The Assassin Princess (The Legacy Novels Book 1) Page 3

  “If the city was doing so well, why did my father leave? Why is this Adam so angry?” She ate another berry and glanced across the river. The water shimmered and flashed, images forming and rising from the water, floating upon surface. There was a man who rode a horse through fields, across hills, a crystal-tipped spear at his side.

  “Hundreds of years passed in peace and prosperity, and through that time, one family clung to power. A son or daughter would inherit the land as the last lord or lady died, but hate, jealousy, and deceit soon reared their heads in each new generation. A son who would challenge his father’s rule; a daughter would poison her mother and steal the horn. Peace and prosperity, like beauty, is only ever in the eye of the beholder, and though the city thrived and the lands expanded, the rulers became ruthless and cruel; it changed hands frequently.

  “The lords and ladies would ride from the city into the Planrus Lands to hunt, and it was on such an excursion that Lord Harold became curious. He’d been lord for only a few years, but had heard stories about an impenetrable forest in the north, a forest that, no matter the attempt, never yielded. Axes would blunt, swords would break; climbing was treacherous and ended in surrender or death. He went to find it, and find it he did.”

  Hero walked from the forest as Ami sat upon the grassy bank, her eyes fixed to the rushing river, watching history unfold.

  “Lord Harold tried his sword on a branch, but the sword flew from his hand. He tried to climb, and fell. With the horn-tipped spear he tried to stab the trees, yelling for entry, and found himself thrown backward into his horse that galloped away, back to the city.

  “He was stranded, but determined. The horn had corrupted his heart with such arrogance, such assuredness, that he walked to the east and followed the impenetrable forest wall until he came to this very river. He followed it, finding the entrance to the forest where the river springs.

  “None saw him again.”

  Ami watched the man enter between the trees and vanish. A moment later however, another walked from the dark path between them. He started back along the river, picking his way through the forest.

  “Yes, another came from those lands, and after three days of travelling, arrived at the city gates. With the crystal horn in his hand, he made his way to the castle where he told all that he was Harold’s son, Garth. He claimed to be from another layer and made himself lord.

  “There was an uprising, but it was soon crushed as Garth used the horn’s power against his own people, removing enemy from enemy, expelling the old rule and ushering in his own.

  “It became a tradition for the old lord to walk to the forests of the Mortrus Lands when they felt their time was done. Without fail, a new young leader would emerge, the horn a sceptre in his hands. No longer was a son or daughter born of the land an heir to the throne, and in knowing this, there was no more bloodshed, the line of lords purified.

  “Each new lord would tell of being raised in a different time and place, of how they were trained and prepared for the day they’d enter a new land. Each told of how the old lords regained their youth and started new lives, begat new families. None, however, would tell of their journey into the Mortrus Lands. None remembered, and none could break the tradition. It was their legacy, and the land was named after it.”

  The spell broke once more, and Ami shook her head, clearing the images from her sight.

  “How come I can see, actually see what you are saying? It kinda takes over my mind.” Ami stood and reached out again, this time to stroke the unicorn’s nose.

  Xavier allowed this, bowing his head to her touch. “It is easiest to show you, as our power gives us sight. We see all things around us, if we choose to look. We watched over the centuries with great interest, the legacy of our fallen brother, and what he unwittingly helped to spawn. When one of us sees, we can all see, and so I can show you the start of your legacy.” Xavier moved then, away from Ami. “Hero, have you provisioned for your journey west?”

  Hero had been leaning against a tree with his dark eyes watching the images unfold as Ami had been. “My men are close by.”

  “Very well.” Xavier turned back to Ami. “Our time together grows short, so I must continue, then you shall continue on your journey, and I hope, unhindered.”

  Ami took a deep breath, and then looked out to the river again. She watched a leaf swirl and swirl around a branch, turning and turning as the man turned, looking behind him and all around him as he left the moonlit city.

  “Lord Graeme, your father, was an old man. He’d left his wife in the night and walked from the city to end his time. The lord was to walk the last walk alone, a three day trek to the Mortrus Lands. He was drawn there, longed for it.

  “Once he’d reached the forest though, another revealed himself. His son, Adam, had followed him the whole way, keeping out of sight. Adam was jealous and angry, and wanted to be the next Lord of Legacy. He saw it as his birth right, though he knew it would never be allowed. So he’d devised a plan. He would murder his father and throw him into the forest, returning to Legacy with the horn, proclaiming himself lord. A fight ensued and both men fell into the forest, neither to emerge again.

  “None knew where Graeme and Adam had gone, not until recently, thirty years after they’d disappeared.”

  Ami looked up. “Thirty years?”

  “Legacy has had no ruler in that time,” Hero said, pushing away from the tree. “His wife is still alive, Lady Grace.”

  “But, my dad isn’t an old man,” Ami said. “You have the wrong Graeme, you have the wrong Ami!” There was a brightness to her voice. Settled, she could go home. And yet there was also disappointment. She didn’t want it to be over.

  “We don’t know what happens when one enters the Mortrus Lands,” Xavier said. “We have no knowledge of those lands as they are older than even we are. The old lord regains the youth he lost in Legacy, and that is all we can glean.”

  “A second life?” Ami said, feeling the excitement bubble again. It wasn’t over. “So Dad could have had the life I know of and a life in Legacy?”

  “Yes,” Xavier said. “The Mortrus Lands are unknown, a mystery. We suspected that Graeme had returned to your layer, but we didn’t know of Adam’s whereabouts until now.

  “The horn is powerful and the power infected each that used it, spreading it through each generation, all the way through to you.”

  Ami shook her head. “No, I don’t have any—”

  “You defended yourself against my attack,” Hero said to her. “You have power within you, enough to dream, enough to reach into those dreams, enough to make a connection.”

  “But I never—I haven’t—” She shook her head. “I haven’t made any connection.”

  “Your painting,” Xavier said, lowering his muzzle so that his eyes were level with hers. “You were painting this valley, though you didn’t know it, and were reaching into your dreams, using your power. You painted the herd, and we felt you calling to us from far away. We looked, we searched, and finally found you.

  “The moment we found the connection though, we realised we were not the only ones to know of you. Adam has the broken horn that Graeme possessed, and we felt him, his hand on the horn, his thoughts running through ours. He now knows of you and knew where to find you. He was bent on going after you. We sent an envoy to Legacy and Hero rode back to us. We sent him to you using your connection, your painting, as a portal through the layers.”

  “He’s coming after me?” The vampire flashed in her memory, the white face, the pulsing green eyes.

  “He’s been living in Noxumbra, to the far east of Solancra. Using the horn, he’s fashioned himself a home there, and has been waiting for an heir to show themselves. Planning, plotting, his mind is twisted with hatred and misuse of power. He is unable to enter Legacy, though it is unclear as to why. He is dangerous, and wants revenge.”

  “He almost got to you in your layer,” Hero said, coming closer, “and he tried when you arrived in this on
e. As soon as we leave the protection of the unicorns here, it is likely he will try again.”

  Ami looked between them. “Can’t we stay here?” she asked.

  Hero shook his head. “It is your destiny, Princess, to come back with me to Legacy.”

  “And what will he do with me if finds me? Kill me?”

  “We don’t know, but I won’t let that happen.”

  Ami wasn’t convinced. Though he’d now saved her twice from some evil, crazy-man, this all seemed too big, too magical for just a man with a sword. He was just a man, wasn’t he? “How are you planning on protecting me? Are you some kind of superhero?”

  “With skill, Princess,” Hero said, giving a slanted grin. “It’s what I have trained for all my life.”

  Chapter Four

  Perhaps it was just the way the branches moved, filtering the light through the shadow, but Ami was sure there were things between the trunks of the woodland opposite; a vampire lying in wait, his blood-red lips quivering in a manic smile.

  Watching you.

  The trees breathed and the leaves sighed as they rustled high above, whispering to her; she heard their murmurings even over the sound of the river’s rush, and it made her skin crawl.

  “Hero, I think there is something out there,” she said, but Hero was already alerted and by her side, his dark eyes scanning the trees. He raised his finger to his lips and pointed to the left of them, across the river and into the forest. There she saw flickers of grey movement, though it was hard to make out. Whatever or whoever it was, they were quite camouflaged. There was a sound of voices, and as Hero drew his sword, two hooded men emerged from the foliage, leading horses out of the gloom.

  “I told you we were heading right all along.”

  “Yes, well done. When we get back I’ll give you a medal.”

  Hero dropped his guard and waved across the river. “Men!” he shouted. “What’s taken you so long?”

  The men waved back. “I’m sorry, Hero,” said one. “Raven had us riding in circles.”

  “It wasn’t my fault!” the other called in response.

  “We leave soon.” Hero then turned to Ami. “These are my most trusted men from the Guard, Raven and Kane. They will accompany us on our journey.”

  The newcomers stole glances at her as they jostled for position at the edge, and Ami breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t Adam. She hadn’t realised until that moment how frightened she was. Only hours ago she’d convinced herself that it was all a dream, but was now jumping at shadows. Get a grip. She looked from the men on the opposite bank to the water, and then to Hero. “How do we cross the river?”

  The water was deep and rapid, and Ami didn’t think they could swim it. Hero turned to Xavier. “Will you help us with that?”

  “Certainly,” the unicorn said. He walked to the edge and bowed down toward the water, his horn flaring a bright white. A strange glugging sound started as large bubbles broke the surface, spanning the width of the river. A crunching noise followed as large black rocks rose to the surface, creating an uneven pathway between the banks.

  Xavier lifted his glistening horn, the water settling once more. “This path will submerge once you’re across.” He walked over to Ami, addressing her directly. “Remember that as soon as you cross, all protection from us ends. Be safe and be careful. Let Hero guide you, but trust yourself to protect and defend.”

  “Thank you,” she said. “Thank you for all of this, whatever this really is.”

  “I know it may seem unreal to you,” he whispered, lowering his large muzzle to her, “but remember your dreams. Just because it’s unreal, it doesn’t mean that it’s not real.”

  “It’ll be okay,” Hero said, leading her to the edge, the stepping stones before her. “Kane and Raven are in front, and I’m behind you. You are protected. Now, take the step.”

  Ami looked down at the first rock, the river running fast around its base. She lifted her foot, let it hover for a moment, then stepped forward.

  *

  The first few steps across the rocks took her to the middle of the river where the water frothed and parted, reached for her before failing, falling, and continuing downstream.

  Within a minute Ami had made it across, the two Guards taking her arms and lifting her onto the bank; on the other side, the unicorn had gone. His warnings of protection rang in her ears, just as a chill ran through her, making her feel cold and exposed—she could be attacked at any moment, killed, kidnapped, and only the men with her stood between her life and death.

  She looked to each of them. Hero’s eyes bore into her as he checked her over, making sure of her safety, while Raven and Kane eyed her with suspicion or awe, though she wasn’t sure with which. She heard birds singing high-up in unseen places, and for a moment, their sweet song distracted Ami from her thoughts—until she felt the chill once again.

  Watching you.

  Hero placed his arm around her and drew her in. “He is watching,” he said. “He is near. I feel his chill in the very air. We must move.” He brought one of the horses forward and helped Ami up onto its back before climbing up himself.

  Raven and Kane had already mounted the other and were turning to face the new forest. “Princess,” said the one named Raven, “it is lovely to meet you.”

  “Umm, thanks,” she said, as Hero brought his horse parallel to the other. “You too.”

  “Enough,” Hero said. “We keep close, tight ranks.”

  Kane nodded, and holding the reigns of the other horse, started a slow walk into the shadows, Hero and Ami at their side.

  The light disappeared fast, dimming to a washed-out gloom as the sights and sounds of the river faded behind them. Their path was a carpet of dried twigs, pine needles, fallen leaves and yellowed grasses, leading them into a more open woodland than Solancra. Ami listened to the birds sing a mournful song between the creaking of far reaching limbs, the rustle of shivering leaves, and watched as a squirrel darted from her right to scramble up a trunk. Shadow gave way to light and light gave way to shadow, the whole space feeling ethereal, and more unreal to Ami than anything else. It was a dream world, passing quietly, scenery moving around its actors.

  A large bird soared past, cutting the air against her cheek. It flew to the highest branches and hovered there like a hawk, another joining it, then a third, all three as black as the night.

  “Hero, I—”

  “I see them, be still,” he said, reaching back to clasp her hand.

  A woodpecker rattled to her right, and Ami’s eyes flashed through the endless forest, the light fading and growing, shifting and creeping.

  A fourth bird joined.

  “What are they?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. Dark power.” He signalled for Kane to stop, pulling on his own reigns. “I don’t want to go beneath them.”

  He pulled his horse to the left, edging slowly around a tree and pointing them a different path.

  The birds flapped and hovered, black blots in the shaded browns.

  Ami ducked as two, three, four more birds flew past and hovered above their new path. Eight birds.

  “What should we do?” Raven asked, leaning over to whisper. “We can’t go round, we need to continue onward.”

  Hero nodded and moved them forward, his sword now firm in his grip.

  The tension was tangible, the smell of wood and grass ripe and close. Ami’s eyes were glued to their bulbous, black bodies and their spindly clawed feet; their thick flapping wings counted the beats of her heart as they passed underneath.

  Then the birds dropped.

  Ami’s screams were stolen with her breath as Hero launched into a full gallop, dodging trees, jumping roots, the forest flickering frames of light and dark. The Guards had drawn their swords and the two horses battled for speed through the thicket.

  Ami clung tight to Hero and looked behind them. There weren’t just eight birds anymore, but scores of them. One gained on them, its ugly head squawking before the
whole bird exploded into a black mist. Ami gagged as she breathed the stuff in, tasting ash and dirt. The mist pulled together and formed two new birds; more explosions, more birds—fifty, a hundred—the path behind was black with them.

  She turned to Hero and found the black terror overtaking them on each side. Hero’s sword sung as it sliced through the air above them, to the left, to the right, but the birds continued to multiply, diving at them, their sharp beaks, their sharp, scratching claws.

  They burst from the trees and flew down the slope of the land, the horses halting and rearing beneath them. The world was now nothing but black feathers and confusion as Ami was pecked and scratched; her cheeks bled as claws cut her, her clothes shredding fast. Batting at them, she screamed and flung her arms out, this way, that way, kicking and punching, grabbing and clawing—but with each handful of feathers, a hundred more birds appeared. She felt a release from Hero as she was lifted from the saddle by the strength of a thousand wings.

  It was then that she felt something snap inside her.

  Trust yourself to protect and defend.

  Ami let out a cry as she burst into flame, the purple fire running down her arms and legs, covering her body in an instant. Her hair and clothes were alight but didn’t burn, and though she expected it, there was no pain at all; instead there was a seductive power that made her feel as if she could extend herself through each licking tongue of flame and swallow the world. The black bodies of the birds began to explode as the flames caught them and spread like wildfire through the swarm. Soon Ami was engulfed in a cloud of burning dust that went as quickly as it’d come, the fire extinguishing as she landed back to the ground.

  Her eyes fixed on the deep blue sky above her, and she watched the last remaining bird circle before darting out of sight. Black dust rose with the breeze and disappeared.