The Downfall of the Kingdom

Chapter 21

Anne faltered, "What to the Alenti twins have to do with the spell?"

Salvatora sighed. She now remembered the spell. Anne suddenly screamed and Stefan rushed over to her. Blood dripped from the scroll.

"Relax, it is the blood that powers the spell," Salvatora said.

Stefan hesitated, "Maybe it is time to tell us the story Salvatora."

She nodded and began...

Domitates was in the forest where he had turned into this creature for the first time. The truth frightened him. The witch was right. He looked at his gruesome hands.

"Why didn't I kill them? Because I'm not powerful enough yet. She was right, evil hearts are hard to come by now," Domitates answered his own question. He licked the finger hanging around his neck. He had no allies to send out. He had nothing. Almost four years before his imprisonment, he had used a woman by the name of Rose to get inside information on the kingdoms. He managed to surprise so many thanks to her. Domitates thought back to that time. He had killed millions then. He smiled at that thought. But he had grown far too fond of that woman. She was such a powerful magician and so very useful. She had even managed to place him inside of a human body for a few weeks. They were alone during that time and when Domitates was returned after the spell lost its power, he remembered nothing. All he saw was a note with the words 'You trusted me. It appears that an evil heart can love but now the kingdom has a weapon against you.'

He still doesn't understand although he has tried and tried. Perhaps he thought, she thought the witches how to create the weapon dwelling in Anscancar. Thinking about Rose made him remember that Stefan was close to the princess. He made a plan.

"Eighteen years ago..." Salvatora began, "Domitates was imprisoned and defeated. Your father, Veldon, had managed to strike a sword through him. On it was his blood as well as Jake Alenti's blood. He was the younger of the two and so, his blood was far more innocent. He gave it up willingly being only a baby of three years. When the blood entered Domitates, he lost his power and Veldon had the power to banish him to the forest, but nothing more."

Stefan thought for a while, "But why can't we do that now?"

Salvatora repeated the story that Veldon had also said about how they were too old and how the blood would not be given up of their own accord.

There was silence for a long time. Salvatora didn't know if the two people opposite her were completely stupid and blind or were simply too shocked to speak. Finally, she could stand it no longer and prompted, "The Alenti brothers are the only ones whose blood we could use."

Anne looked up slowly and asked in a quiet voice which echoed in the cave, "Why them?"

Salvatora smiled, "They are the sons of Domitates and Rose."

Domitates figured out his next step. He would go and take Anne once she reached the kingdom. Her father and Stefan would come right into his hands and all would be well again. He would feast on Stefan and keep his hand bearing the mark as another piece to hang around his neck. H growled. It seemed to him that every time he thought of Stefan and Anne in union, that Rose came to mind. She seemed to be a traitor but then why would she have helped him to kill so many. Maybe it was all an act? Domitates was not sure but he had made sure that whilst imprisoned, she suffered at the hands of Zenodius who had come to him in his tenth year of imprisonment. Now his thoughts turned to the wolves on that note. He had killed them all but ten. Ten very powerful wolves.

Stefan and Anne were speechless. "But how did that happen?" Anne asked.

"And more importantly, who?" Stefan spat out, completely disgusted?

Salvatora began once more, "There was a woman named Rose who was a powerful magician. She worked for Domitates and was the cause of many deaths. She even led the creature of the darkness to kill her own family without even knowing it. She was a wreck after the death of her family. She fled to Veldon, asking him for help. He told her that she could help to destroy Domitates if she pledged to do exactly as he commanded. She did so.

We, the witches, had thought that because Domitates relied on blood so much, that if we had his own blood, we could control him. But Domitates did not bleed. So, Rose had given him a human's body to reside in temporarily. Domitates grew fond of her and this led to him trusting her. They spent weeks together in human form and this eventually led to them conceiving the children. I think that the two men down there are lucky that they didn't inherit a single attribute from their father. That would've been a problem."

"Do they know?" Anne questioned.

"No and they should never know."

Jake and Richard suddenly peered through the entrance smiling.

Jake looked in triumphantly, "I found the cave! We were getting worried."

"Hi Anne," Richard said.

Salvatora leaned over and whispered into Stefan's ear.

He nodded and cast a false smile upon his face. He spoke, "Come, Jake, Richard, let us leave Salvatora and Anne. They wish to sleep here for the night and want some privacy. We will set up our shelter at the foot of the mountain for the night."

Neither protested and they did leave but Jake first gave Anne his communication device. He was about to stride into the cave but Anne quickly realised this and so leapt out with great speed into the freezing weather outside. He was a bit startled but said nothing but her strange behaviour. He simply explained how to use his device. It was an enchanted leaf which he told her to blow in whence she had whispered the message and utter his name. She took it wearily from his outstretched hand hardly wanting to come into contact with his dark skin.

Salvatora only spoke when they were alone. "Tonight, come midnight, you must say the spell to unveil the weapon."

"Won't the spell immediately kill them?" she asked in a quivering voice.

"No, it is not a normal spell but a series of spells combined previously with many potions. The boys will not be harmed nor should they."

Anne nodded.

Stefan and the Alenti twins had set up their camp and had immediately retreated inside.

"Cum ignis cremo," Stefan whispered, allowing himself to absorb the heat.

Jake shyly entered the room and asked Stefan a question, "Hello," he shook Stefan's hand, "I was wondering if you could tell me about that mark on your hand?"

Richard also entered. Stefan did not mind them at all in terms of the fact that they were the sons of Domitates. Salvatora, his trusted teacher, had assured him that they were pure of heart and so he believed her with his full heart. However, he did mind their sudden interest in Anne. The thoughts of whether or not she felt the same way about him plagued his thoughts. Jake brought him back to the present, "Can you?"

"Yes sorry," he replied and explained, "The mark, as Salvatora has explained to me, is very rare. You can only be born with it and it is always a circle with two lines running through it. People who bear the mark are extremely powerful magicians and magic somehow comes naturally. They are intelligent and were once considered to be a curse to the people. We also have special powers which have to be unlocked. Salvatora has told me that none in history have ever been able to do so."

Jake's eyes glistened with curiosity. "People who come into contact with me often gain new magical abilities. What if I'm that key to unlock your power?"

Richard smiled enthusiastically, "Yes, I've never been able to do this but my music makes up for it." A soft melody entered the room. Stefan was in awe of the sound.

He found himself wondering about what this power could be and he thought back to his warm cottage.

For the last eighteen years, Stefan had lived with Salvatora. At first, she had read myths and legends to him as a young boy. Then he had learned how to fight, read and write. She then taught him spells. At sixteen, Salvatora had told him the legend of how the mark had special powers locked away inside. He had asked her how to unlock it, but it was one of the rare things that she did not know. He had almost forgotten about it until now.

For the second time, Jake brought Stefan out of his trance. "What do you say? Shall we test our theory?"