Siege of Night (17 page)

Berkeni just nodded his head. Then, almost as if it were no more than an afterthought, he turned to Ilirra and said, “Oh, yes, I did see something else quite interesting. It seems both Tamera and Grimton are with the Dronin army.” He shrugged dismissively. “Now we know why they never returned. They’ve betrayed us.”

Jade’s chair shot from the table and tipped over backward while her feet followed suit, emptying her from the seat and onto the floor. Just hearing those names sent ice shooting through her veins. She got back to her feet quickly as her eyes darted around the room wildly, like she suddenly didn’t trust any of them. “Jade! It’s OK,” said Eric while he slowly walked toward her with his open hands reaching out, as if trying to prove to her nothing was going to happen. He was well aware of what those monsters had done, but to his knowledge, he was the only one who did.

Jade jerked away from his outstretched hands as if he were holding scorpions, her face a mask of horror. The dark memories buried deep within her mind were suddenly given new life by no more than the uttering of a pair of names. Her head jerked from one person to the next as her eyes bulged out of her head. “Stay away from me, all of you!” she screamed as she ran out the door.

Eric had just begun to run after her before Ilirra suddenly blocked his path with outstretched arms to either side. “It’s OK, Eric. I’ll go after her,” she said while placing one hand on his chest, but her eyes remained locked on the open door Jade had just bolted through.

He just tightened his lips and dropped his chin a few times in acknowledgment before allowing Ilirra to chase after her. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed to make sense. Those two seemed to have a magical connection, and it might be best to let another girl handle this. He turned toward Azek and Berkeni, who were staring with their jaws hanging open. That whole scene made no sense to them whatsoever.

“Look, I know that looked strange, guys, but she’ll be fi—”

“
GATE KEEPER
”

“Ahh!” Eric screamed and fell to his knees, holding his head.

“Eric! What’s wrong?” asked Berkeni as he and Azek rushed to his side.

“
It seems your pretty little girlfriend is upset for some reason
,” said the booming voice echoing off the inside of his skull.

“Ahh! Get out of my head!”

“
Don’t worry about a thing. I promise I’ll take good care of Jade
!”

“Noooo!” he screamed as he rolled back and forth, thrashing and kicking, on the ground. Azek and Berkeni tried helplessly to hold him down, but he inadvertently threw each one off of him simply from thrashing and swinging at nothing. They called to him, but he seemed oblivious to the fact they were even in the room.

Suddenly the trashing stopped and he slowly got to his feet. The two other men methodically backed away, not even recognizing the person who now stood before them. Eric’s eyes flared with a bright golden light. The same golden gleam radiated from his mouth, on and off in broken beams as he spoke. A booming voice no human could ever mimic rattled off the walls and shook the floor. The two men fell to their knees, covering their ears from the vocal onslaught.

“YOU WILL NOT TOUCH HER! GET...OUT...OF...MY...HEAD!”

His head snapped back, as if given a hard blow to the jaw. The bright, golden light radiating from his eyes and mouth slowly faded away. Azek and Berkeni cautiously removed their hands from their ears as they looked at each other wide-eyed then looked at Eric, who now lay unconscious on the floor.

* * *

Dragot slid across the smooth black floor on his back, stopping only when he hit the wall on the other side of the room. He shook his head once, then twice, partly to shake away the hard, jarring blow, but mostly due to shock and disbelief. Eric had actually cast the demon's presence from his head! Dragot was not sure how that was even possible.

“He has grown strong,” he said to no one. “Very strong!” The dark beast got back to his feet, wobbling a little bit before placing a clawed hand on the wall to steady himself, then finally standing up straight. Dragot, the demon with nothing but time on his hands, the gracious being who never felt rushed, never felt dejected or overwhelmed by anything, felt a cold shiver run down his spine.

* * *

Jade rocked back and forth on her bed, hugging her shins with her face buried in her knees. Ilirra held her close as she trembled, rocking back and forth with her. “Child, is there anything I can do? Anything you need?” she whispered in Jade’s ear. The pain of seeing her daughter like this was almost unbearable. There was nothing she wouldn’t give to take away Jade’s suffering. She felt helpless.

Then, in a strange turn, Jade seemed to steady herself. Her trembling stopped and she smoothly pulled away from Ilirra’s tight grip. Rising from the bed, she slowly turned around. Wiping tears from both sides of her cheeks, she said, “Why was I sent to them?”

Ilirra didn’t know what to say. The look on Jade’s face was suddenly so cold, so distant. She didn’t even recognize her. “You...you were the chosen one. Your very destiny was to find and protect the Gate Keeper, which you’ve done.”

“But why them? Why into that world of darkness?” she asked in such a cold, emotionless voice that it sent shivers up Ilirra’s spine.

The Queen blew out forcefully, releasing air she wasn’t even aware she was holding. “They were my elite guard, the best of the best. True killers.” She couldn’t make herself look Jade in the eye. It was too painful. “They had trained all the greatest assassins in all of Tarmerria. Their skills were unmatched.” With great effort, she finally raised her eyes to meet Jade’s. “That’s why you were sent to them. To become the best.”

Jade let out a forced laugh as she threw her head back. “To be the best,” she repeated. “Well, I must say their methods were a bit...unorthodox,” she said as she spread her hands out wide. “You see, it was a trial by pain. They seemed to believe the more I suffered, the better a killer I would become.” Ilirra covered her mouth with both hands, trying to stop the rising sobs before they started. She failed.

“But I suppose it was for the best. After all,” she moved close enough to Ilirra to whisper in her ear, “I
am
a killer.” Ilirra burst into sobs as she covered her face with her hands. Tipping over on the bed, she continued to look at Jade sideways through open fingers. Her whole body jolted over and over with uncontrollable crying before rolling onto the floor.

Jade walked over to the door, turning her head only slightly to look back over her shoulder as she untied the string in the front of her black robe. “My parents never even tried to find me, never cared what was happening to me. No matter, I suppose. The methods used to make me into what they wanted seemed to have worked.” She let the back of her robe spill down to her waist. Ilirra screamed at the horrifying sight. Deep, ridged scars crisscrossed her daughter’s entire back.

Jade slowly pulled her robe back up and turned to face the Queen. Her eyes were dry and calm, emotionless. “This so-called higher purpose demanded a killer. Well, now it has one.” She left the room, leaving Ilirra crumpled on the floor, her face twisted in anguish as tears of agony ran down her cheeks.

I deserve to die
!

Chapter 12

The heavy windblown rain came down in sheets as Jacob gazed over the grassy hill. He had stopped only for a moment to get his bearings before continuing on through the elements. Green lightning flashed across the blackened sky as he squinted hard while holding one open hand against the side of his face to help shield nature’s onslaught.

His once spiky hair now lay matted to his head and pushed to the side, partly from wiping his forehead to remove the constant rain, but mostly from the driving wind blowing from east to west.

Marlow galloped her white horse up beside him, wearing a dark-brown, hooded cloak with black leather boots that rode up to her knee. Two high-quality short-swords resting in black leather sheaths crossed her back. Long blonde bangs lay matted on her face temporarily before she gave a little shake, revealing bright green eyes, focused and determined. She turned toward Jacob while covering the side of her head with a gloved hand, trying to block the heavy rain that seemed to be moving sideways. “I’m not so sure about this. How did I ever let you talk me into this?”

“The choice was yours,” he said while squinting into the rain. “You fight for a cause. Fight for something bigger than you, me, or even the Queen herself.” He paused a moment just to flash her an amused smile. “Or you could have waited in your village and simply fought for your own life when the time came.” He turned his gaze back to the path. “It really wouldn’t have been all that long of a wait, you know.” A tight grin crossed her face. He never noticed as his eyes swept the dirt road straight ahead. “We’re only a mile away. Are you ready?”

The coy smile never left her face as she stared at him a moment longer, then replied, “I don’t know, let’s see.” She turned her horse clear around. Then, over the sounds of the storm, she shouted in a strong, clear voice, “Are we ready, men?!”

The cool night air filled with hoots and shouting as over one hundred and fifty voices echoed off the nearby trees. Swords pumped in the air as toothless mouths called out for blood. Scarred faces with eyepatches and headbands shrieked out battle cries into the night, making sure the world was aware of their arrival.

Jacob began to ride before the cries for death even ended. Shortly after his departure, the clopping of hooves thumping the ground could be heard close behind him. He couldn’t help but think these men had fought hard just for their survival. Getting by on a day-to-day basis sometimes meant taking a life. Now they had a real calling, a purpose higher than anything they ever could have dreamed of. What sort of dormant fighting spirit would present itself under these circumstances? Even the elite soldiers of Taron, although painfully trained, had never known real suffering.

Each one of these men is worth four of the queen’s soldiers
.

* * *

The large group of mysterious figures rode slowly up to the front gate. Although each was mounted high upon a beautiful beast, it was still easy to see that a good many of the shadowed humanoids were around seven feet tall. Long, tan cloaks with low, drooping hoods covered their faces as the strong scent of spices lingered in the air around them.

The tall, stocky, blond soldier with heavy green eyes looked them up and down, trying to peer under the long, droopy hoods. Around forty of these freaks of nature stood before him as he did his best to steel himself. In a shaky voice, he muttered, “I know who all of you are.” He didn’t really, but who else could they be? Perrymen was one of the Queen’s most trusted guards. He was given explicit instructions to escort these very special guests to the palace when they arrived and to ask no questions or do anything that would draw too much attention.

The tall figures remained still as statues as the heavy rain pelted their thick hoods. It was all the soldier could do not to turn and flee from the awesome sight. Finally, one of the figures slowly trotted forward and leaned toward him without ever dismounting. Lightning flashed as Shantis pulled back her hood, revealing thin, long, white hair and animalistic yellow eyes. It took every bit of control for Perrymen not to run screaming into the night. At best, he was simply unable to move as swirling emotions gripped him.

The lighting flashed again as the cryton grinned wickedly then spoke in that slow, hissing drawl, “Greetings, human. We’ve come to ssspeak with your queen, Ilirra Marosia.”

Finally hearing the creatures speak gave the guard new confidence. They were real, and something about that fact made the surreal dream become genuine. He swallowed hard, yet tried to appear as confident as possible. “All of you, follow me,” he said as he spun around and began marching down the empty street. Anyone would have been in awe of the supernatural sight parading through Taron—that is, if everyone had not been hiding in their homes. In sets of two, the mystic parade clopped down the middle of the street through the rainy storm.

* * *

Morcel lay on his bed with a terrified look on his face. Addel loomed over him as she moved her hands back and forth over his huge body. “You’re being a baby!” she spat out as she continued her smooth, deliberate movements, occasionally moaning something incoherent.

“No I’m not,” he protested in a high, cracking voice while his eyes remained wide with suspicion. The man had seen magic performed many times before and was not necessarily distrustful of it, but it had never been used on him.
That
he didn’t like.

For now, all she was doing was probing his many wounds. Even though they were now stitched, the man was completely covered with gashes. After making a few more sweeps with extended hands only inches from his body, she jerked away as if he had suddenly become hot. She then hovered over his face from an upside-down angle. “How are you still alive?” she asked in a breathless voice. “I’ve never seen this much damage done to anyone…anyone still breathing, that is. And you’re walking around!”

He chuckled a bit, then turned his head to the side to release a few coughs. “I’m not that easy to kill.”

“No, I should say not,” she said with one eyebrow raised. “Let’s hope you are easier to fix than you are to kill.” With that he jerked up a bit, as the thought of being touched by magic chilled him once more. A quick open palm to the forehead dropped him back down with surprising ease before she mumbled under her breath, “Baby.”