Outside the hidden chamber, the silence crackled with electricity. Liam and Nyx plodded through deserted streets, fog so cold that it hung in little "clouds" of mist in the air. The stillness was a reminder of how far they had come from the battle they fought with the statues, but they were not pausing here. The damage done to the rung that functioned as their little ear would hurt them. Yet, even so, the presence of the Princess loomed larger than life.
"She knows we are coming," Nyx muttered, his keen eyes scanning every shadow.
"She always did," Liam replied somewhat low, "but now she is angry, and angry enemies make mistakes," Liam continued softly.
Nyx scoffed. "Let us hope you're right. I really don't want to be another chew toy of a statue."
They rounded the corner and came upon Kael and the younger prince, waiting in what must have once been an extremely busy marketplace. The prince paced, brows tightly knit, while Kael stood leaning against a broken pillar, sharpening his blade.
"What took you so long?" Kael asked, sheathing his sword as Liam approached.
"We had a little... encounter," said Liam. "She was using an orb to keep an eye over the kingdom. We smashed it."
The prince's face lit up with momentary glistening hope. "Does that mean we can't be seen by her anymore then?"
"At least for now," Liam informed him with an affirming nod. "But her vengeance will be swift. We need to move fast."
Kael wrapped his arms about his chest, shifting his stare to the prince. "No more time for doubts, boy. If you are going to take back the throne, it has to start with your leading, not merely following."
The prince looked away, a flash of guilt in his eyes. "I know," he said quietly. "But how am I supposed to lead when all those who once supported me are now against me?"
Liam stepped forward and spoke firmly, if not unkindly, about leadership generally. "Leadership is not waiting for the right time or when others will believe in it. It is about showing them why they should. Right now, this kingdom doesn't need a perfect leader but someone willing to fight for it."
The prince swallowed hard and nodded. "You're right. I can't keep hiding. I'll fight for my people, no matter the cost."
Kael scoffed. "It's about time."
The Whisper of a Betrayal
Nyx listened as they plotted their next move, then suddenly perked up. "We're not alone," he hissed.Axes froze, and hands flew to weapons.
Then a figure stepped out from the shadows: a woman cloaked in tattered robes and a shroud that concealed her facial features. She held her hands up in a sign of peace.
"Stop," she said, creeping out. "I am no enemy."
Kael's sword was against her throat in less than a blink. "Speak fast."
The woman pulled back her hood, revealing a gaunt face, tired but familiar.
"It's Elira," the prince gasped, stepping forward. "She was one of my mother's maids."
Kael did not lower his weapon. "And why would a maid wander into a battlefield?"
Elira looked around nervously. "I have been hiding since the Princess took over. She has been using the people as pawns, changing anyone who shows opposition into those... beasts you have seen." Her voice broke. "I kept quiet because I was afraid. But now I see what she has done to the kingdom and cannot keep it silent any longer."
He studied her closely. "If you speak the truth, prove it. What do you know about the Princess's plans?"
Elira hesitated, then leaned closer. "She's planning to summon something-worse than what you've faced so far. She has gathered the relics from the vaults of the kingdom and is using the sigils for power from the land itself."
Kael squinted his eyes. "What is she summoning?"Elira went pale. "A demon. A creature from the void. If she manages to do it, it will devour everything."
Silence, heavy, hung in the space between them.
"Well, we've seen what she's capable of," Liam finally remarked. "If she's summoning demons, then we've got to reckon that we have even less time than we thought."
"There's worse," Elira said, her voice lowered to a whisper. "She's drawing people's life forces to fuel the summoning; that's why the kingdom is crumbling. She is sucking it dry."
The prince slammed his fists together. "She's destroying everything my family built. I will not let her.A glimpse of magic.
Prepare to leave; Elira hands a small, worn-out book to Liam.
"This belonged to the Queen," she said softly. "It will help you study magic.
Liam opened the book to find illegible symbols from times long gone and faintly written notes in very nice handwriting. He traced his fingers over the writing and could feel a faint pulse of energy.
"Magic," Nyx said, glancing over his shoulder. "You've been trying to learn it, haven't you?"
A slight nod from Liam. "It's been difficult, but maybe this will give me the edge I need."
Kael raised a brow. "You're a warrior, not a mage. Are you sure this is a good idea?"
Liam sealed the book and turned toward Kael. "If I am to fight a demon, I need every edge I can gain."
The prince stepped forward, determination glittering in his eyes. "We all will."
A Deadly ambush
As they approached the second sigil, silence crept slowly around them. The streets got filled with an eerie tension, even offending Nyx.
"Weird," Nyx said in a low whisper. "Too quiet."
Instincts screamed at Liam to stop, but before he could open his mouth, the ground erupted underneath them.
A trap.
Corrupted soldiers pooled out of buildings, their grotesque bodies pouring into the streets. In front of them was a figure of massiveness-a knight draped in blackened armor, bearing eyes aglow with the same sickly green as the soldiers.
"The Princess knew, then, that we would come this way," Liam spoke, drawing his sword.
The knight moved forward; his voice sounded powerfully, heavily guttural. "But you will not live to see her fall."
It was indeed going to be intense. The knight's power was stronger than any other strikes, shaking earth below. Liam and Kael stood shoulder-to-shoulder, their defenses failing in the swell of the knight's attacks.
Nyx seldomly paused in her course through the fray, taking the souls of the now-spoken soldiers with earth-altering zeal.
Wielding his own sword, the prince attempted to fight; however, the situation proved heavy on him.
"Focus!" Liam shouted, deflecting another hit from the knight. "You can do this!"
The battle was witnessed by Elira, huddled behind the tumbled wall, wide-eyed. The trembling hands clasping the Queen's book on the lips whispering words as if trapped in a prayer.
The instant it looked before them, the knight would have the upper hand; suddenly, a flare of light filled the street again. The prince, jaw set with determination, made a precise hit at the knight into a weak point within his armor.
The knight staggered back and roared painfully.
"Now!" Liam shouted.
Synchronously, Liam and Kael made a strike; the knight fell down, and his body dissolved into that same black mist as the others.
Echo from the Shadows
Just after a loud guffaw erupted as the group caught their breath, they found their udleft with a chill of direct-cold.
And that voice belonged to the Princess.
"You are indeed stronger than I had thought," she continued, her voice hissing-in with malignance, for strength to save you heave in less strength. "The next time we meet, I will show you how completely and utterly powerless you are."
An intrusion of her laughter was left behind- a tyranny of opressive silence.
Liam looked for support in other people's grim but advisable faces.
"She is scared," this pinprick in the thick silence said Nyx. "She wouldn't taunt us if she wasn't. "
"Maybe," Liam said, tightening his left hand grip on his sword. "But she's not the only one preparing. We're going to end this-her, the sigils, and whatever demon she tries to summon."
The group pressed on, the weight of their mission heavier than before.
To be continue...