Burning Shadows Read online

  Contents

  Copyright

  Also By the Author

  Dedication

  Map

  Title Page

  Prologue: Fortid

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  About the Author

  Preview of Cage of Deceit

  BURNING SHADOWS: Order of the Krigers, Book Two

  Copyright © 2016 by Jennifer Anne Davis.

  Edited by Cynthia Shepp.

  Cover designed by Marya Heiman.

  Interior designed by Lyssa Chiavari.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and events in this book are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons living or dead is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  All rights reserved. Neither this book, nor any parts within it may be sold or reproduced in any form without permission.

  Published by Reign Publishing.

  ISBN: 978-0-9981516-1-8 k12

  Also by Jennifer Anne Davis

  The True Reign Series

  THE KEY

  RED

  WAR

  Reign of Secrets Series

  CAGE OF DECEIT

  CAGE OF DARKNESS

  CAGE OF DESTINY

  The Order of the Krigers Series

  RISE

  BURNING SHADOWS

  CONQUERING FATE

  For Sarah

  The boy grabbed another dagger off the table. He stood with his feet shoulder-width apart, just as the man instructed. Taking a deep breath, he cleared his mind and focused on the one-inch target twenty feet in front of him. The boy pulled his arm back, and then, in one swift motion, he flung it forward and released the weapon. The dagger flew through the air and landed on the edge of the round target.

  “You missed. Again.” The man strode to the target and plucked the dagger free. “You lack motivation.” When he turned toward the boy, a cruel smile twisted across his face. “I will find the motivation you need.” The man left the room.

  The boy stood there, frozen, unable to move. What would the man do to him this time?

  The man returned a short while later, dragging a kicking-and-screaming girl behind him. After shoving a cloth into her mouth, he secured her arms and legs to the wall beside the target. He painted a black dot above her head, on the wall next to each of her ears, and then on her stomach.

  “Strike the targets around her head,” the man ordered. The boy stared at the dots, each a half-inch wide. The girl furiously shook her head in protest.

  “If you miss,” the man continued, “I will hit the target on her stomach, killing her. Understood?”

  The boy nodded. After choosing a dagger from the table, he observed the girl’s pale face. She looked about twelve years old—the same age he was. Her dress consisted of several different fabrics stitched together. Since there wasn’t a town nearby, she had to be the daughter of one of the servants who worked and lived in this fortress. The girl’s body shook, and her eyes widened with fear. Her filthy, stringy hair was uncombed.

  The boy wished he could tell her he was sorry, but the master wouldn’t like that. He would probably beat the girl in front of him as punishment for speaking. Adjusting his grip, he reached back, preparing to throw the dagger at the target to the right side of her head. He found himself adjusting his aim to ensure he didn’t strike her ear. He flung his arm forward and released the weapon. The dagger sailed through the air, embedding with a solid thunk dead center in the target. The boy closed his eyes, relieved he didn’t slice her ear off.

  “You are perfectly capable of hitting a target,” the man mused. “Good. I was beginning to think you were worthless. Now hit the remaining two.”

  With a steady hand, the boy picked up another dagger. He adjusted his feet, focused on the dot above her head, aimed, and threw. It soared toward the girl, landing in the center of the target. The boy dared a quick glance at her face—tears streamed down her cheeks.

  He clutched the last dagger. One more throw and she would be safe. After tweaking his footing, he focused on the dot next to her left ear. He was about to release the weapon when the man sneezed, breaking the boy’s concentration. He lowered his arm.

  “Why didn’t you throw?” the man asked.

  The boy was about to respond that the man had interrupted him. However, to answer in such a way would warrant a swift and violent punishment. He lifted his arm again, preparing to throw. The man would try to startle him again. He had to block out all distractions in order to save the girl. Everything faded away as he zeroed in on the target. He threw his last dagger. It glided through the air, landing dead center, the handle shaking from the impact.

  “Excellent,” the man said. He walked over and untied the girl’s arms and legs. “It’s time to move on to the next stage of your training.” He pulled the girl forward. When he reached the boy, he forced the girl to her knees. Grabbing her hair, he yanked it back, exposing her neck. “Slit her throat.” He tossed a knife to the boy.

  The boy caught it by the hilt. If he didn’t kill the girl, the man would kill him. However, if he killed the girl, he was no better than the man. He opened his mouth to tell the man no when the man unsheathed his sword and placed it atop the girl’s chest.

  “You care for this creature?” the man asked. “Someone you don’t even know?”

  The boy shook his head. How could he explain he didn’t want to kill anyone?

  “Here,” the man said, giving the sword to the girl. “If you kill this pathetic boy, you can take his place as my apprentice.”

  With shaking hands, the girl readily seized the sword and stood, a look of determination filling her face. The boy realized he had no choice. If he wanted to live, he had to kill. He plunged the knife into the girl’s heart. She tumbled to the ground, the sword clanking on the stone floor.

  As I neared the edge of the forest, the sky turned from solid black to a brilliant orange. Anders cursed, and then sprinted along the narrow dirt path. Vidar and I ran after him, weaving between the towering pine trees. We were too late.

  “Slow down,” Vidar ordered. “There’s nothing we can do to warn them now.”

  Anders continued running as if he hadn’t heard. We exited the forest and came to the top of a fifty-foot cliff overlooking the valley below.

  I fell to my knees, dropping my bo staff. “The entire village is on fire,” I said, horrified by the sight. Screaming people ran every which way in an attempt to evade the burning structures.

  Only, there was no escape. The King’s Army surrounded the village. When people tried to force their way past the soldats, they struck them down. Dozens of bodies littered the ground.

  “How can Morlet do this?” I had trouble reconciling the man I’d come to know through my dream-like communications with the one who ordered entire villages, including the people, to be burned to death.

  The heat from the ragi
ng flames was so intense it seemed as if my skin would melt. I panted, sweat dripping down my face.

  “Morlet has been slaughtering the citizens of Nelebek for decades in his quest to find the twelve Krigers.” Anders stared at the valley, his broad shoulders, short brown hair, and chocolate eyes illuminated by the light below. “This is nothing new.”

  “True,” I said. “But now that he knows who the twelve of us are, he doesn’t have to destroy this village to make someone come forward with information.”

  Vidar turned his vibrant blue eyes toward me. “Morlet is trying to find any shred of evidence that might point to where the Krigers are hiding. His methods tend to be quite effective.” He ran his hands through his blond hair, messing it up.

  “I’ll turn myself in.” Then Morlet would leave these innocent people alone.

  “That’s what he wants,” Anders quietly said. “Morlet knows that if he continues on this path of destruction, you’ll likely go to him in order to stop the massacres.”

  “No matter how difficult this is,” Vidar added, “you can’t let him capture you. When we end this, it needs to be on our terms, not his.”

  Morlet had to be furious at Vidar, Anders, and me for breaking the eleven Krigers out of the dungeon. My fingers traced over the now-healed knife wound on my stomach. Anders had inflicted it upon me so we could escape, banking on the fact that the king wouldn’t let me die—not when we were so close to breaking the curse. Vidar had indicated he believed there was more to it than that. He thought Morlet cared for me. Whatever the king’s motivation for saving me was, Anders’s gamble had paid off.

  “You and Kaia head back into the cover of the forest,” Anders said to Vidar. “I’m going to take a closer look.”

  My chest tightened in concern as he slunk away, hiking down the trail etched into the side of the rocky cliff. My feelings for Anders were confusing and muddled. At first, I hated him and his arrogant attitude. Now that I knew him better and had fought alongside him, I considered him a dear friend. Although, friend didn’t quite feel like the right word.

  “What if a soldat sees him?” I asked, alarm setting in. If Anders were discovered, he’d be killed on sight.

  “He’ll be fine.”

  With my father’s death, I couldn’t stand the thought of losing anyone else I cared for. Picking up my bo staff, I hurried after Anders.

  Dirt crunched behind me. “What do you think you’re doing?” Vidar grabbed my arm, pulling me to an abrupt halt. “I want you to go back to the top of this cliff right now.”

  Looking up at him, I rolled my eyes. “You can’t order me around.” Even if he should be the king of Nelebek, he wasn’t. The only way he could reclaim the throne was with Morlet’s death.

  Vidar squeezed my arm tighter. “I swear I’ll throw you over my shoulder and take you out of harm’s way.”

  “Like that won’t attract attention.” I jerked my arm from his grasp and tucked my shoulder-length brown hair behind my ears. “Morlet won’t kill me—I’m a Kriger. However, he won’t hesitate to violently take Anders’s life.” The last words Morlet had spoken to me were ones of revenge. He swore he’d kill the other Krigers, the warriors created by Grei Heks, the good witch of Nelebek, then make me watch as he burned Vidar and Anders. I willed the memory away, so I could focus on the task before me.

  “Anders is a trained assassin. He can sneak down there, and no one will notice him.” Vidar pinched the bridge of his nose. “Please, Kaia.”

  “I’m sorry. I have to help him. You’re the future king. Go back to the top where it’s safe.” Without waiting for his response, I continued after Anders.

  I hugged the rocky cliff, keeping my eyes on my footing. The two-foot wide trail was rather steep.

  Boots pounded behind me. “I’ll come with you,” Vidar huffed. I wanted to argue, but Anders could use help from the both of us.

  We caught up to Anders at the bottom of the cliff. His eyes flashed with fury, but he remained silent, not wanting to attract the soldats’ attention.

  The village was in the center of the valley. The outskirts contained mostly farmland. We headed northward between the squash and green beans.

  “Do you have a plan?” I asked.

  Anders shook his head.

  The soldats created a perimeter about a hundred feet to my right. One soldat seemed in charge of setting the dead bodies on fire. The smell of burning flesh invaded my senses, making my stomach roll and my eyes water. I rubbed my temples, trying to ease my budding headache. “Morlet can search the place without killing all these people.”

  “You don’t know Morlet as well as you think you do,” Vidar said.

  My skin prickled at his comment.

  The sound of a horn blasted. The men from the King’s Army who formed the perimeter stepped around the burning bodies and advanced into the village, searching the homes. They must be looking for anyone hiding inside. A moment later, they started dragging the few remaining citizens out, forcing them to their knees at the northern end of town. A handful of soldats stood guard over them.

  Anders glanced back over his shoulder, his eyes alight with rage. “I want you to use your power to render the men guarding those people unconscious.”

  “How will I do that without alerting the rest of the army?”

  “Strike them all at once. I’ll create a distraction.”

  Using that much of my power would be draining. “I need to be closer so my aim is true.” A hundred feet was too far away. I didn’t want to miss and strike an innocent person; I’d never forgive myself.

  Anders nodded and pointed to a lone tree fifty feet away. The three of us crouched low, trying to remain unseen among the knee-high leeks.

  At the base of the towering oak tree, Anders knelt and peered around it, observing the prisoners. “Once you take care of the soldats, I’ll release everyone.” He removed two daggers. “Vidar, you remain here with Kaia.”

  “You got it,” Vidar said.

  “On my count,” Anders mumbled. “One… two…”

  I stood and lifted my bo staff. My hands pulsed in severe pain. I cried out and fell to the ground. The only time my hands hurt this badly was when immediate danger lurked nearby. Anders ran back to me, dropping to his knees. Vidar wrapped his arm around my shoulders, steadying me. I frantically looked around, searching for the threat. Beyond the group of prisoners, I had a clear view of the burning structures that lined the village’s main road. A lone man with a billowing black cape strode straight down the center. Morlet Forseve—the evil king of Nelebek.

  Vidar’s arm tightened.

  “Give her the medallion,” Anders insisted.

  Vidar removed the medallion and put it around my neck. “Are you sure?” I asked him. Grei Heks created the medallion in order to keep the fact that Vidar was still alive hidden from Morlet.

  “Now that my dear brother knows Anders didn’t kill me, it’s best you wear it. After all, you’re a Kriger, not me. The future of Nelebek depends on you.”

  The medallion not only protected against magic, but it also shielded the bearer from Morlet. With it on, he would be unable to sense my presence. My bo staff hummed with power, detecting the malevolent king nearby. My power begged to be released. I had to stifle it—on my own, I was no match for the king. His Heks magic was ten times stronger than mine. That was why it would take all twelve Krigers, with our powers linked together, to destroy him.

  “Kaia,” Anders said, placing his hands upon my shoulders. “Look at me and focus.”

  I stared into his warm eyes, so similar to mine, taking comfort in his steadfast strength. “I want to save those people,” I whispered.

  “So do I, but we have to be smart about it.” He released me and angled his body toward the king.

  Morlet reached the group of prisoners, and the soldats backed away from him. The king raised his hands, clapping them together. Thunder boomed. He pulled his hands apart, and a blue light glowed in the space between them. He twirled
his fingers in a circle, the light responding. Tendrils lashed out, mimicking his movements as he used the evil magic that was transferred to him from Skog Heks when she broke the treaty between humans and Heks.

  “Where are the Krigers?” he bellowed.

  I felt ill. He was going to torture these people because of me. Gripping my bo staff, I released my panic into my weapon.

  “If I knew, I wouldn’t tell you!” a woman shouted.

  Dread filled me as Morlet cocked his head. The woman flew in the air, suspended above the other prisoners. “Where are the Krigers?” he demanded.

  Vidar cursed, and Anders clutched my hand, squeezing it tightly. I wasn’t sure if he was giving me support, or restraining himself from attacking the king.

  “We don’t know,” a man cried out.

  “That is rather unfortunate.” Morlet pulled his hands back, and the light vanished. The woman fell to the ground, landing with a horrific thud.

  “I want you two to leave,” Anders whispered, releasing my hand.

  “No,” Vidar said. “We can’t afford for you to be captured or killed. We all go together. That’s an order.”

  Anders’s nostrils flared. I knew he didn’t want to leave, but the curse bound him to Vidar, and he had no choice but to obey.

  A ringing sounded in my ears. “We can’t leave those innocent people here,” I insisted, rubbing my temple.

  “This is going to sound cruel,” Vidar said, “but we have no choice. Now that Morlet is here, we can’t attack him and survive. As talented as Anders and I may be at fighting, we are mere humans without Heks magic. I know you think the king won’t kill you. However, the last time he had you in his clutches, Anders found you on the brink of death. Your life is too valuable to risk. You are a Kriger and have the ability to save thousands of lives. We must sacrifice these people for the good of the entire kingdom.”