Destiny's Kingdom: Legend of the Chosen

by Daniel Huber

  The last wisps of the inky blackness seeped into the orb and then the crystal rod collapsed into the lararium, the sides breaking away with a crash and crushing into shards of glass, the ring and the gemstone flung to the ground and rolling away in different directions. All that was left was the crystal sphere, and there it floated in midair, glowing brightly like the day.

  Quade stared in disbelief as he saw Aushlin's body crumple to the ground like a boneless rag doll, but Aazrio had run behind him to catch him before he actually fell. And then the guard looked up, looked over the crowd toward Quade. And then the guard jumped from the balcony to land in front of Trina who had started to scream.

  "Father!"

  Aazrio stood in front of Trina, protecting her from the direction where the light had come. The crowd had started to move toward the balcony, confused and bewildered, desperate to see what had happened. In Quade's shock he noticed that Aazrio still bent over the Keystone's body on the balcony. And Aazrio also stood with Trina. And in a sight like Quade had never seen before, Aazrio stepped out of himself and split a third time, his rage filled eyes looking directly at where Quade stood. Quade looked to the balcony, to Trina, to the guard who now ran toward the bastion. Aazrio had somehow split himself into three.

  Perhaps ten seconds had now passed, and the lararium still hovered in the air, was beginning to actually rise. Quade reached up and grabbed it, and then began to run.

  Aazrio had reached the door of the closest tower, pulled at the handle but found it would not open. Enraged, he attempted to dislodge it with his magic, completely ignoring the panic that was starting to spread through the massive crowd. Trina was protected by his other self, that much he knew. But his magic was now being divided into three separate places and his powers were compromised, so he could not use it to break down the door. He looked up to see the young man running, nearly at the end of the wall walk now and in fury and determination to catch him, the guard began scaling the wall. Spider-like, he climbed up it with little effort, no fear of falling, no lack of faith in his minuscule grips for support. He scaled the curtain wall like it was ladder, and before anyone could even realize what he'd done, he was running along the allure after his quarry.

  Quade hit the bottom of the tower stairs and burst through the heavy door, throwing the lock shut behind him, and ran with all his strength away from the crowd. They saw him running between them, pushing his way through them, but were too confused to know what had happened to think to make him stop. And Quade had no mind of where he was going, was simply running as fast as his legs would move, running away from the thing he knew was behind him, was faster than him, could endure longer than him. Before he realized how quickly he'd gotten there he was near the bank of the plateau, was headed toward the fields that stretched toward the woods below. And to his amazement, to his thankful relief, he saw Shadduk, trotting fearfully through the crowd. Quade whistled louder than he ever knew he could whistle

  "Shadduk!" The horse stopped in his tracks and turned his head. "Shadduk!"

  Quade ran toward the frightened stallion, and in a swift jump landed atop his back and pulled his reins around his fists, hastily kicking the horse's sides.

  "Shadduk, run! Go!"

  And in a flash, they tore through the crowd, Quade holding on for his very life.

  "Father!"

  Trina ran toward the castle doors, which were fast getting blocked by concerned onlookers, those who were anxious to see what had gone wrong, to see if there was anything they could do to help. Anxious murmuring washed through the people, worried and frightened voices of the kingdom making a din of fear and distress.

  Aazrio cloaked the two of them in a barrier of protective magic, moved the Daughter Keystone away from the front of the castle and around to the side where there were less people and less things to obstruct them from getting inside.

  "Aazrio what happened?" Trina was nearly hysterical. "What happened!"

  "I don't know, Kitrina." The guard spoke through his angrily clenched teeth. "I will find out."

  "And what was that? What did you do back there? You split apart from yourself! What is going on?" Trina screamed her words, began to shake uncontrollably under the guard's tight grip as he guided her through the side port door of the castle.

  "No time to explain my magic now, Kitrina. We must now tend to your father."

  "You left him for me?" She screamed in horror. "You left him alone to come and get me?"

  "No, Daughter Keystone! I am also with your father, as surely as I am here with you."

  Trina didn't stop to try and figure this out, let her completely perplexed and terrified face say all that she felt. Once inside the door Trina bolted down the long hallway, up the grand staircase that led to her father's study, running so fast that she easily left the guard behind.

  CHAPTER 31

  Moonlight dappled across the horse's sleek haircoat as they galloped through the forest, the hazy filtered beams of white cutting a pattern in time with the thick clopping of hooves on soil. Amid the light that flickered across his eyes in the otherwise darkened wood, Quade rode on, the only sound that of his breath and Shadduk's hooves, the horse's breath, his own panicked gasps. Darkness enveloped them in a sudden wave as they entered a grove. Branches of the forest grew low here, grew in a tangled mass of leaves and sticks along the low tunneling of this dense thicket, and Quade flattened along the sturdy neck of his steed, pressed his cheek against the hot flesh of the horse to keep from being injured by the low hanging branches, and clutched the reins to keep his balance. He dare not look up, had to trust that the horse would know the course he meant to follow through this thick patch of timber and out on the other side of the wood, over the hills and perhaps find some way to salvation. The galloping sound was now louder in his ears, so close to the source, so close to what created this rhythm of escape. In the dim light he watched the ground as it kicked up behind the thundering hooves, the mulch and the leaves, the soil and the moss. The slightest hesitation in Shadduk's gait, and Quade risked a look up to see the end of the thicket, the bright light of the moons shining full through the strong pillars of the forest, flickering like a pattern, his heartbeat, the horse's hooves, his labored breath, the breath of the horse that ran beneath him.

  They rode into a clearing in the density of the trees where the path widened, and Quade slowed the stallion to a stop so he could take a look around. They'd been running for a long stretch and Shadduk needed a rest so Quade took a moment to think about what was going on. What had happened to the Keystone? He felt the lararium that hummed against his chest, reached into his pocket and held it in his hand. Within the crystal orb a battle seemed to rage, the churning darkness of the SanFear teeming amid a glowing light, a light so pure and so powerful that Quade hesitated to guess at what it might be. What had this thing done? Had it killed Aushlin? Extracted the SanFear, yes; that much Quade could see. But extracted… what else? He had to get back to P'cadia, find out what the Avè could do to help him. Quade tucked the orb back into his pocket and tried to judge where he was. He didn't know this area of the woods, had never any reason to travel so deeply in the forest, and he didn't know exactly what he should do or how he should go about getting to his ship. The unfamiliar paths in the woods combined with the darkness had made him lose his way, and he wasn't even sure which way led to Sigh City at this point. He felt a stirring on the air, felt the danger of being hunted. Aazrio was still in pursuit. He wasn't close, but he was close enough to track Quade's path so he turned the horse toward what he thought was south and off they galloped again.

  When he hurdled over a dry rock bed and came to land on the other side, Shadduk let out a painful cry as he landed and stumbled ahead, guarding one leg. He whinnied again as he struggled, then reared up, nearly losing his footing as his right front hoof hit the soil. Quade barely kept from being thrown off as he looked down to see an angry upshoot of thorny bush just behind them, and realized that the horse must've injured himself on one
of the long, razor sharp barbs. He spoke sternly and reassuringly to the horse and it limped toward softer terrain, and Quade jumped from his back, patting the neck of the nervous animal as his wild eyes roved in the dim shadows of the filtered moonlight. He bent down to inspect the leg that Shadduk was holding up, refusing to stand on it, and saw a deep gash that ran along the swelling foreleg. Quade closed his eyes and sighed helplessly, guiltily, then again patted the horse on the neck.

  "I'm sorry," he whispered, looking deeply into the horse's frightened eyes. "Oh, Shadduk, I'm sorry that I did this to you." Quade pulled off the ribbon that held back his hair and bent to wrap it around the bleeding wound, though it didn't do much to help and Shadduk was protesting in discomfort. The presence of Aazrio was still on the air, distant but still not lost. Quade lifted the reins over the horse's head, tied them to a nearby tree. "I have to go now, but don't worry… Aazrio will be along at any moment, I'm sure." He ran his hands along the horse's ears and mane, and when he went to walk away Shadduk tried to follow him, but whinnied from the pain. Quade looked over his shoulder, put up one hand and covered his lips with the other, and then began to run.

  Trina held her father's head cradled in the crook of her arm and glanced up in time to see the Aazrio that had led her back into the castle merge with the one that had been standing guard over her father when she'd ran into the room. She turned away from that phenomenon; her mind could only process so much at a time, and it was all she could do to keep from losing her mind from fear and confusion at what she'd just seen.

  "What happened, Aazrio?" She stared at her father's peaceful face, reached to twine the fingers of his hand with hers. He was warm, felt alive. But somehow, she felt that something was missing. "This was no act of nature or the gods. What caused this?"

  "I don't know Kitrina. I'm searching for an answer this very moment as I also stand here with you."

  "Do something, Aazrio." Her voice began to tremble. "Use your powers, whatever needs to be done!"

  "I cannot, Daughter Keystone."

  "You cannot? Why?"

  "It is beyond my power, what has happened. I laid my hands upon the Keystone and sensed nothing that could be healed."

  "What do you mean?"

  "I mean that whatever happened has done damage beyond my scope of healing, Kitrina. Were there a broken bone or a wound to the flesh I could restore it. But what seems to have occurred… is a thing I've never before known."

  "Call the clerics." Trina looked up to see her maiden, Juliette, and several of the other castle staff standing in the doorway anxiously. "Call the best healers in the kingdom. Call them all! And Juliette, bring in pots of jasmine." Trina looked up to Aazrio, her eyes glistening as she stroked her father's hair. "The scent of its blooms have medicinal properties."

  There was silence for a moment as Trina leaned down to her father's ear, whispered words of love and devotion to him that were meant to be heard by no one else. When she raised her head again and looked to the guard her face was streaked with tears and her voice was no more than a weak murmur.

  "He breathes, Aazrio," Trina reached toward Aazrio and he offered his hand, which she pulled toward the Keystone's chest. "I can feel his heart beating, his chest rising with life and with breath. But something is wrong…so wrong."

  Aazrio pulled his hand away from the Keystone and rested it on Trina's shoulder. "I've put the entire planet on lockdown, Kitrina. If a person in the kingdom is responsible for this, they will not leave the planet, nor will anyone be allowed on. All travel is completely at a halt."

  "No person could have brought harm to my father; he is the Keystone! To harm him would be… unthinkable." She turned back to Aushlin's unmoving form and spoke gently to him.

  "Father… can you hear me?" Then she startled, and looked around.

  "Aazrio," she said, "where's Quade?"

  "I'm sorry, Daughter Keystone. But it seems that Quade is gone."

  The forest grew thinner again after awhile and Quade was surprised to see what appeared to be a cottage up ahead. He skirted along the trees as he drew closer to the little house where lights still burned warm in the windows even though it was deep into the night. He'd been running for what seemed like an hour but was probably more like fifteen minutes. He stopped for a minute to catch his breath and stared at the isolated dwelling, wondering to himself who would hold residence in such a remote place in the forest. As he drew closer, he saw some strange symbols over the door, carved into the old solid logs that made up the threshold. At first he couldn't read them but as he advanced their meaning became clear to him, and he vaguely wondered why it wasn't so strange to him at all when he realized that it was the language he'd heard in his vision. The language of a foreign tongue, of another galaxy that he'd understood in a manner of moments, existed here on Bethel, above the door of this mysterious little house.

  "Seek here…" Quade mumbled under his breath, reading the symbols carved into the ancient wood that would look purely ornamental to the average eye. "Chosen…" He puzzled for a moment. Chosen? Why should it be that this is what it would say? A sign, he thought; perhaps a gift from the gods, perhaps a way out of this catastrophe. Seek here, he of the Chosen! There were more symbols after that but Quade didn't pause to read them. It was clear enough for him to understand he had found something that could help him, and in the recesses of his memory, Quade had a recollection of something he'd heard, a rumor from long ago.

  He went to the door and peered inside the front window. This was no house he now knew, but was the Shoppe of Mirrors that was shrouded in secrecy by local lore and tales, a shop that he'd heard of once or twice in passing stories, but had never the need or desire to visit until just now. It was lit inside though he could see no proprietor within. Cautiously, he pressed the door latch with his thumb and it opened with a slight creak.

  A chime rang lightly throughout the shop as Quade entered, and though it was very late there were still dim lights throughout the room and candles burning in every corner and along the walls in elaborate sconces. The entire shop was filled with mirrors, and in every direction that Quade looked he saw dozens of reflections of himself, and other reflections of the reflections, mimicking his moves in the opposite direction. Mirrors lined the wall behind the old oaken counter, the frames decorated in shining jewels and glittering varnishes, each one unique and ornate to the point of gaudiness. They graduated in shape and size, and these mirrors in particular seemed to be different among the others, and Quade wondered of the rumors he'd heard of the magic contained in some of the old crone's reflecting glasses. He walked up to the counter but before he could call out to ask if anyone was there, a voice sounded from behind a heavily beaded curtain.

  "Who comes calling at such an hour?"

  The curtain parted abruptly and an old woman with a hunched shoulder walked out. Her face was drawn and sour when she first appeared, but upon seeing who was standing at the counter, she brightened considerably.

  "Apologies, fair lady," Quade said, fighting to keep his voice level. "I know that it's very late."

  "Ahh," she said, walking from behind the counter to stand in front of Quade. "It's been many years since I've been addressed by such a title, boy. You make me long for those days again." She was short and perhaps had been petite in her youth, but now her body was an aged mockery of what she surely once was, uneven, dried and misshapen. "I know you, don't I?" she continued. As she stood before him, she reached out to grasp the seam of his shirt, appearing to examine the fabric, but smoothing her knotted fingers over Quade's ribs as she did.

  "I don't think we've ever met," he replied, leaning away from her involuntarily. She looked up to his face, noticing his undulation at her touch. Her eyes squinted, and her mouth curled into an unreadable smirk.

  "Met? No, we've never met." She turned away and shuffled behind her counter, her back to him as she moved to stare into one of the jeweled mirrors. "What is it that you want from me, in the middle of this night?"

&nbs
p; "I've heard stories about this mirror shop," Quade said, walking toward the counter.

  "Stories?" she rasped, her voice a higher octave at the question. "Pray, continue!"

  "Stories that say some of your mirrors are more than what they seem." As Quade reached the counter he could see the reflection in the mirror that the old crone was staring into as she picked and twisted at her hair. The image that stared back was not the same face that Quade could see, but what appeared to be a much younger incarnation of the woman who stood before it. Just as Quade leaned to get a better glance, she turned around to face him and the image was gone.

  "More than what they seem? Interesting words, these! Why would this be of importance to you?"

  "Because," Quade said, deciding not to waste any time. "I need a portal, and it's said among the land that you might be the person who provides portals for sale."

  "A portal? Well!" The old crone reached out to where Quade's hands rested on the counter and she grabbed one before he could stop her. She turned it over in her grasp and examined his palm. "What sort of portal do you need?"

  "I need one to the Central hangar. Now, tonight."

  "You seem rather…impatient to get this portal. Why would you need a portal to a place so close you could easily ride or commission a transport?"

  "I've no time… no time for anything including these questions!" Quade pulled his hand away. "Can you sell me what it is that I need?"

  The old woman seemed slightly bemused by his tone and his words and she leaned on the counter like she had all the time there was to have. "And what would you do, if I gave you a portal to the Central hangar? Where is it that you think you would go?"

  Something in her inflection made Quade very uneasy. "What do you mean?"