Iron of the Innocent: The Dark Judge (Vol 1)

Chapter 22: Traitor

274 I.C.
Sacren
Solorn Kingdom
Solorn Province
City of Clendon

Dreydan opened the wooden door to his small quarters in the Clendon military garrison. Walking inside he left the door open so the light from the hallway would give him some illumination in the dark room. He took a deep breath and moved to the window after dropping his bags and equipment on the floor next to a small table with one chair.

Opening the shutters, he was pleased the moons were both up. He enjoyed looking at them and all the stars at night. Unlocking the window, he opened it to let in the night air. Needing to get the fire started, he turned toward the hearth. The early summer nights grew chilly. He was pleased he had replenished his small amount of wood before he had left on his mission to the Eastland province.

After a little time, a small fire started to catch and burn bright. Dreydan closed the door to his room and locked it. Moving over to the window he looked at the night sky for a long while. One moon was full and the other was a crescent against the backdrop of a vast amount of stars. The other two moons were not visible as of yet.

He remembered Tabitha taking him out at night when he was a boy to a large hill near the estate. There was a very old tree that perched on top of it with thick branches and thick roots. They would lay out a blanket on the side of the hill and stare out into the stars. Tabitha would tell him children's stories and answer his questions that he would ask.

Dreydan smiled glancing at the box his father had given him on the table with drowsy eyes. He was surprised and pleased that the estate was now his own. Yawning, he removed his armor and got ready to sleep. Lying on the bed, the fire had begun to burn low, and he drifted off into a relaxed slumber.

* * * * *

From the journal of Dreydan Ruin...

In my dream, I fell into darkness. It was filled with unseen terrors. I had dreams of whispering and screaming. I felt freezing, gnarled fingers scratching at me, and scourges of flame tearing across my flesh. I landed on dark spikes. I screamed in agony.

My flesh was pierced by the jagged, sharp stones searing through me: one arm, one through the abdomen, one in a leg. My entire right side was immobilized.

Fire erupted in a circle around me and a dark form of horror leered at me from the darkness above. It roiled in black clouds with red illuminated eyes. It cried out in a deep, wicked voice and I was deafened by it. The rotting, stench of its breath choked me.

With stinging eyes, I looked for anything to grab to defend myself.

The horror over me laughed. "You are alone. You have no one. I am going to murder you." It spoke slowly tasting each word. "Give up! Let yourself be defeated!" It laughed at me again.

I looked directly into those malevolent eyes as it continued, "And after I murder you, I'm going to kill everyone you hold dear. No one you've ever loved will be spared. I began with your friends and... Elzbeth in Eastland." As it said her name, I could hear it snap its jaws together.

Everything in me cried out for death from the agony. The fires around me began biting into my flesh. I looked up at it with every ounce of feeble strength left in my dying form, and I roared in defiance of this beast of horror anticipating the kill. That is when I realized it wasn't just me roaring. From my right, I could hear myself roaring as well, and then I realized it was someone else. From the horizon, a distant light bloomed. And the echo of that roar was leading the way for something.

The light pierced through the darkness, shining over a broken and ruined landscape. That was when I saw it, a massive white lion. Light radiated from it like the burning sun, and its eyes and mane were filled with light. My roar died on my lips as I watched this majestic creature running toward me at full speed. The lion roared again, and the power of that roar shook the ground and stone knives in my body. The horror above me changed its focus from me to the lion as it raced forward.