Chapter 27
Kalon de Somnium
Kalon’s mind was lost in thought as the nearby Amaru murmured about needing to leave for the collection.
In one hand, he held Seda’s moonstone necklace, watching it catch the light from the wall-length windows next to him while seated on his throne.
The sparkles were intrinsic to her—vivid and unpredictable, and the stone grew brighter with each day that passed.
Her magic was growing.
Stealing the necklace from her while in the Amanita Copse and sneaking away late into the night had to be done. She hated him for it. He could feel her wrath each time he visited her, but it was necessary. He knew she wasn’t ready, especially with how she had pushed him away.
A traitor lurked in her group, someone who he realized almost too late was working against her. He couldn’t just whisk her away with him, though. She needed to see the Wisps and gather her information slowly, or else it would be too much, and her magic would threaten to explode around them.
His world seemed to sway when his lips touched hers, as if the ancient rhythms of the world were torn between now and before.
She was everything to him and had been for over a millennium. He missed her so much while she was gone, and now that she was back, she didn’t remember him. Pain cracked like frozen waters through his soul every time he thought about her lack of memory of their life before, of them.
He knew that asshole Ael was weaning his way into her heart, trying to take his place, and there was nothing he could do about it.
He had been plaguing the man’s dreams, sending him nightmares of Seda and himself locked in passionate embraces, hoping, praying that the dreams would stop him from pushing forward with his claim upon her.
But they hadn’t. They only made it worse.
He could sense Ael’s every thought and whisper.
Seda dominated his feelings, and the dreams Kalon sent only deepened his love for her.
He was a problem, but he didn’t want to hurt the man physically.
No, he couldn’t do that. Seda was attached to him now, despite his own desire for her; despite his love that had only deepened over the years she was gone.
He couldn’t harm Ael. He wouldn’t, because that would also hurt her.
He could only pry into his mind and listen to his obsessive thoughts, only allowing himself to torment his dreams. Ael was providing what he could to protect Seda as her powers grew. And if that meant allowing this man to get close to her, if she wanted it, she could have this fun… for now.
The serpent prattled on nervously before him, and Kalon growled, “I’m aware we’re at max capacity. I don’t care. We collect more. We collect them all.”
He had been collecting humans for hundreds of years, placing them beneath his castle into the hidden, cavernous, sapphire city of Noctrya, safe from the pits of hell above.
The pitiful Monster King was a lowly man, obsessed with power—a small man with a big complex, obviously making up for other areas of himself that he lacked.
Probably a tiny dick, he thought as he smiled at his own joke.
“As you wish, Sire. We must leave, the collection has already started,” the black, slithering serpent said before him.
Kalon tucked the moonstone necklace into his pocket and stood from his cold throne. He glanced over once more, for the thousandth time, to the empty, spider-silken throne beside him, and snapped his fingers.
A black, magical air whirled around him and the Amaru, spinning around them like a tornado of nightfall that fused to his very being.
Kalon inhaled deeply as the air settled, drawing in the dust and squinting through his mask as he stared at the ever-burning sun of the desert.
He could hear people crying and moaning as his vision cleared, and he looked at the Monster King standing before him, with two Jotnar behind, their enormous forms trying to present a clear threat.
The Jotnar never took part in these events, but their presence caught Kalon’s interest. What torment did this man have planned for him today? What measly attempts would he try on him this time?
“You’re late,” the Monster King seethed. “I don’t like being made to wait.”
Kalon smirked from behind his mask at the small man, at his trimmed beard and rounded stomach. “I come when I fucking want to,” was all he said in response.
The Monster King pulled the Dark Stone from his pocket and let the sunlight reflect off the ground.
“You know that doesn’t affect me,” Kalon said through his mask, rolling his eyes in frustration. He was constantly flashing that stupid stone. Kalon wished he could torment the man with nightmares and steal it from his person. But the stone could not be touched, not by him, at least.
Everything the dark magic touched was poisoned, except for… Seda. She was the only being walking this planet who could withstand the powerful magical pull of the Dark Stone. It could control her when used by another, yes, but only she could touch its cold surface and not be drawn into its lure.
The Monster King smiled brightly, wrinkles creasing across his gnarled expression. “No, but what you fail to see is that this stone controls everyone else. Everyone.”
He squeezed the stone, and oily magic coiled around his palm.
The two Jotnar behind lurched forward in pain, narrowing their eyes at Kalon and his Amaru.
They flung their hands forward to grab him, and Kalon’s magic descended upon them, causing the two Jotnar to stumble.
Their eyes rolled to the back of their heads as their minds turned into muddled nightmares.
Large, heavy hands fell to the ground, and their bodies convulsed as drool dripped from their parted lips and blood oozed from their bulbous noses.
He looked at the Monster King and laughed loudly. “Give it up, old man. Your plan didn’t work.”
The Monster King growled and stomped his foot into the sandy earth below. He squeezed the stone harder, the whites of his knuckles catching against the brightness of the ground.
The Draggors within the Camp courtyard began to circle him, the color of their eyes flooding into crimson orbs.
This fucking man, Kalon thought. He could only cause nightmares in him for short periods of time, the Dark Stone protecting him from progressing further and just killing him entirely. He had tried countless times before, but the stone was always there, always protecting what it also soiled.
What was he trying to prove anyway?
Kalon snapped his fingers, and the Dragors crumpled to the ground, leaving only the Monster King seething before him. He took a step forward, easily stepping over a fallen Dragor, and walked closer to the small man. “I am here to collect, Tievel.”
His name, not the Monster King. No. He would no longer call him by the fake title he invented over a thousand years ago. A title that shifted the planet and caused a tear through the harmony of his world.
His eyes caught on the small group of children and women before him. They cried out in fear as his gaze landed on them in their locked cage.
“Where are the rest?” he seethed, realizing this was a smaller group than usual.
The Monster King sputtered as his face turned a deep shade of crimson. “You have the moonstone, and I want it!”
Ahh, so this is what this is over, he thought.
Feich must have told him he stole it.
Kalon smirked, even though Teivel could not see it behind his mask, and he pulled the moonstone out of his pocket, holding it up in the air.
Tievel’s eyes flashed, and the ground began to rumble, causing sand to shift beneath Kalon’s black boots. He jumped back as giant cacti burst from the ground, their pointed tips growing long and deadly, threatening to entrap him.
Tievel squeezed the stone within his palm, grinding his teeth together as he hissed incoherent words through the air. His voice was melodious and echoed deeply through the courtyard, penetrating Kalon’s ears and causing his head to throb.
Kalon put the moonstone back in his pocket and snapped his fingers, revealing the same dark tornado that had formed over the area. He transported the people out of their cages, his Amaru, and himself… safely back to Noctrya.
The last thing he heard before the night whisked them away was Teivel muttering and cursing his name.
The caverns were alight with twinkling glowworms that lit the walls in a rainbow of fluorescent colors.
Kalon looked up and inhaled the damp air, smelling the scent of fires, cooking meals, and safety.
He could hear children below playing and running through the streets, their joyous melody echoing through the cavern walls.
As he stood upon the dark cliff face, peering down into the depths of the city below, he watched as life flourished. The sapphire-encrusted cave walls glistened in the pockets of sunlight filtering through the holes in the earth far above.
They had erected thousands of buildings here in their time. Humans were creative and innovative, finding ways to collect the glowworms’ fluorescence to power the city with twinkling lights that lit their houses in vibrant colors.
His gaze was fixed on the distant training camps, where men and women, dedicated to their survival, sought revenge against the evils of the world and the terrors unleashed.
Kalon turned to his transparent Amaru. “Find these people some meals and homes. I’ll be back later. I have something I must attend to.” He pointed to the group of women and children who were crying in fear and wore dazed expressions from the transport.
He turned his gaze once more toward the training camps and smiled. She was going to need all the help she could get.
Not only had he successfully built an army for her, under the guise of evil, but he was also collecting all the children he could get his hands on, slowly rebuilding society… for her.