Unleashed Fury (BloodRunes: Book 1)

by Cole, Laura R

  “It's the tomb of the Dark King,” Layna exclaimed, her adrenaline making her voice sound hysterical. “It really is, and the mark means that I am his descendant and-”

  Gryffon shushed her, “Hush now. You need rest to regain your strength, answers will come soon enough. I don't know what happened in there, but you are in no shape to tell me at the moment.”

  She had no strength to argue so she said simply, “Jezebel is gone. Her hellhounds ripped her apart, but I think there's way more going on here than we thought.”

  “Jezebel?” Gryffon asked in surprise. Layna trembled at the image burned in her mind, and Gryffon staved off his curiosity and held her close.

  “Shh, shh,” he comforted her, “It's all over now.”

  Layna wiped away her tears. “I don't think it is, Gryffon. I think it's just the beginning. Jezebel was a pawn in the game. The player who controls the pieces is way worse than her. I think,” Layna said haltingly, “that the man with her that I just faced, was the King-”

  Her tentative words were cut short by a thunderous explosion followed by crashing sounds and Gryffon said urgently, “We have to get out of here. Now.”

  As gently as possible, he threw Layna over his shoulder with an apology when she professed her lack of strength to walk, and he hurried after the hound who had taken off through a winding passageway sloping upwards.

  Dust was billowing up from below and the crashing drew closer. As Layna watched, the roiling cloud of dust surged towards them. From her vantage point on top of Gryffon's shoulder, she forgot the dull pain that spread through her with every jolting step, as the fear that they weren't going to make it took hold.

  Miraculously, the hound burst forward through a seemingly solid rock wall and Gryffon charged through with it, sucking in the fresh air of the surface.

  They tumbled to the ground as the cave behind them collapsed, showering them with rock shards. Gryffon threw his body over hers, shielding her from the shrapnel.

  They lay there panting on the ground, staring dumbfounded at their narrow escape when another explosion sounded, and as they watched the cave seemed to implode in on itself. The rock melted into a solid block, and the ground around it seemed to sink a few inches down. A horrible shock wave of power flowed over them.

  The wave hit Layna with formidable force and the world blackened around her.

  CHAPTER 35

  King Nathair roared his considerable rage at the loss. Some force of magic had managed to get around his barriers and wrench the girl Layna from him.

  He kicked Jezebel's mangled body for the distraction she had caused him. He had meant for Jezebel to be the girl's first test, a ritual killing of the former position-holder as a symbol of the girl taking her place by his side. Had I known that the girl was the one Jezebel has been so obsessed with...but no matter, now I know who she is. And she is even more impressive to have gone against a mistress as vicious as Jezebel, and to have risen to be the formidable power wielder she now is without training. Curse Jonathan for having reverted to his drug habit and ending his usefulness before having further investigated the girl when he first found out. If only I’d known earlier it was her, I could have gotten her before she even left the city.

  Though she was still not nearly as powerful as he, and not even close to her potential, he wanted her more than ever at this revelation of her strength of character as well as the potential he could sense in her since the removal of the charm. She was perfect for his purposes. She was closed off to him now, but he would find her again. When he did, he would be prepared for it.

  He shook off this minor set-back and turned to face the massive door behind him. Only those bearing the mark were allowed to enter these sacred chambers, any unworthy trying to get in would find themselves transported into less hospitable areas – as that man with his girl had found.

  He walked towards the door with reverence, and reached out a hand to stroke the wood in veneration of the great man who had once walked these hallways, and whose body was entombed inside.

  Nathair had spent countless years trying to find out how to open these doors, and had finally found the key. Without care, he dragged Jezebel's limp and bloody form to the door and laid her mangled hand on the pedestal on the left. He made his way to the one on the right, and murmured the words of power which would unlock the door.

  It had been fortunate, the timing of his finding this key and his discovery that the one he had been searching for was in the very same city as the tomb. He had hoped to have her open the door with him willingly, and together they could have reaped the rewards of the mysteries revealed in this chamber.

  But no matter, Jezebel's mark was pure enough to complete the spell, however impure the rest of her was, and the lock clicked open. The door opened upon creaking hinges, causing sweet musky air to pour out in a great cloud of dust.

  Nathair stepped forward eagerly, and sent out mage lights to illuminate the great tomb of his ancient lord. The mage lights brightened the room in their passage to take places in each of the corners of the chamber, and lit it to reveal a vast open space.

  The room was empty.

  Fire and fury built up inside Nathair. All those years of searching only to find that the chamber has been emptied before my arrival!

  Nathair felt the power begin to grow within him as he opened himself fully to it, letting it flow inside like a dam suddenly being burst open, handling the rushing flow with ease. He redirected this power to form a glowing ball, a physical manifestation of the energy.

  He transported himself out of the caverns, leaving behind this destructive mass of power. It was so unstable that his disruption of the magic forces by his spell to transport set it off, triggering every trap there was in the place.

  A huge explosion sounded behind him and Nathair smiled in grim satisfaction, his anger flowing away with the remainder of power as he loosened his grip on it.

  These disappointments were discouraging, but only served to strengthen his resolve and determination to find a way to eventually accomplish his goal. He was a patient man, and smart enough to learn from his mistakes. Next time he would not fail.

  He lifted the body he had transported out with him onto the back of the horse that was waiting for him, and mounted himself. Oh yes, next time I will be victorious. I have had many titles; Lord, Master, King, and soon...God.

  Nathair smiled as he whirled his horse around, and he rode off into the darkness.

  CHAPTER 36

  When Layna woke, she found that she was wrapped snugly in a blanket. She had been laid near a warm and crackling fire, though the night air itself was comfortable. Weylyn was curled up at her feet and she lifted a hand to pat his head.

  Gryffon noticed her movement and came over, pushing a spoon filled with broth against her lips. She ate it with vigor and he handed her the bowl, helping her to carefully sit up. She felt completely drained, but was no longer in constant agony, and she set to finishing the broth with relish.

  “You know,” she said when she had licked the bowl clean, “I'm getting a little sick of this whole being knocked unconscious thing. I'm starting to miss just being a maid.”

  Gryffon laughed. “Well, I'm glad to see that your sense of humor is returning. But just think, if you were still a maid, you would only be reading about exciting adventures like these instead of being right in the thick of them.”

  “Exactly. Who was it that said an interesting life could be a curse?”

  Just then, Layna saw with happy surprise that Charles was coming towards them from the woods. He sat down beside her and laid a hand on her shoulder in a fatherly manner.

  “I sure am glad to see you feelin’ better,” he told her, “The world would have been a much sadder place without you.” She was touched by this gesture and his words, which amazingly she had been able to understand all of. Charles had been easier to understand of late, and Layna wondered if it was him that was changing, or her.

  None of them spoke for some tim
e until finally Charles blurted without tact, “What the blazes happened in there?”

  Gryffon took up the narration, describing the events that had occurred since Charles had left them. He ended where he had stepped through the door and been transported, and Layna bubbled forth with her own account.

  When they had finished, Charles looked thoughtful. “Well, I ain't one for pushin' my kibitz, but it sure sounds to me like you two better skeedattle. That energumen is crazy, and I, for one, ain't wastin' any tears on the demon lady.” The old Charles was back. Layna hadn't a clue what he had said.

  “I agree,” said Gryffon, obviously having better luck than Layna in interpreting his speech. “I think it would be much safer for us if we disappeared for a while. Didn't you offer us a hiding spot up north?”

  “Oh, aye. It's only a huntin' cottage, but it would serve you right good. Up in the middle of the North Woods, so you’d have to be careful o' the nasties comin' down from the Ferryn Plains, but the untamed magics there should do you well to hide your own talents too. This new foe'll never find ya.”

  “Perhaps we should take you up on that offer. Though hiding out in the woods won't get us any answers.” He paused in thought before turning to Layna. “So he confirmed that having this mark was some sort of symbol that he claims means you're a descendant of the Dark King?”

  Layna nodded mutely, unable to put into words the fear she felt. If the man -the King!- had been telling the truth, maybe I am tainted with evil that I can't deny. It's in my blood. She fidgeted uncomfortably. It makes sense! Terrifying, sickening sense. How else would I have known my way around in the dungeons? Or known how to open the door in the secret underground fortress? How can I escape my own blood?

  Horrible guilt at the sinister meaning of the mark crept into her thoughts, and she felt herself withdrawing. She did not want to spread her curse to Gryffon or Charles, and she found she was unable to counter the morbid reasoning.

  Her thoughts were interrupted by a sharp intake of breath from Gryffon, who raised his hand to the scar on his chest. “Are you alright?” Layna asked him immediately.

  He nodded with his eyes closed, obviously bearing his pain silently. After a moment he let out the breath he had been holding and opened his eyes.

  Layna looked at him with concern, but he waved it away and continued on, “I think I can get a message past the barrier there, and maybe we can get some answers that way. If we explain the situation, I don't see how they could not share some information.”

  “We can't just go to Treymayne ourselves?” Layna offered, though the idea terrified her.

  She had the growing urge that something needed to be done. If she was going to have any chance of stopping the evil inside her from growing, she had to do something about stopping the evil in the world from escalating. Action had to be taken to make everyone aware of the darkness that was spreading so that those who had the means could counter it. But they were only two people. And he is the King...we need help.

  Gryffon squirmed. “We could try, but it may not be that easy. It's quite a formidable barrier. Not to mention the mountain pass and river that serve as natural barriers as well. There's good reason that we've been able to isolate ourselves so effectively.”

  “But if we made it there, they would protect you? And would they listen to you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then we need to try! We can't just go hide in the woods when we have information that people need to know! If we just sit back and let it happen, we could witness first-hand the reawakening of the Dark Age! Just look at how evil Jezebel was, and she didn't even turn out to be the worst of them! There's something huge and sinister going on here, and we need to stop it. And in order to stop it, we need help. If you think that your countrymen will help us,” she held out her hands to him, begging him to understand her fear.

  He seemed taken aback by her conviction. He set his lips firmly together and nodded once. “You're right. It wouldn't be right to hide. We'll go to Treymayne and we'll tell them what we know.”

  They discussed the details of their plan for a while, deciding to try the crossing over the mountain at the northern pass, likely to be less heavily guarded as it was itself so treacherous. Natural dangers didn't scare Layna nearly as much as what they had after them. They would have to cross the Great River as well, but once they reached Treymayne they would be safe.

  There they could pass along their information to the Treymayne officials, and to leave it in their well-equipped hands to deal with the growing threat of a reawakening of the Dark Age. When they had a tentative plan of action, they each took to their beds, though uneasy thoughts kept them all awake well into the night.

  Layna eventually fell to sleep and tumultuous dreams overtook her, visions of black clad figures doing unthinkable deeds.

  Their cloaks seemed to flow together, forming a raging black river, and she felt as though she was being washed down it, unable to gain any control over her motion.

  She was thrown up onto the shore, coughing violently as she crawled on all fours away from the dreaded water. Her hand hit something cold and hard and she gasped in horror as she saw that it was Gryffon, bleeding profusely from a terrible wound, deep red blood forming a stream of its own down into the river, turning it all the same dark red.

  A mirror appeared and she saw herself in it, smiling evilly under a black hood, holding a dripping dagger.

  Layna's dream self screamed and threw the mirror to the ground, shattering it, only to raise her hands in horror as they too dripped with deep red blood.

  The eyes in the mirror shards watched her, knowing laughter behind them. A terrible scream pierced her very being, and she tumbled into a black abyss.

  Darkness. She was surrounded by darkness.

  Where was she?

  She tried to move, but she couldn’t. Her legs pumped wildly underneath her, but the black shadow surrounding her persisted and she remained in utter darkness.

  “Hello?” she called out. Her voice sounded empty, and it echoed off of unseen walls.

  “Hello?” came a voice calling back – her own echo again, but eerily delayed.

  And then another, a demonic growling hiss.

  “Hello.”

  She screamed and tried to flee with terror filling her senses, and this time she was practically thrown forward into a tunnel of light.

  She fell faster and faster into it.

  Her eyes adjusted to the brightness and she looked into it happily, glad for the comfort that light offered. The comfort soon turned again to fear as she realized that it was filled with snakes at the end.

  Their glowing red eyes were looking up at her hungrily. They squirmed around each other in a massive ball of slithering mouths, open wide awaiting her fall into their midst.

  She recoiled and tried to backpedal her way out of the tunnel, but it had turned upright and she was now in a free fall towards them, completely helpless to stop her descent.

  They swirled around one another faster and faster in their excitement and then pressed into one another, forming a new shape.

  A huge dragon rose out from the living nest and opened its mouth wide, swallowing her up. As darkness closed in around her again, the giant jaws clamping shut around her, she felt strangely calm.

  Then she was at Mila’s. And Gryffon was there. Mila was trying to tell her something, but no sound was coming out. She heard only silence. Mila was waving her arms wildly about, and a look of terror appeared on her face as Gryffon took a step towards her.

  Her limbs moved involuntarily and she saw herself raise her arms towards Gryffon, whose easy smile wavered at her motion. She felt the power well up inside her, and could sense its fatal purpose. She tried to scream for Gryffon to get away from her, that she couldn’t stop what she was doing, but she was as mute as Mila.

  Gryffon just gave her a puzzled look and cocked his head to the side. The power was nearly radiating from her now and she could only watch in horror as her own hands flew
forward, throwing the destructive energy at Gryffon.

  His face barely had time to register his surprise before it twisted into agony, and his shirt melted away to reveal his mark, burning brightly as it greedily soaked up the energy. The stream of power held steady between them, feeding into the mark, which glowed brighter and brighter and then horribly started eating away at his flesh. He screamed and screamed, but the world remained silent.

  She felt tears escaping her, and had to blink them away to see clearly as Gryffon’s body was rent apart by the gaping black hole in his chest. Even after the life had left him, the power flowed from her and she felt sobs wrack her body.

  Mila came to stand by her, and she looked at her pleadingly, wondering why she had not stopped her.

  Mila solemnly held up another mirror. In it, she could she herself, a grotesque grin on her face, so out of place with her eyes puffy from crying. Her eyes looked mad, and tiny fires danced in her pupils.

  As she watched, the eyes slanted and tilted to become more like a cat’s, and her skin turned a deep blue, sprouting scales. A long snake’s tongue flicked out beneath the grin, and she caught a glimpse of canine teeth.

  She started to itch and she clawed at her skin, ripping away her clothes only to realize that the scales had sprung up all over her body which was molding itself into something she didn’t recognize.

  She threw her head back and let out a howl as pain exploded in her back, and two wiry wings tore out of her and beat the air, throwing Mila back against the wall.

  She could feel that she was growing, and she was suddenly aware of a hunger. A hunger that couldn’t be denied. Mila was pulling herself to her feet, and she lunged at the woman, biting her head off in one neat swipe. She swallowed it whole and went back for the rest, catching the body and ripping it apart with expert speed before it even hit the ground.

  It hardly dulled the ache of the hunger.

  She looked around and realized that the house was growing smaller around her as she took her true form. She burst it apart with a mighty thrust of her wings and blew fire from her snout to incinerate the rest.