Unleashed Fury (BloodRunes: Book 1) (43 page)

A cloud formed of the sparkles, forming a
shape vaguely like a glowing human and it shook its head solemnly.
It took her hand and she felt as though she was falling, falling
back into a very real body, a body with very real sensations. She
heard the beating of a heart, deep thumping as it pumped blood
around and Layna flowed back in with it, every bruise and every cut
searing with pain as she became aware of them once more.

She took a gasping breath and opened her
eyes. Gryffon's face was before hers, a worried look creasing his
brow. It brightened as she blinked at him, and she breathed,
“Gryffon.”

“Layna,” he answered, “Come back to us.”

She coughed, and Gryffon supported her as she
hacked up blood. “That's attractive,” she commented with a weak
smile in an effort to make light of her agony.

Gryffon chuckled slightly and rubbed her
back. “You always are, beautiful.” Layna looked up at him and could
have sworn that on his shoulder sat a tiny black dragon. When she
shook her head to clear it, closing and then opening her eyes
again, it was gone.

Weylyn came limping forward to lick her face
and she laughed, wishing she had the strength to heal the poor
thing who had so courageously and loyally tried to save her.

“What happened to you?” she asked Gryffon.
“Did Weylyn find you?”

Gryffon gave her a bewildered look and
shrugged. “When I walked through the door I was transported into a
chamber which started pouring poisonous gas in at me. I was sure I
was a goner as I couldn't see any openings or any way to escape. I
don't know what happened, but one minute I was gagging for air, and
the next I was in here with the hound and then you appeared before
me looking like death and not breathing. Wherever here is,” he
added absently.

“It's the tomb of the Dark King,” Layna
exclaimed, her adrenaline making her voice sound hysterical. “It
really is, and the mark means that I am his descendant and-”

Gryffon shushed her, “Hush now. You need rest
to regain your strength, answers will come soon enough. I don't
know what happened in there, but you are in no shape to tell me at
the moment.”

She had no strength to argue so she said
simply, “Jezebel is gone. Her hellhounds ripped her apart, but I
think there's way more going on here than we thought.”

“Jezebel?” Gryffon asked in surprise. Layna
trembled at the image burned in her mind, and Gryffon staved off
his curiosity and held her close.

“Shh, shh,” he comforted her, “It's all over
now.”

Layna wiped away her tears. “I don't think it
is, Gryffon. I think it's just the beginning. Jezebel was a pawn in
the game. The player who controls the pieces is way worse than her.
I think,” Layna said haltingly, “that the man with her that I just
faced, was the King-”

Her tentative words were cut short by a
thunderous explosion followed by crashing sounds and Gryffon said
urgently, “We have to get out of here. Now.”

As gently as possible, he threw Layna over
his shoulder with an apology when she professed her lack of
strength to walk, and he hurried after the hound who had taken off
through a winding passageway sloping upwards.

Dust was billowing up from below and the
crashing drew closer. As Layna watched, the roiling cloud of dust
surged towards them. From her vantage point on top of Gryffon's
shoulder, she forgot the dull pain that spread through her with
every jolting step, as the fear that they weren't going to make it
took hold.

Miraculously, the hound burst forward through
a seemingly solid rock wall and Gryffon charged through with it,
sucking in the fresh air of the surface.

They tumbled to the ground as the cave behind
them collapsed, showering them with rock shards. Gryffon threw his
body over hers, shielding her from the shrapnel.

They lay there panting on the ground, staring
dumbfounded at their narrow escape when another explosion sounded,
and as they watched the cave seemed to implode in on itself. The
rock melted into a solid block, and the ground around it seemed to
sink a few inches down. A horrible shock wave of power flowed over
them.

The wave hit Layna with formidable force and
the world blackened around her.

CHAPTER 35

King Nathair roared his considerable rage at
the loss. Some force of magic had managed to get around his
barriers and wrench the girl Layna from him.

He kicked Jezebel's mangled body for the
distraction she had caused him. He had meant for Jezebel to be the
girl's first test, a ritual killing of the former position-holder
as a symbol of the girl taking her place by his side.
Had I
known that the girl was the one Jezebel has been so obsessed
with...but no matter, now I know who she is. And she is even more
impressive to have gone against a mistress as vicious as Jezebel,
and to have risen to be the formidable power wielder she now is
without training. Curse Jonathan for having reverted to his drug
habit and ending his usefulness before having further investigated
the girl when he first found out. If only I’d known earlier it was
her, I could have gotten her before she even left the city
.

Though she was still not nearly as powerful
as he, and not even close to her potential, he wanted her more than
ever at this revelation of her strength of character as well as the
potential he could sense in her since the removal of the charm. She
was perfect for his purposes. She was closed off to him now, but he
would find her again. When he did, he would be prepared for it.

He shook off this minor set-back and turned
to face the massive door behind him. Only those bearing the mark
were allowed to enter these sacred chambers, any unworthy trying to
get in would find themselves transported into less hospitable areas
– as that man with his girl had found.

He walked towards the door with reverence,
and reached out a hand to stroke the wood in veneration of the
great man who had once walked these hallways, and whose body was
entombed inside.

Nathair had spent countless years trying to
find out how to open these doors, and had finally found the key.
Without care, he dragged Jezebel's limp and bloody form to the door
and laid her mangled hand on the pedestal on the left. He made his
way to the one on the right, and murmured the words of power which
would unlock the door.

It had been fortunate, the timing of his
finding this key and his discovery that the one he had been
searching for was in the very same city as the tomb. He had hoped
to have her open the door with him willingly, and together they
could have reaped the rewards of the mysteries revealed in this
chamber.

But no matter, Jezebel's mark was pure enough
to complete the spell, however impure the rest of her was, and the
lock clicked open. The door opened upon creaking hinges, causing
sweet musky air to pour out in a great cloud of dust.

Nathair stepped forward eagerly, and sent out
mage lights to illuminate the great tomb of his ancient lord. The
mage lights brightened the room in their passage to take places in
each of the corners of the chamber, and lit it to reveal a vast
open space.

The room was empty.

Fire and fury built up inside Nathair.
All
those years of searching only to find that the chamber has been
emptied before my arrival!

Nathair felt the power begin to grow within
him as he opened himself fully to it, letting it flow inside like a
dam suddenly being burst open, handling the rushing flow with ease.
He redirected this power to form a glowing ball, a physical
manifestation of the energy.

He transported himself out of the caverns,
leaving behind this destructive mass of power. It was so unstable
that his disruption of the magic forces by his spell to transport
set it off, triggering every trap there was in the place.

A huge explosion sounded behind him and
Nathair smiled in grim satisfaction, his anger flowing away with
the remainder of power as he loosened his grip on it.

These disappointments were discouraging, but
only served to strengthen his resolve and determination to find a
way to eventually accomplish his goal. He was a patient man, and
smart enough to learn from his mistakes. Next time he would not
fail.

He lifted the body he had transported out
with him onto the back of the horse that was waiting for him, and
mounted himself.
Oh yes, next time I will be victorious. I have
had many titles; Lord, Master, King, and soon...God
.

Nathair smiled as he whirled his horse
around, and he rode off into the darkness.

CHAPTER 36

When Layna woke, she found that she was
wrapped snugly in a blanket. She had been laid near a warm and
crackling fire, though the night air itself was comfortable. Weylyn
was curled up at her feet and she lifted a hand to pat his
head.

Gryffon noticed her movement and came over,
pushing a spoon filled with broth against her lips. She ate it with
vigor and he handed her the bowl, helping her to carefully sit up.
She felt completely drained, but was no longer in constant agony,
and she set to finishing the broth with relish.

“You know,” she said when she had licked the
bowl clean, “I'm getting a little sick of this whole being knocked
unconscious thing. I'm starting to miss just being a maid.”

Gryffon laughed. “Well, I'm glad to see that
your sense of humor is returning. But just think, if you were still
a maid, you would only be reading about exciting adventures like
these instead of being right in the thick of them.”

“Exactly. Who was it that said an interesting
life could be a curse?”

Just then, Layna saw with happy surprise that
Charles was coming towards them from the woods. He sat down beside
her and laid a hand on her shoulder in a fatherly manner.

“I sure am glad to see you feelin’ better,”
he told her, “The world would have been a much sadder place without
you.” She was touched by this gesture and his words, which
amazingly she had been able to understand all of. Charles had been
easier to understand of late, and Layna wondered if it was him that
was changing, or her.

None of them spoke for some time until
finally Charles blurted without tact, “What the blazes happened in
there?”

Gryffon took up the narration, describing the
events that had occurred since Charles had left them. He ended
where he had stepped through the door and been transported, and
Layna bubbled forth with her own account.

When they had finished, Charles looked
thoughtful. “Well, I ain't one for pushin' my kibitz, but it sure
sounds to me like you two better skeedattle. That energumen is
crazy, and I, for one, ain't wastin' any tears on the demon lady.”
The old Charles was back. Layna hadn't a clue what he had said.

“I agree,” said Gryffon, obviously having
better luck than Layna in interpreting his speech. “I think it
would be much safer for us if we disappeared for a while. Didn't
you offer us a hiding spot up north?”

“Oh, aye. It's only a huntin' cottage, but it
would serve you right good. Up in the middle of the North Woods, so
you’d have to be careful o' the nasties comin' down from the Ferryn
Plains, but the untamed magics there should do you well to hide
your own talents too. This new foe'll never find ya.”

“Perhaps we should take you up on that offer.
Though hiding out in the woods won't get us any answers.” He paused
in thought before turning to Layna. “So he confirmed that having
this mark was some sort of symbol that he claims means you're a
descendant of the Dark King?”

Layna nodded mutely, unable to put into words
the fear she felt.
If the man -the King!- had been telling the
truth, maybe I am tainted with evil that I can't deny. It's in my
blood.
She fidgeted uncomfortably
. It makes sense!
Terrifying, sickening sense. How else would I have known my way
around in the dungeons? Or known how to open the door in the secret
underground fortress? How can I escape my own blood?

Horrible guilt at the sinister meaning of the
mark crept into her thoughts, and she felt herself withdrawing. She
did not want to spread her curse to Gryffon or Charles, and she
found she was unable to counter the morbid reasoning.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sharp
intake of breath from Gryffon, who raised his hand to the scar on
his chest. “Are you alright?” Layna asked him immediately.

He nodded with his eyes closed, obviously
bearing his pain silently. After a moment he let out the breath he
had been holding and opened his eyes.

Layna looked at him with concern, but he
waved it away and continued on, “I think I can get a message past
the barrier there, and maybe we can get some answers that way. If
we explain the situation, I don't see how they could not share some
information.”

“We can't just go to Treymayne ourselves?”
Layna offered, though the idea terrified her.

She had the growing urge that something
needed to be done. If she was going to have any chance of stopping
the evil inside her from growing, she had to do something about
stopping the evil in the world from escalating. Action had to be
taken to make everyone aware of the darkness that was spreading so
that those who had the means could counter it. But they were only
two people.
And he is the King.
..
we need help
.

Gryffon squirmed. “We could try, but it may
not be that easy. It's quite a formidable barrier. Not to mention
the mountain pass and river that serve as natural barriers as well.
There's good reason that we've been able to isolate ourselves so
effectively.”

“But if we made it there, they would protect
you? And would they listen to you?”

“Yes.”

“Then we need to try! We can't just go hide
in the woods when we have information that people need to know! If
we just sit back and let it happen, we could witness first-hand the
reawakening of the Dark Age! Just look at how evil Jezebel was, and
she didn't even turn out to be the worst of them! There's something
huge and sinister going on here, and we need to stop it. And in
order to stop it, we need help. If you think that your countrymen
will help us,” she held out her hands to him, begging him to
understand her fear.