A Shade of Vampire 40: A Throne of Fire
Tejus
We had ridden hard, pushing the bull-horses to their breaking point, attempting to put as much distance as we could between whatever evil was erupting in the cove and what remained of our sentry forces. The Acolytes had fought ferociously, killing ten of our men before all of them eventually lay slain on the sand. With Queen Trina dead, it was the end of the cult. But they had done their work; the entity was rising, and so was its army. We had learned nothing of any use—we knew nothing of the entity’s plans, or what mysterious creatures would rise to ravage our lands.
Our army, though mostly intact, was subdued. We had rescued the children, and Queen Trina’s reign was over, but greater dangers were still to come. Fear settled over the sentries of the five kingdoms, dampening any jubilation we might have felt over our small victory. A few guards and ministers had been sent on to the summer palace to retrieve the wounded we had left there. They would re-join us at Queen Memenion’s home to get the care and attention they needed. Abelle would be left there, chained, until we knew what to do with her – now the Acolytes were dead, and Jenus was with us, Ash and I felt that it would be the best place for her. Maybe give her time to reflect on what she had done.
Hazel sat in front of me on the bull-horse. Her fingers were clasped tightly around mine, her head resting against my chest. I still couldn’t believe that she had been the one to end Queen Trina’s life. Nevertide, and I, had a lot to thank her for. If the land survived what was coming, no doubt Hazel’s name would be written time and time again in the annals of its history—the courageous girl who had ended the life of its most powerful and evil ruler.
I bent low to gently kiss the crown of her head, noticing how cold her skin felt, how small and fragile she felt to me, even after all she had done to prove she was anything but. Hazel had saved my life, in more ways than one.
“Tejus, look at the sky,” Hazel breathed softly. “It’s amazing.”
Her voice sounded dozy, like she was half asleep. I suspected it was the adrenaline finally leaving her body, and the fact that she hadn’t syphoned off anyone in a while.
“It’s certainly something,” I replied, looking up to the sky. After the last wave of tremors that shook the earth while we were at the cove, the sky had ripped further. Now Nevertide seemed cast in an eternal twilight, half the sky the pale pinks and golds of the setting sun, and half of it midnight black. The strange light threw long shadows, stretching and distorting the shapes of the sentries who rode alongside us.
“You can syphon off me, if you need to. We have Jenus riding at the back as well,” I reminded her. I wasn’t sure why she wasn’t using me or any of the other sentries. She also seemed perfectly content with our physical closeness. Normally she would have withdrawn in hunger by now.
“I don’t think I need to…honestly, I just want to sleep. I feel like I could sleep for a hundred years.” She yawned, accidentally emphasizing her point. Perhaps it was the adrenaline, then.
“So, sleep,” I replied. “I’ll wake you when we get there.”
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“We’re going to Memenion’s kingdom. There isn’t enough space at the summer palace, and it lacks protection. I doubt we can hide from whatever creatures are going to erupt from the sea, but at least we can ensure that we’re heavily guarded until we work out what we’re going to do.”
She fell silent for a while, and I thought she must have dropped off to sleep, but a moment later she spoke again.
“I know it was the right thing to do, but I feel…strange. I killed somebody.” Her voice wavered. “I killed a person.”
I wrapped my hand more tightly around hers, my body tensing.
“There was little left of Queen Trina that wasn’t evil, Hazel. She would have destroyed all of us—you especially, given half a chance.”
“I know,” she murmured.
I knew whatever I said wouldn’t make her feel any better. It pained me that Hazel would have that on her conscience for the rest of her life—that I couldn’t take the burden from her.
“I was only young when I first killed a man,” I replied hoarsely. I didn’t want to tell her the story—I didn’t want her to think any less of me, but it was necessary to let her know she wasn’t alone.
“The Thraxus kingdom orchestrated an uprising against my father, wanting to end the imperial rule of the Hellswans. We went to battle. It was short and bloody. Many died. The man I killed was almost twice my age—he had gained on my father, syphoning him strongly. I did what I had to do—what I thought was right. I will never forget the way it felt…I will never forget his face.”
We had ridden hard, pushing the bull-horses to their breaking point, attempting to put as much distance as we could between whatever evil was erupting in the cove and what remained of our sentry forces. The Acolytes had fought ferociously, killing ten of our men before all of them eventually lay slain on the sand. With Queen Trina dead, it was the end of the cult. But they had done their work; the entity was rising, and so was its army. We had learned nothing of any use—we knew nothing of the entity’s plans, or what mysterious creatures would rise to ravage our lands.
Our army, though mostly intact, was subdued. We had rescued the children, and Queen Trina’s reign was over, but greater dangers were still to come. Fear settled over the sentries of the five kingdoms, dampening any jubilation we might have felt over our small victory. A few guards and ministers had been sent on to the summer palace to retrieve the wounded we had left there. They would re-join us at Queen Memenion’s home to get the care and attention they needed. Abelle would be left there, chained, until we knew what to do with her – now the Acolytes were dead, and Jenus was with us, Ash and I felt that it would be the best place for her. Maybe give her time to reflect on what she had done.
Hazel sat in front of me on the bull-horse. Her fingers were clasped tightly around mine, her head resting against my chest. I still couldn’t believe that she had been the one to end Queen Trina’s life. Nevertide, and I, had a lot to thank her for. If the land survived what was coming, no doubt Hazel’s name would be written time and time again in the annals of its history—the courageous girl who had ended the life of its most powerful and evil ruler.
I bent low to gently kiss the crown of her head, noticing how cold her skin felt, how small and fragile she felt to me, even after all she had done to prove she was anything but. Hazel had saved my life, in more ways than one.
“Tejus, look at the sky,” Hazel breathed softly. “It’s amazing.”
Her voice sounded dozy, like she was half asleep. I suspected it was the adrenaline finally leaving her body, and the fact that she hadn’t syphoned off anyone in a while.
“It’s certainly something,” I replied, looking up to the sky. After the last wave of tremors that shook the earth while we were at the cove, the sky had ripped further. Now Nevertide seemed cast in an eternal twilight, half the sky the pale pinks and golds of the setting sun, and half of it midnight black. The strange light threw long shadows, stretching and distorting the shapes of the sentries who rode alongside us.
“You can syphon off me, if you need to. We have Jenus riding at the back as well,” I reminded her. I wasn’t sure why she wasn’t using me or any of the other sentries. She also seemed perfectly content with our physical closeness. Normally she would have withdrawn in hunger by now.
“I don’t think I need to…honestly, I just want to sleep. I feel like I could sleep for a hundred years.” She yawned, accidentally emphasizing her point. Perhaps it was the adrenaline, then.
“So, sleep,” I replied. “I’ll wake you when we get there.”
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“We’re going to Memenion’s kingdom. There isn’t enough space at the summer palace, and it lacks protection. I doubt we can hide from whatever creatures are going to erupt from the sea, but at least we can ensure that we’re heavily guarded until we work out what we’re going to do.”
She fell silent for a while, and I thought she must have dropped off to sleep, but a moment later she spoke again.
“I know it was the right thing to do, but I feel…strange. I killed somebody.” Her voice wavered. “I killed a person.”
I wrapped my hand more tightly around hers, my body tensing.
“There was little left of Queen Trina that wasn’t evil, Hazel. She would have destroyed all of us—you especially, given half a chance.”
“I know,” she murmured.
I knew whatever I said wouldn’t make her feel any better. It pained me that Hazel would have that on her conscience for the rest of her life—that I couldn’t take the burden from her.
“I was only young when I first killed a man,” I replied hoarsely. I didn’t want to tell her the story—I didn’t want her to think any less of me, but it was necessary to let her know she wasn’t alone.
“The Thraxus kingdom orchestrated an uprising against my father, wanting to end the imperial rule of the Hellswans. We went to battle. It was short and bloody. Many died. The man I killed was almost twice my age—he had gained on my father, syphoning him strongly. I did what I had to do—what I thought was right. I will never forget the way it felt…I will never forget his face.”