The Children of Calm (28 page)

Giant statues of Aesidian figures made from crystal lined the way. He could not help but feel awed at the sight. It took them several minutes but they finally made it to the other end of the room, where four more Aesid stood with their backs to him. Another grand staircase led up to an impressive throne which had the backdrop of a dark swirling wall. He was trying to figure out why the swirling wall seemed so familiar to him when his escort pushed him to the ground on the right of the other Aesid, whom he now realized were standing guard over his group of friends. Each of them were on their knees, hands bound behind their backs. Selenor was on his left, then Altan, next Lana, and finally Tresten knelt at the other end. The girls looked frightened out of their minds. Tresten’s head was buried in his chest, and he seemed to be swaying a little. Rylek thought he even heard him moaning. Altan appeared calm, though Rylek thought he looked weak and pale.

“Are you okay?” Selenor asked him. “What’s happening to us?”

“I’m fine,” he said. “Don’t worry about me. Did they hurt you?”

Selenor tried to smile. “No, I’m okay,” she said.

“Enough chatting,” Pherin said, and Rylek noticed he stood to the right of them behind a desk where Faldrahil and Silran were set. “Her Ladyship Keona, the Empress of Teravihn’dael is…”

“Is here,” came a familiar voice. Tresten suddenly screamed again. Rylek looked up and in a fit of shock recognized the woman emerging from a door to his left as the woman from his dream, only this time she had no wings. She stood much shorter than the other Aesid, and he guessed she was Selenor’s height. In reality she was every bit as beautiful as she was in his dream - so perfect that his heart hurt to look upon her. Her skin was not like the Aesid, but was colored like his, and her eyes were the same piercing sapphire as they had been in his vision. Long golden strands of hair were pulled back and tied off into a braided tail, and a thin sliver of a crystal or diamond tiara was set upon her brow. She wore no shoes upon her feet, and with an embarrassing observation he realized her white arraignment was sheer. Her form was perfect, statuesque.

A goddess
, he thought to himself.

She smiled.

He tried to lower his head out of respect and shame, to free his eyes from lust, but found they could not waver from looking at her form. His will fought hard but something was keeping his eyes locked upon her. Deep within his chest his heart began to pound loudly, beating out the sensual rhythm pulsing through his veins. He swore he heard the drums from the temple of Fornrihgula echoing in his ears.

“Nasty whore!” he heard Lana whisper through gritted teeth.

Apparently the Empress either did not hear her, or did not care. The other Aesid in the room had fallen on their faces in respect before her. She casually observed everyone in the room, and then her eyes rested on Rylek. No one offered her a word as she moved salaciously across the room towards him.

Though the room was probably silent, he would have made wagers that there were storms raging in his ears. His hands began to shake uncontrollably. The entire time her deep blue eyes were locked with his. She then leaned over so that her face was mere inches from his. Her fragrance washed over him and drove him to near madness.

“You are most welcome within my magnificent and sacred temple,” she said in a voice so sweet that his insides wasted away to nothing. It seemed like her words were coming from everywhere, all around him, even from within. Everything else in the room dissolved and faded till all he knew was her. “Does your heart long for what your eyes see?” she asked as the tip of her finger lightly touched his lower lip. An itchy fire erupted there. “To gaze, to touch, to taste, to possess?” His heart was about to erupt. “I told you I was coming for you. Indeed, I now see that you are very brave and incredibly strong. Though I do not truly
know
you the way I
desire
to, I shall soon enough - for I am desperately in need of one like you.” She then drew so close that her lips brushed up against his. “Thank you for not making me wait for long,” she said softly and provocatively.

She then slowly pulled away from him, and to Rylek it felt as though the ground had fallen out from under his feet. He was quaking like a madman, desperate to rise up and embrace her, but found he could not move. He was frozen in place, helpless to her power. His whole body shivered uncontrollably as he watched her walk further away to his left, ignoring Selenor and stopping in front of Altan. She did not stoop down to him, but instead said a most curious thing.

“Hello, my old friend. I certainly did not expect to see you again - at least, not so soon.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Rylek could see that Altan slowly shook his head in disbelief. “It cannot be,” he said. “How is this possible?”

“Diligence pays off,” she said coyly. “All of your vain efforts are now proven barren. I am, and have indeed returned.”

“But I know what I saw mere minutes ago…”

“It matters not what you saw,” she said.

To Rylek’s ears her voice was the most melodic sound he had ever heard, and every other sound, including Altan’s voice, seemed gruff and detuned from beauty.

“It matters not,” she continued, “because even if you truly saw what you believe you have seen, it is all for naught. None of you shall ever escape here. You shall never tell those who long ago turned their backs upon you what you have seen and are seeing.”

“You underestimated me before. Do not be foolish enough to do so again,” Altan said.

Keona merely laughed, and it was arpeggios of tingles down Rylek’s spine. “How you amuse me, old pitiful fool!” she said. “You have no idea how powerful I have become, nor of how much more powerful I shall yet be. But soon you shall see, and you shall beg for mercy as I assault the damned heights of Teth’enahl and claim what is rightfully mine.”

“You shall never prevail!” he said.

“And you shall never learn,” she said. “All is over; Mira has been forsaken. Even now I shall offer to you my most gracious gift of serving me as a dutiful slave as I take the ultimate power. It is the only option left for you, old friend. Without my aid you know you cannot survive here for much longer.”

“Never shall I!” Altan said, though his voice was weakening.

“We shall see. It matters not anyway, for I surely do not need you. I have willing souls right here.”

She then passed by Lana and stood in front of Tresten, who was rocking himself. With each step she took away from Rylek, he felt as though a weighted chain were drawing heavier around his heart, and more and more he longed for nothing more than to hold her, to have her for himself. If she moved much further away, his heart would be wrung dry.

“And you,” she said to Tresten, who was muttering to himself and swaying on his knees. “You whom I surprisingly also know very well, though you do not yet know me – you who shall be my prince.” She gently cradled his head in her hands and raised him to his feet.

All else grew dark in Rylek’s eyes as he could see nothing but the radiant form of the Empress and a silhouette that he assumed was Tresten. Her fingers lightly caressed the silhouette’s head, playing tenderly down its cheeks and running through its hair. The fire began to burn hotter through Rylek’s veins as a fit of jealous rage overtook his mind.

“I see the power within you, so I know why my presence pains you,” she said to Tresten. “But it is I alone who can heal you of its torturous ways. Our children shall sit on thrones ruling over all of Mira forever.”

Her voice had grown so hypnotic and infectious to Rylek that everything he had ever known previously seemed garish and foul. His family and friends, the village of Calm, even Selenor herself were mere mockeries of the true beauty that the Empress Keona possessed. His heart flung them all aside, wanting only the highest prize. He envisioned himself drawing Faldrahil from the desk and slaying this foul shadow creature that dared to sully the perfection of his priceless jewel. Desperately he tried to make his legs work, but they ignored him. All the while he never took his eyes off her eyes.

“Allow me a simple taste, and I shall be yours forever,” she said to Tresten, though her eyes were now fixed upon Rylek. She then kissed Tresten, and there boiled such a wildfire throughout Rylek’s body that he willed his leaden legs to move. He stood, snapping the bindings off his wrists, ready to take his sword in hand and slay Tresten.

The Empress is MINE!
his mind screamed as he was already halfway to the desk.

But then several things happened simultaneously. Though he had forgotten about the others, Rylek heard very clearly and loudly Altan’s voice ring out “
ENOUGH!
” So authoritative was the command that Rylek stopped what he was doing and was instantly brought back into his right mind. He also, for the smallest of fractions of a second, thought he saw a fearsome mangled creature in the place of the Empress, quickly replaced by her former appearance. At the same time, a wave of incredible energy radiated out from Tresten and passed through everyone in the room. He tore the bindings off his wrists and bellowed out an otherworldly roar. It all happened in the time it took Rylek to wonder
What’s happening?

The Aesid collapsed like dead men for a few seconds, bodies sprawled out limply on the floor. It was more than enough time for Altan to grasp control of the situation. “Your swords!” he called out, and to Rylek’s surprise Faldrahil soared into his hands, and Silran flew right into Tresten’s hands. Then Altan called out again using his commanding voice: “
STAY!”
The Aesid, who had begun to gather themselves off the ground, collapsed again and could not arise.

The Empress Keona had been knocked backwards and sat on her knees. She glared at Altan with an icy stare. “They are mine!” she said so coldly and collectively that her voice sent shivers down Rylek’s back. Those shivers then started to work the charm of her voice again.

“Never have they been, and never shall they be!” Altan cried, and the authority in his voice effectively killed the spell for good. “Now, children:
away
!”

There was no time for words as they fled from the Empress and her guards. Rylek looked behind and saw her still kneeling on the floor, struggling to stand. She was screaming words he did not understand. He then noticed the others’ hands were also freed. As they neared the doorway, their coats came flying to them.

“We will need these,” Altan said. “We must hurry to our exit!”

Rylek grabbed his coat as the others took theirs, and following Altan they burst through the entrance to the throne room as the doors slid open. The two guards that stood as sentries at the door were knocked backward through the air.

After they descended the stairs, Rylek looked back and saw all of the Aesid guards from the throne room pursuing them; they were not far behind. “How do we get out of here?” he asked.

“Yeah, and where exactly is ‘here’?” Lana asked.

“Thankfully, I know how we got here in the first place,” Altan said. “It’s not terribly far, but we must hurry!”

Down the shiny black hallways they ran, turning sometimes and other times continuing on straight. Rylek wondered why the Aesid were running after them and not flying, and also why no one was cutting them off in front. Then ahead of them a door slid open and inside was a tiny room.

“Dead end!” Selenor said.

“No, it’s an elevator,” Altan said.

“A what?” Lana asked as the door closed behind them.

“Basically a room that transports you to various floors in a building,” Altan said. “We need to go up.”

“Up?” Rylek asked. “Are we underground or something?”

“We are underwater,” Altan said. “It is imperative for us to escape. If I had any idea things were like this I would never have brought you four here. Forgive me.”

Rylek was thankful for the opportunity to catch his breath. He was feeling shaky and lightheaded, and though he had been running, he felt extremely cold. But long before he was ready, the door opened again and they saw a room with a console and a raised platform. Two Aesid were standing at the console. Without a word, they drew their spears and ran towards the group. Altan pushed everyone out of the elevator. “Rylek! Tresten!” he said. “Take care of them and protect the girls! I will disable the elevator.”

The boys drew their swords and met the Aesid. It was not long before they were sheathing the blades again.

“Mine fell first,” Tresten said.

“This isn’t a game, Tresten!” Rylek said.

Altan came up behind with the girls. “No one will be using this elevator anytime soon,” he said. “But I am sure Keona will undo what I’ve done. Quickly, onto the pad!”

“How do you know her?” Lana asked.

“No time for that now,” he said.

They ran onto the platform and Rylek suddenly felt tingly all over. Everything turned red, then black, then red again before returning to normal colors. But now they were in a different room. The polished black shine was gone, and rock walls were around them, though another console was in the room. One wooden door stood in front of them, but two more Aesid blocked the way to it.

“Not again,” Rylek muttered to himself.

“It sure would be easier if I could knock that thing into them,” Tresten said, gesturing at the console as the Aesid slowly walked towards them with drawn spears. Then in a moment Rylek would never forget, the console tore itself from the floor and flung itself at the Aesid with such a force that it pinned them to the wall.