The Legend of Kimberly: Inheritance

  Nathan turned to look at Zane and smiled. He turned to look at the lumbering figure down on the beach. The qualities that had distinguished them from each other as mortals were now amplified in their true forms. Nathan called down to Billy, getting his attention. Billy turned a large, helmeted head toward his father’s voice.

  “She’s out on the water.”

  Billy nodded and marched into the waves, his body disappearing beneath the water’s surface. Zane had vanished already, turning into mist.

  Nathan spread giant leathery wings and lifted free of the ground. He flew out above the lake, distant memories of doing the same thing when he was younger coming back to him.

  They searched for quite some time, but Nathan was unconcerned. There was no place Kimberly could go that he couldn’t find her. And when he did, he would claim her once more.

  Eventually, a voice in his head informed him that an island was spotted. Following Zane’s directions, he arrived shortly after. Zane stood next to the boat, looking out on the water. Billy’s head broke the water’s surface as he stomped his way up, his body now a huge cacophony of armor. Nathan stood there, surveying the little boat.

  “She was here,” Zane said. “I can see the heat of her footprints. They go this way.” They walked as one up to a strange little door in the side of the cave.

  Nathan made a yanking motion with clawed fingers; the door ripped free. His sons ran in first, eager to please.

  * * *

  “Ip, what’s the matter?” The little fox was growling at the stairs, his hackles raised. Somewhere down below, she heard the wrenching sound of wood and stone being pulled apart. Sounds drifted up the long staircase, two eerily familiar voices.

  “Kimberly,” one called, dragging her name out.

  “We’re coming to get you, Worm,” the other promised.

  Frightened, Kimberly looked around the room. As the voices got closer, things in the room began to react. The Mermaid Blade by the opening was starting to hiss and spit steam out in every direction. A phoenix cloak burst into flame, melting the stand it was on. Turning around, she found that she was in the center of the room when they came around the corner.

  They looked different, but she could feel who they were. Zane was a dark figure in robes, his cowl pulled so low he shouldn’t have been able to see. Billy was a metal monstrosity with angry red eyes glowing deep from within his bucket-shaped helm.

  Kimberly moved quickly. She grabbed a staff from its stand and waved it in their direction. Billy laughed until lightning blew him back down into the stairwell.

  “The staff of Meritus, Billy.” She flipped the staff over and cracked it on the ground. Thunder rattled the whole room, thunder that caused Zane’s billowing robes to waver. “Meritus, the king of storms.”

  Zane fought against the pressure, but his form was still new to him. He turned back into a mist and was scattered around the room, his mental control temporarily broken.

  Kimberly had gambled and succeeded. Everything in this room was from one of grandfather’s stories. And everything in this room was real.

  Billy climbed back out of the stairwell and Kimberly blasted him with lightning again. His joints locked up as the current rammed through him. Billy tipped backward, his mass headed for his father. Nathan turned into a shadow and watched his son pass. Becoming solid again, he continued to climb.

  Zane, regaining consciousness, gathered himself behind Kimberly. Sensing his arrival, she tried to strike the staff on the floor, but Zane stretched himself out to create a foot beneath her. Blocking the necessary strike for thunder, he ripped the staff from her hands and struck her with it. She fell down and away from him and he made to blast her with its lightning.

  “Not yet.” Nathan closed a hand on his son’s shoulder. Zane lowered the staff and fell back as Nathan beckoned Kimberly toward him.

  Her heart was beating fast as, against her will, her legs pushed her closer to her father.

  Ip jumped between them.

  “Ah, I was wondering where you’ve been.” Nathan lunged forward, taloned fingers outstretched. He grabbed Ip with both hands and began to squeeze as hard as he could, determined to crush the life from his father’s devoted pet.

  It was a mistake.

  Ip burst into flame, knocking Nathan back. His size doubled, then tripled, until Ip was no longer the size of a small cat. Instead, he was now more similar to a small bear. He still looked like a fox, but now his fur was made of fire and his muzzle lined with razor-sharp teeth. He roared like a lion, the force enough to topple over many of the racks and items in the room.

  Billy tackled him and they fell to the ground, Billy punching and Ip biting. His hold on Kimberly broken, she turned and ran for the nearest weapon she saw, the sword in the block of marble, hoping it would slide free and become a weapon she could use. Her fingers closed on the hilt just as Zane appeared, reaching out a shadowy hand to grab her.

  Her fingers closed on the sword.

  The world around her froze. A heavy feeling filled her gut and a foreign intelligence spoke to her in her mind.

  I have awoken.

  Kimberly tried to speak, but her mouth wouldn’t move. Instead, she pleaded inside her mind, hoping it would work.

  Please, help me, she begged.

  You would draw me to protect yourself. Would you draw me to protect others?

  Yes, anything, she thought, desperation crawling forward in her mind.

  Too long have I slept.

  Slender vines broke free from their hiding place beneath the marble and wrapped themselves around Kimberly’s arm like a bundle of snakes.

  Light filled the room and Kimberly felt strength fill her body. The marble around the blade cracked and shattered outward and she watched as more leafy tendrils crawled up her body, burrowing beneath her flesh in places and sprouting protective bark.

  I am Willow, The Living Blade. Blue fire erupted around the sword’s edge.

  Kimberly turned, Willow held forward. Zane was lunging toward her and a swipe of Willow knocked him across the room, starting several magical fires in the process. Billy knocked Ip away and charged forward, reaching out with metallic hands. Kimberly sidestepped, moved by experience and knowledge that were not her own. She cracked him on the back of his helmet and knocked him to the floor.

  “No.” Nathan was there and he grabbed Kimberly’s head. She moved to swing at him with Willow, but Nathan caught her other arm up high.

  “There is nothing you can do. I will rule this world with power it has never seen once I am finished with you.”

  He stoked the dark fires hidden deep within his daughter, fires that would consume her, change her into a dark thing. He could feel her resisting and laughed, knowing it was futile.

  No! The word echoed through the room as Willow’s fire blew outward in a ring of magic.

  The room began to crack and crumble around them. Nathan made a grab for the blade and Kimberly reached up with her other hand and clawed at his eyes. As the two struggled, stray flashes of magic fired outward, vaporizing the room and revealing a night sky. A flash of light struck Zane and he vanished. A similar beam struck the ground under Billy and he fell away into darkness. Nathan threw her down on the ground and Willow’s edge ran hot with blue fire.

  Kimberly stood and rushed forward, driving Willow through her father. His eyes went wide in surprise. He struck her, hard. The room fell away beneath him and he disappeared, screaming her name.

  “What’s happening?” Kimberly reached out and grabbed Ip, who had shrunk back to his original size.

  We go back. Back to where it began. Back to make things right. The sword hummed powerfully in her hand.

  The room blew outward and she was now falling through darkness.

  Back to Auviarra.

  * * *

  Lance arrived at Hal’s home, panic in his eyes. Firefighters had arrived first and they were doing their best to contain the mysterious blaze. Stepping around a cluster of reporters
, he got as close to the house as he could. He called out for the girl, hoping she, of all of them, had survived.

  As part of the house collapsed, a blue light exploded upward into the night sky from the lake, traveling past the moon and out into the stars. Nobody saw it.

  Lord Domen’s Party

  According to his guards, it was raining outside. Not that he cared, but he did insist on guests not dripping on the floor. The room had been meticulously decorated with his family’s colors, large black and red flags hanging down the inner stone walls. He didn’t want puddles on the floor.

  Lord Domen smiled. The last two months were very busy. Deciding to expand his territory had been the best decision he’d made in years. The hard part had been convincing his new countrymen to grant him their fealty. His men had reported occasional resistance, resistance he’d ordered crushed.

  In honor of his new territory, he threw himself a formal ball, inviting other lords from the region. Content that he was well on his way to becoming a greater power in the Halls of Romus, he felt like his night couldn’t get any better.

  Sitting on his throne, he overlooked his guests. Most of Romus’s nobility was in attendance this night. They sat at the dining tables, enjoying the culinary delights his staff had prepared. He took a big bite of roast rabbit, juices trickling through his beard.

  His steward, Amnus, knelt by his side. “M’lord, there are some traveling entertainers requesting entry.”

  “Entertainers?” Domen’s lip twitched; he turned to his faithful servant. “What kind of entertainers?”

  “Four of them sire. A fortune teller, a dancer, a strongman and their troupe leader. They heard of our celebration and have come, hoping to earn some coin.”

  “Interesting.” Domen looked out on his guests. “I would think my guests would have very little use for these entertainers.”

  As it was, his guests would likely take offense to such a performance. He couldn’t imagine what sort of whispers would transpire if he were to let some filthy street performers in his halls.

  Amnus cleared his throat and spoke again. “M’lord, the dancer is quite beautiful.”

  Domen turned his head. “How beautiful?”

  “Stunning, m’lord.”

  Domen laughed, scratching his fat belly. He could trust Amnus’s judgment. “Tell them she alone may enter. If they truly wish to earn some coin, they should not mind.”

  “Agreed.” Amnus vanished.

  Domen took a sip of his wine.

  Some minutes passed before Amnus dramatically opened the door to the great hall. The noise and laughter died down as a wet, robed figure walked in behind him.

  “M’lord, if it pleases you and your guests: the dancer, Helena.” Amnus bowed and stepped aside.

  The dancer lifted a hand in the air and made a simple gesture at the minstrels. The minstrels began playing something slow with a heavy beat. She began swaying with the rhythm. Slender hands pulled the hood back, revealing a young woman with silvery-blond hair. She rolled her hips seductively beneath her robes, moving further into the hallway. When she reached the middle, she parted the robe and let it pool at her feet. Her flimsy garments accentuated her movements.

  The nobility were silent and Domen gaped in awe.

  Helena danced, her movements seductive. She approached the lords on one side of the hall, leaning toward them suggestively. They groaned in frustration when she smiled and backed away, shaking her hips. The men on the other side of the hall got an eyeful as she neared them. One man reached out to grab her, but she was quicker, twisting away coyly. Even some of the women in attendance were enthralled. Such a sight was uncommon.

  Helena made eye contact with Lord Domen. He dropped his wine.

  “If it pleases m’lord.” Helena stopped her movements. “I have a very special dance just for you.”

  “It pleases me.” Domen’s lip quivered. Oh gods, did it please him.

  Helena signaled the minstrels, and they began playing a different tune. Faster than the first dance, her arms and legs stretched out, folding back over themselves like embracing lovers. Helena’s flexibility was only matched by her acrobatics; she bent her body in ways Domen had never seen before.

  She drew close; he could smell a mixture of rain and perfume on her body. Standing, his thoughts were muddled, all eyes on the mysterious dancer in his hall. Domen’s thoughts were many, but only one fought its way to the surface.

  She would be his.

  She was close now, so close he could touch her. He reached forward, ready to claim her with his hands.

  “Lord Domen!” The shout rose above the music.

  A rain-covered stranger stood in the entryway. Helena turned in surprise; Lord Domen stepped past her, protecting his newfound treasure.

  “Is this how the lords of Romus celebrate tyranny?” The stranger was middle-aged, his hair just beginning to gray. His stance and hair marked him as a soldier.

  “Tyranny? I see no tyranny here.” Domen spread his arms out wide indicating the hall. “I do, however, see somebody who was not invited.”

  He snapped his fingers. Four of his guards moved forward, swords drawn.

  The stranger drew his sword. “I would not recommend that, Lord Domen.”

  Domen started to laugh when he felt a hand yank his chin upward. Something sharp was placed against his throat and he did his best not to swallow.

  Assassin!

  “Wait.” His guards halted their advance. Surprised eyes turned to take in the new situation. “What is it you want?”

  “My name is Trey Arrol. Two weeks ago, your men took into their possession a peasant girl, one who caught your eye in passing. We have come to retrieve her.”

  “Amnus. Go get the girl from my chambers.”

  Amnus, his face pale, nodded.

  “Is that all?” Domen asked. He could feel a slow trickle of blood run down his throat.

  “No, it isn’t. On our journey to get here, we learned that you have expanded your territory. Killed innocent women and children.” Trey stepped further into the hall.

  Lord Daeus, one of Domen’s closest allies, stepped forward from the crowd, blade at the ready. He approached Trey from behind, hoping to strike a killing blow.

  Trey twisted around once and cleanly lopped the man’s sword hand off. As Daeus fell back, Trey leaned down and picked up the fallen blade. Somewhere a woman screamed.

  “That was foolish.” Trey now held a blade in each hand.

  Amnus reappeared, dragging a bedraggled and scantily clad girl with him. Her eyes were glassy and she stumbled when she walked.

  The dancer, Helena, whispered something vile in Domen’s ear and his face burned red. She was not very happy with him.

  Amnus pushed the girl forward. She stumbled to the ground in front of Trey.

  “Maria?” He asked. She looked up at him. “I’m here to take you home.”

  The peasant girl looked at Trey blankly.

  “Brave Lord Domen, abducting children from the countryside for his bed. You really are a big man aren’t you?” Trey dropped one of his swords and offered a hand to the girl.

  “Just take the girl. I have honored your request,” Domen said. He felt the blade at his neck push deeper. Helena pushed him forward toward Trey. When they were only a few steps apart, he was spun around to face his guests.

  “That is only half of our request.” Trey spoke from behind him “You will also renounce your lordship before all of your guests.”

  “Impossible.” He couldn’t renounce his nobility; it was unprecedented.

  “Do it or die,” Helena hissed in his ear.

  “I renounce my lordship!” Domen hollered, panic creeping into his chest.

  “I want everybody here to remember this moment. The moment the former Lord Domen let you all see his cowardice. Now, if you’ll excuse us.”

  A cold blade was slipped down the back of his pants and pulled away. Domen’s pants slid free falling to the ground. Stunned, Dome
n was shoved violently forward. He hit the floor hard, biting through his lower lip. Stuttering, he rolled over in time to see the door close.

  “Kill them!” He screamed, blood in his mouth.

  * * *

  The door to the hall opened. Helena pulled Maria out into the rain and Trey followed.

  “Ronnee.” Trey motioned at the door. Ronnee, a half giant, began tossing some of the men they had killed in front of it.

  “Hurry, let’s go.” Helena mounted her horse, and Trey helped Maria up behind her. Shouts from inside the building began to rise from behind the door. “Ronnee, I said let’s go.”

  Ronnee let out a chuckle as he fiddled with something on their ‘“borrowed” entertainer’s wagon. “I behind you.” He knocked a pin free from the yoke and mounted the giant horse that had pulled them in.

  Trey mounted his own horse, swords at the ready, and spurred his horse forward. The others were close behind as they raced away from Lord Domen’s keep and toward the outer walls of his fortress. Cries from the keep were causing confusion, giving them a clear path to the exit.

  Trey rounded the last corner. A small contingent of men was waiting by the gate, swords and spears ready. “Helena, the spears!”

  Three crossbow bolts came from behind, dropping the spear carriers. Trey drew close, swinging swords from both hands. He cut several of them down, making room for Helena and Ronnee to go through. Up above the gate, he saw some men rush to the gate controls.

  A silvery bade flashed twice, sending them both over the rails. Up above, a robed figure waved down to Trey, letting him know he was clear. Letting out a yell, he rode through the gate after his friends. The gate slammed shut behind him and the last member of his crew leapt from the wall, something that would kill an ordinary person. Trey watched her back as she mounted her own horse, hidden behind the stones.

  “All set, Captain.”

  “We ride.” The horses broke into a frenzied sprint as they climbed the hill outside the fort.

  At the top of the small incline, just as the rain was starting to obscure the fort, the carriage full of lamp oil exploded, sending a flaming pyre into the night sky.

  * * *

  About five miles from the fort, the riders drew to a halt. Trey sighed as he looked back in the direction of the fort, wondering how long they would have.

  Ronnee pulled his hood back, a big grin on his face.