Page 11 of Return of the Darkness
“How is it possible for him to change body and name?” asked Nyzaia, tossing a dagger from hand to hand.
“It is part of his power,” Osiris answered. He raised his hand before him, allowing his shadows to form a playful ball that danced above his palm. “He can control minds and use them for his bidding, like he did with my soldiers, despite their allegiance to me. In some cases, he can take someone’s entire body.” The ball of power on his palm twisted with glowing amber threads.
“Your power is different.” Larelle gestured to his hand, prompting a smile from him before he locked eyes with the queen.
“It is a variant, yes. I cannot control people to the extent he can. I only alter minds.” Osiris allowed his shadows to fade.
“And can you do anything else?”
“Perhaps.”
Larelle rolled her eyes. He was an infuriating man to pry information from.
“Caligh called himself a general; is that his true station?” Farid asked, a tactical question.
“Yes. He was once a general, though he has not technically been so for two hundred and seventy years.”
“Just how old are you?” Larelle asked.
“Too old for you,” Osiris winked, and she scoffed. Alvan fidgeted from his place beside Caellum and Sadira.
“If your grandfather was a general, what are you?” Nyzaia asked. Osiris took the pin off his jacket and passed it between his fingers, watching them all as though debating what to reveal.
“A prince.”
“Bullshit,” she scoffed, and Larelle shot her a warning look. If he truly was royalty, they should not risk offending other lands whose assistance they may require.
“Last I recalled, my mother was a queen, which makes me a prince.”
“And your father?” Caellum finally spoke, and Osiris looked at him. Larelle could sense pity in his dark eyes, now void of goldrings.
“He is currently an unwanted custodian of sorts.”
“What does that mean?” Larelle asked. Osiris shrugged, examining the pin in his hand.
“My mother is dead, and I have not taken the throne, so my father still rules the land.” Osiris cleared his throat before meeting Larelle’s gaze. Her face softened at the grief he so desperately tried to hide in his expression. “A genealogy lesson on my family and land will not help you move forward. In some way, Caligh will return, whether that’s here or somewhere else. He may no longer have my army, but others are still indebted to him, and he can easily call them into favour. Make no mistake; he will call them in to get to Elisara.”
“Now we are finally getting somewhere,” Nyzaia exhaled. “What does he want with her?” Osiris and Arik shared a glance before Osiris straightened.
“I am…limitedin what I can say.” He glanced up at the unusually dark clouds, almost black like Osiris’s shadows. For a moment, Larelle glimpsed lightening skitter within it. “She holds Sitara’s essence, although that much she has already shared. That power, combined with all of yours, is enough to look for—” Lighting crashed onto the desert sand, and everybody jumped. Osiris muttered under his breath. “Your lands are not the only lands under threat. We did not know he was already here in disguise. You were all meant to have more time before he attacked, more time to—” Lightning crashed again. “Okay! I understand!” He bellowed at the sky.
The rulers all looked at one another. Nobody understood what was happening. Something prevented Osiris from revealing too much, though Larelle could not think who or what. She recalled the way the gods' speech had been jilted and filled with riddles. Was the same force stopping Osiris? Perhaps someone far more powerful from Osiris’s lands controlled what he could share.What do you know of Thassena?That was what he asked Larelle during hercapture. It had to be one of the other lands he referenced now. Eresydon and Asynthos,Arik had mentioned too.
“What is stopping you?” Larelle asked. Osiris let out a heavy sigh.
“My lands are cursed. There is only so much I can say before my words have consequences.” Osiris was interrupted whenever he discussed the rulers, Novisia, and Elisara. What did those from his land, and potentially others, know of Novisia? Why would they be cursed not to speak of them?
“This curse… is there a way to break it?” Larelle asked, and he nodded. “Wecan break it?” Osiris nodded again, glancing upward. “It is linked to why Caligh wants Elisara and why he has invaded other lands in the past.” Both Osiris and Arik nodded this time, with Osiris smiling like a proud teacher. Larelle tried to recall more and gain more information.
“People are waking up, their memories resurfacing. They will not be prohibited from speaking to you,” Osiris said cautiously. “When you were crowned, the prophecy began and undid powerful magic keeping thoughts and history at bay.” Thunder rumbled overhead, and a light spit of rain begin to fall and dot the sands. Larelle clenched her hand to pause it, but the water disobeyed. She kept her face calm, unwilling to reveal any weakness to Osiris, despite his help. She flicked her finger and was relieved when a drop of her own water coated her thumb, but only when she saw a droplet run down Osiris’s cheek did she see it for what it was. Blood. Blood fell from the clouds, an omen of warning for Osiris.
“The fate and survival of your kingdom determines not just your destiny, but that of all lands.” The blood fell heavier now, urging Osiris to leave. He beckoned Arik to follow before they strode away from the rulers. With one last glance at the sky, Osiris halted and spoke quickly, as though reciting something he had known for years. The veins on his neck became more prominent as he clenched his hands and spoke in hurried breaths. “What once was hidden can again be found. Listen to the land and understandyou are bound. A reverse, a reflection, a sister, a mirror, find the truth beneath you and all will be clearer—” He reached for his throat, coughing and spluttering as bloodied water poured from his mouth. Staring at Larelle, he pressed his hand to his mouth to catch the falling water. This was not her doing. She peered up at the skies, and thunder rumbled overhead. Perhaps their gods were the cause.
“I have received a final warning. I must leave,” he said, wiping his mouth with the back of his sleeve. He clenched one fist around the pin on his jacket. “When you need me, I will come, Larelle Sevia Zerpane.” Larelle opened her mouth to correct him as he added Riyas’s surname to her own but stopped when he strode towards her. Feet shifted behind, and she knew it was Alvan.
“How will I find you?” She tilted her head up to look at him. His hands were cold as they reached for hers. Turning her palms, he dropped the amber flower pin onto her skin, and she closed her fists around it.
“Zarya will know how,” he said, smiling. He turned again and walked to his armies. Larelle clenched the pin tightly, fighting back the rising fear for her daughter.
