Light the Reign (The Forgotten: Book 3) (24 page)

“Did it work?” the woman asked, with a
strange tone.

Layna smiled, “It did. Phoenix had to
sacrifice her talent in order to do so, but the curse is currently
being spread backwards now, healing the people it infected as it
spreads.”

“Good,” Katya stated, obviously relieved, but
less excited than Layna would have expected.

Layna yawned, unable to put a hand over her
mouth fast enough to stop it. “Do you mind if we discuss the
details in the morning, I’m exhausted,” she practically begged.

Katya sighed, “I have something else to tell
you I’m afraid, and I don’t think it can wait until morning.” She
took in Layna’s haggard state. “You might want to sit down for
this...”

CHAPTER 13

Kali transported giddily to the ancient
resting ground. Katya had reportedly gotten the Gwich’in stone and
had only to ask for the powerstone from the Dena’ina. Since those
dimwits had been traveling all over creation with her to convince
the other tribes to give theirs up, she had no doubt that their
stone would soon be added to the rest. And the powerstone pieces
would release their bonds as soon as the last one was taken.

She stood on the edge of the sacred spot, her
body reverberating with nervous tension. Everything was in place.
Her eyes darted around to each of the protection stones around her.
They were secure.

In the distance, she could see a black fog
creeping across the land. It spread like a drop of blood in a glass
of water, spilling out over the land. Storm clouds mimicked its
movements above, threatening to unleash a torrent of wind and rain
at any moment. She could practically taste the maelstrom in the
air.

A deep rumbling sounded from far beneath the
earth. The sandy ground danced to its vibrations, making rippling
patterns across its surface.

YES!

It was beginning. She watched eagerly as the
sand began to fall away, into a newly created void beneath its
surface. More and more sand fell away, leaving a gaping hole in its
center. The wind swirled around in the hole, dragging more and more
earth from the edges into the abyss. It grew larger and larger
until its cavernous expanse was great tree-lengths across.

The chaotic magic of the area complained, a
massive thunderhead roaring to life above the intrusion to its
land. Sparks of lightning momentarily blinded Kali. The first
deafening clap of thunder made her almost leap out of her skin, and
her very bones reverberated with its sound.

She giggled gleefully, her eyes glued to the
center of the hole, blinking away blind spots from the bright
lightning.

Then she saw them. One by one, the first of
them made it to the surface. They looked around briefly, then
surged out. Soon, they were pouring out of the earth at an alarming
rate. Kali felt a moment of panic. The sight of them was horrible.
Flesh was ripped and hanging off their bloodied bodies, many of
them burning with eternal flames. Great ugly horns sprouted from
their heads and grotesque sharpened teeth protruded from too-large
mouths.

She trembled, her fear awakened by their
emergence. They were indeed fearsome creatures. The Dark King had
certainly succeeded in his mission to create the most horrible
creatures in existence. And now they would be set back upon his
children. Kali smiled, her confidence returning. Then she raised
her arms in triumph, now the Lost Ones would really get what was
coming to them.

Her moment was interrupted by a voice behind
her. Without turning around she recognized it as the Dena’ina
leader.

“What are you doing?” he asked, the surprise
in his voice at her presence making her smile widen into an
outright grin.

She turned around slowly to face him. And the
leaders of the other tribes. She met each of their eyes with her
smug smile. Slade was with them, and she glared at the traitor with
hatred.

“Come now, we all know the legends: One day
when the world is ready to rid itself of these evils once and for
all, one will come asking for the stones not to use them, but to
stop their use. And, if you dig a little farther, you’ll discover
that what they meant is that the bloodbeasts that were imprisoned
here will be released back into the world.”

“So that they might be cleansed from this
earth forever.”

“Hah!” Kali sneered. “Except that it wasn’t
the person of legend who set them free, but rather a course of
events which I orchestrated which allowed it to happen. It was me
who put these events into motion, not fate.”

“Why?”

“Why?” Kali asked incredulously. “You do not
see it? They will finally accomplish what we have been trying to
do! The very creations of the darkness themselves will be what rids
the world of its taint.”

“How do you figure that?”

“They will automatically be drawn to their
maker, to the spot where his body rests, in the very heart of the
Lost Lands. From there, they will purge the world of his evil.”

“You mean of all human life! You think they
will stop at the border?”

“Our spells will protect us,” Kali said,
“Just as they always have. The bloodbeasts will not even know we
exist and we can take them out one by one until we can finally
reclaim the world without the Dark King.”

“The Dark King has been dead for a long time,
Kali.”

“I know that,” she snapped, “But his evil
lives on. I have spent my entire life trying to figure out how to
finally eradicate him once and for all. He is a disease upon this
land that must be cured.”

“And you think that releasing his creatures
will do this?”

Kali humored their curiosity. “At first, I
sought to gather the powerstones for myself simply to strengthen
the curse against the Lost Ones and make everyone in the tribe see
the need for it. But once I started researching the stones, I
stumbled upon the legend. After months of trying to decipher its
meaning, I finally realized that it spoke of the stones being the
focal points for a spell which kept the dark beasts at bay. If they
were to be removed, the portal would open. At first, I was
appalled, until I realized the usefulness. Isn’t it a perfect
solution? Those of the Dark King’s blood wiped out by creatures of
his making. It’s poetic. It’s justice. Only us pure humans will be
left upon the earth.”

The Dena’ina leader spoke up softly. “Our
protections were tied in with the powerstones. The powerstones
which were destroyed on this portal’s opening, they melded into one
and its purpose has been served. They will not stop with the Lost
Ones.”

“What?” Kali scrunched her brow in confusion.
There had been nothing in the writings about that happening. “No
matter, by the time they realize we are here, we will be ready for
them. Once their goal is accomplished, we will have no further use
for them.”

“But Katya is the one who we gave the stones
to, like the legend says, she will stop them.”

“Ha!” Kali snorted. “Only by my intervention
did that happen. I had been unable to convince the pathetic members
of my tribe that we needed to take more drastic measures against
the enemy, so I had to pretend to be helping the child while I
spread the curse. Then, when I realized that I would never be able
to take the stones from all the tribes, I had to devise a way for
it to be done for me. That’s where Katya came in. She really has
been rather useful to me for how tainted she is. First she brought
me the Bloodstone which allowed me to key the curse to the aura of
the Dark King, then she made me see the folly of my original plan
for the stones. Instead, I would use her to take them.”

“How do you figure that it was you who made
her take them?”

Kali giggled maniacally. They still didn’t
see it! “I went to the Lost Lands and I convinced the councilman
Heinrich on the Treymayne Ieldran that only by finding the stones
could the curse be broken! And then I suggested that he create his
own stronghold of the creatures so that he could study them himself
to make a cure. Of course, this was really so that even if by some
miracle the Queen was able to come up with something that would
stop it, or if everyone in the bubble simply died without it ever
spreading farther, there would still be reason to find the stones.
So you see, I instigated events. I forced fate’s hand along the
way. It is only because of me that the stones were asked for. You
gave them to ME! And I will cleanse the world of the Dark King’s
taint, just as the legend said will happen. Just not the way you
all thought.” She laughed again.

The expressions on their faces were simply
priceless.

*

Katya felt horrible as she relayed the news
to Layna and Gryffon. After the stone had been sent back to them in
order to break the curse, the Dena’ina had told her about a legend
that their people had. Apparently, it was said that someone would
come asking for the stone which would unlock the last of the Dark
King’s taint to finally be cleansed. This person was said to
accomplish specific tasks – the tasks that Katya had succeeded in
doing, with the help of her group, in order to obtain the stones.
The Dena’ina leader had known all along, and he hadn’t mentioned
the possibility of something terrible happening when the stones
were removed.

The legend was apparently very vague and no
one really knew what exactly it meant, but the Dena’ina leader had
done a fair amount of research into each of the tribe’s
interpretations and concluded that the removal of all five stones
would trigger the opening of a portal. This portal, he guessed,
would release the bloodbeasts that had been trapped in ancient
times because they simply could not be dealt with then.

So Katya had the unfortunate task of
delivering more bad news to her friends. At least the curse had
been broken – that was a small consolation. Though it had been at a
price. Princess Phoenix would find her reign that much harder
without power to back her – the royal family was well-known for its
powerful mages throughout history – but Katya was sure she’d
manage. She had two parents who loved her more than anything in the
world; Katya could see it in their eyes. And besides, it’d be
pretty hard to top Layna’s hardships with her reign.

“The leaders have all gone to the ancient
spot described in the legend to see if anything happens. We’re
hoping that perhaps the interpretation is wrong.” She paused, and
added meekly, “It’s probably nothing, just got a little stormy with
all the power that was being thrown around. And besides, the
legends say that it will only happen when we are ready to cleanse
the world, so we must be able to handle them even if it does open
something.”

Layna was staring at her with eyes puffy and
black with lack of sleep, and the worry that had been erased not
long ago was back in full force.

“I thought you should be warned. Just in
case.”

“You had to tell us this right before we were
about to get in bed?” Gryffon’s sour face appeared behind
Layna’s.

“It’s pretty important,” Katya said
defensively. She thought they’d want to be made aware right
away.

“I hate bad news before bed,” he grumbled and
shuffled out of her view.

“Thank you, Katya; it’s good that you warned
us. We need to go to Treymayne tomorrow to begin the cure spreading
in their outbreak, but please keep us informed if anything does
happen.”

“Sure,” Katya mumbled, a little put out at
Gryffon’s attitude.

When she broke the contact, she found Hunter
watching her with an amused expression.

“He’s just exhausted and now they’ll probably
be up even longer talking about and worrying about the possibility
of another problem before it even becomes one.” He laid a hand on
her shoulder. “That’s all.”

She let out a short puff of air. “You’re
right, of course.” She wrapped her arms around him. “Have I told
you that I only started being able to feel my emotions fully the
last few years? Most of the time I think I’ve worked them out quite
nicely, but every once in a while one throws me for a loop.”

Hunter laughed. “I think everyone has trouble
handling their emotions at one point or another, Katya.”

She leaned in close to him and whispered in
his ear, her breath hot against his cheek. “You know one emotion
I’ve found comes really easily with you?”

He shifted his body against hers and she
could tell she was getting it right.

“What’s that?” he asked, his voice lowering
in pitch and taking on a husky tone.

Before she could answer, there was a loud
crackling sound as magic was forced into submission to complete a
transport spell. The Dena’ina leader suddenly appeared before them,
followed by the Kanza, the Dakelh, the Gwich’in, and finally Slade
– who the Myaamia had apparently chosen to act as their substitute
leader – ironically, Katya thought. Grayson, the Elder who had
really stepped into that position had decided that he needed to
stay within the tribe to sort out their whole mess.

She removed her arms from around Hunter’s
neck and glared at them all for having rudely interrupted her
moment. Slade had a rather peculiar look on his face, and he looked
away quickly when her eyes met his. Her glares were met by blank
stares. They all seemed to be in shock.

“So, I take it something happened?” she
prompted them when none seemed inclined to elaborate on what had
put them all in such somber moods.

“I am saddened to say that I was correct in
my thinking that the stones would release the ancient bloodbeasts
upon the land.” The Dena’ina leader did not look at Katya, and as
he spoke again he seemed almost to be speaking to himself. “Did she
manipulate me into making you into the one of the legends?” He
finally drew his gaze to meet hers.

“Who?” she asked, confused.

“Kali. When we went to the portal, she was
already there, bragging that she was the one who started the events
in motion. That because it was her that orchestrated the events, it
would be her interpretation of the legend that would come to
pass.”