Cassius charged right for me, but I was ready for him. I brought the shield up to block his first attack as Craig and Forrest covered my sides, taking out plagued that came at us. Mama Lucy led the chant needed to start the incantation that would bring the realms together, just like the one used to break them apart so many centuries ago.
The only problem was, to do the chant, they had to fall into a trance and were completely vulnerable, and the second they finished, we had to spill Cassius’ blood, enough to finish the job. All around me was chaos, but I couldn’t spare a second to look. Cassius’ attacks were quick, and I could barely get my shield up every time to block them. A flash of that sword breaking my shield hit me hard, but then I felt a sudden rush of strength and felt Forrest and Craig fighting right there alongside me.
I lunged forward, throwing Cassius off balance and finally got him on the defensive.
My sword sailed through the air in the graceful arcs I’d learned long ago from my dad. Cassius, it seemed, had since forgotten how to fight and I kept him busy.
I moved in too fast to try and press the attack as the air became heavily charged with the power being called on and he swiped my legs out from under me with a kick.
I landed and rolled to avoid the blade he brought down right where my head would’ve been. He kicked me hard in the hip, and I grunted in pain, raising my shield to try and fend off his constant attack. Each hit threatened to drag my only protection away.
Abruptly, he yelled in pain, and I saw him sail through the other plagued behind him.
Craig reached down and hoisted me back to my feet, his face bloodied already, Forrest beside him bearing a black eye. I glanced around and spied several of the others had fallen, but the chant was still going strong.
“How much longer?” I asked as Cassius found his feet, but didn’t come charging after us just yet. “Forrest?”
“I don’t know,” he said quietly. “We have to just keep him busy.”
“What the hell do you think I’ve been doing?” I muttered, and both of them smirked.
But then Forrest’s eyes widened, and he cursed, throwing himself at me and Craig as we hit the ground.
The blast of black fire shot over us, but it caught Forrest, and he grunted in pain.
I searched around, expecting to see Cassius in his dragon form, but he was still standing there and grinned darkly as he sucked in a deep breath to hit us again.
“Down!” I yelled and tried to get behind the shield and protect Craig and Forrest.
Bu the blast was too strong, and we were thrown backward, into the others that were fighting.
My ears rang, and I struggled to get back up, my arms and legs shaking.
Forrest lay not too far from me, but his eyes were shut. His chest rose and fell at least, but he was unconscious.
“Kate,” I heard Craig growl, but he wasn’t looking at me.
I shifted my gaze, wincing with each painful bit of movement, and saw Cassius move to the wall of fire we’d created to keep the rest of his army from joining in the fight. “No,” I whispered the second I realized what he was about to do.
I pushed to my feet, forcing my limbs to work and charged toward him.
Craig yelled at me to wait, but all I could see was him holding out his hand to the fire as runes on his body glowed a fierce red.
It blinded me before it shot out of his body and attacked the flames. Red and black flames erupted up the wall and with an ear-splitting crack, they split the flames created to keep the plagued out and Cassius in. The flames collapsed like a waterfall before they hit the ground and an opening appeared. Just on the other side, plagued waited to come to the aid of their master.
Cassius cackled as he turned back around to stare intently at me. “Now, this ends!”
I gripped my sword tighter in my hand and snarled at him, my roar spurring on the other fighters around us. Their resounding cries drove me forward, and I attacked with everything I had left to give.
Cassius barely met my first few blows, aiming for his neck. We needed his blood spilled, and I just hoped if I did it too soon, it would still be enough to destroy him. But he quickly gained the upper hand again, driving me back as he locked his sword against my shield.
He seethed at met over the top of it until Craig’s fist connected with the side of his face and sent him reeling backward.
Craig, bleeding and walking with a horrible limp, nodded at me fiercely. Cassius shook out his head from the hit when another smoked his head from behind and Forrest was there, spitting out a mouthful of blood, every step making him cringe in pain.
“Why won’t you just die!” Cassius ranted as he came for us all again.
Behind me, screams of witches dying had me forgetting about anything else except making this work.
More plagued rushed in, swarming around us, and my last sliver of hope clung on for dear life as the truth hit me hard.
We were going to die. This was it, this was the end of us all.
Darrahs do not give up, Celandine’s voice whispered in my mind. Not now, not ever.
I dug deep, pulling on every last bit of power that existed within me, but it wasn’t enough, not alone. We had to give the witches their chance, needed just those few more moments.
Not even sure what I was doing, I threw my sword to the ground and grabbed hold of the shield with my free hand. It burst to life with a deep blue hue that stopped Cassius in his tracks.
Forrest and Craig moved in closer to my sides without a word. The moment each laid a hand on my shoulder, the power intensified and shot outward.
It pushed back the plagued and with each pulse, moved further out, driving the enemy into the fire that would consume them. My body shook, and I grit my teeth, fighting to hold on.
Blood dripped from my nose, and I felt it warm against my ears, but I didn’t pull back, didn’t dare stop yet.
“You will not win!” Cassius raged, planting his feet and not letting the light shove him aside. “I will rule over everything! I will control the realms!”
Just when I felt myself start to break down, Mama Lucy called out behind us, “Now!”
I let out a battle cry as I pushed forward, shoving the shield ahead of me as the three of us moved as one. He raised his arm, ready to bring that sword down on us with glee, when something struck him from behind, and he grunted in annoyance.
Luca stepped out from behind him, holding a bloodied dagger in his hands.
“That?” Cassius grunted harshly in amusement. “That is what you plan to do to me? Stab me in the back? That cannot kill me!”
“Never said it was going to,” Luca snapped.
Then with a yell, Luca drove the bloodied dagger into the ground, right through the center of the rune. The burnt ground flared to life as blue light flooded it before it burst outward, encompassing all of us.
We hit the ground, and I kept my head ducked down, as Forrest and Craig remained at my sides.
We held tightly to each other, waiting to see if it worked or not. I had no idea what to expect, or what bringing the realms together would actually mean, but when it felt like we were spinning around faster and faster before we slammed into something harder, I worried the realms were going to implode instead.
It sounded like a tornado whipped around us as more screams of panic filled the air.
I carefully lifted my head, watching as the plagued were dragged off and throw into nothingness.
Then everything came to a sudden halt, and we sat up, staring around as we tried to get our bearings. Where before I’d noticed a shimmering beyond the river, marking the edge of the realm, now there were mountains, the same ones that the castle in Gregornath backed up to. I whipped around the other direction and saw hints of shaper mount peaks that marked the edge of Boshen.
“We did it,” I whispered on a breath. “We did it!”
“No,” Cassius grunted nearby, and we hurried to find our feet. “What… what did you do!”
“We r
eversed the magic you used to separate the powers of these realms,” Mama Lucy informed him, and I was thankful to see her alive after the fight.
More and more people stepped forward until Cassius was surrounded by those who survived his attack.
Mama Lucy continued, “We are together again, and you? You have nothing.”
He snarled as he charged toward her, but I stepped in front to block her with the shield.
The second his fist connected with it, he was thrown backward and landed hard on his back.
With Craig and Forrest, I moved in closer, glaring down at him fiercely as the power that I’d grown used to, intensified tenfold.
Power truly did run through the realms, and now that they were joined, the darkness didn’t stand a chance.
“Cassius Darrah,” I said loudly as I stood over his body, “I hereby sentence you to death for treason and the attempt to destroy the races.”
He spat at me, and for a split second, his eyes flared red again. “You do not know what you unleash,” he warned. “You think I was the only one? You will burn, Vindicar, you will all burn!”
The last word was barely out of his mouth before I brought the shield down on his chest.
He gasped in shock and pain before his body went limp and disintegrated into ashes that blew away on the wind.
I stepped back, satisfied that it was finally over… but Forrest cursed, and suddenly he and Craig were dragging me back as the crowd around us gasped and murmured.
A dark, shadowy outline remained where Cassius’ body had laid.
As we watched, it swirled itself together, taking on another form, a figure with no face and only two red burning eyes.
“What the hell is that?” I muttered.
“That,” the figure spoke with a deep growling voice, “is me being freed from a two-thousand-year-old prison. All thanks to you.”
“What?”
It reached out a hand for me, and I shivered as its fingertips barely brushed my cheek.
My gut roiled at the stench of evil wafting off him, and I recoiled, falling back into Craig’s arms as he and Forrest shoved me protectively behind them.
“Don’t worry, I have much work to do before I am ready for another fight.” Those red eyes swiveled around. “And this time, I’m afraid you won’t be so lucky.”
It snapped its fingers and was gone.
I heard Craig and Forrest whispering to each other, but nothing they said reached me.
It appeared the war wasn’t over after all.
It was only just beginning.
22
Forrest
I stood in the courtyard, watching as the remainder of the destroyed wall was brought down in the courtyard, in order to be completely rebuilt. Since the realms were thrown back together, I’d spent most of my time in Gregornath, fixing what could be fixed and doing my best to recover those we lost in the fighting.
For the first few days, we had more burials than I could count, but every realm was the same.
Well, every territory.
We were all back to one realm, and it was making life much easier. Communications and trade were getting back to what they must’ve been like before they’d been split in the first place.
I wiped my arm over my forehead, brushing away the sweat and dirt from working out in the sun all day long. I turned and spied the stonemasons at work, crafting a statue of Kadin to be erected in the courtyard, in memory of my father.
“See? Being king has its perks after all,” a familiar voice said behind me.
“Speaking from experience?” I asked.
Craig approached, clasping my arm and pulling me into a one-armed hug.
“I figured the castle could use a facelift, as well as everything else. It was halfway destroyed so why not.”
“It’s coming along,” Craig agreed.
“How are things in Boshen?”
He shrugged, and we walked to stand in the shade of the new wall. “Same as here. Rebuilding, restructuring, planting fields, trying to get life back to normal. Well, better than normal I guess.”
“You’ll be a much better king than your father was,” I assured him.
“I hope so.”
We stood in comfortable silence for a few minutes, watching dragons fly freely overhead, enjoying the peace killing Cassius had bought us all.
At least for now.
I crossed my arms, thinking back to that day and the shadow that remained behind. What had truly been behind the entire war in the first place. Cassius had just been a pawn, just like everyone else. When he and Zohar thought they created the darkness to control, they had, in fact, released a darkness that had been buried away for thousands and thousands of years.
“How is she?” I asked quietly.
“You don’t have to ask,” he replied softly. “But since you asked, she’s dealing.”
“And the nightmares?”
He growled. “Not as frequent as before, but still there.” He planted his hands on his hips and paced around a bit. “I wanted to know if you would be available in about a month to travel to Boshen?”
“Oh? What for? Thought we weren’t meeting with the council for another two.”
“This has nothing to do with the council.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny, silver band with sapphires that glinted off it in the sunlight. “This has something to do letting Kate now exactly how I feel and not giving her a chance to put it off.”
I grinned and gave him a brotherly smack on the shoulder. “A wedding would do all of our people some good I think.”
“Gods I hope so,” he mumbled.
“Forrest! Hey!” Kate called out, waving her hand over her head.
Craig quickly tucked the ring back in his pocket with a wink at me. She ran forward, and I caught her in a tight hug as she kissed my cheek.
“Everything’s looking incredible! Gregornath is certainly going to be impressive once it’s all said and done.”
“I hope so,” I agreed. “Craig says everything is going well at Boshen?”
“It is, and Lucy’s working with the coven to figure out about the shadow with the red eyes.” Her smile faltered for a few seconds as she stared off into the distance. “Nothing yet.”
“We’ll figure it out,” I promised.
“In time?” she whispered. “Sorry, trying not to be all doom and gloom, but I hoped after offing Cassius, this would all be over and I… I would go back to normal.”
I smiled gently as Craig rolled his eyes. “You’re a Darrah, Kate,” I told her, “one of the last. I don’t think normal was ever going to be in the cards for you. And don’t worry, we’ll face this darkness together, and with the realms back together, we’ll have a fighting chance.”
She smiled, but I knew she didn’t believe me. “Ready to take a break? Why don’t we catch up over dinner?”
“We’ll catch up,” I told her, and she headed inside as Craig, and I lagged behind. “Not much for hope at the moment?”
“I told you, it’s been rough. I know she’s blaming herself.”
“For what?”
“Not seeing it I guess,” he said, “I don’t know, but she needs something good in her life.”
“She has something good. She’s got you,” I reminded him.
“And you,” he said, nudging my arm. “Guess we should get in there before she comes back out looking for us.”
Together, we headed inside, and all the while, I ignored the strange sensation that I was being watched from the shadows.
At the door, I paused and glanced back, swearing I caught a flicker of red eyes, until I blinked they were gone.
Whatever this new enemy was, I would ensure we destroyed it before it hurt any more of my people.
23
Craig
The ring was burning in my pocket as I climbed upstairs to the newest wing of the new demon castle, complete with chambers fashioned to suit the new demon king, and his future wife.
If she
said yes of course.
In the days since that final battle, Kate and I had spent nearly all our time together, working with Forrest when we could, and dealing with my affairs in Boshen. She returned to Lucy’s home several times to check on the witches. There had been meetings with the council to try and come up with a plan to combat this new threat.
But without any information, we were left to simply brace for whatever came next.
I’d nearly lost Kate fighting against the plague and Cassius. I was not going to waste any time in moving our lives forward. With Forrest giving me his blessing, there was no other reason for me to wait.
I opened the door to the outer chamber and spied Kate out on the balcony, staring up at the moon and the stars in the sky.
Her hair hung loosely over her shoulders and for the first time since coming here, she was wearing a gown fit for her new position in this world.
“You look pretty stunning in that,” I said as I wrapped my arms around her waist, kissing her cheek.
She leaned back into me with a sigh. “I don’t know, I thought the leather armor and chainmail was more fitting. Getting in fights every other day, dresses might only get in the way.”
“You wear whatever you want,” I said with a chuckle. “I don’t care. As long as you’re happy.”
“I am, I’m here with you.” She tilted her head back and kissed me softly. “And Boshen is coming back to life, so is Gregornath. Forrest told me the Darrah lands have been completely purged and soon… soon I can go back there and see what’s left.”
“What are you going to do with the land?”
“I’m not sure yet. Wasn’t sure if you wanted me around all the time.”
I smirked against her shoulder and couldn’t wait any longer. “Kate, I have no idea what the future is going to hold.”
“Funny, since you get visions,” she teased.
“Alright, smartass,” I said as she laughed. I spun her around, so she faced me and tucked her hair behind her ears. “My point is… I love you, Katherine, and I have a proposition for you.”
She frowned as I reached into my pocket and pulled out the ring I’d been carrying around for days. When I held it up for her to see, she blinked furiously, and I spied the glimmer of tears in her eyes.
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