The Lord of Shadows Rises (10 page)

Kira woke up the next morning and saw a white tee shirt and a black robe with a white rose draped across a chair. She put them on and marched out of her tent. Rashid strolled up to her and said, “Kira, come with me. I will be training you first. You will call me Master while I am your instructor.”

“Yes, Master.”

Kira followed Rashid to a circle in the dirt. He held up two wristbands and ankle weights. “Put these weights on your arms and legs.” Kira did as she was told. “We will start with forty pounds on your body and increase them gradually so you can get your strength and speed up.”

“Now, I want you to do fifty pushups and thirty squats. Get to it.”

Kira started her pushups as Rashid watched, and then squats. Kin came to observe Kira.

After an hour of doing exercise, Kin approached a panting Kira. “You did well. Now to build your speed up.”

“Follow me,” said Kin as Kira followed her sister.

They got to a field with a dirt track. “I want you to run two laps with your weights on and I will time you,” said Kin.

Kira walked to the starting line and Kin took out a timer “Go!”

Kira ran around the track twice and got back to the finish line as Kin stopped the timer. “A miles in four minutes and thirty seconds. Not bad for a rookie. It is not fast enough to match even our slowest runner, however.”

Kira was wheezing and her muscles were sore with extreme fatigue. She dragged herself back to her tent and fell onto the cot.

In the main tent, Kin was talking to Rashid. “She has potential to be stronger than any one of us. Has the leadership of the rose replied back?”

“Yes, the elders who are in charge until the new Masters are prepared have sent this letter; they have requested that we try to locate the Orbs with our spies,” said Rashid.

“Send out spies immediately. We have got to secure at least one or else.”

“Yes, Commander.” Rashid bowed and left.

Kin walked to Kira’s tent the next morning. “It’s four A.M Time to continue your training,” Kin said, waking her sister. “Get dressed and meet your instructor at the training ground.”

Kira got dressed and went to the training field. She got there and saw Rashid standing in the middle. “Master Rashid, how are you this morning?”

“I am fine this morning, Kira, and you?”

“Tired.” Kira rubbed her eyes. She let out a yawn.

“Waking up this early is part of your training, I woke up two hours before you and I went to bed at eleven last night.”

“What does that accomplish?” asked Kira.

“Excellent question, Kira,” he praised. “We need your body adjust to little sleep. We must be ready at a moment’s notice for any mission.”

“So what’s on today’s agenda?”

“First we are going to warm up with some basic exercise, and I will do them with you. Ten sit ups, ten pushups, and ten squats,” he said as he sat with her.

After doing the warm up, they stood. Rashid turned to face Kira. “Now we are going to have spar.”

“I want you to come at me with everything you have.” He got into a stance putting one leg in front of the other and palms out in front of his chest.

“Tai Chi, interesting choice,” Kira said as she started to dance like a break dancer. She went for a kick as Rashid blocked and slammed a palm on her shoulder sending Kira to the ground.

“Is that all?” said Rashid as Kira got back up and went for a low sweep. Her kick was grabbed and she was thrown. “You can’t beat me with your limited knowledge,” said Rashid, his posture relaxed. “I will teach you my style while others teach you their styles. We have much more training to do to.”

Kira got up and nodded her head.

***

The Lord of Shadows was sitting on his throne. “Kyral, what have our spies found about the location of the Orbs?”

The small ninja jumped down from the rafter and said, “We have found two of them. One is in China in the Forbidden Palace, guarded by the president’s elite guards. The other one is in a tribal area in Uganda. The one in China is the wind element and the one in Uganda is the earth element.”

“I shall claim the one in China.” The Lord of Shadows then went through a black portal.

In the forbidden palace, the Lord of Shadows walked out of the portal. “Halt,” said a solider with the Chinese Flag on the shoulder. Five more ran out from the palace, semi-automatic guns pointed at the Lord of Shadows.

“It looks like I am outnumbered. Remember what they say about a trapped rat, -we bare our fangs.”

“Shoot him down,” ordered the commander. The Lord of Shadows put his hand up, forming a black barrier. The bullets sank into the barrier.

The Evil Lord charged the soldiers, cutting them down with his sword as the commander fired his machine gun. Nothing touched the Lord of Shadows.

“I was hoping for some kind of challenge,” the Lord of Shadows said as he walked into the palace.

In the Order of White Rose Camp, the masters were sitting in a tent with the more experienced members of the order. “What are the elemental Orbs?” asked Guan.

Bain replied, “They were said to contain the power of the elements. There are five in all, each carefully guarded by a sage or heavily guarded. If the Lord of Shadows collects all five, it will complicate things greatly.”

“Do we know the location of any of them? If we can secure one it will even out the odds a bit,” suggested Lenora.

“One is in the United States guarded by the president of the country,” said Bain.

“Can we retrieve it?” asked Alexander.

Hathaway, who was sitting on Bain’s right side, looked at the newest minted Guardians. “I will contact the president. I did business with his company before his presidential run.”

***

In the Forbidden Palace, the Lord of Shadows tore through the Chinese Special Forces. The Force’s bullets were absorbed by his barrier. Seeing that bullets had no effect, they attacked with their combat knives.

The evil dictator chuckled darkly as a frightened soldier got close with his combat knife, only to have a sword pierce his chest. “I am disappointed. I will now kill you all,” he said rushing forward taking apart the soldiers.

A lone soldier glared at the murderer. “I have called for backup,” the soldier defiantly said right before he was stabbed.

The Lord of Shadows got into the throne room and saw the case holding the green Orb. “At last, the second Elemental Orb.”

He marched out of the palace and saw himself surrounded by five tanks and a platoon of infantry. “Only
five
tanks? I am insulted,” said the evil one. The soldiers had their guns pointed at him.

A man appeared out of the tank. “Surrender yourself, by order of General Tang.”

The Lord of Shadows absorbed the Orb like the one before it and his eyes glowed green. Clapping his hands, he sent a gust of wind at the platoon of infantry sending them back. “Let’s see what the almighty Chinese military can do,” said the evil one as he charged the tanks, slashing his sword through them like butter.

“Shoot him!” They all fired their guns, but the soldiers were shredded by a high powered wind blast.

“Weak.” Opening a portal, he turned around a second after and saw the injured general and said, “Tell your president this was just a taste of things to come.” He then disappeared through the portal leaving massacred soldiers behind.

Chapter 13: The Beginning of the Norwegian Invasion

Kyral stood in front of the temple facing his fifty thousand soldiers. “Let us conquer Norway.” The soldiers held up their guns with shouts.

They attacked quickly, overcoming the northern half of Norway, killing all those who stood in their way.

In Oslo, the Prime Minister was in a meeting with his cabinet when a soldier burst in and spoke out of breath, “Sorry to interrupt, Prime Minister.”

“What is going on?” Prime Minister asked.

“The northern cities have been attacked. We don’t know by who,” said the panicked soldier. Everyone look around in shoch

“Do we have our airfields?” asked the Prime Minster.

“No, Mr. Prime Minister, they have all been taken,” the soldier replied.

“What do they look like?” asked the Prime Minister. “Any identifying insignia?”

The solider regained his breath and said, “From what I have been told, they have black leather armor and they carry the Symbol of Darkness on their chest plates.”

The Prime Minister closed his eyes and sighed. “I know who attacked our cities.”

“How would you know?” a member of the cabinet asked in disbelief.

“They have attacked us before. As Prime Minister, I have access to a historical account of the battle that occurred two hundred years ago that they kept of the history books,” said the Prime Minster.

“So who is the aggressor?” asked another member.

“The Lord of Shadows,” grimly said the Prime Minister.

“What are we going to do?” asked the minister of defense.

“We are going to fight. Mobilize all military personnel for full combat status!”

***

At the Sharp Thorn camp, Kira was sparring with Rashid. She sent a palm thrust to Rashid who blocked it and motioned her to end the spar. “You have improved by leaps and bound in the last month.”

“Thank you, Master Rashid.” She grabbed a towel off a post.

A man ran up and said, “Commander Kin wants all warriors in a meeting. It‘s an emergency.”

The two headed to the command tent. Crowded inside the tent were warriors from the camp.

“Scout report,” said Kin.

A man knelt before the commander. “Commander Kin, I have heard from my informant in Norway. The Lord of has launched an attack.”

“He is moving too fast, as well as recklessly, unless he is confident of his successes,” said Rashid.

Kin sighed. “Nevertheless, we must send some help. I need some volunteers for a mission that will be very dangerous.”

Kira stepped forward and said, “I will be honored to take this mission.”

Seeing this, ten more volunteers stepped forward.

“Kira, I am placing you in charge,” said Kin.

Kira was shocked. “Why me? I only just joined you and renounced my ties to the Lord of Shadows. Yet you trust me to lead your soldiers?”

“I think it is time to give you a field test, Kira, and see what you can do,” said Kin.

Kira looked down at her feet unsure of herself and said. “What is the mission?”

Kin explained. “We need you to lead a mercy mission to evacuate the southern towns in Norway.”

“Did the Prime Minister request it?” asked Kira.

“He did. He requested we try to save as many civilians as we can,” said Kin.

“I accept the mission,” said Kira with pure determination.

“One more thing, Kira. Only engage if there is no escape. The evacuation is our main priority.”

Xxx

Near Oslo, the Norwegian military had taken a lot of casualties from the army of Darkness advance. The modern weapons had little to no effect against armor full of mystic energy. The Army of Darkness advanced up to city limits then stopped. “Lord Kyral, why are we stopping?” asked a soldier.

“Simple,” said Kyral. “The Lord of Shadows is sending reinforcements to our location.”

In the residence of the Prime Minister, the leader was listening to his commander. “They have stopped at the city limit, sir.”

“General, I need you to help with the evacuation of the citizens. Then I want you and my cabinet to leave the country,” the Prime Minister ordered.

“What about you, sir?” asked the general. “You should leave as well.”

“I will stay here and hold the commander of the aggressors off.”

“Sir, we must make sure you escape.”

“No, I will do what I can for the citizens that elected me. You have your duties and I have mine,” said the Prime Minister resolutely. “One more thing, commander. Several people wearing black robes with a white rose emblem on the chest will be arriving before you. Have them assist with the evacuation."

The general walked out of the palace heading to the battlefield. The prime minister sighed.
I will do what I must to make a stand,”
he thought.

The general got to his soldiers and ordered them to cover the civilian retreat south. A private ran up. “General, we have people wishing to talk to the commanding officer.”

“Send them to my tent. The Prime Minister was expecting them to show up."

“Yes, sir,” said the soldier.

Kira was escorted to the tent by a soldier. Her comrades were held back to make sure they were not a threat. “Thank you for this audience, General Howard.” Kira said showing respect.

“I was told you were on your way here,” said Howard “The Prime Minister wants you to help with the evacuation of the citizens.”

***

Kyral was sitting in his tent as a scout appeared from the flaps. “General Kyral, I bring news.”

“Yes, report. And for your sake it better be worthwhile,” Kyral said. The scout gulped. “Well, what is the report?”

“I did a reconnaissance of the capital outskirts and have seen soldiers getting ready for an evacuation of the capital and all surrounding areas.”

“Well done. You bought yourself more time in my fold.” said Kyral.

“What are your orders, General Kyral?” said the nervous soldier.

“We will wait and attack when we get our reinforcements,” said Kyral. “They will appear in two days tops. Then we shall eliminate all opposition. Dismissed.” The solider saluted and walked out. When outside, the scout breathed in a sigh of relief and was glad to be out of sight of his commander’s oppressive presence.

***

The panic of the people was great as cars and buses left the city in droves. The soldiers made sure there was not a widespread hysteria.

Kira looked around the empty street. “Status report,” she ordered through a headset.

“Most of the civilians have evacuated the city. Just a few stragglers left."

“Are you with the Prime Minister?” she asked.

“Yes Ma’am, we are in position.”

“I will join you shortly,” said Kira.

She was headed to the Prime Minister residence when a soldier ran up. “The enemy has begun their attack,” cried the solider.

“Get the order from the commander. I will assist in holding them off.”

Suddenly Kira heard a muffled cry. She rounded a corner of a building, following the sound. On the front porch of a house sat a small boy of about five years old with tears staining his face. “Where are your parents?”

“I don’t know,” cried the boy.

“Don’t worry. You can come with me. My name is Kira and I will get you to safety. Just stick with me, okay?”

“Okay,” replied the child and she scooped him up onto her back. “I am Jon.”

Kira watched as the sound of fighting began.
I thought we had more time,
she wondered, worried.

“Ma’am, the Prime Minister has ordered every soldier to retreat at once, including us,” said a man in her headpiece. “He had some men place some surprise in the city.

“We were told by our commander not to engage unless we are attacked. We will pull back with the military. What about the Prime Minister?”

“He is staying until everyone is out,” said the general through the headset.

“Everybody fall back to the south,” General Howard ordered as what was left of the military withdrew out of the city.

"General Kyral, the enemy has left the city.”

“Advance and kill anyone that was left behind,” Kyral said.
“This is too easy,”
he thought.

The soldiers stormed the city and headed to the residence of the Prime Minister. They saw the Prime Minister sitting behind his desk. “You are not welcome here; I will take as many of you as I can out.” He then pressed a button under his desk setting off bombs within the city and his house killing over half of the Shadow Army that was in the city.

In the distance, the surviving army watched somberly as their capital went up in a blaze. “Everyone head to Denmark; the world is to be at war soon,” said General Howard.

Xxx

Kyral was standing in front of his master. “Norway has been taken, my Lord.”

“Too bad the Prime Minister destroyed his capital as well as himself,” replied the Lord of Shadows.

“What do you mean, my Lord?” asked Kyral.

“His death will inspire other countries to fight harder against us.” The Lord of Shadows smiled wryly. “It makes little difference whether it is one or a million soldiers who oppose us.”

“What shall we do?” asked Kyral.

“We will strike Sweden quickly; we have tripled size of our armies with alchemy and the weaponry we have attained,” said the Lord of Shadows.

“Let me finish Scandinavia, my Lord.” Kyral said.

The Dark Lord chuckled. “My, aren’t you eager, Kyral. Very well, take over Sweden and other nations you like,” ordered the Dark Lord.

Kyral bowed. “Yes, my Lord.”

***

Kira was running to the refugee camp in Denmark Jon was on his back. “We are almost there, Jon.” Her comrades were ordered to report back to Kin while Kira escorted and protected the little boy she had rescued. She arrived at the edge of the North Sea. “We will rest at the hotel up ahead and then get a ferry to the camp.”

They got to the hotel and saw that it was deserted. “Everyone must have left.”

Kira took keys from behind the desk, found the room, and placed the boy on the bed. “Get some rest, little one; we will find your mother.”

“Miss, I am scared.” He pulled the sheet up to cover his face.

“Call me Kira,” she told him gently.

She sighed and started to hum a lullaby until the boy fell asleep.

After walking down to the first floor, she sat in the foyer and closed her eyes.

During the night Kira heard footsteps coming down. “Miss Kira, I can’t sleep.”

Kira sighed and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Mommy used to tell me a story before I could fall asleep.”

“Alright I will tell you a story of a young girl who lost her way.” Kira sat the boy sat on her lap and began to tell a story:

“Once upon a time, there was a young girl named Jane who did not know who her parents were. She was raised by a man known in his village for being a bad guy. Teaching his way to Jane, she lost the right path and did many bad things, like stealing things that did not belong to her. One day, she met a kind monk while out in a market thinking about stealing some fruit. The monk was meditating on a rug and he grabbed her hand just as she was about to steal an apple. The monk held on to her tightly and he stopped her from doing a bad thing and do you know what he said?” asked Kira.

Jon shook his head. “The monk told Jane this: ‘Despite your past, you must look to the future and make a better one for you and everyone.’ After that Jane gained a new purpose in life. She ran away from the bad man and from then on, she did only good things in the world. She never forgot the monk who gave some advice which she would always carry with her,” Kira said with a smile.

Kira looked down and saw Jon sleeping on her lap.
Is this what it is like to have a child and someone to protect?
she thought. Kira head up stair and places Jon in the bed She knew tomorrow would be a long day.

The next day, Kira got to a ship and paid the ferry to get to Denmark. After three days, they arrived at the refugee camp and there she was able to reunite the boy with his mother who had been frantically searching for her son after they got separated in the evacuation of the city.

After squeezing the boy to her chest, the mother said to Kira, “Thank you so much for finding my boy. We were separated and one of the soldiers told me they would look for him. I almost gave up hope.”

“I was happy to.” Kira smiled as she watched the mother and son have their reunion.

The young boy escaped from the crush of his mother’s arms and ran up to Kira. He hugged her and said, “Thank you, Miss. Kira.”

“It was my honor to keep you safe.”