrinkle. “I’ve seen this attack before. Back in Asturia the poison wielder, Cidralic, used it.”
“I thought you said he died.”
“He did die. I witnessed it myself.”
“Where is she?” demanded a sudden rough growl. Aya couldn’t discern whether it belonged to a man or a woman. �
��I know this be Aya Nakatomi’s home. Tell me where she be.”
Aya ran toward the voice. She dashed past the servant cabins and toward the grassy fields. Her heart dropped to her stomach as her eyes settled on her mom. She lay cowering on the ground. Her dirt-caked nightgown had been ripped in half. A hunched creature stood over her.
“I will never tell you,” said her mom, defiantly, though she could not mask the layer of fear in her voice. “So you might as well kill me now.”
The creature seemed all too willing to satisfy her wish. It lifted its muscular hand and rolled it into a fist.
Aya walked into the open. “Looking for me?” It probably wasn’t the best idea, but she needed to get the creature’s attention away from her mother.
The creature twisted its neck to face her.
Aya staggered back a step. It wasn’t a creature, not entirely at least. It was a woman. She had untamed orange hair on her head. Her skin was a strange combination of black and brown. Thick veins were clearly visible through her muscular arms and legs, which were easy to see since she wore a sleeveless brown tunic and short pants.
“At last we meet, Aya Nakatomi.” The woman stomped forward. She used her two front hands to walk, much like a gorilla. A giant hunch burst from her back, which made it seem like her face was somewhere where her neck should be. “Do yer know who I be?”
“Should I?”
The woman beat her chest and growled like an animal. She stared at Aya with bloodshot eyes as she stomped toward her. “I be Dokua. Yer might not be knowing me, but I’m sure yer knew my baby brother, Cidralic.”
Baby brother? Aya had a hard time believing that. Cidralic had been a massive knight who easily stood over twelve feet tall.
“Oh yes,” the woman growled. “I can see it in yer eyes that yer knew him.” Her voice was rough and coarse. “Yer killed him. Didn’t you? And now yer going to pay the price. Me, Dokua, will be inflicting the same pain on yer that yer have forced upon me.”
“I didn’t want to kill him. But your brother was evil. He killed—”
“Shut up,” roared Dokua. “Enough talk. Now yer will pay.”
Aya’s mom jumped on Dokua’s neck. “Leave her alone!”
Dokua grabbed Aya’s mom and slammed her back to the ground. The massive woman brought her muscular arms over the noblewoman, ready to crush her where she lay.
Aya quickly formed two whips of water and shot them at Dokua. The water snakes wrapped themselves around her large forearms. It took Aya’s full might to pull Dokua back.
“Yer want to play? Fine, let’s play.” The water around Dokua’s forearms changed into a green color. The green quickly raced down the water whips toward Aya.
She had seen something similar before. When she fought Cidralic, he had changed one of her water creatures by inserting poison into it. It seemed Dokua was doing the same.
Aya dissolved the water whips.
Dokua laughed. “What’s wrong? Not a fan of my poison, are yer?”
A sudden burst of water hit Dokua between her eyes. The weak water attack dripped to the floor.
“Yer!” Dokua stared a hole into Chonsey. “How dare yer be interfering?” She shot forward. Chonsey wielded two gusts of water. Dokua muscled through them with little effort. She slammed her shoulder into Chonsey’s chest. He fell to the ground unconscious.
Before Dokua could inflict more damage on him, Aya brought her hands together. “Water discs.” She moved forward while shooting flats discs of water through the air. The discs hit Dokua’s face, pushing her back.
The woman growled. “Yer pack quite a punch for such a little thing. But yer attacks be mere child’s play for a master poison wielder.” She held her hand up, showing off her deep green emblem on the dorsal side of her glove. She blew her nose and a yellow mist emerged from it.
Poison mist! Aya instantly formed two thick igloos of ice, one around her mother and the other around Chonsey. She then wielded a water bubble around her head.
She could breathe safely, but the mist made it impossible to see. She darted her head back and forth, but all she heard was Dokua’s laughter.
Swooosh!
A sudden fist slammed into her face. Aya remained on her feet. She strained herself forward, trying to hear anything out of the norm.
Swooosh!
Aya sidestepped the attack that whiffed past her head. But Dokua’s other fist dug into her ribs. Aya fell to one knee.
Swooosh!
Swooosh!
This time Aya flipped over both attacks. She hit the ground and rolled toward her enemy. She landed behind Dokua. Her hands wrapped around her thick waist.
“How did yer…?”
Before Dokua could finish her sentence, Aya locked her hands together. She huffed as she picked up the massive woman in a backwards suplex. Halfway through the suplex she released her breath and tossed Dokua as hard as she could.
The nearby tree crackled loudly as Dokua crashed against it. A second later she stood, gritting her stained teeth.
Most of the mist had dissolved by now. Aya reached around her waist and pulled out the thick blue sticks. With a press of a button the sticks turned into her trusty blue batons. With a baton in each hand, she took a readied stance.
Dokua went in for another punch. Aya blocked it with her baton. She skidded backwards but maintained her block. She dug the tip of her second baton into Dokua’s stomach. Aya felt as if she had just slammed her baton into a rock.
Dokua grinned and wrapped her gigantic hand around Aya’s neck. She picked her up into the air. Aya struggled to break free, but Dokua’s grip was too strong. Aya flipped her baton in her hands so the backside was forward. She dug both ends into the poison wielder’s eyes.
“Aaarghh,” screamed Dokua, releasing her grip on Aya. “Yer little bit–”
“Temper, temper,” said Aya with a smirk. “You might be built like a rock, but even rocks can be broken.”
Dokua flashed her fangs. She opened her mouth, and a long blistered tongue rolled out. The tongue slammed into the ground.
Aya looked on in disgust.
As the poison wielder walked, the tongue dragged behind her. She suddenly swung her head. The tongue shot forward.
Aya wielded a slab of ice. The tongue crashed into it.
The ice held.
The tongue rolled back into the mouth. A second later it drove forward again. This time it crashed through the ice. It wrapped around Aya’s legs and pulled her forward. In mere seconds Aya found herself in an imposing shadow.
Dokua released her grip and brought her hands down.
Aya backflipped out of the way. In the process she kicked her foe across the jaw.
Dokua grabbed Aya by her leg and flung her down.
Aya flipped back up before hitting the ground.
Both wielders stared at each other with fire in their eyes.
Claps echoed in the air. “Impressive. Very impressive.”
Aya looked up.
A slim man stood above a floating slab of stone. Besides short pants, he wore no clothing. His skin was a deep brown color. Red marks were etched deep throughout his body. They somewhat resembled lightning marks. “I’ve never seen anyone survive more than two attacks from Dokua.”
Aya ignored the compliment. “Who are you? And what are you doing in my home?”
The man bowed. “Where are my manners? I’m Kaidoz. The most powerful earth wielder you will ever see. And the left hand to the serene ruler of the Suteckh Empire, The Blood Empress.”
“I thought Draknorr was her left hand,” said Aya, thinking back to the dark knight.
Kaidoz grinned from ear to ear. “That fool is her right hand.”
“Left or right. I couldn’t care less. What business do you have here?”
“Kaidoz!” growled Dokua. “What yer be doing?”
“Forget her,” said Kaidoz, pointing at Aya. “She dueled Cidralic, but she didn’t kill him. The one who killed your brother was a holy wielde
r known as Faith.”
“Aaaarrghhhh!” Dokua stared at Aya. Drool dripped from her mouth. “Tell me, water wielder. Where be this Faith?”
“She’s not your concern. I’m your enemy.”
“Fine. I’ll beat it out of yer.”
“No, you will not,” said Kaidoz. “The Blood Empress requires our presence elsewhere.”
“I don’t care about yer Blood Empress!” roared Dokua. “I’m here for my revenge!”
“And you shall have it. That water wielder is strong-willed. She will never tell you where to find the one you seek. But if you follow the Blood Empress’ orders, she will reveal the location of the holy wielder to you.”
“She better.” With a single leap she landed on the rock where Kaidoz stood.
Kaidoz bowed to Aya once again. “Until we meet again, my lady.” The earth slab flew out into air. Aya followed it with her eyes for a moment, but in seconds it disappeared into the night sky.
CHAPTER 10
“Were you injured?” asked Falcon as he stood in the painted room, awaiting the arrival of Grandmaster Zoen. Aya and Sheridan were there as well.
“No,” said Aya. “My mother is also fine. She was a little shaken, but she didn’t suffer any injuries.”
“How about Chonsey?”
“He needed a few stitches. But he’ll be fine.”
The grandmaster suddenly appeared at the door. He slowly entered. A sweet aroma followed him as he puffed away at his long pipe. “You said there were two of them?”
“Yes,” answered Aya. “One was a poison wielder. The other was an earth wielder. He called himself Kaidoz.”
The old grandmaster nodded as he took a seat behind his oak wood desk. “General Kaidoz is dangerous. He wields a basic element, but he’s taken earth wielding to levels only the Golden Wielder could surpass. You must exercise great caution when confronting him.”
“I could take him,” said Sheridan. “I’m a space wielder. No earth wielder can beat me.”
“I like your enthusiasm, Mr. Calhoun. But it takes much more than that to defeat a master.” Zoen turned to Aya. “Did they say what they were after?”
“Yes,” said Aya, her voice strained. “The poison wielder, Dokua, seeks revenge for her brother’s death. She wants Faith.”
Legacy of Chaos (The Void Wielder Trilogy Book 2) Page 7
