The Fated Swords (Mystics of V'nairia #1) (15 page)

Chapter XX
V

Sacrifice

Heiro and the others picked themselves up off of the ground and walked over to join Zander. Zander stood in awe as he observed his best friend encased in a golden aura, slowly being purified back to his old self.
“What kind of attack was that?” Heiro asked as he looked over at Zander.

“I believe that was his original technique.” Ashe said.

“It was just as Master Lycos said, everyone needs an original technique.” Zander said.

Kerra came up behind him and hugged him, “You completed the seal,
I was so worried about you.” She said.

He turned and pulled her to him and she laid her head against his chest. “
I’m alright, everything is alright now Kerra.” He reassured her.

The golden aura faded from the body, they looked to find Vallus purified but it wasn’t. It was Raphael; they
had wasted the sealing spell on him. As he lay on the ground out of energy he looked up at them and began to laugh. “You idiots were so easy to fool, I took the form of Master Vallus and you believed it.” He said.

“How the hell did this happen? It was him I was sure of it.” Zander said as he fell to his knees.

Kerra leaned down and held him, he was in shock. “When you had broken the barrier and brought you and Master Vallus back to this plane, I had quickly traded placed with him and took on his appearance.” Raphael explained.

“That doesn’t explain how could use Vallus’ powers and spells.” Ashe said.

“It is quite simple really, as a Voidshade I can take on not just the appearance of another being but I can also mimic their powers and abilities just not to their owner’s potency.” He explained further.

Zander released Ivory from its sheath and held the blade to Raphael’s throat, “I’ll give you one chance to tell me, where is Vallus?” Zander asked angrily.

“Well I don’t really know, in this cave somewhere I’m guessing.” Raphael said smarting off.

Zander swiftly ran his sword across Raphael’s throat and watched him fade into dust.

“What happens now? The seal is gone.” Ashe asked her brother.

“I really don’t know.” Zander replied.

They had failed to save Vallus’ life and now Zander had to come to the realization that they had to kill Vallus or the kingdom and the world was going to come to an end. The time had come; he had to kill his best friend. There was no turning back now. “It’s done, now I have to kill him.” Zander whispered.

Kerra had taken this hard but she knew eventually the day was going to come. The thing was that she was actually more upset because of the fact that Zander had to kill a part of his family. Her feelings for Vallus had long since faded away, Zander was the only one who had stayed true to her and she loved him more than he could ever fathom.

“We need to hurry and find Vallus and finish this.” Heiro said.

“Is everyone still able to fight?” Zander asked them.

They looked at each other and nodded. “We had used up a lot of magick during the fight with the fake, but we should be alright for now.” Ashe said.

Zander looked around, “Vallus! Where are you?” he shouted.

There was no response, he had shouted again and still nothing. “Maybe he fled the cave?” Kerra asked.

“No you’re forgetting the sole purpose of leading us here.” Zander said looking at the shrine.

They had almost forgotten about Diaboro’s shrine and the awakening that Vallus was trying to make happen. Vallus had wanted Diaboro to give him the power to destroy the world and give life to it again under his rule. Zander and the others weren’t about to let that happen. “Zander look!” Heiro shouted and pointed towards the shrine. It was Vallus with his trademark smile across his face.

“Looking for me?” he asked.

“You knew about the sealing spell, didn’t you?” Zander asked.

“Of course I did, don’t you remember when we used to play chess growing up brother? The pawns are always sent out to protect the king
.” Vallus said.

“I hated chess.” Zander said.

Vallus laughed, “That’s because you were terrible at the game, you were never a tactician.” He said.

“You think your some kind of god.” Heiro said.

“I’m no god, not yet at least.” Vallus said grinning.

Zander kept his hand on the handle of his sword, “What makes you think Diaboro will even help you accomplish this?” Zander asked.

“I’m going to offer him your souls, each and every one of you.” Vallus said.

“
I’m not going to let you do this.” Zander said.

Vallus jumped down from the shrine, “What do you plan to do? Kill me with your special technique?
Oh how foolish you are.” Vallus said.

“Enough of this lets kick his ass.” Heiro said.

Zander motioned them to not move. “I’ve got an original technique of my own brother, wanna see?” Vallus asked.

Within the blink of an eye Vallus was gone. He quickly appeared in front of Zander and knocked him in the air with an uppercut.
He jumped up above Zander and unsheathed his sword, a purple aura covered Ebony’s blade and curved like a scythe. “Demonic Art: Angel Killer!” Vallus screamed as he came through the air and sliced right through Zander.

Zander fell to the ground on his back; Ivory had hit the ground a few feet from him. Vallus hovered over his body, “Sleep now brother, the rest will see you soon.” He
said smiling as he lunged Ebony’s blade into Zander’s heart.

Zander coughed up blood and fought to take the blade out
of him and quickly he faded. His arms fell from the blade and onto his chest, he had stopped breathing. There was no longer any light within his eyes, there was only darkness. It was over, Zander was dead.

             
“Zander! No!” Kerra shrieked.

It was a scream that could have shattered glass. Her world was ending; her heart was being torn right from her chest.
They could never spend the rest of their life together; there was no marriage now or any children to be had. Her life was over; she had watched the love of her life die before her very eyes. The tears overcame her, and you could not hear over the sound of her screams.

She immediately ran to his side and held him kissing his lips as if it would bring him back to life. Vallus reveled in her
agony; all of their pain was his pleasure. He used a piece of cloth from his back pocket to clean Ebony’s blade and sheathed it. He walked over from Kerra and Zander’s body and picked Ivory up off of the ground. The sorrow now overcame his sister, whom he had only known for a short time. Now Thesia and Zander were gone, she had no one left. Her screams mixed in with Kerra’s wailing. The symphony of sorrowful moans filled the cave, and echoed. They were all overcome by their grief, even Heiro who did not weep but was in shock of what had happened within the last moment of Zander’s life.

             
Vallus ignored the rest of the group and walked over to the shrine, and unsheathed the swords. He had stuck both of the blades into the man-made slots on the side of the silver statue. The swords began to glow with white and black auras.

“In a matter of minutes Lord Diaboro will rise from his resting place and I shall be the new king of V’nairia.” Vallus said.

“We can’t hope to beat him without Zander, it’s over.” Heiro said.

“Your right he was the strongest out of the four of us, even with our power combined we can’t defeat him.” Ashe said wiping the tears from her eyes.

Kerra ran her hands through Zander’s spiked hair and kissed his forehead; tears came from her eyes and dripped down onto his face. “We need to get out of here.” Heiro said lifting Ashe up off of the ground.

She nodded and took his hand, “Heiro’s right lets go Kerra.” She said.

They started to walk out when they noticed she hadn’t been following them. They turned to see her still sitting beside Zander’s body. “Kerra, we have to go.” Heiro said.

Kerra shook her head, “There’s only one thing we can do now
, we have to give in to him.” She said.

They were shocked; she was ready to give up so easily. After working so hard the entire journey Kerra was ready to give up and sit by Vallus’ side? She had clearly gone mad they thought. She stood slowly and looked over at Vallus, who had been watching her.

              She walked over and knelt before him, “Master I beg your forgiveness and I pledge myself to your rule now.” Kerra said.

It was almost as if she was in a trance or under a spell of some kind. “Kerra, what are you doing?” Ashe asked.

“Kerra get away from him!” Heiro shouted.

She turned to look at them, “Vallus is all of our hopes for this world,
he is our king now.” She said and turned back to him.

She walked up the stone stairs to the shrine and stood before him. “Your soul belongs to me now Kerra.” Vallus whispered to her.

“I will do as you command your highness.” Kerra said.

“I command you to embrace me as your king.” Vallus said holding his arms out.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and held onto him. He placed his hands on her back and held her tightly. He looked down into her eyes, they were kind eyes. He was happy she had finally chosen him. He leaned in and kissed her to make Kerra his slave. Heiro and Ashe couldn’t bear to watch, she had betrayed Zander’s love so easily. It had made them sick.

             
“It’s good to see you have chosen the side of the strong.” Vallus said looking at her.

“It is true that Zander was not strong enough, but you are forgetting something my king.” Kerra said.

              Vallus was captivated by her beauty, “What is that my love?” he asked.

“I am pure of heart.” She said as she pulled Ivory from the statue and thrusted the blade into his back, the blade had also gone through her as well.

“Why did you?” Vallus asked but couldn’t finish what he had been saying.

“You may have killed Zander, but that doesn’t mean that you’re a monster. You have a heart and I just
found it, your free Vallus.” Kerra said as the blade holding them together let off a tremendous light.

It was warm, she could feel no pain and there was no blood. This had been the Ivory’s special ability Lycos had spoken of. It was Kerra’s love and her pure heart
who allowed her to release it. Kerra looked to Heiro and Ashe, who were standing in front of the altar stunned. “Please watch over him, he will need you both.” She said smiling.

Her body began to fade into particles of light just as Lycos had done before. The fragments of light had surrounded Zander’s body and covered him. The color had come back to his face and his wounds were healed. Zander opened his eyes, he was alive.

Chapter XXVI

Awakening

Zander lay on the floor of the cave, he hadn’t moved or spoke. His best friend had actually killed him. He was dead, so why was he here now? What had happened since the time his heart had stopped and started beating again? Now that he thought about it he was afraid to know. There were a hundred questions floating through his mind all at once. He had died and went to the other side and the only thing he had seen was darkness. There is no other side, no better place to move on too; once you die it’s over. It was a very lonely place, he was glad to be back. He had a mission to complete and he was ready to fulfill it no matter what
it had taken. He sat up and looked around, the only thing he could see in front of him was Vallus standing at the altar. There was a light coming through his chest, Zander had looked a little closer and he could see that the light was emanating from Ivory. Someone had stabbed Vallus and taken him down that easily? It just wasn’t possible he thought to himself. He watched as Vallus pulled the sword out of him and fell to the ground unconscious. Maybe it was finally over? They could go back to the capital, he and Kerra could get married and have babies and everything would be right in the world.

             
It was as if everything was moving in slow motion and there was a ringing in his ear. For a moment he could have sworn he had heard Kerra’s voice whisper “I love you.” He hadn’t understood anything that was going on, he felt like he was in a dream. He had saw Heiro and Ashe run over to him and grab hold of him.

“Zander your alive!” he heard Ashe shout as she smiled at him.

He then looked over at Heiro, “Good to have you back tough guy.” He said punching him in his shoulder.

He was glad to see them, it let him know that it hadn’t been a dream he was actually alive. Somehow he felt empty inside, he looked around for Kerra and didn’t see her anywhere.

He looked at Ashe and grabbed her hand, “Where is Kerra?” he asked.

Her facial expression suddenly changed, she seemed very distraught. There had been no response to his
question; both of them had fallen silent. “Dammit! Where is Kerra?” Zander asked shouting this time.

             
“Zander, I’m so sorry.” Ashe spoke up.

He watched as a single tear left her eye and rolled down her cheek.
“What are you saying?” Zander asked.

“Zander calm down.” Heiro said as he placed his hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t tell me to fucking calm down!” Zander shouted shrugging away from him.

He made a fist and slammed it into the cave floor; he had punched it so hard his hand went through the rock. “She saved you, she saved all of us.” Ashe said.

Zander now had tears streaming down his face. “Please tell me Ashe, what happened?” he asked weakly.

“Because she was pure of heart she unlocked Ivory’s secret power and purified Vallus and saved your life.” She explained.

“She had loved you so much that her life force brought you back from the dead.” Heiro said.

“You don’t understand there’s nothing on the other side. She will be lonely.” He said.

“Zander she faded into you, her life force joined with you. She will never be lonely.” Ashe said reassuring him.

She held him close to comfort him, “It will be okay, I promise.” She added.

“I love her, I can’t lose her.” Zander said.

“She will always be there Zander, she loves you too.” Heiro said. It was odd for Zander to hear empathetic words coming from him
but he was glad Heiro had been there for him.

             
“What about Vallus, do you think it worked?” Zander asked.

“I believe it did.” Vallus said from behind them.

Zander turned to see his best friend standing behind them carrying the two swords. “Your back.” Zander said smiling.

“
I’m so sorry for everything I have done.” Vallus said.

“
I’m just glad to have you back on our side.” Zander said as he rose to his feet.

They both stared at each other for a moment allowing everything to finally sink in. “Kerra was very brave to save us like she did, she really loved you Zander.” Vallus said.

“I will always miss her and I will always feel empty without her here.” Zander said lowering his head.

“I will miss her as well but she will always be here with us in spirit.” Vallus said smiling.

Zander was still sad about Kerra’s death but at the same time he had gotten his friend back. Kerra had given him everything he wanted in life and in death.

             
Vallus walked up to Ashe and grabbed her by the hand, “Lady Ashe, I am so sorry for killing your mother but I was not in my right mind; I beg your forgiveness.” Vallus asked kneeling in front of her.

Ashe looked down at him, “There
is pain I still hold in my heart because of you, but for now I am just glad everyone is okay, including you.” She said sternly.

“We have to go back to the capital and rebuild the government and everything your father destroyed.” Zander said.

Vallus nodded, “The revolution has ended, mystics will no longer be persecuted for who they are.” He said.

“Yes, we had better get going the kingdom needs us.” Ashe said.

Suddenly there was a purple aura emanating from the shrine. “What is going on?” Heiro asked.

The cave began to shake; there was a loud roar from deep in the ground. “The awakening ritual, Diaboro is coming.” Vallus said.

              The shrine had exploded pieces of stone and silver flew everywhere. A claw shot up from the ground and latched on to the side of the large whole. The beast pulled itself up out of the crevice. It was large and black with red piercing eyes and large horns. Its tail was razor sharp and it carried a large black broadsword. The beast had to have been at least eighteen feet tall, its horns had almost scraped the ceiling of the cave.

“After centuries I am finally free!” the beast roared. The group stared at the large beast in awe and terror.

“How are we supposed to beat that thing?” Zander asked.

“I am not sure but take this.” Vallus said tossing Ivory to Zander.

“We have to be very careful in this fight.” Vallus added. They nodded in agreement to his statement.

             
Diaboro looked down and saw them looking up at him, “You are not humans, I smell mystic blood in you four.” The beast said.

Diaboro’s attention was caught by the twin swords of legend. “How did a bastard like you end up with my Ebony?” Diaboro asked Vallus.

“That is none of your concern demon.” Vallus said.

“How dare you speak to me with such insolence, I am Diaboro ruler of the fire planes and lord of demons.” The beast said.

“We have come to put an end to you demon king.” Ashe said.

Diaboro leaned his head in closer, “I would shut your mouth little bitch or
I’ll cut it off your shoulders.” He roared.

Zander looked back at Heiro and Ashe, “Listen the two of you need to stay back, the legend says that only our blades can touch Diaboro and seal him away.” He instructed.

“Zander is right; your spells won’t work on him.” Vallus said.

             
Heiro grabbed Ashe’s hand and they ran to the back of the cave out of sight. “You think we can kill this demon brother?” Zander asked Vallus.

             
“I am not sure but were about to find out.” Vallus said smiling.

Zander had always hated his smile until now; it was actually growing on him. The unsheathed Ebony and Ivory and prepared for battle.