Part One - The Twilight Swordsman (The Unfinished Prophecy Book 1)

by Maggie Akhurst

  I should never have saved her.

  Guilt struck him hard in the gut the second the thought crossed his mind. He shook his head. He didn’t mean that. He could never stand by idly while someone needed protecting.

  “Wait!” The cry rang out above the commotion. Everyone paused. The council lady pointed a shaking finger towards Cierra. “There, on her wrist! Is that...?”

  Everyone stared intently at Cierra’s wrist, held captive by one of the guards.

  A silver charm bracelet encircled her wrist. Dru caught his breath. Six charms dangled from its links. The shapes were easily recognisable and any child in Elturia would have known what they could mean. An oak leaf, a water droplet, a cut diamond, a moon with stars, a blazing sun and an elaborate key glinted in the candlelight from the chandelier.

  He shook his head in disbelief. He had searched for the fabled charm bracelet for over two years, alongside nearly every other Protector. He’d almost given up hope that it would ever be found.

  Could it really be the bracelet?

  Even Councillor Skjor was leaning over the table, trying to get a better look. As they all watched, it seemed to glow with an inner light of its own.

  “It’s just a charm bracelet,” Cierra said, confusion in her voice. “I’ve had it since before I can remember. It was a gift from my parents. There’s nothing special about it, at least, not for anyone but me.”

  Dru knew different, as did the Council members. If it was actually the bracelet, it was incredibly special. The youngest child in Elturia knew the importance of that bracelet, especially in these dark times.

  Councillor Skjor indicated one of the guards. “Bring it to me.”

  “No!” Cierra yelled, panic evident in her screams. “No! You can’t take it! I need it!” She yanked against the guard’s grasp, twisting her arm and marking her pale skin with large red marks when he gripped her more tightly. She was obviously desperate to keep the bracelet with her. Tears rushed to her eyes when her efforts yielded no results. “No!”

  The bracelet was extremely precious to her, Dru realised. He had no idea why. Most people who owned charm bracelets simply viewed them as trinkets, but tears were dripping down her cheeks as the guard came closer, his hand reaching for the silver bracelet.

  Dru hadn’t known her long, but he doubted there was much that could make her cry. Being attacked by the Darkness creature in her room hadn’t caused this kind of reaction.

  He began to struggle against the guards holding him, wanting to help her keep the trinket and to stop her from hurting herself more in her efforts to get free. Those red marks on her arm were already darkening into bruises and anger simmered inside him at the thought of how tightly the man must be holding her to induce bruising so rapidly.

  His guards held him fast, barely giving him the ability to move an inch. Even an Elite Protector couldn’t break free from ten guards holding him down.

  “Don’t touch it!” he warned.

  Cierra threw him a pleading look, but there was nothing he could do.

  The guard reached for the clasp.

  Intense light exploded into the room. People screamed. Dru shut his eyes tightly and turned his head away. What the heck?

  The light dispersed as quickly as it had come, leaving him blinking dark spots from his eyes. Everyone seemed slightly disorientated. He checked Cierra, his Protector instincts kicking in, telling him to make sure she was okay.

  She was still standing, gaping at her bracelet. The charms swung gently, glowing softly as if nothing had happened. She glanced at the ground then looked away swiftly, her face blanching.

  A pile of ash was on the floor in front of her, right were the guard had been standing. It took him a moment to comprehend what the pile was. The guard had been disintegrated by the light, clothes, bones and all. Only the metallic parts of his armour and weapons had survived and even they were blackened. Had the bracelet been the cause?

  The room erupted into noise as the excited Council Members began talking all at once. The guards securing Cierra watched her warily, holding her almost gingerly, ready to let go at the slightest sign that she might use her new-found weapon on them.

  He could tell by observing her face that she wasn’t even thinking about that. She looked shaken, Dru noted, barely hanging on to her control and the councillors weren’t making matters any better. Their blatant disregard for the fact that a man had died in front of them seemed to grate on her nerves, as it did on his. He could sense her rage and confusion growing, could see it in the tensing of muscles all over her body.

  “Cierra.” She couldn’t hear him over the babble of the councillors. “Cierra!”

  She looked over at him. Her green eyes were wild, full of despair and bewilderment. Tendrils of her black hair had escaped her braid and hung around her face.

  “It’s not your fault, Cierra. Calm down,” he soothed. If the charm bracelet was the source of the power that had killed the guard, he didn’t want to know what might happen if she lost control and became really furious. He was pretty sure her emotions influenced the bracelet’s reaction.

  She shook her head, turning away from him. His heart sank. It was too late. She wouldn’t back down. They’d crossed the line and she’d had enough. He pulled against the arms restraining him, wanting to take her away from the danger he knew she was about to invite upon herself. The High Council would stop at nothing to obtain that bracelet.

  Easily shaking off the terrified guards, she strode down the blue carpet. The councillors fell silent one by one as they noticed her approach. A couple of them took a few steps back, carefully eyeing the bracelet, keeping the wide table between them and her. Dru’s lips twitched as it sunk in that they were scared of a teenaged girl.

  At last, all of them were quiet. Cierra stopped a metre from the oak table.

  “You want this?” she asked, holding her hand up, the bracelet shining softly on her wrist. When no one replied, she continued. “I don’t know why it is so important to you, but I’m telling you now, you are not getting your hands on it.”

  “You don’t know what you have there, young lady,” said the council woman.

  The High Councillor held up a finger. “How about I make you a deal. I’ll let you go free and Dru can take you back to your world in return for the bracelet? That’s more than fair.”

  “Fair? You’re talking about fairness? After the ‘trial and judgement’ I witnessed before? I am keeping this bracelet. It belongs to me.”

  The Councillor’s reasonable tone vanished and he snarled at her, a mad light in his strange eyes. “It won’t for much longer.”

  He snapped his fingers. A pack of slathering, howling Darkness wolves burst from behind a concealed door in the wooden panelling.

  3 Cierra

  Cierra froze at the sight of more creatures made of the vile black substance that the monster in her room had been made of. Startled yells came from the councillors at the table as they saw the danger.

  The Darkness wolves paused, searching for their prey. The High Councillor pointed at her. “Get the girl, but leave the bracelet unharmed,” he commanded.

  Terror swamped her as malicious red eyes focused on her. The wolves paced her way, hackles raised. She stumbled backwards. Her heels caught on the edge of the blue carpet, tripping her over. Pain jolted up her spine as she landed on her tailbone.

  “Cierra!” Dru cried.

  She tore her gaze from the advancing danger to see Dru vaulting free of the guards. They let go of him easily, distracted by the unexpected appearance of the Darkness wolves. The smarter ones began to run for the door.

  Dru was by her side in a second, drawing his sword as he ran. The first wolves leapt at her, but Dru intercepted the attack and cut them down without hesitation. The rest drew back warily, sniffing about for easier prey. Dru took the chance to open a Dusk Passage. He grabbed Cierra around her waist, sweeping her under his cloak, and jumped through. He closed it immediately behind them. Before she could bl
ink, he’d opened another Passage and taken them through that one too.

  “That should keep them off our trail, for a little while at least,” he said as he closed the last one. He let her go and she wobbled a bit, the speed of what had occurred overwhelming her.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  “I-I think so. I’m still not sure what happened.” She shivered violently. An icy wind was blowing. Her pathetically thin pyjamas did nothing to keep her warm. She tugged at the sleeves, futilely trying to cover the bare skin of her forearms where the material did not reach. Her feet, clad only in the thin socks she had worn to bed, were chilled and beginning to ache from walking around in no shoes.

  She glanced around, wishing for a magical fire to appear. It looked like they were still in Elturia. The same twilight blanketed everything and the surrounding landscape offered no shelter from the elements. At least back in the town, the houses had blocked out most of the breeze. Here, there wasn’t even a large rock to huddle behind and the sun didn’t look like it was going to rise any time soon. She still couldn’t see any stars or the moon and wondered if perhaps this world simply didn’t have them.

  The wind whipped around her again, sending more shudders wracking through her.

  Dru glanced at her then turned away. “Wait here a moment,” he instructed, opening another Dusk Passage and jumping through.

  Cierra waited for less than three seconds then stepped forward to follow him. They almost collided as he jumped back to her side. He closed the Passage and frowned at her.

  “Didn’t I tell you to wait?”

  Cierra shrugged sheepishly. “It’s cold and I didn’t want to be left in the middle of nowhere by myself.”

  He handed her a red cloak, lined and trimmed with soft white fur, and a pair of wool-lined boots. “I got you into this mess, I’m going to get you out of it.”

  She took the cloak and fastened it around her gratefully. “That’s not true. I got myself into this mess. I was the one that followed you to this world. I was the one that spoke up when you told me to be quiet. I was the one that made the High Councillor set his wolves upon us.” She sat down on a tree stump and slipped her feet into the blissfully warm shoes. She wiggled her toes as feeling began to seep back into them. “You’ve done nothing but try to help. It’s my fault. You don’t need to feel obliged to fix my mistakes.”

  Dru slumped on a rock nearby. “You’re not the only one who’s made mistakes. How do you think I feel?”

  She gave him a questioning look, not sure what he was referring to.

  He shook his head. “Councillor Skjor had complete control over those wolves that attacked us. He ordered them to attack you and they did, without hesitation. The Darkness is not a thing to be controlled – it does not bend to the will of humans. For him to be able to command it like that…” He growled. “It all points to one conclusion. The Councillor is behind this plague of Darkness spreading across Elturia.”

  “How can you be sure?” Cierra asked. “Perhaps he had those wolves in case of an emergency. Maybe he was able to train a few of them.”

  “No,” he said, his voice full of conviction. “I’ve fought these Darkness wolves for years now. They can’t be trained or told what to do. They have a single directive – destroy everything.”

  His face darkened, brows drawing down in thought. “I always suspected there had to be someone behind the spread of the Darkness.”

  “Well, I can’t say I’m fond of the Councillor myself, but that doesn’t mean he’s evil,” Cierra pointed out. She was having a hard time believing herself though. She’d caught a glimpse of the Councillor’s eyes before she’d been swept through the Dusk Passage. They had swirled with a liquid darkness that filled her with dread. She had hoped she’d imagined it, but now it seemed unlikely. There had been something about the man that set her on edge, a madness that simmered just below the surface. She hoped she wouldn’t have to see him again.

  She sighed. “Maybe you’re right. It does seem as if he is in control of it, at least partially.”

  Dru slammed his fist against the rock he was sitting on. “He’s the source of it all, I know it. He’s been around since the Darkness first started showing. The second he was able, he put himself in charge of the Council that was formed to deal with the Darkness threat. He’s planned it all. How did I not see it happening?”

  “You can’t blame yourself, Dru,” Cierra began. “No one-“

  Dru cut her off, his eyes blazing with self-contempt. “The Councillor used me, telling me it was my duty to help stop the Darkness creatures and I accepted that. I didn’t even question him, simply accepted that it was the best way to try to help the inhabitants of Elturia that I have sworn to protect. Instead, he’s been using the Darkness for his own ends all this time. I was serving the bad guy all along,” he said bitterly.

  “You couldn’t have known,” she said gently, wanting to say something to make him feel better. “Nobody did. Don’t be so hard on yourself, you were doing what you knew best.”

  Dru regarded the sword that he was still holding and flung it to the ground in disgust. It clanged loudly against the stones. “He took advantage of my honour and duty as a Protector. I helped him. What do I do now?” He put his head in his hands.

  Cierra’s eyes wandered from Dru’s hanging head to the sword lying dully on the ground, then to her bracelet that shone slightly. She ambled over and picked up the sword, startled at the hefty weight of it.

  “Whoa! How do you do all that fancy sword work with just one hand? This thing is heavy!”

  Dru didn’t react.

  Cierra held the hilt in both hands, inspecting it as she pondered what to say to his last question.

  “Maybe you should restore your honour,” she suggested.

  He looked up at her sceptically, but she was pretty sure she could see a faint glimmer of hope in his eyes. “How?”

  “Well, I have to figure out what’s going on with this bracelet. And I guess we should probably stop the Councillor and his plans for the Darkness.” She held out the sword. “Will you help me?”

  “Don’t you want to go home?” Dru demanded. “I can take you home and you would be safe. Why do you care what happens here?”

  Cierra’s heart rate spiked. No. Please don’t send me back. Not yet. She swallowed the lump that had risen in her throat. “It’s alright, I can stay longer. You look like you could use some help. Besides, how can you be sure that the Councillor won’t try to follow me back to my world?”

  He didn’t respond for a while. Her heart continued to beat rapidly. She feared he might decide to take her back, despite her protestations. Not back to that house.

  Eventually, he reached out and took hold of the hilt. “You’re right – he would try to follow you, especially if you kept the bracelet.”

  She bristled. “Of course I would keep the bracelet!”

  “I know.” He brushed some dust off his sword. “I am still a Protector. It’s my task to keep Elturia safe and your bracelet might be the key. You might as well stay until we figure something out.”

  Cierra tried to keep the tremendous relief off her face. “Good. Now can you please shed some light on this whole charm bracelet affair?”

  He sheathed his sword and gestured vaguely to the bleak countryside surrounding them. “This is the Kingdom of Elturia. What’s left of it. It didn’t always look like this. It used to be one of the most pleasant places in this world. Sunshine nearly every day, warm breezes, green grass...” A small silver locket had been pulled from beneath the neckline of his shirt during their frantic escape. He twirled it absently around his fingers as he spoke.

  Cierra tried to picture the scene he was describing. It wasn’t easy; the landscape now was the complete opposite of what Dru was saying.

  “Many years ago – thousands of years, in fact – a prophecy was made by the Ancestors, the magical people who lived here before us. They foretold that an evil presence would one day smother the kingd
om. This Darkness would take control and nothing and no one would be able to dispel it. Nothing, except for six objects that symbolised six parts of the kingdom. The Ancestors couldn’t figure out what the objects were or any other details. The first prophecy was too vague.

  “About a hundred years later, towards the end of the time of the Ancestors, another seer had a vision concerning the Darkness. He saw it take over the kingdom, despite the best efforts of the inhabitants. He also foretold the existence of the bracelet with the six charms on it and the two heroes who would take up the quest to destroy the Darkness. The Ancestors questioned him about the outcome of the journey to be undertaken, but although he tried during the rest of his lifetime, he could not divine the ending. Many others after him also tried, but never succeeded.

  “It became known as the Unfinished Prophecy.”

  A sense of trepidation crept into Cierra.

  “It was just over two years ago that the first signs of the Darkness started to show. No one paid it much attention – that was our first mistake. By the time it got to the stage where it was a definite problem, it was too late. It had too much of a hold on our kingdom. The Protectors tried to do what they could, but the Darkness is overpowering. All that the Protectors are good for now is hunting down stray Darkness creatures and trying to keep the Darkness from spreading to the neighbouring kingdoms, or to other worlds, like yours.”

  “So that nightmare creature came from here and you followed it?” Cierra asked, trying to get everything straight in her head.

  Dru nodded. “We’re supposed to stop them before they make it into your world, but I failed in your case. Some Protector I’m turning out to be. Maybe the High Council was right. They should remove me from the Elite Class and put me back with the Intermediates.”

  “Whether you stopped it before or after it got to my world isn’t important,” Cierra told him. “The main thing is you did stop it. I’m alive because of you. I certainly don’t count that as a failure.”

  “Maybe you don’t, but to everyone else here, letting it get that far and then on top of that, letting you follow me back through the Dusk Passage is a fail with a capital ‘F’.”