Splintered Fate (2 page)

As the blade solidified its
presence in her hand she made her way down the hill to the town,
hair blowing behind her in the suddenly bitter wind. Lines formed
across her forehead as she approached the town. Apart from the
angry flames still licking their lips, the town suddenly seemed too
still, too quiet.

Victor now stood at Eveline’s
side, sword drawn as he took in the gruesome scene. His Aorra stood
a few steps ahead, bearing his razor sharp teeth and the three
Gorthynian guards encircled them from the back, swords drawn. They
stood in silence awaiting direction from their
councilwoman.

Eveline noticed that the house that was her
living quarters for her stay in Gorthyn, a cottage under a grand
tree, seemed untouched. Something was out of place. She took a step
towards the house as Victor’s hand went out in front of
her.

“
We need to get you to safety.”
His words were urgent, almost pleading.

Turning her gaze to him, she shook
her head. “No” she simply said and he understood, this was her
home.

Lowering his hand, the two of them
walked towards the cottage together, followed by the guards. The
scent of fire burned their noses. None of them made a sound as they
moved, even the guards, whom this town was home too didn’t dare
speak.

Swallowing her unease, Eveline
forced herself to keep moving. This was where she had grown up as a
child and her family was heading right for it. There was no way she
would turn her back on Gorthyn and flee, risking her husband and
daughter arriving to danger. She had no choice but to move
forward.

Fires still burned a few of the
town’s structures. Eveline and her men avoided the flames, keeping
their distance from the dying fires, yet their skin still stung
from the heat. Making their way to the house they passed the bodies
of those who had perished.

Eveline tried not to look at all
the faces of those burned and butchered in the streets, trying to
stay strong. She couldn’t help but notice the little fingers of a
child’s hand from underneath rubble. It was such a small hand. Her
heart constricted and she forced her eyes forward, gluing them to
the cottage.

The door to the cottage was still
shut. The scene did not fit in with the rest of the smoldering
town. It was oddly disturbing that the cottage seemed completely
untouched, as if frozen in a different time. She reached for the
door but Victor’s large arm grabbed her wrist, stopping
her.

“
Better I and Eli take the lead,”
He spoke, sadness lingered in his eyes, deep behind his
fury.

Nodding in acceptance, she allowed
him to step in front of her. It tore at her, she hated putting her
friend in harm’s way especially when she felt responsible. She
should have never gone out into the woods.

Eli let out a grotesque growl. Anger fueled
both him and Victor as they fed each other with strength and rage.
A feeling and a bond Eveline had once had in an Aorra and a loss
she will never cease to mourn.

Pushing the door open, Victor and
Eli entered with Eveline and the guards following closely behind.
The small common room was untouched. Victor made his way around the
corner, sword in hand and Eli at his side.

The hair on Eli’s back raised and
Victor’s grip on his sword tightened. Eveline felt him tense before
he turned, whispering, “Wait here.”

Through the time she had spent
with Victor and Eli, she had learned to read when the two spoke to
one another. Something was wrong and it infuriated her that they
kept her out of the loop. Despite Victor’s request to stay put, she
followed them around the corner to the kitchen, the three
Gorthynian guards following her.

There at the table sat a large
muscular man drinking a glass of ale. His hair was an unnatural
shade of fiery red. He wore a brown vest that hung open without a
shirt or any form of armor. This was the way of the Rami. They
liked to show off their physical strength, as if muscles could
possibly be an indicator of true strength. They were the more
primal of the two races.

“
Welcome! It took you some time to
return to this little ash pile of a village.” The Rami said with a
disturbing smile.

Eli snarled, showing his teeth as
he paced back and forth between the Rami and Victor. Eveline
stepped forward, tightening her grip on the dagger while using her
strength to keep a hold on its. She had to concentrate on its form,
to keep it from falling to silver dust in her palm. Her green eyes
analyzed the Rami in front of her before she spoke.

“
Why have you come here? This is a
break of our treaties.” She said with an essence of authority,
trying her best to stay calm and confident.

“
Oh Eveline, I was invited.
Besides who follows those trivial treaties we have
anyway?”

How does he know
who I am?
Eveline tried to suppress the
shudder that went down her spine. A feeling of danger slithered
through her, coiling in the pit of her stomach. This man repulsed
her more than anyone she had ever met.

Eli snarled again, picking up on Victor’s
similar feelings towards the Rami.

“
You seem shocked that I know who
you are, oh powerful and respected council woman of Selviria.” He
said in a mocking tone. “I must say, for a Madonian woman, you are
much prettier than I had imagined.” The red headed brute grinned,
attempting to provoke them.

“
You said you were invited. May I
ask by whom?” Eveline was doing her best to remain
composed.

The Rami’s smile widened into a
laugh. “Wouldn’t you like to know. Sadly, I mustn’t speak of it. I
can tell you this, you probably won’t live long enough for it to
matter.”

“
If you think that I will not live
long enough, then what is the risk in telling me?”

The Rami shrugged. “Rules are
rules. It is a shame to have to kill you though. I would have
enjoyed a few moments alone with you.” His demeanor was calm, there
was no fear behind his eyes. Eveline found his calm
terrifying.

“
ENOUGH!” Victor bellowed.
“Children play with words when they are too afraid to make a move,
so I suppose I have to show you how adults handle little red
maggots such as yourself.”

Just as Victor finished speaking the Rami let
out a bright bolt of lightning from the palm of his hand. In a
flash Eli interfered, blocking the electric shards from them with
an invisible shield. “Huh, your dog seems to have mastered the art
of protection from little sparks. Sadly…”

There were gasps from behind,
followed by three thumps as three bodies fell to the ground. The
red head continued as he rose to stand from the table. “Sadly,
those fools you have guarding you, council woman, were too curious
with that was going on up front to pay attention to what was going
on behind.” The Rami said with a bright smile.

“
Aorraless FOOLS!” Victor let out,
dropping to Eveline’s back while Eli stayed in front with her. This
way Victor could keep an eye on what was going on within the whole
room. Eveline glanced behind them where there stood three Rami, all
well-built men with the same shirtless brown vests. They were
cornered. These men were not the only ones around, Eveline was
certain of that.

As if her thoughts summoned them,
three more men entered through a door behind the Rami. Pulling on
her strength, Eveline allowed the blade in her palm to grow bigger,
into a full sword. It was difficult to concentrate on holding the
energy. Her head lightly spun from the effort. Ever since her
Aorra’s death, Eveline had nearly stopped using her power, until
now.

Without a word the Rami men
charged all around them. Eveline’s sword fought off the blue fire
from the palms of the men surrounding them. Victor stuck his blade
into one of the Rami’s guts, but as the one fell three more entered
the room and then three more. They were vastly, hopelessly
outnumbered. This was going to be a slaughter.

“
STOP!” Eveline managed to scream
out. To her surprise the room stilled. “If it’s me you need, take
me, but let them go.” Her eyes met with the redheaded
Rami’s.

“
I WILL NOT LEAVE YOU!” snarled,
Victor.

“
You swore your allegiance to me!
You will do exactly as I say.” Eveline only glanced over at Victor,
not wanting to take her eyes off of the Rami.

“
Not if it means your life.”
Victor’s words were soft, meant only for her. There was more behind
the words than his simple duty. He would not be able to live with
himself for following that order. His deep hazel eyes were locked
on her, gripping her.

A chuckle came from the red head,
pulling Victor’s attention back to the Rami. “Isn’t this just so
touching. I would love to help you Eveline, I would. Think of it as
a dying wish… that I will not grant.”

A howling scream came from Eli as
the black beast began convulsing. One look at him and she knew that
Eli was not reacting to anything that had happened directly to him.
Eveline’s eyes widened as she turned to Victor. Blood dripped from
his neck as he fell to his knees.

“
NO!” she screamed, tears lining
her eyes.

The Rami spoke, finishing his thought, “But I
just cannot leave your handy man to try and avenge you now, can
I?”

Dropping the hold on her sword as
it fell away to a shimmering dust, Eveline went to Victor, kneeling
beside her dying friend. His hazel eyes grew wide, he wanted her to
fight, even though they both knew that there was no hope. Victor
wanted for her to at least try, grasping on to a sliver of a chance
that she would come out of this alive. But she knew the
truth.

She was defeated.

For just a moment, her gaze fell
back upon Eli. It was long enough for her to see him be pierced by
a Rami blade, before his body vanished into dust, the way her
Aorra’s had when it too perished.

Eveline’s hand grasped Victors as
he bled out, his eyes remained on her. His callous hand gripped
hers as they stared at one another. A tear ran down her cheek, she
had done this to him. Her noble guardian, her friend, was going to
pay for her mistakes with his life. She would have given anything
to have spared his life.

“
My husband will kill you for
this, there will be no mercy.” Her voce was calm as she spoke.
Knowing what would happen next, there was no point in fear. Her
death would be avenged, she knew it in her bones.

“
That is exactly what I am hoping
for.” The redhead replied with a grin and a wink.

Eveline looked back down at
Victors fading hazel eyes as she held his hand. The sound of the
Rami’s footsteps approached from behind. She felt a single pull at
her throat, as her dress became stained red.

Chapter One

2 moon years later

(4 human years)

She felt intense
nausea as if she had eaten rancid meat. It rose up from her core,
bubbling up to her throat. Lana ran her hand absent-mindedly over
her stomach as she stared into her own eyes through the reflection
of the gold-framed mirror. Deep troubled green eyes stared back
with a tense burden behind them.
Today is
going to be a long day
she thought to
herself as she adjusted her long brown hair. Pulling the few
strands around her face back with a butterfly pendant, allowing for
the rest to naturally flow free in loose waves.

You look
beautiful.
A familiar voice entered her
thoughts and despite the heaviness of the day, a small smile spread
across her face at the compliment. Lana wore an emerald green dress
that brought out the color of her eyes. Though the dress was a
simple one it was made of a luxurious material, framing her body
perfectly.

“
Thank you, Ardin.” She said,
turning to see her Aorra sitting in the open doorway. She eyed the
beautiful green medallion that hung around his neck, matching her
emerald colored dress. “I see you brought out your jewels for the
occasion,” Lana raised a brow at the pendant.

Ardin was a wolf form Aorra. Most wolf Aorra’s
tended to be black or dark in color but not Ardin. He was all white
with light grey accents. He was beautiful.

Ardin walked
over to Lana’s side, his large paws made a soft sound with each
step against the cold marble floors. He paused, looking out the
window next to her.
Today is an important
day. Aorra’s of the council members are expected to stand out from
the others. I am wearing it for you.
His
liquid blue-grey eyes turned to meet her gaze.

Lana looked out the window beside
her mirror. She averted her eyes up in an attempt to find the small
moon, but it was not within sight.

“
I had a dream last night. It was
so vivid. I haven’t dreamt of him nor our time at the moon in
years.”

What happened in
the dream?
Ardin probed, his eyes watching
her while she stared out the window.

“
I was a child in a large room, it
was unfamiliar and I woke there. My first instinct was to find you
but I couldn’t feel or reach you. I began to panic. I began running
down the halls with blinking lights but there was no one there.
Then I fell upon a room where a boy was facing away from me and at
his feet laid a white wolf pup. He was just about to turn but then
I woke, before I ever even saw his face.” Lana turned from the
window to Ardin. “What do you think that means?”