Determined
Copyright © 2015 by Mackenzie Morris
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Chapter 1
One Thousand and Twelve Years Earlier
"Xair! Behind you!"
Xair spun around in the middle of the stone-walled cistern and swung his purple glass dagger at the cloud of hungry black gnats that vanished right before his eyes. Out of breath and sweating in the sticky humidity of the early summer night, he stumbled backwards until his back hit the slime-covered stones. He pushed his white bangs out of his purple eyes. "I think we need to call this one. They're too fast. Let some of the demon guards get them."
Another young Ka'taylin man with the same midnight black skin and white hair slid his dagger back into the sheath on the front of the belt securing his silk robe around his waist. "I think you're right. Let's just get to the meeting, then. You have enough demons anyway."
"I will never have enough demons under my control, Dayxi." Xair traced over one of the many white runes that adorned his skin. "I must have more. If I don't, I'll-"
"You'll what? You'll be fine. I'm warning you, Xair. This isn't good for you. I think I'll go speak with the Arcanas in the morning to find out what to do about your addiction."
"Addiction?" Xair scoffed. "Please. Is it addiction when a stag eats grass or when a bird flies? No. I leash demons because that is what I was born to do. That's what our people have done since the beginning of the human race on Aldexa. Just wait until the meeting. Then you will understand my plans for our glorious future."
Dayxi rubbed his short white goatee. "Fine. Does the Sultana even know that you're running yourself ragged down here hunting these demons?"
"What my mother knows or doesn't know is of no consequence, I assure you. You worry too much, Dayxi."
"You're my brother-in-law. I'm supposed to worry, especially when you are engaging in reckless behaviors that could leave my sister alone in this world. Is that what you want? For Amari to suffer some grievous injury or die because you choose these demons over her? She showed me that threatening letter from the thugs this morning that you simply dismissed as being fiction. You have all the guards of Ka'tayl under your command, yet you refuse to station any around your chamber door to defend Amari while you go on these ridiculous escapades."
Xair's high-heeled boots sank down in the thick gelatinous mold that blanketed the floor as he led Dayxi back towards the ladder to surface. "If I can leash enough demons, I will be strong enough to protect her on my own. I don't need their help. And that letter? Just hollow threats from some disgruntled peasants. Trust me. No one is getting into the palace. Besides, Amari can hold her own in a battle. You've seen how good those eyes of hers are. She can hit a target in the practice yard from the window in our chambers."
"That doesn't mean she needs to be left to fend for herself."
"Fine. You'll get your way, Dayxi. But only because you're my friend. Tomorrow morning, I will assign guards to our room."
"Thank you."
Xair skipped across the puddles of stagnant water where larvae swam in festering clusters of various black and brown mold formations. Bushy white rats skittered from one side of the cistern to the other, their high-pitched squeaking echoing down the long winding corridors that split off in every direction to various rivers and streams. He brushed away feathery cobwebs that stuck to his hair as he rounded the corner to the meeting room. This was not the kind of place a man of his breeding and social standing should ever be, but secrets needed places to hide where other certain nobles would never dare tread. It was perfect.
Dayxi caught his shoulder before he opened the moss-blanketed door. "Xair, do the right thing."
"The right thing?"
"Wait a few years. You're so young for a Ka'taylin."
Xair pulled away from him. "Two hundred is not young. I'm already a journeyman. My druidic powers far surpass all the other men at my academy."
"Yes, you are talented, but are you prepared to run a sultanate?"
"I'm half dragon. I was born to run this sultanate. After this false revolution that is nothing more than flashy ceremony, my mother will step down and concede power to me. I've been bred to lead my people. You know that."
Dayxi only sighed and pushed the door open for him. "Do the right thing."
The room was filled with pure Ka'taylin men, all sitting on ivory benches in front of the pulpit, waiting for the meeting to begin. They gossiped and laughed until Xair entered the room. Everyone stood and bowed until he took his place in front of them.
Xair looked out over the crowd of around one hundred men and smiled. It was almost time for all of their planning to manifest as a new era. And he was more than ready for it. "My fellow Ka'taylins, I have gathered you here today in order to secure our plans moving forward with my impending seizure of power. In a few short months, I will perform a customary overthrowing of the current sultanate where my mother will step down upon seeing my power demonstrated in the most impressive display to date. What is that, you ask? I will do what no Ka'taylin has ever done, but what each of us has been secretly yearning to do since birth. I will challenge Sola herself to a duel in the middle of Akalam-Tirya!"
One of the men on the front row stood up and bowed respectfully. "Pardon me, Heir Korvin. Are you certain about this plan? This seems so risky, even for you."
"Of course I'm certain. What better way is there to prove my worth as the new sultan than to defeat that false goddess parading around in the heaven that should belong to our Arcanas? The bards will write stories and songs about my glorious victory that will be told for ages to come. This is the dawning of a new age for Ka'tayl, my friends. With my new Ka'tayl, there will be new dictates and laws implemented immediately. Everyone here will be my guards and my personal spies to ensure that these things become reality in the months to come. First, we will no longer speak this foreign tongue that the Northerners have imposed on us during our trading interactions with them. Every Ka'taylin will be brought up speaking Ka'taylin. That is the way it has been for thousands of years, and that is how it will be for thousands to come. We have become too acclimated to Northerner customs, Northerner language, and Northerner ways of life. We are not Northerners. We are Ka'taylins! We should be proud of who we are."
The man refused to sit back down. His eyes gleamed with concern. "But no one speaks Ka'taylin anymore, not outside the academies."
"Then we will have our scholars teach everyone. It will be mandated. Don't you all see the importance of this? We must preserve our culture and unite our people before Northerner influence erodes us into being just like them. We are better than them. Back to my laws. The second law is that every pure Ka'taylin male newborn will undergo the First Rune Ritual the day he is born."
Another man joined him, screaming at the top of his lungs. "No! You're mad. You've completely lost your mind, Heir Korvin. Those boys are already having to go through their ritual of cutting. This will place all of our pure males at risk of getting infections while their immune systems are still developing. Their magic won't even have awakened at that point."
"Do not question me." Xair glared at the dissenters until they meekly sat down and remained silent before he continued. "If the infant succumbs to illness due to the process of acquiring a simple rune on his body, then he was obviously defective and unfit to live as a Ka'taylin in the first place. This will significantly reduce overpopulation in the capital and the other major cities. We will strengthen our genetics by eliminating the sickly, the malformed, and those not strong enou
gh to leash and control demons. This is a good thing, my friends."
It was Dayxi's turn to stand up from the bench and question his friend. "Do you value my guidance as your brother-in-law, Xair?"
"One hundred percent, Dayxi. Say what you will."
"I think it is best if we postpone this meeting to a later date when you have had the chance to fully comprehend what you are attempting to impose on us. These may seem like beneficial policies at first glance, but you are not looking at the deeper implications. What will you suggest next? That all our albino citizens are to be exterminated?"
"I was going to use the word cleansed. It sounds a bit less harsh, don't you think?" Xair asked.
Dayxi held up his arm where the sleeve of his robe slipped down to reveal the turquoise and silver bracelet around his wrist. "You're married to one! Arcanas preserve us. Xair, your wife, my sister, is an albino. How dare you?"
"Don't spew your self-righteous anger at me, Dayxi. You may be my brother-in-law, but I am still your superior. As long as you live on my continent, you will live by my rules. Besides, no harm will ever come to Amari. I love her beyond anything. You should know that."
"That is why I am so confused. Why would you want to kill off the ones like her? I realize they aren't pure-blooded Ka'taylins, but that doesn't mean they deserve to be slaughtered just for being the way they are. Every man here has at least one friend or family member who is albino."
"Confound it!" Xair stomped his feet and pounded on the pulpit. "You are putting bloody words in my mouth, Dayxi."
Dayxi shook his head as he pulled the large hood of his robe over his head to hide his eyes. "Forget it, Xair. You are my friend and you are my family, but I refuse to support you in this endeavor. I will petition Sultana Mawrin Tivera to instate your cousin as sultan in your place. You are obviously mentally incompetent to do this."
Xair let out a low growl. "You are treading on thin ice with me, Dayxi."
"Good. I hope it cracks and brings you down with me."
"Cital, Nynem, Akatax, restrain him."
The three Ka'taylins leapt to their feet then surrounded Dayxi. "Yes, Heir Korvin."
Dayxi pulled away from the men and turned to the door. "There's no need. I am leaving. I am terribly disappointed it has come to this, Xair. For the sake of our people, I pray that you come to your senses before you end up doing something irreversible."
"Where are you going?" Xair asked.
"You said as long as I live on your continent, I will live by your rules. I guess that leaves me with only one choice. My Ili-Anan and I will be leaving for Vilyron at dawn."
"You don't have to do this. None of these laws even apply to you."
"Yes, yes they do. Isaya is with child."
Xair gasped. "Dayxi-"
"If the child is a boy, I will not have him be tortured hours after his birth. I will not stand for it. You are so convinced that we must revert back to the basics of our culture, but you are forgetting one of the key laws of our ancestors. Pure Ka'taylin boys are to be trained, disciplined, and groomed for proper breeding. They are to be protected and honored, not foolishly placed in harm's way just so you can feed your egotistical xenophobia. Times are changing, Xair Korvin. Ka'tayl will suffer if we do not change with them."
Chapter 2
Zeriel's boots slipped in the rancid blood that soaked into the cobblestones along the main road running the length of Krenoa Island. His glowing Heavenly shotgun was warm in his hands as he stepped up to the next row of Wolfekin Inquisition and demonic captives from the battle five days before. The men were on their knees with their arms and legs bound by ropes to ensure they couldn't escape from their approaching fate.
Justice is what Zeriel had been told to administer by Nimiel. Justice. Zeriel aimed his ethereal gun at the man on the end of the row. Closing his eyes, he pulled the trigger and moved to the next. He went down the line, periodically stopping to wipe the blood splatters from his ebony wings and black ankle-length coat. There was so much blood that a fine mist had covered his pale face, making him appear to be blushing.
This ruthless brand of justice continued until a grey-winged young blond angel with a crown of black roses placed a hand on Zeriel's shoulder. "Come on. What's taking so long? Just finish this already so you can look for Jaylen."
Zeriel sighed and executed another inquisitor. "You know I hate doing this, Nimiel."
"But it has to be done. If even one of these bastards reports back to Queen Sela and Aiden, untold dire consequences could await us. We need to keep Divinus's death a secret for as long as we can, at least until the new seraph is found."
"I've been looking for Jaylen for five days, but there's no sign of him."
Nimiel grabbed the next prisoner's mop of blond hair roughly in his hand and held him steady for Zeriel to get a good shot. "You don't think Jaylen-"
"No. We are bonded, remember? As a fallen angel, I die if Jaylen dies." Zeriel then stopped with his finger pressed against the trigger. He made the mistake of making eye contact with the prisoner whose life he was about to take.
"Zeriel, shoot him. What's the matter with you?"
Zeriel stared into the deep blue eyes of the teenage boy who was on his knees and trembling. "I can't, Nim. Look at him. He's a boy, not a man."
"If he's man enough to kill, he's man enough to be killed."
"But he looks like-"
"Like Jaylen? Yes, I noticed the resemblance yesterday when I brought all of these poor souls out of the dream world I had sent them to during the battle." Nimiel yanked on the boy's hair. "State your name, boy."
"Jeffrey Corrifus of Lorm."
"Corrifus?" Nimiel laughed dryly. "You're lying. He's lying, Zeriel."
Something about the boy seemed off. Zeriel couldn't quite place it until he spotted some blood on the boy's trousers between his legs. "Are you injured?"
The boy blushed and glanced at the ground. "N-no. Just kill me if you're going to kill me."
"Remove his shirt."
"What?" Nimiel glanced back at him. "Why? We don't have time for this."
"Just humor me."
Nimiel slipped the blade of one of his thin shortswords up the front of the boy's shirt then ripped it off. The boy's chest was wrapped in layers of tight bandages and was perfectly hairless. "Oh. Huh."
"A woman?" Zeriel grabbed the girl's arms and shook her. "Who are you? Tell me the truth."
"Victoria Corrifus. I'm Jaylen's sister."
Nimiel scoffed. "More lies."
"No! I swear it. But if you think I'm going to join his side in this, you're sadly mistaken. I am a Wolfekin Inquisitor and I'm proud of that. I will die as a martyr for the true good in the world. Eternal Eclipse will rule the universe. Under Carvael's leadership, all of Aldexa will be on their knees. And I'm just one of many who will gladly die for this cause. My brother will pay for what he's done. Jaylen will die for-"
Nimiel thrust his dual shortswords through Victoria's back then pushed the lifeless body off of his blades. "Enough of that nonsense."
"What did you do? That was Jaylen's sister!"
"Do you actually believe everything you're told? We will have Jeremiah verify the records and analyze the blood to find the truth. Either way, she was obviously allied with Eternal Eclipse and we cannot have that. Now, finish up and take that pendant to Jaylen as soon as possible."
Zeriel took a breath and fired six more times to finish the row he was on then tossed his shotgun in the air where it vanished in a small burst of light. He caught a clean towel that Nimiel tossed to him and wiped the blood form this face. "Thanks. What are you going to do now?
"Work on cleaning this mess up before we bring the children back from that temple up the road. I have our soldiers already carting supplies in from the ships."
"Our soldiers?" Zeriel asked. "Since when do we have soldiers?"
"Talk to Jaylen about it." Nimiel gave an all-knowing grin before flying off above the thick clouds.
So Nimiel h
ad been in contact with Jaylen, yet declined to mention his whereabouts. Why did Nimiel have to be so secretive just for the fun of it? Zeriel decided it would be best to take a bath before the continued combing through the island to find his Master, so he headed towards the docks where he could get into the water.
* * *
"Come back to bed with me, handsome."
Jaylen ignored the woman's cooing voice as he slid the glass door open and stepped outside onto the balcony. He slipped a black pipe from the pocket of his red velvet robe and lit it, breathing in the sweet scent of vanilla along with the tobacco. He leaned against the vine-covered railing while he smoked. The mage-glow had already faded out for the night and the millions of sparkling stars were bright high up in the darkness. A few of the island locals were gathered around the streetlamps where they drank bottles of rum and chatted, some laughing and others holding hands with their lovers. Jaylen gritted his teeth when the black-haired woman joined him.
The woman handed him a glass of sparkling white wine as she playfully pinched his thigh. "You're such a bad boy. You left Liselle and I all alone on such a dark night."
Jaylen set his pipe down then quickly drank the entire glass of wine, not even grimacing with the burn in his throat. He had gotten used to it. "Thanks."
"We're on your coin, you know?"
"I'm aware. Give me a minute to recover and we'll try this again." Jaylen kissed her neck. "How does that sound, beautiful?"
She giggled then pulled away from him, her thin silk lingerie shining in the lantern light that spilled out through the open door to the room of the brothel. "Oh, stop it! You're such a tease, Jaylen Corrifus."
He took care to watch every movement she made when she went back inside then blew a kiss to him as she joined the other woman on the large plush bed. With one final drag on his pipe, Jaylen removed his robe and went inside. But just when he stepped past the doorway, he froze.
The fluttering of large wings behind him accompanied the familiar voice. "What in Aldexa have you done to yourself?"
Angel of Darkness Books 6-10 Page 26
