by Edison G. S.
“A revolution,” he said coming out of the vision. He gasped for air and then gazed down at the witch.
The Death had finally taken her.
Omar
Somewhere in the Cold Sea, Omar felt a strong pain in his heart. He never met the woman who envisioned his destiny, but magic linked them forever. He swallowed the cold air with desperation as Melantha’s powers overwhelmed him. Sadness filled his soul though he had not known why.
He stood in silence gazing out at the Frozen Land that grew smaller as the ship sailed farther away. The wind whirled and revolted around him, but he did not feel the cold. His clear eyes were lost in the snow and the mountains far away.
“Omar, are you all right?” Alice, who stood behind him, asked with concern. “Omar,” she asked again as he did not reply.
“Ah? Yes, yes, I am fine,” he said and turned to see her. His breathing returned to normal. He looked at the villagers on shore, still gesturing their farewells. Omar had never seen people so grateful and happy. “Why don’t they move to the Forest? They would have food all the time” he opined.
“There is no place for them in the Forest territory,” Alice’s father, Paul, replied. “A lot of people have moved there already, but they soon left as well. They do not understand our God. People from the Frozen Land are too proud to leave behind their traditions and they became accustomed to the weather. But most of all, they are too proud to leave behind the lands that belonged to their ancestors.”
Omar understood immediately. The people of the Desert felt the same way. His mother told him during the rebellion most people preferred to die preaching to the Sand God rather than abandon the land as cowards and move to the Forest. Sometimes, people were found praying to be protected, but their prayers were not heard and they died. Omar’s family was one of those that decided to stay, especially since his father was born there. His mother had learned to follow the same doctrine after they married. In fact, she had been eager to worship a different god than her sister and her family. She could not bear the idea of praying to the Death.
Sudden thoughts filled Omar’s mind. He once again envisioned his family, smiling happily at the table, enjoying his mother’s specialty. No, he thought, pushing the thoughts away. It is time to leave the past where it belonged.
He thought about his aunt and how she had lived her entire life worshiping a pagan god. Holga had moved away from the judgment, but Ester stayed there; something gave her the strength to deal with people fearing them, judging them, and hating them.
“From what part of the Desert do you come?” asked Alice’s brother, Roger.
Omar looked away and thought a minute before answering, “From Bregonia.”
“That is far in the north of the Desert. It surely took you a long time to reach the Forest, didn’t it?”
“Yes,” the boy replied with avoidant words.
“All right, I am going to nap. We will arrive in the Forest soon,” Paul said. “Roger, you are old enough to maneuver the ship. Avoid icebergs,” he said and went to his chambers.
Omar came outside and once again looked out into the chilly waters. He learned that the Cold Sea that connected the Frozen Land and the Forest were once full of strange creatures with gigantic fins and pointy heads that emerged out of the water, taking their prey into the waters, leaving behind a trail of blood. Many ships were ripped to pieces. Maybe if those monsters never existed, the people of the Frozen Land could had moved to the Forest before becoming attached to their religion, he reflected.
He lifted his gaze from the water and looked back to the Frozen Land. Alice went back inside and he found himself alone again. He looked at the medal of protection in his hand and concluded it was truly magical. But if that was real, so was his power; it was time to learn to use it.
He had cried enough; he had decided not to be a child anymore. He threw the medallion in the water and for the first time, he would protect himself and those that needed to be protected.
Ester had told him something that he could not believe at first, but now he believed it true. He focused on the water with all of his emotions and mental strength. There was nothing to look at except the water and all of a sudden, a column of water rose with all the strength of his new, emerging magic; fish jumped around as the magic took them outside the water.
Melantha’s power had been all he needed to finally activate all his power. Without expecting it, the column of water grew massively and amalgamated with the wind. As it came toward the boat, all Omar could do was to put his hands in front of him and the column disappeared throwing fish everywhere. That was the first glimpse of the greatest power there would be.
Omar was marveled to see his power. Just one image filled his mind—the demon that killed his family. He now had the strength and power to avenge them.
Tara
They had been walking for a couple of hours after leaving the city of Tenkla behind. The white plains were unmerciful lands, but at least they had not seen or heard wolves. The wind threw them back often as if telling them to stay in Tenkla, but Samuel knew very well that down south they would find the island of Marli and could afford to buy a cheap ship there. People are so desperate for money, they will sell a ship for very little.
“We will get to the Forest soon with a few silver coins,” he commented, but Tara kept silent. “Well, that is if we actually can make it passed the white plains. The poor people are so isolated and scared of the area, they will not risk coming to Tenkla,” he added, but Tara still kept her words to herself.
“You had no right to do that,” she finally said. “It was my moment to turn,” her words were certain and acrid.
“You are insane,” he said.
She looked down at the ground shaking her head. She lifted her head and looked up at him, frowning, “It was my only chance.”
He stopped his walk and turned to face her, “If you really wanted to be turned, you would have stayed. You could easily run back there and I would not follow you any longer. You know it is true. I think you also know they would rip you apart the minute you stood in front of them.”
She looked at him and started crying, “It is not fair! I deserve revenge. My only chance is gone.”
“You still have a chance for revenge, by being happy. You can have all the happiness you have been missing all your life. That would be the best revenge,” he said and walked away, back toward Marli.
She stood there for a minute contemplating his words before joining him on the journey.
* * *
After a long walk, they finally reached the city of Marli. Their legs ached and either of them would trade anything to have had a donkey or a wagon to take them on their journey, but the white plains were so unstable a wagon would get stuck and a donkey would not be smart enough to make it.
The entire time they feared demons would come after them, but now they were finally free. The sun was completely out and nothing could happen to them anymore.
They quickly found a ship owner willing to sell them his boat since he no longer had use for it. The Cold Sea was like death, not a single animal occupied it; people could not fish there anymore since they exhausted the waters, or so they believed.
“Let us leave,” Samuel told her as they took the small, worn ship. Bird droppings stained the deck and the smell was unbearable, but the ship could easily take them to the Forest.
“How do you know the waters so well?” Tara asked once on the ship.
Samuel looked to the horizon, “My father was a merchant. I used to go with him everywhere, until the war started.”
Tara understood why he hated her so much when they met. Samuel was very loved by his father and he lost him too early, just as she lost his.
“Would you tell me about him?” she asked.
Samuel looked at her with a smile frozen on his face. “Well,” he said and described his father in detail, not just his image, but also his personality, goals, and everything Samuel remembered. All the time Tara laug
hed and listened and their journey was filled with merriment and trust.
At some point, Samuel looked her in the eyes and she looked back, keeping the gaze and blushing.
Tara knew he was right; she had only one chance at revenge and that was being happy. And then she remembered Melantha’s words; is there really something important in my destiny?.
Epilogue
The ship arrived in the port of Lera on a dark night six days after the massacre in Tenkla. Guards rushed in, but they found an empty ship. They could not even see Yvette leaving the boat. She walked clumsily toward Lera’s gate water spilling out of her boots.
“Stop right there,” one of the guards on the door said. “We will need to feel your heart as it is accustomed.”
“Do I look like someone who wants to stop for you,” she replied.
“It is a regulation.”
“Do not touch me or I will have your head on a spike before morning comes. Do you even know who I am? The king sent me on a mission; do you want to delay my report for the king?” She was the Sub-Commander and could have anyone killed if she said she would.
The man looked at another guard by the door with uncertainty before letting her pass. They feared her too much to ask more questions. The king had protected her since she moved there and he would dislike hearing she was mistreated. Yet it seemed odd she refused to follow the regulations she had implemented in the past.
A guard came through the streets followed by a dog and she quickly turned the other way. She avoided all security on the streets until she arrived at the castle of Excarta. By the entrance, the guards inside were holding dogs desperately trying to reach her. She looked cautiously at the men holding the lashes.
“We apologize. They have not eaten yet and their senses are not the same,” one of the guards said without attempting to find out why the dogs were acting irrationally. She was their Sub-Commander—why would they question her?
She entered the castle and went directly to the throne room, passing Commander Winterton, who noticed something odd about her.
The king stared at her as she walked toward his throne. “You are supposed to bend your knee before entering,” he demanded.
She ignored him and kept walking forward. His guards stood in front of her with high swords.
“Let her be,” the king said. “She is harmless. Come closer. Was the mission a success?”
Princess Loraine sat to the left of the king, her eyes swollen and red. “I am very sorry,” Loraine said. “There was an accident; the children were playing and … and your son fell from a high wall.” She paused to get a hold of herself, “He is dead, Yvette.” Her words were rich and truly compassionate. She loved Stefan like the son she never had.
Yvette ignored her and kept walking toward the king.
The king’s young wife was also sitting there, in the right side. “Sub-Commander, have you not heard what your princess just said?”
Yvette walked in silence until she stood in front of the king. The guards raised their swords, expecting her next move.
Just then, Commander Winterton realized she was much paler and numb to feelings; he turned toward the guards and his monarch and screamed “She is one of them!”
Yvette stood in front of the king who displayed fear on his arrogant face. Just before his guards could react, she bent over, fixated her eyes on him, and compelled him, “From now on, your throne belongs to Kazar.” Caik had given her the power of carrying compels, to make Kazar’s new plan easier.
“From now on, my throne belongs to Kazar,” the king repeated. As he uttered those words, thousands of demons emerged from the shore and rushed toward Lera.
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About the Author
Edison G. Salazar has been writing since he was a young, imaginative child. He still remembers play sessions in which his toys transformed into characters. Since childhood, he has enjoyed creating settings and visualizing his characters reacting within them, bringing his stories to life. It is his ultimate dream to share his imaginary societies with the world.
Growing up, he wrote hundreds of pages of stories, yet only recently deciphered his sophomoric tales into works of fiction. His first collection, Throne of Demons, will be published in February 2016. Throne of Demons is a compilation of human interactions in which his characters’ individualities pave the way for them to deal with adversity in a world complete with demons, witches, warriors, and the like.
A recent graduate in Genetics from Texas A&M University, in the interim he is pursuing his dream of publishing his novels. Originally from Ecuador, Edison currently lives in Houston, Texas with his family and multiple parakeets. His passions include reading, coffee, all types of weather, and environmental concerns. He hopes his books will reach international success to allow him to travel the world meeting thousands of delighted readers. Edison believes, “as long as one person enjoys my books, it was all worth the work.”
Discover more about Edison Salazar and his series Throne of Demons at the following sites:
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