Reign of Darkness

by Michaela Riley Karr

  “Then I have no guilt for ending you,” I stated plainly as I began another barrage of magic and swipes of my sword. I furiously struck blow after blow, giving Kino barely enough time to defend herself, much less fight back.

  Finally, she stumbled backwards, and the tall woman fell to the ground. She inched away from me in a sort of crabwalk, the gray eye I could see beyond her blonde-tipped hair open wide in fear. She backed up as I pursued, and I swung my sword, leaving a red gash along her jaw when she moved out of reach. I raised my sword again to finish her.

  “Lina!” I heard my brother squeal. “Help!”

  I dared to turn away from Kino long enough to see Evan dueling Rhydin all by himself, and terror shot through me like lightning. For a split second, I debated between helping Evan and finishing Kino off when I saw a puff of purple smoke out of the corner of my eye. Anger filled me to the brim.

  The cowardly woman had transported herself away.

  Enraged, I threw myself toward Evan and Rhydin, my fingertips tingling with magic aching to be used. Rhydin was beating Evan backwards with charge after charge while all Evan could do at this point was hold his sword up to keep diverting the deathly magic around him. I threw my own blast in Rhydin’s direction, and he stopped attacking Evan just long enough to knock my golden ball of energy away from him and into the trees.

  As he did, his face suddenly went slack, a horrified look in his amethyst eyes, and all at once, he let out a circular charge that slammed both Evan and I to the ground. For a brief moment, Rhydin was frozen, his gaze transfixed on the trees where he’d deflected my magic. I gripped my sword, my head aching from the blow, but when I looked up, a grin spread across my face.

  The trees were full of people.

  Chapter Nineteen

  S tanding alongside the trees were at least a few hundred, if not more, of Rhydin’s common folk soldiers. Their dark uniforms camouflaged them in the trees’ shadows, but their looks of shock, terror, and confusion were undeniable.

  They had seen their great emperor wielding the very thing they feared the most. The very thing they had been fighting all this time.

  By now, all the fighting in the clearing had ceased. Rhydin threw furious looks at his Followers, who had likely brought in the soldiers as more reinforcements without realizing that Rhydin would be caught compromising his fake identity.

  Joy radiated through me. This had been my goal for nearly a whole year ever since Rhydin became emperor! There was no taking back what they had seen, regardless of Rhydin’s smooth-talking, political speeches. As I got to my feet, I dusted myself off – possibly giving myself a pat on the back in the process – and turned to see how Rhydin was going to try and work his way out of this one.

  “My people!” Rhydin declared with an embarrassed smile totally unlike his personality, like he was trying to play off an innocent accident. “How good of you to join me on this battlefield! Come-…!”

  An overweight man who appeared to be in his upper forties with a thick mustache moved forward and bravely interrupted Rhydin, shouting, “You’re a bloody sorcerer!”

  The fake smile on Rhydin’s face became smaller and truly political as he responded, “That may be true, my good man, but lest you forget, remember that I am still your Liberator from the tyrannical rule of the Royals!”

  “But you lied to us!” the mustached man yelled in return. “No one with magic can be trusted! You said that!”

  Just as Rhydin opened his mouth to spout another remark to spin the truth, Frederick rushed forward to address our newfound audience, his calm, kingly voice returned, “It is not magic itself that makes a person good or evil. Magic is merely a tool. It all depends on the heart of the person who is wielding it, which is why you all must see the darkness in Rhydin’s heart!”

  “This Royal lies to you like always!” Rhydin sneered. He picked up the edges of his cape and began to circle Frederick like a vulture, a cruel smile on his face. “This boy is from a long line of Royals who have abused you all since Nerahdis’s beginning. He will only return you to the system of which you fought so hard to be free! I am the one who has freed you!”

  “Free?” Xavier scoffed. He sauntered forward to join Frederick in the center of the clearing. “You sure have a funny definition of freedom, Rhydin, if it includes sickening your people and blighting their land.”

  Rhydin cackled too loudly, “You are both fools if you think I am behind such natural phenomenon!”

  As our battle quickly evolved from one of muscles to one of wits, I found myself piping up after Rhydin’s ridiculous answer, “I’ve been a farmer for years, and there is absolutely nothing ‘natural’ about what’s going on in our fields with the perfect weather we’ve been having! And the Epidemic, the worst plague in a century, reappears when you become emperor? That’s highly coincidental, don’t you think?”

  Our words were beginning to work, but it was hard to gauge their effect. The hundreds of war-seasoned men and women among the trees wore a variety of expressions as they looked to each other and whispered comments, questions, or exclamations. There were people of all the Three Kingdoms in Rhydin’s uniform, although it was harder to tell their nationalities apart without the aid of their usual clothing. The Mineraltins and Lunakans were mostly indistinguishable while the Auklians could be identified by the rainbow of their hair colors. The thick, mustached man appeared to be Mineraltin himself due to the fading red in his hair and the bit of green I could see just above his collar.

  “Even so,” Rhydin remarked, crossing his black-clad arms over his chest, “I refuse to return to a world where Royals sit on the thrones of Nerahdis, flaunt their deadly magical powers, ignore the needs of their people, and sentence to death whomever they so desire. I know all these good people agree with me!”

  Several of the people in the audience began to nod.

  “Hey,” Xavier shouted angrily, “you’re the one who’s a dictator!”

  Just before the debate could devolve into more arguing and name-calling, Frederick declared rapidly, “I don’t want to return to that world either!”

  The people in the forest froze.

  “I won’t deny that how our fathers ruled was wrong,” the blond prince continued. He looked from his audience to Xavier hesitantly. “Our fathers ran their households the same way they ran their kingdoms. You must believe me when I say that there is no one who wants change more than we do.”

  Xavier’s mouth turned into a thin line. I remembered old King Morris and how he shut down, letting Jasmine drive his kingdom and family into the ground. Xavier bobbed his head to agree.

  “This is ridiculous,” Rhydin interjected. He took a few elegant strides toward Frederick and Xavier, which made them stiffen. Then, he accused, “You boys are just making empty promises to reclaim your fathers’ thrones! Besides, the entire Kingdom of Auklia would fall into chaos if you should have your way!”

  Every colorful-haired soldier that surrounded us abruptly straightened a bit. It was like lightning in the air that only they could feel. Each of them stared a little harder at Rhydin with eyes that covered the entire spectrum from scarlet to violet. Even Evan, raised in Auklia by our aunt and uncle with Keera, twitched before hesitantly looking over his shoulder at Sabine, formerly known as Anne.

  I never had the chance to talk to her about her true identity. Was she even interested in claiming her throne?

  To my surprise, Sabine walked forward to join Frederick and Xavier. She looked so different without her orange turban; her emerald green hair was short, cropped just below her ears, and it made such a fierce woman even more intense-looking. Rhydin became so furious that he looked like he could kill her on sight as she strode past the boys and stopped just short of hand-shaking distance to Rhydin. She announced in a clear voice, “I am Lady Sabine. Daughter of Archimage Dathian, niece of Queen Maria, and cousin of King Daniel. Auklia is my home, and I will rescue her for my people.”

  Then, she turned to Rhydin and declared, “Your
reign of darkness is over!”

  Instantly, the crowd around us erupted into a thunder of chattering and murmuring. I couldn’t make out any of it, but I hoped it was in our favor. Anger heated Rhydin to the point of steaming, and I clutched my sword tighter. Any second this sort of halftime debate session was going to dissolve back into full warfare.

  “Ha!” Rhydin crowed, “What good could the daughter of the man who wrought Duunzer upon Nerahdis possibly do? You will only become a puppet master and lead Nerahdis into darkness just like your father!”

  “My father did no such thing,” Sabine grumbled, and she pointed the tip of her blade at Rhydin, stopping just inches from his throat. “I believe in a free Nerahdis where the people help govern themselves alongside their monarch. Not where kings and queens rule from above with no checks. The people deserve a voice!”

  Nearly all of the Auklians in attendance roared in approval, and when Frederick and Xavier let out a cheer as well, Lunakans and Mineraltins joined them. Now, about half the huge mass of people around us suddenly had smiles on their faces, including the mustached man who had been the initial spokesperson.

  Rhydin, never once losing his cool, jeered, “You say that now, but once you have taken your thrones back, we all know you three will lapse into the habits of your dictatorial ancestors!”

  Even as some of the people continued to grin, the other half of the army continued to stare at the Royals in disbelief and hatred. It was then that I reluctantly accepted that the Royals’ dark history was too much for them and every one of Rhydin’s lies still maintained a shred of logic.

  Before I knew it, the half of Rhydin’s army that were swayed by Sabine’s speech began to cross the clearing to stand with us. As they did, many of them ripped Rhydin’s flame insignia from their sleeves or stripped themselves of sashes emblazoned with it. At the sight of at least a hundred people unifying with us while just as many solidified their positions behind Rhydin, I suddenly realized that our war against Rhydin was no longer secret.

  This was a full-blown revolution now. There would never be a person in Nerahdis who didn’t know of our fight again.

  “So be it,” Rhydin responded firmly, his anger finally showing. Then, he turned to his faithful soldiers and his Followers who led them, and he shouted, “I will not allow the Royals to corrupt Nerahdis ever again! You must follow me and fight if you truly want your freedom from these oppressors!”

  Before any of us could remotely begin to address or even thank the people who had just abandoned their previous jobs and beliefs to join us, Rhydin ordered his loyal soldiers to attack. They ran out from the trees like lines of ants, their swords raised and their shields glinting in the light of the rising moons.

  Time seemed to freeze and the world fell silent as all the people on our side, common folk and mages alike, took a collective deep breath as we watched our attackers advance. The former soldiers drew their blades, the Ranguvariians leapt into the air as Chelsea’s presence allowed them to use their wings, and the Royals, Evan, and I brought our magics to our fingertips, ready to be used at any second.

  In the middle of it all, Rhydin stood back and watched, smirking from ear to ear.

  I wanted to be the one to wipe it from his pale, youthful face.

  Swords clashed and magic boomed on both sides as hundreds met each other in the now gigantic fray. I ran between a Ranguvariian taking one of Rhydin’s magic-bearing Followers and a duel between one of his loyalists and one of our new rebels. My head spun at the amount of noise that now filled the clearing.

  As I neared Rhydin, I noticed that Frederick had picked the same target I had, so we unified our powers and sent a massive, glowing torrent of wind straight at Rhydin.

  Rhydin created a quick shot of violet energy that imploded our spell just feet in front of him, and then he burst through the smoke, suddenly with two thin, black swords angled at the two of us. One of them screeched down the razor edge of my blade and crashed into my hilt, and it took all of my strength to keep my sword in my hands.

  Rhydin gave another hard shove before he mocked, “This will not be a victory for you, Linaria, by any means. You have only written more death sentences for whoever leaves me for you!”

  Frederick cast another gust of wind to knock Rhydin off balance and shouted, “This is only the beginning, Rhydin! More people will join us, and you’ll lose your power with them!”

  “After today, no one will ever be foolish enough to betray me again!” Rhydin yelled as he raised both of his hands in unison.

  I stalled, staring at him intently as I waited to see what kind of spell he was conjuring, but then suddenly Frederick was screaming my name as he struck down two Einanhis that had materialized out of nowhere, “Lina, behind you!!”

  I turned too late. A plain Einanhi had popped up behind me as well, looking the least human of any of the ones I’d seen before with its black orb of a head and stick-like arms and legs. Before I could respond, pain exploded along the side of my head, and my ear felt hot and wet. The ground rushed up to meet me, and my arms felt numb when I tried to raise them to defend myself. The strange, alien-looking being raised its twiggy arms and its thin, rapier-looking weapon to finish me.

  “Lina!” I heard Sam call from a distance, but he was too far. The flat of my blade slid downwards to rest upon my sternum, and I could only hope in those milliseconds that my death would at least not be easy.

  Just as the Einanhi thrust its razor-sharp weapon downwards, Frederick rushed between it and me, skewering the being with his sword before it dissolved into sand. Then, the Lunakan prince parried another few blows from other Einanhis around us before hauling me to my feet.

  My world spun from my aching head, the wetness and hotness running down my neck. I tried to speak and ask, “Why did you do that?”

  “Because you’re my friend,” Frederick replied swiftly, his blond hair darkened with sweat, “and it’s not your fault that my mother died. I sincerely apologize.”

  “Call it even,” I groaned. My whole hand was crimson when I pulled it away from my head. This wasn’t good.

  Frederick couldn’t release me or I’d hit the ground again, so he fought one-handed, desperately just trying to keep a multitude of Einanhis from getting within a few feet of us. Apparently, Rhydin had created nearly a hundred of them as they swarmed through the clearing, and we were now ridiculously outnumbered. Many of them tried to approach us; it was like they were sharks detecting blood in the water. All the while, Rhydin simply watched us, sneering, before he finally turned away, deciding that we were not worth his attention.

  “We need to get out of here,” I mumbled barely over the roar of the battle, “or we’re not going to make it out of this one.”

  “I couldn’t agree more!” Frederick shouted sarcastically as he shoved one Einanhi backwards and reduced another to a pile of sand. He then thrust his arm into a circular motion which created a small vortex of wind that threw all the Einanhis within six feet of us away.

  My world was becoming hazy as Sam’s voice abruptly sounded again, much closer now, “Oh, Lina! Lina, are you okay? Can you hear me?”

  I bobbed my head, which sent a flurry of painful shocks radiating along my scalp, ear, and face. Sam began to aid Frederick by picking up and throwing any Einanhis that came near with his Rounan powers. There were simply too many of them to even try fighting.

  I could only assume that he spoke to Frederick now as I fought my own fight in keeping the blackness that encroached upon my vision at bay. He yelled over the chaos, “Rachel and the Ranguvariians are putting together a plan to get us out of here!”

  “What about all these people? They can’t transport all of us, and we can’t leave our new supporters behind!” Frederick called back as he threw another draft of wind at two more Einanhis.

  “I know, she said she was working on it!” Sam replied as he used his Rounan powers to maintain some sort of buffer between us and death. “Just be ready to move when you see our chance,
or we may not get out of this one!”

  Frederick and Sam fell into silence as they battled side by side, keeping the Einanhis at bay taking all of their attention. My head began to turn numb, which I wasn’t sure was a good thing or a bad thing, and I pushed at Frederick to let me stand on my own two feet.

  I kept my balance, but the point of my sword remained firmly planted in the ground, too heavy to wield. My magic, too, was sluggish in its path to my fingers, but I did my best to help even as each shot left me more winded.

  Around us was total mayhem marked by random blinks of different colored lights and magics throughout the darkness of the night. Rhydin was nowhere to be seen, likely watching from afar triumphantly. Instead, the clearing was overrun by the eerie, unnatural Einanhis that moved and struck unlike any human. Rhydin’s loyalists attacked alongside them, looks of amazement on their faces that they served such an almighty emperor while the soldiers who had joined us appeared absolutely horrified that they ever served such a sorcerer.

  As I continued to survey the battle and watch for any chance of escape, the Ranguvariians arranged themselves in a close-knit cluster toward the front of our lines, Chelsea in the center of their group to boost their magic. I could hardly fathom how Rachel was going to possibly get us out of this one without the help of transportation magic.

  I stumbled over my disoriented legs as more Einanhis kept coming, pushing us and the rest of our supporters toward the edge of the clearing. The wall of trees behind us suddenly felt like a corner rather than where freedom lay. We were too overtaken to hold our frontline, and the number of casualties was rising.

  Would our rebellion form and be wiped out on the same day?

  Despite my blurry vision, a massive amount of light started coming from the imaginary line between our people and Rhydin’s. The Ranguvariians, at pretty much full magical capacity in the presence of Rhydin for the first time in all of history with Chelsea’s help, had spaced themselves out at the very front of our line and were performing an enchantment that I had never seen before.