Hail to the Queen (Sage Trilogy, Book 3)

She said she wanted to kiss the sky.

At first, he laughed, as many others did.

But then his laugh
stopped short.

It was
not because he found the phrase any less amusing.

It was
simply the grave look on her face

A
nd the glow of admiration in her eyes.

It was then
he realized that she was completely and absolutely

Serious

Watching her clench her little fists

Her hair fighting to veil her gaze from the midnight sky

He permitted himself temporary reprieve from his duty

The grip on the hilt of his blade relaxed

For he wanted to see what she saw

If only to begin to fathom what she perceived -

Epiphany

His breath fluttered further
away than any battle could ever take him

Never had he seen the sky through such meditation

Always taking for granted its majestic shine; its dazzling invitation to stare

Tranquility brushed his heart, desiring attention

His next breath carried his hand back to the hilt

As h
e understood her words now -

Clearly

Desp
ite the turmoil, death, and relentless pain

The sky remained stoic, unchanged

Unlike her beloved countryside

Peace still resided in Paradise
; hope not yet extinct

So at the fragile age
of four

Just for being gorgeous, the sky deserved a

Kiss

Maybe you can someday he said

Whispering, despite their
relative solitude

A
nod and a smile violently melted his resolve

A
ll it took for a monster to remember…

H
e once had a heart

A murderer now a protector, his life now
…

Hers

The Quietus crawled on all fours like a bloodhound, sniffing
the smoldering crater yet paying little attention to what his nose picked up. Nearly a day had already passed and the ground was still hot from the dead Sage’s power, which was quite damaging to the nose. From what he figured, there was no need to sniff so close, especially since the fugitives they were looking for were nothing by comparison. She had been the real threat, and it didn’t matter if she had fought valiantly against his brethren…in the end, she fell as all who opposed the Quietus tended to do. There was no reason to think she had survived her kamikaze attack. So all that left was a large search party, wasting valuable resources and a considerable amount of time for what? A couple of young ones?

Sure they were tricky, but not dangerous
. Just tricky. From what he heard, they had ran to the middle of the crater and then somehow vanished into thin air – which was just…impossible. No one left Quietus without a trace, not unless they were of Zen-echelon, and they most certainly were not of that mysterious place. No…they were just hiding somewhere close, trying not to breathe and using their Sage tricks to conceal their whereabouts. It was the only explanation to why none of the scouting teams had found a whiff of them within the Kingdom walls or in the Quietus forest. It was because they were still here, waiting, hoping for someone to save them.

No one would.

In the scuffle their King had been murdered. Somehow…their greatest warrior had fallen, and they needed answers. Witnesses said the young boy delivered the final blow, and so he had to be found no matter the cost. And since the crater was the origin of their disappearance, teams composed of the best trackers in the Kingdom were laboring tirelessly, day and night, searching the same spots over and over, looking for a sign, a clue, a…

The Quietus stopped and narrowed his eyes as his neck stretched upwards
instinctively. He had run into a protrusion. A section of the ground that was raised just slightly higher than the rest of the crater floor. It was nothing really. Their crater was not known for its smooth exterior, but… now that he thought about it...he remembered that the dead Sage had leveled the floor with her power – which meant this patch of earth should have also been flattened.

The Quietus sniffed the dirt around it, bobbing his he
ad up and down with each whiff. Finally, a faint scent caught his interest.

It was of a young Allayan male.

He tried to investigate further, to acquire more information, but as soon as he bent his head back down to the source, the scent vanished…just like the young Sages…

They’re still here.
He thought, smiling devilishly. A few Quietus nearby noticed his eerie grin and gave him an inquisitive look. He nodded in their direction and they quietly crawled over to his location. Together, they began sniffing around and upon the raised ground, inch by inch, millimeter by millimeter…

*              *              *              *              *

Catherine sat on the small, wooden wharf, swinging her legs back and forth as she whistled a tune she had heard as a child but had long forgotten the lyrics. She closed her eyes and let the breeze brush past her cheeks like a whisper, her hair being buoyed gently as the wind brushed through it with its fingers and the toasty warmth of the sun made her skin feel like it was humming. It was so relaxing that she nearly forgot the situation at hand. That no matter how much beauty was in abundance, something ugly was always nearby, ready to dash in and taint it.

His wincing broke her trance and she turned her head in concern. She didn’t bother asking him what he needed. Each time she did, he assured her there was nothing. Catherine wasn’t used to this – sitting around and enjoying the ambience while someone she cared for was suffering just a few feet away.
At least she could offer him comfort through her company.

“Hey, Girl,” James chuckled weakly through an agonizing face and gallons of sweat.

“Hey, tough guy,” Catherine said as she sat down next to him. She knew it distracted him, but it was
the only way she knew to soothe him. He was sitting a few away from the dock’s edge, legs crossed and staring straight ahead towards the sun. Since it was part of his manifestation, she was sure staring into it wouldn’t cause his eyes any damage. Still, she couldn’t shake the thought that he was slowly going blind with how intense he was glaring at it.

“It’s getting harder to maintain this,” James’ voice cracked.

“What happened to three days?” Catherine asked, hoping she didn’t come off as sarcastic.

“Something’s wrong,” he shuddered, bowing his head. His who
le body was beginning to quiver and his muscles were beginning to freeze up.

“What if you don’t keep everyth
ing together? Just the ground for us to stand on? No water, no wharf, sand…nothing unnecessary?”

“But then you’ll have nothing to enjoy,” he said, looking at her out the corner of an eye.

“James, survival is the priority, and I’ve enjoyed this view for hours already. No reason to strain yourself any more than you have to. If this manifestation breaks, and we’re left to the mercy of the Quietus, we’ll be killed; the mission will be a failure.”

“Fine,” he muttered. Catherine let ou
t a yelp in surprise as the wharf disappeared from underneath them, sending her falling a couple feet down into a blanket of sand that had not been there previously. James barely moved as he fell, keeping his concentration at the forefront. But when he landed, it was apparent that he was feeling better already. James sighed in relief and stood to his feet casually, the sweat drenching his clothes being the only evidence of his previous ordeal.