Free Taylon by Scott J. Kramer Page A

blast, and felt some of the
heat from it.
    “What the...?”
    He quickly had his men retreat, retracing their path
through the forest. Halfway, a wall of flaming trees halted their
progress. The captain stared in disbelief at the inferno, but he
knew Euphoria was to blame.
    He and his men found a circuitous route around the
fire and made it through the wall. Fire rose from the east side of
the forest and slowly spread. Soldiers lined up watching the blaze,
some cheering, and some staring in awe.
    Taylon found the nearest soldier and asked him for a
report. “Someone took a starburst and set it off in the
forest.”
    “On whose orders?” He demanded, grabbing the front of
the man’s tunic.
    “On mine, captain.”
    His hands quickly released their hold as Taylon
turned to see Queen Euphoria approaching. Her two pets trailed her,
looking hungry.
    “I thought it best to let the citizens of the
Territories know we were here.” Her eyes looked out toward the
billowing smoke, a smile upon her face.
    “But what about our scouting parties currently out
there?” He tried, unsuccessfully, to keep the fear and the anger
out of his voice.
    In answer, Euphoria looked up to the sky. “The rain
should quickly douse the fire. Your men are safe.” And with that,
the clouds broke overhead, pelting them with tiny droplets of
water.
    One of the tigers roared into the rain. The soldiers
began to run for cover while Taylon and Euphoria stood looking at
each other. She offered a cold, unrelenting smile. He stared back
filling his eyes with as much hate as he could muster.
    “Anger becomes you, captain. You should use it more
often.” The queen turned with a flourish of her black and red
dress. Taylon watched her go, rain coursing down his face.
    He slowly turned toward the forest, watching the
flames grow smaller and smaller until the black smoke swallowed
them. Taylon knew his time was running thin. If he couldn’t find
Kara or the wizard, he would have to do something else to stop the
queen, even if it meant losing Rose.
     
    ***
     
    The trek through the forest had been going smoothly
until the rain began to fall. Kara felt and heard the explosion,
even though it was in the distance. Her main focus was to confront
Euphoria, hoping it would end the assault on her friends. But when
the water began to fall her little plan became mucked up.
    Kara could barely see through the downpour. Small
streams and puddles began to form. The trail became mud in places
that tried to claim her boots. Behind every tree was another that
looked just the same, until she was sure that she had been this way
before.
    Eventually, Kara came upon what looked like a simple
cave. It appeared out of nowhere, but she didn’t hesitate or
question it. Her clothes were soaked through, and her boots caked
with mud. Maybe a little rest would help.
    The cavern was deeper than it originally looked. She
peered into the darkness, wondered what the farthest reaches held.
Without a light, Kara knew to stay just inside the mouth of the
rep. She sat down upon a rock to drip-dry.
    Rain continued to pour down. Kara watched the water,
wondering too many things. How were her friends going to take her
absence? What was she going to do when she encountered Euphoria?
That was a big question haunting her. Kara ran off on this crusade
with the intent of ending the whole conflict. Here, sitting in this
cave, the idea sounded silly.
    A noise came from deeper in the cavern. Kara turned
to look. She saw nothing but blackness. The storm continued to
unleash, drowning out whatever it had been. Her life had been
simple a year ago. A mother and a father who deeply loved her. But
all that changed when the shard came into their lives.
    And now, it was ruining her new life. Would Jesset
die this time? Or one of her other friends? Kara felt the first
hint of tears and quickly wiped them away.
    Another noise came, and before she turned around
something hard hit her on the head. Instantly she slid