Ascension (Unbound Prophecy Book 1)

by J. L. Jackola

  “Sinow!” Violissa snapped. “Have some respect.”

  “Not just Dark but Light,” a woman’s voice spoke, gentle and sweet.

  The image of a woman slowly shimmered before them and floated over to Violissa. The woman faded in and out, no color to her, only a black and white outline. She floated around Violissa. “She is here…she has returned.” She put her hand out and held Violissa’s cheek. “The Light child has come home,” she said this as a man appeared next to her, the same faded black and white look about him. The woman suddenly whipped around toward Sinow. She disappeared only to reappear before him. “But she did not come alone. No.” He felt his hair bristle in reaction to her presence. “So much power. Never before…yet so untamed. You….” He cut her off as he swatted his hand toward her to push her away.

  “Why am I here?” he demanded impatiently, not wanting to deal with the shade and her unnerving statements.

  “Because the Fates have deemed it so,” the man said. “You are here because they so desire it. There is something they need you to see here or the doorway would not have allowed you entrance.”

  “The blackness,” Cyric said, stepping forward.

  “Cyric.”

  “My Liege Viliren,” he returned as he bowed before the shade.

  “The last reigning King of Cirillia,” Violissa said.

  “Up, Cyric. You bow to only one king now, and that is no longer me.” His hand gestured toward Sinow.

  “No, he cannot yet. Remember? They have delayed, ignored what their hearts say, what the prophecy says,” the female shade said.

  “Enough,” Sinow said, stepping forward. “Tell me something of importance. Why is it the Fates have brought us here?”

  “There are things you need to hear,” the woman said, reappearing before him. “But only the two of you. The Fates do not allow visitors to this realm anymore, even you, Keeper.”

  “We’re here to protect…” Brom exclaimed, but Viliren interrupted.

  “Protect? Whom? The most powerful Light Queen and Dark King our world has ever seen? It’s you who need protecting. In a flash either of them could return your souls to the Fates, and you think they need protecting.”

  Sinow started to question him, but he continued. “Ahhh, but you haven’t learned that yet, have you?” the shade said, glaring at Sinow. If he’d been the kind of man that knew fear, Sinow would have buckled under the accusations weighted within that stare. The old king turned to Violissa. “The Fates protect us all if he ever does.” Turning once more to their Council, he said “You are not welcome in this realm right now, even you, Keeper. Only the Chosen ones have been granted entry. Now be gone.” With the wave of his hand, he sent the four Council flying from the room. The door reappeared with a thunderous crash.

  Sinow began to complain but was interrupted by a female voice in his head. Shhh, have patience, Dark one.

  “You can use enaigne?” he asked aloud.

  “Sinow?” Violissa said, the look of concern in her eyes melting his heart. He wanted nothing more at that moment than to walk over to her and hold her hand through whatever all of this was.

  There, the woman said in enaigne again, there it is. Why do you deny?

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but get to the point so I can get out of this forsaken place.”

  The woman placed a hand on his chest. Even though he knew she was just a spirit, he could still feel the pressure of the hand, could feel a warm sensation spreading from her fingertips. This time she spoke aloud, “Such Darkness. So much power. More power than even your grandfather before you.” Her voice filled his head again as she silently continued her flow of thoughts only to him. So different from him yet so alike. It’s your heart that separates you, that keeps the Darkness at bay. She glanced at Violissa. Two hearts, one soul. Listen to your heart and accept your feelings for her. The ire rose within him, and he could see that she sensed it, her hand momentarily pulling back. Do not fight it, Dark child. You must learn to embrace your powers before they destroy you, she glanced once again at Violissa then continued, and everyone you love.

  “Why have you brought us here?” Violissa interrupted to his relief. “What is it we need to know?” A sigh of relief escaped Sinow as he felt the shade pull away from him.

  “You need to know about the blackness,” the old king said. “Someone has entered our realm, uninvited.”

  “Someone with Dark power,” the woman finished as she wrung her fingers with worry.

  The power flared within Sinow at the accusation. “Tread carefully, shade,” he gritted, “for I do not take well to false accusations.”

  Violissa shot him a look, and he felt a calming spell hit him. He was about to complain when she turned suddenly to the woman and spoke, “A calming spell? You can weave those without any powers?”

  “No powers?” the woman asked in return. “My dear, you of all people should know that some magic is deep within your soul and cannot be stripped away. Weaving is innate and no matter what your state, it can still be done.” The woman floated delicately up to Violissa and laid her hand over her heart. “It is here that your true power lies, do not forget that.”

  His curiosity peaked, Sinow was about to ask her to elaborate when the king continued as if deliberately.

  “Our land is reacting. Someone has entered the realm. This realm is the result of Light magic and a taint of Dark blood has corrupted it. That corruption is spreading into your own realms.”

  “I can assure you no one from my realm has been here.”

  “Are you so sure, Dark one? Only someone with skills in magic could have done so.”

  “If my Council was looking for a way into this realm, let alone found one, I assure you I would know. Besides, you said yourself that the Fates decide who enters and when.”

  “Rightfully so, for this entrance,” the old king gestured to the now sealed doorway. “The magic that encased this land was powerful, but we all knew there would be weak spots. There exist tiny pockets which, if given just the right position one might notice and given the right spell might unravel a bit of it.”

  Sinow drew in his breath. He racked his brain, no one on his Council would go behind his back and even if they did, what would be the goal. Why would someone even want to come to this Fate forsaken place? “Who would even do such a thing, why bother? There’s nothing here.”

  “Your Council is not the only one with power, Sinow,” Violissa stated.

  He laughed. “Are you referring to Tynan? Really, Violissa? He couldn’t summon enough magic to scratch his arse let alone find his way to the Lost Realm.” Even as he spoke the words, he felt the doubt creep up within him. Could Tynan have enough power to do something like this? Even so, why would he? What would the purpose have been? It didn’t add up, and he was about to say so when something occurred to him.

  “You said something was taken. What was taken? What was hidden here?” He felt the ire rise within him as he saw the look of concern cross the shade king’s face. That look was quickly replaced with a defiant one as the man spoke, “It is of no concern to you now, Dark child. The only thing that matters is that it be returned.”

  “How can I return something when I don’t know what it is?” His irritation could no longer be hidden. “Look, you have me here, us here,” he corrected, “and the Fates felt it important enough to allow us to enter. You need to tell us why and give us details now.”

  The shade king stretched himself up like a bear about to strike. “Do not presume to order me around, boy.”

  “Do not presume that I will stay here any longer, old man,” he raged back as he felt the blackness rise within him.

  “Sinow…” Violissa started, but he turned to her and said, “No, Violissa. This blackness and this realm have nothing to do with me or Tenebron. I am leaving.” He turned and stormed to the doorway, hoping the
Fates would reopen it before he reached it.

  “Fool!” The shade’s voice boomed. “This has as much to do with your realm as it does with Cirillia.” A force pushed against Sinow as he spoke. It was as if his very voice was power.

  Sinow whipped around, black mist seeping from his fingertips as the power tore through him. He was not about to let a mere shade attempt to overpower him. His hand drew up to show the old king his true Darkness when Violissa screamed, “Enough!” and a blasted calming spell hit him from every direction.

  “Arrgghhh!” he roared, arching his back as the Darkness within him was pushed back down. He bent over, his body at the mercy of the internal battle that was happening within him. Finally, that part of him that wanted to listen took control and buried the vicious piece deep below for the time being. He took a deep breath and standing upright again, ran his fingers through his hair. He gave a defiant look to the king and averted eye contact with Violissa, slightly embarrassed that she had witnessed such a moment of weakness and irritated that he’d been controlled, once again, by her calming power. No, not just hers, he realized. The female shade had added to it, which was why it had hit him so hard. He finally looked at Violissa, her eyes shone with concern, but he did not find the pity he’d feared he would see. “Vi.”

  “Shhhh, let’s just hear what they have to say,” she said softly, smiling so that his blood was sent rushing once again. “Please continue,” she directed her words toward the king who with a look of irritation continued.

  “This land has been corrupted and the blackness spreads. It will continue to seep through the magic that borders this realm and will spread into both your realms.”

  “My realm does not border the Lost Realm,” Sinow stated in frustration. He’d thought he’d made it clear this was not his issue, but here they were again discussing the same thing.

  “Do you know how the city was hidden, Dark child?” the female shade asked quietly.

  “A spell was cast that hid it from sight,” Violissa answered for him. “Sinow is correct, only Cirillia surrounds the Hidden Realm. The border that Cyric and your Council, Sir, created is the defining line between my land and Sinow’s.”

  “Not so, Light child,” she continued. “The capital was surrounded by much land, including the Elvin realm and Cirillian land that we considered sacred. I believe you now refer to it as the sacred forests. All of which was encompassed within the spell. The border erected by the Council came from the same magic we used to hide the realm. It was extremely powerful, and they were able to expand it along the dividing line of Tenebron and what remained of Cirillia.”

  “Then we are correct…” Sinow began but was cut off by the old king.

  “No, you are not. You think we are hidden by a shielding dome that makes the realm invisible, don’t you both? If that were the case, how could you both see through to each other’s realm?”

  Sinow glanced over at Violissa who was now chewing her bottom lip as she tried to figure out where the shades were going with this. He’d had enough of the game. “Enough riddles, get to the point,” he said, awaiting the shade’s response. Violissa surprised him and answered instead. “It couldn’t be a dome as we’ve always thought it was.” She looked at him. Her eyes widened, and he realized she’d figured it out. He, on the other hand, was too irritated to think about it.

  “The spell didn’t cover the realm, it collapsed it,” she stated, turning to the shades. His mind spun at what she’d just said. Imagine the power required to fold land into itself but leave everything intact, as if it were in its own unique space. “All this time we thought it was simply hidden from view when, in reality, the realm was moved, wasn’t it?”

  “Yes, Violissa. The spell folded the land around it into itself and moved it into its own world so to speak. That is why you should both be concerned about the blight that is slowly leaking from this realm.”

  Sinow spoke up this time, “You said your Council created the border between our lands from the lingering spell that hid this realm. When the realm was hidden, it re-created Cirillia, moving the lands that bordered the main city so that they now bordered Tenebron.”

  The female shade nodded as the old king spoke, “Yes, Sinow. As the blackness bleeds from our land, so it spreads through that boundary and into both your realms. The magic of the spell surrounding this land is acting as a barrier, but that barrier is breaking down.”

  “So, if the blackness is seeping from here, it will seep into both our realms. I see why we might be concerned. Will it overtake everything?”

  “No, it is simply a gateway.”

  “A gateway? To what?”

  “To Darkness.”

  “That’s not a bad thing,” Sinow said. “I welcome more Darkness.”

  “Do you, Dark child? Do you really? Has more Darkness been good for you?”

  Violissa interrupted, “What will that do?”

  “The Fates created our world with the balance of Light and Dark. What was taken from this land has shifted that balance slightly, but the corruption that it has unleashed will distort that balance. If not stopped, it will eventually mean the end of our world. Dark cannot be without Light, and Light cannot be without Dark, the two sides are intertwined. The two of you are the embodiment of that idea. If the corruption is not stopped, all will be lost.”

  “Then how do we stop it?” Sinow’s head was starting to hurt, and he didn’t feel he had much power left in him to hold back his anger.

  “You cannot stop it.”

  “What? Then why bring us here? Why all this talk if there is no answer?”

  “Because you need to know…”

  Sinow lost his patience. The thought that he’d wasted all this time and energy just to find there was no answer drove him over the edge. “No, I don’t. I couldn’t care less if more Dark power enters this world, especially after being stuck in this Light pit with all of you for so long. This has been a waste of my time, and I’m leaving now.” He turned and began walking away. The Fates must have realized there was no changing his mind this time and so the doorway reappeared to lead him back out.

  “Sinow…”

  “I’m done, Violissa. I’d drop it now, or I’ll let this whole place feel the power that I’ve been holding back.” He didn’t even bother to look at her as he spoke, instead continuing to walk. Something did stop him though as he heard the voice of the female shade in his head once more.

  It will happen, Dark child. There will finally be a time when you will both know the true gift the Fates have given you. Images burned through his head as she spoke. He saw Violissa smiling up at him, kissing and holding him. Saw her laughing, the sunlight shimmering in her golden hair, her eyes brilliant jewels that took his breath away. Saw her looking down at something in her arms, and then she looked up at him with the deepest look of love he’d ever known. In her arms, he saw the tiny hands of a babe reaching up to him; felt the power within them as they did. The image shifted once more, Violissa was sitting beside him, her hand upon his as they watched a young black-haired boy run, giggling through a field. Power streamed from his hands as he ran, creating a rainbow effect as it did. He turned toward them and waved, his emerald eyes gleaming with joy at what he was doing. The images faded, and Sinow finally let his breath out. He was taken aback, didn’t know what to do or say, so he did the only thing he knew to do. He composed himself, glared back at the shade and stormed out of the room. He didn’t dare look at Violissa. His insides were in torment, part of him wanted to turn and go back. Wanted to hold her and begin experiencing the future the shade had shown him. The other part of him wreathed in anger at the thought of any of those images coming true. It wanted nothing to do with the good feelings that had settled within him while the images had played. That Dark side was forcefully fighting to take control of him, and he knew that if he didn’t get back to Tenebron soon he’d tear this entire place down. Vi
olissa must have understood because she didn’t try to stop him again but stayed back to give him leave. He thought he heard her talking to the shades, but the fire within him was raging so loud that he didn’t pay it any mind. He needed to escape and fast.

  Violissa could see the fight that raged through Sinow. It hurt her to see him in such turmoil, but she knew if she tried to help at this point she would only be adding fuel to the fire. She watched him as he paused briefly just outside the door and wondered what was going through his mind to make him do so. The quick glare he shot at the female shade was enough for her to understand that something had been said between the two of them. Something Sinow hadn’t liked or at least his Dark side hadn’t. She turned back to the shade king and bowed gently. “I believe our time is up. Thank you for allowing us entry to your realm and for sharing your concerns.”

  The king bowed back. “Violissa,” the king spoke in her head, “the blackness that seeps from this realm is more than it seems. Do not let your guard down for even an instant. Only through your combined powers can it be fought.”

  “Why didn’t you say this while Sinow was here?”

  “I don’t trust him yet. The Darkness runs deeper in him than any who ruled before him, even his grandfather, and he has not learned to balance his powers.”

  “But the Fates trust him…”

  “Do they? There is a reason you were meant to wed before the ascension. You know that. There is so much conflict in him that he doesn’t even trust himself. Why do you think he keeps his distance from you? He knows the prophecy and understands full well that being with you will bring him inner peace. He doesn’t trust the Darkness running through him enough to allow himself to do such a thing.” It was the female who spoke to her this time.

  “Enough,” said the king, quieting her. “Remember, Violissa, this blight on our lands can only be fought with both your powers.”

  “Both powers,” Violissa repeated. “How...” She stopped, glancing back at the doorway through which Sinow had just walked then the answer came to her. She and Sinow would need to join forces to combat this whether he liked it or not. “Of course. Thank you both. Thank you for all that you’ve done,” she spoke hastily then turned toward the door and gathered her skirts to run after Sinow.