The Knife's Edge (21 page)

All around, the other Ronin tensed.

“What does it mean?” he asked.

Maris spoke from the recesses of his hood, his voice dark, “Shadow men or women. They are agents of the dark beings. They’ve called themselves many things over the ages, but now they are known as the Kin. They appear before Shadow’s arrival.”

“It means they are coming,” Omni announced. “The Kage are near.”

The Kage

A
S THE WORDS LEFT
O
MNI’S MOUTH,
a scream rent the air.

“They are already here,” Hiron whispered.

With a metallic ring, Maris unsheathed the dual blades from his back, dashing towards the sound. The other Ronin followed.

They sprinted out of the alley, and a figure crashed into Gray, sending him to the ground. In the tangle, eyes met his, filled with terror. The man scrambled over him, stumbled to his feet and continued running. Gray turned. A wave of darkness towered over the stone gates. It surged higher engulfing all it touched.

Guards leapt from their posts upon the gates and fell to the ground far below. More guards threw spears into the seething black only for them to disappear. Shrieks sounded, and then cut short as men were swallowed whole by the darkness.

The wide gates gave a sudden thud, pulsating like a throbbing heart. He stepped back. Again, the thud echoed, and the doors bulged under tremendous pressure. He twisted, and looked down the road behind him. In the corner of his vision, he saw the Ronin. Their faces were hard, their feet planted firmly.

“It’s them,” Omni’s words cut through the screams.

Gray saw an aura distort the air around each Ronin—a gold aura wreathed Omni, Hiron was wrapped in a cerulean hue, and Seth seethed a fiery red, flames licking at Heartgard’s surface. Nearby, Dared’s eyes were rimmed in black, soaking in the darkness. Aurelious and his brother, Aundevoriä stood side by side. Aurelious’ blade, Stice, was changed, no longer metal, but a pale white as if made from bone. Aundevoriä, on the other hand, held Durendil, and the blade now looked made of granite. He gripped a marble shield in his other.

Gray unsheathed his own blade from his back, the white wrapping falling to the ground. The blade glowed a blinding silver.

Hiron gripped his dual daggers, “This is it. Be ready.”

Seth roared over the screams, “Let them come!”

Baro looked grim. His meaty fists gripped his giant war sword. “Fight together! Side by side!” The doors shuddered. A loud crack split the air and the gate burst, showering wood and stone. From the haze, nine figures cloaked in black strode forth. They rode dark steeds, the beasts’ eyes rimmed in blood. Malice surrounded them. In their armored fists were long, cruel blades.

Gray’s hands wrung tight around Morrowil’s haft until it hurt. Darkness seeped beneath his skin, and he saw a thin vein of black slink across the sword’s surface.

“Maris, take Gray and run! Save the villagers!” Omni shouted.

“No, I can fight! “ Gray shouted in return.

“Perhaps another time,” he replied. “For now you must help the villagers escape.”

“Seems you live another day, boy,” Maris said, grabbing his arm. Gray yanked his arm free when the earth shuddered and he was thrown to the ground. He looked up as the walls crashed down. Saeroks, vergs and Nameless flowed over the rubble.

A guard, his legs broken, moaned and tried to crawl to safety. A saerok strode forth from the dark pack. In a swift motion, it cut the man’s throat with one-long claw silencing his cries, and as if on command, the dark army moved forth.

Maris grabbed Gray’s cuff and pulled him up. “You’re coming, now!” He dragged him away when a sudden mist appeared. A blade slashed at his face. Gray was slammed in the shoulder as Maris took his place and parried the Nameless’ blade. The Nameless took form and their blades moved in a blur of steel, striking, parrying and evading with impossible speed.

The pendant burned against his chest. He gripped it and words flowed through him. The sword is what they want! No matter what, you must not stop! The tone was both familiar and elusive. But the truth was clear. Gray stumbled to his feet and ran, flying around the next bend. A hundred paces ahead, he saw the clearing and the villagers. They danced and laughed unaware of the chaos that approached them.

As he glimpsed the colored tents, he shouted at the top of his lungs, “Run!” Yet he was too far away, and the music and cheer drowned his voice. His legs burned and he shouted again. This time, his words carried as if by some strange purpose, “RUN! Flee for your lives!”

At his amplified words the villagers turned. The music cut short. Fear and panic spread in their faces. Gray turned and saw the hordes. Saeroks and vergs charged, loping on all fours. He held his ground gripping Morrowil tighter when the ground shook with a terrible boom. Suddenly, there was another explosion and the house on his right erupted in shards of wood and fire.

He shielded his eyes and when he opened them a huge timber hurtled towards him. At the same time, he heard Maris call his name. Upon the roof, Gray saw another figure. Red eyes flashed amid the chaos as the timber came crashing down.

* * *

Cries of terror filled the air.

Gray skull rang and he tried to make sense of the world. He put a hand to his head and saw blood. Skin deep, a voice said reassuringly. Assess your surroundings.

He was in a courtyard, and at the center, was a large oak on fire. Maris lay motionless beside him. He crawled to the Ronin’s side. The man’s white hair was soaked red. His chest wasn’t moving. Panic rose in him until a voice guided him, and he placed two fingers on the man’s neck. A throb. He was still alive. Before he could breathe a sigh of relief, he felt the rush of wind, and looked up.

A figure stood on a burning branch. The man’s cloak wavered in the wind.

Kail.

An explosion shuddered the buildings, and he was thrown to the ground. When he looked back, Kail was gone. Suddenly, the flames upon the rooftops were snuffed, and darkness slunk over the courtyard. Fear gripped his heart and he clutched his chest. Slowly, he twisted.

Standing in the center of the yard, wreathed in darkness, was a nightmare. He wore plates of black armor, as if molded to his towering frame. Upon his broad shoulders, sat round, heavy pauldrons, one with a jutting spike.

Gray’s eyes flashed to Morrowil. Too far, a voice warned.

The Kage spoke, “For two hundred lives of mortal men I have lingered in darkness and shadow. Waiting. Now, at long last, the gates will be breached, and Farhaven will know true terror.”

“You cannot use the blade without me,” he answered. “I know the prophecy.”

With heavy steps, the Kage neared. Gray’s heart hammered in his chest. With one mighty fist, the nightmare gripped Morrowil. Smoke rose from its armored hand in billows. A burning stench filled the air. The Kage’s head turned towards him calmly. “What do you know of prophecy?”

Gray spoke in a fearful whisper, “I know the blade is mine. It chose me.”

“And yet, the blade and the prophecy will be the death of all you know.” The Kage released Morrowil and loomed over Gray, a giant shadow.

“You lie…”

Lost in the abyssal darkness of its hood, he saw a flash of red and felt the Kage’s hot breath on his face. “It is a prophecy that rides between salvation and destruction. It is a fool’s hope.”

The Kage withdrew a huge blade and black lightning crackled across its surface. He raised his arms high in the air, and the blade plummeted. Suddenly, blinding light seared Gray’s vision, wind rushing over him. The Kage’s blade hovered above his face, its point scraping his skin. Thick white eddies encased the cruel sword, as if holding it suspended in midair.

A laugh sounded, reverberating from the rooftops.

“Ronin…” The Kage hissed.

A voice shouted in Gray’s head. If you value your life, run now…

Gray backpedaled, but then saw Maris. I can’t leave him…

Then stay and die.

At the same time, the bonds of wind holding the Kage’s blade burst. The sword hurtled towards his head, and a thunderclap of wind blew Gray back. He hit the wall. When his vision cleared, he saw the Kage and Kail, their blades entangled. Wind flowed and strange energy rattled the air. With a gust, the two flew apart.

Gray looked between the two.

The Kage’s hood had blown back. White hair. Red eyes. He looked to Kail. The Ronin’s white hair tousled in the wind, and his eyes gleamed, a burning red. The same face… The nightmare was a mirror image of Kail if he had died and risen from the grave. His face was pale with missing chunks of flesh, and his eyes were black orbs with red centers.

“How valiant,” the Kage growled. “Saving the one who is destined to take your place.”

“You mistake me,” Kail said, gaze flashing to Morrowil. “Morrowil and your death is all that matters. And both are within my grasp now.”

The Kage sneered. “You never were the hero, were you? Tell me, how was it to watch that woman die within your arms? How did she look upon you when you failed to save her?”

The wind spiked, and Kail bellowed in rage. His blade flickered, but just as fast the creature parried. Again and again he hammered down, a blur of flashing metal, but the Kage’s blade was there at every turn. Abruptly, in a blur of wind, Kail disappeared. In his place golden bolts exploded from thin air, and pelted the nightmare. Chunks of metal flew from its armor. The Kage thrust out a huge hand, and a gust of wind blew a hole in the stone wall, raining rocks on the Ronin. Kail disappeared beneath the cloud of dust and rocks, but reappeared attacking ever harder in a whirlwind of strikes and parries, too fast for Gray to follow.

As the battle grew, the wind raged harder. Gray felt himself being lifted from the ground. He gripped the oak’s trunk. His pack was stripped from his back, sucked into the whipping winds. He saw Maris, his body being dragged by the building storm towards the fight.

A cry rent the night.

Kail knelt, blood gushing from his shoulder. But through his tangle of white hair, the Ronin sneered, pressing a hand to the ground. A hum resonated in Gray’s gut. Holding onto the tree, his arms began to shake. Suddenly, the tree’s roots burst from the ground. He fell to the earth showered with dirt. Kail bellowed, throwing his arm. Like an arrow, the huge oak hurtled towards the Kage. In the last moment, the nightmare swung his sword. A crescent-shaped gust sliced and the tree was cut in two. The halves flew to either side of the Kage.

Gray seized a stray root as the wind pulled harder. Swiftly, he tapped into his mind and felt the swirling ball of air. He gripped it. Uncertain, he took strands of air and wrapped them around his boots, and his feet rooted to the earth.

Another round of explosions sounded, heightened by a peak of screams. Gray fell to Maris’ side, threw him across his back, and ran. He paused at the edge of the courtyard, and turned towards the legends, but all he could see was a tornado of dust and swords. At last, he turned into a narrow alley.

Cries filled the air and smoke stung his eyes. With each step, the weight of the Ronin threatened to buckle his legs. Yet he pressed onward, fear propelling him as he moved towards the black skyline. Over it all, he heard the thunderous ring of swords as the legends clashed.

Fire and Chaos

T
HEY SAT JUST OUTSIDE THE TOWN’S
walls and Ayva’s eyes burned with the heat of the orange flames. The last thing she remembered was fainting. When she awoke, she was on the back of a steed, behind a tall figure. A Ronin. He had set her down once they reached a safe distance from the chaos and fire. She now stood watching everything she knew go up in flames. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Darius. He was still unconscious on the back of a Ronin’s great warhorse—Baro, she reminded herself. The names from the stories came to her easily.

She looked back towards Lakewood, and prayed, watching the flames that threatened to burn the world. Smoke burned her lungs and stung her eyes. You love that inn more than your own daughter, don’t you father?

Ayva surveyed her companions. The Ronin sat silently on their steeds. Apart from them, a tall man rode a midnight black stallion. He wore a grand cloak and his hood pulled forward to hide his face. At his side was a woman, slender and also concealed in a scarlet cloak and a fitted riding dress. She rode a perfectly white mare that seemed out of place in the dark chaos. Beside the woman, upon a brown gelding, was an older man with gray streaked black hair. His calloused hands gripped his reins and he had a pained expression as he watched the flames.

Suddenly, the Ronin who had carried her out of Lakewood yanked on the reigns of his massive steed. It was a creature larger than any Lakewood breed Ayva had ever seen. The Ronin spoke, “We cannot wait any longer, Omni. They would have come by now.” Ayva matched his name to his face. Seth, the Firebrand. The one with a temper like a raging fire.

Ayva stepped forward to speak up, but Omni was first.

“We will not leave Maris behind,” he ordered. Though she knew Kail was supposed to be the Ronin’s leader, Omni looked to be in charge now. The stories said he was the elusive right hand to the infamous Kail. “And, unless you’ve forgotten, the sword is still with the boy. I shouldn’t have to remind you that if the blade falls into the hands of the Kage, all is lost.”