Dark light, p.23
Dark Light, page 23
part #2 of The Shinigami Tomes Series
“I can bring your brother back to life, if you shall wish it!” This was the last weapon in Behem’s persuasive arsenal. Luiner stood in silence, staring at the wooden floor beneath his feet.
“I can still feel the pain he felt when his head was severed . . . He was an innocent bystander . . . a bystander in a war your father tried so hard to prevent you from witnessing. But war came nonetheless.”
“You know nothing of my father!” Luiner’s voice was now weak and whispery. He felt a light tap on his shoulder. Behem was there right beside him.
“I can show you my future!” He held the kitten in one hand, while in the other he gripped a sharp wooden knife, which he used to rip the animal’s abdomen open. Blood spurted onto Luiner’s shocked face as he stared at the unexpected horror before him. Behem’s vision of the future followed, and then light was engulfed by darkness.
The night passed accompanied by the song of the crows flying over the inn. When the sun rose in the sky, Tianu and Luiner left the inn and headed towards a nearby cemetery.
“Here we are at last. Tie your horse to that tree over there. The massacred bodies are buried at the farthest end of the cemetery. The folks around here were convinced those souls were damned and that they would have haunted their loved ones out of their final resting places, cursed to wander this wretched world for all eternity. Ahahaha! Such nonsense!” The dwarf’s hoarse laughter resonated throughout the empty graveyard as Luiner patted his horse before leaving it tied to an old tree.
“Come, come. Follow me! The path is a tortuous one. After all, this graveyard was built after the great pestilence a few years back . . . not too long before your brother passed away. Humans . . . such disrespect towards the dead. Look at the state of this place!” grunted the dwarf as he unsheathed a small, curved dwarven dagger and cut through a narrow path filled with dense, spiny bushes. The cemetery must have held a couple hundred cadavers in no specific order. No tombstones marked the graves; there were only wooden plates with the names of the deceased. A few loved ones had added a phrase or two, showing the marked affection that the living family and friends of the departed bore for him or her. A few broken trees stood here and there, and perched on them were beautiful ravens, which stared at the foreign visitors. The short, compact body of the dwarf passed swiftly through the narrow paths intermingling with the silent cemetery. The sun was abruptly blocked by thick, grey clouds which blew in from the northwest, pushed by the cold currents hailing from the Fruzenland.
“Here we are,” stated the dwarf as a heavy downpour of rain began to fall onto their heads. “Here lies your brother. There is no name here . . . just ‘The Innkeeper.’ I can have his name added, if you so wish it,” continued the dwarf as he turned his face upwards and gazed at the still features of the guest.
“His name was Uhiu . . . from our grandfather, who was also called Uhiu.” His cheeks flushed violet and suddenly began to become moist.
“Luiner . . . you . . .” whispered the blond-bearded dwarf.
“No . . . no, Tianu. I am not crying. It is simply the rain; that is all.”
Chapter 41
Kingdom of Watir – The New World
The Light Capital’s citizens filled the streets to witness the arrival of their saviour, the rightful monarch of the Kingdom of Watir. If one word could describe the predominant feeling in the capital, it would be “love.”
“You saved us all! Hooray for our king, Kaze Niss, true heir to Watir’s throne!”
“The heir is back! He is our king!”
The voices sang in unison as Kaze rode his black stallion along the main road of the Light Capital. Guruk and Ulir, who had more or less recovered from their wounds, followed the new king towards the Crystal Palace. Having once been hated and feared there, the necromancers, vampires, and werewolves were now being hailed as saviours and heroes in the most acclaimed human city—the Light Capital, centre of all trade and power in the mighty Kingdom of Watir.
The thousands of lost souls had once again returned to their respective bodies, and their memories of being in Runian’s elvish army were nothing more than a terrible nightmare.
“After you, sire!” Drar smiled as he ordered a squadron of silver mages, who had joined Lady Galadri’s army, to open the heavy gates leading to the Crystal Castle.
In the halls of the majestic arch-roofed castle now hung the banners of the House of Niss, which had been personally modified for Kaze by the great tailors of the Light Capital. The banners showed a scarlet raven, and the background featured sunrays passing through a black area, which represented the name by which Kaze had recently been called—the Dark Light.
“Kaze Niss, you are the king of Watir now. Congratulations are in order!” said Lord Turiner solemnly as, behind him, a row of Shinigami Lords bowed before the new Watirian king.
“Lord Turiner, you have upheld your oath. You have protected the Light Capital in my absence. I thank you,” replied Kaze with a small bow. “I gather this is the first time Shinigami are paying an official visit to a human kingdom.”
“Indeed. And I must thank you. For the battle you fought in Oserin, though brutal it was, allowed us to feed on the souls of the fallen ones, granting us the chance to recover our energies,” said Turiner, referring to the Shinigami’s feeding habits and the fact that their main role had been to feed off the mana of the fallen soldiers and safely lead their souls, preventing them from going astray.
“I see your eyes scouring the royal throne, and I do not think it is because you are searching for your crown. Am I right?” whispered the Shinigami, bending close to Kaze’s ear.
“Do you know where she is?” inquired Kaze hesitantly.
“She is in the female vampires’ barracks. She has been working under Lady Galadri since she came here. She has been going on night patrols and keeping guard duties across the Light Capital. Do not worry about this lot,” continued the Shinigami, pointing to the rich Watirian nobles and merchants who had gathered by the royal throne for a chance to meet the new king. “I shall take care of them. They’ll run the other way as soon as they notice me coming. They think I am going to suck their souls out . . . Hmph . . . Anyways, go now, and you might find your lovely one.”
Kaze’s reply was a nod, and then he bolted out of the castle, detaching his heavy scarlet cape from his shoulders and jumping on his horse before heading to the military encampment.
He remembered the day that he was carried before Frizas as a prisoner. At that time, the walls that surrounded him represented the enemy, but now, they represented renewed hope and freedom. The cold breeze caressed his face as he galloped through the festive city. He rode for ten minutes before he encountered the first military barracks.
“Who goes there?” demanded a vampire guard, who was standing vigilant at the entrance to the army’s sleeping quarters. As the necromancer’s black stallion grew closer, the guard squinted as he tried to focus on the figure ahead. Upon recognising the long violet hair of the Niss royal, he stuttered,
“K . . . Kaze Niss, the champion of the royal Scythe Tournament! The northern vampires serving under Lady Galadri salute you, King of Watir!” The vampire saluted the monarch formally.
“At ease.” Kaze smiled. “I am seeking an ashen-haired sorceress. Have you seen her?”
“Lady Aline . . . of course, I have. If you’ll allow me . . . She is a brutal woman, sire. She cursed poor Narcios, an old vampire, for having tried to touch her hair without permission,” muttered the guard, staring at the neighing horse before him.
“Sounds about right.” Kaze smirked. “Where is she?”
“At this time? She has to be on guard duty . . . up in the tower,” responded the guard immediately, and after an elegant bow, he gave the order to let the king pass through the military zone.
Kaze tied his mount to a nearby palisade and continued on foot towards the eastern-facing tower.
The wind blew fiercely against the top of the tower as the long ashen hair of the sorceress danced amidst its gusts.
“It is longer than the last time I saw it . . . your hair, I mean.” As the howling wind carried Kaze’s words gently to Aline’s ear, she turned hesitantly in the direction of their owner.
“Ah . . . my hair. Yes . . . time has passed, after all . . . Your eyes have changed too,” she replied as her cheeks gained the redness which Kaze had so missed during his darkest times.
“Yes, they did. I am an outright monster now,” replied Kaze sadly.
“Not to me . . . never to me. And, now . . . look.” Aline smiled, pointing at the sea of people swarming the mighty capital. “They adore you. You have saved them.”
“Hardly . . . It was all of us who saved them, and it is far too early to call me a saviour, for the war has just begun. But I see that you are quite the dutiful soldier now. You didn’t even come to greet me to honour your guard duty.” The new king smiled warmly as he slowly approached the still woman.
“Yes . . . yes, I am,” was the sorceress’ short reply.
“Hmm . . . Aline, daughter of Ragui, with nothing to say?” Kaze smirked as a ray of light was reflected in the violet stone that Aline constantly wore as a reminder of him. “I guess it is only right . . . You see, were I a poet, I could do justice to what I’m feeling right now. But I fear I can only express it by saying that you are beautiful . . . breathtakingly so. That I have dreaded every moment spent away from you. That I was glad my heart was yours and saddened by the fact that my life no longer depended on yours . . . though it did, for without you, I am nothing . . . this . . . this is nothing,” stated Kaze passionately as he pointed to the Crystal Palace behind him.
Aline stood speechless. Her eyes moistened at the whirlwind of emotions narcotising her hardened, wistful mind.
Kaze now stood but inches from Aline. He calmly took her hands in his as he whispered, “I . . . I remember the first time I laid eyes on you. Something struck my innermost being. You were like a caged bird . . . just waiting for someone to set you free . . . to allow you to soar high above the clouds and bathe in the warm rays of the sun. But I feared that once the sun was revealed to you, you’d come to hate such a dark, macabre creature as myself . . . But you never did. I dread to ask, but why?”
Kaze’s ghoulish eyes reflected in Aline’s as her cherry lips moved, and she let out nothing but three words—“I love you.” Nothing had ever shaken Kaze more in his entire life, and as their lips touched, the tears began flowing from their reddened eyes.
“I love you, too . . . I love . . . love . . . love you,” the necromancer kept repeating as he kissed his beloved over and again. The strongest, purest, and most unwavering feeling arose within the heartless monarch, whose body he shared with the evilest of creatures—the ghoul king—and whose life had been dedicated to the study and practice of the darkest spells.
The weeks passed quietly, and the thought of an imminent war and the active threat of Lord Behem were kept hushed by the general happiness that pervaded the air and the merry-go-round of life as the citizens of the Light Capital, thankful for having their lives given back to them, enjoyed the new, free rule under Kaze. The Shinigami Lords who had joined Lord Turiner and left Blacuir now refused to go back to their native land. They decided to pledge their loyalty to the king of Watir and ask him to help them regain control of Blacuir, which was now ruled by Shinigami who had turned against their king and sided with Behem.
“Ahahaha! This is the life! I always wanted to drink and sleep with beautiful women . . . and you . . . well, you wanted to get married and become a lord. And now you are ‘high lord,’ thanks to the services you offered to the crown. Should I bow?” asked Simmon jokingly, patting his dear friend Drar on the shoulders, as he ordered a second pint at the Mad Cat Inn, which was located south of the Crystal Castle.
“Yes, you should . . . Ah, there you go,” exclaimed Drar as Simmon bowed playfully before him.
“High Lord Drar, I wanted to compliment you and thank you for saving all of us. Your feats have made you a legend amongst us,” said a beautiful black-haired woman, who stepped from behind Drar’s shoulders. “I wish to thank you personally for all you have done . . . perhaps over dinner. I know a place where they serve excellent meat. I thought that with you being a vampire . . .”
“I give you five seconds to disappear,” sneered Lizzie coldly. The blonde sorceress, who had just entered the inn, walked sinuously towards Drar as the black-haired woman ran away in terror at having enraged the infamous sorceress.
“Lizzie, you are scaring away all the ladies! Leave . . . You don’t even drink,” complained Simmon, staring at the enraged features of the sorceress.
“I see we are enjoying ourselves, aren’t we, ‘high lord’?” uttered the annoyed sorceress as she halted right before Drar.
“Have I done something to enrage you, Lizzie?” Drar smiled.
“Well, no . . . not really. But you have never really come to talk to me since your return . . . not that I care,” replied Lizzie, whose furrowed eyebrows and look of contempt revealed her true feelings.
“Well, I am sorry to see you so downcast, especially since I had planned to ask you out tonight,” responded the newly appointed high lord, grinning as Lizzie’s face flushed suddenly.
“You? Me? Ask me out?” inquired Lizzie erratically. Despite her stunning looks, she had never been asked out by anyone for mainly two reasons. One was that she had never been interested in anyone, which had, thus, resulted in her never really being asked out by anyone. The second reason was her character. Her sudden mood swings and volatility had made her a subject of fear rather than of passion.
“Why? Me . . . hm . . . know your place,” responded Lizzie, trying to look as composed as possible as her soul jumped from happiness at the thought of a tête-à-tête with Drar. “And, where are you supposed to take me?”
“Ah! I am glad you asked. Well, it is a surprise. Meet me at the southern gate at sundown. I’ll await you there,” came the high lord’s short reply as he stood from his seat and smiled warmly at Lizzie.
“Well, hear, hear! Lizzie in love with my best friend . . . and a vampire at that,” Simmon said, smirking as soon as Drar left the inn. The sorceress abruptly slammed her elbow into Simmon’s face, causing him to fly against the back wall of the room.
“Lizzie . . . I was just joking,” complained Simmon as he stared at the sorceress carelessly exiting the inn under the terrorised stares of the frightened customers. “Hmph . . . She does pack quite a punch!”
The sun was setting on the horizon behind the smooth mountain range when Lizzie arrived at the southern gate. “At dusk, he said . . . He was mocking me . . . I knew it. And Simmon was behind it all, I am sure of it. Wait until I get my hands on him! That damned—”
“You came,” said a familiar voice behind her. Lizzie’s body froze as she heard Drar’s footsteps closing in.
“Yes . . . I was curious, that’s all,” replied Lizzie nonchalantly.
“Come. Follow me.”
Drar led the sorceress along a secret path through the heart of a nearby forest. Along the way, they stopped and stood in silence.
Lizzie was in a state of confusion that she’d never experienced before. This was a mistake . . . Where is he leading me? I remember when he saved me from the lightning giant and the countless times he saved me before that. His sweet smile and warm thoughts have always been my most precious memories of him . . . These thoughts filled Lizzie’s mind as she followed her companion through the thick woods.
After what had to be a good ten minutes of walking, the trees became sparse, and a meadow appeared before them. Drar jumped on a small rock, where he halted. “Look. Look at the horizon,” he said softly as he held Lizzie’s hand, helping her up onto the rock. “What do you see?”
“Is that a trick question?” asked Lizzie in reply to Drar’s inquiry. The latter shook his head to express his denial and pulled the sorceress close to him. Her back lay against the muscular chest of the sorcerer, and she blushed while attempting to concentrate on the horizon before her. After a few minutes of silence, she said timidly, “I . . . I see the sun setting.”
“Look closer,” whispered Drar into the sorceress’ ear as his cold lips touched her outer earlobe. He then flicked his fingers. As the last upper contour of the red sun disappeared behind the mountain range, a bright green flash of light filled the heavens above them.
“This is who I was, Lizzie . . . the Green Flash . . . someone to be used as a last resort, after a day of war and death, to cause more war and death,” said Drar slowly as Lizzie’s eyes shone and a warm smile appeared on her silky face. She stared at the mesmerising green light which filled the sky just before vanishing completely from her field of vision.
“I am not the Green Flash. What I am now . . . hmm . . . well, I am not sure if a demon-possessed vampire is a better position than what I used to be.” Drar giggled as Lizzie also began laughing. “But aren’t demons just names we gave them? Aren’t our actions that make us good or evil rather than the tags given to us by someone we have never met who probably didn’t even know what demons were? Lizzie, what I am trying to say is . . . I offer myself to you!”
“What?” came the incredulous reply as the sorceress’ cheeks turned scarlet and her mouth stood wide open due to her stupor at the unexpected statement.
“You know, there are rumours that Kaze’s reason for doing all he has done and will do is Aline. Can you imagine? A village girl determining the course of the universe? I used to mock him . . . not so much anymore. Lizzie, I must have you for myself,” uttered the vampire passionately in a way that Lizzie had never seen him behave; it both intrigued and scared her.
“But I am Lizzie . . . just Lizzie. They say I am mad . . . violent . . . evil . . .”
“I don’t care about all that! I want you as you are—mad, violent, and all the rest. I care about you, Lizzie . . . just Lizzie!” Drar’s words echoed in the still meadow as Lizzie’s eyes softened. She leaned slowly towards him, pressed her lips against his, and hugged him in such a pure, innocent way that it left him in tears.
