by JD Franx
Savis held Kael’s body upright as he pulled his second dagger and cut Kael’s throat from ear-to-ear. Releasing his hold, Savis kicked Kael’s legs out and smirked as he fell onto his back. Blood pumped from his throat, running into the furrowed grooves of the seal’s inset design.
Savis tried to recast his family spell and disappear into the shadows of the room’s outer walls to escape down the tunnel Sythrnax went down. Dealing with the second contract was impossible. He started to speak the single word spell when he heard Giddeon’s roar of outrage, and Savis was lifted from the ground and tossed against the far wall, knocking the breath from his lungs. Desperately trying to breathe so he could make himself disappear or defend himself with magic, Savis instead watched in fear as Kasik rushed across the room and rammed his greatsword, Still, into his stomach. Saleece rushed to her brother’s side. Pressing her travel cloak to his neck, she tried to stop the blood flow as Kasik impaled Savis. The thrust buried Still almost a foot deep in the stone behind the assassin.
Shaking with fury at the thought of failing his Kreeda Oath to Ember, Kasik grabbed Savis’ face and squeezed. “Why? Why were you told to kill him?”
“The king...” he started, but Kasik twisted Still with his right hand, the sword ground and popped in the stone, causing waves of agony to rip through Savis’ abdomen.
“There has to be more to it than that,” Kasik growled as Giddeon stepped up beside them.
“The guild,” Savis gasped. “They... were asked to... do it... you failed...” He cried out in agony. “Just... kill me. Just... a job.”
With his face twisted in anger and pain, Giddeon growled. “Gladly, assassin. I just hope and pray that the cursed Ephemeral Elderblood dies with you. Our kingdom has been trying to get rid of your damned family for far too long. Your blood has always done their best to destroy everything people hold dear. As the only ArchWizard of Talohna, I sentence you to death by termination of your cruus...”
“No!” Savis gasped. “Not... Kill me you... Fool.”
“He was my son, assassin,” Giddeon screamed back. Placing his hand on Savis’s chest, he sneered. “Sal qnd skera.” The spell activated immediately as a tearing squelch echoed inside Savis’ chest. “Sentence passed,” Giddeon hissed.
The spell granted only to the authoritative office of the ArchWizard tore into Savis’ very soul, shredding both the magical and physical sides of his spirit and collapsing his connection to the earth’s power. Kasik forcefully pulled Still from the assassin’s belly and let him crumple to the floor. Giddeon had used the spell only twice before. The assassin would die in an extreme amount of pain over the next few hours. Savis would barely have the clarity of mind to moan from the intense agony he was about to endure.
Kasik turned around in time to see Giddeon kneel before his son.
“Is he..?” he asked Saleece.
With tears streaming down her face, she sobbed, “Yes, he’s dead. There’s nothing I can do. I’m sorry, Father.”
“It’s not your fault,” Giddeon said softly. “It’s mine. I should have known something wasn’t right...” He put his hand to his mouth and tried desperately not to break down. He would never be able to tell Kael that he was his father, that he loved him, and that he had done so many things wrong.
A vivid bright light flashed beside them and Giddeon looked over to see eight strangers appear out of thin air. Sliding around the corner of the massive stone cenotaph, Kyah hid as tears dripped from her chin. Recognizing one of the newcomers as the DragonKin Queen, Shelaryx WhiteScale, she did her best to stay hidden on the far side of the giant stone.
The DragonKin’s Queen rapidly took in the scene before her. Seeing Kael’s body, she scoffed with disgust.
“Giddeon Zirakus, you gods-cursed stupid Human. What in the Nine Hells have you done?” she roared.
Eva ran to Kael’s stilled form on the seal and shoved Giddeon and Saleece out of the way. “Sheathe that damn sword, Northman,” she snapped up at Kasik. He obeyed immediately and his sheath smothered the silence runes. Fae healing magic flooded Kael’s body, lighting the dimly-lit room with a myriad of bright colours. The open wound in his neck closed and she reached around his neck and tore the dagger blades free.
“Seize them all,” the DragonKin Queen ordered. Before Giddeon and the others could react, they were surrounded and subdued, relieved of their weapons by the Talon warriors and Zephyr mages accompanying her. A third Zephyr dragged Kyah out from behind the monument by her hair, shoving her into the others.
“Shel...” Eva began. Looking back over her shoulder, she shook her head. “It’s too late... He’s already gone.” Shocked and speechless, she stared up at the Queen.
“Gods, no....” Shelaryx stumbled and caught herself as Eva exploded off the floor.
Lunging at Giddeon, she grabbed his robe. A full foot shorter, she yanked him down to his knees with incredible strength.
“No! No! No!” she screamed, shaking him. “Not after everything we did, every sacrifice we made. You fool!” Staring him the face, trembling with fury, Eva hissed. Her eyes flared a bright green and slowly the outer edges darkened, the black eating its way into her green pupils. “You are the sole reason every race in Talohna will be slaughtered or forced to their knees in subjugation, you stupid, witless Human. And where is my daughter?”
“Breathe, Eva,” Shelaryx said, touching the Fae matriarch’s shoulder gently. “Control it.” Giddeon stared into Eva’s eyes with awe. Seconds before they became solid black, the small woman inhaled deeply and the bright green swallowed the encroaching darkness.
“I don’t even know who you are, or what you’re even talking about. We didn’t kill Kael. An assassin did and not on my orders,” he explained. Trying to remain calm, he pointed to the writhing killer on the floor. “Kael was my blood-born son. We came to help him.” Looking at the DragonKin queen, he asked, “Queen WhiteScale? What’s going on?”
Before she could answer, though, a female Zephyr stepped up beside the queen. “My queen?”
“Yes, Vyteera?”
“Sythrnax’s forces have just entered the hall up top. They have nullification amulets. We need to leave before we are stranded and must fight.”
“Yes, of course. Thank you,” Shelaryx replied, pulling Giddeon from Eva’s grasp as if he were a rag doll. “This is your lucky day, Giddeon Zirakus. If I had more answers, I would leave you here to rot with your son and that assassin. But I need to know exactly what happened here and why, so you will all come with us.” Seeing he was about to object, she added, “Do not think for one second that you have a choice. As of right now, all of you are prisoners of the DragonKin and Fae. More importantly, you all hereby stand accused of sedition against the Lesser Races of Talohna and for murdering those born of a pure magical race. Eva, take us back to BloodKin castle.”
“My daughter, Shel. We need to find her before we leave. I will not leave without Ember,” Eva demanded.
Shelaryx looked at Vyteera. “Do we have time?” The Zephyr closed her slitted eyes for only a second before they snapped back open.
“No, they will be here before we could search even a small area.” She turned to Eva. “I am sorry, Mistress ThornWing,” she said, bowing.
“You will pay for this, fool wizard. We Fae still have Darklings imprisoned on Vaenaria. They will discover the truth of what happened here even if it means shredding your mind. You will answer for your crimes,” Eva said, glaring at Giddeon as she waved her hands. “Everyone closer, unless you want half of your bodies to stay behind,” she barked.
With a whisper from Eva, a crack of power and a flash of white light lit up the seal chamber. As the glare died away, the chamber sat empty, except for Kael’s body, a suffering assassin, and Cassie, who had been hiding up on a rock ledge overhead.
Having slowly worked her way back to the chamber with the seal, Cassie had managed to climb up the eastern wall where the mountain rock had pushed through the chamber wall. She had watched all of
what happened below, too terrified to even move, but with no one left in the chamber except for the man who had killed Kael, she gradually made her way down to where Kael had fallen.
Kneeling beside his body, she grabbed his hand as tears fell from her chin.
“I’m so sorry I ran.” She sobbed. “I was afraid... I should have helped you, like you helped me in Cairnwood. I’m glad you came to Cairnwood that day. I’ll never forget you, I...” She stopped as more voices echoed from outside the chamber back towards the ruined city. Having heard what the strange woman had said about forces on their way, she ran to hide behind the rock slide, below where she had hidden before.
Chapter Forty-One
“The Darkness within the earth will some day rise. It has been foretold since the day it was put to rest there. We will continue to fight against those who will try to release it. No sacrifice is too large when it comes to the safety of this world. I will pay whatever price is demanded of my soul in order to acquire the power needed to keep this threat buried where it belongs.”
Ella The White, 5 PC
RUINS OF KAZZADOR CITY
With little time before they would be overrun by the forces that Luthian and his animated skeleton army wDyrannaiere fighting against, Ember’s group, along with Nekrosa and Sephi, moved through the rubble of the demolished Dwarven city as swiftly as they could. They slowed only when they came across the set of chamber doors standing open.
“What is this place?” Max asked.
Yrlissa frowned. “It’s a place that should have remained long buried, dammit,” she cursed. She had been increasingly more irritated the farther down they went.
Nekrosa stared with fascination. “You’re the Guardian,” he said excitedly. “That’s the only explanation. You know what this is don’t you? She has to be, Sephi, it makes sense.”
“You two have no idea what you’re talking about,” Yrlissa barked. “Now come on, we have little time left.” She led the way into the chamber with Ember right behind her.
Yrlissa ignored the engraved tablet and stepped around it, heading towards the centre of the room. Seeing Kael lying on the blood-filled seal, she gasped and nearly fell to her knees.
“Oh, no... No, no, no,” she muttered, rushing to his side.
Ember realized a second later what was happening. “Kael?” she whispered softly, as if not sure whether it was him. A single step forward confirmed it. “Kael!” she screamed. Running towards him, she threw herself on top of him. “No, Kael. Not now.” She lifted his head and pulled him close. “Don’t, babe, please. Don’t be gone.”
“I’m sorry...” Yrlissa said.
Ember never heard her. “I’m here, babe, right here. We made it. You can’t leave me after all we... after all this. Please don’t go, please!” she screamed. “Aravae, Lissa, what do I do? How do we heal him? Tell me, please!” she shrieked. Aravae shook her head as she slowly collapsed beside her son.
With tears in her eyes, Yrlissa shook her head. “It’s too late, nahlla. He’s gone, there’s nothing...”
“No!” Ember cried. Putting her forehead to Kael’s, her voice faded. “I can’t be here without you, Kael. Don’t leave me. God help us, please.” She sobbed, burying her face in his chest. Yrlissa knelt at her side, her hand on Ember’s back.
Max could only stare at Kael lying dead on the floor. Clearly having a hard time deciding whether to comfort Ember or start back up into the city to find Sythrnax’s men to vent his growing fury on, instead he stood where he was, smouldering in anger.
Sephi grabbed Nekrosa by the arm. “Try, husband. Maybe he is still in the Void. You can bring him back.”
“It’s too late,” Nekrosa said. “He will have already passed through, and if he hasn’t, his spirit will obliterate mine in the Void. I barely got out last time, Seph.”
“We have a Fae this time. She can bring you back. You have to try. We need them all, especially now. This seal will open in less than an hour or two,” she pleaded.
“All right,” he sighed. “I’ll try.” Approaching Ember and Yrlissa, he said, “Let me try something, please.”
“What do you think you are doing?” snapped Yrlissa.
“Trust me, like you trusted us when we saved her.” He smiled as he touched Ember’s shoulder. Ember failed to acknowledge his touch as she continued crying on Kael’s chest. Yrlissa nodded her consent.
Very few necromancers have ever had the power to walk their spirit into the Void between life and death, and most who tried never returned. Nekrosa had done it many times, even returning when Kael had unintentionally trapped him there weeks ago when they were in Dasal together.
“Na gravasay, spyratallis,” he said softly as he placed one hand on Kael’s leg, using it as a connection to find his spirit. The rush of the Void’s power expanded as it entered Nekrosa’s mind. He entered into the vastness of pure dark.
The Void between life and death was a friendly place for a necromancer of Nekrosa’s talent, and it took little time for him to detect a spirit that had yet to pass through to the underworld. With only a thought, Nekrosa found the soul and with only a few thoughts more the spirit showed him what had happened. He opened his eyes to find Yrlissa staring right into them.
“You’re a VoidWalker,” she said in an accusatory voice, as the power of the Void cleared from his eyes. “Please tell me Kael was still there.”
Nekrosa frowned, shaking his head. “Kael’s spirit has already passed. He is gone, there is nothing more I can do. I’m sorry. That one, however,” he said pointing to Savis. “He has not passed through yet. I don’t understand why he is here and in the Void at the same time, but I do know he is the one who killed Kael. I pulled his disjointed soul back to his body. You should be able to talk to him.”
Yrlissa glanced over at the writhing killer and immediately recognized the broken blade still in his hand.
“What the hell is going on here?” she muttered, walking over to the man who took Kael’s life.
She bent over and hauled Savis up straight so she could look into his face. “Who are you?” she asked. “Where did you get your broken blades?” She grabbed his hand and looked at the palm, recognizing the mark of the Broken Blade guild magically tattooed there. When she shook him and got only a light groan, she jolted him with a shot of electricity. His eyes popped open and he started laughing.
“Ah, I shoulda known you would be waiting for me when I died, High Commander,” he giggled and wheezed.
“You’re not dead yet, assassin, and I promise you I am very much alive,” she said.
Surprised, he stammered, “That’s impossible... I killed you myself...” He wheezed with pain a second time.
Yrlissa sneered, hatred rumbling through her voice. “You failed. I lived, and by the looks of what was done to you, you won’t, not for much longer. Tell me why you did this. Why did you kill Kael, and why did you try to kill me?”
“Orders, Commander. Just orders... When you are given an order...” He coughed again, his breath coming much quicker. “Did your assassins ask why you gave their orders?”
“No, they didn’t, but I know all of them. Every single assassin in every sanctuary in every country, except for you,” she said, giving him a shake when his eyes closed.
“Merethyl...” he started to say, before his eyes rolled back into his head. His mouth slowly opened and he moaned lightly in pain, Yrlissa knew he would say no more. She dropped him to the floor and turned back. Everyone stared at her except for Ember.
Luthian stumbled into the chamber, fell and slid across the floor, leaving a smear of blood in his wake from three arrows in his back.
“Luthian!” Sephi screamed. She hurried to his side, snapped the arrows off and rolled him over.
“I am so... sorry, my q-queen, I tried...” His last words were an apology for not being able to do the impossible.
“You did well, my friend, as always,” she said and then grabbed his shoulders and dragged him over to the seal by the oth
ers. Nekrosa rushed to the chamber doorway, his spell well under way as he tried to reanimate the thousands of remains hidden within the city ruins, but his spell sputtered and quickly died.
Limping back to the others, he gasped. “They’re too close already. Magic won’t work. We need a plan. If we go down that tunnel, the way Giddeon and the others must have went those warriors will overrun us or we’ll be arrested by the ArchWizard,” he said.
Yrlissa knelt beside Ember and took her by the chin. “Look at me, girl. We need your help and we need it now. You have to jump us out of here Ember, quickly.”
Ember just looked at her. “You lied to me, Lissa. You know what’s going on. You lied to me, and now he’s dead. Why?”
Max took up watch just outside the chamber doors, and Yrlissa could hear him engage in combat against the first of Sythrnax’s forces.
“Even if her magic works, where do we go, Yrlissa?” Sephi asked. “It’s clear Giddeon betrayed you. There is nowhere safe now, and she can’t jump us all to DormaSai. It will kill her. There are too many of us.”
“There is somewhere closer we can go,” Yrlissa realized. “Ember, look at me, please,” she begged, trying once more. “Do you think this is what Kael would have wanted, for you to give up and for Max to die fighting a battle he cannot win? I promise you I will tell you everything once we are safe. Everything, mai nahlla, I promise,” she pleaded as the battle outside the doors picked up in intensity.
Sephi looked back towards where Max was fighting, then stood and raced to help, the tempo of the battle increased the moment she arrived by Max’s side.
“If you want my help,” Ember said, her voice thick with hurt and anger. “Tell me the truth. Tell me something!” she screamed. “Tell me what was so fucking important to keep secret that it cost him his life!”
