Legends Lost Tesnayr

by Nova Rose

  Sneak Peek inside.

  Captain Dylan burst through the chamber doors. “We must leave, my lady,” he urged. The sounds of battle echoed throughout the grounds. Betrayed. The king was dead. Killed by his most trusted general. Captain Dylan had an oath to fulfill. But it was more than that. To Captain Dylan the king was like a brother. He viewed the king’s family as his own. This would be his final act of loyalty to his king.

  “So it has begun,” said Kylana.

  “General Vasagius has staged a coup. His soldiers have overrun the palace. You and your children are in danger. He has come for them.”

  “He wouldn’t dare.”

  “My lady, I watched as he stabbed the king not once, but three times.”

  “Where are the others? Are you the last in which loyalty still resides?”

  The castle rumbled beneath their feet as catapults bombarded it. Captain Dylan raced to the balcony and watched in anguish as Vasagius’ army stormed the gates; filling the castle grounds with their slaughtering thirst. Vasagius himself issued orders from atop his horse in the courtyard. Captain Dylan knew time did not favor them. “My lady, please,” he begged with a note of urgency in his voice. The screams of the dying came closer as death’s grasp tightened over the castle. The vile taste of fear crept from his chest to his throat, desperate for escape. Captain Dylan’s military rigor refused to let it through.

  Kylana remained reserved. The cries of the soldiers grew louder. “Nylana, grab the child,” she said to her daughter.

  “Yes, mother.” Nylana walked to the cradle and gently lifted the baby boy from it. She handed him to her mother.

  Kylana rose to her feet. She held her baby close and placed a reassuring hand on her daughter. “Lead the way, Captain.”

  Captain Dylan saluted and led them into the corridor where two of his men stood guard. “This way.” They walked quickly. The battle cries resonated from the stone walls, drowning everything else. The rioting soldiers drew closer. Captain Dylan’s heart ached. He longed to be with his men. A soldier belonged on the battlefield, not creeping through dark hallways. Yet, he had sworn an oath. That oath placed him with the queen and in charge of her safety. He stopped them in front of a giant statue. The two guards pushed it aside revealing a dark and damp tunnel.

  Kylana approached the tunnel warily. With a glance at Captain Dylan she entered, followed quickly by Nylana. Captain Dylan followed the ladies while the two guards sealed the entrance. Captain Dylan’s heart pounded as they moved through the dank tunnel, carefully treading on the slimy floor. If caught, they’d be slaughtered. Perhaps this is what death feels like, he thought, endless anticipation of the inevitable. The baby whimpered. He looked back. Kylana skidded on the slime and fell. Captain Dylan hurried to help her up. Vasagius may have succeeded in taking the throne today, but Captain Dylan vowed to protect the true heir so that one day the rightful king would reign. These tunnels would not become their tomb.

  Thunderous explosions rumbled above them shaking the tunnel walls. Rock fell over them. They were thrown into the slimy muck on the floor. As the dust cleared Captain Dylan looked around. “Anyone hurt?” he asked. The baby wailed in reply.

  Captain Dylan scanned the pile of rock. He saw a small hole near the bottom right of the newly formed rock wall. Too small. Captain Dylan and his men set feverishly to work widening the hole. Their efforts and slow progress reminded them of time whittling away. Coughing and wheezing filled the air. A distant crash in the tunnel sounded behind them. Wide enough or not, they had to go through the hole.

  “Go.” Captain Dylan shoved Kylana and her baby through first. Next, went the two guards. “Come on,” he said holding his hand out to Nylana. Nylana stared at him with saucer sized eyes. She was terrified. Can’t blame her, he thought, her entire world had just been ripped away. Marching footsteps echoed through the passageway. “Come,” urged Captain Dylan once more. Nylana pulled away from him as he snatched her and shoved her through the hole.

  Once on the other side, Captain Dylan plugged the hole. He pushed the queen onward. He did not like being rough with her, but their survival was imperative. A sliver of light lay ahead. They were close to the tunnel’s end. Air brushed their flushed cheeks as they finally escaped the dark underground and greeted the sun’s rays. Celebrations would have to wait, however, as they were still far from safety.

  Captain Dylan commandeered a hay wagon. He put the queen and her children onto the wagon covering them with hay. One guard secured the driver’s seat while the other rounded up horses. “We must cross the river,” he yelled climbing up. He turned his horse and charged for the bridge. It wasn’t far. Once across, they could escape in the woods beyond.

  A horn sounded in the distance alerting others of their escape. Soldiers lined up on the castle wall. Others on horseback raced out of the gates chasing after them. Arrows rained down on them. Captain Dylan watched powerlessly as they pierced the hay in the wagon. He turned back pulling out a dagger. He flung it at the approaching soldiers striking one of them in the chest. More followed.

  He followed the wagon. His heart lurched as he watched it bounce a foot into the air upon reaching the threshold of the bridge. Such a wagon was not meant to be driven so hard, or so fast. He hoped it held together long enough to get them to safety. He would not falter now. The wagon lurched again as one of the wheels broke off. A woman’s scream pierced his ears. Kylana sat bolt upright as the wagon swerved from side to side before coming to a screeching halt. “My baby,” she screamed. Captain Dylan stared in disbelief as the river’s current carried the baby away. There was nothing her could do. Vasagius’ soldiers approached and the baby had reached the waterfall. As Kylana ran to the edge of the bridge, he kicked his horse and rushed to his queen before she could jump in after the child. He grabbed her arm and yanked her onto his horse. She struggled to break free. He punched her in the jaw rendering her unconscious. “Let’s move,” he yelled as one of his men grabbed Nylana.

  As he reached the rivers’ edge and rode to the safety of the trees sorrow swept over him. He choked it down. The child was lost. Only the queen and her daughter remained. I have failed you my king, he wept inside. “Captain,” yelled one of his soldiers, yanking him from his self-pity. He steeled his heart for the moment. Grief and second thoughts had to wait. For now, they remained in the vast emptiness of the unknown.

  Farther up the river, in the northern reaches of Sym’Dul, a woman lay by a fresh mound of dirt. Tears streaked her soiled face as she wept for the child she would never know. Her sorrow blocked the chill seeping from the wet earth. A flutter of wings sounded overhead. She looked up and stared at the grave next to the one she laid upon, the one of her husband. Two losses within five months weighed heavily upon her.

  Cold steel pricked her fingers. She pulled out the dagger she always carried with her. She turned it in her hands. It glinted slightly in the dimming twilight. My salvation, she thought. Not wanting to bear the pain within her broken heart, she lifted the dagger. The sharp point settled on her left breast. Taking a deep breath, she tightened her grip and—

  CAW!

  The harsh screech of a bird stayed her hand. The woman glared into the sad eyes of a strange bird on the edge of the river. Its brilliant feathers glowed brightly despite the oncoming of night. “Who are you that disturbs me in my grief,” said the woman.

  The bird glanced down at a bundle before it. For the first time, the woman noticed it and the tiny hand the stuck out. An infant’s cry filled the air. Forgetting her grief, the woman dropped her dagger and rushed to the child. He’s beautiful. Gently, she lifted the baby cradling him in her arms. Her vision blurred as tears filled her eyes. A small smile crossed her face.

  An inscription on the infant’s cloth diverted her attention. Galdin, it read. “Well, Galdin, let’s go home,” she said soothingly to the child.

  The woman sang to the infant as she carried him to her home. Her previous sadness remained buried with the fresh mound of dir
t. Now, she had a son to care for.

  About the Author

  Janet McNulty (aka Nova Rose) began writing the Legends Lost Trilogy ten years ago. Tesnayr is the second book; Amborese is the first. She will finish the trilogy in Galdin which is to be released in the summer of 2013.

  She has also written a mystery series, The Mellow Summers Series, and two nonfiction books: Illogical Nonsense and Politics and Insights from History (An Anthology of Blog Entries from April 2009-June 2012).

  Ms. McNulty has always enjoyed writing, penning stories since the age of eight. After years of public education and college enlightenment, she decided to make a career of it.

  Follow on Twitter: JMRUL

  Follow her blogs: Books and Legends

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  Amborese thought she was a peasant's daughter until one night dark creatures murdered her parents and pursued her into the forest. Saved by a talking cat and her friend Zolo, she fled for her life only to learn that she had a bigger destiny than she once believed. Pursued across the five lands of Tesnayr by an evil wizard's army, Amborese must overcome her doubts and unite the dragons, elves, dwarves, and the five lands themselves. But will they follow a mere girl?

  Available in all major online bookstores.

  Visit www.legendslosttrilogy.com to learn more about the Legends Lost Trilogy.

  Other young adult fiction by this writer under Janet McNulty

  The Mellow Summers Series.

     

  Mellow Summers moves to Vermont to attend college, accompanied by her friend Jackie. They soon find themselves running into ghosts and one mystery after another.