Chaos (Dragon Reign Book 4)

by Kit Bladegrave

  The four of them pushed in closer, whispering it was my fault, they were dead, and it was all my fault. I would fail, again and again, they would never be at peace.

  Each word was another cut, and though I didn’t bleed, I felt like I was being ripped apart.

  The Executioner slipped from my numb fingers, hitting the ground with a dull thud.

  I fell with it, holding my hands to my ears as I tucked myself into a ball, willing it all to go away.

  Their chanting grew louder until I screamed, feeling my dragon shift and churn within my mind, thrashing to get away from the creatures.

  A well of power built within me and as I threw back my head to scream again, it exploded outwards, slicing through the creatures, and they vanished into columns of black smoke, floating away on the breeze.

  The runes covering my body pulsed with power as I sucked in a deep breath, my vision blurring, and I waited to see if I was going to pass out or not.

  Tears wet my cheeks, mind still reeling from the mocking of the creatures bearing Craig and Forrest’s faces.

  Clapping startled me, and I struggled to turn around, reaching for the sword at the same time.

  “You are quite the powerful girl, aren’t you?” Allis said, amused, from the boulder he sat on, still clapping loudly. “I am impressed. Not many survive through that trick.”

  I growled fiercely at him. “What the hell do you want? Come to get your ass kicked again?”

  “You believe you beat me back at the Darrah ruins? Oh, no, my young Vindicar, that was merely a test, as was this.”

  “A test? What test? For what, damn it!”

  “To see how strong you truly are.” He hopped down from the boulder.

  I braced for an attack, but he only stood there, watching me, a strange glint in his eyes.

  “There is someone looking forward to meeting you. Someone I believe that other soul sharing your body would love to be reunited with.”

  Zohar, Celandine whispered in my mind, and I shrugged, trying to shake the sudden chill racing down my spine.

  “Why doesn’t he just come then, and we can finish this?” I yelled, complimenting myself on sounding brave instead of how I really felt, scared to death that I was going to die very soon and not in a very pleasant way.

  “No, not yet, but soon.” He bowed his head and with a snap of his fingers was gone.

  I held my breath, ready for the next attack, but it never came.

  Exhausted, mentally and physically, I let myself collapse to the ground and laid there, curled up in a tight ball, wondering what the hell I’d been thinking of, coming here alone.

  11

  Forrest

  I stood behind my father as he sat at the table in the hall, the rest of the council members stretched out on either side and across from him, as they discussed what was to be done.

  They should’ve been celebrating, but out of the ten of them gathered, I was the only one who seemed to think Craig’s actions had not caused any major problems. If anything, he saved us from being betrayed farther down the line if and when Zohar finally showed his face in our world.

  “There is no denying Raghnall was one of these plagued,” Nora, another demon stated with a sneer directed towards what remained of the demon king’s body. “However, Craig still murdered him.”

  “I would not call it murder but a timely execution,” Kadin argued.

  I nodded in agreement.

  “And you think what, we should not try him for killing his own father now?” Tristan, one of the leaders from the shifters asked, but it wasn’t rude, just curious.

  They were usually quite down to earth and always into getting rid of those they deemed unfit to rule.

  Everyone at this table, minus the few demons, should’ve been on board with that notion.

  “We should not,” Kadin repeated, and I heard the annoyance in my father’s tone. “But, since Raghnall is now dead, and we have an impending war, the demons are in need of a new leader, of a king who can bring them back to the great status they once held before they turned to murder and manipulation to get what they wanted.”

  Nora and the demon at her side growled in unison, but didn’t argue.

  “And you want him, a bastard, to take the throne?” Nora snapped, barking a laugh. “They will eat him alive, and you, Kadin have no say in this matter. You may have controlled Raghnall for a short time, but you are not our kin, and you are certainly not our king, ordering us about!”

  “Actually,” I said, holding up my hand as they all turned to stare at me, “dragons and demons stemmed from the same tribe before the plague attacked and they were forced to separate the realms.”

  “What nonsense do you speak of?” Nora snarled.

  Tristan growled louder, and his eyes flared yellow, silencing her. “Please, I would like to hear this. Go on, Prince Forrest.”

  I bowed my head to him in thanks. “Back in the time the Vindicar came about, all the realms were part of the same land, a mirror world of the human one, but all of our lands were one. Dragons and demons were mixed clans, and there were many hybrids amongst their numbers. When the plague attacked and they were betrayed, the Vindicar gave her life so the races would have time to plan a way to defeat it. The realms were separated in an attempt to contain it when it did break out, but by then her hope was the races would be ready.”

  “Then why is it no one remembers this plague?” Tristan asked.

  “Because there was another traitor who escaped being trapped in the Burnt World and he, or she, corrupted the magic, casting a spell to make everyone forget the realms had ever been one and that the plague would return,” I finished, thinking of what Kate was doing right now, trying to stop it before it broke through into the realms and killed everyone.

  My chest tightened with worry, and I struggled to remain in the room.

  Nora started arguing loudly, but Tristan stood and shut her up again. “If this is true, then we do not have much time. Kadin? The message you sent to us days ago of danger coming, this is what you spoke of?”

  “Yes, my son it seems had a past life who was very close to the Vindicar and because of it, is close to her once more.”

  “Where is this Vindicar?” Tristan asked, glancing around. “I would very much like to speak with her.”

  I fidgeted behind my father’s chair. “I’m afraid that is not possible,” I said quietly. “She has taken it upon herself to go back to the Burnt World, alone, to face the darkness coming for us all. With no shield, no real way to defeat it, but that’s where she is to save all of us.”

  I aimed my heated gaze at Nora, and she had the good graces to at least appear ashamed of her outbursts so far.

  “And you are just letting her go this alone?” Tristan argued worried.

  “No,” a growl came from the doorway, and I didn’t have to turn to know it was Craig. “No, she left us to try and save us and the longer we sit here arguing about who should be king of the bloody demons, the higher her chances are of getting herself killed!”

  “How dare you come in here! This is a formal proceeding,” Nora snapped, leaping to her feet. “You must leave at once!”

  “I don’t care what you decide, but whatever punishment you deem I deserve for killing that bastard can wait until this war is over!”

  “There is no war,” she yelled and slammed her hand on the table. “You are fools, all of you are fools! I will admit there is a darkness, but there is no cause for us to rally our armies and prepare for a full-scale attack! And I will not sit by while this… this bastard,” she sneered as she pointed at Craig, “is given command of the demon clans!”

  A heavy silence fell over the room at her words, but then Craig growled, and he marched around the table to stare her down. “You want control of the clans? Take them, I don’t give a damn.” His eyes narrowed in hate as his hands curled into fists. “But I will not be forced to remain locked away while Kate is out there and while an army is coming to destroy us all! You wa
nt to go hide away, fine! Be a coward.”

  Nora visibly flinched as if he had struck her. “I am no coward!”

  “No? Sounds like you are. Raghnall is dead, and we all know he was a terrible leader because he was possessed by this darkness! How do you know Reginald isn’t as well? Or how do I know you’re not?”

  “You dare accuse me of being a traitor?”

  “I accuse you of putting the demons’ lives at risk for the sake of your own greed!”

  “That is enough,” Kadin warned as he stood, me at his side, watching Craig and Nora barely an inch away from each other. “Nora, he is right. There is a breach in Boshen already. If you do not ready your army, the demons will be wiped out. Is that what you want? Is it?”

  Her jaw clenched, but she shook her head. “No, of course not.”

  “Then I suggest,” Drake, one of the elf tribe leaders said as he stood, “we take a vote on what sentence to pass for Craig, son of Raghnall and heir to the demon clans.”

  Craig whipped his head around, eyes wide at the words. “I am a bastard, I can’t have his throne.”

  But Drake ignored him as he stated the choices. “Do we hold Craig accountable for this act of murder and thereby sentence him to a traitor’s death? All in favor?”

  Not a single hand rose, though Nora’s nearly did, until the other demon with her surprisingly shot her a warning glare. When a few more seconds passed, Drake bowed his head.

  “To our next order of business, all in favor of placing Craig on the demon throne as rightful heir to the demon clans?”

  Craig opened his mouth to argue, but Drake’s hand rose in the air, followed by Tristan, my father’s, Lucy and Selma, and every other member at the table. Nora was the only one to object, but after another glare from the demon, she reluctantly raised it.

  “Motion passed. Craig, son of Raghnall, you are hereby named king of the demon clans.”

  Craig’s mouth fell open, and he stepped back from the table. “They will never accept me.”

  “They won’t have a choice,” Drake said simply. “It’s the will of the council, so it stands.”

  Nora sunk back into her chair, but the other demon, whose name I could not recall, stood and bowed his head to Craig, making him look even more uncomfortable. “What are your orders, my King?”

  “I uh… I…” he glanced around the room.

  Nora looking ready to pounce the second he made a mistake.

  Then Craig’s eyes landed on me, and I nodded subtly. Kate.

  All he needed to do was remember Kate, think of her.

  He cleared his throat loudly, stood taller, and firmly bobbed his head. “Right, I need the demon army made ready for battle. You will station four units at the breach and send another two on patrol. I want any plagued tracked down and killed.”

  “Of course, my king,” the demon said.

  “You are also to assist King Kadin in anything he requires, Luca. Any of those afflicted are to be sent to the healers, and if they do not have the required cure, send word to the witches. Lucy and her coven will assist you with whatever you need.”

  Lucy promised more supplies would be sent to Boshen. “Whatever you need.”

  “Thank you, my Lady,” Luca said. “And you, my King?”

  “My place for the moment is helping the Vindicar, and that requires me to be elsewhere. Luca, I am placing you… and Nora in charge. Follow my orders, and if there are any problems, you are to report to Kadin. Understood?”

  Nora stood again, and I held my breath as I watched her step closer.

  Craig stiffened as if bracing himself for her to attack him, but then she bowed her head, barely, but it was enough. “Understood, my king.”

  “Good, very good,” Crane announced, standing from his spot at the table. “If the council is now adjourned, we have work to get back to, and time is of the essence. Please, see yourselves out.”

  One by one, the members stood, each stopping to shake Craig’s hand and speak with him briefly before leaving.

  Drake and Tristan promised their armies would be ready and they would send their forces wherever needed to stop this incursion.

  When my father finally departed as well, Craig and I stood alone in the hall. He held his face in his hand as he fell into the closest chair.

  “Well,” I said as I strolled over. “King of the Demons. Should I start calling you, Your Majesty?”

  “Piss off,” he muttered, but he grinned as he lifted his head. “No, you call me friend because that is what you are.” He pushed himself up and without waiting for me, charged out the door. “You coming or what, Prince?”

  “Oh, that’s rich,” I grunted, and heard him laugh. “Just rub it in.”

  It might not have happened the way he hoped, but with Craig now in charge of the demon clans, my hopes lifted that we had a chance to push back against this wave of plagued before they had a chance to take over the realms.

  Now, all we had to do was find Kate and bring her home.

  12

  Forrest

  The black, bubbling liquid smelled like burnt hair as it wafted into my face and I fought the urge to gag.

  We spent the last twenty-four hours after the council departed testing the potion alongside the dragon fire, and found that combining them did indeed work.

  Two of the four plagued creatures the witches managed to capture and bring with them, finding them lurking around Lucy’s home again, had succumbed to the flames and died.

  Craig had tested his blade on the other, and only one remained.

  “Just do it,” Craig urged from behind me.

  I swallowed hard. “Sorry, just accepting the fact that I could lose my fire completely in a few minutes. Or die.”

  “Nothing is going to happen,” he said, but I heard the tinge of doubt in his words.

  With Craig, Lucy, and Crane eagerly watching me, I held my nose and drank down the potion.

  It burned all the way down my throat into my stomach, but I forced myself to keep it down, not opening my mouth until I knew it wasn’t going to come right back up.

  My stomach gurgled at the intrusion, but then the heat spread throughout my body, seeping into every limb.

  I gasped at the shock of it rushing through me before it shot back to my core and centered around the dragon, restless within me.

  My vision blurring, I grunted for them to step back and the shift came over me.

  As my dragon appeared, it roared in agitation, adjusting to the magic coursing through my veins now, but so far, I was still alive, and that was the most important aspect of this experiment.

  “You ready?” Craig asked, and I turned my head to see him pointing to the last plagued monster chained to the chamber wall.

  I bobbed my large head.

  He smirked. “Go kill him.”

  I gladly moved forward, and the sorcerers and witches cleared a path from me to the creature awaiting its death.

  I drew my head back, my wings tucked in close at my sides, and my fire roiled in my chest, the flames growing and strengthening before I let it shoot from my mouth.

  The flames engulfed the body of the undead creature, and it screamed in torment as the fire tore through its limbs and what remained of its skin.

  In seconds, its high-pitched screeching died away, and it collapsed to the floor, its body burnt to a crisp on the stones.

  Smoke billowed out of my nose as I leered to see the destruction I could now cause our enemy.

  “Very nice,” Craig agreed, stepping over to check the deceased plagued. “All we need now is a way to get to Kate.”

  “And that we have,” Lucy stated as I turned and saw the rest of the witches spilling into the room. “Forrest? It’ll be easier to get you through the portal if you’re not a dragon.”

  I’d rather charge through the portal like this, ready to kill anything on my way to get to her, but she was right.

  The portal would have to be much larger to accommodate my form. I closed my eyes an
d shifted back to my normal size, shaking my arms out as Crane rushed over to check my eyes, and circled me three times before he seemed satisfied that it worked, and I wasn’t going to suddenly fall down and die.

  Lucy guided us towards the center of the chamber as Greyson and Crane brought us back our weapons and gear for the trip to the Burnt World.

  “You think it’s going to work this time?” I asked, sheathing another dagger at my hip.

  “We can only hope,” Lucy said sincerely, and placed a hand on each of our shoulders. “You get there, and you find Kate. You bring her home to me, understand? If she’s going to take on the darkness, she is not going to do it alone.”

  I covered her hand with mine and Craig mirrored me.

  “Don’t worry,” he grunted. “She’ll come back with us if I have to knock her out and drag her back.”

  Lucy laughed, but it sounded more out of nerves, and she gave our shoulders a squeeze before she joined the other witches and sorcerers spread out around the room.

  The witches formed a tighter, inner circle they had drawn out of chalk. Lucy and another witch walked around, sprinkling a mixture of strong smelling herbs, following the line as Crane and Greyson motioned for the sorcerers to begin their chant.

  They bowed their heads, but this time, they stepped forward, and every other man placed his right hand on the shoulder of the witch before him.

  Instantly, the air was charged with power that made the hairs on my arm stand on end and took my breath away.

  Lucy and the other witch finished with the herbs, and when they joined the circle, Crane reached out and connected his power to Lucy’s.

  I knew the witch was strong, but the force of her and Crane together sent a shockwave of light magic shooting outwards from their bodies, surrounding the circle.

  The chalk on the floor at our feet glowed, and Craig and I moved closer together, uncertain of how it was going to work this time.

  I’d expected a portal to form as it had before as a crack in time, but when the floor trembled and cracked beneath our feet, it was clear we were entering the Burnt World in a very different manner.