Descent (Unbound Prophecy Book 2)

  Descent

  Unbound Prophecy Book Two

  J. L. Jackola

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or deceased, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2019 by J. L. Jackola

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author, except by reviewers, who may quote brief passages in a review.

  Library of Congress Control Number 2020902714

  Paperback ISBN 978-1-7345995-4-1

  Digital ISBN 978-1-7345995-3-4

  Second Printing Edition 2020

  Distributed by Tivshe Publishing

  Printed in the United States of America

  Cover design by Dark Queen Designs

  Map Design by D. B. Litteral

  www.tivshepublishing.com

  Titles by J. L. Jackola

  Ascension: Unbound Prophecy Book One

  To my parents for enriching my imagination,

  my husband for encouraging it,

  and my children for setting it free.

  Table of Contents

  Map of the Realms

  Prologue

  Part One

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Part Two

  Fourteen

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen

  Eighteen

  Nineteen

  Twenty

  Twenty-One

  Twenty-Two

  Twenty-Three

  Twenty-Four

  Twenty-Five

  Twenty-Six

  Twenty-Seven

  Twenty-Eight

  Twenty-Nine

  Thirty

  Thirty-One

  Thirty-Two

  Thirty-Three

  Thirty-Four

  Part Three

  Thirty-Five

  Thirty-Six

  Thirty-Seven

  Thirty-Eight

  Thirty-Nine

  Forty

  Forty-One

  Forty-Two

  Forty-Three

  Forty-Four

  Forty-Five

  Forty-Six

  Forty-Seven

  Forty-Eight

  Forty-Nine

  Fifty

  Fifty-One

  About the Author

  Map of the Realms

  Prologue

  A vast wasteland of nothingness confronted Tynan as he walked, yet he paid it no heed. It had become the norm, a view to which he was all too familiar, thanks to Sinow’s ever changing moods. This time there would be no second chance given, no command to return to his brother’s side and that was fine with Tynan. He was precisely where he wanted to be, patiently waiting. All he seemed to ever do these days was to walk and wait. Walking towards some unknown destination, waiting for his redemption, waiting to claim what was rightfully his, waiting for Sinow to break. He stopped and looked around the barren land of the Banished Realm. It was no different from the first time Sinow had banished him, right after Tynan had manipulated Violissa into breaking the treaty, manipulated his brother into calling for war. Everything had been in place, they were destroying each other exactly the way he had intended until the bitch turned Sinow and ended the war, forcing Tynan’s hand and landing him here. When Sinow had sent him to the Banished Realm for this second round of punishment, Tynan had been in worse shape. His powers were bound, all but his innate powers, those with which he had been born. All royal descendants were born with power, but only with age did the Fates increase that power gradually until ascension. Innate powers could not be bound but were significantly weaker than those that developed with age. Since he was naturally weak to begin with, these powers consisted of little, but they were enough to provide him food and shelter. If he’d been any other man, he would have given himself to the Fates by now, but he wasn’t any other man. He was a man driven by the need for vengeance and power. That need fed him, urging him through every excruciatingly tedious day.

  When Tynan had confronted Violissa and her Council, he had known Sinow would punish him. In fact, he’d even been prepared for banishment. Tynan looked down at the book he held under his arm and patted its bindings. Yes, he’d been prepared. As soon as Sinow had sent the message that the war was over, Tynan had known he had to make his last play. He thought back to that day. He’d been so close to crushing his brother. So close to taking the crown, but then the fool had thrown a spell that manipulated his. He didn’t know what the spell was or how Sinow had known it, but it had worked, hitting his spell directly both times and reworking its intent. After Sinow had changed the first spell he’d thrown at the Council, Tynan had been prepared to counter Sinow’s attempt to block the one he’d saved for Violissa. Still, Sinow’s spell had weaved its way into his, and this time it had hit so powerfully that the moron had cast her somewhere out of their realm. He’d felt the spell’s direction as it hit her and knew instantly just as Sinow had that she was gone. Not dead as he had intended but gone from their reality. In trying to protect her, his idiot brother had cursed her and sent her beyond his reach. He laughed at the look of horror he’d seen on Sinow’s face. That is, until he thought of how swiftly Sinow had reacted, binding his powers. His hands opened and closed in response to the thought. How he missed the power that had run through him, craved it every day.

  Now, here he was stuck in this blasted realm with nowhere to go and no one to torment. At least he had the book. All this time alone had given him the ability to study the book like he’d never been able. He read it day and night, each page, over and over, until he’d memorized every word of every spell. The lines ran through his head continuously, and he could feel the power in those words weaving through his consciousness. If only his own powers were back, he’d be something to be reckoned with. Stronger than Sinow had ever been. He ran his hand along the spine, caressing it as if it were a woman. Momentarily, he wondered if he might be losing his mind. A place like this could do that to a man. There were times he even thought he heard sounds coming from the book, but he knew that was ludicrous. He shook his head, maybe he was going mad. Or, maybe he already was.

  As he contemplated that realization, he noticed his surroundings slowly change. He had never wandered this far into the realm. Where there had once been dirt now lay a light coating of grass. He rubbed his eyes. Now he knew he was losing it. Before him the grass grew thicker, stretching for what seemed to be miles. Trees could be seen in the distance. Could this be real? If so, why did no one know this place existed within the Banished Realm? He chuckled out loud; no one ever returned from banishment, so how would anyone have known? Besides, he had walked so deep into the realm, further and further over the years that he doubted anyone cursed here would ever have had the energy to make it this far.

  He walked on, not knowing what he expected to find but listening and looking for something until he found it. Not far before him he saw what he’d been looking for, people. But how? He thought back through his
father’s reign. Not many were punished with banishment unless his father was feeling extremely moody or the crime was particularly bad. He did remember as a child being told of a couple who had been accused of violently beating their children, killing one. The worst crimes to Darkbearers who followed the code were those against women and children. They were punishable by death, usually a painfully prolonged death. That code had once run through his veins, but it had left him long ago. Whatever madness was coursing through him had driven that need to protect out of him. The couple had been banished, a fate worse than death. Banishment meant starvation, no shelter, no water. It was a slow and brutal death that should have been inevitable. He remembered back to when Sinow had first banished him. He’d been dropped in another area of the realm, still desolate and barren, but he knew now that it was a different area than where he had landed this time. Could the couple have been dropped here? If so, had their offspring been inbreeding all this time? Enough to have a few generations of mortals living out here? He was about to find out and suspected he would have fun doing so.

  The blood rushed through him, the book growing warmer beneath his arm. He felt the Darkness, that little piece left within him; grow as he came across a girl bending before what appeared to be a well. From her height and the fuller curves, she appeared to be mature, which was exactly what he needed. He growled at the thought of what he’d been missing all these years. Dark thoughts of what he wanted to do coursed through his head. He licked his lips; this female was definitely put here for his pleasure, and nothing was going to stop him. Walking up behind her, he slammed the book down on the well and pulled her head back by her long black hair. She let out a scream as he shoved his hand down her dress and grabbed her breasts.

  “It’s been a very long time since I’ve had a woman. Aren’t you lucky I’m going to let you fill that need?” he whispered in her ear as he pushed her down on the well and started to lift her skirts.

  “Let her be!” He heard a man’s voice shout. He looked up, not moving from his prey.

  “Well, well,” he replied. “What do we have here?”

  Before him stood a group of about eight men, a few women not far behind them, trying to keep from his sight. He’d been so focused on the girl, he hadn’t realized how close he was to the small town, if you could call a few shacks a town.

  “Step away from her, and you won’t get hurt,” a fairly large man with a long black beard said to him. He held what appeared to be a wooden pitchfork in his hand.

  Tynan laughed a loud obnoxious sound. “Are you really threatening me with a piece of wood?”

  “We outnumber you, so I would advise you to step away from her now. Since you seem new to this land, we’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. What you’re planning to do is not acceptable here. This is your last chance.”

  Tynan’s playful mood changed. “Really? You clearly don’t know who I am, so let me educate you on what’s acceptable.” He pushed against the girl, who was still whining and crying, then looked back up at the men. “You see, I’ve been here a really, really long time, and I haven’t had a woman since my dimwitted brother banished me here. This girl is going to be my first attempt to satisfy my needs. When I’m done with her, I’m going to take every one of these women, even the ugly ones, and, if you’re lucky, I’ll let you watch. Now, who’s in charge here?”

  The burly man stepped forward. “I am…”

  Tynan raised his hand, and although he didn’t have many powers left, his innate ones were enough to do what needed to be done. He opened his palm and slowly squeezed his hand closed again. The man’s expression changed, the pitchfork dropped from his hand, his body shook violently. The girl below him screamed as the man’s body lifted from the ground. A cracking noise could be heard as every bone began slowly breaking. Tynan squeezed his hand tighter, and the man’s body collapsed into itself. Then with one swift squeeze, he opened his palm, the body flopping into a mushy pile on the ground below the group. He heard a few people throw up, and he laughed again.

  “I believe I’m in charge now,” he said. One of the men dropped to his knees, the others quickly following suit.

  “Now that we’ve got that settled, I’m going to finish with this sweet thing. Go about your business. I’ll let you know when I’m ready for more.” He rubbed the girl’s thigh and heard her whimper in response. “And I have a feeling I’m going to need a lot more before I’m fully satisfied.”

  Part One

  Restlessness

  One

  Keary approached the door with apprehension. He knocked cautiously, unsure of the reaction it would trigger. Silence was his only answer. He had been dreading this moment but knew it had to be done. Someone needed to bring Sinow back from the edge, and he was the only one to do it. He drew a breath and braced himself before knocking a second time. The sound of his knuckles against the wood echoed through the corridor. It seemed an eternity before he heard the growled “Go away” through the still-closed door. He had expected that response and so paid it no mind; he’d only knocked out of respect. Instead, he opened the door and entered the room, taking a moment to let his eyes adjust to the darkness within. The sconces in the hallway emitted only enough light to cover the room’s entryway. Blackness engulfed him as he moved forward and closed the door behind him with a flick of his hand.

  “Leave me, Keary. I said to go away, and I meant it.”

  “I heard what you said, but I’m paying it no heed,” Keary replied curtly.

  He continued to walk across the room, remembering it well enough to know the path to the windows. With a flip of his hand, he threw the long window hangings aside to let what remaining pre-evening light there was flood the room. Since the day Violissa was torn from them, the days had slowly become shorter. They’d noticed it a few years after the incident, and since then, they’d calculated that about two hours of daylight had vanished. No one had an explanation for it except that perhaps the Fates were punishing them for Sinow’s errors, as if the loss of Violissa wasn’t punishment enough.

  The Council agreed that Sinow needed to be woken from his trance and brought back to reality, which was why Keary was there. Once the hangings were drawn, he could feel the ire in his king rise. He ignored it and turned to face Sinow, arms folded across his chest.

  He looked at what remained of the great man he’d known for so long and was saddened by the defeat he saw. Sinow looked tired and hopeless. The fire that once consumed him was nowhere to be found. In its place remained only the insanity that marred his great line. Only this time, that insanity was self-driven.

  “When was the last time you shaved, Sinow? Or bathed for that matter?”

  Sinow glared at him, the intensity of those black eyes the only sign there remained hope. “What do you want, Keary?”

  Keary looked long and hard at him, taking in the long-matted hair, the full growth of beard upon his face, and sighed. The man who sat in the chair before him no longer the man he’d once known. How had it come to this? He wondered how long it had been since his king had last slept.

  “You know why I’m here, Sinow.”

  “Then you may as well leave now.”

  “No, it’s time you come to terms with it.”

  The black in his king’s eyes darkened slightly as if to challenge him, but Keary knew this needed to be done.

  “She’s gone, Sinow. It’s been two hundred years, and you, we haven’t found a way to get her back.”

  “Tread lightly, Keary.”

  “I won’t, Sinow. You need to face the facts. Hiding in this room will not bring her back. For Fates’ sake, Sinow, we worried about the intensity of your search for her when we first lost her, but at least then you had some life in you. Now you’ve sequestered yourself in your room, refusing to rule, refusing to come out. It’s as if you’ve given up on life and are contemplating giving yourself to the Fates…” He dropped off as
he realized that was exactly it.

  He was speechless. What had come of his king? This man he’d called friend, this man who was now nothing more than a broken-down king, a shell of the great man he had once been. A man whom he’d watched wither away.

  “Are you truly mad, Sinow?”

  Sinow put his head in his hands and replied, “I can’t live without her, Keary. You’ve no idea how empty I am.”

  “Ha, you did fine for hundreds of years before you met…”

  “Yes, but I could always feel her. I always knew she was there waiting for me. Now…”

  Keary interrupted, “Now only the Fates know where she is, Sinow, and they’re not talking. Now, you have two kingdoms to rule and people who are wondering where their king is. Councils are not rulers for a reason, Sinow. We need you to come back to reality. Our world has changed since that day.” He gestured to the window. “The days have grown shorter, the cycle of our very existence is out of balance, and our world is feeling its effect. The Councils need your leadership, the people need a king.” He paused to consider his words. “Violissa wouldn’t want you locked away in here.”

  “You have no idea what she’d want.”

  “Nor do you, but I do know she would want her people cared for and ruled properly, neither of which you have been doing. Sinow, it’s time to come to terms with the fact that you’ve lost her.”

  “Go away, Keary, before I force you out.”

  Keary sighed; at least if he made Sinow use his powers to punish him he’d know his king was truly still there.

  “Leave it to the Fates, Sinow. Maybe they’re bringing her back. Maybe they just need time.”

  Perhaps a little dose of hope would get him moving. He wasn’t confident it would do anything, but one could always hope. Keary crossed the room, stopped to look back one last time at his old friend, and then walked out of the room.