Chartile: Prophecy (39 page)

“
You okay, Jay?” Jack
asked.

Jayson nodded. “As much as I’m gunna be.
It’s like, I knew it was going happen. Or maybe it happened because
I tried to make it so it didn’t happen. I don’t know. But, we have
to finish what we came here to do, right? Maybe after this is all
over, I can find his family and give them money or something.”

Leo and Jack smiled weakly at him. Jack
pulled him into an awkward hug, but Jayson returned it gratefully.
Leo handed Jayson his bow that he had dropped several corridors
back, and Jack handed him his quiver. They turned to continue on,
when a blast of energy knocked them from their feet and sent them
flying through the air.

They slammed into the far wall, and the room
spun before their eyes. They hurried to their feet, holding their
heads and steadying themselves against the wall.

Walking slowly and determinedly toward them
was a tall, young woman. Her blonde hair hung loose to her
shoulders, and the air around her quivered with a strange
energy.

“
You should not have come
back,” she said. “You should not have been able to come back. I
bound your souls in unbreakable ties!”

The boys fell to their knees, and memories
that were not their own flashed through their minds. As the images
raced before their mind’s eye, Jack, Leo and Jayson felt a sense of
calm and understanding come over them. The memories were theirs,
but from another life. They stood as one, missing pieces from their
training and past lives making everything clearer.

“
Your unbreakable ties
only work in this world, Noraedin,” said Leo, but his voice was
deeper and more commanding. “You know magic extends past the limits
of time and space.”

“
He won’t listen,
Florine,” said Jayson beside him. But he was not only Jayson Hill.
He was King Jenemar from the far western reaches of the Belirian
Forest. “He has never listened.”

“
Noraedin,” said Jack, and
his voice too was different. He spoke calmly, and stepped toward
Taraniz with his arms open wide. “We can discuss this civilly. You
are killing that young girl. This is not our time
anymore.”

Taraniz raised her hand, and Jack was forced
back against the wall again. Leo and Jayson ran to his side.

“
Enough of your pretty
words, Kasmalin! It was all you were ever good for! Chartile is
finally mine, and you will not take it from me again!”

Leo and Jayson reacted out of instinct.
Somehow, the souls of Kings Florine and Jenemar used the boys to
create a barrier between themselves and Taraniz. It was just in
time. A streak of blue lightning slammed against the barrier, and
they could feel the tingle of the electricity through the air. Jack
pulled magic from deep within his core, and released a fire ball
that passed through the barrier, aimed for Taraniz.

The girl was too fast. She caught the ball,
and seemed to absorb it into her chest, laughing as it
disappeared.

“
Have you learned nothing,
little boys?” she sneered, and laughed maniacally. “You cannot
defeat me! I am more powerful than you will ever be!”

One of Jayson’s arrows flew through the air
and pierced Taraniz through to her heart. Though it had not been
Jayson nor Jenemar who had released it. Another, and another was
loosed, and they imbedded themselves deep into Taraniz’s body. They
turned to see Valin, who had found Jayson’s bow and quiver as it
was lost when they were first knocked back.

“
Perhaps not with magic,
but the body of the girl you have controlled can still be killed.”
Valin loosed Jayson’s last arrow into Taraniz’s heart. The blast of
energy was deafening. Everyone clasped their hands to their ears,
and ducked as the arrows once buried in the princess now flew
through the air.

“
Valin! NO!” Piper and
Dimitri emerged from another corridor. Piper ran to Taraniz, and
she fell into her arms. Dimitri ran to Valin, holding him back from
interfering.

“
Ani, no, no,” Piper
sobbed. “I’ll save you. I promise.”

She raised a trembling hand toward the wound
above her sister’s heart. Taraniz grabbed Piper’s hand, her fingers
barely holding on.

“
Just let me go,” she
whispered. “I do not want to hurt anymore. He cannot hurt you if I
am gone.”

“
No,” said Piper
defiantly, though her voice shook through her tears. “No, I will
not let you go, not when we have only just begun. I cannot be a
queen without you. I don’t know what to do. You cannot leave me
like our mother left us.”

Taraniz coughed, and a trickle of blood
formed at the corner of her mouth. She smiled at Piper and placed a
loving hand on her cheek. Piper kissed it and cried. The boys,
Dimitri and Valin approached the pair slowly and knelt before the
princess. Jayson placed a hand on Piper’s knee in comfort, and Jack
rested his hand on her shoulder.

“
I believe in you,”
Taraniz whispered more weakly now. “Knowing you believed enough in
me to try and save me is more than I could have asked. I am at
peace. Now, I must face the judgments and punishments of my
actions. I love you, dear sister.”

She turned to the boys, her eyes fluttering
to stay open. Faintly, her voice nearly inaudible, she whispered,
“Take care of her.” Taraniz’s eyes closed, and she breathed her
last breath.

Piper pulled Taraniz close to her and
sobbed, her tears falling into her sister’s hair. Dimitri hugged
Piper, and Leo also laid a hand on her back.

A black shadow which none of them had
noticed grew and expanded on the ceiling overhead. Valin looked up,
his eyes widening at the sight. The shadow morphed and moved,
collecting itself into a solid form and hovered inches above the
floor.

“
It’s not over,” Valin
said quietly. They turned, their bodies stiffening at the sight of
the figure. Jayson, Jack, Leo and Dimitri rose to form a protective
circle around Piper. Piper pushed her way through and sent a streak
of lighting at the shadow. It bent and twisted as if in pain, and
formed itself again into a less identifiable form.

“
That was for my sister!”
she screamed, and tried to send another lighting strike at the
figure. Valin stopped her as they watched the shadow grow blacker
before their eyes.

“
I require a new vessel,”
it hissed. Its voice echoed into the far corners of their minds,
and they all fought not to clamp their hands to their ears in
agony. “You will do nicely.” Though it did not have eyes, they all
knew it looked at Piper.

“
You will have to get past
me first!” said Valin. He rushed forward and raised his sword at
the figure in challenge.

“
Valin, no!” said Piper
and Dimitri together. The figure laughed though it sounded more
like the creak of an old door. It extended its shadowy form out,
wrapping its blackness around Valin’s throat and lifted him from
the floor. It threw him against the far wall, where he slumped to
the floor unconscious.

“
No!” cried Piper, and her
mind became flooded with visions and memories that belonged to King
Pasalphathe. She flung her arms out to steady herself, and felt a
warm hand in hers. It was Jayson. Leo’s hand found its way to her
other hand and squeezed it tightly. Jack grabbed Jayson’s hand, and
they erected the barrier again.

“
He is stronger than all
of us, Pasalphathe,” said Leo in Florine’s voice.

“
His energy must be
dispelled in a way that it cannot reform,” said Jayson as
Jenemar.

“
The circlet may be our
only chance. It is made of orenite and holds the Draconian runes.”
King Kasmalin spoke through Jack.

As the kings continued their discussion,
Dimitri reached into his pocket and pulled out his orenite cuffs.
Piper saw him, and broke free of her friends. The barrier flickered
but stayed intact. She rushed to Dimitri’s side, yanking the cuffs
from his hands.

“
No,” she said
desperately, shaking her head. “I just lost my sister, I’m not
losing you too!”

Dimitri pulled her to him, kissing her
fiercely, and gently pried the cuffs from her hands. She pulled
away and clawed at the air in an attempt to retrieve the cuffs.

“
This evil has plagued us
all for too long. I wish only to see you happy.” he whispered and
slipped the cuffs onto his wrists.

“
Dimitri, we will think of
another way,” said Kasmalin’s voice.

“
Don’t you make me cry
again,” said Piper through her tears. “You cannot leave me!
Everyone has left me!”

“
We do not know where the
circlet is,” said Dimitri. “We will never find it in time, and he
may kill all of us before we even do.”

“
Then let me do it,” said
Piper, pulling at Dimitri’s hands, a desperation he had never heard
straining her voice. “If someone is going to do this, it should be
me. The boys can rule the elves. Please. Please, don’t do this to
me!”

“
I love you more than you
could ever know,” said Dimitri, and he stepped through the barrier.
“I thought you might be tired of being in the body of a little
girl,” he said mockingly to the shadow before him. “Care to try
some power on for size?”

The shadow laughed again and charged at
Dimitri. Jayson, Jack and Leo held Piper back as they watched the
shadow bore its way into Dimitri’s chest. His scream cut through
their hearts, and they watched him fall to his knees, clutching at
his head as he fought with the soul struggling to take over inside
him. His orenite cuffs began to spark, and his body jerked from
side to side. He stood, turning to face his friends. He controlled
the grimace on his face, and for a fleeting moment, he was at
peace. He locked eyes with Piper, and she broke free of Jayson and
Leo. The barrier collapsed as she ran to him. Dimitri convulsed
violently, blood oozing from his face and ears. Piper cried and
tried to hold him, her gaze locked with his. The last thing she
wanted him to see was how much she loved him.

Dimitri lurched backward. The orenite cuffs
sparked violently, and black dust burst from his mouth. Piper flung
herself on him. “Dimitri! Dimitri! Wake up, please. Please.”

Leo, Jack and Jayson ran to her, the will of
the kings within them subsiding. They dropped to their knees beside
their friend and mentor, tears in all their eyes. Valin, nearly
forgotten in the heat of the battle, stirred on the floor by the
wall. He pushed himself to his hands and knees, shaking and holding
his head. He looked up, his eyes focusing on the body some feet
away from him. His heart sank, and he hurried to Dimitri as quickly
as he could.

“
What happened?” he asked.
His words were slightly slurred.

“
He sacrificed himself,”
said Leo, tears in his eyes. He removed his glasses and let them
fall to his chest on their string.

“
How? Why?” Valin dropped
to his knees. He touched the cuffs around Dimitri’s wrists. They
were hot, and he saw burn marks on the skin beneath
them.

“
He used his orenite cuffs
to defeat Noraedin,” said Jack softly.

“
Piper, I’m sorry.” It was
all Valin could say. He was at a loss. The guilt that rose in him
because he had killed Taraniz made him ill. Perhaps they could have
found another way. It was his fault. Deep down, he knew
this.

Piper lifted her head from Dimitri’s body.
His tunic was drenched in her tears. Her eyes fell on Taraniz’s
body lying several feet away. Agony and anger washed over her. It
was as though she could feel it filling her from the inside
out.

“
I can’t!” she screamed,
and took off down the hall.

“
Piper, wait!” Valin ran
after her.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Aftermath

Valin followed Piper back toward the noble’s
wing. He watched as she leapt up a flight of stone steps and when
she reached the top, slammed the door in his face. It wasn’t
locked, and he could have entered, but the tormented cries behind
the door were heartbreaking. He stood silent at the top of the
stair, one hand clutched against his heart, the other poised to
knock on the door.

“
Dimitri,” he heard her
sob. His hand fell to his side, and he left her alone.

He hurried back to the scene of the fight.
Several guards were converging on the boys. They stood back to
back, their weapons on the floor in front of them and hands raised
in surrender.

“
We are the returned kings
foretold in your prophecy,” he heard Leo telling them. “We mean no
harm.”

“
Gentleman,” called Valin
as he rounded the corner. There were a few faces he recognized, but
none he knew by name. He hoped they recognized him as well. “The
evil that has possessed your princess has been destroyed. Princess
Taraniz and Dimitri of Mount Kelsii have sacrificed themselves for
the sake of us all. I implore you to call a meeting of the nobles
immediately. Aramor and Runa’s lost daughter and Taraniz’s sister
has been found. Kaytah Chaudoin of Outland Post will have the
records to prove this. She was brought here several weeks ago under
Taraniz’s orders. We must call off the attack on our brothers at
Mount Kelsii, and dispatch messengers and carrier birds at
once!”

The guards exchanged looks of confusion and
uncertainty. Several looked at the body of Princess Taraniz lying
sprawled on the floor before them, and looked at their hands or
rubbed their temples.

“
Quickly!” Jack urged
them. He had nearly forgotten about the attack on Mount Kelsii.
Gemari’s face flashed before him as Valin had spoken, and fear rose
within him for her safety once more. The guards jumped at his
voice. Most hurried away as ordered, but others still continued to
survey the scene before them.