Light the Reign (The Forgotten: Book 3)

Light the Reign

(The Forgotten: Book 3)

Laura R Cole

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2012 Laura R Cole

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CHAPTER 1

Kali combed her long silver hair and
carefully divided it into three sections, braiding it with an ease
borne from years of practice. Glancing into the mirror, she smiled
at her reflection. Things were going nicely her way. The ritual to
solidify the curse against the people of the Lost Lands had been
performed, and better yet, Kali was now in possession of the
Dena’ina powerstone. There would be no way to undo the curse now;
the next generation of people would be free of the Dark King’s evil
blood. It had taken some creative thinking to get the rest of the
tribe to go along with her plan – albeit unknowingly – but she had
always been good at getting her way.

She had convinced the people of the tribes
that the Princess would be instrumental in bringing the Lost Ones
back to the light, guiding them to the realization that the Dark
King’s taint must be cleansed from their midst if they were to be
whole. The tribe now believed the child to be the ‘chosen one’ who
would usher in a new era of light which would allow the tribes to
rejoin the Lost Ones in their ancient homeland.

Once they were thoroughly convinced of the
child’s importance, Kali had then begun to tell them all that the
child had some ailment which would prevent her from performing her
divine task – unless they intervened. The other tribesmen were much
too worried about collateral damage in this fight for her liking,
which had forced Kali into this imaginative approach. The child, of
course, was nothing. At least, not until Kali had gotten her hands
on her.

Once they had kidnapped the Princess, under
the guise of healing her, Kali and her trusted supporters had woven
an enchantment into the very fiber of her being. The Princess would
indeed be responsible for finally cleansing the Lost Ones of the
Dark King’s taint after all.

Kali chuckled to herself.

She had hoped that the spell to incapacitate
the King and Queen so that they could take the child would have
finished them off – she had added a bit of energy of her own to
hopefully ensure this fate – but their strength had proved too
powerful and they had simply fallen into stasis while their bodies
fought off the enchantment. It truly was a shame, especially as the
Queen had some of the purest Dark King blood in her. Kali would
have loved to have seen her washed from the earth.

The curse which had been secretly infused
within the child
would
succeed in cleansing future
generations, using the essence left in the Bloodstone that Katya
had delivered to them – however unwillingly – to help it find its
targets. This enchantment caused all who bore any hint of the Dark
King’s blood within them to become sterile. Soon, there would be no
trace of the Dark King left upon the lands. Now, they simply had to
wait until the last of them died.

Problem was; Kali had never been very good at
waiting. She’d like to see them all gone today. And now that Katya
had brought her back the powerstone of the Dena’ina, she was in a
good position to do so. The sterilization hadn’t been her first
choice for the curse, but it had been all that she’d been able to
convince even her most dedicated supporters to go along with. And
since, unfortunately, she’d needed them in order to perform it, she
had been forced to compromise.

But Kali still hadn’t been satisfied, so,
when it had become increasingly apparent that the curse could
possibly be detected and broken, she had jumped at the chance to
use the Elder’s panic against them. Convincing them that they
needed to get the powerstone from the Dena’ina to solidify the
spell, she had then come up with the brilliant plan of sending
Katya out to get it. Their own attempts to infiltrate the
Dena’ina’s territory had been rebuffed, but Katya, as one of them,
easily made it inside.

It was a shame that Katya had escaped. Though
the mark was no longer visible due to a rather nasty scar on her
neck, Kali had discovered that she was also one of the Dark King’s
special marked descendants. She would have to die…but it could
wait. She was also marked with the tracking stone that Kali had
insisted she be injected with, so she couldn’t hide for long. And
besides, after delivering both the Bloodstone and the Dena’ina
powerstone to her, Kali felt that the girl deserved a head
start.

She had refrained from mentioning the
implications of having the stone here with the Myaamia’s to the
others. The secret of the powerstones was one that was carefully
guarded and only a select few even knew of their existence. An even
smaller number knew what they were capable of.
She
knew that
having two of the stones would make her the most powerful woman of
the tribes. Once she used this stone to get to the Myaamia’s, she
would be unstoppable. And then she would take the necessary steps
to finish off the Dark King’s descendants, even if she had to hunt
them down one by one.

She reached into the folds of her cloak and
drew out the stone, gazing at its magnificence. Though its twisted
shape betrayed the fact that it was only a fraction of the stone it
once had been – one fifth to be exact – it was still a thing of
beauty. She stroked it greedily, her mind racing through the
possibilities of what she could accomplish once she possessed them
all.

Snapping back to reality, she hastily
returned it to its pocket and swept out of her home. Time would not
be on her side. Eventually one of the dim-witted idiots of the
Elders would realize the danger of allowing her to keep the stone
herself and they would try and take it from her. She needed to
already have the second stone in her possession before that
happened.

The hanging walkways were dimly lit this time
of night and she strode purposefully down them, eager to be on the
ground below which would provide more cover for her activities. The
journey to the tower where the Myaamia powerstone was kept was not
a long one and, if all went to plan, she would be back in her house
before anyone was the wiser. She even had a dummy stone, one that
she had infused with enough power that with any luck, the fact that
the real stone was missing would go unnoticed for some time. The
powerstones helped keep the chaotic magic under control within the
city, and if that were to suddenly just stop, those who knew of its
existence would realize what was happening before she had a chance
to leave the tower.

As her feet found solid ground and she was
able to duck behind a large bush, her breathing grew easier. Other
than the night Forest Guard, there was unlikely to be anyone down
below. The forest was dangerous even during the day, and most were
not foolish enough to venture far once the sun went down.

With the powerstone tucked safely away in her
cloak, Kali knew she had nothing to fear. Nothing the forest could
throw at her would withstand its magic. With hurried steps, she
wound through the forest trails until she came to the base of the
tower tree. It was unremarkable from the ground, and too far in the
midst of the forest to be noticed from the outskirts, but Kali knew
that its height far surpassed that of the trees around it.

Using the power of the Dena’ina stone to
unlock the door, she slipped inside. Usually it required at least
two mages to muster the level of power needed to control the lock
spell, but that was the beauty of having the stone. Her footfalls
echoed along the vast staircase, slightly moist-sounding squishing
steps on the living stairs. By the time she reached the top, she
was out of breath and she paused a moment, resting her hand on the
side.

When her breathing slowed to a more normal
pace, she squared her shoulders and walked to the door that was the
only remarkable thing about the landing on the top of the long
stairway. Though it looked like an ordinary door, Kali knew that it
was not. It marked the beginning of the trials that would need to
be passed in order to reach the Myaamia stone.

Each of the tribes had their own unique
method of keeping their powerstone safe. For the Myaamia, they had
placed it behind a series of enchantments. As one of the Elders,
she was privy to the enchantments that went along with it, but each
member put in a twist of their own. This was meant to ensure that
only by working together could they remove the stone.

The first of the spells was hers and should
be easy to bypass. She let out a quick breath and opened the door,
stepping into the room which she knew would start filling with
poisonous spores from one of the mushrooms of the forest. That was
another safeguard that most tribes employed: Using elements that
would be recognized by their own people, but not necessarily the
other tribes should someone try and steal them. She smiled to
herself. She had been studying the stories and areas of each of the
tribes in great detail in preparation for this for some time now.
It was how she had discovered what would happen when she took all
the stones…

The spores were pouring out of the hole in
the wall at an alarming rate and Kali pulled her mind from her
reverie. It wouldn’t do to get cocky and end up dying from her own
spell. She quickly grabbed hold of the power and found the loophole
she had left herself within the enchantment, pulling on the loose
end quickly which ended the spell abruptly. Spores halted their
movement and whooshed out of existence simultaneously, leaving her
in an empty room.

There was another door on the opposite end of
the space which she sauntered over to. This next room was designed
by Hilasha, the most incompetent woman she had ever met. She had
little doubt she’d be able to pass through this room without
incident. In spite of her confidence, she readied the powerstone
just in case. It never hurt to be too prepared.

Her hand rested on the knob, just for a
moment, before she turned it and pushed the door open smoothly.
Nothing happened straight-away and she cautiously entered, alert
for dangers. Still none presented themselves and Kali let her guard
down just the tiniest bit. Had the dim-wit forgotten to place her
spell?

She walked forward once more, scoffing at
Hilasha’s ineptitude. The powerstone in her hand suddenly grew
warm, warning her of the spell seconds before it hit her. A large
burst of air knocked her off her feet. As she craned her neck
around to look behind her to catch herself, she realized the true
danger of the spell. The wind was designed to distract, while the
bulk of the spell removed the floor from underneath you. She
hastily erected a solid barrier of air with the stone and picked
herself up, brushing off her clothes with satisfaction. That was
all the woman had?

She stepped forward again, reaching for the
next door handle. But her foot passed straight through, her magic
flooring gone. She pulled her foot back out of the hole, her heart
beating fast in her chest, eyes glued to the forest floor far
below. She searched the spell for the weakness and refortified it
with the stone. Creating solid air was a powerful spell, but it
should be nothing for the stone to handle.

She carefully put her foot forward again, and
this time it encountered solid footing. Unfortunately, her back
foot broke through unexpectedly. Just in time, she threw her weight
forward and caught herself on the edge of the abyss. On all fours
now, she crawled forward, forcing her eyes to stare straight at the
door in front of her, and not on the ground below.

Her hand broke through and she gave a little
whimper. She drew more energy from the stone and it solidified. She
shuffled along slowly. Without warning, the entire spell gave way
and Kali found herself falling; the ground rushing up at her with
eerie certainty.

She grasped at the power within the stone. It
flared to life and she was able to slow her fall the tiniest bit.
Then it died on her completely. She wildly flailed her arms around
helplessly.

A spark of energy burst into being and she
once again slowed her fall, controlling it the best she could
before the power faded and disappeared once more.

Several more times the stone sputtered out
more power and she was able to use this enough to slow her descent
to a speed that was only marginally terrifying. Just before she
reached the ground, it animated one last time, giving her the
strength to perform a spell which caused her fall her halt inches
above the ground. She let out her breath and righted herself,
getting her shaking legs back underneath her.