Splintered Fate (14 page)

As the beam of light
rushed at him, Ardin braced himself. Kaiden’s light may help them
or kill him. Fighting the urge to protect himself, he opened up
into a complete receptive state. It felt unnatural to do so to an
entity other than Lana, but this was their only chance, Lana’s only
chance. His eyes shut and he concentrated on keeping himself open,
receptive. The sounds of battle around him died down into the
background while he prepared himself.

Light erupted around him.
It was like a kick in his stomach. A snarling howl uncontrollably
escaped his lungs, followed by a nauseating pressure all around
him, pressing on all sides. It was suffocating, as if crushing him,
burying him alive. There was no escaping it, even if he wanted to.
The blaze engulfed Ardin, surrounding him, downing him in raw
liquid energy.

From the distance Lana felt her
Aorra’s energy suddenly spike as the light began fueling him. Ardin
turned, looking to Lana through the waves of people between them as
he shared the strength with her.

A small glow of blue encased her
like a warm blanket. She dug her fingers into the dirt under her
hands as sweet relief flooded through her. Her world no longer
spun. The ground beneath her steadied. With every passing moment
and every draw of breath, she felt stronger. Lana felt Ardin, his
strength growing as he drank in the energy that surrounded him and
now her.

The new strength had a sweet taste
to it that she had not noticed before. Lana’s eyes smoothly lifted
their green gaze from the earth to the chaos around with a new
clarity. Everything on the outside was running but within she felt
a calming peace. The power flowing through her was unlike anything
she had experienced before. It was magnificently
intoxicating.

The stillness
around her broke, sending Lana back to her mission to find
Valdor.
Shooting to her feet, she pulled
the new energy within her into both palms. Two modest silver saber
swords formed with a slow ease, one in each palm. She turned to
Kirill who stood very still, looking at the Rami by the woods and
then Ardin. His gaze made its way back to Lana, the swords in her
hands and then up to her eyes.

“
Do not touch him.” Was all Lana
managed to get out before she was blocking the next Rami’s attack
on them. And that was all she really needed to say, Kirill knew who
she was talking about. Lana caught the approaching Rami's sword in
her sabers while Kirill provided the final blow. The Rami fell to
the ground.

“
I’ll help you get to your
father.” Kirill said as Lana turned towards Valdor's direction.
They both began running to her father.

Lana was not particularly in favor
of Kirill accompanying her. She eyed the Madonian beside her, the
one who she had called a monster just earlier this morning. Who now
was a protective shadow following her, fighting off those who got
too close. He moved unnatural swiftness, each of his moves precise.
He was the perfect killer. She had to admit that in this situation
his skill set was useful, but admitting that only angered
her.

Ardin was with them in seconds. He
already was a magnificently large wolf before but with the new
boost in energy he appeared to be even more massive. There was a
slight blue glow about him as Kaiden’s energy was still flowing
around him. It seemed almost to be sticking to his fur like
static.

Lana and Ardin still shared one
consciousness from the energy transfer. In these moments, she could
feel his rage and hunger to protect her. They shared their
strength, fears, and thoughts as they ran down towards Valdor. If
anything stood in their path Ardin would take them down before the
threat could even reach her, and if someone did manage to break
through, her blades would end them. She felt
unstoppable.

The sounds of Lana’s father
groaning with every strike he blocked could be heard in the nearby
distance. She was so close to him. The Rami in front of Valdor was
a big man and by the looks of it very powerful. He had an arrow
sticking through his shoulder that didn’t even seem to faze
him.

Ardin should easily have been able
to take care of him, while Lana focused on another approaching Rami
who would be her target. Just several steps away she glanced back
to Valdor.

“
NO!” Lana’s screams broke through
before she could stifle them. An unseen Rami from the side appeared
from nowhere and drove a dagger in Valdor’s side. In a flash Ardin
was already there, his large teeth digging into the warm flesh of
the man who had Valdor’s attention.

Moments later Lana came up with
Kirill who turned to the right, taking care of other Rami fighters.
The Rami by her father held up his sword in preparation for a final
blow. Lana slid in front of him, he didn’t even notice her
approaching the two of them. Both of her swords found their way in
to the neck of the man in front of her and her father. In one swift
motion she punctured the Rami’s skin and pulled her swords back.
Blood flooded from his wounds as he fell back with wide dyeing
eyes. Panicked she turned to her father who lay on the ground
against a tree.

Blood was pooling on the ground
beneath Valdor, before seeping into the soil. Lana placed a hand on
her father’s wound, pressing down. It was no use, his blood bubbled
up through her fingers, coating her hand in red. There was so much
of it. She sucked in a sharp breath, tears forming in her
eyes.

“
Father. I’m here. You will be
okay just hold on. We will get a healer.” Like a child, Lana stared
wide-eyed and scared into her father’s fading brown
eyes.

Valdor raised his hand and gently
touched the side of his daughters face. “No child.” He coughed. “I
think it time for me to go see your mother.” He said with a weak
smile. Tears began running down Lana’s face. Goosebumps danced
across her skin. Suddenly she felt so unbearably cold, and not even
the energy flowing through her could protect her from it. Her
father was giving up, just like that. She pressed down harder on
his wound but it did nothing to stop the red liquid. It seemed like
an impossible amount to be coming from one man.

“
No, please! Just hold on, our
people need you, I need you.” She could hardly breath. Everything
had happened so quickly. This morning he was fine, just a moment
ago he was injured but he was fine. This was not supposed to
happen. Her father was not supposed to die like this. He was going
to live to an old age, he was going to teach Lana so many more
things that she needed to know before becoming the head of the
Selvirian lands. She was not ready for this, he was still young,
still strong. Just this morning he was fine.

This was her fault, if she
wouldn’t have snuck away, maybe he would have avoided this battle.
“I am so sorry! I shouldn’t have left. This is my
fault.”

Valdor’s eyes grew large with
urgency, he grabbed his daughter’s bloodstained hand and she slowly
met his gaze. “No. You must believe that this would have happened
no matter what, Lana. Do not blame yourself, do you hear me? You
had nothing to do with this. Listen, you must be careful of who you
trust, Lana.”

Lana looked at her father with
questioning eyes , unsure of what he meant and whom he was talking
about. Before she could reply Valdor coughed deeply, blood came
with it. With shallow breaths Valdor continued in a hushed tone. “I
saw what you and Ardin did with that Rami boy Lana, it was amazing.
Is that the boy you told me of as a child from Ucu?”

Lana stared at her father. She did
not know he actually listened or cared enough to remember her
stories of Kaiden. As soon as she came back to the Madonian lands
from Ucu she began telling her father of Kaiden and her time at the
school. But that was short-lived, ending as soon as she saw her
mother lying motionless on the cold ground in Gorthyn. Lana never
mentioned Kaiden again after that.

Now, she could only nod in answer
to her father. His lip twitched in a weak smile.

“
You will be a great leader for
our people. You will give them the strength they will need. Believe
that, believe in yourself. You are more special than you know. You
will save them.” He sounded so sure of his words.

"But I need you." Tears were
rushing down her cheeks, making it nearly impossible for her to
speak. Lana could only let tears flow as she shook her head, unable
to accept her father’s willingness to give up, to leave her.
Valdor’s grip on Lana’s hand released. “No, dad. Please!” she cried
out softly, reaching her arms around him.

“
I’ll tell your mother what an
amazing child you turned out to be.” He whispered, a fleeting
breath. Lana felt it, the shift in the air, the moment his soul
left his body. He was gone.

Unable to restrain herself, she
released an agonizing cry. It cut through the air. A loud howl
erupted near by from her Aorra. Ardin shared this burden with her,
the pain.

Somewhere nearby someone smiled.

Chapter

Seven

The darkness of the night was
welcome, like a blanket that hid the imperfections of the world.
But it could not smother the pain of loss for there was nothing
like it. To be completely void of something, missing a piece that
had always been there, it felt unnatural. Valdor was the foundation
of Lana’s world, he was strong, a leader, a good Madonian. Now with
him gone, she not only lost her father but her largest support.
There was no plan for what had to be done next, no one to show her
the best course to take.

Stars glimmered in the night sky, providing a
twinkling backdrop for the two moons that danced across the sky.
One of the moons was large with a blue glow to it and had a ring
circling it, the other was smaller and not visibly unique in any
way, but it was more special than it appeared. It was the place
where Lana and Kaiden had first met.

Lana sat apart from everyone and
stared at the stars overhead. The only thing she could feel was
numbness. It was the kind of numbness that clawed through a persons
being. So overpowering that it crushed the soul in its ice like
hands.

She stared at the minor of the two moons,
where she had first met Kaiden, in silence.

Come join
us.
A gentle and familiar voice entered
her mind.

Lana turned to the small campfire
where Ardin sat looking at her from the distance. Around the warm
glow of the campfire also sat Donn, his grandkids, and Kaiden. They
all seemed to just be sitting in a worn-out silence while their
bodies and sore muscles were warmed by the heat of the
fire.

No.
Lana replied to Ardin's request for her to join
them.

You don’t have to be
alone.

I want
to.
Lana returned her gaze towards the
sky, this time looking to the blue moon with a ring around
it.

Why did you
choose to go to Alogrin?
Ardin asked. Lana
assumed it was his attempt to have her open up, to let him in.
After Valdor’s death she had closed herself off so that he couldn’t
feel her emotions. She didn’t want to share her hurt and pain with
him. She didn’t want to share anything with
anyone.

Why did you not
oppose it?
Lana countered. She was sure
Ardin would not want her to leave her people at such a volatile
time, however he surprisingly did not contest her choice. In fact,
Lana had the feeling he was slightly relieved by
it.

She could feel Ardin’s eyes
staring at her from the distance. With a sigh she decided to give
him more of an answer, in hoped that it would be enough to get him
to leave her alone again.

General Flynn is
a good man, I trust him as a temporary leader. My father trusted
him. The people look up to him, they will follow him in my absence
and he is a warrior, something that I fear is necessary for what
had happened in Abder.
Lana kept her eyes
on the moon and the stars.

Ardin was not
telling her everything, she was sure of that. The slight relief she
thought she had felt from him when they were leaving Abder was odd,
but through her numbness she did not care.
Alogrin was always said to have the best warriors in all the
lands with their golden army. If this is still true, I will ask for
their assistance. They live in peace, both Madonians and Rami,
surely they wish for the same for all the lands.
And it will be a safe place for
Kaiden.

What makes you think he wants to
be there?

He has no other place to
go.

Ardin stared at Lana for a short
time, before deciding to leave her to herself. She hated this, the
distance she was putting between herself and her Aorra. Hating that
Kaiden, the boy she had once been so close to, was finally within
her reach but he was a part of those who were responsible for her
father’s death and the deaths of so many Madonians. Hatred and
numbness swirled within her, but as night fell fear and sadness
crept in. Donn and the children should not be a part of
this.

Lana continued looking up at the
dark sky, littered with stars and two moons for a moment more
before trying to close her eyes. The journey to Alogrin would be a
long one and she had to get some rest, but every time she tried to
she would see red and her parent’s motionless faces behind her
eyelids.