The Shattered Moon (A Divine Legacy Book 1)

by Alexander J Wilkinson

  That was something Benjin hadn’t talked about in a long time. His whole body was quivering, his head was pounding nearly as hard as his heart. His memories flooded back to him. Meryl, with her red hair and green eyes, her beautiful smile. How had he been so lucky? He noticed Elle still staring at him expectantly and let the memories slip away.

  “She got sick, about a year later. It didn’t last long. Shaya doesn’t remember her, pour girl.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “Thank you,” Benjin smiled faintly. He closed his eyes, the pain in his head was getting worse, screaming at him, pounding in his ears, deafening him. His shoulder throbbed violently. Instinctively he clutched it, which made the agony worse.

  “Greyborn? Are you alright?”

  Benjin opened his eyes, nothing but shapeless blurs greeted him. The fire was an undulating orange mass flickering in front of him. He looked over at Elle, he couldn’t make out her face, just grey and white blobs.

  “Don’t feel right,” a blast of agony burst out of his terrible wound, and he felt the world begin to slip further and further away.

  “Greyborn,” he heard Elle shout. It was as if she was miles away.

  “Benjin.”

  She was drifting further into an empty haze. That’s when he began sinking, dropping through the floor into nothingness, where it didn’t hurt anymore.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  “Shaya, Wake up.”

  She heard the terrified scream, but at first, it didn’t register in her mind, she was so tired, and sleep still had its firm hold on her.

  “Shaya!” Rowan yelled again.

  The girl awoke with a start and sat bolt upright, her hand immediately reaching out for the sword that sat next to her. She looked over to where Rowan had been sleeping. There he lay with gritted teeth and terror in his eyes. The log he had used as a pillow in his hands, and a four-legged creature with its jaws wrapped around the splintering wood. Before her mind could grasp what was happening, Shaya grabbed the cold steel of her sword and jumped to her feet, flung the scabbard aside and ran at the hideous beast. The monster looked like a huge dog, the size of a pony. It had shiny black skin but no fur. Scratches and slices of red ran across its body, some recent, some years old as if it had been in fights all its life. It had two small horns on the top of its head and a third on the tip of its snout. They were called jackals, and they were vicious wild animals. Its eyes were as white as alabaster, staring manically at the frightened young boy.

  Shaya raised her sword as she ran, she let out a long, loud scream and was about to bring her blade down on the Jackal’s neck when something hit her, hard. She was sent soaring through the air and landed with a loud thud a few feet away, sending a cloud of dust flying up into the air. Her head was suddenly pounding, she felt dizzy as she propped herself up on her hands and knees. She squeezed her eyes shut then opened them to regain her bearings, it partially worked. Looking up hazily, Shaya saw a second Jackal circling her slowly, its mouth foaming, a string of silver drool hung from its jaws as it panted heavily. Its teeth were as sharp as knives, there were dozens of them, perfect for tearing flesh from bone.

  The prince wrestled with his jackal vigorously. Suddenly its jaws clenched hard and strained, abruptly crunching the log in half, sending splinters flying everywhere. Rowan managed to kick one of its hind legs as hard as he could and pushed the jackal to the side. The beast sprawled into the fire, it yelped and barked and as it’s sinewy skin sizzled, it quickly jumped out of the flames. Its tail and back were severely burnt, but this only seemed to make the creature angry.

  Shaya saw her sword a few feet away, lying on the dusty ground. She rolled and grabbed her weapon once more and stood up just as the jackal lunged at her. Quickly, she dodged out of the way, its vice-like jaws barely missing her face. Without pausing for even a second, the jackal landed and immediately turned to face her. The animal’s sharp white eyes stared at her with ravenous hate as it bounded forward. It leapt into the air, its mouth open, rows of yellowed pointed teeth ready to devour her. She ducked down and thrust her sword up catching the demon wolf across its stomach. The jackal yelped and landed on the ground, its legs went limp. It didn’t get up again.

  The other jackal’s skin smoked as it circled the young prince, it growled and barked, gnashing its jaws. He took a step backwards and tripped over the pieces of log strewn on the ground. Frantically, he began to shuffle away. The Jackal lowered it’s head and primed its muscular legs. Suddenly it bounded at Rowan. It jumped at him, eyes malevolent, jaws agape, front paws outstretched as if it was about to grab him. A glint of silver flashed as if from nowhere, and the hulking dog dropped to the ground, only a few inches from the terrified Rowan. He looked up to see a breathless Shaya holding her crimson stained sword with both hands.

  “Are you alright?” she asked as she reached out her hand to help him up.

  “I’m not sure,” he grabbed her hand, and she pulled him up “How do I look?”

  “Not eaten.”

  “Then yes, I think I’ll be alright.”

  “We need to get you a weapon, I can’t save your life all the time,” she panted.

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re w-,” she froze.

  “What is it?” asked the prince as his eyes widened.

  “Move,” the girl yelled.

  She had seen it too late. The Jackal had run full speed at them out of the shadows. Shaya had seen the ominous white eyes a split second before it violently smashed into Rowan, knocking him to the dirt. It leapt at Shaya, the full weight of the terrifying hound knocked the wind out of her and sent her tiny frame flailing backwards. The beast landed on top of her heavily. As she tried to gasp for air, she could smell the creature’s foul breath. Like warm rotten meat, it filled her lungs and made her gag. The monster just stared at her, it’s white eyes fixed on hers. Shaya lay frozen, waiting for the mighty jaws to clamp down. The beast suddenly went limp and collapsed right on top of her. It was so heavy she could hardly breathe, she tried to lift it and wiggle her way out, she couldn’t. She didn’t understand what had happened, she watched its eyes glaze over, the jacal was dead.

  “Are you alright?” Rowan ran over, covered in dirt and with a fresh cut on his forehead.

  “Damn things heavy,” she strained.

  Rowan hesitantly grabbed the beast, probably afraid it would wake up or worried he would get blood on his tunic. Together they lifted the dead hound and air rushed back into Shaya’s lungs. Slowly she clambered to her feet. Her sword was buried deep in the jackal’s stomach, the stupid beast had practically killed itself. She really thought that was the end of her adventure, in the maw of a hungry jackal. It took a while for her hands to stop shaking and her heart to return to her chest from her throat, where it felt like it had been lodged. After retrieving her blade, she looked out into the blackness that surrounded the fading campfire.

  “Do you see something?” asked the prince, equally rattled.

  Shaya didn’t answer, she just peered out into the darkness with narrowed eyes. The campsite was a wreck. The bodies of the enormous dog-like animals lay in crumpled piles of black sinewy skin and fangs. Their belongings were scattered all around, and there was Jinx, lying by the fire sleeping soundly, oblivious to their near-death experience.

  “Do you see any more?” Rowan’s voice was a strained whisper.

  “No, there’s nothing,” Shaya said finally, her words slightly shaking.

  “Where did they come from?” she asked, her eyes still darting

  around, looking for any sign of another attack.

  “I don’t know, I just heard them coming. It woke me up, the growls. Before I could do anything, one of them was on top of me.”

  Shaya tore her eyes away from the shadows to look up at the equally dark sky.

  “It must still be a few hours until dawn.”

  “We should move.”

  “No, if there is more, we won’t see them coming in the dark.�
��

  “So what do we do?”

  Shaya tried to stop her hands from trembling as she held her sword, still too scared to let her guard down. She walked back to the fire slowly, Rowan followed.

  “We’ll sleep in shifts. I’ll take the first watch.”

  “I can’t sleep after that.”

  Fair point, Shaya thought to herself, but they were both tired, and they still had a long way to go in the morning. She finally convinced the prince to try and get some more sleep. He lay down and tossed and turned for the first hour but eventually, she could tell he had drifted off. His breathing grew loud and steady. She sat with her back against one of the rocks and watched her surroundings, clutching her sword. She kept her feet on the floor and had her knees up in front of her in an attempt to stay warm. Her heart skipped a beat every time she heard a noise. It felt as if everything around her made an unsettling sound. It was like she could hear everything, from the flapping of a bird’s wings above to the scuttling of an insect on the ground. She kept her eyes locked on any dark areas, which there were many. She threw on a little more fuel for the fire as it started to die down.

  The black sky slowly turned to a dark blue one as the sun began to rise far off to the east. Shaya’s eyes began to grow heavier and heavier. She found herself slipping into sleep and waking with a jolt of panic, thinking she heard something. She would then calm down, and the cycle would repeat itself. Dull morning light began to creep its way closer to the campsite as the fire once again dwindled, and Shaya’s eyes lids dropped.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  Krarg followed the strong, it was their way of life. Their hierarchy dictated that their leader was always the most vicious, the most powerful in their pack. It had been easy to become their leader, almost laughable was the old Chief’s attempt at dominance. He had snapped the runt's neck in a second. Their former chief’s body had barely hit the ground when the rest bowed like the mindless servants they were. Now he was surrounded by them. Down at the bottom of the hill, there were dozens, all skulking, hissing, waiting for the scouts to return. They would serve their purpose as expendable soldiers for the battles ahead, but Rakmar hated them. Everything

  about them sickened him, their snivelling obedience, their hiss like whispers. They were terrified of him, which was to be expected, demanded even, but they were just so weak, just like the miserable humans. That went for the rest of the species he had had the misfortune of breathing the same air as all these years.

  His hulking figure stood on a hilltop a few miles from the smouldering castle. He watched the smoke billowing into the dawn-lit sky. He took great pleasure in watching the towers burn. Royalty, they were no better than any of the other insects that infested this land, why should they be obeyed and revered? They were nothing, no harder to overthrow than the skulking reptiles below.

  “Mmm, Massster” a hiss came from behind him. Even the way they spoke to him, the way they grovelled irritated him. With an annoyed grunt, he turned to see two Krarg standing behind him, their heads hung low, their yellow eyes staring at the floor.

  “Speak,” he said as he looked down at the lizards.

  They looked at each other hesitantly, one bowed lower, the other spoke.

  “We lossst the trail.”

  Useless, pitiful creatures, when I’m finished, I’ll slaughter your whole species, thought Rakmar as he took a step towards them. The Krarg that had spoken shifted nervously.

  “You lost the trail? How?”

  “It been to long Masssster.”

  “Poor excuse,” he grabbed the Krarg by the neck and lifted it up into the air with one hand. Effortlessly he applied a small amount of pressure and smirked when he heard the satisfying crack. The lizard went silent, and he flung the lifeless body down the hill. It landed in a bone-crunching heap at the foot of another group of Krarg. They just stared at it quietly, not one of them said a word. The hissing ceased, silence fell across them all.

  He knew it was counterproductive to kill his own underlings, but examples had to be made, failure needed to be punished, and of course, he simply enjoyed it. Rakmar approached the second Krarg, it was squirming and twitching, it’s foul tongue darting in and out of its mouth nervously. Rakmar stood within inches of the creature and waited for it to look up at him. Eventually, it timidly and met his gaze, his black eyes baring down at the quivering creature.

  “Where are they heading?” the spoke slowly, each syllable more threatening than the last.

  “Ssssouth, towards the plateau masssster,” murmured the Krarg as it averted it’s gaze once more.

  “Towards the Plateau? Towards the great forest.”

  The Krarg nodded, as it tried to stop its clawed hands from shaking. Rakmar thought for a moment then grinned a menacing grin, his teeth were sharp, and his eyes seemed to glimmer in their emptiness.

  “I know where they’re headed,” he said to himself in a dark rumble of a voice. He knew who they were going to see.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  “Wake up sleepy head,” a voice said, a familiar voice, a girl’s voice.

  Shaya woke up, her vision a little blurry and her head aching. She blinked a few times as her eyesight started to return.

  “Well aren’t you pretty in the morning,” giggled the girl’s voice.

  Her vision focused, and she lifted her tired head to see Jinx sitting on her knees waving her legs back and forth, with a wide grin on her face.

  “Jinx?” Shaya asked confused, still half asleep.

  “Morning sunshine,” Jinx’s grin started to eclipse her entire face.

  “Jinx!” shouted Shaya as she sat up. She grabbed her friend and hugged her, Jinx hugged her back. Shaya felt tears welling up in her eyes, but she didn’t care.

  “Easy, careful of the wing,” laughed Jinx as she jumped back onto Shaya’s knee.

  “You’re okay?”

  “Of course, it’s me,” Jinx smiled arrogantly.

  “I can’t believe it, how’s your wing?”

  “A little stiff,” said Jinx, as she fluttered her wings. They weren’t their usual golden blur, but they flapped quickly enough.

  “I can’t fly as far or for as long as I could, but that’ll get better in time.”

  “You still made it to the top of the cliff and back,” said Rowan who was sat by the extinguished fire eating a piece of bread.

  “Yeah, but I wanted to get to the top of the statue.”

  “Early days yet Jinx,” said Rowan as he walked over to Shaya and handed her some bread and an apple. “We thought we’d let you rest.”

  “I fell asleep,” exclaimed the exhausted young girl.

  “It’s alright, I’ve been awake since dawn, then Jinx scared me half to death.”

  Jinx giggled “I snuck behind him and whispered his ear, boo,” she laughed again.

  “No respect for the Royal Family this one,” said Rowan, half teasingly, half genuinely annoyed.

  “None,” she poked her tongue out playfully.

  “We thought we’d let you sleep, while Jinx tested out her wing.”

  “Yup and it’s not too bad, all things considered,” Jinx was practically dancing atop Shaya’s knee.

  “I’m sorry you got hurt because of me,” Shaya felt the guilt rise in her stomach.

  “I’d do it again in a heartbeat, and again and again and-,”

  “Alright, alright,” Shaya smiled “I just wanted to say, thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” Jinx fluttered up and laid a light kiss on the tip of Shaya’s nose.

  “Eat up Shaya,” said the prince as he began to pack up the campsite “We’ve still got a good while to go.”

  Shaya ate, and Rowan packed as they told an excited Jinx about their adventure so far. The miles they had walked, the Tree Grazers they had seen and their midnight ambush by the jackals. Jinx listened intently to every word. The sprite was annoyed she had missed the battle, saying she would have given those creatures what for. Shaya had laughed and reminded her of
the last time she picked a fight with a monster.

  “It caught me on a bad day,” smirked the little sprite.

  They finished up and cleared the campsite, scattering the wood and stones from the makeshift campfire and brushed away the charred black soot, leaving no evidence they were ever there. It could easily be mistaken that the jackals simply killed each other, it wasn’t all that uncommon. A power play by a beta, trying to take its place as alpha by force, they were savage animals.

  “There,” Shaya pointed to the wall of the cliff face. They hadn’t seen it in the dark when they arrived. Tucked away behind a large rock was an opening, a cave. She noticed footprints in the dirt and dust, leading from the cavern. “That’s where they came from,” she said.

  “We were sleeping next to their den,” Rowan said. He turned to Shaya with a look of bewildered irritation “That was a good idea,” he said with a sarcastic huff.

  “You didn’t see it,” Shaya snapped back. Rowan mouthed something silently as Shaya turned her back.

  “They probably thought it was their lucky night, a couple of defenceless children on their doorstep,” Jinx thought out loud.

  “Not so defenceless,” smiled Shaya as she strapped her sheaved sword to her waist “Move out.”

  Jinx flew alongside the pair as they continued their journey towards the forest. She tired quickly, and Shaya had to convince her to sit on her shoulder for a while. Jinx was stubborn and refused until she could barely fly another inch. Shaya plucked her out of the air, told her not to be stupid and sat her down on her right shoulder.

  “I could have kept going,” Jinx said breathlessly.

  “I know,” smiled Shaya, knowing full well that she couldn’t.

  It was nice to have Jinx back with them, Shaya had missed her. She was her best friend, and it wasn’t the same taking this long journey without her. She was so relieved that her sister was on the mend. The young girl kept asking Jinx if she felt alright, or if she needed anything. At first, Jinx found it adorable and said that she was fine.

  After the fifteenth time she snapped “For the love of the Goddess Shaya, I’m fine. Thank you, I’m fine.”