The Dark Kingdom (Sage Trilogy, Book 2)

by St. Clair, Julius

  “…And a god he became to the world. With the five stones of power, he ruled the world as we know it, demanding all to come to the country in which he resided to worship him. Drunk with power, he systematically destroyed every continent that didn’t pay allegiance, taking any delayed message of the people’s alignment as a sign of mutiny. Soon, there were no countries left but the one in which our five Kingdoms reside. To this day, if you travel to the shore, and take a boat out to sea, you will never reach another country. The people, and the land have been completely obliterated…”

  “…So the people worshipped him, and eventually, he had sons. Five sons that would become the rulers of each of the five Kingdoms. He had complete control over his world, until death came to take him. Though the stones had given him much, they had not bequeathed immortality. And so as he lay dying on his death bed, he divided the stones of power to his five sons. Each accepted their stone with gladness and then ran back to their Kingdom to rage war. Languor was actually the most peaceful then, refusing to join the battlefield. But of course, that would not last, especially once we learned that Allay had been taking our men, even our women and children, for their own sick games. Chaining them in their forest, they would –“

  “We have to go,” a voice whispered between Catherine and Achan. They both jumped in surprise as a couple Langorans in front of them looked back in suspicion. The storyteller caught the distraction and leaned her head forward.

  “Does my tale surprise you, Sages?” the storyteller said in disgust. “Will you pretend even now that you don’t know what your people do?”

  “Let’s go,” a voice whispered urgently and this time, other Langorans heard it. They began looking around for the source.

  “Arimus needs us at the castle,” the voice whispered. “It’s Kyran.”

  “Kyran,” Catherine whispered accusingly. “What is this storyteller talking about? Do we capture their people?”

  “We’ll discuss that later. Go to the castle.”

  “We have to go, Catherine,” Achan said, grabbing her arm. “It could be urgent.”

  Catherine grunted and began walking away, taking her arm from Achan’s grasp. She began walking toward the castle in a hurry as he followed, trying to understand why she was so angry.

  “Catherine, what is it?” he pleaded. “What did I do?”

  “You knew, didn’t you?!” she accused him loudly, pointing a finger in his face. “You knew this was going on!”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I’ve put it together…the Langorans that attacked you during the Infantry exam. They weren’t a rogue group, were they?”

  “No…they were chained up underneath the shrine.”

  “So everyone’s been lying to me.”

  “I didn’t know about it for sure, at least until the exam. I just heard the rumors.”

  “Yet you thought it was okay for you to think they were chained once you found out the truth!”

  “I didn’t think much of it…but, I can see why you’re upset.”

  “Upset doesn’t even begin to explain it. Kyran! Kyran, show yourself!”

  Kyran materialized out of thin air behind them, keeping up in the brisk pace back through the streets and up the stairs to the castle.

  “We could have prevented Allay being attacked,” she said angrily as he kept his eyes low. “No wonder Alexander wanted to kill us all. Who knows how long he and the other Langorans were trapped down there!”

  “They were prisoners of war,” Kyran said flatly.

  “What war?” Catherine shouted. “There is no war! Allay is not fit for a war! We could have easily simulated a dangerous experience for the infantry exam, not used live people! Allay could have been destroyed that night because of your foolishness!”

  “I’m sorry, Princess.”

  “Tell me the truth, does everyone know?”

  “Yes,” he said quickly. “But take the blame on me.”

  “No, I blame the so-called leader of our group. I blame Arimus.”

  “He sought to prepare the recruits for a proper training exercise. Without the Langorans, it wouldn’t have been enough to test their strength.”

  “No wonder so many recruits didn’t survive the test,” Catherine yelled back as tears began to well up in her eyes. Each lost recruit coming to her mind. “I thought we were justified. I thought Allay was innocent and we were attacked because the other Kingdoms wanted to kill us without cause. That they were monsters…now I wonder what else is being hidden from me. Now I wonder if the siege of 88 was as clean on our end as we’ve thought.”

  “That siege was wrong of the Quietus,” Kyran said. “Nothing we could have done would justify that genocide.”

  “At the moment…in my eyes, we are no different than they,” Catherine seethed, clenching her jaw. “And when we get to Quietus, I’ll find out for sure what happened back then.”

  Catherine reached the top of the stairs and angrily approached Chloe, Scarlet and Arimus who were sitting patiently on the steps. They stood up to greet her when Catherine came up and tried to slap Arimus across the face. He barely managed to catch her arm. Scarlet chuckled.

  “That’s my cousin,” she said as Catherine snapped her arm away and glared at him. His eyes softened and stared at her out of concern as she let the tears stream down her face.

  “The Langorans, Arimus,” she sobbed. “We’ve been capturing them? Holding them against their will and forcing them to fight our recruits?”

  Arimus looked to Kyran in shock but Catherine reached up and gently pulled on his beard, bringing his eyes to hers.

  “Is it true?”

  Arimus nodded as she let go angrily and looked to each of them one by one. Chloe and Scarlet nodded ashamedly as Catherine glanced up at the sky and closed her eyes.

  “So I’m the only who didn’t know,” she chuckled between sobs. “How am I supposed to rule anything, if my own bodyguards won’t even trust me. If they still think I’m a CHILD!”

  She roared her last word in their faces as they waited for her to let out her frustrations.

  “You don’t know how I would have ruled,” she accused them. “You assume that I can’t make a difficult decision, even when lives are involved. But if it is for the good of Allay, then I will always put them first, above all else. However…with that being said, I will not stand for insubordination and secrecy from my closest friends! My advisors! My confidants! Even my suitors,” she said as she glared at Achan. “Make no mistake, I will rule alone if I have to! Do not force my hand!”

  Arimus dropped to one knee and bowed his head to her. She scoffed and pulled up on the cloak of his shoulders.

  “Oh, get up,” Catherine said. “We’ll discuss this in full later when we have the time. Tell me though, what does the King say about our mission?”

  “He refused to give up the stone unless we give him something in exchange.”

  “So what does he want?”

  “Well,” Arimus hesitated. “He wants your hand in marriage.”

  “He wants me to be Queen of Languor?” Catherine scoffed. “What about his wife?”

  “I know this man,” Arimus said. “And he is no different from the other Langorans. They seek pleasure above all else. Because he’s old, he is willing to sacrifice his Kingdom’s only source of power for time with you. It is not an offer I was comfortable entertaining.”

  “He is old,” Catherine said. “He may not even survive the rest of our mission.”

  “True, but to give up your freedom so simply is –“

  “ – do not speak to me of freedoms,” Catherine said with steady eyes. “Not now.”

  Catherine pushed past her friends and burst through the castle doors. The King of Languor was speaking to one of his servants, enjoying a late snack as he prepared for bed. He swallowed a grape quickly as he saw the furious Princess emerge.

  “Princess, to what do I owe your presence?” he asked nervously.

  “I accept
the proposal you gave Arimus,” she declared boldly. Arimus and the Sages’ mouths dropped as they heard the words seep from Catherine’s lips.

  “No…” Chloe gasped as she placed a hand on Arimus arm. “She can’t go through with this. Allay needs her.”

  “I know,” Arimus said, shaking his head. “But she won’t listen to us…where are James and Dominic?”

  “Indeed,” Kyran muttered from beneath his coat. “Where are those fools when we need them most?”

  Chapter 8 – Abdicated

  “Catherine, you can’t do this,” Arimus pleaded as the King’s servants escorted them to their rooms. After accepting her proposal, the King immediately declared them family and had a couple of his most trusted servants lead them through a hidden passage to the guest rooms. The hall was lit up with torches, but resembled the dirt tunnel they had traveled through earlier. It wasn’t until they hit the end and walked through another vault like door that they saw the clean, dimmed hallway that appeared much more like a hotel than anything else. Each Sage was able to procure their own room, but Arimus was not ready to sleep. He felt like he had failed Catherine miserably and he knew that he had to fix it while the situation was still fresh in their minds.

  “You can’t,” Arimus whispered to her.

  “I just did,” she said solemnly, leaning up against the disgusting flowery wallpaper. “This guarantees us the stone.”

  “He won’t give it up. I’m sure he won’t.”

  “I’ll stress that we need it for our mission. If he doesn’t relinquish it before we leave, then we’ll consider other options. I won’t marry him without our side of the deal carried out.”

  “And what of Allay? What if our mission is a success and you become his Queen? What if he lives for decades? What then?”

  “It is up to the people who rules them,” Catherine sighed. “But it is you I will ask to take my place. You would have my blessing to rule.”

  “I’m not fit.”

  “But your Princess says you are.”

  “After what you’ve learned about what we do to Langorans, you would put me in charge?”

  “Scarlet is too temperamental and Kyran wouldn’t desire such things. Chloe is a warrior and nothing else. A bubbly warrior, but a warrior nonetheless, burdened with a one track mind. James and Dominic…even now we don’t know where they are, and Achan has yet to be proven. You’re the only one I trust. Despite your questionable methods, I know you have the purest of intentions.”

  “You don’t know me as well as you think.”

  “I know that you are my oldest friend,” she smiled warmly. “I know that you are like a father to me. I know that despite your allegiance to this Kingdom, and despite once being Captain of the King’s guard, you decided to spare my life. And you’ve stayed by my side since. I know your heart, Arimus. You act simply to do what’s best for us. And though we disagree with the execution of those methods, I know you would still be a wonderful King.”

  “I pray that you’re right,” he sighed.

  “Now,” she yawned. “I’m going to bed. We’ve been up for over 24 hours, and no action occurs during the day here. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all, Princess.”

  “Oh, and one more thing,” she said as she rubbed her eyes. “Before you head off to bed, could you go find my boys? I’m scared that they’re off destroying the Langorans’ crops or something.”

  “Kyran and I will get on it right away,” Arimus nodded. “Sweet dreams.”

  Catherine retired to her room as Arimus’ mind raced. There was still much to be done. Scarlet and Chloe stepped out as soon as they heard Catherine close her door.

  “Everything okay?” Chloe asked. Kyran slinked into the hall behind her.

  “She wants me to be King after she marries him,” Arimus said. Scarlet chuckled.

  “We’ve been through worse.”

  “Still, we have bigger matters to attend to. First of all, where’s Achan?”

  “Knocked out,” Scarlet said, listening to his door. “Sleeping soundly.”

  “Good,” Arimus said. “Leave him. We’ll need someone rested to protect Catherine once we leave. Unfortunately, we don’t have that luxury. We need to find Dominic and James. Kyran, have you seen them while you were invisible?”

  “No,” he said flatly. “Though I’ve heard rumors of two Sages fighting each other in the warrior district.”

  “That sounds promising,” Arimus rolled his eyes. “Okay, I’ll go look for them. Chloe, do you mind accompanying me?”

  “Not at all,” she said.

  “Scarlet, I need you to watch over Achan and Catherine while they sleep.”

  “Sure.”

  “And Kyran, may I speak to you in private? I have a special assignment for you.”

  Kyran stepped forward as Chloe and Scarlet took their cue and went back into their respective rooms. Kyran and Arimus walked a little down the hall as to not be heard.

  “What do you need from me?” Kyran asked. Arimus looked steadily into his friends’ eyes.

  “You won’t like it.”

  “I may surprise you,” Kyran said as he leaned forward. Arimus whispered his assignment into his ear.

  * * * * *

  “As fun as this is,” the announcer yelled out. “The two of you need to cease your fight. The sun has already come up.”

  James and Dominic ignored him as they kept on clashing against each other’s eidolons, neither one showing signs of seceding. Though the sweat had long stopped flowing and their clothes hung from their body, they refused to stop. The crowd had either left for home or fallen asleep in the stands. The announcer had been pleading with them for five minutes now, begging them to cease so he could go home.

  “PLEASE!!!” the announcer shouted as Dominic locked James’ sword again. James expected it and dropped it gladly, charging Dominic to stop his assault. Dominic tried swinging his eidolon but James grabbed his forearms and kept a firm grip. In a stalemate, Dominic spat at his rival, who used his senses to dodge that as well. James huffed and tried kneeing his rival in the stomach but he backed up and dodged it.

  “Okay, that’s it!” the announcer shouted. “I’m sending in the Enforcer.”

  They could hear him dropping the microphone and walking out the door as he mumbled instructions to someone. James and Dominic’s eyes narrowed as they both sighed heavily. James chuckled.

  “Man, I’m tired,” he said. “Want to just call it a draw for now? We’ve been fighting for hours.”

  “No,” Dominic said flatly. “I have no intention of doing that. Only one of us is leaving here in good health.”

  “Don’t be so dramatic,” James laughed. “I know we’re never going to get along, but seriously, you’re still mad?”

  “I guess not,” Dominic muttered as he relaxed his stance. “I am tired…”

  “Then let’s continue this later,” James said as he let go of Dominic and jumped back to the other end of the ring. He took a deep breath and relaxed his body; his eidolon disappearing from the floor. Dominic did the same and the two breathed heavily as they headed for the waiting room.

  “I’m going to sleep forever,” James muttered as Dominic groaned and rubbed his left shoulder.

  “I’m surprised a commoner lasted so long,” he said as he suddenly cried out in agony. Clutching his right side, he fell to one knee and he reached out to James. “Darn it, I think I broke another rib.”

  “Serves you right,” James said as he took Dominic’s arm and swung it over his shoulder. “Maybe you’ll finally give me some respect.”

  And that’s when he felt it. An alarm going off in his head. His dwindling Sage powers sensing danger coming his way.

  “Respect?” Dominic scoffed as an eidolon shot out from his free hand, stretching out and plunging deep into James’ chest. “What respect?”

  James didn’t even feel the pain at first. He just stared in shock at the massive eidolon sticking through his chest, burro
wing deeper and deeper, until it finally burst out on the other side, the tip sticking out of his back. And then the agony came.

  His eyes widened to capacity as he screamed in earth shattering pain. His mouth foaming and dripping blood as Dominic showed no remorse, continuing to twist as he stood to his feet. James body went completely limp as he fell onto his back, his eyes already beginning to lose focus. Dominic leaned in close and covered James mouth as he continued to scream through the pain.

  “Shut up and accept this,” Dominic spat at him. “This is the only respect you’ll get. Dying at the hands of my eidolon.”

  James began to black out as he tried to bring one single thought together: unleash your eidolon…but he couldn’t. He just didn’t have the strength. And as his body went numb, his breathing slowing, and his eyes closing, all he could see was Dominic’s face, smiling, leaning on the hilt of his eidolon.

  “I win,” Dominic whispered to him. “Catherine is mine.”

  And that’s when he felt the rumble deep within him.

  A hunger…but not for food. Something more…whatever it was…Dominic had it. Dominic could quench this hunger that was growing at such a rapid rate. It shot up his skin, crawled along his nerves, tickled his senses. It was like an itch that extended from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet. It was taking over, masking the pain, becoming more annoying than the eidolon sticking into his chest. He didn’t even feel that anymore…what was this? What…was THAT?

  James was able to raise his head, just enough to see a silver hilt sticking out of his chest, pushing the tip of Dominic’s eidolon out with commanding force. Dominic leaned into his own eidolon, trying to push it back down, but this mysterious hilt was too strong, until Dominic was forced to yield. James’ right hand shot up, grabbed the hilt, and released this new eidolon from his body with a breath.

  The puncture wound in his chest healed instantly once the new eidolon emerged, and feeling invigorated, he stretched his legs back over his head and then flipped up to his feet in order to face his rival. Dominic backed up with his eidolon held tight as his eyes examined James with fear.