The Downfall of the Kingdom

Chapter 26

Anne, Stefan and Jake made their way towards the kingdom. In the end, they were unsuccessful. The only weapon to destroy the dark creature was destroyed along with a friend. Each person was deep in thought. Anne was destroyed within at what she had done. She had killed an innocent person. The look on his face haunted her. Richard had been confused. But the look of terror on his face as the realisation of death hit him was killing Anne.

"It wasn't your fault," Stefan whispered in her ear.

She ignored him. Stefan had noticed that she hardly spoke to him lately. It hurt him. He felt hollow inside. Salvatora was also troubled. She was lost. She continued to think back into the past to try and remember something useful however nothing would come. Jake had the most on his mind. He ran the facts over and over again in his head. Domitates was his father but he was not evil. He couldn't be. He suddenly stopped on the path.

Stefan looked at him suspiciously, "What are you doing."

"I'm going to kill him," Jake replied with conviction, "I don't care that he is my father, I have nothing in common with him! I will prove my loyalty to you now!"

He ran towards Stefan and placed his arm on the mark. It shone.

"No not yet!" Salvatora screamed.

"I will give you a new weapon!" Jake grabbed Stefan's arm more tightly.

The mark began to shine with a red light. Jake closed his eyes. Whenever he touched people, he would let his magic flow into them by thinking of a happy memory. He focused on his dead brother. Stefan could not explain the feeling that he was experiencing. He felt invincible. Anne stared at the whole situation blankly.

"Richard," she murmured.

Salvatora moved forward to push Jake aside but she could not approach them. She cast spells at them but nothing happened. Finally, she sat down and taking a deep breath surveyed the scene. History was about to happen. A new piece of knowledge would be unlocked. Maybe it was time.

Jake began to feel weak. He held on for a few seconds longer then said, "The mark has been awakened!"

He let go and stumbled backwards into Anne making them both fall over in a tangled mess. Stefan felt incredible. The mark glowed brightly on his hand. He looked at the two fallen people and with a wave of his hand, he used magic to lift them both up and set them on their feet. He looked at a tree and with another wave of his hand, it just vanished.

Salvatora was in awe, "How are you doing that?"

"I don't know. Whatever I want to happen, happens when I will it to."

Jake smiled triumphantly, "This is brilliant. 'Dad' won't know what hit him."

Salvatora warned them, "Everything comes at a price. I was thinking back now and I am worried. Why did people believe that mark to be a curse? Yes, they were worried that you could be turned to evil but why do I remember someone saying that it was a curse? A curse on who? You or the tribe? Something must have evoked that belief."

Stefan wasn't troubled, "You said so yourself that the curse was just nonsense."

Anne, finally registering the events also agreed with Salvatora, "Are you sure that no one has ever unlocked the power of the mark Salvatora?"

"Yes... But no..."

"Salvatora?" Stefan asked.

""I wonder who your father is Stefan," she replied, "It never crossed my mind. It wasn't an important detail but where did he go after you were born? Did he too have the mark?"

Stefan was worried, "It's usually you who has all the answers."

The mark's power had been unlocked. A new force had entered the world.

Domitates nursed his wound. Veldon had found another weapon. But Domitates was intelligent after so many years of living. He learned to observe well. The sword was useless without the two men who created it. It wasn't such a big problem. The problem rested with the fact that Domitates was missing a leg. He tried to walk on all fours but could not. If he stood on his two legs, he was then missing an arm in that form as it was his front leg that had been destroyed. At least he could now walk and he only really needed one arm for killing. He wanted to kill. He would let out all of his rage now. This time, Anne would die.

"I'm really getting tired of this," a voice whispered in the air. Jake heard it and it sent a shiver up his spine. Domitates appeared. Salvatora noticed his wound.

"It seems that Veldon is winning," she remarked.

Domitates growled. He rose his hand and shouted, "Morte!" with his full power. It soared towards Anne. Stefan moved in front of her and it hit him right in his heart.