Chapter 3

-At the Palace-

King Barrett looked out at the harbor that was the main source of wealth for his kingdom. The kingdom of Khiranirn, long since renowned for the treasures collected from across the seas, Barrett came from a long line of wealthy and extraordinary kings. But, as with all things, prosperity breeds contempt, this time in the form of King Marduk. Added to that, the murders that were happening made for a very heavy heart for the King of Khiranirn. In the background, he could hear the discussion being carried out by three of the four members of Khiranirn’s was council, Generals Liam, Neil and Daryn.

"Father."

As always, the presence of his first-born son and heir apparent served to soothe his troubled soul. He was luckier than most to have been gifted with not one but two sons he could depend on, the eldest of which would do a kingdom proud to have as its future ruler.

"What is it, Brian?"

"I’ve just received word. Kevin’s on his way up."

Kevin. General Richardson. The youngest general to ever be in the war council, but the young man certainly deserved it. An accomplished swordsman, and a brilliant strategist, he was the ideal warrior. He had the uncompromising love and loyalty of his men, so much so that the other generals warned Barrett of the risk of a military coup by the men.

Barrett had assured them that he was taking their warnings seriously, although in his heart of hearts, he knew the sun rising in the north was more likely than Kevin ever betraying him. In truth, the generals were most probably more worried about their own positions being threatened seeing as how close the King was to Kevin. They were each brilliant in their own way as well and loyal he supposed, but their overly suspicious natures more often than not irritated Barrett especially when directed towards the people he knew for a fact to be loyal.

"Mother."

The sound of Brian’s greeting brought Barrett back to the present and he turned to greet his wife, Queen Evangelyn.

"My Lady."

"Don’t my Lady me, you old war-horse," she scolded even as she accepted the hand presented to her.

"I was watching you from across the room." Her tone grew softer as she continued.

"You can’t blame yourself for everything bad that happens, my Lord."

"I’m the King, Eva."

"And so it falls to you to keep our people happy and safe. But, we are in no way infallible. We will never be able to control everything, though you certainly try to," she finished teasingly.

The King, Queen and Brian turned as one when they heard the door to the war room open. Kevin entered, coming to stand at attention as Barrett and Eva took to their thrones while Brian went to stand by his father’s side.

"At ease, General and report."

As Kevin recounted the events of the last hour, the other Generals took their places by his side. Once Kevin had finished, silence reigned over the room. Kevin made eye contact with Brian who had a troubled look over his face.

"Something else has happened."

It was more a statement than a question and Kevin felt a sense of dread overtake him when the King nodded.

"I’m afraid so, Kevin. We’ve just received word of two other groups of traders being slaughtered. It looks like trolls were involved."

Trolls were particularly vile creatures, known to torture their victims to death.

"Why this sudden surge of attacks?" the King verbalized what Ws playing on all their minds.

"Jikal’s moon," answered Lady Gaia, High Priestess of Khira as she entered the room.

-East side of the docks-

"Allyne, Wesley, you two take the back," ordered Nick.

They had spent the last few minutes observing Seth’s home. It seemed nice enough, a little more secluded than the other homes but nothing out of the ordinary. The lack of activity though disturbed Nick. So far, he had only been able to pick up a very slight sense of anxiety but nothing else. Cautiously he approached the entrance with Matthew by his side. He had told Howie and AJ to stay by the horses for now, both of them being civilians not to mention good friends of his, he didn’t want to risk them being hurt.

As he knocked on the door, he called out a greeting.

"Hello. Is anyone home?"

After a few more minutes, he decided to enter the building only to walk into a living nightmare. A woman, ‘Seth’s wife,’ Nick thought to himself, battered and bloody, obviously dead from the unnatural angle of her head was on the table, while a young girl of about twenty was so badly mutilated, it looked as if her flesh had been peeled off her body. As Nick took a closer look, he found that both of their ears had been cut out as well.

"By Khira! He butchered his own family too," said Howie as he came to stand by Nick.

A frown settled over Nick’s face as he noticed AJ enter as well, but before he could say anything, Howie spoke up instead.

"We waited as long as we could, Nick."

Nick just sighed to himself. He may be a Captain in the King’s Guard, hell, he could be a General. They’d all still treat him like he was just a five year old playing with a wooden sword. No, not just any five year old. Their five year old. Kevin, Howie, AJ and Brian. How he got stuck with them, he’ll never figure out though he thanked Khira for them every chance he got.

"The back’s clear, Captain," reported Allyne.

Nick looked around the main living area, ‘feeling’ around for anything out of the ordinary.

"Nick, what is it?" asked Howie as he noticed Nick tense beside him. He didn’t claim to understand Nick’s ‘abilities’ but experience had taught him to pay close attention to Nick’s warnings.

"The floor, under the table," said Nick.

Allyne, Matthew and Wesley moved immediately, accustomed to their Captain’s sometimes somewhat ‘eccentric’ commands. Once the table had been removed, they found a trap door beneath it. Matthew opened it revealing stairs leading down.

"Alright, back up Matthew. Let me go first, then you. Wesley and Allyne, you two stay up here," ordered Nick. "And this time, you two STAY," he continued, indicating Howie and AJ. They just smiled in response.

‘Why do I even bother?’

As Nick moved down the stairs, the feelings of fear and wariness became stronger. Suddenly, a small form was seen running to the other side of the room, hiding in the shadows. Matthew started to draw his sword, but Nick stopped him.

"Stay here," he ordered.

"But Captain…," Matthew protested.

"Stay, Mat."

A moment more of hesitation before he answered.

"Yes, sir."

Nick approached the spot he had last seen the form run to and stopped a few feet away. He sensed the person’s turmoil. It was a boy, maybe twelve or thirteen. He was scared and confused.

"It’s alright. I’m not going to hurt you."

Moving a little closer, Nick knelt on one knee.

"My name’s Nick."

Now that he was closer, he could see the cuts and bruises on the boy’s skin. His eyes were still full of fire though.

"What’s your name?"

"Cole."

Howie had mentioned something about Seth having an apprentice.

"They’re all dead, aren’t they?"

Nick knew Cole wouldn’t appreciate being lied to.

"Yes."

Cole closed his eyes, fighting against the tears that were threatening to fall.

"Where’s you family, Cole?"

"Don’t have any. Mr. Seth took me in off the streets a few months ago. Told me he’d teach me an honest trade to look after myself."

"What happened, Cole?"

"Mr. Seth came home late, just like he always has since he got back from the mountains. But this time he was even more upset. Mrs. Teryn was trying to calm him down, but then he started shouting and slapping her around. Agnes tried to help, and I did too, but he was too big. After he hit me real hard I was dizzy, Agnes took me and hid me down here. She told me not to move and went back up to help her mother."

Cole lay quiet then, long enough that Nick thought he was finished.

"She never came back."

As Cole was explaining, Nick had moved close enough to touch the boy.

"Cole, I’m just going to take care of those bruises of yours, alright?"

Cole just nodded, not really caring anymore. As Nick put his hand over the boy’s arm, Cole felt slight warmth radiating from the area. He tried to pull his hand back, but Nick held him fast.

"Easy, Cole. There, you see. Everything’s alright now."

All his cuts were healed and his body didn’t ache anymore. As he looked up at Nick in wonder, Nick just smiled.

"Matthew," he called.

"Yes, sir." As Matthew approached, Nick and Cole stood up.

"I’d like you to meet Cole. Cole, this is Matthew." As the two exchanged nods, Nick continued.

"Cole, Matt’s going to take you upstairs now, alright?"

"Where are you taking me?"

"To the palace."

-At the Palace-

Khiranirn, named for the Goddess Khira, whom the kingdom pledged allegiance too had but one main temple of worship. It was a magnificent structure, designed to impress and inspire. The highest authority on all things religious in the land was the High Priestess of Khira, Lady Gaia. Said to be over 100 years old, with her hair of winter white running down the entire length of her body woven into and impressive braid, and translucent eyes, she cut and imposing figure indeed.

As said Lady now took her seat among the royal family and members of the War Council, Kevin felt himself becoming increasingly agitated. He never professed to be a deeply religious man and in all his experiences, Lady Gaia had rarely come to them bearing good news.

"Jikal’s moon," Gaia began.

"A time when the bars to Modezarran’s prison are at their weakest. We all know how the story goes. At the beginning of time, there were two, Khira and Modezarran. Together, they filled the world with creatures of wonder and beauty. But even then, Modezarran had a penchant for the darker side of things. Trolls and harpies, they were his ‘gifts’ to the world. While Khira gave us the dragons, and it was she who fostered the birth of humans. But as she began to pay more attention to her creatures rather than Modezarran, he grew bitter and jealous and so secretly began eliminating her beloved dragons. Unknown to him, Khira had taught her dragons the art of shape shifting. So, disguised as humans, they had informed Khira of his evil deeds.

Filled with rage, she had locked him in a prison with bars of fire and brimstone. But unfortunately, it was already too late. The only dragons still alive were those who had chosen to remain as humans, resisting the urge to return to their dragon forms ‘till they forgot how. These people were known as the Drakes."

Here Gaia stopped her narrative, carefully eyeing the King who had had a very personal experience with the Drakes. Barrett sighed wearily.

"We know all this, Gaia. Why bring this up now?"

"Because today, I will reveal to you the last part of the story that has been kept a secret from everyone except those of Khira’s order. Although, I begin to suspect King Marduk possesses this knowledge as well."

"What?"

"The key to freeing Modezarran off his prison."

"But I thought that was impossible."

"No. You see, with the end of the dragons, Khira was heartbroken. In her grief, Khira had decreed that the only way to free Modezarran from his prison would be to spill the blood of a creature who had both the blood of the dragons and humans running through his veins on the night of Jikal’s moon."

Kevin understanding what she was saying, continued.

"No such creature existed and with the Drakes slowly dying off, it was guaranteed to keep Modezarran locked away forever."

"At least until 21 years ago anyway," added Gaia.

21 years ago, when King Barrett had made the mistake of venturing into the Midnight Woods alone, only to be bewitched by a woman whose beauty was other-worldly. Only later, once he had lain with her, did he learn who she truly was, the last of the Drakes sent to entice the King of Khiranirn.

He thanked Khira every day that Eva had forgiven his transgression. Not that he could have helped it. It was said that a Drake could possess a man’s soul with a glance alone. A year later, the priests had found a baby bearing the King’s seal and a lock of dragon’s bane at the temple entrance with eyes the bluest blue and hair of sunshine gold.

Barrett had recognized the baby for who it was immediately and Eva had taken the child in as her own, her first born son treating his new half-brother as his most prized possession. A squadron of the King’s Guard led by King Barrett himself and General Liam had searched the Midnight Woods and discovered the slain body of the last true Drake.