* * *
Kira opened her eyes and was confused to find herself lying on a bed inside of a small, dimly lit room. She tried to move but her body screamed in protest, nearly causing her to pass out again from the pain.
“Don’t move, you’ve been badly injured,” a somewhat familiar voice said over the roaring inside her head. Turning her head towards the source of the voice Kira was alarmed to find Pisus sitting next to her. He had a concerned look on his face as he gave a soft smile. “I suppose I’m the last person you expected to see, aren’t I?”
“Where is my sister?” Kira suddenly remembered what she had been doing before passing out. Again she tried to sit up and again her body protested.
Pisus seemed amused at her attempts to get up. “Don’t you remember?”
“Remember what?” Kira had no idea what he was talking about.
“I suppose you were pretty out of it when we found you. Your sister is just fine. She is on the bridge with Aithos, where I asked her to stay so I could talk to you alone.” Pisus’s smile faded.
“Talk to me? About what?” Kira asked curtly. Her head was throbbing and the conversation was only making it worse.
“It’s important that you answer honestly. Did you kill Aeria?” Pisus asked, looking grim.
“She tried to murder me and was going to kill Kaya. I had no choice,” Kira replied, unsure of what Pisus would do.
“Then it is as I thought. I cannot say I blame you for what you’ve done, but I’m afraid her death will only make things worse. There is no need to discuss this now, though, so try to get some rest. I’ll do what I can to heal your wounds,” Pisus finished, gently touching her arm to reassure her. Kira wanted to know what he meant, but the desire for sleep was too great to ignore. Closing her eyes again she drifted back into the nothingness.
Pisus sat back in his seat and watched as Kira drifted back to sleep. A deep look of concern moved across his face as he did so and just as Kira’s breath became rhythmic, a figure appeared at the door. Aithos crept into the room, trying not to disturb Kira’s sleep.
In a quiet whisper he asked, “Is she going to make it?”
Nodding, Pisus responded, “She has unbelievable strength. I doubt anyone else could have survived the beating she took.”
Aithos grinned with pride. “She is something else, isn’t she? And to think she’s half human.”
Pisus fixed Aithos with a penetrating gaze and said, “I believe it is because she is half human that she was able to defeat Aeria. Their potential seems… limitless.”
Aithos smiled again, “I was beginning to think the same thing myself. So what are we going to do with her and her sister? We can’t take them back to Tython.”
Pisus looked back at Kira and thought to himself for a moment. “I’ll bring them to Thalon with me; I can keep them hidden there. They’ll be safe until we decide how to proceed.”
Aithos frowned, “Are you certain that’s a good idea? You’d be risking everything by taking them in.”
Pisus nodded, “I’m aware of the risks, but there is no other way. We are going to need them before the end and Velion will never think to look for them on Thalon. You are positive that you’re the only one who can track the holodisks?”
“Yes. No one else knows how to read the frequency,” Aithos assured him.
“For her sake, you better hope you are right. Set a course for Thalon, we will just have to hope fate is on our side,” Pisus concluded.
“As you wish,” Aithos bowed politely and left the room.
Pisus turned his gaze back to Kira and whispered, “I hope you’re the savior we need, because you’re all we’ve got.”
EPILOGUE:
A tall figure appeared as if from thin air and looked down at the crumpled body of the blonde woman. His dark eyes fixated on the blade that was protruding from her chest and he shook his head in disappointment. Two smaller figures appeared in the same fashion, seeming to walk out of nothingness to stand by his side. They looked down at the body before them and seemed confused.
“My lord, what do you want us to do with the corpse?”
The taller figure laughed, and said, “Is that what you see? A corpse? Tsk tsk.” The two smaller figures glanced at each other, looking for some sort of explanation. Shaking his head again the taller figure said, “No, my foolish servants. She isn’t dead, at least not yet.”
Kneeling down beside the crumpled body, the taller figure pulled the sword from her chest and started to make a strange hissing noise. All around the body, black smoke oozed out of the ground and enveloped the woman. It hovered around her like fog, spinning and churning as the he continued to make the sound. Then, without warning, the smoke shot inside the woman’s mouth and up her nostrils, filling her lungs with its essence.
Her body stirred, and jolted. Her eyes flew open and with a gasp of air she sat up. It took several seconds for her to regain her senses, but as she did she noticed the figures standing above her. Looking up at the tall figure she realized that she recognized him. With a confused look, she asked, “What… what happened?”
The man smiled down at her and said, “I’ll explain later. For now, come. There is much to be done.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
R.T. Edwins is a self-published author who lives in Minnesota with his wife and their dog and cat.
Additional Acknowledgements:
I’d like to thank the following people for their support. Without your pledges and belief in this story, this book would not have been possible:
Brad Carlson
Kevin K.
John Thrumston
Tina-Marie Ledom
Lisa Beise
Jacob Pangburn
John Heine
Greg Marshall
Travis Clarke
Jennifer Pederson
Jillian Dressel
Sabrina Cooke
Jason Schmidt
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