Legends of Marithia: Book 2 - Darkness Rising (35 page)

Kassina stood on a hill overlooking
Greenhaven beyond the elven forest. Dragons were perched on its
walls and some flew overhead. They proudly displayed themselves
uncloaked as a mark of their defiance.

Tusdar, Mestal, Aryun! How
could you let this happen?
She
growled.

Still there was no answer to her call.
She stared at the moon in confusion, not understanding how they had
lost their powers at such a crucial moment. With her long hair
blowing in the wind, she gritted her teeth and yelled. "Enjoy your
victory, Vartan; you will long regret the day you were born. Mark
my words; you are living on borrowed time!"

Trisa worked hard to heal Makya's deep
wounds as Vartan and Shanka watched over their fallen friend. All
the while he stared up at the stars. "Thank you, Prince Vartan, for
giving me the chance to live a warrior's life one last
time."

"No! You will not die
like
this
! Who
did this to you?" cried Vartan

Makya took his hand and
smiled warmly. "I was always fated to die for the greatest cause of
all and although I never thought I would die at the hands of a
woman, she fought well. I saved the life of a great man who will
bring peace to all. You will make a worthy king when the time
comes, always remember who you
are!
I hope to see you in my next life."

The trader closed his eyes and took
his last breath; his body went limp as he faded away.

Vartan raised his head and screamed,
"No!"

The sound of Shanka’s cries were heard
in every corner of Marithia.

Dryden led the beaten and starved
prisoners out of the dungeons. He helped clothe and feed them
before declaring, "You are no longer prisoners now, go!"

The women thanked him and ran out of
Greenhaven's gate, screaming with smiles on their faces. "We are
free!"

As they cleared the gate, one of the
women turned back with a wicked smile.

Demon hunter, I sense your
presence nearby. We shall dance another day. When we find each
other, only one of us shall walk away.

Yuski ran to the bridge and watched as
the many prisoners ran into the distance, far away from her. She
grasped a glowing blue orb in her hands, knowing that there would
be no way to catch the demon now. “Damn you Wumvarn!” she
cried.

Chapter 27 :
Daessar

“
It has been a long wait,
but I must not leave. The day will come when they seek me out and I
will pass on the knowledge to those who deserve to be
enlightened.

When all of fate's cards are in your
hand, and you must wait for the right moment to play them, it is
such a heavy burden to bear.”

(Barone - Marithian Seer)

The sun provided the moon with respite
from its duty to the skies and rose on the horizon, giving much
needed warmth to Marithia. Its rays reflected off Greenhaven's
walls and turned the surrounding land golden. The smell of burnt
houses and ash was overwhelming as the city lay still after the
chaos of battle.

Queen Andrielle stood on the
battlements, wearing her crown proudly and overlooked the
surrounding lands with Karven perched nearby; the burnt markings of
Shindar’s net clear in the daylight.

She turned to the great
dragon. "I can hardly believe that we have returned as victors.”
Andrielle shivered noticeably, “Despite the evil that dwelt
here
after
we
left, it is the memory of the night we departed that haunts me
most. I can
feel
him Karven, he is still fresh in my mind as if he never left
us."

Karven lowered his head slightly. "You
should not destroy yourself over events passed. You could not stop
what happened to King Arman and it was not your fault that Derian's
heart darkened. Greenhaven has been returned to its rightful owners
and we have much to do to prepare for Shindar's retaliation. But
more importantly, we need to help Vartan find Talonsphere, before
Kassina does."

She stared at Karven and
asked, "Kassina
lives
? How do you know this?"

"There is no mistaking her presence
and I saw her standing on that hill, watching us."

She pointed to the highest
hill on the horizon and asked, "
That
hill?"

Karven nodded. "Andrielle,
we must never let her retake Greenhaven. If she were to discover
Talonsphere, she can do more than just destroy it; she can
be
reborn
inside
it. Vartan is not the only child born of dragon's blood, and much
like your feelings of responsibility for Derian, the dragons feel
responsible for Kassina's creation. Without Nymira and I living a
human life and giving birth to her mother, Niesha, she would never
be walking by Shindar's side and he would not have his child of
prophecy."

"By the gods Karven!, Kassina is your
granddaughter?"

The great dragon nodded and blinked
his eyes sadly.

"Does she know? Forget that, does
Vartan know?"

"Whether Kassina knows or
not will
never
change who she has become and with the dragon and vampire
powers of long life, she has plenty of time to search for
Talonsphere. She is too far gone, but unlike Vartan, she has the
vampire’s power of long life. I am yet to burden Vartan with that
knowledge."

"I don't understand. We
killed her at the battle of the Elven Woods. How could she have
possibly survived? Can we
not
kill her?"

"She
can
be killed Andrielle, just as any
vampires can, but it must be done before she can use her magic.
Much about Shindar and Kassina’s powers are not yet understood.
Vartan does not need to know about Kassina's beginnings, he only
needs to know how to bring about her end."

They both looked to the gorge, where
Vartan, Helenia, Yuski and the Knights of Veldrenn were gathered.
Shanka sat perched on Vartan's shoulder. The rising sun covered the
ocean as if it were a golden layer of shimmering light. They
watched as a large burning boat was launched into the river and
began its journey to the sea, smoke billowed into the blue sky,
turning it appropriately to grey.

"This is how he would have wanted it.
Anyone who dies in my name deserves a burial worthy of a
king."

"You are a great queen, worthy of all
who follow you."

Vartan raised his sword high, its
blade shimmering in the sun. The knights followed suit, their own
blades drawn. "For the memories of those who died so that we could
live free. We honour you all!"

"We honour you all!" they
chanted.

Andrielle turned to Karven. "And he
will make a great king. We need all the strength we can gather for
the times ahead of us. Greenhaven will be restored under a new
unified flag for all Marithians to be proud of, dragons
included."

“
That is most wise of you.
How is the sorceress, Anakari? Has she recovered?” asked
Karven.

“
It was miraculous what she
achieved, wasn’t it? She awoke on her own accord as the moon began
to set. It was horrifying to see the blood red moon return in all
its fury. Once this day is through, we must be on our guard at all
times.”

They paused to watch a flock of
dragons fly overhead with much needed supplies to repair and
rebuild Greenhaven.

“
Of course, we must never
let our guard down. What will become of Veldrenn?”

“
It will be protected as it
was under the name of King Arman. Greenhaven and Veldrenn will both
be fortified further, each providing added protection to the other.
We could never house all Marithians within these walls; we will
need the city of Veldrenn. Our armies will be ready to ride at the
first sign of distress.”

Karven looked behind him to the broken
portal. “What will we do with that? We know not how to rebuild and
activate it.”

Andrielle produced a scroll from her
coat and admired it. “Our libraries had not been destroyed, and
that was a crucial mistake on Kassina’s part. We hold many secrets
of the ancients and the portals use methods that we can discover.
It will take time, but we will rebuild that portal and learn to
operate it. We will have the ability to travel to the underworld
and take the fight to Shindar’s doorstep.”

Karven nodded, “That may be so, but we
still do not have Talonsphere and we almost lost the battle.
Shindar is not to be underestimated and now that his power has
grown to allow him to step into Marithia, you can be sure that he
will return again and we must be ready. Vartan must find
Talonsphere as soon as he can.”

Vartan readied his horse
with Anakari and Yuski waiting on horseback and smiled at them.
“Who knew that we would ride out from Greenhaven today? Where do we
find this
Barone
?”

“
Follow me and I will guide
us there. I just hope that nothing has happened to him,” said
Yuski, galloping away from them.

Anakari snapped her reins and hung on
as she spurred her horse into life, galloping over Greenhaven's
lowered bridge. Vartan leapt onto his horse and struggled to keep
pace. “Wait for me!”

Come back soon, I know you
have a duty and made a promise to Anakari, but you also made one to
me. I love you
, said Helenia.

I will return before
nightfall, wait for me. I love you too
,
thought Vartan.

As they rode, the wind rushed past his
face and brought back memories of his first ride to Greenhaven.
They soon passed Jade Inn, its burnt carcass stood out like a
cancer on the land. They rode into the forest, each mile taking
them further from the safety of Greenhaven.

“
How much further?” shouted
Vartan.

“
We will be there soon!”
replied Yuski, spurring her horse forward and kicking up dried
leaves while narrowly avoiding tree trunks.

Out of the corner of his eye, Vartan
saw the flash of a unicorn and ground his horse to a halt.
“Wait!”

Turning to his left, he saw nothing
but trees and leaves. The girls reined in their horses. “What did
you see?”