Duplicitous: The Leordian Chronicles Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  CHAPTER ONE Showdown at Leordia City

  CHAPTER TWO Lucas Wright

  CHAPTER THREE A Night in the Hospital

  CHAPTER FOUR Jaleen Frelo

  CHAPTER FIVE New Acquaintances and Old Friends

  CHAPTER SIX A Captain's Place

  CHAPTER SEVEN Mahnon, and the Dregs of Humanity

  CHAPTER EIGHT An Impossible Decision

  CHAPTER NINE Frede Diten

  CHAPTER TEN Righteous Fury

  CHAPTER ELEVEN Velareedra, of the UTF

  CHAPTER TWELVE Lucas Lives

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN The Dragon

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN All things Forbidden

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN Regali's Berf

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN Psuedo Eater

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN The End of a Monarchy

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN Aaron Briggs

  CHAPTER NINETEEN Aftermath

  CHAPTER TWENTY Felix Rivera

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE Vesta

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO Family?

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE Timing is Everything

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR Roommates

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE To Dream a Dream

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX The Scoop

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN Happy Birthday

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT The Truth

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE President Popovich

  CHAPTER THIRTY The Debrief

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE Lucas vs Aaron

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO Results

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE Dogtags

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR Healed!

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE The End

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX Goodbye, My Friend.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN A Caster Breakfast

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT Training A Prodigy

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE Invasion

  CHAPTER FORTY A Final Battle

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE The World Awakens to the Truth

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO Takeover

  DUPLICITOUS

  JC Dameron

  This book is dedicated to my wonderful, loving wife who is my inspiration alongside my children for crafting these tales. Without her, I would be just a shadow of a man, and I owe everything good I ever do, to her.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Showdown at Leordia City

  "Brother!" I exclaimed. "Please don't go through with this!" I said as I ran to the center of the field where Astiel stood, entranced in the midst of an invocation. Fear made me tremble, as I instinctively knew that he had to be stopped, the sheer amount of Ether that he was channeling, which was undoubtedly being formed into ill intent, could destroy all that I held dear.

  My pleas couldn't reach him, though, he was too far gone. Drawing Ether from the Leylines had completely overwhelmed him, and it had washed his normally olive skin to a sick shade of gray. His Ether had exceeded the limits of any caster that I had ever faced, and that power had corrupted him beyond saving.

  "I never wanted this Astiel!" I declared, as I stared into his empty eyes, which were now void of everything that I had loved about him. "You leave me no choice! I will do what must be done to stop you from destroying this world."

  I braced myself as the Ether which surrounded us began to flow into my body. I had never felt this level of raw power, it was intoxicating. I could see how someone could give in to this, but Astiel was without excuse.

  "In Sissura In Caelis," he chanted aloud repeatedly, attempting to build the Ether needed to unleash whatever catastrophic attack he had imagined. In his frantic pull for power, he channeled so much Ether that he became wrapped within a visible aura of Ether. His long jet black hair seemed to float in an invisible breeze that he alone could feel. Fire had always been Astiel's strongest attunement, but I couldn't imagine what kind of destructive force would require this level of power. It was overwhelming, and because of his direct connection to the Leylines, his Ether seemed to regenerate as quickly as I could absorb it.

  "Even you cannot stop this, Vel," he claimed as the color returned to his crystalline blue eyes. "I have become a god, and I cannot be stopped by anyone, least of all you, a lowly Eater. My Ether is limitless," he declared defiantly, as he lifted his arms toward the sky.

  Even with his tremendous abilities, his entire lanky frame was trembling from his attempts to surpass the amount of Ether that I was rapidly drawing away from him. The ground began to tear from the surface and amass above Leordia City. A great shadow was cast upon the land as the ground gathered above us and took the form of a sphere, blotting out the sun. Ether continued to flow into me in droves, as I watched in horror. The force was so great, in fact, that I began to feel faint. And yet, this invocation was beyond my ability to stop, and all that was left was destruction.

  "Witness the power of a god, dear sister, and know that history will remember today as the day that I quashed your foolish war! I was father's true heir, and now those fools in the council will suffer for naming you, a woman, ruler," he shouted as he began to weave a second invocation.

  I prepared myself for a frontal attack, and I positioned myself into a defensive posture. My muscles burned from the raw Ether that filled me, and far beyond being just a distraction, it felt as if my insides would be burned up in a fire of Ether if its flow didn't subside soon.

  "Flammas Erumpere!" He cast aloud, as flames erupted around us and shot to the sky, igniting the spherical landmass above us into an enormous ball of flame.

  Astiel was far beyond the need to chant in order to manifest most invocations. He was taunting me and forcing me to stay on guard so as to prevent me from knowing if his next invocation would be a direct attack or part of his doomsday assault. I had reached a tipping point in this deadly game we were playing; I knew that I needed to release the Ether within me, or it would consume me. The force building within was beginning to overwhelm me, and I felt myself losing consciousness.

  "It's time Vel," he exclaimed. "I want you to witness Leordia's destruction at my hands! Go ahead, put that Ether to good use and try to stop me!" He dared, as he released his hold on the mass and allowed it to plummet towards our homeland.

  So extreme, was the amount of Ether that I was being forced to channel that every neuron in my body blazed with pain. I couldn't visualize any invocation that could stop such a hulking mass without causing irreparable damage to Leordia City. After exhausting my mental resources, I reached the devastating conclusion that my only hope to save my beloved city, was to kill my only living relative.

  "Cinereo Concretum," I chanted, directing my thoughts toward Astiel.

  Memories from our childhood crowded my thoughts; they tempted me to hesitate at a time I could not allow such distractions. The fate of our people had to come first. The invocation should have pierced him with ice and burned him to ash from within, but nothing happened. The Ether surrounding us began to flow into me even more quickly, and I felt as if my body would fracture to slivers. My hands caught fire, and it quickly flowed up my arms and through my entire body. Not once had I been touched by magic, Eaters absorbed magical energy, referred to as Ether, and my capacity to absorb had never been reached. The fire, which burned away at my flesh, was met with an equally excruciating burning from within. My entire being was being consumed by this Ether, and I was powerless to stop it. I looked back to Leordia City, expecting to see it in ruins before I died, but nothing was destroyed. The land mass that had threatened the city had simply vanished and the only danger present was Astiel's army, which gathered in wait near the walls.

  "You see it now, don't you, Vel," Astiel smirked. "My connection with the Leylines has given me a new talent, the ability to control minds," He
said, arrogantly pointing to Leordia City. “That city will be mine, why would I destroy it? With you out the way, the people will accept me as their rightful King, or they will taste my wrath. You alone stood between me and my rightful place, but now, I have won. By bending your mind, I have found your limit, sister dear. Even you cannot contain this much raw ether. You are tasting magic beyond what can be absorbed, and it shall devour you," He said in triumph, as he walked to me and lifted me to my feet.

  Once Astiel touched me, The fire burning my flesh dissolved, though the Ether burning inside remained. He pulled me near and wrapped his arms around me, embracing me as he did when we were children, and then he kissed me on the forehead.

  "I'm sorry, dear sister. There is no other way for me to claim what is mine. I have placed a seal on your mind to prevent you from manifesting any invocations, but you will not suffer long. The Ether from the Leylines will overtake you soon, and it will end swiftly," He reassured me as he lowered me to my knees and walked toward Leordia City.

  I felt the Ether of the Leylines climax, and as I reached the end of my ability to contain it, a blinding light enshrouded me. It felt like my soul had fractured, and it seemed as though my skin was being torn from my flesh. I heard my bones crack as I was torn asunder, and I couldn't feel anything, only my consciousness remained. There was no more pain; all that remained was the light which surrounded me. I could hear voices, thousands of them, and their wailings matched the sorrow and confusion that my own soul felt in this place. In my state of delirium, I began to wonder if I was, in fact, dead and if perhaps this was the afterlife. I wondered if I would ever gain a physical form again, or if I would be able to see the many faces that accompanied the sorrow filled cries?

  CHAPTER TWO

  Lucas Wright

  "Wake up!" I heard a firm, masculine voice demand.

  "I'm here," I acknowledged to the seemingly endless light.

  "Open your eyes," the voice said.

  "I can't. I cannot feel anything," I said, desperate to see.

  For the first time, in what had seemed like an eternity, I felt something. I could feel something touching that which, if my body hadn't been destroyed by flames prior to arriving in this place, would be the region where my eyes would be located.

  "I'll open them for you then," the voice said, in an annoyed tone.

  The endless light was slowly replaced with a clear blue sky.

  "See," I heard as my eye was opened. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

  "I can't move, please open my other eye," I asked, ashamed that I couldn't control my own body.

  I felt pressure on my other eye as it was lifted, revealing the same blue sky. The voice became a face, as a young man stood over me, smiling down.

  "Thank-you," I stammered, still unable to feel the rest of my body.

  "You're welcome," the man said with a smile. "My name is Lucas, Lucas Wright, what's your's?" he asked as he fell to his rear on the ground beside me.

  He was soaked and out of breath as if he had trudged through a river while wearing the strangest clothes that I had ever seen. The material was clearly not from Leordia City, and as he took off a large blue overcoat, he revealed a very well-tailored white shirt beneath. I looked up as he ran his hands through his mid-length, chestnut brown hair, which was soaked as well, and revealed a beautifully sculpted ivory toned face, and dark blue eyes.

  "My name is Velareedra Renaud, and I am the Queen of Leordia. Though, since it seems that you are not from my kingdom, please call me just Vel," I replied, turning my eyes away from him when he looked back to me, so as not to be caught staring.

  "Well, just Vel, you're very lucky that I saw you drop from the sky into that lake there, otherwise, you might have drowned," he said with a charming grin.

  "From the sky?" I asked confused, looking back to him, noticing he was still smiling.

  He had an amazing smile, one worth noticing.

  "The last thing that I remember was Astiel standing above me, gloating over his victory, and leaving me to die while Ether poured into me from the Leylines,” I claimed.

  "Ether?" He asked with a puzzled look. "I'm not sure exactly what that means, but I did see a strange crack in the sky just before you dropped into the lake. I gotta say, it was the strangest thing I've ever seen; you definitely chose a bad place to calibrate your portal's destination."

  "Portal destination?" I said, confused.

  My expression must have showcased my lack of understanding because the expression on his face shifted to that of someone greatly concerned.

  "Yeah, as in you set your portal to the wrong coordinates. It happens once in a while, but there are supposedly safeguards against that sort of thing. Once we get you back to the city, we'll call 'Portronic' to let them know your unit is acting up. Don't worry, they'll get it fixed. My dad is the CEO, and he takes this stuff very seriously," he smiled yet again.

  I began to feel tingling throughout my body, like when a numbness wears off. It was almost painful, yet it was nice to be able to feel again, even if it was uncomfortable.

  "I think I can sit up now," I fumbled my arms around like an infant learning to feed itself. "There's a lot of vibration running through my body, but at least I can feel again." I chuckled, as I grasped my hands and stretched my legs and feet.

  It felt like a blessing to have regained enough control to sit up, though standing still seemed impossible.

  "I'll go and get my car," Lucas said, as he stood and ran behind me.

  I leaned back, bracing myself with my arms. It hadn't occurred to me before, but I realized that Lucas could be a traveling merchant, which would explain his unusual garb, and this 'car' must be the carriage he carried his wares in. Regardless, I was grateful for his help. I slowly turned my head, hoping to see his carriage, and I almost fell back to the ground in shock. In the distance, I saw towers that met the clouds and roads covered in a substance that seemed to direct the sun's light toward me.

  "Oh, my stars," I said aloud, as I stared in awe. "Surely, I must have died and reached the Land of the god's."

  As I marveled at the view, my thoughts were interrupted by a beast unlike any I had ever seen, and it was rushing toward me.

  "Lucas!" I screamed, unable to move out of the beast’s path or even defend myself.

  Sitting up straight once again, I drew my arms in to protect my face and body as well as I could in my current state. I prepared to fend off the monstrosity charging at me when it suddenly stopped before me. To my surprise, Lucas emerged from the side of the beast and rushed to me.

  "Are you okay?" He asked, kneeling beside me, caressing my arms to soothe me.

  "Yes," I replied, lowering my guard, eyes glued on the beast.

  "Did you really think that I would run you over?" He chuckled, taking my hand. "Let me help you up.”

  He was stronger than I expected, and as I stood in his well-toned arms, I felt secure. My legs were still very weak, and though I was having trouble standing, Lucas held me close and carried me toward the beast. As we approached, I noticed it wasn't a beast at all, but rather an odd carriage with leather coated chairs inside.

  "What is this?" I asked, confused and embarrassed, having been so fearful of his carriage, even if it was unlike any carriage I'd ever seen.

  "It's a custom model Mercedes that my father had commissioned for me for my 18th birthday. It's a little loud because of the after-market exhaust, but it'll burn up the road!" He proclaimed excitedly.

  When I was a child, the elders had frequently told me stories about the chariots of fire which the gods used to ride across the skies and explained that shooting stars were the trails left behind from their glory. I wondered if perhaps, there was more truth to their stories than they knew.

  "So, since I am here, in the Land of the gods, I clearly did not survive Astiel’s assault. Can you tell me if my people are alright?" I asked, as Lucas placed a strap across me and buckled it into a fixture on the chair.

  I knew that
the gods rarely interacted with mortals, but I hoped that Lucas would be merciful and grant me some insight into the outcome of my brother's invasion of Leordia City.

  "You're a funny girl. This is New York, and while we'd like to consider ourselves gods, it's far from what you're thinking, I'm sure," he said between laughs. "Where exactly are you from? I'm guessing, based on your outfit, you were on your way to some sort of convention, right?" He asked, placing a similar strap across himself after entering the chariot from the other side.

  "The last thing that I remember was appealing to my brother, Astiel, in the fields outside of Leordia City for mercy, and then being overwhelmed by the Ether from the Leylines," I replied, looking around the chariot and taking in all of the lights and objects inside.

  "Oh, I see. So, you were taking part in some sort of larping adventure then?" He asked, touching a red button near a circular object in front of him.

  The chariot roared as it came to life, and my heart began to race in anticipation.

  "I'm not sure what you're referring to, but if you're willing to tell me of my people's fate, it would be enough," I begged, as he handled and manipulated some of the devices in the chariot.

  "Okay, never mind then," he said as the chariot moved backward, turning toward the road. "I'm sure everyone is okay. There have been cases where port malfunctions have caused temporary memory loss in the past. I'm sure you'll be better soon, but we should go to the hospital just to be sure. I'll let my dad know that you encountered an issue so he can begin tracing the path you took, and follow the light rays back to their point of origin to help you find your friends," he concluded, as the chariot, which Lucas insisted I refer to as a 'car', began to move forward with us inside.

  "Only the gods would have chariots that moved with unseen horses," I smiled to myself, as we moved into the City of the gods, New York.

  CHAPTER THREE

  A Night in the Hospital

  As Lucas's 'car' moved through the roads of New York, I was amazed by the countless number of gods walking along the elevated pathways attached to the road, which seemed to be created for those who did not have the power to command the might of a horseless chariot. Lucas directed his car into a temple, filled with many other cars, which rose to the heavens. He stopped our momentum between two other cars and got out, walking around to release the barrier he had closed after helping me into the car, so I could exit as well.