The smoke hung heavy in the air, overtaking the sweet and savory smells that permeated the festival. The wooden poles that held the steel grates over the roaring flames were overturned, and the meats were ravaged by the beasts that hunted with the red-eyed shifter.
Splintered tables lay scattered in the chaos and destruction from the ringed walls surrounding the castle to the valley below. The fires consumed the straw roofs and wooden carts as peasants fled into the forests with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
The screams that followed the singing and dancing still reverberated in my mind as I stared at the utter destruction. I knew that if the villagers did not die today, their last breath would find them in the depths of a frozen winter’s night. Everything that kept their meager existence from expiring was destroyed within mere moments.
I sat on my useless throne, ready to throw my life away, for I was as hopeless as the sun was without the planets in orbit. All of my options to save them burned with the storage sheds and the trampled fields.
Our food was destroyed. Our horses devoured. Their shelters were smashed. The market stalls burned along with the merchant carts.
And he still roamed in the shadows, waiting to aim an arrow between my eyes and watch me beg for my life. I prayed for the wisdom and protection to avoid the fate that awaited me.
I watched my magician walk into the throne room and mutter under his breath. His magic weighed down my soul. When our eyes met, I said, “You can’t summon dark forces to fight him.”
My cloak dragged across the filthy stone floors as I closed the distance between us. I slammed my fist on the table and growled. “You are a bigger fool than I took you for! If you bring the shadows into this realm, they will destroy us from the inside out. The ancient words were forbidden for a reason.”
Unable to hide the vile thoughts swirling in his mind, his crooked smile revealed his true intentions. “My King, fear not. I’ll create diversions for the shade and give you some time to save your people.”
Ruen was unable to hide his plans as I sifted through his thoughts. He tried to block my attack, but I was stronger than he surmised. Without waiting for words of protest, I said, “I, King Gunnar, sentence you, Ruen, to a life of banishment in the Netherworld for your treachery and betrayal.”
I watched his frame turn to dust and blow into the winds, as his soul traveled to the Netherworld, where he would spend eternity for his crimes. All of his memories and power would be stripped from him, leaving him a shell of the man he never was.
This temporary win left me drained, knowing my people were in grave danger. While I contemplated my next move, my beloved entered the battered chamber and asked, “Gunnar, how will this end?”
She stood there as innocent as a dove, in her mint green dress, with its golden threads and ornate lace. Her golden hair cascaded around her face, and her lips called to me. For mere seconds, I wondered if she was not another trap to lull me into a false sense of security before my enemy returned to end my miserable existence.
“Freya, I fear I shall descend into madness, and the kingdom will be overthrown by evil.”
She grabbed my hands and said, “Don’t speak your fears out loud, lest you speak them into existence.”
From the frightened look upon her face, I knew she trusted her seers and their superstitions. "Please, my love, come here. I need to think about his weaknesses and how to bring him to his knees. How do I exploit the evil in his heart and the power he bears?"
Her anxiety traced a path of ice through my heart as her words echoed in the great chamber. "There is only one way to kill these creatures. Your magic will not save you, but your sword may, if you can stab him through his heart."
My kingdom would fall. I would die if I faced the shade in battle, especially if I was distracted by her presence. "You must hide. I need you to seek our secret place and stay there until I find you or when you feel my spirit leave this earth."
"I shall not leave your side."
"No. I can't fight with you near me. My mind will be on you and not the battle ahead. Please, retreat."
I watched as she decided whether she would obey my command. Her face twisted with each decision, but in the end, she kissed my lips and faded into the shadows until our fate was sealed.
Once alone, I pulled Glimmerstone from its hilt and waited in the center of the room. "Valdis, show yourself. We shall battle it out until the end."
I dragged my sword along the stone floor, dulling the blade, but he did not show. He left me there, wearing me down, until exhaustion settled in my bones and my weapon grew heavy in my arms.
Before his shadow materialized, he cast his first spell, hitting me in the center of my chest. My final energy reserves failed me, as his spell took hold. Within seconds, he stood above me, as I stared into his red eyes.
He kicked my sword across the floor, as I listened to the metal moving further from my grasp. Thoughts of the end surrounded me, bringing comfort. Would my lost memories in the Netherwold ease my passing? Perhaps my love for Freya would transcend the journey, and we could live in peace?
I was a fool. My soul would never know the joys of passing, for he would use my body to create another shade and build his army. All was lost.
As the blade pierced my skin, my eyes snapped to the corner of the room. The whirling of an arrow broke the silence, giving way to his ear-piercing screams.
Freya's arrow hit her mark.
His body crumpled to the ground, half landing on my prostrate form. His soul broke free, and he turned to dust, setting my kingdom free from his tyranny.
