Divided (#1 Divided Destiny) (11 page)

Queen Eleanor was the first student he had ever taken. He had found her during her desperate days, right before her marriage to King Augustus. She had the raw power, but neither the knowledge nor the control to be able to apply it.

Tutoring her had been delicious; she was such an eager student, though her hunger for power was nowhere near equal to his own, and her motivations were far too mired in pain. Eleanor wanted control to protect herself. She didn’t lust for domination like he did, but she didn’t need to. She served his will, and when she had done her part, he would dispose of her.

Using his gift, it hadn’t been hard to track down a member of Staff Sergeant Ortiz’s unit. They weren’t from this world; they didn’t belong here. His magic could pick up their presence; it was unnatural, and therefore stood out. If he tried, he could probably locate all of them, but he had no need for such an effort right now. He cared little for them; they might prove useful tools in subjugating the kingdoms, but their real value lay in their existence.

Yannick teleported in a burst of dark purple flame. He appeared just inside the tree line, deep in the forest. In front of him was a dank lakeside; a marine was crouched not far from the water’s edge. He was huddling over a carefully arranged pile of sticks, trying to start a fire. Yannick strode forward; the man looked up at the sound and grabbed for his weapon, but it was far too late. Yannick grabbed him and teleported in another flash of flame to his own island.

It was off the coast of Sintiya, cloaked in so much magic the locals had likely forgotten it even existed. They certainly couldn’t see it. He had needed his own base; using the ruins of the Emperor’s fortress was too dangerous. The kingdoms might have tried to forget their dark past, tried to bury their history and pretend it had never happened. However, he wasn’t so foolish as to believe they were as ignorant as they appeared. If he was detected at the Emperor’s fortress, they would know it was him; there would be no chance of trying to blame another sorcerer.

They couldn’t know that the last Dark Knight walked the world once more.

He threw the marine to the ground. To the man’s credit, he scrambled to his feet and immediately launched himself at Yannick. With a negligent wave of his hand, the man was frozen in mid-air. Yannick swiftly removed all his weapons, including the hidden knife he had in his boot; there was nothing he could do but struggle. He was impotent but still brave; few would dare try and attack a sorcerer, fewer still if they had an inkling of the truth, that they were facing a legendary Dark Knight.

“There is no point in trying to fight,” Yannick told him. “Fighting is pointless. You can’t get away, and there is no one to hear you scream.”

Yannick took a seat on thin air. It was a subtle application of magic, something most of his fellow Dark Knights had never managed. However, it spoke of a mastery beyond brute force; it was excellent for unnerving people, and he had always liked how their fear tasted, especially from those who thought themselves so brave.

“Who are you? What do you want?” the marine demanded. His eyes blazed defiantly, but Yannick could see the truth—he was terrified.

“I am Yannick, the Dark Knight.” Yannick stood and executed a short half bow, which he finished off with a mocking smile. There was no harm in properly introducing himself. This man was already dead, he just didn’t know it yet. “As for what I want, I want you to tell me everything about Earth, about how you came here. I want to know
everything
.”

“Esteban, Javier. Corporal. 261-38-9876,” Esteban recited, raising his head and straightening.

“That will not save you,” Yannick told him, with chilling certainty.

Magic pooled in Yannick’s hand. He clenched his fist and Esteban’s right hand broke, crushed, becoming a bag of pebbles. Esteban screamed, so Yannick did it again, this time to his right wrist.

“I can do this all day, you know, and you won’t die. I can break you, then heal you, then break you,” Yannick said in a conversational tone.

“Esteban, Javier. Corporal...” Esteban panted.

Bored, Yannick twirled his hand, and a whip of magical fire appeared. He lashed Esteban across the chest, ripping through his fatigues. A razor-thin cut appeared, and it welled with blood. Yannick lashed him again, and again, and again, until Esteban’s shirt was in tatters, falling to the ground in ruined, bloody rags.

“Your defiance buys you nothing—not that your cooperation will get you anything, either.” Yannick grinned viciously. “You will tell me everything, but I do so enjoy your screams.”

It had been a while since he’d tortured anyone; there were just so many possibilities. He couldn’t quite decide what to do next. However, he needed to be careful; he didn’t want to break his new toy, not until this Corporal Javier Esteban had told him everything he wanted to know. Although, if the corporal broke early, there were still another ten unit members out there, plus Staff Sergeant Ortiz in Queen Eleanor’s dungeon.

“What is it that you want?” Esteban groaned.

He didn’t mean what did Yannick want from him; he meant what did Yannick
want
. Big picture. The same question, with two meanings, but Yannick could hear the difference, the changed emphasis on certain words. He knew what people meant more than they understood themselves. Understanding people was the first stage to manipulating them to do as he wanted.

“I want power, total and complete power. Domination over everything and everyone,” Yannick admitted. “I was once the Emperor’s servant. He granted me immortality so that I could serve him forever. An eternity as a slave. The Emperor is gone and I remain. I will build my empire, and I will have my power.”

Yannick watched the conflict play out in flickers of expression on Esteban’s face. A moment’s silence passed. He saw the moment the marine made his decision.

“You might as well just kill me. I’ll never help you.”

Yannick laughed. “There are eleven other men in your unit. I want my answers, but I do not need you to help me. If you do not, I will just move on to the next. The only thing I truly need from you is your screams.”

Yannick summoned a wave of water from the ocean. The salt stung the cuts and Esteban groaned in pain. Yannick smirked. He could tell Esteban didn’t want to give him the satisfaction, but he was only human, and a man could only take so much. A spark of magic pooled in his hand once more; rather than a whip, he fashioned a lightning bolt. Esteban screamed and convulsed from where Yannick was still holding him frozen in the air.

“I can do this all day,” Yannick repeated, settling in for a session. This was going to provide hours of fun, and maybe even the answers he wanted.

The presence of these outsiders proved there were more worlds beyond this one. The Emperor had ruled over everything and everyone in this world. Legend stated that the Emperor had created this world, had been the birth of all magic. That was entirely possible, but his empire had been restricted to this land. Yannick thirsted for more, to be greater.

If his empire, his dominion, could span multiple worlds, then he would prove greater than the Emperor. He would finally shake off the last of the shackles that had bound him. He would take his rightful place as ruler and have the power he craved.

This Earth was going to bow down to him.

Chapter Nine

Termont, the main city of Kaslea, could be seen from quite a distance. Once Leo and Mathis cleared the forest, there were fields, a large farming effort between them and Termont on the coast. The distance was deceptive as the ground flattened out, but Leo could tell that Mathis was correct—they would make it before nightfall.

Leo couldn’t make out any detail at first, but what he suspected was the palace could be easily differentiated from the rest of the city. It towered above all the other buildings, with large turrets topped with red tile and fluttering flags, showing the same crest that Mathis had on his tabard. It was of a dove on an anchor, fitting for a peaceful naval kingdom. The colors on the flag were light powder blue and golden yellow, bright and cheerful.

They drew closer and started to meet others on the road. Leo drew a few curious glances, but as he was accompanied by a knight of the realm, none dared speak and impede their steady progress forwards. The city was protected by a wall, which encircled the city outskirts in a half semi-circle, only broken when it reached the sea. It was constructed of wood, which, while not stone, could be quite strong. But wood burned, and it would hardly hold back a dragon.

The palace itself was constructed of stone; there were a few other stone buildings dotted around the city, though the vast majority of the construction was wood. That made sense. There was a huge forest to provide materials, while stone was in shorter supply and much harder to transport and fashion. He suspected that the other stone buildings were municipal or belonged to nobles, or knights of high ranking. That was always the way of things—those in power had the best. It had been the practice since the dawn of time.

The medieval impression got stronger with each new—well, old—thing he saw, from what the peasants were wearing to the construction of the city. It was like every magical fantasy movie he had ever seen. He didn’t want to draw that parallel, as he still didn’t believe in magic, and this wasn’t a movie, but it all seemed so familiar, even though it was supposed to be alien.

Mathis dismounted before they reached a large archway, one of the guarded entrances to the city. There were two knights in shiny silver armor and clean tabards on either side of the gate. Unlike Mathis, they had their helmets on, the faceplate down—faceless, immovable sentries.

Not having ever worn an armored helmet, Leo didn’t know for sure, but from the outside it seemed like vision would be impaired. However, they were probably there more for deterrent, as an obvious security presence. Leo looked up, hoping to see a security tower, complete with spotter, and he wasn’t disappointed. The knight up there was even equipped with a bow and arrow, though his real weapon would be the bell to sound the alarm.

Leo followed Mathis through the archway. He was grateful for the guide; the guards might have been there as ceremonial mannequins, but their swords looked sharp. He was a stranger here, one that stood out especially, and the unknown tended to make people nervous. Leo wasn’t sure whether he would have even made it into the city without Mathis, or if he would have made it in as a free man as opposed to a prisoner.

The answer to that question was resolved not two minutes later when Leo saw the most welcome sight he’d seen since this whole mess started.

“Don!” Leo called across the packed marketplace.

Sergeant Don Young was standing on the edge of the market. There was a row of shops behind him, set back from the main marketplace by an awning-covered walkway. He was leaning against one of the wooden support posts, just like he had been waiting for Leo to show up. Best of all, Don looked unharmed; he was still wearing his tactical vest, his assault rifle was still clipped to his chest, and even his fatigues still looked clean.

“Leo,” Don answered with a smile, stepping out from his chosen spot away from the chaos, crossing the market to where Leo stood. Don clasped Leo’s hand and slapped him on the back.

“You’re a sight for sore eyes, man,” Leo told him. Don’s smile was contagious, but the relief he felt banished the sorrow for the fallen gunnery sergeant; he wasn’t alone anymore. “Have you seen anyone else?”

“No one, you’re the first. That’s why I was waiting here, I was hoping more would show up. It’s the only real center of civilization for miles,” Don explained. He gestured with his head towards Mathis. “Who’s your friend?”

“Knight Mathis. He’s in the service of Prince Edmund, ruler of Kaslea,” Leo said, shaking his head slightly at the sound of his own words.

Mathis nodded his head in greeting. “I’m glad you have found a comrade, but I must deliver my report to the palace. Do you still wish me to present you to the court?”

“Yes,” Leo confirmed. “Thank you.”

Mathis turned and started winding his way through the market once more. Leo and Don followed, locked in step with one another. Leo released a deep breath. He felt infinitely better with Don at his side once more. He felt better able to take on whatever came next. He would have felt the same sense of relief if he had found any marine, but he was glad it was Don; he knew he could count on him even more than the bond between marines ensured.

“Gunnery Sergeant Rogers is dead,” Leo broke the comfortable silence after a moment. “I found him in the burned remains of a village. Mathis said a dragon was responsible.”

Rather than being surprised, Don nodded. “Yeah, I’ve heard some tales of a dragon. Apparently it’s been terrorizing the kingdom the past few months.”

“Mathis also told me there’s a sorcerer to the north, deep into the forest. He thinks that he will be able to find the rest of our unit. Maybe he can help with the rest of our…quest.” Leo smirked at his joke, but it fell flat. They
were
on a quest, a quest to save their world; that was exactly the right word for it, however ridiculous it sounded.

“I landed just up the coast, on the beach. I was lucky; a few feet to the right and I would have taken a bath. If I landed there, and you landed in the forest, just a few hours’ walk from here, Rogers did the same. The rest of our unit can’t be far, right?” Don speculated.

It made sense, if they had both landed close to each other and they had all come through together. They may have been strewn across the landscape, but it should be in a predictable way. Perhaps they wouldn’t need the sorcerer to locate the unit; they just needed patience. Leo had headed for the town, as had Don. So would the rest of them, if they were within this kingdom.

Mathis stopped before they reached the palace. Pulling on the reins, he led his horse to the stable block. A young squire scurried out and took the reins from the knight. Another dashed out and skillfully unbuckled the pannier bags that the horse had carried.