“This couldn’t be the Dragos. They’ve never shown this kind of animosity toward us. What would change their behavior, so drastically that they would come at us with vengeance in their hearts?” I didn’t know how to answer Braden. It was obvious that the Dragos had become a force on to themselves. If what I had seen in the sky and the shadow above me was true, then their mother had decided to show them that they could be stronger than just pets. They could dominate with the fire that spewed from their mouth and nose.
“They’ve always been docile, but I’ve heard from my own father that there was a time that they were a terrifying menace. I don’t know about that two of you, but I really don’t wanna stick around for an encore performance.” With those words, Nicholas took off in a rush with his prize following behind him. Since there were no guardsmen to greet us, it appeared that the race was still on to get to Lord Vadam with what he had sent us in there to get in the first place.
“I think that Nicholas might have the right idea, Shana. We need to get to Lord Vadam and hope to god that we are at least number five and six.” I was still shocked, completely frozen in place and looking at the carnage all around me. Their faces showed surprise and there came a moment that I couldn’t even look at them anymore. It disgusted me and almost made me want to be sick to my stomach. “We’re just going to have to tell Lord Vadam everything that has happened here. I can’t see any reason why he wouldn’t believe us. If he wants proof, then he can come here and see all of this for himself.” I didn’t want anybody to see this and it looked like a fire of Biblical proportions had gone through here. It could only be the Dragos, but without seeing it first hand, it was still just an assumption on our part.
I was exhausted and I was hoping that this would be the end, but apparently we still had a journey back to the Black castle. We would come across the Red castle and I’m sure that those that were rooting for us would be out and watching, as we paraded our prize by their front door. It was even possible that the Red castle lord would come out to greet us in person.
“This is just a little bit too much to take, Braden. We know that the Dragos have been acting funny, but would they really resort to these kinds of methods? Can we seriously say with a degree of certainty that these incidences are the work of them? I know that we saw them attack us, but maybe they were being forced to to make them look like they were responsible for this.” I was only trying to be devil’s advocate, but the evidence was pretty damning. The earth was scorched and everything that was burned in a mile radius had turned to black earth. The trees had begun to crumble underneath the charred remains of what was left behind.
“I know that you don’t want to believe it. I don’t want to believe it myself. To think that Rankin could do something like this seems almost impossible.” We were walking at a steady pace, but it was still going to be some time before we finally came to our final destination. “I’ve never seen anything like that. It’s an image that burns into your brain and stays there, whether you want it to or not.” I had no idea how Lord Vadam was going to react to this kind of news. He didn’t seem like the type that would stand idly by and allow something like this to happen in his command.
“What do you think Lord Vadam is going to do?”
“I think that Lord Vadam will do what he thinks is right. Most often than not, he’ll bring the three castle leaders into a secret meeting. They will decide what has to be done. If I were to hazard a guess, I would say that they will put the responsibility on the shoulders of the guardsmen. After all, it’s their brethren that fell and it’s their right for vengeance that will be dripping from their tongues. They’ll want to destroy each and every one of them, including those Dragos that have been keeping silent all this time. I fear for Rankin and for any others that have not perpetrated any violence against our kind.” Walking across the bodies was like walking on eggshells. I had to be careful where I was putting my steps.
There were times there that I heard the crunch of bone and I didn’t even dare to look down to see what I’d done. It was a moot point and all the damage had already been done. There was nothing more that I could do. It just felt a little sacrilege that I would step on the remains of a body. It felt like I was betraying their memory and making what they went through seem trivial.
“I know that you can’t get that image out of your head, but you’re going to have to, Shana. We need to keep our heads and do what we need to do to complete this cycle of the tournament. We still have three cycles, but that’s only if we make it, as the final six.” This pulled me out of what I was thinking and I made a concentrated effort to push us both beyond our endurance. It was amazing what you could do given the right incentive.
“I feel like this is my fault. You say that this has never happened all the time that you’ve been alive. I come here and soon a reign of terror comes down from the sky like never before. It can’t be a coincidence. Me standing up to become part of this tournament is like a domino effect. I didn’t want any of this, but apparently somebody is using my need for equality to exact some sort of revenge. It can’t be a coincidence that the Dragos have started to react like their life is in danger.” I felt the tightness in my chest and I had a glance to see that the armor was now rippling. It seemed to be trying to encode its DNA into my own.
I wasn’t sure if I could tell Braden’s any of this, but if it didn’t stop soon, I was sure that it was going to crush me, until I couldn’t even breathe anymore. I would struggle for that last breath, knowing that I was suffocating and there would be not a damn thing that I could do about it.
“Shana, you can’t take on that responsibility alone. If you didn’t do it, somebody would eventually. You may have given people food for thought, but I think that it’s all part of evolution. We need to see women as equals and you have made a giant leap in that direction. If somebody is truly doing this in your name, then you can’t be held responsible for something like that. You have to forgive yourself, or it will eat you up and spit you out.” I knew that he was right, but it was still hard to wrap my mind around that coming here had started all of this.
I started to wonder if maybe coming here was my destiny. If that were true, then all that was happening was supposed to be happening. It did give me a moment of contemplation. I felt a sort of calm come over me. It wasn’t like I could control other people’s actions, so why should I have to hold that responsibility on my shoulders.
“Guilt is never going to do anybody any good. All I can do is my best to try to make things better.”
“We may believe that you’re not the cause, but there might be others that will try to put the puzzle pieces together. They’ll realize that everything started to happen when you arrived. They’ll try and throw blame at you and I’m sure that Lord Vadam will do everything he can to make it seem like you are some kind of curse. The next cycle of the competition doesn’t start for a couple of days. In that time, I think it might be a good idea for us to do our own investigation.”
“I know that you can hear me, Shana.” The voice had come back and had a message that I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear.
Chapter two
“You don’t have to say anything and all you have to do is listen. I would rather that Braden is left out of this for now. My name is Falla and I have this desire to give women the voice that they deserve. They need to be able to stand up and fight for themselves and not always be under the thumb of the man. I will tell you that I’m not responsible for the Dragos. I couldn’t be happier that they’ve finally decided to pull away from their leashes and become the true force that they were meant to be. I couldn’t be with you during the hunt of the Offus. The material of the wood in the forest prevents me from interfering. Now that you are out, I can tell you that my grand plan revolves around you.”
“Shana, are you listening to me?” I had two people talking to me at the same time. Braden had no idea that Falla had decided to make her presence known. “We’re almost to the Red castle. We�
��re going to have to talk to Lord Russum. He won’t like hearing any of this, but he won’t be able to dispute our eye witness account. He’ll send somebody to check things out, but even he will not be able to turn a blind eye.” I got this feeling like Lord Russum was not exactly somebody that would want to stand up and be noticed.
“Lord Russum sounds like a man that is happy with the status quo.”
“Shana, I think that we should meet. I want to see you face to face and make you understand just how important that the freedom of women are to me. I think you know that, but I think it comes from your past and not from this world. I don’t want to be your enemy, but if you decide to go against us, then you can expect a backlash.” The voice went silent and I was left with hearing only Braden talk about the Red castle lord.
“He’s not exactly a fighter. He would rather use words than actions. It was the reason why he was given the Red castle in the first place. Lord Vadam wanted to keep him tethered. He wanted him to be just a figurehead. For the most part, Lord Vadam controls the Red castle, because he pulls his strings. Lord Wallace in the white castle is a bit of an instigator. He likes to push the buttons of Lord Vadam, even though he has very little power. It is widely known that Lord Vadam controls both the Black castle and the Red one. Nobody wants to say it out loud, but it’s not a big secret.”
“I don’t know about you, Braden, but I’m getting a little sick and tired of others trying to dictate my life. I only want what’s best for everybody concerned. Women should not be subjugated and used as slaves to the whims of the man. That kind of thinking went away a long time ago in my world.” I saw the Black castle in the distance and then coming around the corner, we came into viewing of the White castle. The stones leading up to the door were pure white and reminded me of the yellow brick road in the wizard of oz.
A man in a white robe and headdress came out to greet us. “It’s highly unusual to see combatants coming from behind with their prize in tow. The guardsmen are supposed to meet you coming out of the forest and take your prize back to Lord Vadam. This can only mean that something has happened.” Lord Wallace was a man with a snow white beard and long white hair that made him look like the coming of Moses. Had he been able to part the red sea, he would’ve been the living embodiment of Moses himself.
“You’re going to have to send a scout back to where the hunt began and ended. There’s no easy way to say this, but everybody that was there, including your people has been burned to death.” There was a collective gasp from those that had surrounded us. Lord Wallace was stroking his beard, probably thinking of what the best course of action would be.
“I really don’t know what to say. You’re going to have to come in and tell me everything from the very beginning.”
“I’m afraid, I can’t do that. We are still on the clock and we need to make it back to Lord Vadam, as the final six. If you need to discuss this further, then I suggest that you send a scout and follow us.” It was the only thing that Braden could say.
“You know that I don’t like to see Lord Vadam. I would rather that we never laid eyes on each other ever again. We stay out of each other’s way and we like it that way.” The only way that they had been able to stay neutral was to divide the areas, so that each one of them held a certain portion of power. “I don’t have time to follow you. Besides, you’re not from my rule. It’s too bad, because I could use somebody like you. If you ever want to defect and come over to this side of the White castle, then we would gladly accept the both of you with open arms” It was something to think about.
“My allegiance is with the Red castle and will always be that way. My father was a big Red castle follower. Had he not died, he would’ve taken succession over Lord Russum. I know that there are rumors that say that Lord Russum had a part in killing my father. There has never been any proof, but I think we both can agree that he’s a sniveling coward. Unlike you, he bends to the will of Lord Vadam.”
“I won’t keep you any longer and I have already sent a scout to look into your claims. If what you say is true, then there will be very profound evidence to find. I get this feeling like I’m going to know the truth from the moment that I see the scout come back into the fold. Be well and may your arrows fly true.” It was something that was said and was not relegated to just the flying of the arrows. It was a way to say good travels and to make sure that you were prepared for just about anything.
“You know that if I could, I would find a way to be in your camp, Lord Wallace. It would be a damn honor to serve with the one man that stood victorious in a battle that decimated thousands. You showed remarkable courage and I’ve tried to emulate the kind of man that you are.”
“I know that you have and if I were your father, I would be very proud of you. I don’t know much about your companion, but I know that she has been making considerable inroads into making Lord Vadam’s life miserable. For that, she is considered my friend and ally. If there is anything that I can do for either one of you, then you have, but to ask. I do sense that there’s something different about you Shana. I don’t know exactly what it is. I usually follow my instincts and for the most part I believe that you have the best interest of our people in mind.” He went back into the white door leading into the White castle.
We took our leave and the people around us had questions that we just couldn’t answer. They wanted to know if their loved ones were a part of the carnage and destruction that we had seen with our own eyes. I didn’t have the heart to tell them that anybody that was there to see us was probably already dead. They would know soon enough and giving them that kind of news was not something that I wanted to do. I knew that I was being a coward, but I didn’t want to be the cause of their pain and misery.
We feigned that we didn’t know anything and then we walked out of there with them still clamoring for some kind of information. “I could see in their eyes, Shana that they’re worried about people that they care for. I do wonder if any of those that were found inside that 1 mile radius was a competitor in the hunt.” That had never entered into my mind, but now that he broached the topic, it certainly was something to think about.
“We can’t worry about that, Braden. We still have a couple of miles to go and I’m already feeling like my arms are being pulled out of their socket. Don’t worry; you don’t have to hold my hand. I can reach down deep and find what I need.” Suddenly, I was hit with such an energy burst that it was like I was reignited from the inside out. I was newly transformed into somebody that could go the distance with just about anybody.
I knew that Falla had something to do with that, even though I had no proof, she was always sticking her nose where it didn’t belong. I guess if her intentions were pure, then I could get on board with her using me in such a way. It’s just that I didn’t know what her true intentions were. How far would she go to make others see what they didn’t want to see?
I pretended to be tired, but my lungs were no longer on fire and the muscles in my legs did not feel like I was going to drop at any second. My mind was alive and I saw my purpose like a light from a lighthouse leading travelers in from the water.
I could see that Braden was getting to the end of his rope. I was keeping up with him and I could see his suspicion, as he looked back and saw me. I pretended to be winded, but I don’t think he was buying it. I know I wouldn’t, but I was pretty good at masking who I really was. I’d always thought that I would make a good actress. In high school, I performed in Westside story. Critics said that the best thing about the whole play was my portrayal. It made me feel good and I even contemplated taking it to the next level.
“I don’t know how you do it, Shana. You looked like you were going to collapse, but somehow you continued to push forward. I admire your tenacity, Shana, but I think that you might not be telling me something.” I shrugged my shoulders, but he was leering at me with that look that made me feel like I was being exposed for the fraud that I was.
“I’m jus
t trying to follow your lead.” I watched him and I knew that eventually I was going to have to show him all of my cards. “I just think that we should fight and claw every step of the way. We can’t allow them to hold us down. We have to show them that we can go further than anybody else.” This was the kind of pep talk that I was giving him in hopes that it would boost his energy level.
“You speak a good game, but let’s see if you can back it up.” We moved in unison and the town from the Black castle was getting closer. We still had to go by the Red castle and it was adorned with red brick instead of white brick. Lord Russum had long flaming red hair and a red beard that made him look like a sorcerer from Harry potter. He was wearing a red cloak and he was watching us with intent, as we came closer and closer to his door.
“I don’t like this and I just heard from Lord Wallace. I’m not going to keep you, but I’ve sent my own scout out to make sure that your claims are true.” He wanted us to be the victor and there was no doubt in my mind that he wanted to supersede Lord Vadam. Even though Lord Vadam had him by the balls, didn’t mean that he couldn’t become the power. If one of his competitors were to come in first place, then his rule would be all that mattered. “I hope you know that I didn’t pick Shana. You did that without my blessing or going through proper channels, Braden. We only gave you that flicker of leadership, because we saw something in you and in this young lady that made us give you our support.” The only thing that he was concerned with was power and how fast he could bring it to bear on his enemies.
I could tell that he was tired of Lord Vadam’s rule and he was trying to stack the deck to make sure that he and the Red castle would be the one to rule.
Another Uoria Holiday: A Sci-Fi Alien Warrior Holiday Romance Page 66
