by Kyle J Cisco
The Consumed
Book 2 in the Virgil Series
Kyle J Cisco
K&R Publishing
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Epilogue
Prologue
Rain pelted the fortress of light, bursts of lightning flashed illuminating the drenched landscape outside the fortress. The runoff from the rain storm flowed like waterfalls from the guard towers which stood on each of the four corners of the walls. That turned the dirt within to thick mud. Twilight approached which left the grounds of the inner fortress obscured in darkness. All but one room which the interior would occasionally flash red then fade back into darkness.
Virgil sat cross legged in the middle of the room. The ominous black book he found in Rex's office in front of him open. He recited the incantation on the pages in the tongue of the ancients. As Virgil neared the end of the spell he brought his hands up admiring the power coursing through him. For the past two weeks he studied this incantation in secret. A knock on the door broke his concentration and the energy was lost.
"Damn it! I'm coming," Virgil said. As he tucked the black book under his bunk. Focusing his anger at whom ever had disturbed him in the middle of the rite. He swung open the door with such force it slammed into the stone wall reverberating throughout the empty hallway.
Sorry, Chaplain. My men said they saw red light coming from your chamber," said the guard captain. "I came ta make sure all was ok?"
"Yes everything is fine. I would prefer not to be disturbed again."
"Not a problem, Chaplain." The guard captain gave a fast salute and headed off down the hall.
Virgil slammed the door and stormed back to his bunk once more uncovering the black book. There he began the rite once more. Several times he tried the rite each of them failed. Enraged by the failure of the nights practice. He donned his cloak, and headed toward the entrance to the courtyard. The door blew inward with the force of the wind from the storm, nearly blowing the door off the hinges as Virgil opened it. Rain blew into Virgil's face, with the tipping wind the rain drops stung as if they were tiny fragments of glass. A flash torched a tree in the distance its flame dying fast in the deluge. He admired the fire something with such a destructive force, reminding him of his first experience with the red magic, its unpredictable nature could be so turbulent.
Although it had been some weeks since the death of Rex and the battle with Xavier. Virgil was still stiff from the bruises and wounds still healing. Even with the help of a sister of battle, his wounds were not quick to heal. He hadn't exactly helped the process either. Every morning he rose before the break of dawn to spar with other battle brothers. Wielding Rex's ornate two handed war-hammer, the new weapon was awkward though not much different from the battle-ax he once wielded. Virgil was determined to kill Xavier with the weapon.
Virgil stood upon the ramparts, the torrential rain came down in droves. This was a rare moment of self reflection for Virgil. Since the death of his mentor the duties of high chaplain were now laid upon him. His time was devoted to meetings of council with the new Executor Evon Krich the former weapon master turned leader. This gave Virgil incredible pull even though he was a relatively new member of the order. Duty or not though Virgil hated the administrative hell he was in. He would rather be hunting the man that killed the only father figure he had.
He stroked the beard which hung down to his collar bone. The grey color overrunning the rest of the brown that remained in it. He was once told of the cost of magic the aging that came as a cost to it. Virgil now wondered if it was the same cost for the use of the rage induced magic he now wielded more and more. Though only twenty five years young Virgil looked now to be of middle age. The strain from collapsing the cavern onto the army of dead that was to rise in the forest of dead transformed Virgil's youthful features into what it was now a face that showed the hard use of the magic of light in combat.
Virgil noticed the chill in the air coming from the shadowlands. He faced the shadow pass and looked toward the beacon set upon the highest point of the mountains. Yet still no light came telling of an invading army. "This is the calm before the storm," Virgil said aloud to himself.
From atop the walls Virgil looked over the rows of tents from the different vassal lords who'd come to help defend the covenant of man in the time of war. The time for action was now, but in his heart he knew that Evon would not sally forth to meet the foe that waited as they gathered more strength to their evil crusade. It would be up to him to find Xavier and get revenge for Rex.
Virgil strode toward the entrance back into the fortress's inner halls. The heat embracing him in an aura of warmth. He grasped the end of his drenched cloak and pulled it from his body. The residual rain droplets falling onto the carpeted floor of the hall. When Virgil entered his room it was still basked in the ominous dark of night. The candle that had been lit was now dead leaving only the pile of wax which hung from the edge of the it was perched on like an icicle. He looked around the room as he contemplated his need for sleep versus the want he had to read the black book and learn more about the power that lie within it.
As dawn broke and light from the sun touched the side of Virgil's face with a warm embrace. His eyes flashed open as he could feel his head was struck to one of the pages of the black book. Not remembering falling asleep it was obvious he had in the middle of rereading the spell he had been attempting the night before to no avail. His hand curled into a fist, as he thought of the intrusion of the guard during the rite.
"It would have worked that time." He said. Though no one was in the room with him. "I will just have to practice harder in a more private place."
Virgil then donned his newly received Chaplain's armor and headed toward the Warhammer that was propped in the corner of the room near the door. His new armor chest plate was heavy but it was what Chaplain's had worn for centuries. The six pointed star emblazoned on the front of the plate signified is position in the order. The duel chains which hung from the bottom of the right side of the armor held the all important Codices of Light. He took the ornate Warhammer in hand then slung it over his shoulder into the sheath on the back of his chest plate.
Virgil covered the ground between his quarters and the office of the Executor's office in no time his pace never ceased. He was on a mission this day, a mission of revenge.
1
Waves pounded the starboard side of the ship as it made its way through the hazardous wreckage spread throughout the bay. With every strike of wave on hull came a thin spray of mist, contributing to the smell of salt in the air. Virgil struggled to keep his footing on the deck.
Virgil looked over the barnacle laden hull of the overturned ship. The ship upon which he stood making it way from the harbor and crossing into shipwreck bay. The sight of one of the most disastrous naval engagements in history took place. He stood on the prow looking toward the destination.
"Are you ok, Virgil?" said Natasha. She moved so gracefully and silent the, he'd not even heard her approaching him.
"I am fine. I am just not terribly fond of being
on the water," Virgil replied. As he grasped the railing on the ship to steady himself once more.
"So your telling me that, High Chaplain Virgil, savior of the order is afraid of boats?"
"I never said afraid. I said I don't much care for them."
Another wave crashed into the boat, the mist came over the side pelting the two of them in the face. Natasha came close and wiped the droplets of water from Virgil's face.
"It will be fine. We are going to reach the outer island before nightfall," she said. As she gave him a quick peck on the cheek. It worked to calm his nerves about being on the water but nothing could be done for the anger he felt within. The anger of knowing he was hunting the man that killed his mentor and best friend within the order.
I will avenge your death Rex. No matter the cost.
He gave a curt nod to Natasha before heading back down below to his quarters. Once in the privacy of his room he lifted up the straw bedding that lay on his cot revealing the small black book. As his fingers slid along the smooth leather cover of the book he could feel the pull of the power within it yearning to be released. For several weeks since the return from the forest of death he had been reading and learning the hand written incantations within the pages of the book.
He placed it on the floor in front of him and opened it to the desired page. Reading the incantation in the language of the ancients, he could feel a wave of energy reverberate through him. As if struck by a jolt of pain, the wave of energy subsided coming to rest at the tip of his fingers. I have done it. He out stretched his hand and watched as the tendril of red coil out and snake across the room. So it can be controlled ? It moved about the room as he willed it to then in a burst of red energy obliterated the straw practice dummy he had brought with him. Elated with the success of the incantation Virgil sat on his bunk as he consumed the knowledge within its pages.
Tiny thuds rapped against the hull and decking above Virgil's room as rain began to pelt the ship. The deluge appeared in a flash turning the once tame sea into a turbulent maelstrom of chaos. Waves lifted the ship high on their crests then dropped them low into the troughs as the white caps smashed into the sides of the ship.
Droplets of water impacted his face, from the deck above. He sprung from his bunk and covered the book once more. In a flash he exited the lower levels. As he swung the hatch open water came down in a crash soaking him the instant he opened it.
"Where in the abyss did this storm come from?" Virgil yelled to be heard over the wind that raged.
He looked for the horizon but all he could see was a massive and threatening wall of water about the crash down on them.
"Hold on, Virgil!" Deater's voice sounded frail against the whipping of the gale. Virgil grasped tight onto the mast as the ship was beset upon by the tremendous force of the wave. Water poured forth onto the ship engulfing all in its path. For a moment Virgil was under the water the salt stung his eyes as he tried to look about. His hold on the mast was began to weaken. It took a few seconds but finally the ship emerged. Virgil looked around to make sure that no went overboard in the deluge that swept over the deck.
But not everyone had made it through the collision with the rogue wave. Several of the crew had been swept off the ship. Panic started to spread as their shipmates began trying to pull them in using the mooring poles. The attempted rescue was futile as most of the crew was made up with commoners and most don't know how to swim.
"Deater, we need to get out of this storm before it takes out the ship." Said Virgil. As he found his footing.
"I will go speak with the, Captain, Sir," Deater said.
At the side of the ship Virgil looked into the depths of the waters below for any sign the men that went over board had survived. A hand on shoulder jolted him back to the reality of the moment.
"Virgil, we need to get below deck. Captains, orders," said Deater.
"Are we making our way out of the storm?"
"The Captain, is going to do his best," Deater replied as he opened the hatch. "Now get down below with the men. I am going to help the, Captain."
"Didn't suspect that you were a sailor?"
"Grew up on a fishing boat before my time in the Order, Sir. Now go!"
The warmth of the lower levels surprised Virgil. It was a stark contrast between the air in the ship and the storm outside. The creaking of the wooden ribs of the ship made were the reason for the sweat that formed on Virgil's brow. He worked his way down the corridor to where his quarters for the voyage was located. His stride was disturbed by the waves buffeting the hull which made him stumble like a man who had to much drink in him. Upon making it to his quarters he tried throughout the entire storm to catch some sleep before they hit land but it was futile. The storm tossed the boat throughout the water, tossing Virgil from the bed several times. His body ached from bruises earned from his explorations in the forest of death weeks earlier.
Virgil lurched as the ship hit something solid making him tumble head first from his bunk and creaming into the floor. "What in the abyss was that?" He said as he pulled himself up off the floor grabbed the ornate War-hammer and made for deck level to see what had happened.
He stepped out of the hatch to see the black sanded beach of the necromancer isles. Virgil jumped onto the beach and moved toward the woods which lined the beach. Despite the resistance of the sand beneath him, Virgil's Strode with purpose as he headed toward the wood line.
"Virgil, wait!" said Natasha as she ran to catch him. "You are not going to do this alone. We are are all here with you."
"I don't need anyone else dying on my account," replied Virgil.
"That doesn't mean you go off on your own to do things. Even the descendant of Dvorak needs help."
"Do I? I have gotten much stronger since last I fought Xavier," said Virgil.
"There are other more evil things that are on this island than, Xavier, my young High Chaplain," said Laura as she too caught up and joined the conversation.
He could hear the sound of clanking armor as the men from the first battle brothers made their way off of the ship as well along with Captain Deater.
"Fine, but all of you will follow my lead on this mission. No unnecessary risks," Virgil said.
The faces of those lost from the mission into the forest of dead not two weeks earlier flashed into Virgil's mind. Those he had called friends. All of that due to the betrayal of one man. One man that wanted more then he could achieve through the path of light. Virgil curled his fists remembering the man that killed him mentor in cold blood.
"Virgil? Virgil are you with us?" asked Natasha.
The question snapped Virgil back to the moment at hand. "Yes, we are going to hunt down Xavier and kill him. He is a heretic and an enemy of the order, and of the Mother of Light. We don't know yet what he is here for yet but keep your eyes pealed." Not waiting for a response he moved out as the other followed hefting their weapons and hurrying after him.
Trees larger than the tallest of guard towers stood vigil over the dense underbrush of the forest below. The floor of the woods alive with movement. Virgil could hear the sound of animals creeping through the underbrush. As the light from the nearly midday sun shone in visible rays of light throughout the top of the canopy. Natasha walked beside Virgil, she walked with grace not stepping on a single branch as she swept through the thick underbrush. The stark difference between their foots steps even more evident as the audible crack of a branch cleared all the surrounding animals from the brush around him.
"I see you have become much stealthier since the last mission as well," said Natasha.
"Glad you could tell. But can we stow the sarcasm and focus on the task at hand please?" asked Virgil.
"Geeze, could you be a bit more pissy today?" She replied.
"Have you forgotten what happened? What, Xavier did to the order? Excuse me for not thinking this was the right time for jokes," said Virgil. He turned his back on her and quickened his pace. Anger threatened to consume him and in a qui
ck and uncontrolled burst of rage let loose a wave of red energy taking out the underbrush in a semicircle around him.
He slumped to the ground in exhaustion after the blast, but did not hit the ground. When he came to he could see Natasha stood over him. Her face was riddled with sadness. "W-what happened, Virgil? Are you ok?"
"I think so. What happened?" asked Virgil.
"You don't remember releasing the explosion that took out the underbrush?"
"No! I don't remember doing that. Is anyone hurt?"
"No one was hurt. But, there is something going on with your eyes. They are bloodshot, and it looks as though your cornea's are outlined with red," said Natasha.
Virgil began to rise to his feet when the sound of cracking branches caught his attention to the left. An arrow struck one of the brothers, having found the unarmored area of his neck. The man dropped to the ground the arrow lodging deeper into the man's neck and poked out through the other side.
Out from around the clearing made by Virgil came hooded men in black cloaks wielding all sorts of different weapons. Deater's voice cut through the sound of the men which charged at them.
"Its an ambush! Form up around the High Chaplain," his voice carried the weigh of the situation. The men of First company moved with precision forming a protective circle around Virgil, and Natasha. Virgil jumped to his feet as he ignored the shaking of his knees resisting the strain of being upright so soon after that kind of exertion. He brought the war-hammer to bear in both hand as he pushed through the defensive line into the charging fanatics. Rage filled him once more. Pumping him with the adrenaline required to fight, and forgetting about his collapse only mins before.
