Chapter 7: Cassandra

Though I saw Aeden and Estelle standing at the entrance, I couldn't take my eyes off the darkness encompassing whatever kingdom stood before us. It was as if we had left the twenty-first century and travelled back several hundred years. I recalled the images we saw in the headmaster's crystal ball. All the destruction and despair. A small piece of it waited in front of us.

"He has to be stopped," Oliver said. Tears filled the corners of his eyes. I started toward him, but Dash grabbed my hand. "It's the relics. My father didn't do this. He was never like this before he found the damned thing." Oliver continued forward.

"We need to fix this shit before it gets any worse." Dash went after Oliver, catching up to him and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Dash is right," I said. "People don't deserve this."

Estelle remained by the entrance, but Aeden joined Braeden, Kyler, and me. "This is what things have come to." He looked back at the broken kingdom. "Somewhere within its walls lies pieces of the relic Edius does not want us to find."

"This was once his?" I asked.

"Yes." Aeden motioned at the kingdom. "There are places like this all over the world, most hidden from the public eye. Edius owned several, and those he owned became very bleak after he found the first relic. He ruled differently after he found it. He began torturing those who called the kingdoms home. He withheld food and water. He became greedy."

"Wait. You just said there was more than one relic." I scanned the guys energies to make sure everyone was okay. "What happens if he finds the other relics?"

"Simple," Aeden said. "There will be no hope for us or humanity. Not even our combined forces will be able to stop him. Essentially, life as we know it will be over."

"Oliver never mentioned anything about additional relics." I looked to Braeden and Kyler for assurance."

Kyler shook his head. "I don't think Oliver really knows how bad this can get."

"We need to do whatever we can to not harm his father." Braeden started to argue my comment. "Hear me out. We need to deal with whatever has taken control of Edius. There's a difference between the darkness and the light he once had."

"I agree," Aeden said. "Now let's see what we can do to help both Oliver and his father."

When we entered the kingdom, we saw a group of students and two professors from the new academy. They saw us and snarled their noses, until Aeden made his presence known.

One of the professors stopped Estelle. "What makes you think you can find a piece of the relic here?" He looked back at me, and I recognized him as my instructor from Advanced Magic.

"Beatrix would not have sent us here on a wild goose chase," Estelle said.

I took a step toward them. "And I can feel its presence. It's definitely here, although not in a place easy to get to."

The professor looked down his nose at me. "Do be careful." He walked away and ushered his students into the kingdom.

"I seem to attract negative comments."

Estelle chuckled, and for a moment I thought her actually human, maybe one of us. "Aurelius speaks highly of you, and that's all that matters." We followed the others into the kingdom and entered the first building to our right as the group of students and the professors entered the building directly in front of them. I was happy not to have them by our sides, though I had no idea why they would venture off campus in the first place.

"What happened to the electricity?" Braeden asked when we entered the building, seeing a dozen torches lit along the hallway.

"Edius became upset with people complaining." The man appeared from nowhere, as if he were part of the walls. "He destroyed the power grid leading into the city. We've been without electricity for several weeks." His old eyes were sad and stared off down the hall. "A half-dozen people have died in the last week."

"We're here to help," I said.

"You?" He tugged on his suit jacket and shivered. I was suddenly aware of the chill working through the hallway.

Yes, me, but I said nothing derogatory toward the man. I was a visitor. "I promise to help you in any way I can." He waddled down the hall, and we slowly followed. "I can feel the heaviness of Edius' black magic."

"Never forget that feeling," Aeden said. "When you do, you will let your guard down, and that's when Edius will appear."

"Why did you decide to leave the academy?" I asked. "Isn't it in danger while you're gone?"

"I left a protective shield over the entire campus. It will last long enough for us to do what we need to do here." He opened the door at the end of the hallway, and we found Nicolette sitting at a desk, reading beneath candlelight. Oliver rushed forward, and the two embraced. She looked up at me and smiled weakly.

"Any luck?" Aeden moved around the desk and looked at the map Nicolette had in front of her.

She pointed at a section of the map. "We believe it's here in the cavern below the kingdom, but there's a massive landslide we've been digging through for weeks. Our magic isn't working for shit down there, so we can't be absolutely sure it's really there."

I moved to the desk, standing on the opposite side. "Take me down there, and I'll see if I can reach it with my energy. I feel it somewhere here in the kingdom."

Nicolette rolled the map and moved from the desk. "We'll have to pass through the center of the kingdom to get there." She looked at each of us. "Don't be surprised at what you see. These people are both sick and hurting."

"What about Ruby?" Oliver asked.

"She's fine, Oliver. Stop worrying. She just needed some time." Nicolette waved for us to follower her through a door behind the desk.

We traveled through dark alleys where people lay in their own piss and shit, some eating off the ground, some fucking atop the trash. A woman grabbed my arm, and when she spoke it was without teeth. She asked me for money, but I had none. A man grabbed her and the two fell to the ground, ripping away each other's clothes.

"It gets worse," Nicolette said. "Come on."

The alley ended, and the center of the kingdom began. Filth and debauchery surrounded us. To my left, at least a dozen women were giving blowjobs. To my right, at least a dozen women had men in stockades, flogging their naked asses. The men cried out for more, pleading to be spanked.

We approached the well at the center of the kingdom where a small boy sat, his back against the three-foot wall surrounding the well. Several large rats ate from the plate that held the boy's food. He shewed them away and ate a piece of bread. When he returned the bread to the plate, the rats returned. I pulled my wand and tried to create a shield around the boy. Nothing happened.

"Eduis left behind a spell that prohibits any magic from being performed within the kingdom's walls." Nicolette kicked away one of the rats. The rat went on to another small child eating next to a small building. Everything was straight out of a scene from the dark ages.

"I guess you've tried to fix all this?"

Nicolette turned and glared at me. "Of course I have, Cassandra. But it's hard to help people who have no hope." She waved her arms. "This is what happens when you let a mad man rule the world."

We followed her out of the town center and down a winding stairwell lit by flickering torches. The stairs had been cut into the walls and had no railing on the side opposite the wall. A wrong step and we made it to the bottom dead.

"It smells down here," Nicolette said. "Sewage from the kingdom is leaking through the ground and finding its way into the cavern. We've been working in two-hour shifts just so we can get fresh air."

I stopped when the entrance to the cavern came into view. I closed my eyes and searched for the relic's energy. Not finding it, I then searched the guys' energy finding all four. Braeden's vision still seemed to tug at his soul. I had no idea how to convince him he had nothing to worry about.

We entered the cavern, and the dozen or so people digging stopped and turned. I moved between them and searched for the relic again. "It's not here."

Nicolette scoffed. "Of course it is."

I turned away and started back up the steps.

Oliver caught up and grabbed my hand. "You have to give her a chance, Cass. She's trying to help."

"You're right, Oliver. I'm sorry."

We started up the steps, Oliver trailing behind me. "I want to stay and help them find the relic piece in the kingdom. You know it's here."

I waited to reply until we got to the top of the steps, the others joining us. "Fine, Oliver, stay and help. What're we supposed to do in the meantime?"

"Find the other pieces."

"How do you suppose we do that?"

He pointed at my heart. "With that. Because with that you can't go wrong."

We left Oliver behind and headed out of the kingdom, happy to do so. The despair it left made me want to take a shower and wash away the sadness I'd seen. I had not wanted to leave Oliver. We needed to stay together and be a team when we faced Edius. Most of all, I wanted to be around when he'd meet his father again.