Below the Peak (Sola)(30)
Chapter Ten
Kalil Kingdom
Horrid dreams plagued his sleep again. Tonight, he wore the ceremonial robe of gold and black with the jeweled crown on his brownish gray head as he walked across the fields of his kingdom. His lands were desolated, not a single building or creature could he see. His legs were heavy and sore, feeling like he had walked for hours, the sun his only companion. The cloudless sky remained silent until a flock of crows stirred it as they flew in circles, cawing in angry choruses that threatened his ears to bleed. He forced his legs to pick up pace desperate to leave the area before the crows’ cries bled him from his ear to death. It didn’t help, their cries echoed and trailed behind him and then abruptly stopped altogether into a plunging silence.
Good riddance, he mulled but paused when it became eerie quiet. His abused ears strained to catch even the smallest sound.
Out from each corner of the earth, a gust of wind carrying the stench of death poisoned the air. The repugnant smell churned his stomach as it threatened to suffocate his lungs. The nauseating feeling in his belly stringed his bowels to a noose and had him gagging. It clawed up his throat and brought him to his knees. Pale eyes teared from the foul odor as they observed the blue-sky shift into great stormy clouds in mere seconds. Clouds opened and showered the grounds with blood, soaking him. He struggled to gain his stand, his mind forced his lungs to work, to breathe, he parted his lips and tried to breathe through his mouth, only to gurgle the heavy raining blood.
Blood splattered onto his face, dripped onto his chin and hit the ground. Anxiety and fear had him trembling. Eyelashes wet with blood fluttered open and shook in horror as the ground opened and spat corpses, grave worms crawling on the dead forms. He recognized the dead bodies. They were his people, his advisors, soldiers, men, children, and women. Arrows and swords sprung forth from their limbs, some were even headless.
A thunder of horses and stomps of marching soldiers coming from afar followed by a terribly monstrous sound rang loudly in the air. Abasi whirled around to the source of the sound, coming face to face with Lorenz the King of Murisa perched on his horse in the front row of his army that surrounded him with his pet, a giant gray wolf. Abasi stumbled backwards from the sudden appearance of the other king and stared at him. He tried to form words but his mouth was full of blood, he ended up sputtering the metallic fluid.
Lorenz smiled wickedly, his gaze filled with malice. Abasi warily watched him forth from the line and circled him tauntingly.
“You were always a naive friend, just like your forefather thinking there could be two rulers. There can only be one king.” Lorenz sneered at him as he stood before him. Even his horse looked at him with vileness while the other beast snarled and growled low. Abasi trembled with fear, for the wolf was terrifying you would think he was Fenrir himself.
From the corner of his eye, Abasi saw his only son Nikolas held up in the air in tattered clothes by Lorenz’s sorcerer. Nikolas’ back propelled forward, his hand flailing beside him as he whimpered in agony.
“Please…please don’t harm my son” Abasi pleaded desperately barely getting the words out of his mouth. His head whipped to the shriek cries of his son as the sorcerer in a white robe smeared scarlet clamped his hand and ripped the life out of Nikolas before his body joined the pile of corpses. Pain so unimaginable consumed his heart and rippled through his entire body. Abasi screamed as tears rolled down his face.
“You see, He won’t leave you until everyone is under his command. Pay heed to my words and act. Do to his people as he has done to yours.” The dark, insidious familiar voice wrapped around his mind and filled his skull. He clutched his pounding head with trembling hands. The giant gray wolf suddenly leaped at him, its paws clawed his chest, and sharp teeth gnawed at him. He shrieked and cried from the ripping of his flesh, his whole body thrashing and fighting the wolf.
***
Abasi started from the nightmare with a sharp gasp, his pulse beat frantically against his ribs as a cold sweat ran down his spine. His eyelids opened to darkness before accustoming to the dim light. The bed chamber was closed in darkness only the fading flames from the lamps at the far end corner burned. It cast shadows in the room.
He hoisted his upper body to a sitting position using his elbows, but a strong hand pushed him back unto the sticky sheets damp from his sweat. Something sharp like a claw stung his chest, making him groan and wince. Defensive instincts kicking in, he seized the shadowed figure’s hand with one hand while his other reached for the short dagger he always hid under the pillows.
“Who are you?” Abasi demanded and pressed the dagger against the shadowed figure’s neck, with enough pressure to slice the person’s throat from just a stir of movement.
“Your wife”, came the raspy reply as she straddled him slowly heedful of the dagger biting the skin of her throat.
Abasi squinted his eyes and peered at Dagny. She was naked. The dark flame outlined her curvaceous hips, brown hair that curtained her ample breasts and the angle of her jaw. Her smooth porcelain skin seemed to gleam under the soft light. She was beautiful than the day he’d married her and changed. Compared to his first wife, Dagny was less timid and more unchaste, cunning that it scared him from time to time...
He withdrew his hand and let the dagger fall to the floor with a thud. Her pink lips lifted slyly as he felt her skillful fingers brush his covered thighs teasingly and moved upwards to where she straddled him lower on his pelvis. Her fingers reached between their pelvis and held him there. Abasi sucked in a breath and became still. He was naked beneath the sheets and already knew what his wife wanted yet his torso quivered with anticipation.