Legends of Marithia: Book 2 - Darkness Rising (23 page)

An elite skeleton warrior kicked open
the door, snarled at him, then threw his clothes to the dirty floor
and a flask of hot blood landed on top of them.

He staggered to the pile of clothes
and drank the blood as if he was dying of thirst. Wiping the blood
from his mouth and feeling his strength returning to him, he
quickly got himself dressed and pressed his ear against the door.
He could hear the swirling metallic sound of the portal opening
again and Kassina’s distant voice giving orders.

His heart pounded as he stared at the
weapons rack, unsure of whether to trust Kassina or if he was about
to be executed. Before he had a chance to decide, two of her elite
stormed into the room and prodded him toward the door with their
bony fists.

When Tusdar walked outside, he noticed
that all Zhendurians were assembled once again by the now open
portal. Kassina stood with her arms crossed, tapping the ground
with her left foot.

“
Come now Tusdar, we don’t
have all day!” she yelled.

Tusdar finally reached Kassina’s
position and looked around to see everyone staring in his
direction. Mestal was nearby and standing next to her father, her
eyes revealing her concern.

Kassina raised her arms in the air,
addressing the vampire city. “My loyal Zhendurians, this is a time
of war and as such, certain measures have to be taken to protect
ourselves from our enemies. Am I right?”

The crowd erupted in agreement and she
waved them all down.

“
It was many years ago that
I pledged my own loyalty to our great lord, Shindar. I watched as
humans butchered my mother and father simply because they loved
each other and broke human
sacred
laws
that would prevent any of you from
experiencing freedom like
they
had.
They
think that we are not worthy of living amongst
them. Today, I will show you all that Shindar and I are merciful
and worthy of your loyalty.”

The crowd cheered and she nodded
toward the portal.

Two elite skeleton warriors dragged a
man out from the underworld. His skin was blistered and broken and
he looked feeble in their grip. His long hair covered his face as
he fell to the dirt on his hands and knees.

“
Here before you are two
men who dared to break into Greenhaven in an attempt to take my
life. They almost succeeded, but instead took the life of one of
your own, Derian.”

Tusdar’s face dropped at
the realisation and he blurted out, “
Aidan
?!”

She marched up to him and booted the
side of his head viciously. She brought her face close to his ear
and barked, “Stand up and face your old ally!”

Spitting blood, he warily stood and
faced Tusdar.

“
Justice shall be served
here today and the punishment shall fit the crime. Tusdar has been
chosen by Mestal, and as such… he is entitled to an opportunity for
forgiveness for his actions!” she yelled.

Clicking her fingers toward one of the
skeleton warriors, a sword flew out of its sheath to land in her
hands. She swung the sword around and threw it by the hilt to
Tusdar. He caught the hilt with both hands, but the tip fell to the
ground from the force of the throw adding to its weight.

“
Tusdar, if you truly are
Mestal’s chosen; you will take your blade and drive it through
Aidan’s heart as the first order of your queen. If you do so, you
will pledge yourself to Shindar and you will have my
blessing.”

He looked at Kassina in shock as the
long blade shook in his hands.

Her eyes narrowed and she grit her
teeth as she growled, “Kill him or you side against all of us and
both of you shall be served equal punishment!”

Chapter 18 : We Meet
Again

“
It warms the heart when
patience and faith are answered with long awaited news. We have
completed the rebuild of Veldrenn and I feel ready for what lays
ahead of us.

My darling daughter showed me that
there is still joy and love in this world and I can’t wait to share
her thoughts with all of Veldrenn.

As with all important matters, timing
is everything. I look to the sky and wonder… how long will it be
before they arrive?”

(Queen Andrielle of
Veldrenn)

The rhythmic beats of Karven’s wings
soothed her ears as the wind died down and they glided peacefully
in an arrow formation. The night was calm and majestic, and it was
easy to forget all their troubles. Being so close to a starry night
made her feel more comfortable than ever before and she smiled as
she stared into the endless twinkling ceiling.

Trisa had cast enchantments on Yuski
and the demon hunter appeared to be resting peacefully on the back
of her dragon, under the healer’s protection. The wounds covered in
an enchanted balm that glowed white. Anakari could relax knowing
that she was being well looked after.

When they initially took flight, she
watched in horror as countless shadows emerged from the forest to
swarm the Jade Inn from all directions and she was relieved to be
on the back of a mighty dragon.

Once the thrill of flight wore off and
she took in her surroundings, Anakari was drawn to the beam of
light from She’Ma’Ryn. Watching it closely, it appeared as if a
constant pulse of brighter light was coming from the stars and
plummeting into the city.

She leaned closer to Vartan’s helm and
asked, “Why is the light doing that? And what is that
place?”

Karven turned his head slightly to
answer her. “That would be Gra’Tuerians arriving into She’Ma’Ryn,
the City of Wonders. They need safe harbour as their home planet
has suffered greatly.”

“
Great king, thank you, but
why would anyone want to come here? We are in the midst of war and
this is hardly a safe harbour.”

Vartan and Karven both chuckled to
themselves and Vartan turned his head to speak with her. “I guess
that you have not travelled much in Marithia?”

She lowered her head and reddened with
embarrassment and muttered, “Well… not really, I lived most of my
life with Aldorus.”

“
She’Ma’Ryn is a place that
none of Shindar’s forces would dare cross, it is a safe harbour for
anyone who is within its walls of protection. They will be safe
there,” said Vartan.

“
It sounds like we should
all be in She’Ma’Ryn.” She said, looking around the breathtaking
landscape.

They watched as the sun began to rise
over the horizon. Anakari breathed sharply at the beauty of it. It
was as if the gods were giving birth to another day, and the bright
sunshine brought warmth into the land. Everyone watched quietly as
dawn broke.

“
There is still true beauty
in this world that hasn’t been destroyed,” said Karven, “We need to
stop those who would take all of this away from us and enslave us
through tyranny. We could all go to She’Ma’Ryn in the useless hope
that we will be saved. In reality, we would be hiding under a rock
until Marithia falls to Shindar and merges with the underworld.
Once that happens, the protection it provides would be lost to us
and the dome of protection would fall. We would be fish in a pond
for the Forces of Darkness.”

Anakari sighed loudly and leaned
closer to Vartan to speak with him. “How far are we from
Veldrenn?”

“
We are almost there, but I
don’t know what to expect when we arrive. Dragons who had visited
said that the city was under heavy repairs since the Battle of the
Elven Woods.”

Turning her head to her left, she saw
the golden glint of Greenhaven reflecting the sun’s
rays.

“
Tell me, what happened at
Greenhaven?”

Vartan’s eyes narrowed
inside his helm as he thought back to the fall of Greenhaven.
“
Kassina
happened. Greenhaven fell through the betrayal of King
Arman’s son, Derian. Many who I held close to my heart died that
day in an effort to protect the city.”

Anakari spoke gently. “I see… why
could nobody stop her?”

“
Greenhaven was Marithia’s
shining jewel, a safe haven where we felt protected. I was the
leader of the Royal Knights, entrusted to protect the royal family.
Somehow, Derian managed to set up an ambush where his sister
Helenia was almost killed. My dear Helenia… I barely managed to
save her and bring her back to Greenhaven alive. He convinced King
Arman that I had betrayed him, and the king banished me from
Greenhaven, where I couldn’t…” said Vartan, his voice
breaking.

Karven turned his head to
speak. “I know how much they meant to you… but you must stop
blaming yourself for what happened to Arman and all who fell at
Greenhaven. The king banished you to protect you because of who
you
are
, can you
not see that?”

Vartan was left speechless at the
revelation.

Anakari’s mouth widened as she asked,
“The King saved Vartan at the cost of his own life?”

“
Yes. Arman always knew
what Vartan meant to the future of Marithia, and that he was the
subject of the Talonsphere prophecy. The Sword of Destiny revealed
this to him before Vartan entered into his knighthood. Nymira
shared what she saw with me the day you were banished in the throne
room. Arman
believed
you and he sent you away to where you could be safe. You were
not ready to face Kassina… as you already know now.”

“
He… but…” stammered
Vartan, taking a moment to steady his thoughts.

“
By the gods! You are the
boy of the Talonsphere prophecy? I am on the back of the king of
dragons with… oh my,” exclaimed Anakari.

Vartan turned around and
smiled at the sight of her wide eyes and chuckled as he spoke.
“Please… Actually, it is
I
who feel special to be in
your
company.”

Turning back to Karven, he asked,
“Hold on… what is the sword of destiny? It couldn’t possibly have
been…”

“
Dear boy… we should have
had this conversation long ago. The sword of destiny
was
Leon’s sword. I
gifted it to him in She’Ma’Ryn on one of his trade visits and it
was to stay with him until the day he felt you were truly in
danger. That day had come and the sword found its rightful
owner.”

“
I can’t believe it… all
this time,
he
saved
my
life…” muttered Vartan, shaking his head.

Anakari gently asked, “Vartan, about
what you said before about feeling special…”

Her words were interrupted by Karven.
“We are here, hold on tight!”

She took in a deep breath as all
dragons dove from the sky with frightening speed and she watched in
awe as the tree canopy of Veldrenn opened up at Queen Andrielle’s
command.

Anakari screamed with joy as the
adrenaline pumped through her veins and the wind howled past her
ears. The dragons changed to a long line formation behind Karven
and followed each other in a downward spiral following the border
of Veldrenn’s open canopy.

Changing their scales to reveal
themselves in the sky, they were met with the thunderous sounds of
Veldrenn’s army cheering and banging their swords against their
shields.

Veldrenn had not only been beautifully
restored, but it looked like a whole new city with heavy
fortifications and a bustling multi-cultured population.

Karven spread his wings wide as he
prepared to land and they slowed down. Flapping his mighty wings,
he landed with a loud shudder and folded them. The ground continued
to shake with each dragon’s landing.

Helenia ran as fast as her legs could
carry her toward Vartan and cried tears of joy as she screamed. “My
love!”

Vartan leapt from Karven’s back,
throwing his helm to the ground behind him as he ran to meet her.
“Helenia!”

In the middle of Veldrenn, the boy of
dragon’s blood and the girl who would be queen embraced each other
again. He held her close to his chest as if she was the most
precious object in Marithia and they both wept as the cheers rose
with almost deafening roar.

Queen Andrielle waved down the crowd
and her voice boomed over Veldrenn.

“
People of Veldrenn… Let us
all welcome the great dragons and our allies… and Vartan, the boy
of the Talonsphere prophecy, who
lives
! Today marks the day that we
unite once again in the battle against Shindar, the battle to free
us all!”

The crowd erupted in more
cheers.

Waving them down once more and smiling
at her daughter in Vartan’s arms, she spoke warmly.

“
We will mark this day with
the greatest celebration of all, the most joyous of occasions.
Tonight we will have a royal wedding! My daughter Helenia, your
future queen, has my blessing to marry Vartan, who not only is the
boy of the Talonsphere prophecy and knight of Veldrenn, but will
become our future king!”