Legends of Marithia: Book 2 - Darkness Rising (25 page)

May the gods help
me,
thought Tusdar. He shed a tear as the
last of his humanity was stripped from his body.

Kassina sheathed her daggers and
clapped her hands as she kicked Aidan’s body over and the crowd
erupted in cheers. She approached him and patted his back. Leaning
close to his ear, she whispered, “Well done.”

Turning to the crowd and waving for
them to quieten down, she spoke resolutely. “Today, it has been
proven that this man is no longer loyal to anyone else but Shindar
and his queen. He is forgiven for his crimes and will become one of
our chosen. Aryun, take Mestal and Tusdar to the ceremonial room
and prepare him for my blessing. The rest of you can return to your
duties.”

Lord Aryun nodded and walked with a
quivering Mestal toward Tusdar. She embraced Tusdar tightly and
held his hand as they walked toward the centre of
Zhendur.

Once the crowd had dispersed and
Tusdar was far from the portal, Kassina turned to her elite
warriors. “Shut the portal down and be ready for my return to the
underworld.”

She walked to Aidan’s dying
body and laughed as she used her mind to make his mouth speak. “Oh
Tusdar,
please
…
don’t
kill
me”

She focused her
concentration on casting a spell. “
Ostendo
sum vestri verus visio quod aufero vestri os
.”

His blood-soaked face glowed
momentarily and the features began to contort and morphed into a
completely different man.

“
Take him away and give him
to the Zhendurians to feed, they like nothing better than drawing
blood from a real body,” she commanded.

One of her elite warriors shrieked a
question to her in his confusion about the man’s identity as he
dragged the body away.

She puffed out a breath in annoyance.
“Why would I waste a perfectly good worker? I just had to be sure
that he was on the right side and any man who is willing to murder
his old friend is worthy of joining my ranks.”

Tusdar stood naked in the middle of a
large circular room. Shimmering symbols were etched into the marble
ground. He was surrounded by a large suspended circle and a five
pointed star that looked like it had been built into the structure.
Mestal, Aryun and three others were all crouched down on their
knees in each point of the star and faced him.

“
What do I do now?” he
asked.

“
I told you, stand there
and await our queen’s presence,” snapped Aryun.

Tusdar nodded and almost jumped out of
his skin when the large door burst open and Kassina stormed into
the room.

“
Time is short and we must
do this quickly. Shindar expects my return momentarily and he will
be most unhappy if I keep him waiting. You all know what to do. I
will begin the first rites of blessing,” she ordered.

Walking to stand behind
Tusdar, she raised his arms to the height of his shoulders and cast
the first spell. “
Nos dico nostrum valde
ut patefacio ianua ut sub universitas quod venia nos per suus
presentia
!”

The ground shook and began to pulse as
the star fell into the ground and was replaced by scorching
fire.

“
Nos dico nostrum valde ut
patefacio ianua ut sub universitas quod venia nos per suus
presentia
…” they chanted, their eyes
glowing white with the power of the spell.

A small ball of fire burst from inside
the star to hover in the air before him and flattened as if it were
a plate of fire. With each pulse, it grew in size until a large
flat circle of fire was before him.

Kassina grinned with
anticipation as she yelled the second spell. “
Iam ut ianua es patefacio nos scisco iungo nostrum regnum
quod ostendo suus visio!
”

The circle fell into the ground and
produced an eerie blue fog and covered the floor of the room.
Tusdar watched as the flat circle of fire before him began to open
and reveal a window into the underworld. He saw the decayed land
and rotting world before him and gasped with the shock. The smell
of decay filled his nose as the underworld wind entered the
room.

“
Iam ut ianua es patefacio
nos scisco iungo nostrum regnum quod ostendo suus
visio!
” they chanted.

“
By the gods! It looks
exactly like Marithia, but as if it has all been ravaged by war,”
he observed.

“
This is the underworld.
Once our power is realised and the underworld becomes one with
Marithia, you will witness the birth of a new kingdom… one ruled by
those who are worthy to call themselves king and queen. One ruled
by… Shindar,” said Kassina.

“
If this is a portal to the
underworld, why didn’t Shindar just walk into Marithia in the
portal you came through?” asked Tusdar.

Kassina chuckled. “This
ceremonial room is made from materials brought here from the
underworld and is the only reason that Shindar can make an
appearance here today. Once Marithia
is
part of the underworld, it will
matter no longer.”

Tusdar stared wide-eyed
into the portal as he blurted out, “Shindar is
here
?”

Tusdar watched as the dark lord
himself approached the casted portal in full armour and his deep
voice reverberated around the room. “Kassina, why do you call me
here for a blessing? I expected your return long ago. Who is this
you bring before me?”

Kassina pushed Tusdar down
onto his knees and kneed him in the back for his insolence before
snapping an order in his ear. “Do you not
know
how to address your
lord?”

Tusdar stuttered, “M… My great lord
Shindar, I am Tusdar and I am but your humble servant.”

Kassina pushed him to stand before
speaking. “He does not look like much, but he murdered his own
friend in cold blood today to prove his loyalty. I believe that he
has earned our blessing.”

“
Tusdar… I have seen
your
soul before and am
surprised that you are here before me. However, if your heart truly
desires to become one of our chosen, then there is nobody better
than those who have proven their loyalty to me. I want you to know
that we will be able see through your eyes and hear through your
ears and if you are ever to betray me, I will personally see to it
that you serve an eternal life as a slave in the underworld. Do you
still wish to be blessed and join me in the fight to reclaim
Marithia as our own?”

Tusdar looked deep within his heart
and found that nothing was there. There was no emotional pull or
doubts of his chosen path and he nodded knowingly. “My great lord,
I do.”

“
Then let it be done!”
boomed Shindar, the sheer shock of the lord’s voice pushing Tusdar
back. He reached through the portal and Tusdar watched as his great
hand materialised in the ceremonial room, opened in front of him,
and his body was pulled off the ground to meet the lord half way.
He landed chest first on Shindar’s hand as all eyes were on him; he
was now the room’s centrepiece. Shindar’s mouth opened to reveal a
dark brown snake slithering from his throat and making its way
toward Tusdar.

Kassina leapt over the flames and out
of the circle.

The snake reared and struck Tusdar in
the chest, sinking its fangs deep into his flesh. He screamed in
pain as the snake bit through his flesh and slithered deep into his
chest, wrapping around his blackened heart.

“
Nostrum mens es iam ut
unus quod vos ero auditurus esse quod visum universitas of
incendia
,” boomed Shindar.

With a white flash, a searing hot
flame hit his chest and he let out a loud grunt as he was thrown
violently into the wall behind him.

Shindar pulled his hand back into the
underworld and the portal closed. At the spell’s completion, the
blue fog dissipated and the flames were pulled back into the
underworld. The ground shook as the marble floor returned to its
normal state and they all watched as the burned skin on Tusdar’s
chest revealed the pentagram and an eye that blinked at first and
then blended into the tattoo.

Tusdar heard the voice of Kassina in
his mind as she said, “It is done.”

The ceremonial room’s door busted open
with a skeleton warrior that shrieked and spoke with its guttural
sounds desperately.

“
How
dare
you!” snapped Kassina, drawing
her sword to decapitate the warrior for its intrusion when she
scrunched her eyebrows in confusion.

“
What in Shindar’s name are
you doing
here
? I
left you with a group charged with defending Greenhaven!” asked
Kassina.

With more shrieks and guttural sounds,
the warrior shook with anger as he relayed events.

“
Stop!” she yelled, “Let me
see for myself.”

She walked up to put a hand on the
warrior’s skull to look into its memories. She watched as Wumvarn
dispatched some warriors with spells that burst their bones into
dust. She growled with annoyance as she watched the demon feed off
prisoner’s hearts and ordered her warriors to do her bidding.
Finally, she watched as the skeleton warrior observed the catching
of the human warrior and took the opportunity to escape from
Greenhaven with the remainder of her skeleton warriors assigned to
guard it.

Releasing its skull, she decapitated
the skeleton warrior with a singular blow. “And the same goes for
the rest of those who fled Greenhaven to find sanctuary here! I do
not reward cowardice and incompetence. Either succeed or die
trying.”

Her elite warriors shrieked with
acceptance of the orders and executed the rest of the
escapees.

Tusdar stood in the room, admiring his
new tattoo and clothing himself.

Kassina approached Lord Aryun and
snapped her orders. “That blasted demon! I need to return to the
underworld, but Greenhaven must be taken back at all costs! I want
you to march the Zhendurian army to the castle gates and destroy
anyone in your path. Find this demon and rip her to
pieces!”

He nodded. “I will ready the army for
departure immediately.”