Reign of Darkness

by Michaela Riley Karr

  At the end of the second day, Anne plopped down next to me with two bowls of stew, pushed the fuller of the two into my hands, and eyed the ancient book in my lap that now appeared waterlogged too after the shipwreck. Thankfully, the spell that preserved the book’s interior was still working because the pages were intact even after everything. Even though I had learned everything I was ever going to learn from the book, I still paged through it every once in a while. I kept hoping maybe it had one more shred of wisdom to share, and it wasn’t like I had anything else going on in my life at the moment.

  “Well, ya won’t believe it,” Anne announced as she took a slurp from her stew, foregoing her spoon entirely. “I think yer brother and I might have stumbled across something great!”

  “Really?” I asked as I tried to stealthily place my bowl of stew away from me, its aroma nauseating.

  Anne raised one of her eyebrows, catching me instantly, and she unceremoniously nabbed the bowl and stuck it back into my hands, taking my book in the process. “Yeah, but you have to eat to find out.”

  I groaned, staring at the bobbing chunks of squirrel and carrot in the brown liquid which threatened to choke me. It looked a whole lot more like vomit now that food had lost all appeal for me. My dry throat became a hard ball as I forced myself to slowly fill my spoon with nothing but the broth and ladle it into my mouth drop by drop. It burned like poison as it went down.

  “What is this?” Anne asked breathily.

  The anxious tone of her voice set me on edge, although I gladly plunked the bowl of stew down several inches away from me as I turned back to her. Her orange turban was tilting forward as she stared at my book, still open to the illustration of a young Rhydin with Emperor Caden. But, to my surprise, it wasn’t Rhydin that she fixated on.

  “What is this book?” she repeated, her eyes wide. “How does it know about the Archimage? It’s supposed to be erased from history.”

  I measured her expression warily, confused. The fact that the Archimage position was covered up in all the history books was not common knowledge, even after Rhydin created the falsehood that Dathian was some sort of puppet master behind the Royals’ actions and the war. I answered hesitantly, “Well, I found this book in the Archimage Palace. It seems to have been written a few hundred years ago before the position became secret. I was surprised too when I found it.”

  Anne continued to gaze at the book, her eyes darting back and forth as she read the text vigorously, ignoring the illustration completely. I studied her with new eyes. The average commoner would have struggled to read the book, if they could read at all. Even I had to ask Frederick for help. Anne scanned and flipped the pages with ease, devouring everything the book had to say about the Archimage.

  Abruptly, she seemed to realize that I was staring at her. She cleared her throat and gestured back to the illustration. “That’s pretty crazy, ain’t it? That Rhydin was the First Archimage? I’m not sure I believe it.”

  “It’s true,” I replied cautiously, wondering what the real reason behind her interest was. “Rhydin said so himself right before he murdered Dathian.”

  The color vanished from Anne’s tanned face. Her voice was reduced to a whisper, “The rumors are true? Rhydin was the one to kill him?”

  “Yeah. For once, the rumors are true,” I answered bitterly, and then looked over her saddened expression. “Did you know him well? When your mother was a maid there?”

  “Oh, no,” Anne responded quickly, shaking her head and her turban wobbling, “Servants aren’t supposed to be seen. I knew him from afar, I guess. He just always seemed like a nice person, even if he was a bit erratic.”

  I smiled at her, remembering Dathian’s weird, flighty behavior. How Arii had made fun of him for thinking there was a ghost in the palace…although Dathian may have been right all along. Yet, his disapproval of my marriage to Sam had ultimately soured him for me.

  “He had his moments,” I mumbled as I took the book back from her. Even though I wanted to probe her for more about Dathian and her strange reaction to the book, I asked instead, “So, there’s a good spot for an underground rebellion somewhere?”

  “Yeah, actually,” Anne answered too quickly, like she wanted to change the subject, “yer brother and I were out scouting closer to Spenser’s Lake when we stumbled across this really great cavern. It’s like this huge dome underneath one of the foothills, it could easily house several hundred people. Plus, with the water source nearby-…”

  Anne kept talking, but I no longer heard her. My senses had taken over to alert me to the arrival of a presence I knew better than any other, and my heart jumped into my throat. I scanned the campsite until Luke entered the clearing accompanied by none other than Sam.

  He looked disheveled to say the least. I had never seen him with such tired eyes or so many days gone without a shave even in the thick of harvest, aside from perhaps when he was Rhydin’s prisoner of war. It had only been a few days, yet my eyes clung to him. I’d forgotten how much more red was in his beard versus on his head. It was becoming hard to see the boy who had been my childhood friend within the man ravaged by war and sickness.

  I jumped to my feet before I thought better, and while I didn’t fall, the world spun a little. Anne stood next to me, concern in her eyes as she watched me and glanced at Sam. My heart began to hammer as fast as a mockingbird at its favorite tree. What would I do if he came over here? He’d never had the Epidemic, although he’d certainly exposed himself to it enough already. But, if he tried to kiss me, could I push him away?

  My thoughts raced and raced, but it turned out to be in vain. Sam’s eyes were hollow and absent with exhaustion, and without so much as a look around, he plopped down by the fire and started shoveling stew into his mouth. My jaw went slack. Had he only returned for food?

  I made sure my sleeves were still tucked into my gloves and took a few tentative steps forward. Anne mirrored me, saying nothing. She acted as my shield, ready to keep others from getting too close, or perhaps a shield for everyone else, to allow me to get closer to Sam. I came just near enough to him that he would be able to hear me but I wouldn’t have to raise my voice for the whole camp to hear. I asked timidly, “How’s Kelsi?”

  Sam finished pulling a piece of squirrel meat apart with his teeth and answered grumpily, “Her marks are nearing her collarbone.”

  “I’m so sorry,” I responded hesitantly.

  At that, Sam glanced at me very briefly before giving the entire camp a look as he smashed a stewed carrot between his lips. “When did the Royals get here?”

  “A few days ago,” I replied bitterly. “You’ve been pretty out of the loop. We had to rescue them from Rhydin’s public execution. King Adam, Queen Jasmine, Princess Ren, and Queen Gloria were killed.”

  Confusion claimed Sam’s face. “Rhydin executed some of his own people?”

  “Yeah. I guess he must have decided he didn’t need them anymore. He’s got what he wanted,” I answered glumly.

  Sam nodded slowly, turning back to his stew. Silence ensued for a few seconds, and it took every fiber of my body not to run forward, knock the bowl out of his hands, and demand his complete attention. Was he not even going to apologize for totally abandoning us? Abandoning me?

  I tensed as I asked, “Sooo, are you back then? Y’know, so we can move forward with creating our rebellion? Fighting Rhydin?”

  “No,” Sam answered quickly with a strange stare. “Or…not yet. I can’t just stop trying to save my sister.”

  “Sam,” I groaned, throwing my hands toward the ground, “if her marks have reached her collarbone despite all your best efforts, there’s no way-…”

  “Don’t say it,” Sam interrupted me before eating the last few spoonfuls of stew. “Until her heart stops beating, she still has a chance. I just need to work harder.”

  “Sam,” I repeated, quicker with more frustration seeping forth, “I know it’s hard, but you can’t stop her from dying. You’re not all-powerful!” />
  My husband bolted to his feet and tossed his empty bowl to the ground, shouting, “Maybe I can! I just have to keep trying. If you can’t see that, then there’s no point in my being here.”

  I felt like I’d been slapped. My cheeks burned. He looked straight at me, yet while he of all people should have been able to see through my ruse, that I was sick and could barely remain on my feet, he either ignored it or couldn’t see it because of the distance and discord that had been blossoming between us since the end of the war. We kept trying to fix things, yet we kept coming back to this.

  Sam began to stomp away back toward the direction of Stellan. Whether Luke took him or not, he was on his way out. When the thought brushed my mind that this might be the last time I’d see him, I knew I needed to say something. Something to help him understand, even if that understanding came too late.

  “Everything I’ve done,” I said louder to reach his turned back, my voice quivering, “was done to protect you. To keep you safe. Every secret I’ve kept from you, every lie I’ve told you. Perhaps I should have shared with you more. I’m sorry.”

  Sam gave me one last glance before he disappeared into the trees. That look was slightly confused but mostly stoic. He gave a heavy sigh, uttered a simple “me too,” and disappeared.

  My eyes began to sting, and heat flushed my face. How could he be so blind? Suddenly, I became very aware of everyone’s eyes on me. Luke, James, Evan, Anne, even Bartholomiiu. It felt like I was a tiny rock millions of miles underground away from the air. I couldn’t breathe.

  Adrenaline shot through me, giving me the energy to turn and jog – to say I could run would be a grievous overstatement – away from the campsite. Evan called after me, but I didn’t stop until I ran out of steam at the shore of the river that led to Spenser’s Lake several miles away. I heard footfalls behind me, and a brief glance over my shoulder confirmed that Anne, as well as probably at least one Ranguvariian, was following me.

  Collapsing on the riverbank, I dragged my fingers through the dirt, mud, and silt. I raked them through the miniscule root systems of tiny green plants that certainly didn’t deserve what I was doing to them. When I brushed a large stone, I chucked it into the gurgling river and watched the ripples disrupt the stream and the quiet waters along the edges. My life was in upheaval, and I needed the river to reflect that.

  “You know he’ll come ‘round, Madam Allyen,” Anne announced from behind me with a cheery tone like it’d make me feel better. “He’s just grieving. Everybody does that in their own way, and you know it.”

  “I know!” I whined, too exhausted to even turn in her direction. “It might be stupid, but it still hurts.”

  “Eh. Not entirely stupid. He’s still being yet another foolish man,” Anne chuckled and shook her head as she walked a bit away from me along the riverbank.

  After a couple minutes of staring at the stream and listening to it wash everything away, I turned to her and said, “You’ve become a good friend, Anne. If there’s anything you still want to know, just ask.”

  “Actually,” Anne replied hesitantly, her crimson eyes darting to the ground as she skipped a rock, “there’s something I should really tell you.”

  I leaned toward her to listen more carefully but never got the chance. It was like needles pricked me when my senses suddenly screamed Robert’s presence. While I opened my mouth to say something, Anne’s eyes registering it too, I realized the situation I’d put us in. A sick, exhausted Allyen and a magic-less commoner?

  We were sitting ducks. Sam wasn’t the foolish one. I was.

  I tried to get to my feet, but my knees sank back into all the mud I had dredged up, weary from the effort. Fearful, I scanned every direction unsure of Robert’s location, my senses muddled by illness, bushes and trees obstructing my view. Terror rippled through me when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I tried to summon whatever magic I could muster, but the golden orb I managed to create fizzled out.

  Robert breathed hot and heavy in my face, his expression desperate, “Come with me, Linaria. Please, join me, so we can be together!”

  “No!” I cried, trying in vain to push him away from me when a geyser of water appeared out of nowhere. It gushed into Robert alone and dragged him a few feet away from me, hitting him square in the chest and churning around his ankles. Confusion rocked me until I turned to see Anne with her turban askew and her hands outstretched. Sprigs of wiry, emerald hair poked out from her turban.

  She was an aguamage. I’d never sensed it in her, not even once. To have magic, she had to be at least nobility. But between her green hair and her knowledge of the Archimage and his palace, I knew better.

  Anne was Lady Sabine.

  Abruptly, I was staring at a stranger, even as Luke burst through the brush on her left, sprinting toward me. Anne/Sabine conjured another wave to crash toward us in Luke’s wake, but Robert was quicker. The older man darted back to me, beckoning Rhydin’s dark transportation magic, as Luke dashed in from the opposite direction. Before I knew it, a hand grappled each of my arms and the world sliced in two.

  Chapter Sixteen

  P ain ripped through me. Half of my body was sucked toward Luke while the other half was swept toward Robert. I screamed, Luke yelled, and Robert shouted. The riverbank and Anne disappeared into a sea of white, but the world couldn’t decide what it would form next.

  One moment, long lines of trees would begin to materialize only to be struck from existence as dark stones tried to take their place. It was like an indecisive artist was sitting at his easel drawing and erasing, drawing and erasing, over and over. I was on the brink of losing consciousness, every one of my cells shrieking with pain. Finally, Luke gave a yelp, and the blackened bricks overcame the serene trees.

  I felt the slam of the ground against my body as we landed, and both of the hands that nearly tore me in two were blown away from me. My ears rang with a deafening roar, and all my joints moaned together. I would have been content to lie there on the cold, damp floor for hours if my vision hadn’t suddenly cleared enough to reveal that we were in a dungeon.

  “Well, well,” Rhydin’s voice mused from what sounded like a deep tunnel, “Robert, you have certainly outdone yourself this time.”

  I shot forward with a burst of panic. My head responded with a wave of nausea, and I ended up tripping over my own feet. My eyes were still hazy, but there was no mistaking the bars lining either side of the corridor in which we had landed. The most eerie part, however, was the fact that all of these cells were completely empty.

  After all, Rhydin wasn’t exactly the type who took prisoners.

  Luke was instantly on his feet, and I could only assume he must have used his magic to come along with us when he wasn’t strong enough to take me away. He drew his sword, huffing a couple notes of one of his musical spells before sending a bright ribbon of power in Rhydin’s direction.

  Rhydin never moved a muscle, but Robert sprinted over and threw up a glowing hand, thwarting Luke’s spell. Beads of sweat dotted Luke’s brow, his energy already being sapped by Rhydin’s presence, and I knew this fight was over before it even started.

  Rhydin chuckled, “You’ve brought me not only one of the treacherous Allyen twins, but a Ranguvariian! Now, I can finally discover how they can thwart me so.”

  Luke gritted his teeth. To my surprise, he never tried to transport away again. I didn’t know if he had the power to do so around Rhydin, but he still didn’t try. He stood his ground. He couldn’t leave me behind. He shouted angrily, “You Archimage traitor!”

  The cruel grin vanished from Rhydin’s face. He said sternly, “Take him to my laboratory.”

  Several guards trotted down the stairs and into the dungeon. They were fools if they thought Luke would come willingly, I thought. Even through his weakness, Luke knocked them left and right with his blade, his magic too limited now to allow for spells. He fought with everything he had, and after he had disposed of most of the guards, he tried to make his way towa
rd me. I struggled to my feet, my head woozy. This was our only chance to escape.

  Rhydin frowned and moved into Luke’s path, not drawing any weapon. Luke hopped from one foot to the other, desperately trying to get around the sorcerer without the possibility of being touched as his strength ticked away with every second. He was starting to wheeze Rhydin’s power was affecting him so much.

  Finally, Luke made a dash for me, unable to wait any longer, but Rhydin moved with some superhuman speed of his own, clamping a hand on Luke’s exposed bicep, just above his forearm guard. Luke growled with pain and threw off Rhydin before he dropped to the ground. His chest heaved as he sucked down air, his teeth gritted. The flesh of his arm was now angry red and disfigured as pieces of skin flaked away from the burn.

  “Intriguing,” Rhydin commented as he stared down the length of his nose at Luke. “I intend to discover why that is, and so much more. Take him away.”

  More guards hurried forward, and when Luke tried to fight again, Rhydin simply reached out and brushed his knuckles against his cheek. Luke cried out again and slumped into a heap as each guard grabbed a limb and began to usher him away from me.

  I had reached for my magic several times by now. To help, to hinder, to do something. Several times, it failed me.

  “Luke!” I wailed, dropping to my knees again as another wave of nausea overcame me. “I-… I’ll come save you! I promise!”

  Just before he disappeared from sight, for the briefest of moments Luke’s eyes flashed yellow with fear as he stared back at me. Then, they tinted blue momentarily before becoming as black as night. He wasn’t done fighting, I told myself. He would be okay. I would escape, or the others would come. He would be okay.

  The heavy dungeon door closed with a deafening boom on Luke and the five guards who carried him. As silence seeped back in around the three of us who remained, Rhydin turned and strode toward me. “I have wanted to do this for a very long time.”