Rebirth (Legends of the Kilanor Book 2)

by Jared Stone

  Argus could feel tears welling up in his eyes. “No,” he said stubbornly. “You cannot die here! Not like this!”

  Bennu just smiled. “Right now is as good a time as any to die, I suppose…,” he mumbled, his voice trailing off toward the end as his eyes closed and his head slumped to the side.

  “No! No!” Argus cried out, holding the limp body in his arms.

  “Let him go, Argus,” the man heard Dareia’s voice say softly behind him. “He fulfilled his mission. He returns to his gods now. Let him go.”

  Argus hung his head, tears streaming down his face. He knew she was right. The boy had escaped the suffering of this world with the knowledge that he had accomplished what he had set out to do. Argus was honestly even a little envious of that.

  Laying Bennu’s body down carefully upon the rock, Argus stood up. Without warning, the boy began to glow with a golden light. Starting at his abdomen, this light spread across his torso and through his limbs, eventually causing his whole form to turn an amber color and erupt into a ball of bright flames. Within seconds, Bennu’s earthly body was entirely consumed, leaving only a pile of ashes behind as testament to his momentary existence.

  “What…?” Argus mumbled, stupefied.

  Dareia laid her hand on the man’s shoulder. “There is still much about this world that we cannot know, Argus,” she said caringly. “But I must say, even I am sorry to see him go….”

  “So, is it…,” Argus began. “Is it over?”

  “Not quite yet,” Dareia said, breaking her contact with the grief-stricken man to walk over to the black bracer now lying on the ground. “We have one final errand we must perform….”

  15 - Combustion

  Friday, December 19th

  The students all awoke the next morning to bright, invigorating sunlight streaming into the windows of their bedrooms. The peaceful, quiet morning, filled with the sound of birds and the smell of breakfast, made it almost easy to forget the reason they had come there in the first place. It was hard to believe that they were hiding out from the resurrected dead bodies still hunting them, trying to steal Lilly for unknown purposes, and Lucian very intentionally tried to lose himself in this serenity while the brief opportunity presented itself.

  After waking up, showering, and getting dressed, they all assembled downstairs in the kitchen, where Mrs. Foster had prepared a meal of pancakes, eggs, and bacon for everyone. Mr. Foster had already left the house for work, and Olive was sitting at the table, swinging her dangling legs back and forth from the wooden chair. Gus ran around, whipped into a frenzy by the delicious smell of cooked meat. Lucian was surprised and touched by Mrs. Foster’s generous hospitality, but he could see that Willow was less than amused.

  “Alright now, eat up, kids!” Mrs. Foster exclaimed joyfully as she continued to scuttle back and forth between the stove and kitchen table. “This is just lovely. It has been so long since we had any of Ophelia’s friends over. Do you remember, dear, when you invited over all of your girlfriends from school for your thirteenth birthday party?”

  Willow visibly cringed. “Yes, Mother,” she said scornfully, stabbing her fork down into a pancake with her thumb and forefinger and leaving it there, standing vertically. “It was lights out at 9:00, no sweets or sodas, and church the next morning. It was so embarrassing that I never invited anyone over again….”

  Mrs. Foster’s face fell into a saddened expression, and Lucian wondered why Willow always felt the need to be so harsh to her parents. They seemed to be trying their best to raise and shape her into their idea of the perfect person; although perhaps this only served to deprive her of her own, separate identity. Lucian at least had his hypothesis for the girl’s rebellious tendencies.

  “Ophelia,” her mother whispered, as if exhausted. “Why must you always be so obstinate?”

  Despite the tense relationship between mother and daughter, breakfast was otherwise lovely, and it was a real treat to all be sitting at the same table, as friends, chatting idly about school and not worrying about suddenly dying. Lucian learned all sorts of interesting things about Blake’s childhood, Lilly’s family, and even a few stories about Willow when she was growing up…, though it was clear the girl would have much rather kept some embarrassing things hidden. Olive then spoke to them about her first grade classes and her “very best friend in the whole wide world, Violet,” and how they would “be the bestest friends forever and ever and ever.” This elicited more than a few chuckles from the older boys and girls gathered at the table. As this was all going on, Willow repeatedly reached down to feed Gus her pieces of bacon under the table, which he gobbled up ravenously, licking all the remaining grease off the girl’s fingers.

  When they had finished, Lucian brought his plate to the sink and tried to clean up, though Mrs. Foster adamantly refused the help and told them to go have fun while she took care of everything. Gratefully, Lucian and the others went into the living room and sat down on the elegant, plush couches. As Willow had previously informed Lucian, the Fosters owned no television, so they sat for a time facing the large, ornate fireplace that occupied the center of the wall opposite the furniture. They chatted some more, laughing and playing with Olive, who seemed as though she had endless stores of energy within her. Gus was particularly enamored with the little girl, bouncing and rolling around with her while trying his best not to nip at her fingers in his excitement.

  Before he knew it, Lucian looked at his phone and saw that it was already past noon, and he had to remind himself that they awoke only a few hours ago. Though he was not at all hungry yet, after the plentiful breakfast they had eaten, Mrs. Foster came to the living room shortly thereafter and announced that lunch was ready. Everyone then filed into the kitchen again, where a make-your-own-sandwich station had been laid out on the counter. Lucian made a tiny sandwich to be polite, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to fit very much more in his stomach. Lilly clearly did the same, while Blake, on the other hand, made up for it by stacking his bread inches high with meat and cheeses. After everyone else had made their sandwiches, Willow once again took enough on her plate to ensure that Gus could partake in the meal as well.

  After lunch, they took Gus outside for a long walk around the neighborhood so that he would be able to do his business in the grass. It was still a little strange for Lucian to watch his friend doing such things, even if he was now a dog, and so he looked away from the spectacle and glanced around until everything was finished. They stayed outside for a couple of hours, choosing to enjoy the fresh air and scenery on this surprisingly warm day instead of the stuffy atmosphere of the Fosters’ living room. As the sky grew darker and the students started to head back, Lucian felt a strange sensation in his mind. he unexpectedly heard in his thoughts.

  Though the words were certainly in his head, they had the particular sound of Dareia’s voice, and the boy suddenly realized what was going on. Placing the crystal hanging around his neck between his fingers, he focused his thoughts on Dareia’s image and existence in another place.

  he thought, sending out the intention that she should experience his thoughts as well.

  the voice answered back as if the boy had read the words silently to himself.

  Lucian thought in response.

  Dareia’s internal voice answered.

  That made sense to Lucian. If there was any danger waiting at the cemetery for them, the best place for Lilly to be would be far, far away.

  thought Lucian.

  * * *

  As per Dareia’s req
uest, Lucian, Blake, Willow, and Gus prepared themselves to climb into the car and drive the few hours back to campus that evening. Willow explained to her parents that they were all going out for a while, but that Lilly wasn’t feeling well and wanted to stay and rest instead. Despite her parents’ scolding for leaving a sick friend behind while they all went out to have fun, Willow was adamant that she would accompany the boys on their planned activities for the evening. After some passive-aggressive back-and-forth, Mr. and Mrs. Foster eventually gave in and went about cooking dinner for the family and their one guest.

  Lilly, at first, also insisted on coming with them to the cemetery; but, the more Lucian explained the various dangers that such a scenario posed to her, the more inclined she was to stay at the house after all. She finally agreed that that was the safest place for her to be and went to go sit on the couch in front of the crackling fireplace while dinner was being prepared.

  “You kids be careful out there,” Mrs. Foster came and told them as they were putting on their shoes and coats before heading out. “And do make sure to be home before too late!”

  “Whatever,” Willow responded with a roll of her eyes before walking out the door. Those were the only parting words Mrs. Foster would receive from her daughter that evening, and Lucian and Blake awkwardly smiled at their host and walked out the door after the girl. With a quick final wave to Olive, who stood in the doorway watching as they left, the students sped back to the school with the help of Blake’s heavy foot and focused driving.

  Nerves were high in the car, and the three of them barely spoke a word to one another, lost in their own thoughts and worries of what the night might bring. Lucian eventually reached over and turned on whatever station the radio had been tuned to, so at least their minds could be focused on something apart from their uncertain fates. As they approached their destination, Blake killed the music, shut off the headlights, and coasted slowly to a shoulder of the road, near the entrance to the graveyard. Throwing it in park, he turned off the car and looked over at Lucian and Willow.

  “You guys ready?” he asked hesitantly. Though he was trying to appear brave and collected, Blake’s face held a look of restrained apprehension that was shared by his roommate in the seat beside him. The only one in the car who didn’t share in the gloomy sentiment was Gus, who stood in the center of the backseat looking around at each of them, clearly wondering what was going on and whether or not he would be getting a treat for it.

  “No time like the present,” Lucian stated back with less certainty in his voice than he had hoped.

  “Let’s just get this over with,” Willow said gruffly, grabbing the door handle and pushing the door open forcefully. “I wanna be back in time to tuck in my sister….”

  All of them climbed out of the car and onto the dry and dusty earth beside the road. With a look at Gus, who still sat in the backseat in anxious anticipation, Lucian whispered, “Stay here!” Gus’ disappointed puppy face dropped into a pout upon hearing this and nearly melted Lucian’s heart; but, in his current state, the reincarnated Kílán was more of a liability than an asset to the team, and the boy couldn’t risk having his friend die to save him again. Closing the doors as quietly as they could while Gus’ big, sad eyes looked on, they then walked carefully down the road to the entrance gate. Looking up at it, Blake’s face turned to a scowl.

  “I’m really not a fan of this place,” he announced in a hushed growl. “It didn’t end too well for me last time....”

  Lucian shot Blake a glance that clearly conveyed his displeasure over the boy’s unbridled pessimism, but Blake was still too focused on the big, rusting metal gate ahead of them to take any notice. Lucian tried to remind himself that, last time Blake had been there, he had been forcibly possessed by a demon and kept captive in his own body for several months. He figured he wouldn’t feel much better about the place if he was in his roommate’s shoes.

  Taking a step forward and gripping onto one of the doors, Lucian pulled it open as slowly as possible to minimize the screeching of the old hinges. Once the gap had opened to roughly two feet in width, the three students slipped through.

  “Okay, Dareia told me to come to the back of the graveyard, by the big hill,” Lucian whispered to his comrades. “She’ll be waiting for us there.”

  “Yeah, I know where that is,” Blake whispered in return, clearly the only one among them who had a thorough understanding of the graveyard’s layout as a result of his previous visit. “Follow me.”

  Blake quickly led them away from the lamp-lighted entranceway and past tombstone after tombstone lining the paths around them. It was a fairly dark night, even without clouds, as the moon had almost completed its waning cycle and disappeared into the complete emptiness of space. Lucian’s eyes slowly adjusted to the curtain of blackness separating them from viewing their surroundings, yet, even then, he still had some difficulty distinguishing details in the dark. Every once in a while as they pressed onward, Lucian would pass by a plot with a noticeably large, empty hole in the ground, and a shiver ran up his spine as he saw these. He had an idea of what that meant. As they got closer, they could discern the shadowy outlines of Dareia and Schuntz standing near an outcropping of trees a distance back from the aforementioned hill.

  “-not informed of this?” Schuntz asked in hushed anger as the students approached.

  “I do not see how this should be any concern of yours, Kazimierz,” Dareia hissed back at the old gentleman without apology. “You very purposefully chose the life you lead now, and I am able to handle these affairs quite adequately on my own.”

  Even in the dark, Lucian could see that his professor was positively enraged, even though he continued to suppress it just under his restrained exterior. “Argus tasked me with protecting the boy,” Schuntz said forcefully. “I cannot do that if I am not included in decision making.”

  “Hey,” Lucian interjected quietly as he arrived next to the bickering pair. “What’s going on?”

  With one final, steely glare at the professor before her, Dareia turned to the three students. “I have discovered what appears to be the makings of a sizable attack force amassing just over that hill,” the priestess stated, pointing off to the mound of earth in the distance. “I do not know for certain what the necromancer has planned, but we must determine what to do with these creatures soon, before they have the opportunity to strike.”

  “And I was never kept abreast of this information,” Schuntz cut in spitefully. “It was simply by sheer coincidence – or perhaps good fortune – that I would be monitoring the cemetery this evening and discover the priestess waiting here for your arrival. Mr. Aarden, I advise you to contact me directly in the future before taking orders from anyone else. I cannot ensure your safety if I have no knowledge of your intentions.”

  Schuntz and Dareia glared at each other menacingly again after the professor finished speaking. Lucian wondered to himself why it was always so difficult for everyone around him to just get along.

  “Let’s go check it out…,” Willow whispered to Lucian without regard to the two conflicting forces in front of her. The boy nodded and led the way as the five of them crept soundlessly across the path and down to the base of the hill, crouching low to the ground and breathing as lightly as possible. Lucian found it particularly challenging to keep his breathing in check as his heart beat wildly in his chest and his throat seemed to dry up; but he had started to become accustomed to even these highly uncomfortable sensations over the recent months.

  Once there, all five lay down as flat as they could and shimmied up the side of the hill to peek over the crest. Underneath them, the once grass-covered slope was now cold and lifeless, and little pieces of shriveled blades coated their hands and clothing as they crawled. At the top, they looked over and saw before them a valley filled with shadowy silhouettes of at least thirty draugar, all standing there silently, looking at nothing and seeming as if they were awaiting orders to move. From what Lucian could tell in the darkne
ss, there were the bodies of both men and women of all sizes and stages of decay, and the only movement readily noticeable was their tattered and torn clothes occasionally billowing in the breeze that swept by, like the sails of a ghostly ship passing through the night.

  “Damn…,” whispered Blake first. Lucian was most certainly in agreement.

  “There are so many of them,” Lucian said fearfully, recalling the challenge of facing only about ten of them in the campus commons a couple of nights before.

  “Cremation…,” Willow mumbled, again advocating for her preferred method of bodily disposal.

  “Perhaps it is best if we wait for now and simply watch what they do,” Dareia suggested pensively, “Their numbers are indeed great, and we do not yet know if the necromancer also lies in wait.”

  “What good does it do to wait, though?” Lucian asked. “I mean… we have to deal with them one way or another, and I think waiting only guarantees that more will be made.”

  Dareia reluctantly nodded. “You speak the truth. Yet I cannot help but feel that charging in a frontal assault is an unwise maneuver. We should strategize and tactically approach the situation as best….”

  “Screw that!” Blake cut in from Lucian’s other side. “I say we go in and take ‘em all out right now! We’re powerful enough to do it! Plus, they’re not expecting us right now!”

  “Though I would normally advocate caution, I must concur with Mr. Valenti’s sentiment,” Schuntz said. “There are times in which one must gain the upper hand on one’s enemy by way of surprise, and they certainly seem to have been caught unawares.”

  As much as Lucian hated to admit it, he had to agree with what Blake and Schuntz were saying. Although it seemed a little foolhardy, the plan did have the added benefit of surprise and attacking when enemy numbers were possibly fewest. He also figured that he could take Willow’s silence beside him as passive agreement, and he had every faith in at least Dareia’s and Schuntz’s abilities to carry them through to victory.