The Legacy

Kain, and the other fighting fae were holding on with all their efforts. They had taken down quite a few hunters but there were still too many. Kain took another breath, trying to muster up a new wave of energy. She was about to charge back in when a loud screech made everyone grab for their ears. Kain scrunched her face up against the strain of the sound that pounded through her ears with a high pitch. “By the seven! What was that?” Burbor asked, looking past the hunters and into the woods. Abbadon’s laughter pulled their attention back towards the hunters. “I hope you don’t mind but I invited my friends as well. I didn’t want them to miss out on the party,” Abbadon sneered just as another screech sounded through the woods.

Kain realized what it was with a cold shudder. Her heart was frozen in her chest, “close ranks!” she yelled just as the first demon fae came crashing through the trees. “By the blood!” Alocius whispered, his eyes wide. The same expression frozen on the other fae.

“The best way to fight fae, is to bring fae to a fae fight!” Abbadon said, his hands raised in a way that said, ’you can’t touch me’. Kain glared at him, “you must feel unsecure to bring so many fighters to fight and kill a small group of defenceless fae!” she retorted. A flash of anger crossed over Abbadon’s face before he quickly replaced it with a smile, “my dear Kain. These,” he motioned to the demon fae, “aren’t meant for your fae friends. They are meant for you!” he said snapping his fingers once and pointed at Kain.

As one, the hunters and demon fae rushed towards Kain. Kain lifted her daggers higher and waited for them to come closer. Their odds weren’t in their favour, but Kain wasn’t going to tug her tail between her legs just yet. A sweeping sound rushed through the forest followed by a swift breeze. The trees around them began to creak and move as they literally climbed out of the ground and started walking towards them. The closest trees began to swipe at the hunters and demon fae, using their branches like a broom. Kain caught Natalia’s eyes and smiled. The dryad stood hand in hand with two more dryads, their hands raised towards the trees. “Nice!” Kain grinned with a quick nod before swinging her daggers out in a wide arc, slicing through several hunters and demon fae alike.

“Everyone is through, Let’s GO!” Alocius yelled from the archway. Burbor and Natalia retreated towards the Arch, but Kain knew she would have a dagger through her spine if she turned around now. Kain took down a few more hunters. She didn’t know how much longer she would be able to keep the hunters away with her arms growing tired. Kainun, you need to take down the Arch, before it is too late, she heard Hekatai say from beside her. “I can’t!” Kain said through her teeth, blocking a blow from a sword and shoving the attacker away with a swing of her long dagger. “Kainun, if you don’t do this now then it will be too late!” Siqua said from her other side. It surprised Kain how her voice still held it’s sing-song effect even when the deity was concerned.

Kainun! Please! Hekatai pleaded desperately. With agitation, Kain shoved her attacker away once more then shoved her dagger into his gut. Kain looked towards Ciara, then turned towards the others. “Hold them off! I’m going to take the Arch down!” she yelled to the others. Natalia took her place up again, urging the trees to barricade them, giving Kain a chance to do what she needs to do without being interrupted by unwanted company.

The others closed ranks with no hesitation and gave Kain the chance to break free. She knew that the others won’t be holding the hunters back for too long, which meant she had to hurry up. Kain stood in front of the Arch and closed her eyes, spreading her arms out from her sides. She didn’t know what she was doing or even if it was going to work. All she knew was that thanks to Wison’s betrayal, their original plan wasn’t going to work. She had to take down the Arch with a force of power she might or might not have.

She tried blocking out the sounds of the battle around her, focusing on the magic pulsing through her with every heartbeat. The warm surge she felt flowing through her, told her that she had tapped into those powers. She began focusing the power on the Arch, thinking about what she wanted to happen. She wanted to remove the spell holding the Arch up then destroy the window that led to both worlds. She kept on focusing on that simple thought. Simple thought. There was nothing simple about what she was trying to do. She felt the magic pulsing faster and faster through her before she felt her body being pulled towards the Arch and pushed away from it at the same time. Kain squeezed her eyes shut, she was starting to slip away, unable to hold onto that much power. Celestial hands took hold of hers and she could feel a new wave of power surge through her. With no doubt, she knew that the deities were standing beside her, lending her their control.

Kainun, for this to work you must let go! Hekatai instructed. “How?” she asked, feeling the magic slip away from her again. She could hear the faint noises of battle behind her, but she couldn’t allow herself to get distracted by it.

Think! Roman tetra urged. Kain closed her eyes. She had no idea how to just let her magic take over. It had always just been involuntary. It was never her own intentions. Kain’s eyes flew open. The first time her magic went out of control was when Greg had shot Sophia with his arrow. The other time she remembered was when she and Wison fought. Both times were driven by the same emotion. Kain looked up at the Archway. She had to get angry and feel the pain she tried so hard to supress. She had to let her emotions go.

“I blame you for everything that has happened to me!” she directed towards the deities. “I blame you for the death of my parents, for Breezes, for Gavin and Sophia! I hate you so much!” she said, closing her eyes as her heart squeezed inside her chest, “but not as much as I hate Abbadon! He ordered the attack that killed Sophia and the other fae. He is the reason I killed my own people! He is the reason I used to love killing my own people!” Kain felt her stomach grow sick and her cheeks wet. The breeze around them made her cheeks grow cold. “I blame Zorzia for being the one behind it all. I wish her the same fate she bestowed onto my parents. I hate her for the fact that she’s the reason why I can’t remember my parents. I hate her for all the lives she destroyed and all the deaths she is guilty of.”

Kain’s cheeks became a waterfall of tears as they streamed freely over them. She coughed against the pain she felt clenched around her heart. “But I hate myself the most. I hate how I did not do more! I hate how I blamed Gavin for his betrayal when I was the one who lied to him. I hate how I was stupid enough to trust Wison and open my heart to him just to get it ripped out again. I hate myself for all the innocent blood that stains my hands!” Kain choked on her tears. She stared up at the Archway again, she was breathing heavily. Kain frowned at the Archway. With all her strength and all her anger, Kain slammed her hands forward and hurled all her energy towards the doorway. She closed her eyes and breathed a deep breath, as she cleared her mind and felt all her emotions drain away.

She heard the sound of cracking and when she opened her eyes, she saw that hundreds of cracks spread across the Archway. The earth around her was shaking and a loud creaking sound over ranked the sounds of swords clashing behind her. Ovanhail was barely visible from the other side. The barrier shattered, leaving the Archway now an open doorway to Ovanhail.

“Get out of here!” Kain shouted between her teeth, as she tried to hold on to the power and finish the job. “Now!” she added with a growl. Sweat beaded on her forehead with the strain of struggling to destroy the Archway before her powers drained out completely. She saw the arch-pillars starting to crack as well but much slower than the window did. Burbor and Alocius were the first to go through., followed by Natalia and a few others who stayed behind to fight. Everyone but Ciara went through. Keeping her focus on the Archway, Kain turned around to look for Ciara. There were a few other fae bodies on the ground. Kain searched for Ciara, praying that she wasn’t one of them. She found the lioness fighting of three hunters who tried boxing her in.

With a surge of rage, Kain sent a ball of fire towards the hunters surrounding Ciara. “Ciara! Come on! You need to get out of here. Ciara turned towards Kain. Her look said the words Kain felt. She needed to get out of here, but Kain wasn’t going to make it, not if she wanted the Archway down all the way. “I’m not leaving you!” Ciara growled, wrapping her tail around another hunter’s neck, lifting him up into the air and slamming him down to the earth. The hunter lay unmoving on the ground. Kain turned around and stopped the process of the Arch breaking. She saw the others standing on the other side, waiting for them to come through. When Kain turned around again, she saw Ciara in the hands of Abbadon, a dagger pressed to her neck, “Kain!” Ciara moaned desperately. Kain could see the fear mirrored in Ciara’s eyes and Kain knew what Ciara was trying to say. “Go! Please Kain! Just go!” Ciara pleaded when Kain made no attempt to move. Kain shook her head. She wasn’t going to let another fae sacrifice themselves for her sake. “Let her go Abbadon!” Kain said venomously, her eyes staring into his.

There were no emotions in his eyes, no light. It made Kain shiver all over, but she was determined not to let it show. “No can’t do Kain! Either she dies or you stay!” Abbadon said wickedly. He stroked Ciara’s hair, letting the dagger press harder into her throat. Kain stared at Ciara, their eyes connecting. There was no fear in Ciara’s eyes. No fear for herself but fear for Kain. Kain’s heart melted, crushing into itself. They had lost. They were so close and now it was over. They weren’t just going to kill Ciara. They were going to kill her as well and Ovanhail would be left open for any human to wander through. Defeated, Kain stared back up at Abbadon. “If you let her go then I will stay. I won’t fight you. I promise,” Kain assured, defeat crashing over her, “but please let her go and allow me to take down the Arch!” Kain pleaded with Abbadon. She felt small and helpless but if there was some hope that the fae would stay safe then Kain had to keep believing. Abbadon cocked his head to the side, seeming as if he was really thinking about it. “That sounds fair enough. I’ll let her go!” Abbadon agreed.

Kain felt her heartbeat quicken. She nodded gratefully, ushering for Ciara to move towards her as Abbadon let go of her. Ciara began walking slowly towards Kain. “Where’s the cure for the poison you slipped into me?” Abbadon asked, his voice stone cold and making both Ciara and Kain freeze. They turned their attention back towards Abbadon. “There is none. But I can reverse it, I swear!” Kain promised but she knew it wasn’t going to be easy. The poison she gave him had no cure. She would be able to slow it down but that was it. Abbadon nodded then motioned for Ciara to move ahead, turning his back towards them. Turning her eyes back towards Ciara, Kain missed the subtle notion of Abbadon’s hand. With a fluid motion, Greg threw his dagger which flew into the back of Ciara’s throat, the point protruding in the front.

Ciara went rigid, her skin paling as copper blood flooded down her throat and pooled out from her mouth. Kain’s stomach dropped to the ground, her heart froze. “NO!” she screamed as she felt her breath leaving her body painfully. A pulse erupted aggressively from her, knocking the hunters a few feet back. Kain rushed towards Ciara, just as she was about to hit the ground. Kain wrapped Ciara in her arms, her hand stroking Ciara’s cheek. Ciara struggled to breathe through the blood that suffocated her. She stared up at Kain, her eyes glossy with tears, “it…was an…honour…Kai-Kainun Bloodleaf,” Ciara managed to say with great difficulty as blood slurred her words.

Kain shushed her, “don’t speak,” she whispered through silent tears rolling down her cheeks. Ciara closed her eyes, trying to find the breath she was quickly losing, “please take…my body to Bara…Bara…” she choked. Kain knew that she was drowning on her own blood. With one final gasp, Ciara closed her eyes, her last breath exiting her lips with a sigh.

Kain felt her own lungs squeezing all the air out of her, “Ciara, no!” Kain shouted, her face burning and her eyes stinging with pooling tears. She lifted her head and caught Wison’s eye. He stood there watching from a distance. She couldn’t tell for sure, but she thought she could see guilt flash through his eyes. They had been close, and no matter how evil you try to be there will always be a part of you that cares.

“You did this, it’s all your fault!” Kain accused him. Tears flooded freely down her cheeks, and she struggled to breathe. She turned her head towards Abbadon who had just gotten back on his feet, “you said you’d let her go!” Kain yelled furiously. Abbadon smiled, “I did. I didn’t say I’d let her live, did I?” he said, “you really should be more specific Kain,” he added with a sympathetic frown.

Kain felt her breath picking up as her fury burned brighter, “you’re a monster!” Kain yelled with another pulse erupting from her. Thunder clapped above them, and she knew her powers were getting out of hand. This time she didn’t want control. She’d let it go out of control.

She heard the creak of a tree that fell over from the strong gust of wind. The wind was picking up. “Kain!” she heard someone call from behind her. Kain turned her head back towards the Arch and saw that the pillars were starting to collapse in on themselves. She stared at Natalia who stood on the other side of the doorway, just past the threshold, but it was the little girl next to her who had called out to Kain. Kain frowned at the sight of the little girl. It wasn’t Siqua. No, this girl was someone else, someone Kain knew very well once upon a time ago. She didn’t remember her though. It was the girl, who motioned for Kain to go through the Arch with desperate hands. Kain looked back at Natalia, then turned around and looked at Abbadon and the other hunters who were making their way towards her. The demon fae stalked in circles around Kain and Ciara. Kain clutched onto Ciara’s lifeless body, closing her eyes, and focusing on the Arch again. She wasn’t about to let the Arch stay open for them to get through and finish what they started. She used the power around her. Her own power that spun uncontrollably around her and pushed it back towards the Archway. The excessive power made her grow numb, making her barely feel something thick and strong wrap itself around her waist and yanking her back with force. Her attention remained on the Arch as she ignored everything around her.

She heard Abbadon shout something about killing her, through the rumble and loud droning she heard in her ears, blocking him out. She opened her eyes as the last of the pillars began to tumble down. The thing around her waist was a thick vine with small leaves scattered about. Kain instantly knew it was Natalia railing her in. She held Ciara tighter and stared back at Abbadon and his men. They were disappearing behind the light that embraced her while she was being pulled through the Archway. She looked at Wison once more and wondered what he was thinking as he turned his back towards them, his face contorted with disgust. Arrows began flying towards her, bouncing of the tumbling stone, and flying past her. All of them missing her until one had found its home inside of her just as the window exploded with a loud boom, throwing her back with force.

She watched the last of the Archway’s stone pillars collapse to the ground, closing the doorway between the two worlds completely. Trees that stood tall and dark came into view, through the settling dust, on the other side of the broken Arch. The same tall and dark trees that surrounded them from all sides. Kain smiled, knowing that they had won. She caught Hekatai’s silhouette kneeling beside her. Her smiling face coming into view as the deity leaned forward to block out the sun that barely peeked through the canopy of leaves. The little girl Kain saw standing next to Natalia, knelt down beside Hekatai, taking Kain’s hand into hers and smiling down at Kain. The smile didn’t touch the girls worried eyes. It was all over. They had won and the fae was save. Kain gave a short chuckle, closing her eyes, allowing the peaceful darkness to wash over her.