Greetings all
I hope you have all had a wonderful weekend. Mine was too busy and I didn't turn my computer on once. It was amazing, but I do miss writing.
We're continuing with a flash back explaining how Kaiden ended up agreeing to what Edzeeker wanted. Enjoy!
For days Bolx had wondered about the strange Dekai that had come to the castle. While everyone was interested in what he was offering, he didn’t seem interested in wanting to offer it to anyone other than Kaiden. He had his sights trained on her and it was starting to scare Bolx a little. He refused to leave her side as she was sent throughout the kingdom to deal with problems with the Wolven. There had been a steady increase in the number of attacks in the last few months, but now it had reached a peak that not even Bolx had seen before.
The humans were tired and stretched beyond what they could handle. They were having to rely on allies more and more, and even noncombatants were being dragged into the fight. That was how Aleux had become involved. The young prince had never been a fighter, as he was meant to inherit his mother’s throne, but he was as sharp as a tack. His expertise in dissecting the minds of the Wolven and the supposed Fell Dragon had him accurately projecting where the next attacks would occur. This allowed the humans and their allies to set traps to capture their enemies for months.
Bolx was amazed at the boy’s ingenuity and tried to offer support where he could. As soon as he did, he could feel Kaiden relax. He was aware that she was concerned for him. She knew he was no warrior and was worried that he was putting himself in harm’s way with what he was doing. With Bolx close to him, she didn’t have to worry as much as she used to. It gave her time to concentrate on things her father wanted from her.
They had been so sure of themselves. They didn’t think that the Wolven were smart enough to start laying their own traps. They had been so blinded by their own success; that they never considered the possibility of the Wolven tracing their sudden luck to a single individual. It was this oversight that would cost the young prince his life, along with the lives of all the others who were with him.
Kaiden and Bolx had both been off-planet, each with their own missions, when it happened. Bolx had been unaware of any problems until Kaiden sent him an urgent message to return to the human home world. Thinking that she had been hurt, he had rushed to her side, only to find the whole planet in mourning.
Dreading the worse, he had fervently searched her out, to find her with her mother and father. From their postures, he could tell that something was very wrong. It didn’t take the Saith long to figure out that something terrible had happened. Before he could ask anything, Kaiden broke away from her parents, wrapped her arms around his middle, and hugged him for all her worth. A second later she was sobbing into his chest with the same force as she had when her father had died.
“What happened?” asked Bolx as he looked up at the king and queen.
“We got too complacent.” Hissed Karesh as he balled his fists. “We should have protected him better.”
Bolx allowed his eyes to fall on the queen, who was sitting and now silently weeping. It was then that he could guess what had happened. He hugged Kaiden tighter and tried to hold onto his own emotions. He had always liked Aleux, and he couldn’t help but feel a little guilty at not being able to protect the boy.
“How?” he whispered after some time.
“They got in and we don’t know how.” Mumbled Kaiden from his chest.
“I can tell you exactly how they got in.” came a voice behind Bolx.
The Saith turned his head and saw the Dekai standing in the doorway.
“This is a family matter.” Said Bolx softly.
“You were lucky that it was only the prince that was lost. Had those animals managed to get further into the castle, they would have taken out the entire royal family.”
Bolx couldn’t help but feel there was some glee in the Dekai’s voice. He couldn’t help but feel a sneer building on his face.
“The Wolven can travel freely, there was no way you couldn’t have seen this coming. Especially you, princess. It was your duty to protect the prince.”
Kaiden stiffened in Bolx’s embrace and the Saith felt his hackles rise as he prepared a retort.
“Had you sensed the danger, you could have been at your brother’s side within a moment with the Saith’s or your teleporting technique. Except you didn’t, and now the prince is dead.”
“Enough.” Said Bolx as low as possible without losing his temper.
“What about you, Saith? Didn’t you sense the prince’s need to be saved? Surely you can sense force?”
Kaiden pulled away from Bolx and glared at the Dekai.
“You are mistaking me for my older sister.” Said the Saith wondering how the Dekai knew about the family trait.
“Pity, that would have been a good trait to teach the princess, then she could have saved her brother.”
“This isn’t the time to cast blame.” Said Myla as she got to her feet.
She stepped forward and placed a hand on Kaiden’s shoulder.
“Karesh is correct. We got complacent and we lost our son. The blame lies with us in not fortifying our important pieces.”
Edzeeker frowned but said nothing. He wasn’t prepared to take on the queen. Instead, he half grinned and muttered, “You could have saved him had you taken me up on my offer.”
“Leave.” Said Karesh as he came to stand on the other side of Kaiden.
The Dekai bowed and left, but Bolx knew the damage had already been done. Despite no more tears falling from Kaiden’s face, he knew what Edzeeker had said had cut her deeply. She was already blaming herself and having the Dekai point out how easily she could have saved her brother was too much for her to bear.
“Not your fault.” Whispered Myla as she hugged her daughter. “We don’t blame you.”
Karesh took a deep breath and turned to Bolx, “Come see, maybe you can make sense of what happened.”
Bolx didn’t want to leave Kaiden, but Myla seemed to be taking over the role of comforting the girl. The Saith nodded his head and followed the human king to the room that his son had been working out of. It looked like a bomb had gone off. Bolx couldn’t believe the damage and destruction. It reminded him of a comparison he had once heard from the humans.
“A fox in a hen house.” He muttered under his breath.
“There were ten people in here. Between the start of the screams and the last one, it wasn’t even five minutes.” Whispered Karesh.
Equipment was torn apart and every surface along the ground and the ceiling was coated in blood. While the bodies had been removed, there was still gore and blood dripping and congealing. This hadn’t happened too long ago.
“It looked like they had gone through a blender.” Said Karesh with a hint of venom in his voice. “I barely have enough of my son to put in a coffin.”
Bolx didn’t need the graphic imagery to picture what happened. The claw and teeth marks scattered around him told him exactly what he needed to know. No one had the time to react to the Wolven that had appeared. There must have been at least three to do this, maybe more. The only thing that brought solace to the Saith was that the massacre had been quick. He hadn’t even noted the telltale signs of human weaponry being used.
“My son didn’t deserve this.” Hissed Karesh.
Bolx didn’t know what to say to him. No one deserved to be torn apart, and he couldn’t help by run his hand down his chest.
“Had…had we taken what the Dekai offered…would my son still be alive?” asked the King.
Bolx didn’t have the answers he wanted. Instead, he remained silent.
“My bloodline is dead.” Spat the king as he stepped from the room.
Bolx spent the next ten minutes going over the room, trying to determine how the creatures had gotten in. There was no sign that they had torn any doors or windows out. It was as if they had simply appeared in the middle of the room and started tearing people apart. He was so absorbed in his review of the room, that he never noticed Kaiden until she was standing on top of him as he stood up.
“How did they get in?” she whispered.
“Teleported would be my best bet.”
Kaiden swore under her breath before asking, “Did they learn it? Or were they capable of it all along?”
Bolx thought back to when they had fought together on her father’s planet.
“I would guess it’s their ability to move from where they are to where we are. Remember when we fought on your father’s planet.”
Kaiden nodded her head, remembering the fight herself, “That makes sense. Then there was nothing I could do to stop it.”
Bolx turned and said gently, “This wasn’t your fault, regardless of what that Dekai said. We don’t have a defence against this sort of ability.”
“But I knew they could do this. I should have mentioned something.”
“Don’t beat yourself up about it. I should have remembered too.”
“Their only child is dead Bolx. How can I live with myself?” she begged looking up at him.
He sighed softly and hugged her. There was nothing he could say that would ease her guilt at this occurring.
“I should have been better.” She growled into his chest. “I am going to be better.”
Something cold settled in Bolx’s stomach and he felt fear tickling at the back of his brain. He didn’t like what he was hearing.
“Kaiden, what are you planning?”
“If you’re offered an opportunity to save everyone, would you take it?” she pulled away from him.
“Yes, but Kaiden, you don’t know what the Dekai is offering will help. You heard about the danger.”
“The life of one…” started Kaiden.
“You aren’t alone Kaiden! You shouldn’t have to sacrifice yourself for a chance of saving…”
“It’s my choice!” she snapped. “I have to save those I have left.”
“Don’t I get a say in this? You could die!” he snapped back.
“Look around you! They can appear and disappear at a whim. We have to do something and the only one with any ideas is Edzeeker.”
“We can’t trust him. You said so yourself.”
“That was before my little brother died and jeopardised everything.” She snarled, refusing to back down from the fight that was brewing.
“If you die, then nothing is going to stop the Wolven from tearing through the humans. You can’t sacrifice yourself.”
“But I can’t expect anyone else to do it if I’m not willing to do it!”
Bolx felt his jaw lock closed. She was right, and arguing with her was useless. She had made up her mind, and she had been pushed to it thanks to the Dekai. The Saith balled his fists and took a deep breath. He swallowed hard before half whispering, “I just want you to think about it, carefully.”
He thought he caught a glimpse of anger flash over her face, but it didn’t last long as tears came to her. She swallowed and nodded her head. Without another word, she left the room as others arrived to clean the gory mess left behind.
Well now, she really was pressed into a corner. The completion of this flash back will be on Friday. See you all then!
For those of you who have never heard of Fell Dragon you can find Book 1 here, Book 2 here, Book 3 here, and Book 4 here, Book 5 here, and Book 6 here
If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. I love discussing my books!
As the series continues, it will combine with another book series I wrote. To avoid confusion about what is happening, introductory chapters will be introduced separately so that you don't have to be lost. However, these chapters will contain spoilers. You can find these chapters here:
Races Explained
Banishment
Royal Guard
Saasha’s Direct Family
Saith Characters Recap
Human Characters Recap
Alternate Timeline Brucel
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Part 19>>You are Here>>Part 21
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