Reign of Darkness

by Michaela Riley Karr

  I pushed away from him the best I could, but I wasn’t capable of anything that could stop him at this point. Rhydin reached down, his freakishly cold fingers looping underneath the chain around my neck, and stripped me of my locket. My magical amplifier. What made me capable of everything I could do. “No!” I whimpered.

  “Oh, yes.” Victory gleamed in Rhydin’s eyes as he straightened and marveled at the locket’s silver face. Then, he scooped it up along with its chain and tucked it neatly away in his waistcoat. He looked back to me, about to say something, when abruptly his expression changed. He seized my leather gloves and yanked them off, exposing the ink of the Epidemic in my veins. He then grasped my collar and pulled it aside. More ink. His grin grew even wider.

  Robert’s expression, in contrast, grew frightened. This crinkled the scab on his cheek where Luke had nicked him with a knife at our last meeting during the Royal executions. He took a few steps toward us, his hands outstretched like a beggar. “Master, your antidote! Please, you must give it to her! She will join us now and not cause any trouble, I promise!”

  I never thought I’d ever do this, but… I looked to Rhydin with a shred of hope. That he would honor the vow he made to Robert that he’d allow me to live with him after taking my locket and defeating me. That he would give me the antidote to the contagion that he had designed, that he would cure me of the ache in my bones, the wheeze in my chest, the nausea in my belly. Of the ink that traipsed nearer and nearer to strangling my heart.

  I knew it was a lost cause within only seconds of seeing the look on Rhydin’s face. An expression of disbelief that Robert still expected him to keep this promise likely made decades ago. After all, it was to kill me that he designed this Epidemic all those years ago in the first place. Robert, however, continued to gaze at his master hopefully, and I wondered if he realized that he was about to be betrayed just as King Adam and Queen Jasmine had been.

  “Oh, Robert,” Rhydin chided as he shook his head. “You know she would never join us whether her life depended on it or not. Besides, I simply cannot allow either of your children to remain alive. They’re symbols of hope. Of rebellion against my rule.

  “But, Master, you promised-…!” Robert cried, his gaunt face paling more than normal.

  “Which is why,” Rhydin cut him off sternly, the grin fading from his face, “I created the Epidemic to kill them. That they would happen to die of an illness rather than directly at my hand. They could never be allowed to survive, Robert. You must know this to be true.”

  Robert swallowed hard. He couldn’t look at me. After a few moments, he nodded ever so slowly, his fight sucked away leaving only a shell behind.

  Disgusted, I glared at Robert. “You want me to call you father, yet you give in to his every command? Even to end my life? You’re pathetic.”

  The older, former Allyen stared at his toes. Rhydin brushed his hands together, wiping them of me, and turned toward the exit as he declared, “Throw her in a cell. No need to schedule her execution now. She will be dead in a matter of days.”

  Two more guards clothed in midnight uniforms came forward and grabbed each of my arms. I let myself become a deadweight, not having the strength or power to fight them but not wanting to make it easy for them either. They threw me into the nearest cell, which smelled of mildew and rat droppings, and slammed the bars behind me with a loud clang. My head collided with the cold stone of the floor, which was also damp with a substance of which I didn’t want to know the identity, and the fog of the Epidemic claimed my mind.

  It was suddenly a battle to remain conscious. The rancid odor of the cell made me retch, which only made me more nauseous. I tried to lean forward in order to study the lock on the door, the hinges, the tiny window in the opposite wall, anything that could lead to my escape to rescue Luke. Dizziness overcame me, and I desperately hoped that the others were putting together some sort of plan to save him.

  Just to save him. Not me. He deserved to be saved. I’d gotten him captured because I was stupid and ran off.

  Me? Rhydin had my locket. My power was halved. My children were in Caark, safe and sound, not needing me. My husband was in Stellan, ignorant of my plight and of me in general.

  As I lost the battle for my wakefulness, I wondered if it would be best if I simply never opened my eyes again.

  The prisoner screamed and writhed on the examination table when Rhydin entered his laboratory. The place was as clean as his servants were capable of with many big windows filled with clear glass to allow as much light as possible. Every spare inch of shelf space was filled with jars of herbs, minerals, and specimens as well as various scientific instruments that Rhydin had kept from the old days.

  His old favorite was a lengthy telescope sitting in the corner of the room pointed at the largest window near the ceiling. Yet, he hadn’t bothered to look at the stars since the day he gained his power and banished his ignorance within the Archimage Palace.

  “You’re not going to get away with this!” the prisoner, called Luke Rhydin seemed to remember, shouted from his spot strapped to the table with magically-enforced chains.

  “I already have,” Rhydin mused as he withdrew Linaria’s half of the locket from his pocket. He waved it in front of Luke’s face menacingly, making it dance along its chain, and then set it upon his desk. “Now, I just need Evanarion’s half, and I will reign over Nerahdis for the rest of time!”

  And destroy that pathetic ghost of my past in the Archimage Palace at last, Rhydin added to himself.

  Rhydin gathered a few materials and tools as Luke fought until he was truly exhausted, his energy drained just because of Rhydin’s presence. Rhydin so looked forward to discovering the reason for this, as well as why and how the infuriating beasts couldn’t be sensed. With Luke on his table, every Ranguvariian secret was now ripe for the picking.

  Luke tried to throw himself around when Rhydin approached him, but that just made the insertion of the needle more painful. As crimson blood filled the vial, Rhydin mused more to himself than anyone, “Even Ranguvariian blood is red, I see.”

  The beast boy growled as his eyes flashed a rainbow of colors, another secret Rhydin wished to unlock, “Why are you doing this??”

  Was the boy a dolt? Rhydin stated monotonously, “To learn your secrets.”

  “No, why are you doing all of this?” Luke responded, his eyes red and angry. “Why do you think you need to be emperor? Nerahdis was better off without you!”

  Rhydin paused. Again, the gears in his mind weren’t clicking. He shook his head, trying to formulate a response, but nothing would come. He shook his head as he withdrew the needle from Luke’s arm. The words hesitantly spilled out of his mouth without his meaning to. “…I’m doing this.”

  Luke’s brow furrowed like he was now studying Rhydin instead of the other way around.

  “You are not in a place to ask questions, boy,” Rhydin snarled angrily as he reached for his next tool. “Everything I do is for the good of Nerahdis, and that only comes through my rule, not the Royals’.”

  “Stars above,” Luke breathed in exclamation, his eyes wide and copper-colored in a kind of horrified surprise. “There’s no logic behind what you do, only that you must do it. You don’t age. You crack like marble instead of bleed. You’re not human, are you?? You’re-…!!”

  Rhydin lashed out like lightning and caught Luke’s throat. The boy screamed in agony as his skin boiled, and Rhydin screeched, “You know nothing of what I am! What I did to become what I am! I am more human than any of you revolting creatures!”

  Luke choked and sputtered for moments more before becoming silent. Still, Rhydin clung to his neck until he heard a door open and close behind him. It was minutes more before Rhydin could manage to unlatch himself from the boy, and he stared at his hands briefly prior to curling them into fists. He turned, still seething and trying to regain control, to see Robert standing timidly by his desk. He roared, “What do you want?”

  Robert faltered
before answering, “To inform you that the camp where I found Linaria has been abandoned. I imagine they are on their way here.”

  “What does it matter?” Rhydin grunted as his steam cooled. He reached for his tools once more, preparing to begin his experiments.

  “They are likely coming to free her and this boy.”

  “Forget them. They will never get through my charms and defenses,” Rhydin scowled as he conducted his work.

  Robert, again, looked terrified to even clear his throat. “Forgive me, Master, but Lady Sabine and my son were in that camp too. They are likely part of the party heading this way.”

  The dark sorcerer froze. Considered it for a few moments. Then spoke, “Give me half an hour. Then we destroy the rest of the Royals and the Allyens.”

  “I can’t thank you enough for coming with me on such short notice,” Rachel said quietly. “Just your presence should be invaluable.”

  The sun was dipping toward the western horizon, causing Rhydin’s palace to grow darker and darker until it was nothing more than a silhouette with the sun’s brilliant light behind it. A small group of people was inconspicuously approaching from the east as fast as they dared. Chelsea, an Aatarilec banished to Caark that Rachel was slowly but surely coming to respect as a person, strode next to her. Rachel ardently hoped that their hypothesis was true.

  That having an Aatarilec present would allow her Ranguvariians to fight Rhydin’s magic unhindered.

  Aside from that hope, Rachel was beside herself with worry. James had transported to Caark frantic for help because both their brother and the person they’d vowed to protect their whole lives had been abducted by Robert. Jaspen stayed in Caark with all the children so that Rachel could come help, and she couldn’t imagine what horrors Luke and Lina could possibly be going through in Rhydin’s dungeon. The sooner they found a way in, the better.

  “Oh, I am looking forward to this,” Chelsea whispered in response as she tied her mint green hair back into a ponytail. “I hope Rhydin shows his ugly face, so I can shred it myself.” Briefly, her human hand transfigured into its true form: a more petite, lavender-skinned hand with lengthy, sharp claws.

  Rachel nodded. They could agree on that, at least. The light was fading fast, and the trees were beginning to thin out as they approached the palace. She hoped they would be able to at least get to the dungeon before they were detected.

  Her eyes wandered between the others in their group, making sure each of them was being cautious. They might have all been wearing feather charms, but those didn’t make you invisible. Aside from a handful of extra Ranguvariians sent in by Grandpa Arii, Evan was toward the front with her, anxiously leading the group forward to find his sister, while James and Bartholomiiu flanked the back.

  In the middle were a few of the Royals that Rachel couldn’t dissuade from coming along, Frederick, Mira, Xavier, and, to Rachel’s shock, none other than Lady Sabine. Rachel had been astounded to see that her brothers had in fact located her. She had to admit she hadn’t thought they would succeed, but there appeared to be more to that story which would be told after Lina and Luke were rescued.

  Sam was with the group as well, and while Rachel had been happy to see him again and that he was well after being around so much illness, he seemed to be acting strange. He reminded her of a deer caught off guard by the snap of a twig, like a rug had been pulled out from under him so hard that he was still flailing in midair even now. James had quickly briefed her of the situation that had unfolded over the last several weeks, that Sam had stalled the mission to dedicate his time to his ailing sister. Rachel had a feeling her youngest brother had left out a few details.

  When Sam came to the camp shortly after she had arrived and learned of not only Lina’s kidnapping but her suffering of the Epidemic according to Sabine, he initially denied that it could be possible. This told Rachel all she really needed to know, but her friend’s marriage was none of her business. Only her safety.

  Rachel was shaken from her thoughts by the sounds of clanking metal growing ever louder. Her brow furrowed. They were still at least half a mile from the palace walls. Why would soldiers be all the way out here?

  “Hide!” she hissed, and the entire crew rapidly found a tree or some other brush to take cover behind. Rachel carefully peered around her chosen tree with James glued to her side. She fingered her sword hilt as she numbered the entire regiment marching toward them.

  This wasn’t some happenstance scouting force. Rhydin had known they were coming and from what direction. Something was wrong. Something had changed. Rachel felt it in her bones, and she feared the reason.

  James gasped, bringing her attention back, “Rhydin is with them! Why would he be here himself? What’s going on, Sis?”

  Rachel studied the regiment harder, and sure enough, Rhydin was behind his flanks dressed in an overly-adorned, black military uniform. As if on cue, he raised his pale hand, safe because his soldiers faced the opposite direction, and emitted a purple beacon of magic.

  Instantly, Rachel’s arms and legs began to tingle, losing feeling swiftly. Her lungs suddenly felt constricted, and she fought to keep her breaths regular and quiet. Normally, she wouldn’t be experiencing this kind of reaction to Rhydin’s magic until she had been around him for some time, not immediately. James, too, groaned and raised a hand to his forehead, his eyes trying to focus. Rachel glanced around. Bartholomiiu and the others weren’t immune either.

  Panic entered her system. Rhydin had done it. There was no other explanation. He’d cracked all their secrets. That it was the use and presence of his magic that made them weak and how to sense them beyond their feathers. There was only one way he could have done that.

  “Luke,” Rachel breathed, her face becoming hot.

  James turned to her innocently and moaned, “Luke? Where? Do you see him?”

  Rachel didn’t answer. Couldn’t answer. Couldn’t speak the words. She still incredibly hoped that she was wrong, but she knew better. Luke had to have been subjected to unspeakable horrors for Rhydin to glean this information. Her grief would have to be acknowledged later. Her fury would reign for now.

  Chelsea left her tree several yards away and ducked low as she sprinted to where Rachel and James huddled. As she grew closer, Rachel felt her symptoms improve to the point of being barely noticeable with the Aatarilec right next to her. Chelsea’s golden eyes had the decency of being concerned when she asked, “Are you alright? Is it not working?”

  “Oh, it’s working,” Rachel responded snidely, trying her hardest to keep her voice even and her tears from falling. “I just should have recruited about a dozen more of you apparently.”

  Chelsea drooped and then grew frustrated, “How is this happening? I thought you said we had the element of surprise!”

  “We lost it,” Rachel answered tersely, her jaw tight. “We were too late for our brother. We may not be too late for the Allyen yet.”

  James gaped at her, realizing what she had realized, but there was no time for that now. The regiment marched toward them, having no idea that their illustrious leader was performing magic behind them, the very thing they believed they fought against.

  Rachel turned to her own people and put on her leader’s voice, the one her grandfather had taught her since she was very small. She proclaimed, “This isn’t going to be pretty. Rhydin has unlocked all our secrets. We’ve lost all our advantages. I wouldn’t fault any of you if you want to leave, but I will be pressing onward.”

  “Me too!” declared James, his eyes glassy.

  Behind him, Bartholomiiu, ever his shadow, nodded his shaggy head as he agreed, “Lina, must save.”

  Likewise, the other Ranguvariians all bobbed their heads, which didn’t surprise Rachel. Her people were fierce warriors and had been such for centuries. Rhydin’s victory meant death for them all, so she truthfully would have judged any Ranguvariian that turned tail now. Even Frederick, Mira, Xavier, and Sabine seemed to be able to put aside their differences i
n order to stick with the cause.

  Xavier cackled, hoisting his bum arm into the air, “You all would die without me!”

  “I’m not leaving my sister,” Evan said fiercely, and then shot a hateful glance at Sam.

  “What?” Sam responded defensively, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “It was after your argument that she ran off. If you hadn’t been so rude and distant to her all this time, none of us would be in this situation!” Evan growled lowly.

  One by one everyone looked at Sam. It was very clear that a plethora of excuses and thoughts were running through his mind, thinking of which to say, but Rachel acted quickly to shut it down. “Now is not the time, gentlemen! I suggest you ready yourselves for battle.”

  Evan and Sam continued to glower at each other, but Rachel was done dealing with that. She blocked everything else out aside from the soldiers marching toward them that were within arrow’s distance now. This battle was personal for her now.

  She drew her blade, and the rest of the Ranguvariians followed suit. James gripped his tight with both hands. The Royals, Evan, and Sam all brandished their weapons. Chelsea transformed into her full Aatarilec appearance, shrinking down, turning purple, and sprouting fangs and her claws once again. Rachel said to her, “Stick close to us, and we might stand a chance.”

  “Only long enough to get to Rhydin. Then you’re on your own,” Chelsea replied, and Rachel couldn’t tell if she was angry at her or Rhydin.

  “Fair enough,” Rachel responded, and then announced louder, “On the count of three.”

  As they charged forward on three, Rachel bellowed, “For Luke!!”

  Chapter Seventeen

  M y head was still throbbing when I came to, but the musty smell of mold and blood immediately reminded me of where I was. I groaned, my dizziness not subsiding, and grasped at my collar to pull it aside.