Legends of Marithia: Book 3 - Talonsphere (32 page)

They could be viewed as traitors that escaped the sea battle, instead of fighting to the death. They decided over their freshest meal that they would recoup before forming their next move. They had let the young man turn, as they knew that their kind needed the numbers.

It would not be long before daybreak, and they had to make the fall to Zhendur. Mestal gripped his hand and they shared a kiss before leaning over the edge, staring into the fog below. The wind was always strong at Eagle’s drop, but especially brutal that night.

They both crouched down, then launched into the night air, plummeting through the fog as if it were a pillow. The wind whipped their clothes, slowing their descent for seconds at a time as Zhendur’s lowered drawbridge came into view. Torches flickered and lit up the cliff’s walls. The first thing Tusdar noticed was that there were no bats flying upward to catch them. They were usually out already.

Looking into Mestal’s eyes, they knew they only had one option left.

“This is going to hurt!” Tusdar said.

Mestal grimaced. Her hair flickered around her face as they soon neared the drawbridge.

He knew they would survive, but doubted it would be a painless experience. He braced himself, tightening his body, but being glad that a strong gust of wind blew upward and slowed their descent, if only a little.

They met the drawbridge with a sickening thud and the sharp snap of bones. The impact rattled the connecting chains and sent dirt flying around them. Tusdar pushed his body upward, groaning as he realised his jaw was hanging loosely from his skull. He went to scream, but as he looked to Mestal, his jaw snapped back into place. Her groans were distressing, but not as much as her injuries. Her brilliant white bones protruded from her shins, and her stomach had torn open, letting her intestines slide out of her body. He looked away as her organs pulled back inside her. Healing was expected, but it always stung. He winced as the rest of his broken bones mended themselves, as did his internal organs and torn skin. The pain was too much, and he cried out as he hunched over. It took many gruelling moments before his body had repaired.

He looked up to see Mestal’s hand reaching to him. He grabbed it to rise to his feet.

“What happened to Zhendur?” Tusdar said.

Mestal led him through the entrance, limping as she walked. Tusdar noticed that the guards’ arrows no longer glowed. Stepping through the streets, the first thing that shocked him was how dark it was. There was no moon-like glow inside the city, but some lit torches provided small pockets. There were not many vampires left after the battle. They had enough to defend the city, no more than fifty.

As they walked, the remaining vampires gathered behind them, following them toward the training grounds. They passed a fountain, blood no longer flowing through it.

Mestal grimaced as she said, “Shindar no longer provides for us. It seems our bond with him is over.”

“It would appear that way. What do we do from here?” Tusdar said.

Mestal shook her head. “I truly don’t know.”

They had reached the training grounds. The passage out of Zhendur had been left open, but the portal was not active. He saw nothing inside it but a deep cavern wall.

“If we leapt off the drawbridge, then many vampires may not survive the fall,” Tusdar said.

Mestal nodded. “We may have no other choice.”

The crowd gathered around them, many of their hushed voices speaking questions. Mestal raised her hands, waving them down. “Zhendurians, it pains me to say this, but all of us standing here may be the last of our kind. Shindar has abandoned us, and it is only a matter of time before we need to find a way out of here.”

A male vampire stepped forward. “We’re starving! Time is something we don’t have.”

Just as Mestal opened her mouth to speak, they heard a hum from behind them, and the portal opened. Kassina stepped through in her black armour, her hair flowing down her shoulders. “All of you. If you want to get out, then come through right now! Run!”

Tusdar’s eyes widened as the vampires sped to the portal, throwing themselves into it. Tusdar charged through, following the others. He was pulled through the many layers, but this time, something was different. They travelled slower, as if the power was diminishing. As Tusdar fell into the fangs of Kassina’s tower, he heard screams far behind him. With a flash, he fell to the tower’s cold floor, smashing his head into a female vampire’s back. She hissed as she shoved him off, getting to her feet. Many other vampires followed, hitting the ground as the others did their best to step out of the way.

Kassina approached, grimacing as halves of bodies came through the portal, soon turning to dust after hitting the ground. “Not everyone can make it.”

A young girl stepped out from behind a wall, heading toward Kassina. The smell of fresh blood proved too much for some vampires as they charged toward her. Kassina snarled as she grabbed two of them by the throat, their teeth snapping the air as she threw them backwards. More of them came, the hunger taking hold of their minds.

The young girl cried out as a vampire grabbed hold of her, diving straight toward her neck. Tusdar leapt in, grabbing the vampire by his hair, and straining to hold his teeth back. The vampire’s eyes widened as it reached out with its tongue, licking her neck with its tip. Tusdar slammed his elbow into the vampire’s head, stunning it as he threw it against the wall.

Tusdar watched as Kassina decapitate the blood-lust vampire, sending him to a dusty grave, then slammed another against the wall, keeping her blade to his neck. The remaining runners stopped in their tracks.

“
Nobody
will touch Adela, is that clear?” Kassina said, releasing the vampire from the wall. “Tusdar, thank you.”

“We’re starving! What are you doing protecting one of them anyway?” a nearby vampire said.

Kassina snarled. “I owe none of you any explanations. You will feed soon. Know that food is scarce, and the rules are changing. If you want to live under my command, then you will not kill any humans. You will feed off animals we encounter along the way.”

Tusdar slapped a vampire that dared to laugh at her. “Have some respect! She just saved our lives.”

Tusdar looked deep into Kassina’s eyes. He saw respect, but something else. She had changed and he didn’t know how. Straining his ears, he swore he heard two heartbeats before him. He sniffed the air, sensing human blood from Kassina.

That cannot be possible.

Mestal approached Kassina, cutting off Tusdar’s thoughts. “What happened? We can’t hear you anymore, and all of us were left in Zhendur to die.”

Kassina paced in front of the remaining vampires, numbering just over twenty. The rest turned to dust in their passage from Zhendur. She grimaced. “The world we thought we knew has changed. Shindar has betrayed us all.”

The room erupted into vocal chaos before Tusdar screamed, “Shut it! Let her finish.”

Mestal narrowed her eyes. “After all we did for him, and after all of the lives lost, he discards us?”

“Sadly, I cannot change what he has done. I can only help shape our future. I am no longer his lap dog, and the agreement for our kind has been broken. Shindar walks the lands of Marithia, and his plans are going to mean the extinction of our kind, and the decimation of everything we know. Our world will be turned to dust, if we don’t stop him.”

“Where is Shindar now?” Mestal said.

“I can only speculate that he is gathering his army, and either heading to Greenhaven, or seeking out Talonsphere. He wanted to use me to activate it, should he fail to destroy it.” Kassina said.

Tusdar nodded. “So we are at war with Marithians, and shunned by Shindar. Where does that leave us? Are we powerful enough to defeat Shindar?”

Kassina shook her head. “No, not alone, I am not. When the Blood Red Moon is fully realised, and Shindar reaches his full potential, his armies will destroy everyone in this land, us included. There will be nowhere left to hide. If Talonsphere is destroyed, so is the only weapon sure to be strong enough to kill Shindar, and his armies.”

“So we wait out the war, hoping that the Marithians will prevail?” Mestal said.

“No. Most of you have not lived through enough years to see what the old ways were like. They were a possibility of peace for vampires, just not well thought out. I am proposing that we form an alliance, as Marithians can use our help.”

“An alliance with those fuckers that killed my father? Never!” Mestal said.

“And they killed both my parents, and I am sure we have all lost many loved ones in wars. We have also killed brothers, sisters, fathers, and mothers. Blood is on our hands, as well as theirs,” Kassina said.

Tusdar had never heard her speak like this. “Why the change of view? I thought we were at war with them.”

Kassina nodded. “Yes, we were, and we could continue that war until there are none of us left. There comes a time when one can see that only one future remains. I am trying to save all of you.”

“They will never go for it. What do we have to offer them that they don’t already have?” Tusdar said.

Kassina approached him, but spoke to all vampires. “We can offer them peace, and return our lives from the shadows. More than anything, we can offer them a singular enemy, and help them defeat him.”

“And you would trust them?” Mestal said.

“I believe that we can. They would be tired of the war, as are we. It is our best chance of survival.”

Tusdar’s thoughts were conflicted. He had not expected a return to a normal life, and more than anything, he had already begun to accept a darker fate. He imagined facing Vartan again, and the thought made him wince.

Tusdar stepped forward. “Suppose you are right. Do you think that they will let us simply walk into Greenhaven to discuss a truce?”

“I know, this all seems like madness. But it is the only chance we have at a future. If they prevail, and we help them do so, then we can have a place among them. But this time, I will make sure that nobody is executed for their differences,” Kassina said.

“All right. If you feel this is best, then we will follow you,” Mestal said.

Tusdar took Mestal’s hand, smiling at her.

Kassina stepped toward the exit from the portal room. “Come then, there is no time to waste. We leave for Greenhaven,
now
.”

Vartan held onto the serpent’s scales, gripping it tightly as they powered through the deep water. Once they had leapt into the water, they had removed their armour. The serpents had assured him that he would be unable to swim while wearing it. They did, however, retain their lightest clothes and weapons.

Serpents’ scales and heads were very similar to dragons, but riding them was completely different. He glanced right to Anakari and Yuski, both riding their own serpents. They gripped the beasts tightly as they slithered through the water. They had seen hammerhead sharks, giant red crabs, and even sea turtles the size of fully grown men, on their trip. Schools of fish would disperse when they neared.

Vartan had no idea that there was so much life under the surface. When the first mermaids accompanied them, Vartan saw his companions’ eyes widen, expecting a likely battle. But when the mermaids smiled at them, warding off any approaching sharks and whales, Vartan relaxed.

The serpents headed toward the mouth of a giant underwater cave. He had attempted to talk with them, but they were not as open as dragons.

Tell me, are you and dragons from the same stars?
Vartan thought.

The serpent paused before replying.
We are both of Mother Dragon, but we were not created the same.

Vartan wondered if their secrecy was because his companions did not share their blood. They entered the cave, the other serpents following behind Vartan. As they travelled, there were many mermaids, all appearing from behind structures and walls. Glowing fish with translucent bodies lit their way. The fish were a stunning sight, but Vartan also spotted their razor-sharp teeth. The light was nothing close to the excitement painted on the mermaids’ faces. They revelled at the sight of him, swimming in swift circles before following in tow.

The serpent’s voice filled Vartan’s mind.
This has been a long awaited time.