The Last War (Book #9 of the Sage Saga) (2 page)
Read The Last War (Book #9 of the Sage Saga) Online
Authors: Julius St. Clair
The Obsidian Saga:
Copyright © 2015 by Julius St. Clair
All rights reserved. This story or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, objects and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locations are coincidental and should not be taken seriously.
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The Sorcerer's Blade (Book #3 of the Seven Sorcerers Saga)
Chapter 5 – Sons and Daughters
Chapter 13 – I’ll Be Home for the War
Chapter 14 – The Sorcerer’s Gambit
Chapter 16 – The Rightful King
Chapter 18 – Any Plan is Better Than None
Twenty years ago
The Great Collision occurred.
Between Paradise (Heaven),
Oblivion (Hell),
And Terra (Earth).
Once thought to be spiritual planes,
It was discovered that Paradise and Oblivion were actually very physical worlds.
Now they are connected
And all the people
Are sharing the same atmosphere, but not the same ideals.
War is Here.
And fearing the great conflict ahead,
both Paradise and Oblivion dispatch their warriors.
Paragon has their private army: supernatural soldiers from Terra known as Sages
But they are not enough.
Cimmerian has its vast armies
But they are weak.
The Delilah have their secrets
But they will soon be discovered.
The only ones who can truly turn the tides
Are still in hiding.
The Seven Sorcerers—ancient warriors that are revered as gods—wait in the shadows,
Uncertain of which side to take.
James and Catherine seek to overcome their burdens while war surrounds them.
Old friends hunt them.
Old enemies watch in wait.
And they are not the only ones targeted for execution.
Few are prepared for the battles ahead.
So very few…
This was why the Quietus were seen as animals, he was sure of it. It wasn’t their intimidating presence or their strange appearance. Those notions were easily discarded as it was common knowledge that the Quietus were able to revert back to a human form. The stories and myths of the Quietus were essentially likened to that of werewolves. Nothing more than humans with the power to transform into beasts.
They were considered animals because of their actions. The way that they would fight against impossible odds for sport. The way that they would absorb others. The way they foamed at the mouths when they were in their berserker state, gnashing their sharp teeth and pawing at the ground feverishly.
James was half-Quietus so he understood some of the urges, but the foaming? The pawing? The rabid state? He didn’t have a clue as to what that was all about until now. Now that he had actually dipped his toe in the pool of the dark side, he realized the cause of the fever.
Absorbing another person tainted the soul.
As memories flooded into his mind that weren’t his own, he groaned and clawed at a nearby tree with his bare hands—his fingernails scraping against the surface and splintering his soft, tender skin underneath.
Without realizing it, he opened his mouth wide and bit the tree in front of him, taking in a mouthful of bark, dirt, insects and spore. He gagged and spat out the contents. He nearly regained control of his thoughts when more memories slapped against the side of his skull like a sledgehammer.
His sharp fangs reappeared and he bit the tree again, chomping into it harder than before. He couldn’t take it. He couldn’t sort out what memories were his anymore. All he could do was wait for the pain to subside like an addict going cold turkey. He whined and tears began to stream down his eyes as he sensed movement nearby.
His instincts were to chase whatever it was and chomp into that instead of the tree, but he had enough willpower to squash that feeling at least. Deep down, he already knew what it was.
Catherine sighed heavily as she adjusted herself into a more comfortable position. The cluster of tree branches that she was sitting on up above James was beginning to cut into her skin and though she didn’t want to distract her husband, she knew she had to move.
They had been there for over a week, and though she knew that it was essential for James to get over his condition, she was pretty bored.
Arimus and the other Sages had probably gone by now. She had asked them to do so. The Ancient Knights, after all, weren’t what she thought they were. It was all one big masquerade, as many things in her life had been. The only constant in her life had been James, and now he was weighing on her mind more heavily than ever.
She never expected him to be in such a vulnerable position. He had always been so foolishly confident and jovial that she concentrated her worries on other matters, knowing that at any moment, she could take herself away from her duties and turn to him for comfort, fun and peace. What would life be now? If the visions and memories didn’t go away? She didn’t know enough about Quietus physiology to know for sure what would happen next.
“Ow, I think have a splinter in my gums,” she heard him groan.
She couldn’t help but giggle. He looked up at her and smiled. That familiar smile—so cute, mischievous and smug that she didn’t know whether to pinch his cheeks, kiss him, or slap him. Who else could make her emotions fluster up into a whirlwind like that?
“Spell over?” she asked from above.
“Yeah, come on down,” he called, scratching the crown of his head. “What was I doing this time?”
“Biting trees,” she laughed as she leapt down. Saying it made it sound even more ridiculous.
“Oh yay,” he chuckled as she landed beside him. His face softened. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m a little bored,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “But otherwise I’m okay. Not hungry or anything. I’ve been finding some great fruit. Got to love Paragon for that.”
“I feel like I’m reaching the end of it,” he said. She didn’t say anything, but all she could think about was how he had said the same thing for the last four days.
“That’s good,” she said instead, so she wouldn’t discourage him. “Hey, while you’re in that state, can you sense anything that’s going around us? Do you know if there is a battle nearby, for example?”
“Itching to fight?” he laughed, putting his hands on his hips.
Catherine gave him a curt smile. “Kind of. I was just wondering.”
“Unfortunately, when I’m like that, I can’t think of much beyond what’s going on with me. Sorry. But…if you want to go, I would understand.”
“You wouldn’t even have gotten this far without me,” she said, punching his arm playfully. It was sweaty. She winced and wiped her hand on the sleeve of her shirt.
“It’s true,” he admitted. “I’m so happy you’re here.”
“Of course,” she said, then she cleared her throat. She was ready to change the subject, but she wasn’t sure what to talk about. Waiting for him to get over what he did…it was like they were both stuck in limbo. It was like an itch that couldn’t be scratched. She was just ready for them both to move on.
“I think—” James stopped and scowled. “Hey, do you hear that? Sounds like thumping.”
“What?” Catherine asked him, spinning around. She didn’t see anything but the same cluster of trees in front of them. “Thumping? What causes…a heartbeat? Are you hearing a heartbeat?”
“Maybe,” he muttered, sniffing at the air. His eyes were beginning to blink rapidly.
“Are you about to transform?” she asked.
“No, no,” he said, waving a hand at her. “You don’t have to worry.”
“Well, let me know if you get the urge…is there anything else besides the heartbeat? It could be an animal.”
“No, this one is irregular. It’s like…someone is nervous but they’re trying to still their breathing at the same time. Someone’s here. No…I’m wrong. It’s not irregular. I’m picking up multiple heartbeats.”
“A group?” Catherine asked. She didn’t waste any time. Her purple Sage robe blinked into existence as James wrapped a hand around her wrist.
“Let’s see what they want,” he said. “I’m still not myself. I don’t want to fight them if I don’t have to.”
“Then I will,” she said with a frown. “I can handle myself.”
“They’re strong,” he said with a shudder. “They smell dangerous.”
“So am I,” she said adamantly.
“Hello!” they heard someone say from behind them, making them both jump in the air in surprise. Catherine clutched her chest as James clenched his jaw. He tried not to leap at the intruder.
“Hey there,” the intruder said, lifting her hands in surrender. “I’m sorry to startle you. I just wanted to greet you before you attacked my back-up. Don’t worry. They won’t move any closer unless you fight with me.”
“Who are you?” Catherine demanded. The purple haired girl with the sunglasses smiled as she wiped her sweaty palms on her little black dress.
“I’m Atianna,” she said. “And I just want to talk.”
“You don’t look like a fighter,” James said and Atianna frowned at him.
“Have you seen me fight? No. So, I would be careful about…okay, let me back up. I’m here to ask you a few questions. I really don’t want to fight.”
“Shouldn’t we be the one asking the questions?” Catherine asked. “You’re the one intruding on our space right now.”
“Please,” Atianna sighed. “Hear me out…I need to know. What happened to the, um, men at the fortress near here? “
“They’re dead,” James said flatly.
“Dead?” she asked. “We can’t find any trace of them. Do you know what happened exactly? There’s no bodies.”
“We were there, and we fought them,” Catherine said. “What they were doing there was horrible. Making people from Terra into breeders…how could they justify that being okay?”
“So, you two are the ones that beat them?” Atianna said. “Wow, you two must be pretty strong.”
“Something like that,” Catherine said. “Now, we have a couple questions for you, if you don’t mind.”
“Unfortunately, I do.” The intruder snapped her fingers and suddenly Catherine and James were pushed to their knees. A pair of arms keep their arms behind their back while someone else kept a blade at their throats respectively.
“What is this?” James asked as he tried to see the attackers out of the corner of his eye. They were making a great effort to keep their faces hidden. Catherine took a deep breath and stared up at Atianna.
“I thought you said you didn’t want to fight.”
“I don’t,” Atianna replied. “And we’re not. You’re coming with us. I need to find out how much of your story is true, and I’m only going to get the truth if I extract it using my personal methods. To answer your question, no, I’m not a fighter, but I have other talents.”
“The Ancient Knights were horrible,” James said. “They have no interest in protecting anyone. All they care about are themselves.”
“Well, that’s not true,” she yawned. “At least not all. Those Knights back there? They were exiled from the real Order, just like we were. Yes, we use the name to get further along in life, but we dare not actually claim to be part of that pompous sect.”
“So they’re out there?” James asked in hope. “The real ones?”
“What do you mean real ones? We’re real too, you know. Just because they’re in the majority, that doesn’t mean they are the epitome of what a Knight should be.”
“You’re no Knight,” James chuckled, shaking his head. “You’re an imposter. It’s like a kid that releases his eidolon for the first time. It doesn’t mean you’re a Sage.”
“Is that what you are?” Atianna scoffed. “A Sage? How was a Sage able to kill one Ancient Knight, let alone several? Sages are barely a century old.”
“It’s because I’m not your average Sage,” James smiled. He bare his teeth at Atianna and it took her a moment to notice, but her eyes widened once she saw the sharp, pronounced lines.
“What are you then?”
“What you fear,” James growled. A stream of liquid tar-colored skin erupted from his shoulders and slid down his forearms, making the grip of his captors slippery. Their hands slid off and he spun his body around, sweeping their legs out from under them. His face met theirs as they hit the ground. There were three of them behind him, and another two behind Catherine—one of which who were heading over to help his men.
James met him head on and leapt onto his chest, sending him into the ground before he could withdraw his sword. James bit into his throat with his fangs as he continued to transform and Catherine summoned her eidolon, twitching it to the side slightly so that it nicked the leg of the man holding her arms back. It was enough to throw him off guard.
She spun around on her knees and sliced through both of his legs, sending him onto his back. She leapt to her feet and stabbed him in the chest before he could retaliate.
James was in full Quietus form now, and the men knew they were cornered. James took the scythe attached to his left arm and severed the heads of his attackers one by one, then he turned to Atianna.
She didn’t look impressed. “Those weren’t Knights,” she muttered. “Those were some of my personal escorts taken from the pool of breeders at the fortress.”
“You can’t have kids,” Catherine said. “You’re a Deja. All the Knights are.”
“I use them as pawns and servants,” Atianna said, clenching her fists. “But what does it matter to you? You’re going to be dead in a couple minutes. After you tell me how you killed my friends.”
“I can show you,” James said and Catherine grabbed the side of his neck with her bare hand.
“Stay in control,” she growled.
“So you’re the one,” Atianna said, looking to James. “What did you do? Huh? I can tell that based on your form you must be…oh, I see. That’s how you did it, you monster. They’re inside you, aren’t they? AREN’T THEY?!”
“They say hello,” James spat at her.
Catherine slapped him on the back. “Don’t say that! Don’t provoke her.”
Tears were already beginning to stream down Atianna’s face past the sunglasses. “They were my family, you know? They were all I had.”
“We did it out of necessity,” Catherine said. “Not because we wanted to. And we don’t want to fight you either. We can go our separate ways.”
“And what?” she cried. “I have nothing to live for! And if there is anything beyond this existence, they wouldn’t even be there. I want to be absorbed!”
“No!” Catherine snapped at her. “That’s not going to happen.”
“Not if you have no choice,” Atianna said darkly. “I have information…information that you desperately need if you have any hope of surviving what’s to come. The Night of Souls has begun.”
“What the heck is that?”
“The end of the world in a nutshell,” Atianna laughed. “And there’s nothing you can do about it unless you can see what’s in my head.”
“He’s not going to do that,” Catherine said.
“I need to be with them,” Atianna pleaded, stretching the tips of her fingers out toward them. “You don’t understand. The man I love is in there.”
“I’m sorry that you have to go through this,” Catherine lamented. “But it’s not going to happen.”