Ravages

by Kit Bladegrave

  I backed off him, shaking my head.

  “She is, Craig, you have to admit it. We lost her.”

  “No,” I whispered. “No, she’s still in there. We can save her!”

  “Don’t you get it? I can’t feel her!” he yelled so loudly it made me take another step back. “I reached out to her, and you know what I felt? Nothing, but darkness. The second Cassius killed my father, the second she helped him do that, she was lost to us.” He clambered unsteadily to his feet, blood dripping from his nose and a split lip I’d given him. “Kate is nothing more than another pawn in his army.”

  He looked so sure of what he said, but I kept shaking my head. I was not going to agree with him, not even close. “You’re wrong,” I growled as I backed toward the door.

  “No, I’m not,” he replied calmly. “And deep down, you know it.”

  “Deep down I know I’m not going to just give up on her because of one setback!”

  “A setback? That’s what you’re calling this!” He threw his arms wide. “Look around you, Craig! War is here, and she brought it to us. How long until they come to Boshen and do the exact same thing to your home, huh? How long before she kills someone you love?”

  And that right there was the problem.

  The only one I cared about, the one that had my heart since she dragged my sorry ass to Lucy’s home to save my life, was possessed by the plague.

  Forrest had loved her in his own way, but it was not as strong as what I felt for her.

  I loved her, and the last thing I was going to do was turn my back on her when she needed me most.

  “Your people are looking for you to lead them,” I said lamely as I reached the doorway. “I suggest you rally yourself and go aid them any way you can.”

  “Craig,” he called out as I turned my back on him. “You have to be ready to make the tough choice.”

  My steps paused for barely a second before I hurried away, not stopping until I reached the privacy of my old chambers.

  I closed and locked the door, resting against it. I knew exactly what he meant by those last words. Was I really just in denial about all of this?

  Kate… please for the love of the gods, you have to break through, I whispered in my mind, doubting she would actually hear me, or could at this point. Don’t make me… please don’t make me kill you.

  The idea of me or Forrest plunging a sword through her ripped me apart, and I sank to the floor, holding my head in my hands.

  8

  Craig

  I jerked awake, still on the floor in my chambers as a loud knock sounded at my door.

  “Sire? The council has gathered again and requests your presence.”

  Rubbing a hand down my face, I said I would be right out. My mind was fuzzy, struggling to separate reality from my nightmares. Seeing Kate bearing that shield, using it to kill everyone in sight, to kill Forrest and me.

  All I saw were those black eyes, and when I found my feet, walking to the wash basin to splash water on my face, a nagging voice in the back of my mind started to agree with Forrest.

  What if we’d been wrong all along? What if Kate was not destined to be the Vindicar, but this path she was on now was her true fate? To start a war to end all wars and destroy the realms?

  “No,” I growled at my reflection angrily. “It’s not true, and you know it.”

  But did I?

  Not willing to spend another second arguing with myself, I changed clothes quickly and hurried from my chambers, the two guards at my door following close behind. In times of war, I’d almost forgotten two guards always followed the king around, something else I was not sure I’d ever get used to.

  When I entered the council chamber, it was filled with each member, and Forrest.

  He barely looked at me as I entered and took my seat.

  “What news do we have?” I asked to get the gathering started.

  But no one said a word.

  I started to get uneasy when Forrest cleared his throat and spoke. “We have no news, but I’ve requested everyone here to discuss a more important matter.”

  “And that would be?” I asked hesitantly.

  His gaze locked onto mine as he said, “The fate of Katherine Darrah.”

  “No,” I growled, shooting to my feet. “No, I refuse to discuss this!”

  “You don’t have a choice,” Drake said gently. “She has put everyone at risk, and she must be dealt with.”

  I ran a hand through my hair, pacing away from the table.

  “If we’re able to capture her,” Forrest said, “we needed to decide what will be done with her.”

  “We’ll save her,” I snarled, whirling around on them all. “There’s no other option!”

  “And if she can’t be saved, what then?” he shot back. “We keep her prisoner and hope she doesn’t escape? Doesn’t come after anyone else we care about? I am not willing to take that risk. We’re voting, right now.”

  I growled in warning, but no one spoke up to stop him.

  “All in favor of killing Katherine Darrah for crimes committed against the realms, raise your hand,” Forrest stated, and lifted his hand into the air without hesitation.

  I watched in horror as everyone else at the table, aside from myself, Lucy, and Tristan, raised their hands with Forrest.

  Three against the rest.

  My heart plummeted, and the room spun around me.

  Just like that, they were going to kill her.

  “I’m sorry, Craig,” Forrest murmured as he lowered his hand. “But this is how it has to be.”

  “I’m sorry you see it that way. Sorry all of you do, but I am not going to give up on her, not yet.”

  “There’s no way to bring her back!” Forrest yelled as I stormed out the door. “Craig!”

  But I ignored him, walking until I found myself outside, then kept on walking, out the front gate and into the open fields that surrounded the castle.

  I couldn’t do it, I wouldn’t.

  And I wasn’t going to let anyone else hurt her either.

  Out of the three of us, I always assumed it would be Forrest who would keep the faith and make sure we all stayed on track.

  And now, here I was ready to strangle him because he’d let his anger and sorrow get in the way.

  The key to saving Kate had to lie within the shards we had.

  Somehow, they would bring her back. It was either that, or watch her be killed.

  9

  Kate

  I pressed my palm flat against the glass, unsure of what I was even staring at anymore.

  It was the middle of the night, but the stars were blacked out, as was the moon.

  The darkness was absolute, just as Cassius promised it would be, washing away the sins of this world and those who inhabited it for too long, who controlled power they should never have had in the first place.

  My hand dropped back into my lap, and I rested my forehead against the chilly stone, wishing I could sleep. But every time I closed my eyes, I saw them over and over again, Craig and Forrest. Saw their faces when Cassius killed Kadin. Saw what I’d done to help that along.

  You are not a killer, Kate.

  “Be quiet,” I whispered, wondering how much longer I could keep up this fight inside my head.

  Everything was so confusing, and I couldn’t bear to look at my reflection anymore. I swore when I did, there was a pair of black eyes staring back at me. Eyes that were not mine.

  You let the darkness in! Cassius is lying to you, he’s manipulated the truth! See it, look past the lies, or you’re going to get them killed.

  I scrunched my eyes shut, shaking my head. “No, I know what I’m doing.”

  Do you? Why did you lock them up? Do you even remember why you went there in the first place?

  “Get out of my head,” I snarled, pacing frantically around what used to be Forrest chambers.

  No, not until you remember what really happened! Think, Kate, why would you need an army of plagued! Lo
ok what you’re doing to everyone around you!

  I passed by the mirror again, and when I forced myself to look, a pair of black eyes stared back at me.

  No, no this wasn’t right!

  I tried to move away, but that gaze held me, my feet frozen in place as the past few days whirled around and around in my mind. Images, flashes of fighting, of Cassius telling me his story. Something was wrong, something was very wrong, but I couldn’t see it. Couldn’t understand!

  Forrest and Craig, they’d come after me… because I had left them…

  “To save them,” I whispered, “to save everyone… from the darkness.”

  I grabbed my head as a horrible pain exploded, and I fell into the cabinet under the mirror.

  Screams filled my ears, and I realized they were mine as I shrieked in agony.

  My dragon roared to life within my mind, and I flinched to see her darkened scales instead of the blue ones she should’ve borne. And my arms! The runes were red.

  “What… what have I done?” I whispered in horror through the pain, falling to my knees. “Forrest… I’m so sorry,” I whispered to the night. “So sorry.”

  I remembered Cassius drawing Celandine out of my mind and what he told me afterward… I’d known then he was lying, but the darkness, it found its away in, and it took root. All because I’d wanted revenge against those who murdered my parents. But Kadin, he hadn’t killed my dad. I knew that now. Everything became clear in an instant.

  “Allis,” I growled.

  His voice, I’d heard it before… that night when my dad was killed, he’d been there!

  Fight it, Kate! Fight it!

  I pushed back against the darkness flowing through my veins, but it clung hard, wrapping itself tightly around my soul.

  I sensed my dragon straining to break free as I pulled myself back up and glared at my reflection.

  My black eyes were slowly lightening, and bit by bit, the green started to return as I managed to get hold of who I was, who I really was.

  Everything that happened since getting to the Burnt World had been an illusion, and I’d fallen for it.

  I’d let myself be taken in. I was an idiot and now… now, I didn’t deserve to have anyone save me. I had to get to them. Had to get out of here and get to Forrest and Craig.

  I grimaced, thinking of how much Forrest must hate me right now, but he had every right to. I couldn’t bring Kadin back, but I was not going to let Cassius win.

  I let my connection to them fill me, remembering their smiles and their laughs, holding their hands. The moments we shared together.

  I had come here to save them; I was not going to give up on that goal just yet.

  Just as the first bits of shadow broke free of my mind, letting me begin to really understand what was happening, my door burst open.

  “Well,” Cassius snarled, Allis right behind him, “I’d hoped it would have taken longer for you to realize the truth.”

  He nodded, and Allis rushed in, grabbing me by the arms from behind and forcing me to face my true enemy.

  “Such a pity you make me do this. It truly is. Things work out for the better when you just… accept the inevitable.”

  I tugged on my arms, but the fight inside my mind weakened me.

  “You will not win this fight,” I warned with a smirk. “You can’t keep a hold on me forever.”

  “It doesn’t have to be forever, just long enough to kill the rest of those you care for.”

  Craig and Forrest.

  Pulse pounding in my ears, I growled at him fiercely. “What are you talking about?”

  “It’s quite obvious, isn’t it? The darkness seeks out the tiniest bit of anger and hatred within a person. It feeds on it,” he explained, walking around me in a slow circle. “The death of your parents had been enough to get it started, but if Forrest and Craig are dead, if you watch them die, it won’t stop the plague from claiming you completely. It will ensure that it does.”

  I grunted, still trying to break free. “It won’t happen! I won’t let you hurt them!”

  “Who said you had a choice?”

  “I’m awake now, I know what’s happening! You lied to me, you used me!”

  “Yes, yes, I did,” he sighed. “And now, I’m going to do it all over again.”

  His hand flattened against my forehead, and I screamed as it felt like a bolt of ice shot through my veins.

  I jerked and twitched, desperate to fight back, but even my dragon mournfully roared as the darkness rushed right back in… my mind became fuzzy and my body sagged in Allis’ arms.

  Forrest and Craig… I had to… had to remember them…

  “Katherine?”

  I blinked, shaking out my head as the remnants of a headache left me. “Cassius?” I glanced over my shoulder. “Allis? What’s… what’s going on?”

  Allis released my arms and steadied me on my feet.

  I was dizzy, and he helped me to a chair to sit.

  “There was an incident, a few of the dragon soldiers returned to try and get to you. You were hit on the head during the attack, and they escaped.”

  I guessed that sounded right. “Who led them here?”

  Cassius cleared his throat loudly as he crouched before my chair. “Craig, I’m afraid. He was very intent on getting to you. I heard him say they were here to finish this before it went any further.”

  His words took a few minutes to kick in.

  “They were here to kill me.”

  “I’m afraid so, Katherine. I’m afraid so.”

  Fury boiled through me. I was doing this for them, to try and keep them safe and they came here to kill me? My heart rebelled at the idea, but my mind said it wasn’t so hard to believe. They were just like the rest.

  “When do we leave?” I demanded.

  “A few more days, we’re still ensuring our hold on Gregornath will remain once we move on,” Cassius explained. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

  “No,” I growled. “No, I won’t be alright until they join the rest.”

  Cassius held out his hand to me, and together we stood.

  “That’s my commander,” he mused with a dark smile. “Come, we have much planning to finish before he makes for Boshen.”

  Boshen, where the demons dwelled and where they would all meet their end.

  This army of ours would only grow bigger once the plagued took hold of the dead left behind.

  Soon enough, Boshen would fall to our might, too and Forrest and Craig, they would have very little time to regret turning against me before I killed them, too.

  10

  Forrest

  I picked up the last large piece that remained of the doors and chucked it into the pile out in the corridor.

  I could’ve easily hurt Craig, killed him, but I was too wrapped up in my grief to notice if he held it against me or not.

  The vote to end Kate’s life, that I knew he was ready to throttle me over.

  But what choice did we have?

  He saw her the same as I did, standing there in the courtyard beside Cassius.

  She was the reason the wall collapsed, and the plagued army overran the dragons. She was the reason so many of my people were killed and their bodies left behind, no chance for a proper burial. And she… she was the reason why my father, King Kadin, was dead. I would never see him again. Never hear his voice again, or hear his deep laugh. Just like the rest of my family, he was dead, killed by an enemy I hadn’t seen coming.

  Several more days passed since we voted, and Craig hadn’t spoken to me. Not once. He locked himself away with Lucy and Tristan, as well as the shield shards. He was convinced they would save Kate, no matter how far gone she was.

  I wanted to believe we could save her, but how could I after what I saw? What I felt? I’d reached for Kate in those few moments, and all I felt was a dark void of nothingness. The more time passed since my father died, the more I was able to gather my emotions, shoving my grief to the side so I could aid the drago
ns, at least those that remained.

  We all mourned for what we lost, but many were still dealing with fear that the worst wasn’t yet over.

  Any day now, Kate and Cassius would break into Boshen, and we’d be fighting for our lives all over again.

  Tristan and Drake took in the injured and those not fighting, leaving only the fighters behind, but none of them were ready for a war like this.

  It didn’t take an empath to feel the despair weighing on everyone’s shoulders, knowing the enemy outnumbered us and was being led by the one person meant to save us all.

  Thankfully, Lucy and her coven brewed enough potion now that every arrow, spear, and sword was coated with it. Whether the potion would last long the entire length of the fight, we wouldn’t know until it happened.

  I walked aimlessly around my chamber, playing tug of war with my own guilt in my decision to stop Kate before it was too late. We’d all come so far together and yet… it wasn’t enough to stop her from turning.

  Wanting to go and talk to Craig, but already knowing he’d kick me out, if not worse, I flung myself onto my bed and closed my eyes. Rest had been in short supply since our retreat here, and I didn’t expect to fall asleep, but I dozed, and my mind drifted through an endless sea of twilight memories featuring my father. I missed him terribly. He was the leader, not me. I never expected this day to come, and definitely not so soon.

  The images shifted and changed until I was no longer Kadin I saw, but Kate and Craig.

  Her laughter washed over me like a tidal wave, and I was lost in the sound, feeling her hand cup my cheek, her lips against mine as we shared a few kisses. The three of us laughing as we sat around a campfire, acting like the kids we truly still were and not the heroes we were destined to become.

  Or thought we were.

  Then it was just Kate’s face in my mind’s eye, and she stared at me sadly.

  She whispered my name, and I felt the ghost of her touch on my forehead, smoothing down my cheek.

  Forrest… Forrest…