Anastasia (The Bolton Series Book 1) (18 page)

now she’s gone. Worse part is, if I wasn’t mad at her for taking you to Ulma, she would be here.”

I didn’t have anything to say so I just wrapped my arms around his muscular chest and held him. He was trying to be strong for everyone but as soon as I touched him he broke down. His sob’s caused his body to shake and I just held him harder.

He needed this. He needed to let out everything he had been holding in these last couple of years. Never was he able to cry for his parents because he needed to look out for Mari, he couldn’t show that kind of weakness if he was going to protect her. But now they were all gone and he couldn’t hold it in any longer.

We didn’t care that we were supposed to be keeping watch. Daruka wouldn’t attack us after what he made me see. He would want us to suffer a little before he came to end us but I wouldn’t let him.

His days were limited now.

*~*

“You have got to be kidding me. He is in there?” I asked not wanting to believe it.

We stood at the end of the forest that overlooked a wide valley. At the other end of it was a mountain. A small stone building stood out in the middle of it. Its intricate design reminded me of a temple back on earth. It had two round pillars that led to the huge door. There were two of Daruka’s men standing on either side of it.

“You should see the inside. It’s a whole town.” Simon couldn’t take his eyes off the temple. He had heard of stories about this place and had always wanted to visit it.

“How is this going to work?” It seemed the only way in was the temple. They would surely see us coming.

“There are three more entrances around the mountain. They are well hidden so there shouldn’t be much protection on them.” Kenelm brought out a small map of the area and laid it on the floor. We all kneeled down to get a look at it.

It showed the mountain and all the entrances. Kenelm warned us that there would be spells set up all around to keep people away. Daruka would have set those up himself so they were bound to be powerful.

“Cabel and I will enter through the main entrance. Simon, Dario, and Emilie will take west, Gomel, Calhoun, and Pearson will take the east, and Yelson and Annie will enter through the south.”

“No. Emilie is not going.”

“Annie,” Emilie spoke to try to reason with me.

“No Emilie, you promised me you weren’t going to fight. You were just going to wait at base camp for us to come back.”

“Did you really believe that? I’m not going to just wait here while my best friends attack the evilest thing to ever live.”

“But Em I can’t lose you too.”

She walked over to me and placed her small arms around my shoulders. “You won’t. Do you not have faith in your brother to protect me?”

“Emilie please don’t do this.”

“It’s a done deal Annie. I’m not going to let you talk me out of this. You have your duty and I have mine. I need to do this.”

I couldn’t fight her anymore. She wanted to do this just like I did. She had to prove that she could actually do something other than heal people. Reluctantly, I nodded. I would have preferred her to go with Yelson and I but she shouldn’t be anywhere near Daruka.

Everyone moved to get ready. The plan was to attack at nightfall which was just a few hours away. I couldn’t bring myself to go through the supplies like everyone else though. It was just a sign that our mission was about to end. I was going to end Daruka tonight.

I thought I was ready for this. However, now that it was about to happen I didn’t want to do it anymore. If I did I would just stoop to his level. It would make me as evil as him even if it was to bring peace back to the world.

I walked over to the edge of the forest. It was only yards away from the group but far enough to where I couldn’t hear them

talk. I sat down next to a tree that looked over to the temple. It was too far for any guards to see us but we could see them.

My plan played through my mind. It would be a little tougher now but was still do able. I needed to think of a way to get away from Yelson before I went to find Daruka. Nothing would work if Yelson stayed with me. This was something I had to by myself or else he would try to stop me when he sees what I was doing.

The sound of footsteps brought me out of my thoughts. Yelson sat down next to me. He had my sword with him.

“I thought you would want this.” He handed me the box my sword was in. I gladly took it from him. The pull of the sword called to me.

“Thanks Yelson. Is everyone ready?”

“Just about.”

“Good,” I nodded. The sooner everything was over the better. Yelson looked like he wanted to say something but couldn’t. His mouth kept opening and closing like a fish out of water. “You can tell me anything you know.”

“Yea,” he whispered. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry about last night. I don’t know what got in me to act like that.”

“Yelson, you just lost your sister. I understand. You never have to apologize for crying. You needed that.”

“Yea,” he repeated. His mind was thinking of Mari. She was all he could think of all night. He wanted to believe that when we returned she would be there waiting for him. He wasn’t going to accept that his little sister was gone until he saw it for his own eyes.

I placed my head on his shoulder. He sighed at my contact. He was okay with staying this way forever and so was I. Maybe Kenelm was right. I wanted to tell Yelson how I felt about him. What happened last night made me fall in love with him even more.

But I knew what was going to happen that night. I wasn’t going to get out of it alive. And I wasn’t going to do that to him.

“Don’t worry Annie. I won’t leave your side. You are going to be fine,” he said mistaking my quietness for fear. I couldn’t do anything but look at him. He was telling the truth which just made my plan even harder.

I held the box closer to me as we walked back to the group. Everyone looked like they were ready for war. All the guards had their armor on equipped with a shield and sword. Simon and Mari had changed into tight fitting clothing that would help them move better but wasn’t anything much in protection. Cable and Kenelm both had their swords strapped to their waist as well as other smaller weapons.

I didn’t bother to change from my jeans and t-shirt. My body could move just fine and I wanted to be comfortable. Yelson must have thought the same thing because he didn’t change out of his jeans. He also strapped a belt on that held a sword and daggers.

“We need to get walking to be in positions when nightfall comes.” We all nodded in agreement with Kenelm. The sun would be setting in a few hours. We wanted to be in our positions before then.

I placed the box on the floor and opened the lid. The sword of Ustrina lay in its perfect glory. It shined bright in the evening light and begged for me to lift it. My hands had a mind of their own as they grabbed the sword. The fire instantly erupted from my hands to travel the blade before coming back. The power surged through me giving me that extra kick I needed to fight.

Everyone stared at me in awe. No one but Yelson had seen what the sword did when I touched it and even he stared at me. But his look was different than the rest. His smile looked proud of me. That look made my stomach twist in knots. I didn’t want to disappoint him but I knew I would.

“Should we go?” I asked when no one made a move to leave.

Kenelm was the first to come out of his thoughts. “Yes we shall.”

Everyone else slowly came back to their senses and picked up the last of their items. Simon walked over to me and gave me a

hug making sure not to come in contact with the sword. If he accidentally nicked himself with it he would surly burst into flames.

“I love you Annie,” he whispered against my ear. I could hear the emotions in his voice but he choked them down. “Please, please keep yourself safe.”

“I’ll try my hardest,” I lied. It felt horrible knowing I had to lie to my brother but if he knew the truth he would make me go back to our cabin with him, where he could keep me safe. He gave me a big squeeze before letting me go. Emilie quickly took his place and encompassed me in a hug.

“Oh Annie I’m so sorry that I lied to you. You wouldn’t have let me come if I hadn’t.”

“It’s okay Em. I understand.” And I did. I was lying to all of them for the same reason.

“I just wanted you to know that in case something happened in there. I mean, I know nothing will but there is always that chance. And please stay with Yelson. I know when you two are together nothing bad will happen.”

“Same goes for you. Don’t stray from Simon’s sight. Promise me,” I said holding out my pinky.

“I promise,” she laughed as she wrapped her pinky around mine. She moved over to say goodbye to Yelson. Cabel stood in front of me next. He eyed the sword in a curious way before looking up to me.

“I wanted to thank you for what you are about to do. Many do not have such bravery to stand up to Daruka.”

“Thank you.”

He gave me a genuine smile before he turned around. His mind was still on Arabella. He was thinking of leaving right away after all this to get her. He just wanted to see she was alright. She reminded him so much of his daughter, Silvia, that he didn’t want to think about what would happen if he lost her too.

Kenelm stood by his horse. He didn’t want to come and say goodbye. Not when he only just got me back in his life. I walked over to him and began to pet his horse.

“You know,” I said as I looked up at him. “This time tomorrow you’ll be ruling a peaceful land again.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” he whispered as he stared at me. He looked on the verge of tears.

“What’s wrong?”

“You can’t do this Annie. Please tell me you are not going through with your plan?”

“Kenelm,” I said as I remembered that he could read my mind. My plan was all I could think about lately and he surly would have seen it. “This is the only way.”

“No it is not. Your mother thought the same thing. She thought she could talk Daruka into peace. That is what got her killed. She let her guard down, she didn’t want to kill her brother but he had no problem ending her life. Daruka will kill you before you can execute your plan.” He placed his hands on either side of me. He held on as if I would disappear at any moment. “You can’t let him get that chance. End him the moment you can.”

“I’m not a murderer,” I whispered. “With my plan he won’t be able to hurt anyone else. You all can live in peace again.”

“But you die. What kind of peace is that for me? Or Yelson and Simon? What about Emilie? None of us will be at peace for the rest of our lives if you do this.”

“I have to. Now, we can spend this time arguing or we can say goodbye. I need to say goodbye to my father before we leave.”

A tear fell from his eye as he took in my words. Nothing he said would have changed my mind. It was made up. He moved to give me a hug. When his strong arms surrounded me I felt safe. His love encompassed me to the point of smothering but I accepted it. This was the last time I was going to see him. I needed as much of it as possible.

I began crying too.

After a few minutes I pulled away from my father and brushed the tears away from my check. He did that same as he was silently crying the whole time.

“I love you Annie,” he whispered to me as he smoothed out my hair. “If only your mother could see you now. She would be so proud.”

I couldn’t do anything but nod. The mention of my mother caused a lump in my throat. I wished I had gotten the chance to have met her. Even if Celesta was a great mom to me I felt like there was a hole in my heart.

I picked up my sword from the ground where I had dropped it before our hug. Walking over to Yelson I went through my plan one more time. I had no idea what it looked like inside the mountain but I wanted to be as prepared as possible.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Yes.”

Everyone said one more goodbye before departing to their routes.

The tall vegetation was just enough to hide our bodies from the guard’s sight as we walked through the valley. I walked in front of Yelson and used a detection spell to try to find any of the spells Daruka had casted. We hadn’t come across any yet but it was only a matter of time.

We had been walking for about three hours and were just reaching the south end of the mountain. Everything was quite. We stopped to take a small break. There was one tree surrounded by tall grass that we decided to sit under.

My legs were sore not only from the walking but the horseback riding we did the past two days. I hoped that they didn’t want to give out on me anytime soon.

“So where in this beehive is Daruka going to be?”

“Where the queen bee always is,” Yelson laughed as he passed me a water bottle. “At the center.”

“Great,” I groaned before drinking half the water.

“Don’t worry. The king had this place built so he told me all the secret ways around it.” Yelson winked at me before drinking his own water. I quietly laughed.

“Good to know one of us knows where we are going.” I held the sword in my lap. The symbol glowed blue telling me that they were ready to protect me. I felt powerful with it in my hands. It was such a shame I wasn’t going to use it on Daruka.

“Annie what do you plan on doing after all this is over.”

“Nothing,” I replied. It wasn’t a complete lie. “You?”

“Ahh I don’t know. I’ve never been to the ocean before so maybe take a little swim. Hang out with some mermaids.”

“I thought Sirens didn’t like water.”

“Oh but I’m not full Siren.” He lay back on the grass. His muscles threaten to burst out of his shirt at any moment.

“And the other half?” A small part of me yelled at myself for asking the question after how he acted the last time I did but he surprised me by chuckling.

“I guess I could tell you now.” He propped himself up on his elbow. “Just promise me you won’t be mad or scared. Everyone seems to get scared of me when I tell them. That’s why I stopped.”

“I promise.”

He sighed as he looked at me. “Conriocht.”

I sat shocked at what he said. He was half wolf half witch. Simon talked about them once. People thought that someone like that had taken the sword for themselves. Yelson was probably the second most powerful creature on this planet and that scared people. He wasn’t supposed to exist.

“I’m not scared. You’re still my guard and friend. Now I know you turn into a wolf in your free time.” He let out a laugh that shook his whole body. His gray eyes looked at me with something I couldn’t quite place. It was somewhere between happiness and fright. “What’s so funny?”

“I haven’t turned into a wolf since my parents were killed. I only ever did with my father. He made sure I didn’t do anything I would regret. With him gone there was no one to look out for me.”

“You don’t need a babysitter Yelson.”

“You don’t know how I am when I’m a wolf.”

“It can’t be that bad.”

“We should get going. It’s almost time,” Yelson said dismissing the conversation.

The sky had grown darker over the five minutes of our little break. It wasn’t going to be long before we had to enter what I would now call the beehive.

We began to walk again. Yelson had to crouch to keep hidden as the plants weren’t as tall the closer we got.

We walked for two minutes before I brought my arm out to stop Yelson. A small buzz echoed throughout my mind letting me know a spell had been casted around the area. I wasn’t sure what kind it was but it was powerful. My father was right when he said Daruka set them up. No one else would have the power to do it at least not someone Daruka would trust.

I whispered the spell he taught me to break it. The buzz soon left my mind. I nodded to Yelson and began walking again only to stop at a new buzz. This one was different. It was more of a humming and oddly enough it sounded pleasant. The spell went through my mind once again and the sound immediately stopped.

We were almost to the base of the mountain. Yelson pointed to tree that hid the entrance. It was a few yards away and was guarded by two of Daruka’s men. They sat on the floor as they were exhausted. Daruka had them stay out there for almost a whole day.

Yelson whispered his plan to me. He wanted me to freeze them as I did with him days earlier and let him handle the rest. I quickly did as he told.

The guards started to panic when they couldn’t move. Their minds went wild as they tried to break out of my spell but I was more powerful than them. They sat frozen to the ground as Yelson moved to stand in front of them. He didn’t want me to see what he was about to do so he stood in my view but it was playing in his mind.

The smaller guard looked at Yelson as best he could without moving his head. He knew what was coming. Yelson’s hand glowed to life with the fire that was built up inside of him. He placed his hand over the guard’s heart. I could hear the guard screaming in his mind. He begged Yelson to stop but he couldn’t hear him, only I could.

I closed my mind from theirs and focused on the sword in my hand. Yelson was right to try to protect me from seeing that. I couldn’t handle it. When he moved I saw what he did.

A hole was burned into the guard’s chest where his heart once was. His lifeless eyes were open from my spell and stared at me. Even if I wasn’t the one who took his life I still felt the guilt. He was only doing what he was told to and that cost him his life.

Yelson finished with the second guard. He walked to me and held me close to him. I heard their bodies hit to floor when I let go of my spell. The sound made me cringe.

“Annie, you have to be strong. I know this isn’t what you wished to happen but it has too. You can’t let it get to you or you are going to be a mess when you face Daruka.” His hand brushed back my hair as he spoke. He was trying to calm me and I was grateful but he was right. I had to toughen up even if it was just an act.

“The sun is down. We need to go,” I said as I walked out of embrace. I moved towards the door trying not to look at the guards bodies.

Yelson moved the brush that covered the door away. It revealed a small wooden door with carving marked in it. I remembered them from the book Emilie had given me. They were prevention symbols to keep evil out. The door had cracked through each of the five intricate triangles, breaking their protection which is how I’m guessing Daruka got into the beehive.

Yelson opened the door revealing a long hall. Its walls held torches to light up the path. No one was there so we quickly entered. He grabbed one of the torched and began to move down the hall. I quickly followed next to him.

The hall twisted and turned for what seemed like forever before giving way to a huge room with four other halls. We could hear the sound of people moving throughout them. Yelson moved down the farthest right. His hand wrapped around mine to make sure I was keeping up with him.

At the end of the hall was a cliff that let us see what lay inside the mountain. Rows and rows of houses surrounded one giant common space filled with creatures. Simon was right, this was an underground village.

We stayed hidden in the shadow of the hall. Hundreds of goblins, elves, giants, and many more I didn’t know moved around the area. The center was set up like a market place to find everything you needed to kill someone.

There were hundreds of stands filled with weapons and food. Two of the only things they needed here.

Everyone was carrying some sort of weapon, mostly swords. They were ready for an attack. Here we were giving them just what they wanted.

An explosion rang out from the north side, opposite of where we were. I held on to Yelson’s hand tighter as I imagined the mountain collapsing on us. Then I remembered that this place was created by magic and probably couldn’t.

Everyone ran to the source of the sound. My heart beat rose as I thought of my father and Cabel fighting everyone who was now rushing to them. We had to find Daruka fast before something happened to them.

Yelson pulled me to run to down the steps to where the houses began. Only a few creatures remained but they didn’t notice us as we slipped past them to the houses. Small alleys separated each row of houses. Three main streets split the sections in half.

We stopped at one of the houses closer the center. Yelson pushed me through it and closed the door, locking it behind us. What I thought was a house wasn’t. It was just an empty room with one staircase in the middle that went down into the ground.

The torch that Yelson still held lit up the stairs as we descended. It must have gone down three floors before it ended in a tunnel. We followed it until we came to two huge stone doors.

“He has to be in there.”

“How are we going to get in?” Without even trying I knew the door would be locked and it was enchanted to withstand any form of magic.

Yelson went through different plans in his head faster than I could keep up with.

“He needs to see you. He has to know you are here.”

“So then he will come to me.”

“Yes.” Yelson grabbed my hand again and ran back the way we came. We went back up the steps. “Once he knows you are here you’ll be able to get him because he will let himself be seen.”

“Yelson are you telling me that I have to fight first. Kill people.”

“I’m sorry Annie but it’s the only way I can think of right now.” He knew how much I hated the idea of killing anything. I wasn’t a murderer. But if I wanted to defeat Daruka I had to.

I held my sword tighter in my hand. It was all I had to protect myself and was all I needed. I nodded for him to open the door. This was going to be the fight of our lives. And I was prepared. Yelson pulled out his own sword from its stealth. He discarded the torch.

“I won’t leave you Annie,” he promised and he gave me a hug. “Never.”

He let me go and opened the door. I followed him out. No one was on our block. We walked against the walls as we entered the main street.

I saw a goblin run at us when we entered. He screamed as he tried to stab me with his sword. He didn’t notice Yelson as he grabbed his hand and ran his sword through the goblins chest.

It’s yelling had attracted others. Three other goblins and two elves ran to us at all directions. One of the elves had reached me first.

I blocked its hit with my sword. A blue fire exploded where the swords had connected. I retracted my hands and shoved the tip of my sword into its shoulder. It cried as it burned from the inside out. A blue flame erupted from the Siren symbol and its chest before it turned to ash. I didn’t have time to acknowledge the fact that I killed something before another goblin came running at me.

His long hands held a club with nails poking out of the top. He moved it to hit my side but I moved out of its way just in time. We moved circled each other before it attempted once again to hit me with me club. One of the nails had connected with my arm and pulled my skin away with it as the goblin moved the club towards him.

It jumped with joy at seeing my skin on its weapon. I used that time to plunge my sword into its chest. Its cat-like eyes grew wide with fear as it burst into flames.

The strega symbol on my sword glowed bright as it healed my wound. My skin repaired itself in just seconds. I didn’t have time to be amazed before two more creatures were on me.

The taller, red one threw himself at me while the other blocked my sword from hitting him. He collided with my side bring us both to the ground. His huge fist connected with my face causing a small cut under my eye. I could feel the sword start to heal me but it was cut short when he hit me again and again. The second one held my arms down while the red one attacked me.

The hits to my face caused my mind to be a blur. I couldn’t think of anything to help me escape from the blows.

He stopped out of nowhere. His eyes grew wide as a scream exploded from his mouth. Flames burst out of his heart and he was pushed to the side. The hands that held me instantly let me go.

Yelson stood over me. His eyes were red, the same that Mari’s had turned. He looked pissed beyond words as he helped me up. He had a gash along his jaw line and on his shoulder but he didn’t seem to mind.

“I guess that sword does really work,” he said as he touched my cheek where I was getting hit. The only thing there to prove what had happened was a little bit of blood.

I moved my hand to his shoulder. Purple mist floated between us as I healed him. I did the same to his jaw.

“Yea. It does.” I looked around us.

At least twelve bodies littered the floor of the small alley. All of them burned one way or another. I eyed the two piled of ashes next to where I stood. I had done that. I had killed the two things. I thought I would feel guilty like I did with the goblins outside but I didn’t. I was glad at what I did. They attack Yelson and me and deserved what they got.

No one else had come our way. I could hear the sounds of the battle going on around us. I heard the screams of people dying,