The Heir Read online

  “I am still not sure what to think of it all, and maybe not even fully convinced that this isn’t a dream. I don’t even know who I am anymore.”

  “You are strong and brave. You love fiercely, and you give people second chances. You are passionate and kind and honest.”

  “Shad—”

  “You are everything—my truest and best friend. You are all I ever need ever. If you are by my side, Emma, I will never need another thing until the day that I die.”

  “Except food and water,” I said with a smirk.

  “Yes, of course, but are you getting my point?”

  “Yes, I will trust you. But for the record I don’t like being called your friend.”

  “You are my truest and best friend. Maybe, someday I will explain to you exactly what that means, and you won’t hate it so much,” he smiled as he said it, as if he knew it would bother me. I let go of it because I couldn’t handle the conversation if it became what it had just been minutes before. “What is most surprising about all of this?”

  “The fact I am an alien.” I shook my head. “It still sounds so weird.”

  “What else?” he asked, moving away from the fire, letting it rise up and do its thing.

  “And, the fact that I am an alien princess who is supposed to save people. I do not feel that capable, Shad, not capable at all, but you all make it seem so easy and natural, like breathing—I do not think I could ever be like that with all of this.”

  “You do not have to go out tomorrow and slay every dragon at once. You simply take it one dragon at a time, and let them come to you. You will find their weaknesses, and then you will conquer them.”

  “Are there dragons on Terra?” I turned to look at him. “I think if there are dragons on Terra, I will believe that everything is real from storybooks.”

  “Well—“

  “Dragons are real?”

  “Do you want me to answer that?”

  “No actually,” I shook my head; it was too much, too much information at once. We were silent for a time, both of us looking at the fire as it climbed up the largest log and burned it slowly, taking its time.

  “I am scared, Shad,” I admitted, leaning on his shoulder.

  “I know. But Emma, I will be with you.” As I watched the fire burn and the flames dance around the logs and the sun take its final fall behind the trees and the mountain in the distance, I could not help but feel so small in the scheme of things. That fire seems more powerful than me. It has the ability to burn down this entire forest—animals, humans, plants everything—burn them to a crisp, and all starting from just one small flame. I do not even compare to it.

  Yes, you do. The comment bounced around my head.

  You do not know that.

  I know you, Emma; I know you are more powerful than any fire. You will conquer your enemies, and they will wish they had burned up instead of having to deal with you.

  You are making me feel like some horrible warlord.

  I heard a laugh, faint but there. Not a warlord, but Emma, the princess of the first kingdom of Terra. You do not know it yet, but many will fall at your feet, praise your name, and many will shrink back in fear. You are what so many have been waiting for. You are what so many people fear. You should not fear; they should fear you. You are the fire that will destroy the corrupt—the evil. You are the fire that will clean the land and make it new.

  The Cave

  MARY WOKE ME EARLY that next morning. I knew it was early because the sun wasn’t up yet. I felt butterflies of nervousness in my stomach, knowing that that day that might be the day that we would find Ryker. I was trying hard to accept the fact that I was someone else entirely than who I thought I was. Every day, it did get a little less surprising that it was my life.

  You are not someone else entirely. You are always you, Emma. There is just more that you know now.

  How exactly do I keep you from reading my thoughts?

  Again, your mind is all yours. I simply cannot help the fact that you talk to me in your soul.

  I was talking to myself—in my head.

  Really?

  Yes, I mean everyone talks to themselves.

  Do they? Or are they really reaching out for that soul who makes theirs complete?

  I thought about that for a moment. Was that possible? I heard a chuckle rumble within me from Shad.

  Shad! Are you messing with me?

  I believe it, but it’s okay if you don’t. I am sorry. I should not tease you. Think no more of it. Today is the day, Emma.

  Yes, it is.

  We all packed up in silence; we were all too nervous and anxious for the day to begin to say anything. The hike took three hours, and we arrived right at ten on the dot. Keil started setting up his tent, and Shad started a fire. I watched Mary look over a map for a while; then I remembered that I should have been helping in some way. I took our tent from Mary’s bag and started to set it up. Keil walked into the middle of the camp and spoke, breaking the silence for the first time.

  “I am headed out,” he said directly to Shad. I turned to see him wearing something very foreign to me. He wore a silver and black suit of some kind; I assumed it was his ancient warrior attire, because he is an ancient warrior, right? So, of course, he has a special armored suit. Attached to the back of it was his shield, and at his belt, was a sword. In his hands, he held the axe that I saw the day before. He looked powerful with his long brown hair flowing on either side of his neck, reaching just below his jawline. The glasses that I saw him wearing the first time that we had met, had just been for show, I then realized. He didn’t seem to ever need them. Mary walked to him and gave him a hug.

  “Keil, I am so grateful to you for doing this. Please be safe.”

  He nodded.

  I walked over to him and hugged him, also.

  “Thank you, Keil. Thank you so much for doing this for Ryker.”

  “I do it for the true heir of Terra’s First Kingdom.” He bowed to me. “For you Princess—You need him, and that is enough.”

  “Please be safe,” I said between tears.

  The last goodbye was from Shad. He walked to him, and they did something with their hands which I could not see because tears blurred my vision. If he died, it was entirely my fault. I prayed and hoped that he would live.

  “Keil, thank you for being a true warrior of the ancients. You honor your ancients today.” Keil bowed to Shad, and they both nodded. Shad held my hand.

  Stop thinking so many terrible things. All will be well, Shad whispered to my soul as we watched Keil get smaller and smaller with distance. I looked down at Shad’s digital watch, marking the time as ten forty-five. We would give him two hours, and if he wasn’t back, then we would send Mary. I tried not to think of that because Mary shouldn’t have to go. It should be me, but because I was mostly unaware of everything involving Terra, thanks mom and dad, they all know: I am useless.

  You are not useless. I turned to look at Shad, and he leaned in and before his lips could caress my cheek, he pulled back and spoke to my soul: He will be back.

  I echoed his words over and over and over again in my soul:

  He will be back—

  He will be back—

  He will be back—

  Maybe if I said those words enough, they would become truth.

  Two hours passed quickly.

  “He isn’t back yet. Something must be wrong.” Mary was pacing by the fire. She finally stated what we were all thinking. It was two O’clock. I turned to Shad.

  “We must move forward with the plan, but it needs to be adjusted.” Shad stood up from where he sat, holding my hand. “I know we said Mary would go, but I have a connection to Emma. I could let you know what I find and what is happening. That way we are all connected, and you both can be safe here. You both won’t be sitting here, just wondering what is going on.”

  “Shad, it is too dangerous,” Mary spoke softly.

  “I assure you, Mary, I have been through more
danger than this.”

  “Shad, I don’t want you to go—what if—what if they take you, too,” I whispered, tears forming in my eyes.

  “I have to go, Emma. Please trust me.” I cannot let you lose Mary.

  “You said Keil would come back, and he didn’t, so what’s to say you will never return either?”

  “I didn’t say it would be easy; I just said he would be back. We have a little bump in our plan. That is all.”

  Please, Emma, I will find them.

  I cannot lose anyone else.

  I will talk to you the entire time, unless I am in a battle; then you need to wait for me to fill you in right after. I glared at him, and he raised his hands.

  “You both need to stop doing the whole—soul-talking thing for a moment so that I can hear,” Mary called to us.

  “Shad will give us a play-by-play, he says.”

  “Yes, I will let you all know what I am doing and when I find them.” He walked to his tent and took out a small metal stick. He flicked it open, and it became a large black and silver sword, similar to the one Keil had carried. He quickly grabbed some black material with a silver star design on the front. After he clipped the fabric to his arms, shoulder, chest, and torso, he pushed a button on the side of his body, and the fabric became hard. He flicked his sword back to the small metal stick it had been before, and he placed it in a slot on his built in belt. It was some kind of packable armor, I realized, and it again, looked very similar to Keil’s.

  “I will return.” He looked to both of us, locking eyes on me after a moment of looking at Mary.

  “Shad, please—” He walked to me in four steps and touched me softly on the cheek, and I burned with disappointment and anger. I pulled his body to me desperately, not wanting him to go. He slowly pulled away, leaning his forehead against my own.

  “I will return. I will come back to you—no matter what happens—” He paused and placed a hand on my heart. “Your soul and my soul belong together. Remember that. No matter what, our bond is strong enough to conquer anything.” He became silent as he touched my nose with his. I ached for him to kiss me. There is so much I still wish to tell you and explain to you, so I will come back, and I will tell you everything.

  I think I will hate you if you leave me, Shad.

  I will find them. I will bring Ryker back to you. But I will not leave you—ever. We are a part of each other, darling, his soul sang to me.

  Come back to me; please, come back to me. Tears started to drip down my cheeks.

  I will always come back to you, Emma, no matter what happens—remember that.

  I nodded. He turned his head away from me, and before I knew it, he was jogging in the same direction that Keil had gone only hours before, and then he was gone.

  Wrong Beginning

  I HAD TO FOLLOW HIM. How could I sit at camp like some frightened little child, waiting while he put himself in danger? What if he died out there while getting Ryker for me? I couldn’t live with that. I grabbed a small backpack, without giving it much thought, and while Mary washed out some dishes in the stream behind our camp, I made my way down the dirt trail to the opening of the cave. I knew that the closer I came to Shad, the greater the chance was that he would sense me—hear that my melody was close, so I tried to be as quick as possible. Hopefully, I thought, he is distracted enough with his attempt to enter the cave, that he will not focus on my melody.

  As I approached the base of the cave, I saw Shad duck inside of its mouth, disappearing into the dark depths within. I held my breath. There were two large men, guards I assumed, standing on either side of the cave. They wore black, leather uniforms with a similar silver star design that I had seen on both Shad’s and Keil’s armor. I watched them as they stood there, masks covering their faces and gloves on their hands, holding large guns. During the split-second that Shad had darted into the cave, the guards had turned away. They stood near the cave opening for a few minutes; then they made a circle around it. For about a minute, their backs had faced the cave. That was the opening. Shad had used the weakness of the guard’s defenses. He had timed it perfectly, and I would do the same. I watched the guards double-back, unaware that there was a breach in their security, unaware that they had let Shad slip in. I was ready to take advantage of their flaw. I watched for a few minutes as they circled and came back around, making sure that they did the same thing each time. I crawled closer to the opening and hid behind a bush. Shad’s voice entered my thoughts:

  I am inside the cave. I am traveling down now to see where Keil and Ryker are. I was silent on my end as I broke from the bush to take my only shot at getting into the cave. I was quicker and quieter than I thought I would be, and as I descended into the dark, damp mouth of the cave, I leaned against a wall and tried to steady my breathing. My breaths came in rapidly. I was afraid that they would give me away. You there, Emma? he asked.

  Here, just fine, I responded back into his mind, trying to hide the spike of adrenaline that I felt within me.

  Emma, you didn’t—His voice was angry, and I knew that he had heard the nearness of my melody. It was only a matter of time until he would have found out anyway. But, I had made it inside, and I could not turn back. He could not send me back.

  If you think for one second I am going to let you get killed while finding my friend, you don’t know me. I am not letting everyone go in for Ryker without me.

  Stay where you are. I am coming back. We should, at least, stay together. His voice was sharp. I knew he wasn't thrilled with me at that moment, but I needed to be there. I needed to help.

  I am at the mouth of the cave. I just got past the guards.

  You saw their blind spot? he asked, impressed.

  Yes, only a brief opening.

  Impressive—okay I am coming. It took only a few minutes to feel Shad at my side. We still need to talk like this—just in case. His hand found my shoulder, and I could see him only a little in the light of the opening. His face buried itself into my hair, and I reached for him. He turned me to face him, and he smiled at me. His melody sang within me, along with my own. He pulled away too soon, and I breathed in slowly, and the fear and the desire was still pulsating between us.

  “You really should not have come,” his voice came to my mind, and it seemed to ache with pain. I hated that I had made him feel this way. I knew I was at risk now, and he was trying to avoid that, but I couldn't let them all put themselves in danger for me, without me. I have to try. He stroked my cheek.

  I understand why you are here; I just hope that whatever happens, you will stay close by me. I nodded, unable to argue with him.

  Let’s go.

  Yes, okay, I replied to him through our bond. If Ryker had found the man that killed my parents, it was more about me than anyone realized. Let's go save them. I pushed off from the wall.

  Wait, Emma, I have had training in these sorts of missions as has Keil. Promise me that you will follow my lead?

  I won't slow you down, I promise.

  I am not worried about that. I am worried that you will get hurt—or worse—I could see the look of pain in his eyes. I touched his hand, trying to assure him that I could indeed stand my ground.

  Let’s go, Shad.

  He nodded, took my hand in his, and we made our way through the cave.

  As we wound around and through the twists and turns of the seemingly never-ending cool, wet, and rocky passages, Shad navigated us by sensing Keil’s melody. He explained that there was a lack of melodies in the cave, which surprised him because of the number of guards that we had already slipped past—none of them had discernable melodies.

  They must be Soulless, Shad said, as three guards marched past us. We slipped into a small alcove so we wouldn’t be seen. The cave seemed to channel the melodies that it held; however, from what Shad had told me, it was making Keil easy to find. I only hoped that we would end up in the right place. The right place, however, was probably some sort of dungeon, which, let’s be honest, I wasn�
��t excited to enter.

  What exactly is a Soulless? I don’t understand it fully.

  A Soulless is someone who had a soul’s melody, and it was stripped away.

  So, how can a melody be stripped away, exactly?

  I know two ways. One way is if a person guards or shields their melody for too long, and it becomes corrupt. Eventually, the corruption strips away the notes of the melody, and it can never be replaced.

  I shuttered. That sounded horrible. Everyone keeps using that word, what does that mean exactly, becoming corrupt?

  It just means that they let the Corruptor entice them. We believe after someone loses their melody this way, the Corruptor gains a new soul. Footsteps sounded down the tunnel, and Shad pushed me to the side of the cave, listening.

  Like the Devil? I tried really hard not to shiver, but I was finding it extremely difficult.

  I don’t know who the Devil is, Shad looked at me as we finally heard the guards’ footsteps soften, and then eventually, they fell silent.

  The Devil—uh he lives in Hell; he’s the opposite of God—the bad guy, evil, I replied through my soul as he took my hand and led me from our hiding place back into one of the main tunnels.

  Yes, you Earthlings have different names for the ancients—I forgot. Yes, the Corruptor would be like the Devil if he was the opposite of the ancients—or I mean God. Many different names are used across the cosmos.

  The cave was pitch black, and our way of navigating without face-planting in the blackness was feeling the jagged walls with our hands. The walls of the cave were sharp and mixed with dirt, mold, and grime. My fingers were soon raw, and I left blood on everything I touched, but because it was so cold, I felt more numb the deeper we traveled into the passages. Our melodies were silent for a time as we wove in and out of the tunnels and passageways, but dread started boiling up within me, and I needed to talk to make the situation that we were in, seem less dire, even if it was just a distraction.

  What is the second way?

  What second way? Shad asked as he stopped and listened—I assumed, for Keil’s melody.