Legends of Marithia: Book 1 - Prophecies Awakening: Uncut and Extended Second Edition (17 page)

Kassina gazed into the darkness surrounding
Greenhaven and turned to the archer furiously.

“Where did you spot them? Show me!” she
demanded.

The archer pointed to the now-deserted
grounds beside the turret.

“And
you
let them get away?” she
growled, as her nails slowly extended to razor-sharp claws. With a
smooth motion, Kassina swiped through the skeleton’s neck and sent
its skull flying into the air. The archer’s body disintegrated into
white dust. She addressed the Dark Army with a voice that echoed
throughout every inch of the city.

“Such incompetence will never go unpunished.
Let that be a lesson to you all—if you fail me once, you don’t
survive to fail me again, and I will send you back to Shindar to
rot in the underworld! Keep an eye out for any intruders. Now get
back to work! I am not to be disturbed unless you bring me news of
our unwanted guests."

“Did you hear that?” laughed Aidan, as they
climbed higher into the painfully narrow walls that led deeper into
the turret. “Opportunities like this are rare, Tusdar. We made it
inside the walls and they have no idea where we are!”

“I can hardly believe it myself, but getting
in is
one
thing... Getting back out will be another story
entirely. So, how do you know where we are exactly?"

Aidan pointed at a shiny and foreign object
on the wall. As they closed in on the markings, they could clearly
see an inscription before them.

Tusdar ran his fingers over the inscriptions,
staring at them intently. “What does that say? I can't read any of
the lettering."

“Of course you can't read it; neither can I.
We are not centuries old, even though I feel that old at times.
What you see before you is the language of the ancients. It doesn't
matter, though: I
do
remember which inscription relates to
which section of the city. These walls hold many secrets, and the
inscriptions are enchanted with magic. Watch this.”

Aidan raised his hand and touched a series of
the shining inscriptions in what seemed to Tusdar like a random
order. They heard soft words within the whisper of an angelic voice
that hummed through the walls. The engravings pulsated for a
moment, then magically moved to a section of the wall, changed
shape, and settled on a rough square of stones. They approached the
wall and Aidan pointed to the right of the glowing square, where he
grabbed Tusdar’s hand and ran it down the wall. He felt a round
section which was smoother than the rest and vibrated under his
touch. In the center of it was a horizontal cut, in the shape of a
wave.

“Push the top half of the circle,” said
Aidan.

Tusdar pressed the stone gently, sending
waves of light pulsating into the stones. The square of stones
slowly started to disappear in front of their eyes, revealing a
barely lit bedroom before them.

The spent bodies of blood-drained victims
could be seen lying lifelessly beside a four-poster bed drenched
with fresh blood. Kassina was running her hands through Derian's
hair, purring as she buried his face deep between her thighs. A
twitching woman lay in the bed beside them, Kassina's fangs buried
deep into her wrist. Kassina opened her jaws to release the woman's
arm, and spoke with blood dripping from her chin. "Enough, I want
you to dig deep inside her while her heart still beats!
Now
,
my pet! Enjoy the feeling when she dies and grips you from the
inside."

Derian climbed on top of the dying woman and
forced his way inside her, grunting as he increased his pace. Her
faint cries were useless against her captors. Kassina laughed as
she sank her fangs into the woman's neck.

Derian tensed as death's grip tightened on
her body and caused her to twitch uncontrollably. Kassina yanked
him out of her and snapped, "Not yet! Save that moment
only
for me."

She threw him to the bed and harshly
straddled him, wriggling herself around like a snake poised to
strike. His grey hands with their sharp claws reached high on her
naked back and tore rents in her skin with pleasure. Kassina’s dark
moan filled the room as she pushed down harder on Derian, taking
him as deep as he could go.

Aidan and Tusdar stared as her skin resealed
itself almost immediately after it was cut open. Kassina and Derian
continued in their passionate embrace, and she suddenly turned to
look behind her as if she was looking straight at them through the
wall.

“I can't believe that we are watching this.
Can she see us?” asked Tusdar, before watching her turn her
attention back to her lover.

“Of
course
she can’t see us,” Aidan
whispered, as he stared at the lust-fuelled sight in front of their
eyes. “The gods smile upon us today for this opportunity. Imagine a
one-way mirror, if you will. They cannot see or hear us, but we can
walk or shoot through it. We only get one shot before we give away
our position, so we need to make it count. Now, I know this will be
hard, but you must try to concentrate."

Derian sat up to embrace Kassina tightly and
they remained in that position, seemingly lost in the heat of
passion, her body tensing with every thrust. Her moans of pleasure
and serpentine hisses filled the room and sent chills down the
spines of Aidan and Tusdar. Aidan reached into his bag and pulled
out a long silver arrow that bore glowing blue markings.

“Use this and shoot them straight through the
heart,” said Aidan. “It is the only way we can kill them, as an
arrow won’t cause a wide enough wound to cut their heads off. I
would do it myself, but I can't hold a bow. We can take them both
at the same time if we are
incredibly
lucky—or skilled, for
that matter. The arrow was gifted to me by a healer and is made to
tear through the toughest of stones and keep flying. It will not
stop until it is drained of magic.”

Tusdar took the arrow in his shaking hands
and placed it into his bow. Aidan mumbled words into the arrow that
activated the magic within. It burst into blue flames that were
surprisingly cool to the touch, lighting up their faces in the
eerie blue light. Beads of sweat dripped through his vision as his
heavy breathing attempted to settle his nerves. His heart pounding
through his chest made his aim waver uncontrollably.

“Come on, Tusdar... try to relax, and take a
deep breath. Then, gently breathe out to guide the arrow home."

Kassina’s moaning increased in pitch with the
quickening rhythm of her body. Tusdar followed Aidan’s advice, and
re-steadied the bow beside his cheek. The blue flames licked at the
image of the two vampires as they made love.

Tusdar pursed his lips and his voice broke as
he stared intently at his target. “They’re moving too much, I
can't... I
can't
do this."

“Take your time and shoot when you are ready.
You
have
to do this—for all of us, for Marithia. You can
stop this war today,” replied Aidan.

As Derian and Kassina were reaching their
climax, Tusdar exhaled, growled and fell backwards as he released
the arrow. It whirred through the wall at blistering speed.

Chapter 10: Darkness Respects No
Boundaries

“Hope and faith can be the greatest of all
motivators. However, they are also the most difficult of securities
to provide. It was not long ago that Arman held me in his arms, and
in them I felt safe and secure.

Now it falls upon me to provide my bosom to
instil that same security in my people. I only hope that I do not
fail them.”

(Queen Andrielle of Veldrenn)

The farm was sickeningly quiet, with not a
sound of life to be heard, not even the sound of crickets. The
metallic stain of blood was thick in the air, filling Vartan's
nostrils and making him sick to his stomach. On the horizon,
Greenhaven continued to burn brightly into the dark sky, like a
lighthouse for flying travellers.

He gripped his still-sheathed sword, and took
carefully placed steps towards his family porch. As he neared the
family rocking chair, the smell of blood grew stronger and more
pungent.

He closed his eyes tightly and whispered,
“
Persentiscam lucem et veritatem
.” The spell took effect and
reptilian eyes flickered open, darting from side to side and
turning his vision of night into day. The large pool of blood on
the chair was suddenly clear in his vision, snaking its way under
the door in thick clots and streaks.

“Father!” exclaimed Vartan as he drew his
sword and kicked the door in with furious intent.

Inside, the farmhouse was almost completely
darkened, with the exception of small red embers still glowing in
the fireplace.

His voice strained as he yelled frantically,
“Father, mother—where are you?”

Running through the house, he followed the
trail of blood drops up the narrow stairwell. He stopped in his
tracks on the stairs as he spotted the crudely placed writing along
the wall.

“
Now who’s the pathetic one, little boy?
You couldn’t even save your family. With lots of love,
Kassina,
” read Vartan. The writing felt wet to the touch, and
as he brought his fingers to his nose, he confirmed what she had
used to write the message.

“No!” he screamed as he ran to the slightly
ajar door of his parents’ bedroom, pressing his back against the
wall beside the door. Peering around the corner with the tip of his
sword pointing his way forward, he braced for the inevitable. There
was a light breeze that blew through the opening, and a strange
creaking sound came from within. The stench overwhelmed him as the
door gently opened to his touch.

A
t the sight of what
awaited him within, Vartan dropped to his knees. Two corpses hung
by their necks, suspended from the ceiling on a pair of nooses; the
creaking was of ropes that strained as the bodies swung in the wind
from the open windows. Both had been flayed. Judging by the vicious
damage to their arms and the scratch marks on the walls, they were
very likely to have been alive when they were skinned.

The putrid stench overwhelmed Vartan’s
senses, and he vomited all over the floor. He put his head in his
hands and collapsed.

“Damn you, Kassina, you bitch!” he sobbed.
“As I live and breathe… your life will end by my hand!”

The distant sound of thunder filled the air
and flashes of lightning erupted under the dark canopy of clouds.
The majestic sight of dragons in full formation was marred only by
the heavy crates of weapons grasped in their claws. The rain washed
over their scales, the light reflecting off their watery forms with
every flash. Karven and Nymira led the dragons in their flight, and
they carried Vartan with the remainder of the treasure.

“Vartan!
Vartan
!” cried Nymira’s
voice.

He jerked up as he woke and smashed his head
hard into Nymira’s belly. He rubbed his head in pain from the
collision.

“My goodness, Vartan, what's wrong?” she
asked.

“No! I was too late, I should have saved
them!” he growled. “Mother… father… that fanged
whore
,
Kassina! What I wouldn’t do to that disgusting creature to rid the
world of her.”

“Whatever gives you the idea that they have
been killed? Did you have another vision?” asked Karven.

Vartan quietened his voice and asked gently,
hopefully, “You mean to suggest that they might still be
alive?”

Nymira's voice filled the night sky. “As your
training progresses and your experience grows, your visions will
come to you with greater purpose. Unfortunately, not even we can
place the time a vision has taken place. It may have occurred in
the past, the present, or the future. There are also alternate
fates as you choose a direction at a crossroads, and any of those
paths can be envisioned. If your parents truly
are
in
danger, then there is no guarantee that we can save them in time to
change that possible fate. Then again, you may simply have had a
nightmare and it may not be a vision at all."