Legacy
Chapter 18

Having noidea as to where Shadow Kahn might be, James and the others wererelying heavily on fate to lead them to the man who could very easilybring an end to them. But even with that knowledge, no one washesitant to replace him. For they had come too far and gone through toomuch to allow their fear to hold them back.

The arduousterrain the group was traversing was taking a great toll. The hillyregion seemed to be working against them every step of the way asonce one hill had been tackled, another, more treacherous oneawaited. This left the already weary travelers desperate for areprieve from such conditions, but no one desired to stop for a rest.

In thedistance, much needed flat land awaited. It would have broughtrelief to the group to know their journey would soon become far lessdifficult, but not now. For upon a cliff in the not too far distancestood Shadow Kahn. It seemed as if he had appeared in the blink ofan eye as only moments earlier there had been no one standing there.

Shadow Kahnseemed oblivious to the presence of the others. He paid them noheed, and when he closed his eyes, began to speak in a voice toosilent to be heard.

“What doyou think he’s doing?” asked Archer.

“Let’shope he’s not waiting for us,” said Aiko.

The groundsuddenly began to shake. Little could anyone have known that therest of the world was experiencing the same.

It startedin the east. The trembling was so great that the ground ripped open. But this was mere prelude to the event that would bring Shadow Kahnthe power he had so greatly desired since his return to the world ofthe living.

“What’sgoing on?” asked Jaycee who, along with the others, watched the skytransition from sparkling blue to blood red.

A toweringwave of fire had emerged from the bowels of the earth and begun torampage through a world most unprepared. The fire devouredeverything in its path like an insatiable beast, leaving behindnothing but scorched land.

What hadstood for centuries was destroyed in seconds. What had taken yearsto build was obliterated in the blink of an eye. Those caught in thepath of the great destroyer were evaporated in the blistering heat,leaving behind nary a trace.

“What areyou doing?” shouted James.

Shadow Kahngave James only a glance. “Burn, pigs,” he said. “Burn.”

Thetemperature began to rise drastically and the shaking of the Earthintensified as the fire grew nearer to the one who had called uponit. And as the world’s suffering worsened, a glow in the distanceappeared. Though they had no idea as to what was happening, thegroup knew that something horrible was making its way closer witheach passing moment.

“This isbad,” said Aiko.

Over themountains in the distance, the group caught their first glimpse ofthe fire. At its current rate, it would be on them in seconds.

“DearGod,” gasped Archer.

The womanin white appeared before James and the others. A split second beforethe fire could devour them, she spread a pair of white wings,creating a wall that could neither be seen nor penetrated. Even withthe power that she possessed, a scream burst from the woman as a veryheavy price was being paid for her actions.

The soundthe fire made as it passed over was like the howl from some beastthat could come only from the darkest reaches of Hell. So horriblewas it that Aiko had to cover her ears to spare herself from havingto hear such a thing.

“Thiscan’t be happening,” said Archer.

Once thefire had passed, the group could fully take in the devastation it hadbrought about. The once lush surroundings had been completelystripped, with not even charred remains left behind to remind them ofwhat the world once was.

Shadow Kahnhad vanished from sight.

The firehad done far more than obliterate all life on Earth. It had alsodried up every body of water. If something had managed to survivethe carnage, then it wouldn’t last very long in a world incapableof sustaining life.

“Thiscan’t be,” said Archer, falling to his knees. “They’re gone. All of them. My wife, my daughter . . . I’ll never see themagain.”

Aiko kneltbeside Archer and placed her arm around him.

As Jameswas staring in disbelief at his surroundings, the woman in whitecrumbled to her knees, all the while clutching at her chest andstruggling for breath. Her wings, once the most pristine white, hadbeen decimated. Most had been completely burned off, while thosethat remained had been charred and left to crumble at the slightesttouch. James rushed to her side. “Are you alright?” he asked.

The womanwas able to stand back up, but it was evident by how badly she wasshaking that her time on Earth was nearing its end.

“James,who is this woman?” asked Jaycee.

“I can'treally say,” replied James.

“I haveenough life left to end this,” said the woman.

“What doyou mean?” asked James.

“I made avow that I wouldn’t become so involved, but I’ve long sincebroken it. I can at least use the remainder of my existence to atonefor my sins.”

“Youcan’t do this on your own.”

“I’mafraid I haven’t a choice.” The woman then placed her hand onJames’ face. “I’m sorry that you were forced to play a part inthis. My protest did little to spare you from becoming nothing morethan a pawn in this twisted game. But His grace brought us backtogether, and that is something that I can not regret.”

“I canhelp you,” said James. “Together . . .”

“I’msorry, James,” interrupted the woman. “But I have to leave younow.” When she removed her hand from James’ face, the womanwrapped what remained of her tattered wings around herself. “Iknow I’ll see you again . . . in a far better place than this.” Through quivering lips, the woman bid her final farewell. “Goodbye,James.” And with that, she disappeared in a burst of burntfeathers.

“What dowe do?” asked Jaycee. “There’s nothing left. Everyone,everything . . . it’s all gone. There’s nothing left, James. Nothing.” Unable to hold back any longer, Jaycee began to cry. “Everything we did was for nothing.”

“Is thisreally how it ends?” asked Aiko. “Everything we went through,just to see it end like this? What’s the point in going on? Whycouldn’t we have just burned up with everyone else? What right dowe have to still be alive?”

“No,”said Archer. “This isn’t over.” His body had since stoppedshaking and his voice no longer had a quiver in it. “This is farfrom over.” With Archer’s attention so focused on what wasahead, the others looked in the same direction.

In thedistance stood a castle. Even from a vantage point miles away, theimmense structure was easy to spot. Its walls were jagged and itsmany towers were uneven in size, making the castle most unpleasant tobehold.

Despiteknowing that unspeakable horrors were waiting for them within itswalls, no one objected to making the castle their final destination.