MILLENNIUM (Descendants Saga) Page 8

  Only the carving of a great dragon was discernable. Cole and Sadie paused before it, examining their foe. Two wings wrapped around the beast’s body obscuring all but the long neck, head, tail and four wicked claws.

  “This thing killed my father,” Cole said with hatred in his voice.

  Sadie considered the other images. “What are these three beings around the dragon? They have four faces on them and six wings.”

  “I’m not sure,” he replied. “Honestly, I’m only concerned about the dragon. That’s the threat. We have to kill it with the sword.”

  “Where do we go from here?”

  Indeed, there was no discernable door in the circular room. Only the amber carvings and the lock stationed now in the middle of this chamber. They walked the perimeter examining the pictograms more closely. The image of a bull standing on its hind legs began to glow bright blue as they passed.

  “This must be it,” Cole said. He found also beneath the image five finger depressions just like Sadie had used to open the stone stair from above. Cole placed his fingers and thumb into the pattern these depressions created. In turn, these also took on the blue glow of the bull.

  An arch outlined itself in blue through the stone wall, becoming a doorway. The stone door then removed itself, sinking below the floor. Sadie and Cole peered inside seeing nothing in particular that caught their eyes in the darkness beyond.

  “After you,” she grinned.

  Cole frowned, but did not cower from the challenge. He stepped over the threshold into the dimly lit tunnel beyond. Sadie took a last look inside the chamber with its amber carvings and then followed him through.

  When both children had passed over the threshold, the stone door rose again from the floor. They turned to watch as their only visible way out closed behind them. The stone sealed itself again and its blue line of definition disappeared.

  “I guess we have no choice now,” Cole said. They turned back to the dim corridor ahead and set off to follow it to whatever destination lay ahead.

  Revelation

  A search for the children had, so far, turned up nothing. Sophia had been first to inquire after several hours passed and nothing was heard from them. I had immediately sought after Ishbe, finding him at his duties with some of the Breed warriors doing training exercises.

  “I apologize, my lord,” Ishbe had said. “Master Cole became upset and insisted that I leave him and Sadie alone. Had I known they were up to something, I never would have left them in the gymnasium.”

  “It’s all right,” I had replied. “I’m sure they’ll show up soon enough.”

  I had made that assertion five hours ago. Already, darkness was covering the realm of Greystone again. If the children were outside the Keep after nightfall, they might become prey to one of the wild beasts that called Greystone home.

  However, I was less concerned about that possibility than others. An enemy might have taken them without our knowledge, though that wouldn’t explain Cole dismissing Ishbe. In fact, the very idea was odd. Cole respected Ishbe as much as he had respected his own father.

  He had never once been known to question the man’s authority, despite the fact that Cole was a prince in Greystone. Ishbe was his master. And Cole had always remained loyal and obedient to him.

  The only other option I could fathom was Cole and Sadie attempting to take matters into their own hands. Ishbe had mentioned that Cole was upset over his father’s death. Certainly, that was understandable. We were all upset over losing Tom, not to mention Charlotte’s present condition.

  However, I had no idea what they might try to do. To my knowledge only Tom and Charlotte had known where this lock was located. Besides Donatus telling them, which he had not, they had no way of knowing. Moreover, they had no reason to go there. What would be the purpose?

  I felt a particular dread unexpectedly. Strangely, it had nothing whatsoever to do with the children. I felt a connection reestablished that I had not experienced in ten years—a connection that, at one time, had nearly called me to take my own life. This same power had, instead, willed me to use Malak-esh to destroy Grayson Stone while we stood in the throne room at Tidus.

  Luxana had come to Greystone.

  I considered my course of action. There was no malevolence, only a call to come to her location. She was somewhere inside the portal gate that led to Russia on the mortal plane. She had not come into the city—at least not yet.

  Knowing that she could have easily willed the vampire guards posted at that portal to assassinate each other, I assumed she meant for me to invite her inside Greystone’s Keep. If she wasn’t forcing her way, then what ill will could she come with? Still, it had been ten years since we had seen each other. Parting on good terms, as we had, didn’t necessarily equate to friendship now.

  I could call for Sophia to go with me, but that might endanger her. I wasn’t about to do that on a whim. With Charlotte in a coma, the leadership in Greystone fell to Ishbe. If I requested, he would quickly gather an entire legion to meet this sprite outside the city. She couldn’t hypnotize all of us.

  Instead, I decided to lay paranoia aside. I teleported from the corridor near the gymnasium, where I had been searching, to the guard post at the Russian Gate. The two guards stationed there snapped to attention when I walked up behind them.

  “I was just about to send word, Your Highness,” one of the vampires reported. “This woman came through the gate, only a moment ago.”

  Beyond the portcullis that kept the way into this end of the Keep, Luxana stood very slight in contrast with the thick iron bars employed in the gate’s construction. She was covered in heavy furs made from some animal I did not recognize. Her feet did not touch the ground.

  Though her face was partially obscured by the hood pulled over her head, I could clearly make out her eyes. They remained as penetrating as ever. I dared to look directly at her, as I went to the gatehouse door to open it for her. Luxana passed through, and I escorted her past the guards and into the Keep.

  They watched until we were inside, perhaps curious about her levitation, or her diminutive size. Had they known she was a sprite, they might have even feared to have her within their city. I hoped I was not now bringing the enemy into our camp.

  Once inside the corridor that would take us to the Great Hall on the southern wing, Luxana pulled back her hood. I did not flinch away, though my instinct was to do exactly that. She smiled, realizing that I was fighting that impulse.

  “I’m glad to see that you still trust me after so many years,” she said.

  I turned to walk with her toward the throne room beyond the Great Hall. She floated beside me.

  “I did not say that I ever trusted you, Luxana,” I replied. “To be honest, I expected to die that day in Tidus. I have never understood why you spared my life and had me to kill Grayson Stone instead.”

  “I suppose you wouldn’t,” she said. “I spared you for a number of reasons, but the primary cause was the mercy you showed toward me at Stone’s estate in Highgate.”

  “Repaying a debt?”

  “Not really,” she said. “More like experiencing something for the first time. I found mercy appealing.”

  “I’m glad to hear that,” I said.

  “Also, I began to understand what sort of world Grayson and Lucifer intended. I did not wish to see my people subjugated. But it would have been inevitable. It has been peaceful these years since. Mercy makes for peace, I suppose.”

  I nodded my agreement.

  “Which is why I’ve come to Greystone,” she added. “Something has happened and I do not believe anyone was aware. I’ve dreamed of the events in the throne room at Tidus many times. However, last night I saw a vision of what happened to you before you arrived that day.”

  “Oliver told me about Southresh and Anubis,” I said. “Some sort of fight or explosion had thrown everyone around by the time Oliver arrived and rescued me.”

  “A well-intentioned hypothesis, but Oliver Ja
mes was incorrect,” she said. “It was not an explosion, but the Spirit of the Holy One within you that repelled the spirit Southresh and Anubis had hoped to bring into this world from Tartarus.”

  “They tried to have me possessed?” I asked, completely surprised by what I was hearing. “By whom?”

  “None other than Black,” she reported. “I confess my amazement that the Almighty would protect you in that way.”

  I was overwhelmed by her report, but glad to hear that the Lord had been protecting me when I couldn’t protect myself. I had always assumed that was the way most believers lived their lives—never knowing just how many times we were kept from unseen dangers.

  “He wasn’t simply protecting me, Luxana,” I confessed. “When I surrendered unto Jesus Christ, my body became the temple of the Holy Spirit.”

  “That would certainly explain why Black was repelled so violently,” she said, wondering at the possibilities.

  A moment of silence passed between us as we continued toward the throne room, now only around the next corner. It suddenly occurred to me that I was smiling. However, Luxana was not.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “Brody, I’m pleased that you cannot be taken by invading spirits, but Black was not repelled back to Tartarus.”

  A chill ran through me. We paused as we came into the Atrium before the throne room. I would have to hold a conference with Sophia and Donatus and Ishbe in order to let Luxana tell her story.

  “What happened to Black?” I asked, dreading the answer.

  “He was cast out through the others onto the mortal plane,” she explained. “He took possession of another young Lycan who was part of Anubis’s army that day.”

  “He’s got a body to work with,” I surmised. “And yet we haven’t had any trouble until recently with Southresh and another matter that I’ll let Donatus explain to you better than I can.”

  I started back for the throne room. Here we would likely find Sophia with Donatus. All of our information needed sharing, so that we might get to the bottom of what was happening. Hopefully, they had located Sadie and Cole by now.

  “Luxana, did your vision give you any idea where Black is now?”

  “I’m sorry, but that is something I don’t know.”

  I motioned to the guards stationed at the doors that we were going inside. They opened to us, and Luxana and I proceeded through. Inside we found a number of servants speaking with Donatus, who was sitting upon Tom’s throne next to Sophia. I did not see the children anywhere.

  “Did you find them?” Sophia called. Then she noticed the woman with me. She growled, beginning a transformation into a werewolf. She remembered all too well who this sprite was.

  “Wait!” I called to her. “Luxana has come in peace with important news.”

  Sophia brought her anger under control, returning to a fully human form. In that instant, she had managed to sprout fangs and claws, the color of her blue irises changing to feral yellow also. She became beautifully sedate almost as quickly when she realized I was not under the sprite’s powerful hypnosis.

  “The sprite that saved our lives at Tidus so many years ago,” Donatus called in greeting to her. “We never had the opportunity to thank you personally.”

  Luxana nodded her head to him in acknowledgment. I led her to the far end of the throne room, where they were waiting to hear news of the diligent search being conducted for the children. Still, no one seemed to have any idea where they had gotten to.

  “Luxana has had a vision,” I reported.

  “Of the lock and keystone?” Donatus asked quickly.

  This inference seemed to unhinge Luxana immediately. “Has something happened? Has the keystone been called down?”

  Donatus nodded reluctantly. “It has indeed,” he said. “My son, Tom, was killed along with many of my finest warriors. His wife is still in a coma. He barely managed to save her before the resulting blast.”

  “Luxana’s vision was of Black,” I interjected. “She saw him take a host in the mortal world.”

  This piece of information had barely escaped my lips, when the throne room doors opened again behind me. We all turned to see which servant might be entering, hoping that we would see the children come running in. Instead, Ishbe strode toward the dais. He was no doubt bringing a report of his efforts to locate Sadie and Cole.

  When she saw him, Luxana immediately gripped my arm with vice-like strength. I turned to see the fear in her expression. Following her gaze, I found Ishbe again. However, I had no idea why she had reacted this way toward seeing him. Did they know one another?

  Her next words hit me like a locomotive. “The Lycan soldier at Whitehall,” she said. “It’s Black.”

  When Ishbe saw her reaction to his presence, he paused before reaching the dais. I hadn’t been sure if anyone else had heard what Luxana had just declared. Then my eyes found his, and I knew that he had heard.

  For a fraction of a second, I did not believe her report. Surely this was a mistake. This man was a Lycan, but he could not be one of the Fallen and certainly not Black. This man had been one of the most trusted individuals in Greystone and Tidus. We had entrusted our children to his care more times than I could remember. We would have seen. I would have known.

  Then I saw in his eyes a spark of familiarity. I realized suddenly that it had always been there. I had simply been blind to it. The expression on his face changed then. He smiled darkly at me, and I knew Luxana had not been mistaken. Indeed, this was the angel known to us only as Black.

  I started to speak, started to move. Notions of heroism were still on their way from my brain to my limbs when a wave of power erupted from Ishbe, as he stood before the throne. Stone columns cracked, as did the tiles making up the floor. Servants were tossed like rag dolls. Each of us on the dais was blown backward with the furnishings.

  When I got back up, Malak-esh came to my hand as the lion’s head cane. I immediately willed its transformation to the mercurial sword. Ishbe stood where he was. He seemed unthreatened by me.

  He launched a barrage of lightning at me. The sword took the bite out of his attack, nullifying every bit of power he expended. I could tell by the look on his face that he had merely been testing the waters.

  A terrifying thought struck me then. We had sent the children out of the infirmary in his care. Their whereabouts had to be connected to the angel.

  “Where are the children, Black?” I asked.

  He grinned at me, waiting until Sophia had returned to the dais next to me before answering. “They have gone into the Underworld,” he said. “The boy was so upset about his father’s death that he decided to take matters into his own hands.”

  Sophia gasped.

  “Dear Sadie is with him, of course,” he added.

  “I don’t understand,” I replied. “Why would you do this? What did it profit you to indenture yourself to Tom and Charlotte all these years? You cared for our children. You could have harmed them at any time, but you never did.”

  Black simply laughed. “So, melodramatic. There is always a reason. There is always some profit. You mortals are just too dense to see.”

  I fumed at the sight of him. We had been so deceived. I couldn’t fathom the mind that would do such a thing. And to have sent the children to such a fate, after they had literally loved him like a father these many years.

  “The children will never escape,” he said. “A terrible dragon awaits them beyond the Realm of Abominations. You cannot leave without slaying it, and it holds as much power as I and my brethren.”

  He smiled brightly then, satisfied. “Sometimes, Brody, revenge is its own reward.”

  Black vanished in flames without another word. We were left in the throne room speechless. Black had been among us for almost ten years. We had trusted him completely, gladly following his counsel on more occasions than I could remember.

  All this time, that relationship had been a lie. He had come among us to get revenge for his consign
ment within Tartarus. He had lured the children away, and, trusting him, they had gone. Now, they were going to die.

  Sophia and I looked at one another as Donatus and Luxana rejoined us. Servants all over the throne room were coming out of hiding. Donatus groaned as he stepped up onto the dais with Luxana’s assistance.

  “Black must have been the one who called down the keystone,” he said.

  “We have to go after them,” Sophia pleaded.

  “Someone has to stay here,” I said. “I cannot fight for the safety of the children in that place, if I have to worry about you.”

  Sophia didn’t like what I was saying. Her protective instincts were running high. However, I knew that I could move faster on my own, if I only had to worry about myself and getting to the children.

  “I can take care of myself,” she said.

  “I know you can,” I admitted. “But there is no telling what waits in that place. We have no experience there.”

  “Sophia, I am forced to agree with Brody on this,” Donatus said. “Besides, Black may attempt to harm Charlotte. He already took the life of my son.”

  “I’ll stay also, if I can be of any further assistance,” Luxana offered.

  Slowly but surely, Sophia began to soften. Donatus had convinced her even when I couldn’t. She hugged my neck, accepting defeat.

  “Hurry, Brody,” she said, before letting me go.

  Donatus stood beside me, placing his hand upon my forehead. In that moment, I received his thought to me regarding the location of the lock and the entrance to the Underworld. I nodded to him as he withdrew his hand.

  “Be careful, Brody,” he said. “Keep the Lord in your thoughts and Malak-esh close at hand. I’ll contact Laish in Tidus and let him and Redclaw know what has happened.”

  “All right,” I said, preparing to leave. “Thank you for coming to share your vision,” I said to Luxana. “We never would have known that Black was among us otherwise.”