Children of Chaos - Book 1
8th Chapter

“Life…we never truly appreciate it until it’s gone, do we?”

“Oh, shut up.”

You watched your own body crumple to the floor and, for a brief moment you felt a sick sense of satisfaction. You barely registered the scenery shifting around you, barely noticed the thick tower walls disappearing, and barely noticed the fresh air on your face, in your hair, the magnificent fauna surrounding you. For that brief moment, all you felt was victory. Then reality caught up with you and you fell to your knees, suddenly shaking uncontrollably. Was this what it had come to? Were you the enemy? Were you doomed to destroy everyone? Everyone including you?

“Kyra!”

The familiar voice barely reached you through the thick haze surrounding your mind. You barely registered the hands grabbing your shoulders, pulling you to your feet and into a pair of strong warm arms. You knew these arms, you knew that smell, but at that moment, it seemed far away, like a dream, a story.

“Kyra, it’s ok. We made it. We’re out.”

Out? You weren’t out! It had barely begun. You tried to suppress a sob but failed. The arms around you tightened ever so slightly. You looked up into a pair of deep dark eyes, full of concern and instantly snapped out of whatever state you’d been in, pushing Aidan away as hard as you could.

“Get off me!”. You wanted to shout it, but it came out softly, almost a whisper. You felt your cheeks flush with anger and your fists clench. You closed your eyes and took a deep breath. When you opened them again you felt calmer. You looked up at Aidan who still had one hand on your shoulder and said in a calm, but dangerous voice. “Aidan, please let go.”

He dropped his hand as if burned and took a small step back, hurt in his eyes.

“He meant well”, a gentle, calming voice to your right said, and Megumi’s worried face came into view. You just nodded, ignoring Aidan whose face was stuck in a mixture of shock and hurt, his arms dangling by his side as if he were unsure of what to do with them.

“I apologize. “, you said stiffly, “ I was a bit overwhelmed…”

He dropped his arms and tried for a smile.

“S’ok. We all were when we came out. Well, at least, Emrys, Megi and I were. Ethan and Lynn were out here before me, so it’s hard to tell.”

You nodded and looked over to Lynn who was sitting on a boulder, watching you with a thoughtful expression as she played with a knife in her hand.

“Did you know what we were going to face in there?”

Emrys’ voice was calm, but something in his eyes told you that that was just appearances. You turned towards him remembering his fear, remembering him lose control of his wolf-form and ripping into Lynn. You suppressed a shudder. You had been right about him, he was a shifter, but it would do you no good if he couldn’t control it. In fact, it could jeopardize the entire quest.

“I knew that we would each have to face our fears, but no, Emrys. I did not know what you would face in there exactly. Or I, for that matter.”

“Did everyone…”, he stopped, unsure of what to say.

“Face their nightmares?”, you asked. “I believe so.”

“They’re only nightmares if they’re not real.”

Everyone turned towards Nami. She had spoken quietly, and yet her words hit you like a hammer, making you remember.

“And they weren’t.” Lynn’s voice was a strong, confident contrast to Nami’s gentle words, but they did not pierce you like Nami’s had. The others relaxed, but you couldn’t. You wanted to believe her, but you knew better. At least one of your nightmares had been true.

“I never want to go in there again”, Megumi said, shivering as she wrapped her arms around herself. Aidan pulled her closer and gently rubbed her back, earning a small smile from her.

“Neither do I.” His eyes were distant, remembering whatever he had seen.

“You won’t have to. The way back…is different.”

“Kyra, you said you’d been here before… Was it the same? The tower?”

You looked at Lynn, wondering why she would pose that question, and finally shook your head.

“No. I had different fears then, different regrets, and last time… Well, last time it was one, not three, but I think that’s because I had an amulet last time.”

“Three?!” Megumi looked at you with wide eyes and shuffled closer to Aidan whose hand was still on her back.

“Yeah,”, you looked around, finally taking in your surroundings. It was just as beautiful as it had been the last time, but different, wilder somehow. Like last time, the tower had spat you out in a large stone circle in the middle of the Island. The large stones you were standing on were covered in runes and symbols, moss and plants growing through the cracks. On the outskirts of the circle stood large, beautiful pillars, with plants hanging from them, and the air was filled with the sound of birds singing in perfect harmony. There was a sweet, fresh scent in the air, mixed with the smell of fresh dirt. It was exactly as it had been last time. And that worried you.

Ethan, who had been completely quiet, taking in the surroundings while the rest of you talked, finally spoke up, an odd expression on his face.

“Where are we?”

The rest of the group started looking around, taking in the strange flowers and plants, the stones, the runes.

“We’re in the heart of the island. This is where the tower spat us out the last time.” You turned towards Megumi. “This is your territory, do you feel anything?”

She looked up at you, her dark eyes wide and innocent and you felt a wave of guilt wash over you. She shouldn’t be here, not her. She was kind, sweet, and innocent. She didn’t deserve to be dragged you’re your games. And yet, here she was.

“Well”, she looked around “I do feel something. I can’t really explain it, there are no words, a sense of home, you know?”

Aidan nodded, obviously understanding the sensation while the others just shrugged.

“It’s a great feeling isn’t it?”, he asked, giving Megi a warm smile.

“Yes, it is! But there’s something else…” Her voice drifted off, a small frown on her face.

“What do you mean?”, Aidan asked.

“A sense of wrongness, as if everything’s shifted…I don’t know how else to say it,”, she looked up helplessly, searching for words.

“Lilith.” Everyone turned to look at you. “I told you guys that I’ve been here before, right? Well… I felt it too, then. This used to be a sacred place, a place of old where things were in their original form, untouched by the world, a garden of Eden of sorts until Lilith built her tower and brought her demons and nightmares with it.”

You made a gesture, encompassing all around you and continued. “All of this has been touched by her, tainted. Which is why we need to be careful up here… Things aren’t as they were in the days when the Gods still walked the earth…They’ve been corrupted.”

There was a bitterness in your voice that did not go unnoticed.

“How do you know all this?” Emrys asked one of his eyebrows raised over a cold blue eye.

“Like I said, I’ve been here before.”

“Why?”

You turned towards Megumi, who blushed.

“I mean why were you here the first time, how did you even know of this place?”

“Or the last one, for that matter”, Emrys added. “How do you know where the keys are?”

It was one of those moments when you remembered why you liked solitude. No, questions. You looked around and were met with curious and suspicious faces. You wouldn’t be able to get anywhere until you answered some questions you realized, so you sat down on a boulder and sighed.

“Alright. I know where the keys are because I put a lot of effort into replaceing them. I spent one year traveling the old places, places the Elders told us were off limits, were sacred, or simply didn’t exist, searching for the keys, until I found every single one of them, only to discover that I could not take them. They had to be taken by an heir, someone of the blood, and in the right order as well. Which is why I returned to the Reservoir and had Morgain help me replace you guys. Does that help?”

Emrys and Aidan gave a brief nod each. Lynn and Ethan who already knew all this said nothing, but looked at you, both wearing very different expressions. Ethan’s was a kind smile, showing support and understanding while Lynn looked thoughtful. Nami was staring at a spot in the distance, and you weren’t even sure if she’d heard you at all.

“You didn’t answer the first question.”

You were surprised to hear Megumi point that out. She wasn’t usually one for confrontation and she must have been aware of the fact that you’d left that part out on purpose. You pressed your lips into a thin line.

“I was here when I was looking for the keys.”

A lie. You had been here before your search for the keys before you’d even thought them real, but if you told them that then you would have to tell them everything and that you couldn’t do. You couldn’t tell them that, in a way, this was where it had all begun. That it was in this place you’re your personal hell had been born. You waited for one of them to say something, to call you on it, but they seemed to accept your answer.

There was a shift in the air and a soft breeze caressed your cheek, making your scar tingle. Your shoulders tensed and you looked over at Megumi. Your eyes met hers, now void of any dreaming, completely clear, and a silent message was exchanged. Something was coming. Megumi’s hand flew to the quiver on her left hip, pulling out an arrow just as the first creature descended upon you all. She didn’t even hesitate for a second, and the creature that had been aiming for Lynn fell to the ground. Dead. Impaled by a silver arrow. You barely had time to be impressed, before she’d already put on a second arrow, aiming at the sky. The others, who had been too surprised by the attack to even consider reacting, now sprang into action, drawing their weapons, ready to face whatever was coming at them. Nothing did.

Megumi and you had already relaxed. The tingle in your scar had stopped when Megi hit the creature, and she too must have sensed it in the air. Whatever it was, it had come alone. After a few minutes, the rest of the group relaxed somewhat, moving over to the dead creature to inspect it.

The creature seemed to be a bird of sorts, but where a normal bird would have a tail, this one had another head. It was also a lot bigger than a normal bird, about the size of a cow. It's heads had eagle-like features, but the beaks seemed to be made of iron. It had a pair of huge wings, which too gleamed metallically, and its large talons looked as if they could cut a person to shreds with t he slightest touch. They were also formed in a way that would have made it impossible for the creature to land on an even surface, like the claws on a claw machine. And yet, despite all that, there was a certain beauty about it.

“What on earth is that?”, Lynn asked, awe and fear in her voice. You were about to answer, but Ethan was faster.

“It’s not from earth”, he said, his voice oddly emotionless “It’s an old one.”

“An old one?”, Aidan asked.

“Yeah…right”, Emrys remarked dryly.” We just took out an Old One with one arrow.”

“I believe that we did no such thing”, you replied just as drily. “I believe you froze like a little girl while Megi over here took out an Old One with just one arrow.”

Megumi blushed while Emrys just rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”

“What makes you say that?”, Aidan asked and then quickly added. “That this is an Old One, I mean.”

“Well…”, Ethan mumbled, looking utterly uncomfortable. You decided to jump in.

“This is a temple of Shemayim, and the Old Ones were created to protect the god’s sacred places. It would make sense.”

“You mean the god’s created monsters to protect their places?” Lynn asked, her face thoughtful.

You shook your head.

“No. Not monsters, or at least not in the way you’re thinking. The things we refer to as monsters, such as the Zmey we fought, are actually daemons, Lilith’s children. They are magical, yes, but they are children of Chaos. The Old ones are magical creatures that help bring order into this world. They are the children of the gods, just as we are.”

“Then why did this one attack us?”

Emrys’ question was a good one, and you had no answer for it. It made little sense to you, unless…Unless it had sensed the truth about you. The Old Ones were made to protect the order of all things against the servants of Ereb, and you were his heir. Maybe it had attacked because of you. The thought scared and saddened you. You looked up and met a pair of dark eyes, looking at you thoughtfully. Had Aidan just put together the same thing you had?

“It’s corrupted.”

Megumi spoke for the first time, her face rigid, her eyes blazing with anger, and expression you had never seen on her gentle face before. Aidan broke his gaze and turned towards Megi.

“What do you mean?”

“This whole place. This Old One is a Huma bird, a child of Shemayim. Our legends speak of them as our guardians. They were created to guard the skies, and to look after her people. They were pure, beautiful creatures. They were good, intelligent, and would never attack without a reason. But this one, this one was little more than an animal.”

Her fists were clenched at her sides, and she was shaking with emotion.

“This entire place has been corrupted”, she spat. “I can feel it, feel it in the air, in the plants. This was once a holy place, filled with wisdom and intelligence, but whatever Lilith did to it has destroyed all that. And because of that, I had to kill this beautiful, holy creature.”

Tears were now running down her face as she stared at the dead Huma bird at her feet. You watched as Aidan slowly walked over to her, putting one hand on her shoulder, a strange expression on his face, and wondered when you’d last felt bad about killing something. A bitter memory returned and you clenched your jaw, chasing it away. Megi placed her hand over Aidan's and nodded, and for the first time, you wondered if you had misinterpreted their relationship. The thought made you uncomfortable and so you turned away, interrupting the touching scene.

“We need to get moving.”

Aidan looked up and gave you an incredulous look. The others too looked at you in surprise. Megumi seemed to be the only one who didn’t take offense at your words. Instead, she nodded.

“But we burn the body first. That way I can scatter the ashes over the edge of the garden, the way such a noble creature deserves.”

This time, it was your turn to nod.

You watched as Aidan and Megumi burned and gathered the ashes together, and once they were safely in a bag in Megumi’s backpack you started walking without looking back. The group followed silently. The death of the Old One had rattled you all, Megumi most, and you, perhaps, just as much. You were not entirely convinced that it hadn’t been you, who’d made it attack, and were thus responsible for its death.

You’d been walking for an hour, following a silent pull in your chest to the place you dreaded most of all when Megumi sped up to walk beside you. You looked over at her in surprise, nothing the change that had overcome her since the beginning of this quest. You’d always thought her to be cute, innocent, and a bit silly, but the way she’d handled the attack and reacted to it… Well, it had made you see her a bit differently.

“Are you alright?”

The question surprised you and made you feel uncomfortable. She was surprisingly observant.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

You both knew that you were avoiding the question, but she just shrugged.

“Maybe. But I don’t know. I’m I alright with killing a creature, sacred to my matron goddess? No. But at the same time… That Huma bird was a bit like a rabid dog, there was nothing left of its mind. So perhaps it was an act of mercy to put it down.”

The way she said it you wondered if she was just trying to convince herself, but you nodded, genuinely agreeing.

“Sometimes death can me merciful”, you said, your throat suddenly extremely dry.

She looked over at you.

“What happened to you here Kyra?”

Something in the way she asked, the way it wasn’t curiosity, but genuine concern that made her ask, opened up a crack in your walls and made you answer.

“The last time I was here, I didn’t even know about the keys. Actually, it is here that they were brought to my attention. I came here with”, you hesitated, and, not knowing if your voice would allow it, you continued”…a friend. Someone I loved very much.”

You swallowed, trying to stop the emotions you’d held at bay for so long from bubbling up. But it was hard, here in the place it had all happened.

“That someone didn’t leave with me.”

And that was all you would say. All you could say. You stared ahead, not trusting yourself not to cry, and afraid of what she would say, afraid of her pity. You didn’t want it. And she didn’t give it. She just nodded, as if she understood, and continued to walk beside you in silence. At that moment, you made a decision. You had dragged her into this mess, but if anyone were to walk away from it, it should be her. You looked over at the short girl, watching her long pigtails fly in the wind and made a promise to protect her.

Finally, the forest lightened up and you stepped onto temple grounds. This place must have been magnificent in its prime, but now it reminded you of the pictures you’d seen of Aztec ruins. Overgrown and falling apart. The white marble had crumbled, and the temple building itself had disappeared almost completely, leaving just a few walls and columns rising from the ground. And there, in the middle of that ruin you saw a large tree and at its top an orb of white light. They key.

Megumi next to you took inhaled sharply, her eyes wide, and you could tell that she, just like you, was fighting the urge to run towards it and grab it. The other were still catching up and before they could come into earshot you turned towards her, taking a deep breath.

“Thank you.”

It took a lot of effort to say those words, and you felt uncomfortable, but you were glad you’d said them. She gave you one of her brilliant smiles, the kind that made you feel like the sun was shining just a bit brighter.

“Anytime.”

Then, as the rest of the group stepped onto the temple grounds, the world around you exploded. Except for the Old One at the very beginning, you hadn’t seen a single creature on this island, but now they seemed to be everywhere. The air was suddenly swarming with Huma birds, their eyes just as dull as the ones of the one Megumi had killed, and out of the forest came a swarm of what looked like giant ants. And when you said giant, you meant it. They were as big as goats but smelled a lot worse. Between the huma birds and the monster ants, the seven of you were completely surrounded. As if there had been an invisible signal, the monsters attacked, slowly but surely separating the group.

Megumi had surrounded herself and Aidan with a wall of solid air, keeping the creatures out, but the strained expression on her face gave away that she wouldn’t be able to hold it forever. While she kept up the defense, Aidan played offense, throwing fireballs through the shield, scorching the ants two by two, yet seemingly making no difference in the oncoming flood.

Lynn and Emrys had found some high ground on one of the boulders from the ruin and were now standing back to back. Emrys was shooting at the ants with his pistols, cutting gaping holes in their ranks, while Lynn aimed her crossbow at the sky, shooting the large birds.

You had lost sight of Ethan, but the steady rumbling of the earth, followed by large groups of ants being swallowed whole by the ground, let you know that he was alive and well.

You were fighting your own battle, your blades in your hands as you slashed at the creatures left and right. But for every single one that went down two others followed, their pincers getting dangerously close. Soon you were so surrounded that you barely had time to move. It was time to get out of there. You spotted another boulder, a couple of meters away and let yourself be swallowed by shadows only to appear there. The ants continued to attack the place where you’d been, now attacking each other, giving you some time to catch your breath.

Nami, who was standing a few meters to your left, caught your eye. She was standing over one of the dead monster ants, her eyes closed, a vacant expression on her pale face. What was she doing? There was a battle raging all around you and she was what? Meditating? Now a bunch of the ants had noticed her and, pegging her an easy target, which you couldn’t blame them for, started moving towards her rapidly. You called out to her, but if she heard you she didn’t react. You started moving towards her, but you already knew you’d be too late. There wasn’t enough room near her to dark-walk there, and on foot, you’d be too late.

Just before the ants were upon her, her eyes snapped open and you froze. Her eyes, usually that soft lilac shade were pitch black. But that wasn’t what startled you. As you looked into those eyes you were met with a stare that could only be described as cold. Cold and dead. The monster ants attacked, Nami raised her right hand, and they collided with their formerly dead friend, who now seemed very much alive again. You could barely believe your eyes. Could Nami raise the dead? An endless amount of possibilities flooded your brain and for a split-second there was hope. Hope that was crushed immediately as you paid closer attention to Namis ant. It was moving, fighting, defending Nami, but its movements were stiff, mechanical. It wasn’t alive…It was just a puppet in Nami’s hands.

The two attacking ants fell, only to rise again and form a protective circle around Nami, who seemed to be building her own little army of ant-zombie-puppets. You tore your eyes from the ants, to look at Nami and the twisted smile on her face made you shudder. She was enjoying this. For the first time, you realized why the Elders feared her and wondered if maybe you should fear her too.

You felt it approaching, just a mili of a second before, and so barely avoided having your head torn off. You screamed as a sharp pain tore through your left shoulder. You’d been so engrossed in the spectacle in front of you that you’d stopped paying attention to the battle and that had almost cost you your life. As it was you had lost a perfectly good left shoulder. The huma bird seemed to have decided that you were being left out by all the fun. Your right hand touched your left shoulder and was immediately covered in hot red blood. The talon had barely grazed you, but you could tell that the gash was deep, severing bone and muscle. You tried to lift your injured arm and found that you couldn’t.

“Son of a Sch..”, you swore and dove to the ground just as the bird attacked again. You hit the ground hard, scraping your knees, and jumped to your feet, not wanting to be too exposed, your left arm dangling uselessly by your side. The bird swerved, coming at you again. This time, the bird was aiming for your head, not your shoulder. You ducked again and its razor-sharp talons missed you by mere inches, its massive wings causing your dark hair to blow around your face. You felt another pang of pain in your right leg and looked down. One of the stupid monster ants had just decided that you were his lunch. You’d been hit twice in only a few moments and it was hurting your pride. More than that, you were seriously pissed! Those bastards were going down.

You stabbed the bug through its head, not even bothering to make it let go of your leg, and kicked its lifeless body away with your left foot. Then you turned to face the flying carnivorous chicken. Your shoulder was bleeding and hurt like hell. The same could be said for your leg, and you were angry that this was all taking such a bloody long time. You couldn’t keep paying attention to everyone else because if you did you’d be bird or ant lunch in a couple of minutes and neither of those options were particularly appealing to you. This time, when the Old One attacked, you didn’t duck or dive out of the way. You raised your hand, fingers spread wide. You felt for the darkness slumbering in your chest, slumbering in the shadows around you, gathering it all in the palm of your hand. Then, as the bird was nearly upon you, you let it go, watching dark tendrils shoot out of your fingers, aiming for the bird. It tried to swerve, tried to avoid, but it was too late. The shadowy tendrils wrapped themselves around one of the heads and the left wing. The creature shrieked in fear, but you had no pity left. This may once have been a noble creature, an Old One, but now it was no more than a pest that you needed to be rid of. You made a fist as you pulled your hand towards your chest and watched as the head and wing were ripped from its body, disappearing into the shadows, leaving behind a bloody mess. The bird shrieked one last time then fell to the ground dead.

“Ha”, you said and if you had seen your face, you would have seen a cruel sneer and hard green eyes.

You turned, ready to face the next challenge when something on your left caught your eye. Megumi had dropped her wall of air and was now shooting arrows at the huma birds with breath-taking speed. A part of you remembered how upset she’d been about the first bird she’d killed, and you couldn’t help but feel for her. If killing one such bird had been hard then this must have really cost her. Still she kept going and you admired her for it. Perhaps she was a lot stronger than you’d always thought.

Aidan, who was standing a couple of meters to her right, was fighting as well, but he clearly wasn’t doing so well. He held a flaming sword in each hand, burning and cutting the ants at an incredible speed, but you could tell that he was tiring. He let out a battle cry and spun, creating a circle of fire that went out like a wave, burning up, at least, a dozen of the bugs, and dropped to one knee, breathing heavily. One of the huma birds that had just avoided being skewered by Lynn or Megumi took aim at the seemingly defenseless target. Even from where you were standing you could tell that Aidan didn’t have the strength to fight off the metal claws aiming for his chest.

Panic, pure, overwhelming, panic flooded over you, chasing away every rational thought. You had to get there! Save him! But you were too far away. You wouldn’t make it in time! You could already see it in your mind, the body impaled on those metal claws.

“Nooo!!!”

The cry was yours, Aidan's, everyone's, as the claws tore through soft flesh, lifting the limp body from the ground.