Kingdoms of Lies and Intrigues (Return of Vesna book 2)

Chapter 13 The Valley of the Forgotten Gods

Evaline opened her eyes with a start, blinking several times at the blinding light above her, her throat was dry, coughing slightly she tried to lift her heavy body from whatever it was she was on but it refused to move. Panic gripped her suddenly thinking she may be dead but the sudden ache that seemed to spread through her muscles made her realise she was still alive.
She tried to lift her arms but they were too heavy, next she wiggled her toes, satisfied that they moved within her boot. Bending her knees she reached out toward them relief spreading as she managed to lift her arms. She groaned slightly, managing to barely sit up resting her head on her bent knees she straightened her back hearing the crack of bones.
"Good, your up," that maddening grating voice, echoed in her ears as she pulled herself together. Squinting at the glaring light she looked about her, spotting absolute emptiness. Xion stood to her right glowering at her , he reached out a hand which she grabbed as he pulled her to standing position.
The world swirled around her, groping for something to hold on to, her hand landed on his chest for support. Leaning her throbbing head against her his chest she waited for the dizziness to settle before looking up at him. Both his hands gripped her elbows.
"Better now?" He asked casually.
She started into those glacial eyes before nodding her head. She took a step back and turned to survey the area around her. What greeted her vision was an endless sea of sand dunes.
"Were are we?" She whispered wonderingly looking about her in surprise. She had never been to a land like this. When silence greeted her she looked up at him, there was a strange look in his eye as he held her arms before he released them slowly.
"What?" She asked.
He shrugged turning to survey the land before him. "The valley of the forgotten gods," he said softly.
"What makes you say that?" She eyed him curiously.
"At the end of the never ending falls.....remember?"
"I don't see any water around what happened to it? All I remember is us falling and then I woke up here."
"I don't know what you did back in the water but we tumbled out of the water and we ended up here.  I'm assuming this is the place Havah spoke of." He turned back to the land. "I can understand why they would call it such, it's barren, lifeless."
"Have you been to a place like this?"
"Within kingdoms there exists some such lands but they are few.  It would be scorching hot and not much water or foliage. Just an endless wasteland of sand similar to this one."
She nodded slowly understanding dawning on her. "Where exactly are we to go?"
He removed a round device from his trouser pocket and held it out to the light.  He was holding a crude compass of sorts, the outer rim was made of brass, small copper arrow lines suspended in the center that seemed to move on their own as he pointed. "Knut gave this to me before we departed, he said it may come in handy if we get lost.  I believe now is the time to use it."
Removing her satchel which was hidden beneath her cloak she removed a skin and tin as well as the herbs for the tea and some of her food rations which were still damp from the recent encounter in the river. Removing her cloak, she set it on the soft ground and sat, opening the map once more to study exactly where they were. When she came across the symbol referring to the valley she was stunned to realize it was just one flat line.
"Your right, this is the valley." Her gaze swept the expanse of empty landscape ahead.
"This is the final leg to the citadel, which means all we have to do is cross it and we should find the spires of the citadel." He sat opposite her drinking his tin of bitter tea. He had pretty much finished most of his ration. He started chewing into his dried fruit and took out a few nuts offering her some. A smirk on his perfect lips.
"What now?" She frowned at the way he was looking at her.
"Your hair is a mess," his statement caught her off guard. She didn't take note of their physical appearance, it was the least of her concerns but his pointing out a fact made her turn crimson. He on the other hand still looked perfect. His hair was tied right below the nape of his neck and his beard pretty much covered everything else making him look more dashing than he actually should.
"I don't care. It's not as if it matters anyway." She shrugged but upon hearing his laughter she turned back annoyed. "What's so funny?"
"I bet if Caspian were around you would certainly mind."
His attempt at jest made her indignant. "Your being rude."
"Rude?" He laughed heartily, the sound of it was tickling. "I'm only stating the obvious, you have a soft spot for Caspian, a bit more than soft. It didn't slip past me, plus I don't think he notices anyway." He saw her sudden somber look and knew he touched a sensitive topic. "Cem on the other hand, now he's someone wearing his heart on his sleeve. He gave me every excuse he could find to come on this expedition promising to be your personal guard and swearing an oath that he would die first before he let anyone lay a hand on you. Now that's chivalrous."
"Your being sarcastic and I don't like it." She warned, her eyes flashing daggers at him.
"You honestly don't care do you?" He eyed her carefully, those artic pools of blue seemed to ignite with some sort or predatory fire. "Considering your a Fae I'm not surprised you would dismiss a mortals affections. After all, judging from your capabilities Cem doesn't hold a candle."
"I never led him think......" she spewed exasperated.
"You may not have consciously done anything to provoke it, but when a man is smitten there are no if, buts, or whys, only possibilities." Xion teased, a first since this expedition started.
"There won't be and I will make sure he understands that." She said grimly packing her things and dusting out her cloak before donning it. "If your done we should go."
He continued to sit eyeing her speculatively. " Why not remove that parchment on runes and let's see if we can find the way to the citadel much faster than walking these dunes. There may be a quicker way to reach our destination."
Evaline immediately rummaged through her satchel and removed the parchment, Lord Fenwick was a thorn but sometimes he did sparkle with ideas. She was aware that he came close squatting beside her, glancing surreptitiously his brow was furrowed as he studied the symbols closely.
"How about that?" He pointed to a symbol of a star, beneath it was the word vision.
"It's suppose to grant me vision but that will not bring us out of this place."
She caught several words such as invisible, glamour, shift, bury, ascend, distort, muddle, fix, find . She paused looking carefully at the symbol of find, two parallel lines crossing against the letter S. "Maybe I could use the symbol to find and I can focus on that."
"It's worth a try."
Retrieving the dagger from her boot, he looked at its peculiarity and watched as she carved it on the underside of her arm close to her wrist. Blood dripped into the sand only to be swallowed into it. She didn't notice but he did wondering at what that meant before dismissing it as she ran her left palm to melt the wound into her skin.
"Maybe you should add a few more, "he suggested.
"Havah warned me not to carve to much or else it might backfire." Focusing on the rune she silently thought of the citadel when suddenly the compass began to point East.
"I guess that's where we have to go," he pointed toward some sand dunes. Nodding her head in agreement they made to leave.
They walked for some time, the scorching heat forcing them to remove their cloaks.  A breeze started to shift the sand making it swirl around them. Draping her cloak around her head and covering part of her face she continued to walk keeping pace with Xion's long strides.  She thought that having discovered she was Fae meant she could do much more but she felt everything. Every ache in her body, every sweat that trickled down her back, the microns of sand that splashed into her face and made her mouth dry.
They stopped for a bit only to drink, their body loosing more moisture than she thought she ever possessed. She was about to rub her eyes when he held her hands.
"Don't. It will only make it worst." Sand covered his face but he was ignoring the build up of grime.
Xion looked forward noting the vast expanse of endless barren, acrid land and wondered not once if they were journeying to the right place. He noted she kept pace but she was swaying slightly, the sun beating down on them was crucifying.
It had been awhile since he saw the sun as bright as this, he had becomes accustomed to the grey sky, this was quite a shift. The silence between them like an echo of emptiness , he felt he needed some sound even if it would be his voice.
"Do you know why the call this valley of the forgotten Gods?"
"No!"
"I heard a story once, from my mother, I was just a boy at the time. She was trying to make me sleep but I remembered some of it."
"What did she say?"
He turned to her thoughtfully before staring out into the open expanse, his feet beginning to cramp from the swelling of his toes. He thought as she stumbled slightly, her feet must be experiencing the pain as well. Sinking feet and high heat weren't the best combination, the sound of his voice will have to do. "There was a place once where the Gods dwelled before they disappeared. The place had fertile soil populated by colorful foliage, rivers flowed in abundance, animals of every kind roamed the fertile soil. There were palaces made of gold and marble , they were massive in structure and the largest was at its center with a huge dome held up by the thickest pillars.  The pillars were dotted with jewels of unimaginable size. The gods were extremely magnificent, their statues embellished every building. They were perfect and those that served them equally so. It was a magical land full of the beautiful, the majestic. All you had you had to do was ask and it would appear."
He heard her snort making him grin. "That's what my mother said."
"It must have come from someone's dream for this is nothing like what you have just described."How could she even imagine this place was any of that when her feet hurt, her legs felt like led weights and her eyes were clouding with sand.
"There's a reason why it all turned to sand." He continued. "People worshipped them and the gods, they liked all of that. They felt important, their chests full of the glory that was sung about them. But they squabbled among each other for the right to rule over the whole world, coming up with games that started out innocently enough until hey became dangerous. One by one the Gods started to develope factions."
"Factions?"
"Just like the seelie and unseelie, they took sides in order to expand power. One faction grew greedier than the other until eventually it all got destroyed."
"Why am I not surprised," she bit out sarcastically.
"My personal favorite was the story of  Themis, she liked order, justice.  The daughter of the mother Gaia, she held everyone in check. She was the keeper of many things including the seasons, spring, summer, autumn and winter.  Her laws govern all power held by the gods but when they broke them she retreated, it wasn't in her nature to align with anyone instead she made sure everything everything crumbled rather than  have them extend their wars to the mortals. Although she didn't create the humans she was protective.  Instead she left it to Oberon to preside over everything and retreated into parts unknown."
He noticed that he was was alone, surprised he turned back to find Evaline stood stock still watching him "So the Gods didn't die?"
"They can't, they live forever but no one had seen them or heard from them ever since the Fae took over," he confirmed.
"They could be.....here." She swallowed slowly.
He looked around him. "I sincerely doubt that."
"Then what's that?" She pointed far off to the distance but he saw nothing .
"What?" He frowned.
Evaline realized her preternatural vision gave her the upper hand as she saw a flash of light in the distance. "It's over there," she started walking briskly, ignoring the ache in her muscles are she took every step. He followed her lead walking a couple of miles until even he saw the flash of light. Surprised he quickened his steps almost sprinting.  It didn't take them long to reach the area and then he saw it finally half of a pillar jutting out from the sand, large gems dotted the ruined marble.
"I guess my mother didn't quite make up the story," he mumbled in awe.
He bent down and surveyed the sand, finding it shallow, digging further he managed to touch something solid beneath a few layers of sand. He stood turning to Evaline who remained fascinated as she ran her fingers down the jutting marble resting on a ruby the size of her palm. As she fingered the precious gem she found it was loose and started pulling at it, ignoring the warning cry from Xion when suddenly they plunged into the sand.
The drop wasn't endless like the falls but when their bodies finally thudded to the ground she let out a yelp of agony as she felt her bones collide with the ground.
"What the........" Xion cursed as he felt his rib connect to the ground hearing a cracking sound he winced his body splayed.
Evaline managed to sit up, dusting the sand that littered her face. Scrambling to her feet she dove for Xion and felt him noting that he held on to his right rib.  She murmured the word heal and was satisfied when the bones knitted back into place.
"Are you alright?"
"I've had better days," he groaned, squinting as he sat up, rubbing the debris from his face.  Thankfully he fell on his satchel which was thick enough to prevent more damage to his body.
There was a dim light that came from above them allowing their eyes to roam where they were.  It seemed like a cavern of sorts, dank and smelling rancid like something was decaying within. They both walked forward Evaline summoning light to guide them further into the cave. It was an archway that looked like a tunnel.
"Where are we?" Evaline asked he voice echoing.
"This must be one of the palaces." Xion said in wonder as he walked cautiously forward.
They heard something flutter, the ceiling which was high began to drop some debris. "Something is here " Evaline whispered.
"You better have your power seelie because this is a land of magic." Xion whispered back in alarm. The ground suddenly shook as more debris fell from above when suddenly out of nowhere a creature emerged, its face a monstrous visage , it's wide mouth shimmered with sharp teeth, it's nostrils flared as it's teeth barred, it's eyes were huge orbs of yellow.
"Intruders," the sound of its strange guttural voice made them stand still in horror as the beast continued to move. It walked on all fours with its claws the size of it enough to crush them underneath. It's massive body lunged until it stopped, standing a few feet away from them squinting its eyes. "My meal!"
"Evaline now is the time to become a seelie and unleash your powers.  Do what you did to the Icor snake!" Xion muttered. "I don't plan on being it's meal."
"Shield!" She summoned her energy into a protective shield around them. "What is it?"
"I've heard of these creatures but I never saw one before so I thought it a myth but......." Xion stared transfixed.
Before Evaline could form her question the beast moved a step forward and regarded her. "Seelie, "it said "I'm a dragon."
"Dragon?" Evaline mouthed the word that spread in Xion's mind shocked at what he was seeing.
"It can't be."Xion mumbled grabbing his sword and unsheathing it slowly but the dragon only laughed and suddenly it's form shifted to look like any mortal.  It's naked body cracked into place and before them stood a comely man. A cloak materialized to cover his body before he stepped forward into the light.
Evaline sucked in a breath as she stared. The man had long auburn hair that raked down to his shoulders, his eyes which krinkled were a shade of bright yellow that lifted in the corners beneath winged brows that followed the perfect almost shape of his eyes, his forehead was broad framed by a squarish face prominent cheekbones,a sharp nose, wide mouth with a toothy grin. His neck was long and sinewy resting on top of broad shoulders that allowed his dark cloak to drape well. His ears were pointed at the top betraying his lineage. He was Fae, a magnificent, beautiful, perfectly formed Fae who sported a smile so charming she was captivated. When he was but a foot away he lifted her hand and kissed the underside keeping his eyes fixed on her.
"You must be the seelie, the one my mistress saw in her vision." His voice was deep, hypnotic it tickled her senses. " My name is Remus, I'm seelie too just like you. And you are?"
"Her name is Evaline and mine is Lord Fenwick" Xion spoke, his voice tinged with annoyance but Remus did not shift his gaze from the Evaline. "Who is your mistress?"
Finally he spared Xion a brief glance before releasing Evaline's hand swivelling around he started walking forward. "Come, my mistress is expecting you."
"You can breath Evaline" Xion murmured in amusement as they followed Remus deep into the archway, the light she had conjured glowing above them as they walked forward. He had kept silent watching the smooth shifter's interest in his companion with suspicion. So far the journey had been full of unexplainable circumstances, this by far was the strangest. His mother had told him the gods had disappeared for centuries, but the dragons were something else. He recalled a story long forgotten about these mystical creatures, to find one was alarming most especially considering it was Fae. He was coming to terms with the fact that nothing was surprising anymore.