The Sahara Chronicles #1: The Young Foreigner (Available in full on Amazon)

PART XII: DARKNESS UNLEASHED

Elmeida watched grimly as the galloping slowed to a stop.

The head of the Jermian Royal Army stepped forward. He and the soldiers behind him were all wearing the same suits: chainmail over black cloths on their torsos, a black cloth covering their heads almost completely, except for their eyes, and a helmet on the cloth. Only their eyes were visible.

The man that headed this army looked rather sincere as he bowed in front of Elmeida. But she didn't let it fool her.

"Morgana mia, I salute thee," he said, voice husky and bland. His voice may sound foreign to the eastern parts of Sahara, but to her, the accent was familiar. "Pardon me, but I am to take you back to Jermis with me. It is, after all, your homeland. You're being missed there, my mia."

Elmeida snorted, disgust filling her heart. It was known only too well to her that the leader of the Royal Jermian Army did not travel half the planet just for a friendly visit; their utter rampage of Aloris was proof of this.

"Well, it ain't now – of that I'm quite sure," she replied, with an air of authority befitting a monarch. "With the germain gone, and the Morgana Mathra, too, I shouldn't think I should be accepted in the country! Go back whence you have come, Javia!"

"I'm sorry, mia," said the Javia, "but you have no choice in the matter. The Germain has ordered to bring you to Court."

"The Germain? Is there a new one already?"

"Yes."

"Well then, you may tell him I absolutely refuse to obey him in this matter." She was relieved to realise that her trembling wasn't apparent. Something in her seemed to ignite, but she ignored it.

"You know quite well that there is no such thing."

"How can there not be? Does he treat you fairly?"

He seemed to agitate a little. "That is not the point of discussion here, Mia Elmeida!"

She, however, looked calm as a crow. "If he's not treating you fairly, how is it that you're working under him, Umbridge?"

A snicker escaped from the cloth that covered the mouth of the javia, making Elmeida's insides cringe, though it didn't show.

"So, are you saying that you refuse to come home with us, Morgana mia?"

His eyes darted to a spot behind her. Before she knew it, a piece of string swept past her shoulder. She heard a cry behind her, prompting her to turn around. Yor had been tied from feet to neck by the string!

As she saw his skin slowly turn blue and him gasping in despair, the fire in her body burned bright.

It was too late before she realised what it really was. She suddenly felt a piercing ache in her forehead.

"Let – let him be," she muttered through clenched teeth. "D-don't make me w-warn you again."

Javia Umbridge leaned towards her in mock humility. "Pardon me, but what did you say, my mia?" At her plight, his head leaned back and he roared with laughter. "What will you do to me, a mighty and elderly javia?! You're not in battle, yet you're in pain! Poor little creature!" He guffawed again.

Through the pain, her eyes caught sight of John, Alia, Jim, and Mike. 'Oh L-lady Celia... I... I feel my conscious slipping away... Please... no matter what happens next, please take care of my family... and Yor Cas... Castel...'

Aloud, Elmeida said, in a quiet, dangerous voice, "I request you to let him be." The deep dark voice that spoke through her terrified her, but she couldn't react to it. Her gaze became rather unsteady—though she could see the javia and his army clearly, the rest became hazy. Gradually, her vision covered in red and black, until she could see only Javia Umbridge.

The javia sneered at her, a triumphant expression on his face. "Ah, the famous Dark Shield... My dearest Elmeida, you're too weak yet to be able to control all that immense power you've got from your naïve mother. Why don't you let it go? Why don't you let me take you away without struggle? I'll even give you the best seat in the carriage – and the best castle once we're home! You can be my wife and we –"

Elmeida could see his mouth moving, but his voice never reached her. The only thoughts running through her mind were the red-and-black images of the way her parents were massacred in front of her eyes, the bravery of her younger brother, Jarvis, gone waste in the end when he, too, was murdered – all for the sake of protecting her, the next Morgana Mathra.

And now, Yor was all tied up and her only other family was in danger. She spotted her aunt and nephews in the crowd. All because of what she was.

'Yor,' a small rough feminine voice inside her said. 'That's unforgiveable, isn't it, dear Elmeida? Your family has been gone for a week now, and you couldn't help their deaths.'

Elmeida Yuri was on the verge of denying the voice, which had begun speaking to her ever since she had arrived in Aloris. However, the last few words changed her mind:

'But, what about Yor? You can help that, can't you? You have the power now...' The voice trailed off suggestively.

The next moment, her vision turned red as blood, and her conscious slipped away.

Alia couldn't believe what she – and perhaps a thousand others – witnessed in that short moment.

When she heard the commotion going on in Aloris and the running feet of what sounded like a dozen horses, she instantly grabbed her husband and raced away. Her Morgan blood told her to head back to their house.

Though he neither knew nor understood what was happening, John knew his wife too well to stop her and went along.

They arrived from behind the farmhouse, where the screams grew louder. Two figures dashed out of the cottage to confront a gathering she instantly recognised as the Morgan Army.

"Oh no," she whispered aloud.

"What is the Dark Army doing here?" asked John in a quiet voice. "Did they finally get wind of our niece?"

Alia nodded. "It's the only explanation."

"But how? Surely Elmeida made sure nobody followed her?!"

She shook her head. "She was too scared when she came to you. In fact, I sensed her—so strong was her emotion. I knew she arrived in the country long before she met you."

John smiled briefly. "That's my girl, all right—always in the know. Now, what do you think we should do?"

Alia nodded slowly, thoughtfully. "Every power needs its right moment to make its entrance."

"Ah, so what do you think we should do? Draw it out?"

She shook her head again. "The chase has been doing it all on its own. The starting point was when the chase began. The breaking point is soon to come."