by Kris A Hiatt
Of those killed, at least eleven were friendly forces, including Heral, Primain, and Griffeth. They had went around the building and entered through the training yard, just as Treace and Kiril had done. Even though the bodies weren’t there anymore, Treace had stood over the location where Kiril had indicated they were. He cried some, not as much as he thought he would, but he felt the pain of the loss of his friends immensely. Knowing that Heral, Primain, and Griffeth had died for no other reason than because Treace couldn’t control his magic left him furious with himself. He never even knew they were there. He wouldn’t have released his magic if he had. At least that’s what he told himself now. But at the time, he recalled thinking of nothing else but killing Disdane, no matter the consequences. At least that bastard was gone. It was too bad Treace didn’t kill the man before he made it to Liernin and Kint. And Amana, he thought. He was happy to hear that Liern was alive, though he thought the boy was in for some rough times ahead. It couldn’t be easy losing both parents at the same time.
They continued their walk in relative silence. Only sniffles and the occasional clearing of throats could be heard. Treace processed what he’d been told and remembered up until this point. It was very difficult to believe, yet alone come to terms with. Heral was a great friend, one that had helped save the life of Treace’s mother. While Treace knew he didn’t kill Heral intentionally, he blamed himself anyway. It was his massive fire blast that had killed Heral. Why wouldn’t he feel responsible?
They finally made it through the courtyard and onto the stairs that led up to Liernin’s private chambers. Treace stopped and turned around to look out over what he’d destroyed. Even though the bodies of his friends had been moved, many of the others remained. At first, Treace didn’t understand why. Then he realized that those that remained were bodies that couldn’t be identified. They were damaged too severely to know for certain who they were and, in some instances, which force they fought for.
“The courtyard is off limits to everyone else. We are focusing our efforts for the cleanup of the common areas and outside the gate first,” Exodin explained, most likely catching Treace’s gaze over the bodies.
“I wish that I didn’t,” Treace said, aware that he didn’t speak a complete sentence. He figured the meaning was pretty self-explanatory. He didn’t know if the others would forgive him or not and he wasn’t about to ask. He wasn’t ready for more bad news in the event that they decided they couldn’t. Treace didn’t believe he could forgive himself, so he didn’t expect them to either.
Drevic gave him a cursory look but didn’t press him further. He simply put a soft hand on Treace’s shoulder and nodded.
Kiril put her arm through his and placed her head against Treace’s shoulder.
There was much to do. There were still many wounded people that would need help and many more deceased that would need to be taken care of. Families needed consoling and time to come to term with what had happened. The shops with owners that were still alive would need to be reopened and those whose owners had been killed would need to be passed on to another or sold off.
With Shamir and Liernin both dead, there would be those who wanted the title of baron for themselves, whether they deserved it or not. A constable of a lesser city could try to take the position, or perhaps they would have an election. Treace wasn’t certain what would happen. There would be replacements, he was sure of that. But, who was to say that either one of the successors wouldn’t want to name themselves King? If so, perhaps another war would be on the horizon and they’d be right back where they started.
Treace hoped that wouldn’t happen. Now wasn’t the time for war anymore. Now was the time for grief and grieving.
Now was the time to sift through the ashes and rebuild.
Chapter 33
For the first time in hundreds of years, the creature known as Kashe opened his eyes.
The expenditure of magical energy had driven him awake. For that magic was part of his very being. That particular release of magic wasn’t terribly powerful, but it was enough to wake him. The question was, where did it come from?
Kashe took mental stock of himself and his surroundings. His body was frail and stiff from being still for such a long period of time. Much longer than it should have been. His magical stores were virtually depleted. He’d need restorative rest to be able to use any magic of note. The question was, why hadn’t he awoken before now?
He sensed that his sister, Raze, was resting not far away. She was supposed to have wakened him centuries before now. But yet, here she was, still in slumber. Slumber was different from sleep in that it was not restorative and wasn’t as easy to wake up from. It greatly slowed down the effects of time, but it did nothing to restore energy. It was closer to that of a hibernating creature of this world than anything, though Kashe thought those creatures were not worthy of being compared to him. Kashe and his two siblings weren’t quite immortal, but they weren’t far from it. The other creatures of this land rightfully considered them Gods, but even Kashe had to admit that he didn’t much feel like one now. That thought angered him.
He wasn’t surprised that the magic hadn’t forced Raze awake like it did him. She wasn’t as well versed or as in-tune with the magic as he was. It did, however, make him wonder how long he’d been in slumber. That he couldn’t tell. She should have been awakened by their brother. Speaking of, where was he?
Even though his sister was near, Kashe sensed nothing of his brother. That wasn’t entirely true. Now that he focused on it, he could sense him, but it wasn’t him at the same time. It was as if his brother was in numerous, yet severely weakened pieces scattered across the area far to the east. That didn’t make any sense to him. How was that even possible?
He concentrated on that magic, however faint and weak it may be. He ignored his own emaciated body and focused only on the magic. It occurred to him then. There was only one explanation, even as far-fetched as it seemed. But he was in-tune with the magic and it couldn’t hide the truth from him.
In that instant, Kashe knew exactly what had transpired while he and his sister had been in slumber.
Their brother had betrayed them. He had shared his precious gift with the humans. He had given his very being until he was so weak that he couldn’t fight off the greed of man. In their greed, their hunger for more power, they consumed him. Consumed his very being. Now only tattered pieces of him remained.
Kashe knew this because he knew the magic. He vowed that he would make those responsible pay for their atrocities. He would eradicate them from this very world. But first, he would need to rest. Not in slumber, as that didn’t restore him, but actual rest. He needed to regain his strength. He wouldn’t even need much of it to wipe them from this world. But he aimed to do just that.
It wasn’t without sadness for the loss of his brother that Kashe closed his eyes again to rest. He was furious with what happened, but he was also sad. And emotions for a being such as Kashe affected the rest of the world. He sensed the rain that would come, signifying his sadness. The lightning that would batter the world was his anger. And it wouldn’t stop for days. It wouldn’t stop until his grief had subsided.
Before he fell asleep he spoke, just to hear the words come from his mouth. They were thick and dusty but they still reverberated within the granite chamber. “Kaden, my dear brother, what have you done?”
The End
