Crimson Darkness Trilogy: Book 2 - Redemption

Chapter 5: The Secrets We've Been Told

~I'm impressed, you were actually able to resist long enough. Some would not even last a minute. Ok then, here is another one."

In his mind he suddenly found himself in battle. Men stood around dragons with golden tipped spears. He realized he himself was one of the surrounded dragons. He felt the stab of a golden spear through one of his wings and howled in pain. It seemed to have a poison that spread through his entire body paralyzing him. So this is what the magic in the spears does, he thought grimly. 

Though it was an illusion, the pain seemed real enough and as he fell he saw the men closing in to finish him off. His pulse quickened. He felt the heat of the fire within him well up to his mouth. As they raised their spears to strike, the image disappeared. Coleske opened his eyes abruptly, panting.

"In the end, mortality is faced by all creatures," Mira said simply.

"Well, now that you have broken your mental connection I suppose we can stop and talk about other matters," the king said. He remained silent for a moment, his expression unreadable.

"Something happened in the Ryusendo Caves of the High Order of Monks. Their Keeper of Scrolls was discovered in their archive rooms practicing dark magic. He was communicating with the souls of the damned. When they tried to apprehend him, well, it turns out he had his own secret followers in the High Order. 

Some were killed as they made their escape. Several members have been unaccounted for, though it's difficult to say who was a supporter and who was not. One of the missing members is The Oracle. With him missing, we fear the worst. They must be headed to the kingdom of Kora in the North Pole. An ancient power lies there and in the hands of evil, none of us are safe. The Oracle was the only one who could possibly know its location, though we do not know if he is a hostage or an accomplice."

Coleske stared at the king in horror. That would mean it was this Keeper of Scrolls who had framed Lisbon. Had Lisbon escaped? Had he been warned of the dangers coming? His head swam with thoughts and he grimaced.

"What will we do?" he managed to ask.

"For now, we wait. The people in the Kingdom of Kora have been warned. If there is an attack on their lands we will help them. There is a small chance even The Oracle does not know the location of this ancient power. Mira has told me part of his mind has been blocked by something, or someone. Even he cannot access this part."

Coleske nodded and stared at the carpet in front of him in deep thought. What of Kiyohime then? A small voice at the back of his mind whispered. I will go to the caves myself to see if she is still alive, he responded. And the voice went silent.

"Let us end the training for today," the king said rising. All in the room fell to their knees and bowed.

"Coleske," he beckoned. "You can join me and the Old Master and we shall discuss this matter further over food and wine. Mira we will see you tomorrow morning."

Coleske and Mira both thanked the king and followed him out the door.

. . . . .

The Gatekeeper stood not far from the opening on the ground and watched as thousands upon thousands of souls came out and made their way into The Underworld. It had been a few days since The Oracle's visit and nothing had been the same since. After he had said the word Pudre, the entire area had shook and his connection with The Underworld told him something had changed. Instinctively he had gone to check on the mysterious place being scratched at The Valley of the Lost Souls. 

He arrived to find a small crack had been made and was gradually increasing by size. As the two sides of the crack were pulled apart he peered into the darkness that lay beyond. Suddenly a bright light shone and he staggered back. To his amazement, he could see souls coming out of the hole. Because of the mysterious light, it was quite difficult to make out what they looked like.