Rise of the Citadel (The Search for the Brights Book 2) (60 page)

Finally, a woman
stepped forward with pale skin and hair blacker than a moonless sky. She smiled
and tears filled what seemed to be their mother's eyes. He recognized right
away his mother’s soft cheekbone and the same smile that greeted him every
morning. Although Kara always had their father's prominent chin, he saw it even
more so now how she resembled their mother.

Kilen and Kara crossed
the distance between them in an instant. Kilen whispering over and over, “I’m
sorry.”

Apologies and
excuses were made by both as Kilen looked at his grown sister, still astonished
at the change. “You look so much like mom, it’s like I am going mad.”

No one said
anything to separate the siblings reunification.

When the two
could bring themselves from separating, Kara spun in a dress that matched
Twilix’s. It was a dress so fine that no one in Humbridge would be able to
afford.

“I have three
new dresses with me and more back at the castle,” Kara said.

“Yes, well I
don’t think we are going back there again,” Kilen said.

Kara nodded her
agreement. Brent cleared his throat from the other side of the fire, “Kilen, I
hate to interrupt, but where are the Elders?”

Kilen turned to
him, still holding his sister's hand. “I don’t know. They said they were headed
to the Wind Realm. They didn’t give me specifics on where they were going.”

“Why are you out
here then, instead of with them stopping this soul wizard?” Brent’s voice was
stern and urgent.

Kilen knew him
to be always forward and to the point. Everything seemed to be a world-ending
crisis in Brent’s mind. In this case, Kilen happened to agree with him.

“I have chosen
my own way. I am seeking a new king for the Water Realm,” Kilen said, taking a
seat beside Brent.

Bowie unstrung
his bow and almost everyone at the camp found a place around the fire. The man
in the leather straps started eating a piece of bread before sitting on a rock
nearby.

Ria nodded her
head, “A bold move. Did the Elders tell you to do this?”

“No, we came to
the conclusion together,” He said.

She smiled at
him and he gave a half smile back. She was probably the only other one at the
fire who understood how the Elders may try and manipulate people into doing as
they wish.

“If a new king
is raised, he can raise an army to fight the soul wizard if the Elders fail. It
is a backup plan for now,” Kilen explained.
            “I think most of us will be going to aid the Elders,” Brent said,
casting looks around the campfire.

Kilen shook his
head, “I need your help here for a little while. I have had a few problems with
obtaining a new Water Realm king.”
            “You found one to take up the throne already?” Ria asked as she
grew a plant out of the ground.

“More like I was
convinced. I spoke with Master Bradley in Keepers-” Kilen stopped as Brent cut
him off.

“That old fool
has contacted every noble and noble’s spawn to try and find a new king. All
have refused one after the other. Each of them afraid of Atmos’ power. Whomever
he sent you to see will most likely be nothing more than a waste of time.”Brent
said in a frustrated voice.

Kilen stood, “He
said it should be me.” He held up a hand as the others stood, “I did not like
the idea at first. I almost insulted all those in Keepers as they kneeled
before me to sway my decision. But in the end it was the words of a friend in
Humbridge that convinced me. I know the Water Realm. I know its people’s
struggles and their lives. I was born and raised there. My family is well known
and I am already a target of King Atmos.”

Bowie stood,
“It’s about time you give him something worthy of being his target.” He turned
to Auburn, “Best friends with a king. I should be able to expand my business a
bit.”

Brent and Ria
exchanged whispers and then stared at Kilen standing there amongst the group of
fugitives.

“You don’t have
what it takes to be crowned a new king. There’s a book you will need to raise
Leviathan from under the lake’s surface,” Brent said.

Kilen looked
down at the satchel slung over his shoulder. “Perhaps that is what this is. The
Elders gave it to me to give to the next king. They said not to open it until I
found him. I thought I would wait to open it until I had my third imbuement.”

Kilen pulled
open the flap and pulled out the leather package using a knife to break the wax
seal. Its contents were a leather bound book with the emblem of water on its
front, and two crowns, one smaller than the other. The large crown was smooth
and heavy like a wagons wheel without any spokes. It had no adornments or
markings of any kind. The smaller was smooth and came to a triangular point in
the front where a large, blue gem reflected the light. Kilen handed the book to
Brent who immediately started carefully turning its pages. Pulling the large
crown from the bag Kilen could feel magic surging through his body; it was
imbued.

Ria waved Kilen
away from the others long enough to whisper in his ear. “Before you decide to
become this king, I want you to consider one thing.” She checked to see if the
others were listening before she continued, “Did the Elders perhaps mean for
you to be the next king when they gave you the package?” She said nothing else
and did not wait for an answer. She simply patted him on the shoulder before
returning to her place at the fire.

He smiled
knowing she knew all too well the plots of the Elders. Kilen took a moment before
he walked away towards the shore hoping to speak with Joahna. The flighty
elemental friend was nowhere he could see, but Max formed himself out of sand.

“Do you think
that the Elders meant for me to be the next king?” Kilen asked.

“Wizard’s
schemes are not for me to determine. I simply go where my sword leads me,” Max
said. “Kilen, doesn’t matter if they meant for you to become the king. Become
the king and nobles and those having the birthright will come from all around
to meet you. If you are king and find that you aren’t up to the task, appoint
another. My brother Elric was not always so keen on being a king. He found his
strength by appointing those with talents to perform tasks. For what it’s
worth, I think you will do great things for the Water and Fire Realm.”

Finally
something Max had to say made sense and gave Kilen the last bit of confidence
he needed. He marched back to the fire saying nothing as others looked over the
book the Elders had sent. He grabbed his satchel and pulled out the blue cloak
he had hidden in his bag for the last week and put it on.

Moving back to
where he left the crown next to Brent, he bent over and picked up the large
crown. “This is mine. I will do the best I can while I wear it, until I die, or
find someone better.”

The party around
the campfire went silent in his awkward proclamation. Silent, except for Bowie
who started talking about the new jackets he would need and gaining the seal of
the royal fletcher.

Brent finally
looked back at the book and then at Kilen, “There are a couple problems.”

Ria nodded and
put her finger on a word in the book.

Brent nodded and
continued to speak, “The first is you still need a third mark on your blade. Of
course you knew that, but we only have inexperienced fire wizards.”

Twilix smiled,
“No, we have Kara.” She winked at Kilen’s sister. “Brent, since when has an
Everheart failed at performing a task with magic?”

Right where they
were, Kara stood and walked to Kilen holding a hand out. Kilen unsurely pulled
the blade free of its sheath and handed it to his sister.

She leaned over
and spoke to Twilix as if suddenly embarrassed, “What do I do?”

Twilix stood to
the side of Kilen and Kara and spoke so everyone could hear her. “This is a
time honored tradition that originated with the very first weapon bearer, Lord
Ruler Efrindoel. Close your eyes and do what I say. Feel the metal. Feel the
magic inside you. Take that feeling and push it at the blade. Do not push with
heat but push with the place in your heart that the magic originates from. Push
so hard that the magic feels like it will leap out of your heart and into the
blade itself.”

Kilen watched
her with the vision of fire magic and saw no movement. With the earth vision,
he saw a flurry of activity as Kara’s entire body released energy into the hand
in which she held the blade. Silence around the campfire lasted until Kara
opened her eyes. She looked around and was almost shaking.

Ria stood and
placed a hand on Kara’s shoulder and a green cloud of energy flowed back into
her body. Bowie quickly stood and added his energy to Ria’s. Kara smiled and
slowly opened her hand. Underneath, the blade was moist with blood from where
the blades sharpness had cut her hand.

She held out the
sword for Kilen to take, but instead he took her wounded hand pushing water
magic into the wounds to heal her.

“Thank you,” She
said, smiling.

Kilen used his
pant leg to wipe the blood away from the blade and found the mark of fire
underneath. He could feel the warmth of the fire magic before he could see the
mark, but seeing it brought more comfort.

“Thank you,
Kara. When I am crowned, I would love it if you would be a member of the
council.”

“I am not sure I
am worthy, but I will do my best.” She smiled and bowed her head.

Brent coughed,
“This is all wonderful. There are still some problems that we have not
discussed. We can crown you king now, but you will have no castle.”

“I won’t have a
castle?” Kilen said coming to sit beside Brent who was reading intently.

“Yes, I have the
words needed to raise the castle from the depths, but there have to be a few
ingredients. You have to have a three element blade, an imbued crown, also…”
Brent looked up licking his lips looking at Kilen, “a king and a queen.”

“You’re telling
me I have to have a wife?” Kilen’s body slumped where he sat. “I don’t know how
long that would take to find a worthy woman to be queen.”

Kara came to sit
beside him in an excited voice, “You know a woman that be willing to marry
you.”

Kilen shook his
head, “It’s no use. I spoke to Daniel yesterday. He married Jessica Jarrad.”

“Who is Jessica
Jarred?” Twilix asked from across the fire. Her arms were crossed and finally
Kilen could see the tiny girl he had come to know. The way she was standing
reminded him of the times she would stomp around the wizard training ground,
mad at the smallest things.

The woman who
use to be Kilen’s younger sister spoke to her across the flames, “It
was
his betrothed.” Kara turned back to Kilen, “I’m not talking about her. I am
talking about Twilix.”

Twilix, still
standing with attitude from across the fire, watched as Kilen almost fell over
backwards.

His face was red
and he pulled at the cloak he had just put on. “Twilix! I barely know her! I
can’t marry her.”

The blonde
headed woman shouted, “I’m not good enough for you!? I stuck my neck out for
you many times and you still can’t see me a worthy wife? Do you even remember
me representing you at your trial?” She stomped off through the trees towards
the lake.

Kilen looked
around the fire at awkward faces.

“Wait here, I’ll
be right back.” Kilen chased after her.

Bowie called to
him, “Don’t apologize! That’s how they get you.”

He saw Kara and
Auburn both glareing at Bowie before the tree’s blocked them from view.

Kilen chased
after Twilix, hoping to quell her feelings. When he caught up to her she was
standing up to her ankles in the water of Lake Leviathan. Her slippers in one hand
and dress held out of the water in the other. She stared at what seemed like an
ocean to him. Kilen did not disturb her, he only stood at the edge of where the
tide stopped and waited. He understood that he had insulted her, but was not
sure how badly.

He knew she
could feel him there so he patiently waited. After what seemed a lifetime, she
spoke in a soft voice that trembled, “When you stepped onto the platform on
springfest, I was attracted to the man that stood before me. A seeker of
knowledge that looked the way you do. I could see the town respected you by the
way they held their tongues. Chit did not get that kind of reception. You were
admired.”

“After I gave
you the gift of magic I wondered if I would ever see you again. You were, after
all, not seeking the life of a soldier or wielder; you sought only knowledge.
It was then I thought that you could be a perfect man for me.” She turned to
face him still standing in the rocking tide washing the sand from beneath her
feet. “When I found you riding with Brent, my heart nearly sank. I wondered if
the Brights had willed you into my life. If you were a test or a trial that I
must overcome.”

“I thought that
you liked me by the way you looked at me. I knew in my heart that thinking of
marrying a man that was not a wizard would be a hard life. I knew that if I
married you, that you would die while I was still young. Do you understand? I
was, at that moment before even reaching Deuterium, willing to watch you, the
love of my life, grow old and die. Knowing that I would have only the memories
to live with for hundreds of years. Knowing that any children we had may or may
not be wizards, and the ones that weren’t I would have to watch die as well.”
            She took a step towards him, “Not once was my choice altered by
this. If you shared my affection, I would watch generations of our family live
and die with only a memory of you to hold onto. I thought a few times that you
felt the same way I did, but were too scared or too busy to settle down with
me. Now I find out that you do not share my affections at all.”

She stepped past
him as she put her slippers back on her sandy feet, “I am sorry for reacting
the way I did. I hoped there was still a chance for us. Everytime you leave I
tell myself we don’t have a chance, and everytime I see you again I hope. I
hope that the Brights are looking out for me.”