Darkness Falls, Light Rises #Wattys2015

Ch.14

Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes

Ch.14

Waking up in my underwear and in Mason's bed was kind of startling. I had no recollection of the previous night, but it consisted of his shirt coming off as well as my gown. Then there was the nagging headache that made me want to shoot myself in the face for drinking so much. I wasn't a lightweight, that much I knew, but I must've drank a lot to have such an intense hangover like this.

Sighing, I rolled over until I made some space between us. Rubbing my eyes, I groaned when I heard his breathing hitch, signally that he was awake.

"You're up." He stated, turning over to look at me.

Yawning, I nodded and tried to control my breathing to stop the urge to vomit.

"You should drink some water." He suggested, pointing to the fresh pitcher of water next to the bed.

Looking at it incredulously, I groaned. "Someone already saw us?"

"Yeah, but she's sworn to never disclose what she sees or hears in here." He said, trying to reassure me.

"I need more vodka." I mumbled, sitting up slowly.

He laughed, getting up to sit next to me. "That's not a good strategy. You're not going to get rid of the problem that way, only the symptoms."

"The problem doesn't concern me. I'm practically useless in this state." I sighed and braided my hair quickly to get it out of the way. "I need to drink more."

"You think that's the solution? It's reckless to act like this." He stated, grabbing my hand to pull me back. "You're going to hurt yourself."

"Mason, I can take care of myself. I'm your personal guard; I can take a lot of shit."

Before he could say anything, a soldier burst into the room, a horrified expression plastered on his blood stained face. Rubbing his sweat soaked brown hair from his forward, he saluted both of us and knelt, his head down.

"At ease." Mason said, rising from the bed, worry etched onto his beautiful features.

The soldier stood, letting out a huge breath. "Your Majesty, the Riders have attacked. They had pushed our men back to the outskirts of the city. If we don't figure something out, they'll be able to take over the palace in a couple of hours."

"Are they a rebel group or sent by the crown?" He inquired, already pulling a shirt over his head.

"The crown. They carry their crest and weapons." The soldier groaned and gripped his side. "General Ponte has requested the help of Rideran prisoners. It's the only way we can defeat them. Our mere use of weapons and no magic is costing us. They are able to use both weapons and magic."

Mason bit his lip, clutching the bed post. "They would turn on us."

Clenching my jaw, I weighed my options. If I helped them, I would be killing thousands of my fellow Riders, but if I didn't, my cover would be blown.

Groaning internally, I stepped forward. "I'll help but I'll need a battle axe."

***

Running down the stairs, my grip on the axe tightened as my body tensed. It wasn't like I was rusty with an axe, it was just that I needed Mason to trust me, but the amount of dark energy I was going to use could be frightening to some.

"Brandy, what are you going to do?" Mason asked, calling after me.

"I'm going to do my job...protect you."
"By using your magic?"

Rolling my eyes, I pulled my hood over my head to protect my identity.

Ripping pieces of the cloth, I wrapped them around my wrists and knuckles, knowing that hand to hand combat was inevitable.

"I'm coming with you." He stated, throwing off his cloak.

Snapping my eyes to him, I shoved him into the wall closest to us. "You have a kingdom to rule over. I protect you. Stop trying to protect me, you'll only get hurt. Instead do what you need to do and let me do my duty." I snapped, staring into his blue orbs.

Nodding he brought his hands to my face and pressed his lips against mine. It wasn't a passion filled kiss, instead it was more for comforting. "Be careful."

Pushing me toward the door, he watched me, the sounds of battle surrounding us. For him, the sound seemed to hurt him, but I embraced it, breathing it in.

Observing the scene unfold, I watched as ten Sedentians fell at the hands of one Rideran. At that moment I was proud of my race, but infuriated me that Kevin had done this recklessly.

Stepping onto the battlefield, I stepped over dozens of fallen Sedentians and smirked when I saw a Rider in my peripheral. Stopping in my tracks, I released my control on my energy and felt it as in engulfed everyone in the field. Chuckling, I basked in the beautiful of freedom. I hadn't felt this way in so long. Watching as the man neared closer, I sprinted toward them, raising the axe at the last moment, I made a wide arch. Hearing the thump of his body on the ground and and extra thump, I knew that I had made a perfect decapitation.

Unable to celebrate my talent, I was fully immersed into the battle, occasionally killing with the axe and other times with my soul magic.

Every cry of mercy send a joyous shiver down my spine along with every splatter of blood that covered me. I had missed this immensely; it took my mind off the pain that was afforded to me by my uncle and it was also a beautiful thing to see the life drain from a person's eyes.

Once I was at my last victim, I kept them alive longer than the others. Holding the axe to their neck, I began to question her.

"Who ordered this attack?" I growled, slightly hoping that she didn't say Kevin.

"His majesty, King Kevin." She stuttered out, terror in her eyes.

"What about the queen?"

"She-she died from an illness. He took over after her funeral."

Gritting my teeth, I buried the axe half way into her neck, but kept her blood pumping with my energy.

"Did he give actual evidence that she died? Was the ceremony of the dead preformed in the center of the city as they do for all Rideran leaders?"

The girl grunted from the enormous pain she was in and shook her head, unable to speak.

"Thank you." I murmured before ending her life by releasing my energy's hold on her to allow her to bleed out.

Taking my axe, I trekked back to the palace, wiping as much blood off my face as possible. As soon as I stepped through the threshold, Anya jumped out of the shadows, tears streaming down her face.

"Anya...what's wrong?" I inquired, not wanting to jump to conclusions.

"M-Mason. He..." She cried, her eyes bloodshot.

Mason, where are you?
He's here.

Where are you?

T-The Throne room.

Instantly, I sprinted up the steps, my mind whirring from the possibilities of what could be occurring. Throwing open the doors, I stopped dead in my tracks.

"Shit."