Odriel's Heirs Page 4

  Tearing her gaze away, she looked to the man who had spoken. His appearance was nearly as disturbing as her father’s. He had no lips, no nose, no eyebrows or ears, and he bared his teeth and gums in a grotesque smile. His wide eyes bulged unnaturally out of his bald head, and wrinkled, pink scar tissue covered every inch of him. He propped her father up as if they were close friends. So, this thing was Mogens.

  “Ariston said we were supposed to keep them pretty until he got here, but I just couldn’t help myself,” he rasped cheerily. “Besides, wouldn’t Guardian Dashul want me to return the favor after all these years? Justice is beautiful, after all,”.

  Her father tried to speak, but his words were unintelligible through his enflamed lips, and he let his head drop in exhaustion. The pool of blood burgeoning beneath him shined black in the shadows of Kaia’s fire

  “Put him down,” she growled, letting the flames engulf her free hand. “Or I’ll finish the job my father started.”

  Mogens produced a bloody, serrated dagger from his grimy vest and held the blade to her father’s throat. “Now, now, let’s not be hasty. I have a deal I think you might find interesting.” Kaia let the fire in her palm grow, but Mogens seemed unperturbed. “It’s simple, really. If you serve Ariston, I will let your father and your friend go free.”

  “And if I don’t?” Kaia snarled.

  “Then I torture your dear father until he dies, and we use his body as part of our Lost army,” Mogens returned. “I’d prefer that really.” His eyes bulged even further, and his unnatural grin widened.

  Kaia hesitated, her fire receding. Her father was a protector of the land, a good man. He didn’t deserve this. She couldn’t let this happen to him. This was her father—her teacher, her partner, her friend. He had taught her everything—dried her every tear, bandaged her scrapes, calmed her fears. It wasn’t a choice. She would pay any price for his life. Any price.

  “Kaia, he’s lying to you,” Klaus croaked as loudly as his raw voice would allow. “He’ll kill us all.” At the sound of Klaus’ voice, Kaia’s father yanked his head up to gaze at them with his good eye. The sight of his mutilated face was too much for Kaia to bear.

  “Papa…” she sobbed, and let the flame die.

  At that, a strangled cry erupted from her father, and with one final burst of strength, Tam clamped onto Mogens’ arm with his bloody palms and dragged the wicked knife across his own throat.

  Both Kaia and Klaus cried out as Mogens let Tam slide to the floor with a look of disgust. The young Heirs stood frozen, transfixed by the sight of the Dragon Heir’s broken and ruined body lying motionless on the blood-slicked stone.

  Then, inexplicably, Mogens began to laugh—a bloodcurdling, ugly sound. The cackles rebounded on the stone walls and echoed endlessly in Kaia’s ears.

  Kaia cracked. Her muscles bunched, and a boiling cauldron of white-hot rage roared to life from her toes to her fingertips as a nimbus of blue flame encased her body. Agonizing pressure built within her until it felt as if her skin would split. In her last willful act before giving herself over to the fury, she shoved Klaus against the wall. An invisible giant hand forced open her gritted teeth, and she unleashed an earsplitting scream of anguished rage as the flames flared higher around her.

  Still smiling, Mogens fled the room on quick feet.

  Klaus threw up his arms to shield himself from the flames. “He’s gone, Kaia! Stop! YOU’LL BRING THE CASTLE DOWN AROUND US!”

  Vision red and ears filled with her own screams, Kaia heard none of it. Its walls buckling, the castle rocked on its foundations, and Klaus flinched away from the searing flames and falling rocks. With a panicked yelp, Gus leapt against Kaia, using his ten-stone weight to knock her to the ground. Kaia’s head whipped against the flagstone floor with a crack, and the flames extinguished instantly with Gus licking her face in quick, rough strokes. As the red haze filling her vision receded, Kaia hugged the singed Gus around his neck and broke into painful, uncontrollable sobs.

  Gus whined, his enchanted fur smoking ever so slightly. I’m sorry, my girl. Sorry, sorry, sorry.

  Klaus collapsed to the floor in relief. A bead of sweat dripped from his chin onto the cold stone. “Earth below,” he whispered. “Thank Odriel for you, Gus.”

  ✽✽✽

  Kaia extended her hands and attacked the funeral pyre with vigor. The fire burned bright and hot in the chill of the pre-dawn air.

  Kaia’s eyes were sore and puffy, but her face was expressionless. “Would anyone care to say anything?”

  Her heart had been torn apart and trampled until she had become an emotionless husk. Her grief—and anger—were spent. She felt nothing.

  Gus leaned against her, sharing her grief. I am with you.

  Kaia wiped at her face with a sleeve and tangled her fingers in his singed fur.

  Shadmundar flicked his tail silently as he sat beside her feet, his cat eyes unreadable. Thornbite had fled in the midst of the battle when the soldiers had tried to mount him. Kaia distantly hoped the poor mule found his way to safety.

  Klaus looked at Kaia with glistening eyes. Grief thickened his voice. “I wish I knew what to say.”

  “Nothing?” Kaia’s unfocused eyes stared into the fire. “Let us be on our way then.”

  She turned her back on the pyre, but Shad’s voice, ringing through the misty air, halted her. Kaia recognized the somber words, slow and measured, from The Heirs’ Way:

  This man journeys far to the great unknown

  Where, bitterly, we will one day follow,

  But until then, we are left here alone,

  Our only companion is dark sorrow.

  The Dragon Heir has passed and been reborn

  Here, his courageous heart continues on

  But his noble sacrifice is now mourned

  Odriel’s guidance we must call upon.

  The echo of the cat’s requiem lingered in the stillness. Klaus bowed his head, and Kaia trembled with the emotion she had thought spent. How many times had she been lulled to sleep by her father’s smooth voice recounting the tales of the Heirs from that very book?

  Shadmundar padded over to stand in front of Kaia. He dropped his head until the tips of his ears brushed the earth.

  Guardian Dashul, Dragon Heir, we humbly ask for your protection.”

  Kaia choked back a sob, and hot tears once again streamed from her eyes. “I grant it freely,” she whispered.

  The cat raised his eyes and fixed his cobalt eyes on her. “Now, we may go.”

  Kaia stared vacantly at the ground under her feet, wishing she could transform into an ant and hide beneath a blade of grass. She felt a childish desire for her mother’s embrace, but as soon as she thought this, a hot stab of agony seared her belly. She’d be the one to give her mother the news. Papa will never come home.

  She felt a hand on the small of her back.

  “Come on, Firefly,” Klaus urged gently as he guided her out of the courtyard. “I want to show you something.”

  Outside of the gates, two stag-like steeds stood waiting patiently for them. The powerful beasts stood tall with broad racks of velvet antlers, lionlike manes, and bobbed tails. The palomino shone gold with a milky cream mane, while the roan gleamed a blue-silver. Gus leaned in for a cautious sniff as the creatures considered them with large, intelligent eyes.

  The roan trotted up to Klaus on dainty hooves and whickered with a sonorous voice deeper than any horse.

  Kaia sighed. “What—"

  Klaus patted the roan on its shaggy neck. “They’re Naerami Dalteek. Lucky for us, they’re quite particular about their riders.” He glanced at Kaia. “Your father brought them with him when he came west to find me. They’re sure-footed and can run for miles without rest.” The roan lipped his cheek. “This is Moonstreak.” He nodded at the palomino. “And the doe is called Sunflash, your father’s mount.”

  Kaia eyed the handsome creature’s dancing legs and lean body, too burdened with grief to register its beauty.
She held a hand out, palm up. The Dalteek edged towards her, it inhaled and then snuffed at her hand before reaching forward to nuzzle her cheek with its velvet nose. Kaia cupped its long jaw in her arms and leaned forward until their foreheads touched. Girl and beast breathed each other in. Sunflash smelled of pine, smoke, and sweat—she smelled like her father.

  With another deep breath, she pulled away from the great creature. “Ok.” Taking the reins in one hand, Kaia mounted the Dalteek.

  Klaus followed suit and Shad leapt onto the roan’s flank behind him before securing himself once again into one of the roan’s saddlebags.

  “Where to?” Klaus’ voice was still hoarse, but already growing stronger.

  “We ride south,” the cat declared.

  And with that, the trio trotted down the dusty path and away from the crumbling castle gate. The pyre smoked at their backs, and before them, a rising sun cast a bloody smear across the horizon.

  PART TWO

  THE EVIL OF MAN

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Despair

  Days passed as they rode south, the Dalteek sauntering effortlessly along the dirt road as the aftershock of the Dragon Heir’s death washed over their passengers. The landscape rose and fell along gentle green hills dotted with tangles of coral blossoms, but Kaia noticed none of it. Her body stiffened and ached from the agonizing toll of the Dragon Rage, but she savored each jolt and stab of pain. She deserved far worse. Despite the trilling birds and the clear blue sky, Kaia’s world was dark.

  Her face remained a stoic mask, her eyes staring at Sunflash’s shaggy mane, unblinking and vacant. Inwardly, she combed over her father’s death obsessively. She scrutinized every choice and action. Where had she gone wrong? If she had gone up the stairs instead of down into the basement, she could have found him sooner. Perhaps, if she hadn’t hesitated... if she had just attacked right away, she could have saved him. That’s what Bram would have done. Bram would have charged as soon as he laid eyes on Mogens. Kaia stiffened at even the thought of his malformed face—a sickening mixture of fear and rage squeezed her heart.

  On the third night, they settled in a small thicket to the side of the road. After their campfire had reduced to embers and Klaus snored softly with his head on his pack, Shad padded over to where Kaia sat awake.

  “It’s not your fault, you know,” he murmured.

  Kaia shook her head. “You didn’t see it. You don’t know.”

  “This is not my first encounter with Mogens, or his handiwork.” Shad’s tail swished through the grass. “As you probably gathered, your father and he had quite a history, in the worst way.”

  Kaia looked sharply at the cat silhouetted by the glowing coals. “What do you mean?”

  Shadmundar sighed. “King Candon hired Mogens to hunt down your father and the rightful Prince Beirtolo when they fled the Austerden court all those years ago.” His sapphire eyes shined in the dark. “But while the younger Heirs went into exile, the elder generation stayed at the court, still believing Candon’s lies.”

  “You mean my grandfather?” Kaia’s brow wrinkled. “My father always turned away when I asked about him.”

  Shad nodded. “After chasing after the Heirs for months, Mogens realized he had the perfect bait lying right under his nose.” He closed his eyes. “Your father and the others raced back, but by the time they got back to court, their loved ones hung from the palace gates.”

  Kaia covered a gasp with her hand.

  Klaus sat up on the other side of the fire, his face hard. “After my parents died, I always wondered what happened to the last generation.” His eyes shifted to the fire. “That explains it.”

  Kaia looked across to the Shadow Heir then back to Shad. “Then my father burned Mogens with dragon fire.”

  Shad turned his gaze back to Kaia. “These events were set into motion long before you were born.” He put a paw on her leg, every word weighted with gravity. “It’s. Not. Your. Fault.”

  Klaus nodded at her from across the cinders. “You did your best, Firefly.”

  Kaia pressed her lips together and stared into the dying fire. She had tried her best. But what did you do when your best wasn’t good enough?

  ✽✽✽

  As they continued their journey in near silence, Kaia could feel the eyes of her companions, watching her as she descended further into herself. Her appetite deserted her and nightmares plagued her in the darkness, but still, her mind spiraled ever deeper. Where was Mogens now? Why was he working for Ariston? What were they planning next? Her eyes glazed as she listed dangerously in her high saddle.

  Gus let out two sharp barks. Wake up!

  A rough hand seized her wrist, pulling her upright. “Whoah there, Firefly.”

  She yanked her arm from his grasp. “Stop calling me that. I’m fine.” Her voice sounded scratchy from disuse. How many days had they been on the road already—eight? Nine?

  “No, you’re not.” The Shadow Heir pulled his stag in front of Sunflash, bringing them to a halt. “You don’t sleep, you barely eat.” He looked her up and down. “You probably couldn’t light a candle in your condition.”

  Gus shifted from paw to paw, and Shad peered at them from his saddlebag, but they remained silent.

  Kaia set her jaw and dismounted. She turned on her heel and walked back down the path. She didn’t need this.

  “Hey!” Klaus dismounted, hurling words at her back as he stalked after her. “Pryor is dead, Tam is dead, Jago is probably dead or worse, but we’re still alive. Our duties as Heirs have to come before our grief.”

  Kaia spun around, her face suddenly inches from Klaus. “My father died, Klaus.”

  “And more will die before the end, but that doesn’t mean you can just quit.” He jabbed a finger into her forehead, and Kaia’s rage surged.

  “I’m not quitting,” she roared, smacking his hand away with one hand, and then throwing a punch with the other.

  He dodged easily, a mocking smile dancing across his features. “Still too slow, Firefly.”

  Kaia howled with anger as she attacked with a flurry of punches, elbows, knees, and kicks. Klaus stepped back, ducking and dodging. Kaia leapt forward with a flying kick, only to skid to the ground when the Shadow Heir vanished.

  With a shout of frustration, she let the furious fire within her explode out of her clenched fists

  “Welcome back, Guardian Dashul.” Klaus reappeared five paces in front of her. “I’d prefer the Dragon any day over a sulking little girl.” His smug smile flashed again. “But I thought you were supposed to be training these last few years, you’re still as slow as a wartslug.”

  Kaia’s flames surged again. “Just you wait till I get my strength back. Then we’ll see who’s slow.” She let her hands cool before stalking back to her mount. “Let’s get going, you’re wasting time.”

  ✽✽✽

  As if waking suddenly from a nightmare, Kaia began to live again. She spitefully shoveled food into her mouth like a beast starved. In every spare moment, she cycled through her combat exercises and conjured complex flame patterns until her hands cramped from the strain. She trained to exhaustion and at the end of the day, fell into a sleep too deep for horrors. The silence, too, disappeared as bickering filled the peaceful mountain air.

  Klaus’ success in saving her from a slow self-imposed death, as he put it, made him insufferable. He harassed her endlessly with childish pranks—bugs in her hair, burrs on her saddle, toads in her bag—until she was forced to flick tiny fireballs at him to keep his distance.

  But it was not the same as it had been years before. A newfound emptiness swallowed all the joy she might have taken in tormenting him. Kaia found it difficult to even smile, but Klaus' pranks were quietly reassuring all the same. They allowed Kaia to pretend, if only for a second, that she wasn’t the Heir that had witnessed her father’s violent death. For just a moment, they could both be the quarreling youths they always had been. Though she’d never admit it, secretly, she was thankf
ul to Klaus for banishing her dangerous melancholy. While thoughts of Mogens and Nifras still loomed large, they did not consume her, and her world became manageable once again.

  ✽✽✽

  “It’s been two weeks since we left the castle.” Klaus glanced at Kaia across the fire as they slurped sleek trout stew in the gathering dusk. The Dalteek grazed as the tall grass waved in the whispering wind, but slate grey clouds obscured the stars. His eyes moved where Shad lay curled by the fire, eyes half closed. “It’s time we discussed the plan.”

  Kaia blew on her soup-laden spoon. “What plan?”

  Klaus opened his mouth to reply, but Shad spoke first. “The plan is to send word to Everard to meet us on the southern border. The yanai barrier is weakest in the Deadlands, and Nifras will almost surely strike there first.”

  Kaia sipped the herb-infused broth. “What about Ariston?”

  Shad’s tail tapped back and forth on the flattened grass. “He’s the lesser of the two evils.”

  Kaia ran her fingers absently through Gus’ fur as he stretched out beside her. “How do we know Ariston isn’t actually just a pawn of the necromancer?” With a stab of pain, Kaia thought of her last conversation with her mother. “All dark magic stems from Nifras.”

  Klaus rubbed a scabbed gash on his arm. “Regardless, I think it’s safe to say, Ariston is not on our side.” He took a deep breath and let it hiss out his even front teeth. “Ariston’s army is moving south as well. If we’re not careful, we could find ourselves sandwiched between two armies.”