The Forgotten (19 page)

She felt like she was back in Avonry and facing her mortal peril again. Should she not survive this night, they had to at least make certain that the portal to Herne was closed so that no more creatures of darkness invaded their land.

Her land.

It was true—she’d once been a Princess of Avonry and now, she couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. Shardizar had its own flaws but it had been her safe haven—it had given her sanctuary and for that she would be eternally grateful.

A blinding blast of light flashed in front of them. Ryn materialized. He looked at her and then cast his attention to the heavens. “You have got to be kidding me! I need more help. I can’t rescue Lucan’s father when he’s being held by such an ungodly man. The odds are stacked against us.

Run, my love. You won’t win this night unless the Gods favour us with their Grace. Shardizar will fall. Ulwyn is a mad tyrant and he’s thrown his lot in with a being who is far more powerful and far more cunning. This might be the first time that I will lose a charge. I don’t want to go back into that castle. I can’t look at that kind of darkness again. It was literally soul sucking.”

“Is Lucan still alive?” she asked breathlessly, her heart pounding hard in her chest.

“For now, aye. He’s a valiant hero to the end, Neri but he won’t emerge victorious this time around. He is a mortal man—no mortal can stand against a God.”

“Has Braidius come through the portal yet?” Neri asked.

“His soldiers are coming first. Ulwyn said they are saving the best for last.”

“That means we still have time to fight and get that portal closed,” Neri said, resolutely. “I am staying, Ryn. I will do whatever I have to do to save this kingdom from the hell that Ulwyn wants to unleash upon it.” She had no other option. She wouldn’t run from this fight—she couldn’t allow Shardizar to fall into darkness.

This was their last stand. They would not fail—they could not fail.

Lucan believed he had gone through enough hell to last him a lifetime. Apparently, the Gods and Goddesses liked playing tricks on him because he’d been grossly mistaken. Fate wasn’t done fucking with him yet and now he was in the bowels of the worst situation he’d ever faced.

Ulwyn was crazier than he’d originally believed. He’d supposed that Ulwyn only coveted power here within Shardizar but it was worse—much worse, Ulwyn wanted to completely destroy the world they held dear so he could sit on a throne above the charred remains. His logic was terribly skewed. How he could possibly believe that the Demon God Braidius would share power with him was a conundrum upon itself.

He knew the legend of the Hellish Dimension of Herne all too well. As a member of the Order of St. Alby it was the story their Order’s foundation had been built on—and a story that all members knew by heart.

His eyes locked with those of his father’s. Despite being in spirit form, Brandyn Whittier looked like he’d been ravaged mercilessly, and was bound by some kind of spectral rope. He pitied his father for being in such a hopeless plight.

Lucan himself had been overwhelmed pretty quickly by the sheer number of Herne troops massing within the castle walls. He’d known he could never fight his way through and so he had surrendered, in order to plan his next course of action. He couldn’t hope to close the gateway to Herne alone. His magical power wasn’t enough, he was sorry to admit. That kind of undertaking had to be backed by at least three fully trained mages and he was just a force of one.

To know that Neri could possibly be walking straight into this kind of foul danger made his insides clench. He knew that Ryn would warn her to stay away, the only question was would the stubborn headed woman listen to reason?

Grifon and Ava’s reinforcements had to arrive in time—but could they even stop what was coming if they didn’t close the portal before the Demon God arrived through it?

He didn’t know if all of the magic in Shardizar could combat him. Only those from the Celestial Heavens had been able to combat Braidius and it was said that only the Goddess Rhiannon had been strong enough to take him on and win.

Princess Alby had fallen for a good cause, and her sacrifice had not gone unnoticed by the Gods. If he had her dagger he might have been able to use it to close the portal. He’d foolishly used it to break the power of the shadow shield when he should have taken another route.  Now the dagger was lost and he was damned.

*****

Neri looked up as thick black mists engulfed the castle. Her heart was in her throat. She knew what they were walking into, and yet, she didn’t know if she wanted to pull Nell and Mother Spratt in with her. They were literally walking into hell and had no way of knowing if they’d return.

“Nell,” she said, as they approached the Motte. “I think you should go back. Be with your children. Keep them safe and take them far away from here. Go to Tamar or Avonry. Mother Spratt, you should go with them. Nell will need help to take care of two free spirited children.”

“And let Shardizar fall?” Nell looked conflicted. “I can’t do that. If we don’t try to stop Ulwyn, thousands will die and our world as we know it will be gone. I might be the wrong woman for the job, that doesn’t matter. I’ll do what I can until my last breath.”

Mother Spratt grunted. “We will make sure you get out alive, Nell. Those children cannot become orphans. You will get out. In fact, once you help us breach the walls, I vote you run and fall back to the Tavern to tell the Prince and Princess about what they face.”

Something glinted on the ground. A dagger with a golden handle inlaid with rubies was laying in the grass. It had a residual magical ruby hue to it, telling Neri that it had been used recently against dark magic.

She knelt and picked it up. The warmth of it spread up her arm into her heart. “This dagger once belonged to Lucan,” she whispered.

“I’ve seen that dagger before,” Mother Spratt murmured. “It was in the books that I read as a young novice Templar Mage. That dagger was blessed by Princess Alby herself.”

Engraved along the blade was a fitting phrase: Justice is Divine.

Neri couldn’t help herself, she grinned. Carefully, she tucked it into her boot and stood up.

“You’re embarking on a foolish quest, my love,” Ryn declared. “As for Mistress Nell going back to the Tavern after she helps you breach the walls, that won’t work. You, young mother, need to return now. Once we go past this point, it is a point of no return. You and your children will be safe until my daughter arrives on the flying ships which are just about to enter the magical portals that King Marcus’ mages are conjuring. At which point, you must tell her to remain and hold the line in the village until her Uncle’s forces arrive. He is also on his way with his own forces, which, given what we are about to face, we shall need their numbers.”

“How could your brother have possibly crossed into Shardizar unnoticed? The border guards would have seen something and sounded the alarm. Crossing into our Kingdom with an army is an act of war.”

“Not if they are coming to aid you against a most formidable foe. I’m certain the King’s seers have already told him that we need Avonry. They are quite adept at their chosen vocations.”

“None of this makes sense. Why is Ulwyn playing with forces beyond his ken? What drives men toward the brink of such madness?” she asked desperately.

“I’d say it’s because he’s evil to the core. There is no reasoning when it comes to that form of darkness, Neri,” Ryn said. “Well, if you’re going to embark on this insane journey, I’m going with you. I’ll be with you to the end and maybe in this form, I’ll actually be able to do some good.”

She hadn’t expected his support and hearing him give it to her made her heart melt. Damn him and those gorgeous violet eyes of his. She inhaled deeply and gave Nell a soft smile. “Farewell, Nell. Your loyalty and bravery means a great deal to all of us.” She embraced the woman quickly and then looked down to the valley where Glynneath Village was nestled. “Stay strong. I won’t let Ulwyn destroy what I’ve come to cherish so deeply.”

Nell smiled at her, wiped a tear off her cheek and then resolutely turned away from them and started her walk back to the village.

“Come on you lot. Let’s go and show that bastard Ulwyn that he can’t think to take Shardizar without one hell of a fight on his hands.”

*****

Lucan stared at the greedy maniacal gleam in Ulwyn’s eyes. He had just about broken through his bonds and would be able to fight his way to the portal shortly. He couldn’t let this madness continue. If he had to give his life up by draining all of the magic within him to shut the portal then so be it. He would not allow Ulwyn to emerge victorious. He’d seen many bad man get their own way in his lifetime and this time around he wasn’t going to let another bastard win.

Light flashed through the castle and he had to blink his eyes against the glare. When his vision cleared, he was met with the cocky smiling visage of his mentor, Sir Algernon.

“Well, lad, you look like you’re in quite the pickle. I brought along some of my old friends to help you out. If the situation becomes too dire, Rhiannon herself shall be down here.”

“Am I dreaming?” he said slowly.

“I was a knight in life, and not much has changed in death,” Algernon grinned widely. “You wouldn’t think I’d abandon you in your darkest hour did you, boy?”

Lucan shook his head. He’d always been able to count on Algernon. Algernon grunted loudly. “I see my cousin over there still hasn’t been able to break free of his bonds. You need to tell your father that the only thing that keeps him tethered to this plane of existence is his own paralyzing guilt. He might think that it’s Ulwyn’s dark magic that is doing it but it’s not. It is all him.

Brandyn always did know how to let his conscience get the better of him. He did wrong by you and attempted to set it right by calling me in to do the job he didn’t have the guts to do. He never should have let his pride get the better of him. You were good enough. Your mother was good enough and his stupid idea that you weren’t is what caused you all a world of grief.”

The sparkling light surrounding one of the Celestial Knights that had returned with Algernon stole his breath. He knew her image. He’d seen it many times during his days as a young man hoping to become a part of the Order of St. Alby. It was Princess Alby herself! He was quite floored by the beautiful sight.

She raised her sword to him, and gave him a wink, then she turned to engage the dark soldiers from Herne that had begun to fight against those who had been sent down from the Heavens.

“Princess Alby is our leader. It’s quite fitting that the fallen members of her Order become her Celestial Knights if they choose to do so, don’t you think?”

Lucan’s loose bonds disappeared and in his right hand was his sword, in his left hand was his shield that Algernon had supernaturally summoned from the Tavern.

“Go for their heart or take their heads. The rest of their body is covered in an impenetrable hide. You’ll only waste precious energy by hitting them anywhere else,” Algernon said.

“I should go to my father.”

“If you wish to do so, Lucan. You have to forgive him eventually, now is just as good a time as any.”

“When everything is going to hell, you mean.”

“If you like.” Algernon eyes twinkled and he turned away from him.

“Why can’t Princess Alby shut the portal?” Lucan asked.

“None of us that have returned from the Heavenly Otherworld can shut the portal, Lucan. You have to be alive at the time of doing it and you have to be willing to sacrifice your life. That is the cost, my boy. Nothing else will do. As we no longer have mortal lives to sacrifice none of us can do it.”

Algernon studied him closely as a myriad of emotions washed through Lucan.

“Now, son, you get those thoughts out of your head. It’s not your course. It’s not your fate. You will live to be an old man and sire many children with the woman of your dreams. Your time is far from here. You should realize that you will always live to fight another day. No, this responsibility falls to another who has always known in their heart what they had to do—what they were always meant to do. You go and say hello to your father while I go and take out a few of those bloody bastards!” With an excited battle cry, he rushed into battle doing what he’d always done best in life. With his health restored and now forever young, Algernon was the warrior he had been when he and Lucan had first met.

Lucan’s heart sank. His thoughts immediately went to Neri. Neri would get it in her fool head to sacrifice herself and he wouldn’t allow that to happen. He would make his peace with his father, make sure that Ryn was able to usher him into the Heavenly Otherworld and then, he would do what had to be done. He would sacrifice his life so Neri could live.

*****

The demonic soldiers that Ulwyn had summoned now came screaming out of Wythley Castle. For one brief moment, Neri was afraid. They were the embodiment of everything that had always haunted her nightmares. Their eyes glowed. They were red and black and were filled with ferocity. They let out inhumane growls and their leathery skin made her skin crawl.

“Take their heads or go for their heart which is roughly in the same spot as ours are. Don’t bother hitting them anywhere else, Neri. You won’t kill them,” Ryn advised.

Blinding light illuminated the Inner Bailey as heavenly warriors materialized around them.

“Now this is more like it,” Ryn said. He was bathed in light as well and when the light dimmed, he was outfitted as a true warrior Seraphim could be dressed.

“You’ve never looked better,” she said, her heart welling with love for him.

“We can’t let them get past us alive, or they will raze the village, and without the reinforcements, Nell and her children will be as good as dead,” Mother Spratt said.

The three of them clustered together and she marveled at Mother Spratt’s ability as a Templar Mage. She was killing without compunction, having magically transformed her staff into a wicked looking sword that gleamed with the arcane light of her golden coloured magic.

Neri knew why she was killing with such abandon. She had no guilt when it came to taking these demons lives. She truly was an instrument of destruction, more so than Neri, who felt awkward wielding a blade. She’d never been that adept at this kind of battle, she’d always relied on her feline magic or the ability to change into her cat forms to get herself out of dire circumstances.

The whooshing noise that the Royal Flying Ships made carried to them even over the din of the raging battle.

Relief washed through her. There was hope for them yet! She smiled as she met another demon soldier in battle.

“My brother is here. Can you hear the reassuring roars of his troops?” Ryn asked, giving her a jubilant smile.

Rhiannon was close. She could feel her presence and she didn’t know if she should be happy about that or frantic with worry. She didn’t want Rhiannon seeing this kind of horror—if it scared the wits out of her, how was her baby girl going to react?

In her moment of distraction, one of the enemy’s swings hit home and sliced into her side. She grimaced as star streaks of pain crashed against her vision.

“By the Gods, that smarted,” she cried out, finishing off the demon. Fortunately, when they struck the killer blow their bodies disintegrated into black ash, and so therefore would be saved having to dig mass graves.