Chapter 2

Kymani Everard was one of Kai’s high ranking officers. She belonged to the Everard house, a house that had supported the Rylan’s for centuries with their healing powers and their magic that allowed them to foresee what was to come. Kymani was the current head of her family and unlike the previous heads, she much preferred to take a backseat and she spent all her free time running what the other officers called a charity clinic.

One of the many skills Kymani possessed was hypnosis and on this day, she was tending to the many injured men. She cursed under her breath before yelling, “would you please keep still?! I don’t have time for this.” The man winced again and Kyman groaned, “How do you take so many lives and yet you’re scared of a little pain?”

“Men are such babies.” Was the last thing she muttered before hearing a horse neigh in distress, “Bringing your horse all the way will not make me heal all these people faster, Zalek.” She said before lifting up her head.

“Kymani!” His voice sent ripples through her and she darted to him. “The General.” Was all Zarek could say and Kymani watched his face, “take me to him.” She got on his horse and they rode as fast as they could, galloping over all the bodies of their comrades. Kymani took in the horror around her. The last time she saw so many bodies was ten years ago when the Thrakos attacked but even then they were not the Vorgath soldiers. These were all their comrades laying dead on the ground.

“What happened?” She voiced out loud. Zalek was too engulfed in getting her to Kai as fast as possible and he did not hear her.

Kai screamed and his voice sounded like thunder. It was deafening to all who heard it. “Jump down!” Zalek shouted to Kymani who got off the horse. “Why is this happening?” She cried out, hands covering her ears. “A fire took them.” Zalek paused, pointing to where Kai stood, “Head to him, Astrophel asked me to fetch you.” Zalek said before riding away. The force around Kai made his lungs weak and he began to cough out blood.

Kymani was not as affected because of the natural force field around her. Since her family served so close to the Rylan’s, they had nearly perfected a field around every head of the family. That way, they could counter the ruling Rylan should they ever spiral out of control.

Kymani remembered thinking the exercise was a waste of time when she was younger. Kai was too cute to hurt a fly, little she said. She could not have been more wrong. He barely looked like her general and worse, his pupils were gone and his eyes were white.

“Can you knock him unconscious?” Kymani heard. She turned around looking for who spoke. 

“Over here!” Astrophel was laying beside a boulder. “Lord Astrophel!” Kymani rushed to his side, “you’re badly wounded. Please, let me tend to your wounds.” She said as she squatted next to him, applying pressure on his wounded shoulder.

“No! Can you knock the General unconscious? He’s going to kill us all!” Astrophel yelled and Kymani took another look at him, “please!” Astrophel pleaded, “Your General would not forgive you if he learns that you were present and refused to stop him.”

“But…” Kymani started. All she had ever learned concerning Kai and how to keep his powers at bay if he ever spiraled were purely theoretical. No one before her had been in her position.

She took one last look at Astrophel before turning towards Kai. As she approached where he stood, she walked past the body of his horse. “Poor thing.” She muttered. A cut grazed her cheek, drawing blood. Her barrier was getting weaker as she approached him.

She stepped into Kai’s zone and a harsh wind rushed at her. He looked like he was in so much pain, eyes not blinking, the veins at the sides of his head bulging outwards. She could tell he was fighting it from taking over his body.

Kymani drew a breath and closed the distance between them. She muttered a command under her breath, “Quietem.” Kai fell limp in her arms and the sky cleared immediately.

Looking up, Astrophel crawled to where Kymani held Kai. They played together all the time when they were younger and Kai was always the lighter one so she gave him piggy back rides. As she held him up, Kymani said, “I didn’t realize how heavy you’d gotten.” If Kai was awake, she would have never said that to him.

The cry baby she knew could kill her without having to move a muscle. Though she knew he would never hurt her, she sometimes doubted it.

“You did it!” Astrophel said as he grunted. 

“What happened here, my Lord? Why is the general’s mansion no more? Where is the lord and lady? Where is Elyria?” Kymani asked. Now that Kai was unconscious, it finally dawned on her what led to his anger as she stared at the remnants of what used to be the biggest mansion in Nexarath.

“I’m as confused as the next person. I just got here to see the fire, Kai showed up moments after.”

“General.” Kymani corrected him in a flat tone. She hated that he referred to him on a first name basis when he wasn’t there. She thought it extremely cowardly of him.

“Yes, the General.” Astrophel cleared his throat before speaking, “you can see the damage your General caused by his being unable to control himself.” He started.

Kymani squinted, “being unable to control himself? He was fighting weaklings at the border when he could have been home! He has every right to be angry. What the hell started the fire and why could it not be put out?” She demanded. She was getting angry herself.

When Kai woke up, she could not fathom what he would do. “He was going to destroy us all.” Astrophel told Kymani. “He was practically unconscious. It was not him, it was…”

“The Zhilak that resides in him. Great. How well do you think that would hold up in court? Do you know how many of your soldiers he killed in a fit of rage?”

“What are you insinuating, Astrophel? I was away from the battlefield but I know of a surety that any of his men would be honored to die at his hands. Besides, the General would never intentionally kill his men. I just said he was unconscious.” She said again.

“Unconscious or not. The general of the Vorgath and the new ruler of Nexarath just killed nearly if not all of his men who fought for him. Do you think anyone could be united under him?”

“What are you trying to say? Spit it out, I don’t have time for games, I have to assess him and check if he’s okay.”

Astrophel watched Kymani for a second before saying, “wipe his memory.”