Kyera felt numb, the world around her devolving into chaos . She sat on her knees on the stage, blood drenching her hands and the edges of her dress where it touched the growing pool on the ground . The people had scrambled to take up the defense, disappearing into the woods to find the invaders .
Bryson was helping the Matriarch off the stage, acting as a wall so no one could touch her . The other royals disappearing through their own escape routes . Kyera sat alone on the stage accompanying the fallen musician and her apprentice who was desperately trying to pull her away .
"Princess, we have to run… Princess!" she yelled but Kyera didn't hear her . She had failed . The woman's lung was shredded by the arrow, there was nothing she could do . Even if she had moments longer, her spirit energy wasn't enough . So much had been lost by a single arrow let loose .
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The portal closed, the Matriarch would die without the nectar to nourish the flower, and with her death all the Snowdrop trees would wither and die . The land would become barren again . Normally they would open the portal again, and try once more as a emergency . However, the Portal Keeper is dead, and her successor too young to know the song and ritual of the shadows . No one was skilled enough in shade magic to open the portal, and the one who was didn't… didn't know how . Kyera felt anguish in her heart as his name crossed her mind .
Clovis… lost in the world of Shadows, alone with no idea why she abandoned him . Would he die thinking the worst of her . Kyera felt her heart scream in agony . What she didn't do, was hear the heart felt cry of a woman in pain, as though she was being torn in half . She didn't feel the tears that trailed down her cheeks and dripped into the blood pool growing around her . She didn't realize she was being lifted up and carried away, her mind retreated from another loss, a loss she couldn't mentally contend with .
***********************
The Shadow Realm: Garden of Souls
The sky swirled in its deep grey colors, as if thunder clouds filtered the sunlight . Shadow creatures moved through the underbrush, unaware or without care for the man who had just walked into their world . It was the time of the fleshling, and smaller demons were well aware that even if they completed the kill, there was a good chance the larger creatures would steal the best parts of the soul, like the displacer beast that currently chased after him .
Clovis jumped off a log and grabbed onto a vine hanging out of a tree, praying it would hold his weight . He swung forward, faster than he could have run, just as he crossed the center mark of the river below, he heard a gut wrenching sound . It was like a snapping rip that changed his perfect swing into a sudden chaos . He managed to keep himself balanced enough to land on the other side, splashing some of the muck of the river onto his bare legs .
Somehow in the short time he had been here he had managed to lose his coat to a creature who clawed it off of him, wich he barely escaped . His leather pants got coated in a black sticky ooze that was pulling him under, but he managed to escape that one by taking them off . At this point he was wearing the short pants that went under the fur leather pants to protect his jewels, and his necklace . That was it . Oh and he had managed to retain his sword, but he had a feeling it didn't have much of a chance against the beast hurdling after him .
Presently, Clovis landed in the muck, his momentum throwing him forward as he zigged and zagged through the trees, changing his trail every few steps so that he wasn't predictable . If the creature got ahead of him, he was done for .
The black panther like creature leaped up onto a branch and ran across the river . Its four long tentacles, ending in toothy maws was hot on his trail . If the creature was just a bit smaller, Clovis would have been its dinner by now . 5 sets of green eyes were trained on him as the creature navigated the forest . The problem was, it didn't seem to be overly angry that it had not caught him yet .
That made Clovis uneasy just as he came on the reason why . He threw his breaks on, digging his heels into the dirt skidding to a stop a few inches before the point of no return . The fourth prince managed to fall onto his butt, his feet skidding forward to dangle over the edge .
The beast had been unhurried because as long as his prey ran the way she wished… it was hers .
Chapter end
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