Myths & Magic: A Science Fiction and Fantasy Collection

by Kerry Adrienne

  Then the last word from the king’s remark was finally processed by her brain.

  “Again?” she asked. “Does that mean the portal has been opened before?”

  The king flattened his lips and stared at her through slits. Seconds went by while the Draki leader remained quietly staring at her as if she were a spineless critter. She didn’t avert her gaze that time. She was losing patience, but Lochiana cracked first.

  “Well?” she asked.

  “Yes. The portal had once been active. It was how my people first came into this world.”

  “Did you come from the same land as those wraiths? Do you know what they are?” Samiah couldn’t help the eagerness in her voice. Learning new things gave her more thrill than traveling across the galaxy.

  “No,” Femror stated, breaking his silence. “The portal changed its nature after we came through. It does not lead to our land any longer.”

  “Where does it lead, then?” Samiah’s gaze bounced around the three Draki on the dais.

  “To a place of solitude and despair where darkness is so absolute, not even the light of the brightest star can break through,” the king’s daughter said.

  “Wonderful.” Lochiana threw her hands up in the air. “How do we close it?”

  The king shifted on his throne and his expression twisted as if he were in actual pain. “Sealing the portal the first time came at great cost. We had to give up part of our essence to do it. Are your people willing to make the same sacrifice?”

  “If it means saving the planet? Absolutely,” Lochiana replied.

  The king cocked his head and grinned ruefully. “Do you also speak for your former betrothed?”

  Samiah frowned at the king before she glanced in Lochiana’s direction. How did the Draki king know about Lord Droom?

  “Why do you single him out? He will abide by the council’s decision.”

  The king’s grin turned into a full-bloom smile, and a glint of madness flashed in his red eyes. “Well, my dear, it seems you don’t know the man you once loved very well. I singled him out because Lord Droom holds the key to your salvation.”

  “What key?” Lochiana asked through clenched teeth.

  “The Spheres of Sharra, naturally.”

  “Impossible,” she said as her face turned ashen.

  “What are the Spheres of Sharra?” Samiah asked, hating that she no longer knew what they spoke of.

  “The Spheres of Sharra are—”

  A loud commotion interrupted the king, and a moment later, Ianox was brought into the throne room, thrashing against the hold of two humongous Draki warriors. They threw him roughly onto the ground in front the king’s throne.

  “What’s the meaning of this?” the king asked, leaning forward.

  “He attacked a healer,” one of the warriors answered.

  The change in the room’s atmosphere was unmistakable. Samiah could feel the animosity and anger aimed at them humming above her skin. Murder was written in the king’s eyes as his sharp nails dug into the armrests of his seat.

  “We saved and sheltered you, and that’s how you repay us? By attacking one of our own?”

  Ianox raised his head and spoke the words Lochiana had warned Samiah not to say.

  “The lizard king.”

  The king stood, towering over Ianox as the nightmare the legends claimed him to be. He was no longer young, but he still possessed a strong warrior frame. Femror took an offensive stance, and Samiah felt other warriors in the room do the same.

  “There will be no more assistance. Guards, take the prisoners away.”

  Prisoners?

  “Wait,” Samiah said as a beefy hand wrapped around her forearm. “You can’t do this. We need you to help us save the planet.”

  “Arcadia be damned.” Those were the last words the king spoke before his mighty warriors dragged them all to an unknown fate.

  Chapter 17

  “Watch it,” Lochiana said as a stocky Draki warrior shoved her forward into a stony cell.

  Samiah was pushed next, not too gently either. The sound of the metal bars clicking shut made her cringe, but two hunched figures in the corner of their prison kept her from turning around to glower at their captors.

  “Mal,” she whispered, not believing her own eyes.

  He looked up upon hearing his name and her heart rejoiced at seeing his face. Samiah ran to him and jumped in his waiting open arms, forgetting that he had been injured and that her reckless action could harm him further.

  “I thought I had lost you.” She buried her face against his chest and let out a loud sob.

  His strong arms wrapped around her back as he pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head. “You won’t lose me that easily, my love.”

  She looked up, and with eyes already blurry, she stared at the bandage around his neck. She swallowed the lump in her throat before her eyes took stock of his gaunt face. He must have read the anguish in them, for he lowered his head and kissed her with a maddening possession, as if they were alone in the room. Samiah forgot their companions as well, matching the tempo of his feverish tongue beat by beat while her hands laced behind his neck.

  A throat clearing behind her made Malachiax pull back, and she missed the connection instantly. He pulled her across his lap, and with hands still locked behind his neck, she looked over her shoulder to find Gary standing next to Lochiana and Ianox. She narrowed her eyes at the latter.

  “What are we going to do now?” she asked.

  Lochiana followed Samiah’s gaze and delivered a glower of her own in Ianox’s direction. His reaction was to walk to a corner and stare at the ground. Imbecile, Samiah thought angrily.

  “Could anyone explain why the Draki are so angry at us?” Gary asked.

  “Ianox attacked one of their healers, and to boot, he called the Draki king a lizard,” Samiah replied.

  “He is a lizard, and I thought their healer was trying to kill me.” Ianox raised his head to stare hard at her.

  “Oh be quiet, Ianox. We don’t have time for your half-baked excuses.” Lochiana walked to the prison door and tested the metal rods. “This seems to be made out of pergamax.”

  Gary frowned and stood next to Lochiana, examining the earthly colored metal. “That’s impossible. These rods are too smooth. Pergamax is too unstable and would never hold such shape.”

  “True, unless it is mixed with another metal—copper, to be exact,” Lochiana replied.

  “I have never heard of such material.”

  Lochiana glanced at Gary. “You wouldn’t. It’s a common metal from Planet X-57.”

  “Earth?” Samiah said. “How would the Draki have access to an otherworldly metal?”

  Lochiana looked at her with a glint of excitement in her gaze. “That is something we must find out.”

  “We have to get out of here first and stop whatever came through the portal,” Malachiax said.

  “The Draki king knows how. He said Lord Droom has the key to do it. The Spheres of Sharra.” Samiah looked at Lochiana. “What are they?”

  “It can’t be true. Lord Droom can’t possibly have all the spheres in his possession. That would be a serious violation of the Arcadian treaties,” Malachiax said.

  Samiah twisted in her position to peer at him.

  “You know what they are?” He nodded and she got a little angry. “How come you never mentioned them before?”

  “I’m sorry, Sami. The existence of the Spheres of Sharra is a secret only known by the royal families and the highest-ranking officers. I couldn’t tell you.”

  “But what are they?” she asked a little too impatiently.

  “They are the Sacred Powers of Arcadia in tangible form,” Lochiana replied. “Each ruling family is—or was—responsible for one sphere. If what the Draki king said is true and Lord Droom possesses all of them…,” Lochiana paused and closed her eyes for a moment, “it means he betrayed the council. One ruler should not have all that power in his hands.”

&n
bsp; “If that’s true, he will never let us take the spheres,” Samiah said.

  “He must have had a good reason to take them—that is, if we can trust the word of the Draki king,” Malachiax replied.

  “I don’t think he was lying,” Lochiana said, surprising Samiah. She caught her incredulous stare and added, “I want to believe Malachiax, but I’m not as naïve when it comes to Lord Droom as I used to be.”

  Samiah wondered what had truly happened between Lochiana and Malachiax’s uncle. Lochiana revealed nothing in her stony expression.

  “What are our options, then? The Draki won’t help us now.” Samiah glared at Ianox.

  Lochiana returned her attention to the gate, more precisely to its lock. “One problem at a time. First, we must escape.” She crouched in front of it and squinted. “If only we had a small, sharp piece of metal, I could try to pick this lock.”

  “May I see it?” Gary asked.

  Lochiana stood and made room for Gary. He took her place in front of the lock and stared at it intently for several beats. Finally, he unfurled from his crouch position, rubbing his face before he bent down and retrieved a small leather pouch from a hidden compartment on the side his boot.

  “What’s that?” Samiah asked.

  “Tools.” Gary grinned at her.

  “You own footwear with secret storage?” Lochiana crouched next to Gary to have a better look at his shoes.

  “My cousin Trenianx’s invention,” he said with pride before he began to work on the lock.

  He took several metal objects from his small tool pouch, some with sharp tips, others with odd shapes. Samiah couldn’t begin to guess their uses, but Gary seemed to know what he was doing. It wasn’t just a simple lock; it took him close to an hour to figure out the mechanisms of the Draki handicraft. When they finally heard a metallic click, Samiah jumped off Malachiax’s lap, ready to get out of that place.

  “Did it work?” Ianox took an eager step toward the gate.

  Without answering him, Gary stood up and pushed it open. “Ta-da!”

  “You did it!” Lochiana clapped her hands.

  Gary smiled at her. “Sorry it took so long. I’m not that skilled in mechanics.”

  Lochiana tapped his shoulder as she walked past him. “Well done, Gary. Come on now. We must hurry.”

  They followed her out of the suffocating cell, almost running down the tunnel. Then everything turned pitch black.

  “I can’t see anything,” Samiah said.

  “Tandrum’s wrath! Me neither,” she heard Lochiana say a little far ahead from them.

  “We should have grabbed a light orb from the cell,” Malachiax admonished behind her.

  “We didn’t need a light orb to navigate the cave tunnels before,” Samiah said, annoyed at herself for not grabbing a light orb regardless.

  “I’m afraid whatever magic allowed us to do so before is gone now,” Lochiana replied.

  “They are going to catch us and eat us,” Ianox whined.

  “Shut up, Ianox,” Samiah snapped.

  She felt a hand on her shoulder and jumped on the spot.

  “Relax, Sami. It’s me,” Malachiax said near her ear before lacing his fingers with hers. “Let’s not panic. We’ll make a live chain and stick close to the walls.”

  Samiah raised her hand in front of her and searched blindly until she felt someone’s chest. “Who is this?”

  “It’s me, Gary.”

  “I have Ianox,” Lochiana said in the darkness.

  A moment later, Gary stated, “Me too.”

  “All right. Are we all linked?” Malachiax asked.

  “Yes,” they all replied in unison.

  “I think I’ve found the wall,” Lochiana added.

  “Okay, let’s keep moving close to it,” Malachiax said.

  “But where are we going? How can we know which way leads to the exit?” Ianox asked.

  “We’re only deprived of sight. Use your other senses,” Malachiax replied.

  They inched forward, hugging the rough stone wall, and with each step, the fear kept growing inside of Samiah. She tried to heed Mal’s words and trust her instincts, but the darkness was so absolute, so oppressive, that it felt like she was drowning in it. She held Mal’s hand in a vicious hold, terrified of losing him in that bottomless nightmare.

  She easily lost track of time. It felt like they had been walking for days, but she knew it wasn’t so. Suddenly, she felt Gary stop in front of her.

  “I feel a bifurcation ahead. I believe one way goes up and the other down,” Lochiana said from the front of the line.

  “Anything else you can sense?” Malachiax asked.

  “There’s a breeze coming from the path upward.”

  “Then that’s where we should head,” Ianox said.

  “I’m not sure. The air seems fresher going downward,” Lochiana replied.

  “If there’s a breeze coming through the path that leads up, it means there’s an opening. We should head in that direction,” Ianox insisted.

  Samiah hated to agree with Ianox, but his argument made sense. “What do you think, Mal?”

  “Let’s go up. If there’s an opening, I can work with that.”

  They continued their way upward, but as the path grew steeper and steeper, Samiah wondered if they had made the best decision. But when a gush of cold wind ripped through their group, she let herself hope again. She also began to discern Gary’s shape in front of her, which meant the tunnel was becoming less gloomy.

  “There’s light ahead,” Lochiana announced, and that gave Samiah renewed stamina. She ignored the ache in her legs and pushed through the upward trek. The glow that invaded the darkness became brighter, revealing a sharp corner ahead.

  “I think that’s the way out,” Ianox said.

  Excitement filled Samiah’s heart only to be crushed when they turned the bend and came face-to-face with a group of Draki warriors. She had no doubt they had been waiting for them.

  Chapter 18

  “Going somewhere?” The warrior in the middle smirked at their group, his hand resting lazily over the sword hanging from his belt.

  “You will let us go,” Lochiana replied, and the mountain-sized Draki glowered at her.

  “Your sneaky mind games won’t work on us, Lady,” the warrior sneered at her.

  Malachiax took a step back and pulled Samiah with him. Since they were all still linked by hand, they all retreated. He squeezed her hand as if he was trying to tell her something. She had an inkling what he was going to do.

  “Please don’t do it, Mal. It’s too dangerous,” she spoke to his mind.

  He squeezed her hand again, more forcibly that time. Tandrum’s wrath. He’s going to do it. Every muscle in Samiah’s body tensed as she braced for Mal’s next move. She squeezed Gary’s hand, hoping to convey the same silent message Malachiax had given her.

  “Where’s Femror? I would like to speak with him,” Lochiana said, no fear showing in her voice.

  “Oh, it seems Femror has caught the eye of the lady,” one of the Draki said, and the rest laughed.

  They didn’t hear Lochiana’s reply, for in that moment, the ground between them and the band of warriors exploded in a shower of rocks.

  “Run!” Malachiax shouted before he dragged Samiah back into darkness.

  Mercifully, the others caught on with the program and didn’t break the link as they ran down the tunnel that had turned pitch black once more. Samiah tripped over something and collided against Mal’s back, losing Gary in the process.

  “Samiah!” he yelled.

  “I’m right here. Keep hugging the wall.”

  More than ever in her life, she wanted to have just a smidge of the fire gift in her core.

  “We’re never going to leave this cave alive,” Ianox whined, and Samiah thought it would be fantastic if she didn’t have a conscience. She would then be able to leave the fool behind in the darkness and not lose any sleep over it. They were in that mess thanks to th
e idiot. Blast my morals!

  “I think I found the other tunnel,” Malachiax said.

  It was impossible to know for certain if they weren’t going back to their cell, but the ground did become steeper. Not much later, Samiah heard a splash followed by Mal’s curse. Her own boots turned soaking wet with the next couple of steps she took.

  “Why is there water here?”

  “I don’t know. Let’s keep moving.”

  They followed Malachiax’s lead. What other option did they have? But the water kept rising, and when it reached Samiah’s midthigh, she made Malachiax stop.

  “We can’t keep going. The water is getting higher.”

  It was then that she noticed she could no longer touch the rough wall. She reached with her right arm and only found empty air. “I don’t think we are in a tunnel anymore.”

  “The air does feel cooler here,” Gary said.

  A rubble echoed all around them and Samiah’s heart skipped a beat. “Did you all hear that?”

  “It didn’t sound good,” Lochiana replied right before the ground beneath their feet vanished and they were sucked down a hole with a loud whoosh.

  It happened so fast, Samiah’s scream lodged in her throat and she lost her hold on Mal’s hand. The drop didn’t last long—maybe a few seconds—before they fell into a gelid pool. The temperature shock seized Samiah’s lungs, and she thrashed in the darkness, creating a mess of bubbles. She couldn’t find the way up, and panic made her sink farther into the water.

  Dark spots appeared in her vision, and she knew she was seconds away from passing out when a pair of hands grabbed her arms and yanked her in a specific direction. Samiah hoped it was toward the surface. Her head finally broke through the barrier, and she filled her lungs with air in a big gasp. Water sputtered from her mouth as she coughed. Once the fit stopped, she blinked to get rid of the thick water drops on her lashes and took in her surroundings. It was a cave illuminated by glowworms attached to the walls and the domed ceiling. Samiah squinted and spotted the hole they had come through.