A Stolen Crown (24 page)

A short distance away, sitting on a fallen log, was a young girl. She held a stick in her hand and was scratching it on the ground. Razak crept forward, curious because of her scent, but also wary for the same reason. He was one of the stealthiest in his tribe, but even moving as silently as he could, his quiet footsteps seemed loud against the stillness of the forest. Whoever the girl was, she heard him approaching and turned her head. Razak drew a sharp intake of breath.

The girl was young, pale and wearing a simple dress he had seen on the human women, but it was her eyes that caught his attention. They were round in shape, and pretty for a human, but their color was deep red just like his own. As she looked at him, he also saw a brief flash of a predatory, reptilian look he knew very well. He took a step forward and the girl rose to her feet, turning to face him. Razak could see her face looked almost entirely human, except for a few traces of lizard flesh, and he immediately noticed how much she looked like the human queen, Calexis.

The girl took a step in his direction, then she smiled at him and Razak saw her perfect rows of little white teeth, so human-looking yet sharper, pointed, with sharp little fangs protruding slightly past the rest.

“Hello,” she said. Her voice was small and childlike, and sounded innocent in a way. Conflicting thoughts reverberated in his mind as Razak took another step toward the girl. His instinct to protect what was Darga and what he knew was born of his own seed was countered by his disgust and revulsion at the creature that she was, an abomination just like the other one who had tried to kill him. They smelled the same.

Razak growled at the girl and, with his fangs extended and his claws out, he leapt toward her. The girl did not flinch. She barely moved, except to frown, and Razak saw a sadness appear in her eyes as he flew through the air, his sharp claws extended toward her pale, delicate skin. He did not feel it at first, only the wind rushing out of him as he was stopped suddenly. He looked down, towering over the girl, and he saw her arm reaching straight toward him and her hand embedded in his chest. He felt his heart struggle and stop, destroyed by the sharp, needle-like claws that pierced it and squeezed the life from him. The girl looked at him with tears in her eyes and for the first time in his life, Razak felt ashamed.

“What is your name?” he asked, his voice guttural and rasping as his life quickly faded.

“Lexi,” she said, her voice shaky but sad. The Darga smiled at her.

“I am Razak,” he told her, and a strange sense of pride welled up within him. “You have killed me well.”

The girl's senses, as sharp as his but less practiced, told her who he was, that this was one of the Darga who had fathered her. She pulled her hand from his chest, taking his heart with it, and in horror she cast it from her claws, retracting them as Razak slumped to his knees on the ground before her.

“Father?” Lexi asked with tears streaming down her cheeks. Razak nodded.

“You are not the same as the other one,” he told her. “It is my shame.”

Razak felt his life slipping away as his blood no longer flowed through his body but poured instead from the hole in his chest. He fell to the ground, and felt the world grow dark around him. He tried to look at the girl one last time, but his muscles would not respond and his eyes would no longer see. He only heard the faint echo of her soft voice and the sound of her crying as he drifted into oblivion.

“I'm sorry.”

*****

Draxis could smell the blood on the breeze, the scent of the Darga was thick in the air but something was different about it now.  He made his way through the trees with an entourage of his mother's soldiers and came upon the spot where his quarry lay, already dead. A pool of blood had formed around the fallen Darga, darkening the forest floor reddish-black. That was what had smelled different. The blood was already cold.

Draxis could tell that Razak had not been dead long, and he wondered if whoever or whatever had killed him might still be nearby.  He rolled over the body of the dead Darga and saw the hole in his chest, clotted up with blood and matted leaves. It angered him that he had not been the one to do it, as though he had been cheated of an honor. The animalistic part of him craved the kill, and the bloodlust was still burning in his veins.

He cocked his head, listening and sniffing the air for any sign of life. He heard it, a small sound from not too far away. He took a step forward in the direction of the sound. The soldiers followed him in unison, but he held out a hand.

“My lord,” said the commander.

“Remain here,” Draxis told him.

He left the soldiers behind and continued through the trees, following the sound, careful to keep his footfalls as silent as possible. After a short distance, he rounded a tree to find his younger sister, Lexi, sitting on the ground with tears in her eyes. Even though he was behind her, he could clearly see the blood on her hands and her clothes. Draxis quickly realized she had been the one who had killed Razak. Why she had done so, he did not know, but it irritated him to no end that she had stolen his kill. He was about to hit her when it occurred to him that he should have a little fun with her first.

“What have you done, Lexi?” Draxis snapped. She turned her head and scrambled backwards when she saw him.

“What?”

“You killed him,” he said. “You killed Razak. Do you know who he was?” Draxis saw Lexi look up at him with fresh tears welling in her eyes. “How could you do such a thing?”

“I'm sorry,” Lexi stammered. “I didn't mean it.”

“You didn't mean it?” Draxis stepped toward her. He reached down and grabbed her by the neck, lifting her up off the ground. “You are pathetic, you know that?”

“Please,” she said, choking in his grip.

“Please? What do you want from me? You killed our father, you disgusting, ugly, stupid animal. Do you think mother will want you back after this? I should kill you, right now!”

Draxis spun and threw his sister at the base of one of the large trees that surrounded them. She hit it hard and the branches shook overhead. Lexi coughed, the impact having knocked the wind out of her. She looked up to see her brother extending his claws and baring his fangs at her.

“No!” she cried and pushed herself out of the way. Draxis struck the tree where she had been a moment ago and the slash from his sharp claws ripped chunks of wood and bark from it. Draxis turned and lunged at his sister, catching her by the ankle as she tried to scramble away. He tossed her again, sending her sliding across the forest floor and smashing into another tree. Lexi rolled over onto her hands and knees and coughed, trying to regain her breath.

“Coward,” Draxis growled. “You kill our father, but you won't fight me?”

“Please, Draxis,” Lexi cried as he swung his foot, catching her in the ribs. “I don't want to fight you.”

“That's because you are a coward!” He kicked her again. She took the kick to the ribs and flew across the ground again, rolling a few times, but this time she managed to land in a crouch. Draxis smiled as he saw the look of defiance in her eye. He had always wanted to fight Lexi, in the hope she might prove a challenge to his strength, but his mother had forbidden it. He strode toward her, expecting her to attack, but she bowed her head instead.

“I am sorry, Draxis,” Lexi said. “I didn't know it was him, but it is no excuse. I will never kill anyone, ever again. Please, forgive me.”

Draxis laughed. His sister, if she truly was that, was the most ridiculous creature he had ever encountered. He could not even fathom how the girl could be related to him. The fact that his mother had spawned such a weak-minded thing as this was both embarrassing and infuriating at the same time. He looked down at the girl kneeling on the ground before him and was overcome by disgust.

“That's it,” Draxis told her. “Begging in the dirt is what you deserve. It's where you belong. You don't deserve to lead. You don't deserve respect. You're nothing more than a little worm.”

He kicked her again. Lexi tumbled over, landing on her back and he leapt upon her and began to punch her face. She tried to block him with her arms and hands but the fury of his blows was too much. He pummelled her until her arms fell to her sides and she stopped moving. Breathing heavily from the exertion, Draxis stared down at the battered and bloodied figure beneath him and smiled, then he spit on her face and watched the thick mass of saliva running down the bloody flesh of her cheek. Lexi did not move and he could tell that she was barely breathing. Draxis pushed himself to his feet.

He stood over his sister, staring at her for a few moments, then he extended the claws in his hand. It wound not do to have her show up at the palace like this. Even though he knew his mother was as disappointed in the girl as he was, he also knew Calexis would not be pleased to find out he had gone against her orders and fought with his sister. It would be better for everyone that she was dead. Draxis dropped to one knee and raised his arm. In one quick slash, he aimed his claws at his sister's exposed neck. He was surprised when his hand stopped just short of its target. He looked down and saw a hand, gripping his wrist. Lexi's eyes opened and stared at him with a fierce look Draxis had never seen before. For a moment, Draxis felt a sensation he had never experienced, the feeling that he might be in danger. Her grip tightened and Draxis felt the bones in his forearm flex as if they would break and, the next moment, he was flung through the air. He threw his arms out and twisted, trying to right himself as he crashed to the ground. He sprung to his feet without a moment's pause, ready for an attack, but it never came. Draxis looked at the spot where Lexi had lain on the ground only a moment ago and saw that she was gone.

Draxis stalked around the area, sniffing and listening to see if he could find some sign of his sister, but she had completely disappeared. He wondered why, if she had such strength, she would run away from him. All he had wanted since they were young was to fight someone who could match his strength and his speed. And now, even though he had beaten her nearly to death, Lexi had shown the kind of strength he himself had. For a moment he almost felt some respect for her, but that sentiment quickly faded as he thought about how weak-minded she really was. Someone who does not want to fight had no place in his court, no matter how strong that person might be.

Snorting his derision, Draxis gave up the search for his sister and wandered back to the area where his soldiers awaited him. When he saw the body of the dead Darga, Draxis was irritated that his sister had stolen this kill from him, but he decided it would not matter since Razak's head was still intact. He extended the claws on one of his hands, his pointed fingernails growing long like so many daggers, and in a clean slice, he cut the Darga's head from his shoulders. He picked up the head in his hand and tossed it to one of the soldiers who barely managed to catch it as blood splattered the leather and metal of his armor.

Soon, Draxis would go to the Darga lands and he would claim his lordship over the tribes of the Black and the Brown, the heads of their leaders proof of his right to rule. Not that it would matter, for now that he had fought two of the strongest Darga and easily killed one of them, he was confident that any who might seek to challenge him would meet the same fate. It still bothered him that Razak did not die by his hand and he sniffed the air for any sign of his sister, but there was nothing. He turned and looked at the soldiers, imagining how easily he could cut their flesh and crush their bones. Even with the armor they wore, they would be no match for him, and now that he had enjoyed even the briefest moment of having a proper adversary, the idea of killing the weak soldiers no longer appealed to him. The two Darga, who his mother had said were the leaders of their tribes, the fierce warriors who had fathered him, should have offered something of a challenge as adversaries, but he had been disappointed. And Lexi had run away, so he had no one upon which to expend his energy and his desire to fight. Draxis comforted himself with the fact that in a matter of days he would be setting off to war with Kandara and he wondered if they might have any among them who were worthy to meet him in battle.

“Come,” Drakis said to his soldiers. “Let us return.”

“Yes, Prince Draxis,” said the commander and the group of solders followed the Xallan prince back through the trees, across the swamp and made their way toward the city.

Perched on a high branch in one of the taller trees in the forest, Lexi watched as her brother stalked away with his entourage of soldiers. As much as she hurt from what her brother had done to her, Lexi was more upset that he had come out here at all. She had taken to the forest to get away from Draxis and from everyone at the palace and the city, where she knew she was not wanted. The forest was peaceful and quiet usually, an open refuge where she would not be looked upon with scorn or derision. It was the only place where she had felt a little happiness, but it was a sanctuary no longer.

This day, she had fought with her own brother and she had accidentally killed her own father. She thought about the Darga and felt sad that such a thing would have happened. Even though it was an accident, Lexi was still ashamed that she had not been able to control her strength and Razak had died because of it. She had been afraid when he attacked her and she only wanted to stop him, but something deep within her told her to kill and that was exactly what she had done. At first, Lexi had wondered why the Darga had attacked her, but now that she had seen Draxis take his head, she understood. Razak was trying to escape Draxis and, when he had run into her in the forest, he had probably just thought she was a threat. The Darga had said as much just before he died. It was a mistake. Lexi had made mistakes like that before and this was not the first time someone had ended up dead.