Epilogue

So I decided not to post the Epilogue here on the website.

 

Since the main purpose of this portion is to clear up any lose ends, I'm going to reserve it as a copyright of sorts. Email me if you want to see it, and I'll send it to you.

 

Thanks for reading,

 

Eve

Chapter 15

Her primary concern, Olivia would tell people later, was that they not be separated.

Very quickly it became clear that the Ty’Goth intended only to climb the fortress walls – as opposed to knocking them down – and large numbers of additional fighters were ordered to join the archers on the wall. Durran and Kite, both renowned swordsmen, had been among those so dispatched. Olivia had kept her head down and followed right behind them, hoping that no one would recognize her and force her to stay behind.

As her feet replaced Kite’s going up the narrow stone steps that led to the battlements, she steeled her heart and tried not to admit that she felt a little ill. Her father, Xander the Red, used to call it “kicking back the boundary line,” this confronting of a great fear. So she repeated to herself, I’m kicking back my boundary line, and set her teeth.

Up ahead, she heard Durran exclaim, "What the devil!"

***

Kaisef was beginning to die, but he did not feel it. Doctor Merrill whipped around and cursed at him in angry surprise, but he didn’t hear it. He was looking past the doctor, past the window, past the battlements, to the Ty’Goth below.

***

Olivia tightened her grip on her blade and rushed up the last of the steps. Here she expected to meet the Ty’Goth, but there were none, only a crowd of warriors silently looking down on the plain. She squeezed in next to Kite and leaned over the stone railing, to see the very last thing she had expected.

The Ty’Goth were fighting each other.

***

Eve struggled at last to her feet and joined Kaisef at the window, her face shining with wonder. “To you was given authority to wield the Sword of Flame. My Father's prophecy...it’s coming to pass,” she breathed, gripping his hand. “You’re doing it!”

Kaisef was moments from death, but was not aware of it. He raised his black-scaled arms into the air and continued to quote.

Slowly, Doctor Merrill looked away from the girl and beast, to his armies below. “Fool! Do you think this curse has the power to destroy only your brothers, but leave you safe?” he spit fiercely.

“A little while, and the wicked will be no more,
Though you look for them, they will not be found.
The wicked will perish –“

Yes, Kaisef realized, becoming aware of the icy fingers that tightened around his heart, I feel it now. I am dying too. But it is right that I should die.

Doctor Merrill's hand closed around a knife. He shouted in triumph. "Not another word, traitor! You may not care to live, but what about the princess?” He pointed the knife at her throat. “Once you are dead, who will prevent me from killing her? Cease this now, while you still have the chance.”

“I’m not afraid,” she said simply.

Kaisef hesitated only a moment. While there is still a trace of human left in me, I will serve the King. He closed his eyes and voiced the final words:

“The enemies of the Lord will vanish –
Vanish like smoke.”

Like an autumn leaf falling to the earth he collapsed, his last breath rattling out from between his fangs.

***

In front of the gates of Yasalle, as quick as thought, the Ty'Goth vanished. Only the trampled grass in all direction gave evidence that they had ever cast a shadow on the plain.

***

Doctor Merrill rounded on the princess, madness glittering in his eyes. "I am exceedingly sorry, your Highness," he said, brandishing the knife point. His tone, thin and precise, conveyed every impression except apology.

Jeed's sword rang from its sheath, cutting a wide arc through the air. It sliced through the doctor's neck and sent his head thudding against the wall.

Eve uttered a cry and fell sobbing into his embrace.

Chapter 14

“What have you done?” cried Eve in terror, struggling unsuccessfully to rise to her feet.

“Don’t you like it, my dear? Oh, I think he’s much improved.” Doctor Merrill flexed his fingers. “You see the kind of power I have at my disposal. How far I have come – surely now there can be little doubt that it is I who am most fit to rule. And you – you never even suspected that your savior Archen was an enemy all along!” He laughed to himself, stroking his chin. “Of course, even I was surprised at how well that worked – the spell that disguised him as the King’s slain messenger. I did not foresee how completely he would take on a human nature and forget his old ways. That was a little alarming, at first. But it was necessary, I realized, once I found the King’s letter on the dead man and read about the Sword of Flame. Had there actually been a weapon of such power that it could defeat my armies, it would have wreaked all. But no matter. He’s quite himself again, aren’t you, Kaisef? I know that look. You’re imagining how you’d like to tear me apart, hungering for the feel of my flesh ripping in your teeth. That’s the beast in you – your evil nature coming back. But hold, slave. To what end would you destroy me? Don’t forget, you’re Ty’Goth, and your very life is in my hands. Those pathetic people down there, who this morning you considered your friends, would run you through without a second thought. That’s’ right, animal. Retract your claws with me, if you can. I will have a use for your savagery in a moment.” With a sneer he turned to watch the progress of the battle raging below.

Kaisef remained where he had fallen, his body turned to lead, the fight in him, utterly gone. Every word the doctor spoke was a dagger his heart. It was all true. He was the very thing he loathed.

“Archen!” Eve cried to him in despair. “But – you’re Archen. Aren’t you?”

“Archen is dead,” Kaisef replied in empty tones. “I killed him myself.”

Something touched his hand. He looked, amazed, at Eve’s soft hand lying in his rough palm. She lay on her side facing him, every trace of fear wiped from her face.

“The King will return,” she whispered.

Deep inside Kaisef, something strange occurred. Hope ignited and surged, like the first traces of thaw after a long winter. He wondered at it. I am the King’s enemy. I killed his messenger. His return would only mean my certain death. Why then does my heart jump in hope at her words?

The doctor is wrong, he realized, drawing in a quick breath. Inside this shell of a brute there is a human still, struggling for survival. A human who longs for good to conquer evil, even if it means my own death. So what if the King kills me? Does not a murderous, depraved beast deserve to be killed?

A verse from the Book of Peace came to his mind, and he whispered it back to Eve, his voice growling low, “Though he slay me, yet I will trust in him.”

Instantly, as if in immediate response to his words, a force of conviction flooded his heart and pried open his mind. He thinks the Book of Peace is only a book, but he’s wrong. I read it when no one else could, and I’ve felt its power. It’s a weapon, and it is in my power to wield. While there is a trace of human left in me, why should I not serve the King? He rose to his feet, facing the doctor. I wonder, how many words can I remember before I die? His gravely voice intoned:

"The wicked have drawn their sword and bent their bow
But their sword will enter their own heart
And their bows will be broken."

Chapter 13

Doctor Merrill’s mouth widened into a grin. “A book? A book? Are you quite sure?”

“I am.”

The doctor shook his head and chuckled. “I don’t believe it. All this time, I was afraid of…a book!” He crossed the room to rummage through a volume-lined cabinet, still chuckling. “The last obstacle to my plan, and all this time it was just – a book!”

“Traitor,” Eve said quietly, through clenched teeth.

“Am I, my dear? Or am I a patriot? It all depends on your point of view. The strong rule over the weak, do they not? I have just proven myself stronger than your father. Even he, with all his acclaimed prophetic ability, is no match for a brilliant mind like mine. Yes, it was I who studied the secret of the Ty’Goth and learned the spell that would awaken them. And I who use them now to accomplish my purpose.”

Archen stood to face the doctor. “But you’ve betrayed your King. Your people will be slaughtered—“

“Only as many as refuse to surrender,” the doctor said gently. “All who agree to swear allegiance to me will be spared. History will judge me kindly for that, I believe.”

Archen drew his sword. “History may. I do not.”

“Ah, yes. And now we come to the comedy act of our little play.”

Archen frowned, “What are you talking about?”

“They really made you believe you were something fine, didn’t they? Archen, our hero! The man who would save the world!” He slammed shut the cabinet door and approached the young warrior, one hand concealed in the folds of his robe. “Oh, I do think this will be my favorite part of all.”

***

With a savage cry, the battle was joined before the gates of Yasalle. Clawed hands and feet found holds and began to scale the walls. The archers had done their work and four out of five tumbled to the ground with an arrow through the heart. Yet as the minutes progressed and each dead Ty’Goth was replaced immediately with two living, those brave men on the fortress walls felt their courage begin to melt.

***

Doctor Merrill’s hand shot forward as he cried out, “Revelitas!” A cloud of fine blue powder flew into Archen’s face and the sound of an explosion rocked the room. He collapsed to the ground in white hot agony. The surface of his skin burned, and he felt as if every bone in his body had been broken. He could not see, could not think, as he lay helpless on the floor, waiting for death.

It did not come. Instead, his vision gradually cleared and new strength infused his limbs. As he looked up at the doctor’s mocking smile, he felt the prison walls of his memory crumble away.

In a flash he recalled his nightmare. He had been there, he remembered. He had watched the frightened young man run through the woods, pursued on every side. Archen had waited patiently under the tree for his prey – his prey, the messenger the King had sent! In horror, Archen examined his body, finding not smooth flesh but leathery, reptilian skin and cruel, clawed hands. He felt the sharp fangs of his jaw and heard his own rasping breath.

He remembered it all now – he was a monster. He was a Ty’Goth.

His name was Kaisef. And he had killed the King's messenger.