CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Phaelenx
Phaelenx, Selene, and Aine made their way inside the castle. There were loud sounds – bangs and booms and explosions – from nearly every angle, and Phaelenx was just able to pull Selene and Aine out of the way as a large wardrobe crashed into the stone hallway.
“What is happening?” Aine cried in a high voice. “Selene, what’s going on?”
“Hush!” Selene said sharply. She picked up her skirts with both hands and ran into the great hall.
Phaelenx took Aine by the shoulder and gripped her tightly. “Aine, you must find a safe place for yourself,” he said in a low voice. “You could get hurt!”
Aine stiffened in Phaelenx’s grasp. “I do not care,” she said with a sniff. “I want to help.”
Phaelenx sighed and nodded. He knew there was no time to argue. “Fine,” he said. “Keep your head down!”
The sight that awaited Phaelenx in the great hall was enough to stop him dead in his tracks. Queen Zornaya was standing in front of her throne, her hands waving in the air before her. A cloud of blue smoke emerged from her hands and filled the air with a potently foul smell.
“Die!” Zornaya yelled. The queen looked distressed. Her face was twisted into a scowl and her long dark hair flowed behind her in a mass of tangles.
A high, cold, evil laughter filled the hall. Phaelenx gasped as Taryn floated into sight. She no longer looked beautiful – her pale skin had turned sallow and her red hair looked lifeless on her head. Before Phaelenx’s eyes, she transformed into a withered old crone with bright green eyes and a toothy grin.
“You have fallen prey to me,” she yelled. “For I, Namaya of Glasule will see your kingdom in ruins before the day is through!” She raised her hands in the air and a small army of tiny people appeared – their skin was gray and rotting, and the stench of death filled the main hall. The undead warriors moved forward, staggering on their feet. As they came closer and closer to Phaelenx, Selene, and Aine, Phaelenx reached for the dagger at his side and gripped it tightly in one hand.
“Phaelenx!” Selene yelled above the din. “We have to fight them! We have to kill them!”
Gritting his teeth, Phaelenx leaped forward and sliced at the air with his dagger. He sliced and cut at the small undead figures. Wounds and gashed appeared in their gray skin, and limbs fell to the floor. But to his horror, the undead people kept moving forward, obviously undeterred by the physical damage to their bodies.
Namaya threw her head back and cackled. “You are all fools!” She yelled loudly. “And now, I am the most powerful sorceress in the world! I will kill you all, and leave your corpses as a warning! And for generations, your descendants will be my slaves!”
Phaelenx lunged again with the knife, slicing and dicing at the undead. Finally, his blade decapitated one of the undead men and the figure crumpled to the ground. But for each undead person that Phaelenx was able to kill, Namaya conjured ten more.
“This isn’t working!” Selene shrieked angrily. She pulled her cloak off and tossed it to the ground before darting to Queen Zornaya’s side and screaming curses at Namaya. Phaelenx watched, spellbound by the anger and hatred on Selene’s beautiful face as she assisted Namaya in the battle against the undead.
Out of the corner of his eye, Phaelenx saw Aerdan dart into the hall. He was brandishing a long sword. When he saw Phaelenx, he yelled loudly. Phaelenx ran to his side.
“There are armor and weapons in the great hall,” Aerdan panted. “Grab whatever you can, please!”
Phaelenx didn’t have to be told twice. Turning on his heel, he ran into the hall and grabbed a huge mace from its place on the wall. Gripping it with both hands, he returned to the scene of the battle and launched himself at the waves of undead people. He swung the mace through the air, watching with satisfaction as the gray, undead bodies fell before him.
“You can do that all you like!” Namaya cried in a high voice. She glared at Phaelenx. “But I am stronger, don’t forget it!”
Phaelenx fought and fought until sweat was streaming down his face and stinging his eyes. It was second nature to him, killing – but this was different. This was like nothing Phaelenx had ever experienced before. But as hard as he worked, Namaya worked harder. It seemed effortless for her – all she had to do was wave her hands through the air and call a few simple words for waves of the dead to appear.
Finally, Phaelenx dropped the mace to the ground. He bared his hands and leaped at the undead, grabbing one in his hands and ripping it apart until a disgusting green liquid spewed from the thing’s eyes and nose.
“Phaelenx!” Selene yelled. “Be careful!” There was a note of panic in her voice. Phaelenx growled as he threw the body of the undead to the ground and reached for three more. He was so large that the undead men only came up to his waist, but their razor-sharp teeth and gray eyes were more than enough to frighten him. Still, he kept fighting and fighting. He felt his strength beginning to fade, but Phaelenx didn’t let that slow him down. He reached for the mace again and swung it in a circle, taking out seven undead men at once.
The battle in the great hall was the bloodiest thing Phaelenx had ever seen. All sorts of foul smells – sweat, blood, and desperation – filled the hall and Phaelenx charged at wave after wave of undead men.
Namaya stood close to Queen Zornaya, cackling evilly. “You are beginning to lose strength!” She cried triumphantly. She turned to Phaelenx and snapped her fingers in the air.
Intense, torturous pain racked Phaelenx’s body. He dropped to his knees and howled in rage and pain as the agony seared his skin like a powerful burn. Fight her, Phaelenx thought. You have to fight her off, or she’s going to make sure you can’t even get up! He summoned every inch of strength in his body and mind and got to his feet, bracing against the pain like he was on a ship in the middle of a storm at sea. It was tremendously difficult, but Phaelenx waded through the pain and swung the mace through the air.
Undead bodies went flying, smacking against the walls and ceiling.
Selene and Queen Zornaya fought as best as they could, but each time Phaelenx looked over, he felt more nervous and scared than before. Selene was obviously losing her strength, and she’d been hit in the face. Blood gushed from a cut on her forehead, and even though Phaelenx knew it probably looked worse than it was, he couldn’t help but feel distracted and anxious knowing she was hurt.
“Selene, keep fighting!” Phaelenx yelled. He reached for his dagger and sliced viciously at the wave of undead. No matter how many bodies he felled to the ground, there was another six to take its place. I can’t keep doing this, Phaelenx thought as he sighed with exhaustion. I’m going to collapse, and then what?
He didn’t want to think of what happened next. Stepping away from the undead bodies littering the floor, Phaelenx made his way behind Namaya. She was throwing curses and hexes left and right, and Selene and Queen Zornaya were dodging them like vicious insects. Phaelenx bared his hands and approached the sorceress. He felt a cold chill of fear. Just touching her could kill me, Phaelenx thought as he stepped behind the sorceress and held his hands high in the air. She could curse me, keep me alive in a coma for hundreds or years. Put me in the dungeons to rot. Or worse, torture Selene right in front of me, knowing I’d be powerless to stop her!
When Selene realized what Phaelenx was about to do, she screamed.
But it was too late. Phaelenx reached out and put his hands on Namaya’s shoulders, pushing her down on the ground. She was much stronger than she looked, but he was still able to overpower her. Namaya’s face twisted in rage as she spat and fought and kicked like an animal.
“Let me go, you Zhekan savage!” Namaya yelled. “What are you doing?”
“Selene, help me!” Phaelenx yelled. “You have to attack her while she’s down!”
Phaelenx pinned Namaya to the stone ground. She was still cursing and spitting, but Phaelenx managed to dodge her evil words and sparks. He wrapped a hand around her throat and closed his fingers.
Selene and Queen Zornaya rushed to his side. The queen removed a staff from her side and pointed it down at Namaya.
“You have brought havoc and chaos to my land,” the queen said. Her voice was deadly calm, and almost impossible to hear over the din of the fighting. “And for that, you shall die.” Queen Zornaya pointed the end of the staff at Namaya’s neck and cried a loud curse.
A loud boom! filled the great hall. Green smoke floated from Queen Zornaya’s staff, covering Namaya’s prone body in a heavy fog. She struggled for a few seconds under Phaelenx’s grasp, then went limp.
Suddenly, the undead vanished. The hall was eerily quiet.
“Is she…” Phaelenx asked cautiously.
“Dead?” Queen Zornaya asked. “I hope so,” she said haughtily, putting her staff back at her side.
Phaelenx shuddered. He was afraid to release his grip on Namaya’s neck.
“You may release her,” Queen Zornaya said. “I am quite sure she is dead.”
The queen looked relieved and exhausted as Phaelenx reluctantly took his hands from Namaya’s body and got to his feet.
Selene launched herself at Phaelenx, throwing her arms around his neck. He wiped the blood from her forehead before pressing his lips to her face and kissing her.
“I cannot believe it,” Selene said softly. She collapsed against Phaelenx. “How did you do that?”
“Yes,” Queen Zornaya echoed. She coughed and Selene and Phaelenx sprang apart. “A normal man – even a man of great strength, such as yourself – would not have been able to hold a witch to the ground.”
Phaelenx took a deep, shuddering breath.
“Wait a moment,” the queen said. She frowned, stepping forward. “Are you Phaelenx Cobbler, son of Darius and Tryphaena?”
Phaelenx nodded. “Aye, your majesty,” he said. He lowered his eyes. “Forgive me – I did what I thought what was best.”
Queen Zornaya was silent for a long moment. “I know,” she said. “Your mother was a very powerful witch in her day. Has your father mentioned her?”
Suddenly, Darius’s words of weeks ago came rushing back to Phaelenx: Tryphaena was a powerful witch. ‘Tis a pity you inherited none of her seeing.
“I never knew my mother,” Phaelenx said softly. “My father has…only told me a bit.”
Queen Zornaya nodded. “Thank you,” she said in a quiet voice. “Without you – and your late mother’s gift – that would have been the end of Zheka.”
Selene was looking at Phaelenx with an awestruck expression. “Why, you never told me that,” she said. “How could you have kept that from me?”
Phaelenx frowned.
“She was powerful enough to give her son a very wonderful gift,” Queen Zornaya said. She looked sober and stern. “And your gift is what saved our kingdom. Phaelenx Cobbler, you are truly a hero. Most Zhekan men do not possess an ounce of magic. Tell me, child – how long have you been aware of this gift?”
“I never knew,” Phaelenx said.
“But you threw yourself at her,” the queen continued. “Why would you have done that? You could have died.”
“I had to protect what I love,” Phaelenx said simply. Behind Queen Zornaya’s back, Selene caught his eye and smiled.
Before Queen Zornaya could reply, the doors of the hall flung open. Baelan ran inside, looking around. His hair was sticking up in wild tufts all over his head.
“Where is she?” Baelan asked. “Where is the lady Taryn?”
Selene and Phaelenx exchanged a nervous glance.
Queen Zornaya cleared her throat. “Baelan, please. Sit down.”
Baelan shook his head. “Tell me! She left days ago, with no word! I haven’t been able to find her, or talk to her!”
“Baelan, the lady Taryn is no more,” Queen Zornaya said gently. She took his hand. “She was a deceitful witch.”
Baelan blinked. Anger crossed his face, but Phaelenx knew he wouldn’t be stupid enough to question the word of the queen.
“What happened?”
Selene stepped forward. “Baelan, Taryn was an evil sorceress. She was from Glasule. The witch, Namaya.”
Baelan blinked again. “What?”
“You heard your sister,” Queen Zornaya said gently. “She did not lie to you, Baelan.”
Baelan’s face fell. His jaw dropped and he fell to his knees on the stone ground, covering his face as he began to weep.
“This is all my fault,” Baelan wailed. “If it wasn’t for me, this never would have happened!”
“Hush, now,” Queen Zornaya said sternly. “This is no time for self-pity, Baelan. And it was not your fault. If this had not happened to you, it would have been another young man. It could have been anyone.”
Baelan shook his head and climbed to his feet, looking miserable. “I feel awful,” he said. His face was pale and bloodless. “I cannot believe it. I cannot believe she would deceive me!”
“She deceived each and every one of us,” the queen said. Her tone was still stern, but kind. “Baelan, please – do not take it personally.”
“I loved her,” Baelan said quietly. “I never even thought to question her.”
Queen Zornaya cleared her throat. “There will be time for this later,” she said. “For now, we must go down to the pier and wait for the return of our brave men.” Holding her head high, she walked out of the room. Baelan and Aine followed close behind, leaving Selene and Phaelenx together in a sea of gore.
For a moment, Phaelenx and Selene didn’t speak. They clung tightly together, holding onto each other. Selene began to sob in Phaelenx’s arms, but she only cried for a few moments. When she drew back, she lifted her face to his and kissed him.
“I am still leaving,” Phaelenx said in a heavy voice. “I cannot stay here. Things may have returned to normal, but my strength is gone…I am no warrior.”
“I do not care,” Selene said fiercely. She took Phaelenx’s hand in her own and gripped it tightly. “I want to be with you, Phaelenx, no matter where we are.”
Phaelenx nodded gratefully. “And I want to be with you,” he said quietly.
Selene bit her lip. “And what of our friends? What of Huen?” She looked bleak. “I wonder if he is dead.”
Phaelenx couldn’t find the words to reply. “I know,” he said heavily. He sighed. “I know it is wrong, Selene, but I cannot help but feel happy regardless. We will always have each other, and that is what I care about most.”
Selene looked into Phaelenx’s eyes and nodded slowly. As they embraced, Phaelenx thought a brief prayer for the rest of the Zhekan men at sea. He realized that this could very well be the end of the old ways…but still, he didn’t want to stay around long enough to find out.