Talisman

by Krystyne Price

  It didn’t matter now, because there was only one thing Bijan could do. He hated Kana for forcing him to this place. Hated him for saving Bijan and Kaia but not saving himself. Hated him for dooming Shinzar to the fate it now lived in, torn apart by war, most of her population dead or turned to sycophants. But most of all, he hated the fact he believed with absolute certainty: that Kana, in this possessed state, would kill his very own child.

  He was startled from his thoughts by a hand placed against his cheek. Hitching a breath in, he looked down to find Kaia’s beautiful green eyes looking at him. “Is that....my father?” she whispered. He felt her heartbeat thudding slowly and knew instinctively she was dying.

  “Yes,” he said, feeling his voice crack on the word, “and no.” Bijan returned his gaze to the Kana creature before him. “He used to be, until he allowed Mulmak to possess him.”

  Kaia struggled in his arms, and he gently lowered her to the ground. She got her feet beneath her, him steadying her back and arm as she wobbled precariously. “You brought me here to kill my own father,” she said in a hollow voice, looking between him and Kana. “I can’t believe you brought me here to kill my own father!”

  Her last word was said in a choked sob and Bijan felt the sting of tears in the corners of his eyes. “No,” he shook his head.

  “Don’t lie to the girl!” Kana boomed. “Why else would you bring her here?”

  “To use the Nake which you ensured cannot be removed from her!” Bijan spat. “To use it to destroy the four talismans the Vloveks now possess!”

  Kaia looked up at Bijan. “We can do this together,” she said quietly as she took his hand and guided it to the Nake.

  “What are you doing?” Bijan asked, confusion puckering his brow. He glanced at Kana, who for the moment seemed to be mesmerized by his first good look at the glowing pink gem.

  “We are kilana,” Kaia replied, looking up and into the eyes of Kana mere feet away. “It’s forever. We’re together in a way I never could have fathomed before returning to Shinzar.”

  Bijan nodded as he closed his hand, fingers entwined with hers, over the Nake. “Yes,” he breathed, leaning forward to touch their foreheads in the age-old acknowledgement of the kilanac bond.

  “Then we will either defeat my father together,” Kaia said, her voice sounding stronger than she looked, “or we will die together.”

  His eyes darted down to Kaia’s, and he saw within them something pure. A love and a trust so deep that it took his breath away. And then it felt like she was surrounding him. It took him a handful of seconds to understand it wasn’t Kaia herself. It was the Nake.

  Its glow became almost unbearably bright, forcing all of them to squeeze their eyes closed. Bijan pulled Kaia into his body, free arm protectively around her back and shoulders as a pink glow radiated beyond their joined hands. It grew and grew, and Bijan heard Kana begin screaming in Vlovek. A thunder of sound assaulted his ears. He ignored the fact that more of Kana/Mulmak’s legion were coming at them from both sides.

  Instead he concentrated on the Nake’s power, and soon felt it permeate him even as the bubble of light grew to enshroud his and Kaia’s huddled form. The moment it was large enough to cover every part of them, it was like something within him clicked and he knew exactly what to do.

  Positioning himself behind Kaia, the entire back of her flush with his entire front, he grabbed her other hand and allowed his hatred of Kana, his love for Kana, his desperate need and desire and love for Kaia, to broil together until it sizzled inside of his mind, his heart. Loathing for wherever these winged monsters had come from, for Mulmak, for Vloveks...sorrow for all the Shinzarns killed, either possessed and turned into sycophants or slain in battle...made his chest feel like it was going to burst.

  In the last moment before he felt like he might explode from it all, Bijan and Kaia lifted their hands together, throwing them up into the air with a simultaneous grunt. The Nake’s bubble bulged just above their outstretched hands and a beam of pink shot out from it, hitting the ceiling above Kana/Mulmak’s head. The creatures all screamed as the stone began to crack loudly, pieces crumbling away to the floor.

  The nine Zar surrounding them began flinging magical energy and bolts of varying degrees of death spells at the legion. Sycophants ran while the large, winged creatures tried advancing. But the Zar kept them back long enough for Kaia’s and Bijan’s hands to lower themselves.

  Bijan could see the form of Kana standing no more than the length of one Shinzarn away now. Their eyes locked, and in an instant, his kilana brought their hands straight out in front of them. The pink beam shot directly into Kana’s chest, causing an indescribable shriek of pure terror and agony as Kana fell to his knees. The beam flowed into him, causing a pink egg to form all around his body.

  Kaia sagged against Bijan. He could feel her strength nearly gone, and his concentration faltered. Kaia’s right hand pulled away from his and pointed right. Bijan instantly understood, tearing his left hand from hers and swinging it perpendicular. They now stood side-by-side, and more pink beams emerged from the bubble, following their hand movements.

  Between the efforts of the Zar and the Nake’s power, every single legion Kana had brought with him were either turned into black ash or thick black liquid, both of which fell to the floor or blew away. Bijan watched as Mulmak’s form separated from Kana, bellowing as he tossed his snout to the ceiling and gave one last strangled cry. In the blink of an eye, all that was left was ash blowing away on the wind.

  The pink egg encasing Kana, now lying face-down on the floor, vanished. Slowly the egg surrounding Bijan and Kaia retracted until it had folded itself back into the Nake. Kaia fell against him, making Bijan stumble forward and land on his knees trying to keep her from dropping to the floor. She lost consciousness, and Bijan rocked her in his arms, staring at the lifeless body of the man before them who had been everything to him, once.

  Everyone tensed as one of Kana’s hands twitched. “Bijan,” he whispered so softly it almost wasn’t heard.

  Bijan felt the familiar ache of loss settle back into his chest and tears sprang unbidden to his eyes.

  “Bring...my Kaia...” Kana gasped, reaching a hand out and above his head, straining to lift it so he could see them.

  He turned to look at the Zar, and Kamlea shook his head. Bijan knew that meant The Nake had killed Mulmak, but it had also killed Kana. Struggling to breathe without sobbing, Bijan pulled Kaia with him as he scooted forward the last bit of space separating father from daughter. He moved Kaia so she was facing her father, and a tear escaped unbidden down Bijan’s cheek when Kana reached out and cupped her face with a trembling hand.

  “Kaia,” Kana breathed. Then his hand moved away and hovered over her head. He spoke words that Bijan suddenly recognized as he flashed back to the day of Kana’s possession. In that instant, he knew what those words meant.

  Kaia convulsed and then took a deep breath before settling back down to the floor. Bijan felt her heart rate become steady, and a feeling of peace washed over him. “She can remain on Shinzar now,” he said, looking into his mentor’s face.

  Kana nodded, barely more than a jerk of his head as his their eyes met. Bijan wept openly as Kana’s hand moved toward him. He took it between his own, bringing it to his lips and kissing the knuckles. “Kana,” he whispered against them.

  He knew from the subtle change in his teacher’s eyes, the exact moment Kana died. The moment Shinzar was free.

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  I hope you enjoyed this short story about a world I have seen in my dreams for years. Shinzar has been waiting to burst forth for a long time, and so at last we journey there together and discover all its secrets. Thank you for sharing it with me!

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Krystyne Price has been writing stories since she was ten years old...and that was a loooooong time ago! She enjoys creating new worlds and new life forms, with a little bit of technology, a lot of magic and more adventure than
she sometimes knows what to do with! Krystyne enjoys hiking in her home state of Hawaii, reading and of course, exploring alien worlds with two suns and demon-like dragon-like enemies to fight. Equally aided and hampered by a crazy cat and her loving (non-cat) daughter, Krystyne’s goal is to take you away from where you are now, to a place you never knew you were longing to see.

  WEBSITE

  If you’d like to drop Krystyne a line, please head to her website at www.KrystynePrice.com. You can also reach her directly by email: Krystyne@KrystynePrice.com

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